CLAN ONI
One of the more rarely seen Mandalorian Clans is the Oni Clan. The crest of the clan is a blossoming flower, though I admit to having little knowledge as to what exactly the flower is meant to be.
The Oni Clan is a clan that traces is origins back to the Sith Empire. Rumor claims that a Sith Lord (whose identity remains a mystery to those outside the clan) dabbled in Sith Alchemy to make warrior guards for himself. Being the lustful sort of Sith, he wished his guards to double as his harem. What race they were to begin with remains unknown, but the Sith Lord created what he called ogres. An entirely female race, with bright red skin, white or black hair, and white or black horns which protruded in pairs from their forehead. The ogres were purposely designed to have incredible strength, surpassing other races of similar size with ease, enhanced senses, and to always breed true.
Rumor further states that the ogres, designed as they were to double as the Sith Lord's harem, were to be quite lustful, though that fact remains unconfirmed to those currently outside of the Oni Clan.
Supposedly, uncaring due to how easily he could replace them, the Sith Lord that created the ogres left behind an injured one after being attacked. Later, the ogre was found by a Mandalorian warrior that not only treated the ogres wounds, but fell in love with her, and adopted her as a Mandalorian. Together, the two set out to free the rest of the ogres from the Sith Lord. Over the course of several years, they finally succeeded, and after killing the Sith Lord, the two created their own clan, along with the Ogre women that had survived.
They called themselves Clan Oni.
Over the course of the centuries, the clan has endured. Due to the Sith Lord's meddling, the ogres indeed bred true, birthing only daughters who were ogres themselves. That is not to say the unnamed Sith Lord's meddling proved entirely effective. Supposedly due to the influx of foreign race DNA, the ogres of today are not always born red skinned, and have a larger variation in their hair than black and white. While red is still the most common skin color, ogres in the clan have been born with blue, white, green, yellow, black, and pink skin, with their hair taking on a similar variety in color.
I must confess it was a group of Clan Oni Mandalorians that sparked my interest in the various Mandalorian clans.
I encountered a group of four members of Clan Oni while on a diplomatic mission shortly after becoming a Knight. The group was a family unit, comprising of a husband and wife, and their two daughters, who had been hired to act as guards. Over the course of three weeks, I got to know them somewhat.
Oni Mei, as she introduced herself, was the younger sister of the current clan head. Muscular, with white skin and hair, and two pitch black horns that matched her black eyes. She, and her daughters, had immediately caught my attention upon arrival for being in Mandalorian armor yet, unusually for a Mandalorian on guard duty, having their helmets attached to their belts. They were, I admit, not the first Mandalorians I had seen over the course of my years as a Jedi, but they were not what I was expecting.
Oni Koenrad, Mei's husband, appeared the more standard Mandalorian. A tall human, I only saw him without his helmet on when he was off-duty.
It was through the daughters, Oni Mariko and Oni Yasaka that I got a crash course in how Oni Clan operated. Though I later discovered, after an explanation from Mei, that this was due to Mariko and Yasaka attempting to court me. But I get ahead of myself.
Mariko and Yasaka, unlike their mother, both had red skin, though they shared their mothers white hair and black horns. In truth the two could have been twins if not for the fact Mariko had her mother's black eyes, while Yasaka had the bright blue of their father, as well as a noticeably bigger bosom.
Koenrad honestly did not strike me as being anything out of the ordinary for a Mandalorian. Between what appeared to be fairly standard Mandalorian armor, a blaster pistol on one hip, a jet-pack, and the blaster rifle he constantly carried, the only thing that set him apart from other Mandalorians I had seen was a curved sword he carried at his waist.
In regards to the women however, while their armor appeared to be the standard set of a Mandalorian that is recognizable the galaxy over, including jet-pack, their helmets were modified to go over their horns. It was explained to me that they didn't wear their helmets constantly because the helmets muffled their hearing, and cut off their sense of smell, lending credence to the claims of them having superior senses.
In addition to blaster pistols strapped to their thighs, Mariko and Yasaka also carried large metal clubs. They handled these clubs with ease despite their weight. In fact when I attempted to hold one of their clubs, I needed both hands and could barely move it, while they easily handled the weapons with one hand. And while, outside of a few spars, I never saw the clubs used, let alone with deadly intent, I can only imagine the devastation a blow from them would cause.
Mei, as opposed to her daughters, carried a pair of swords, one shorter than the other, both similar in design to the one her husband carried. According to Mei, every Oni is trained to use the club as a weapon, but only the most talented warriors of Clan Oni carried a sword. Her husband had earned his right to wear a sword when he defeated Mei for her hand in marriage.
Apparently, the women born to Clan Oni sought out those that could defeat them as husbands, some ingrained instinct that they could not shake. Mei went on to say it had caused her sister, the clan head, much heartbreak, as the man she fell in love with was a doctor who couldn't fight. Her sister had attempted to ignore the instinct, but found herself unable to even sleep with the man, despite her love for him, let alone allow him to marry her.
Upon learning this, I refused all offers of a spar that came from Mariko and Yasaka.
I did learn that Clan Oni had no fixed compound, packing up and moving the compound they called home every few years. With that said, I did learn that a large part of their income came from the sale of Tihaar, a Mandalorian alcohol. Apparently, Oni Tihaar is much stronger than what most Mandalorians brew, according to Koenrad. The human member of the clan warned me to never get into a drinking contest with his wife or daughters as I would loose. He claimed he would get liver poisoning before he out-drank any of the women born into Clan Oni.
Coming from a man that I witnessed drinking several others under the table over the course of one night, I took his advice to heart.
At the end of my mission, before I left and they departed back to their clan, Mei challenged me to a spar herself. As she was already married, I saw no harm in this.
I was outclassed. We had three spars, and I lost each time.
Our first spar, I admit, I underestimated what Mei was capable of. Her sword, revealed to me as being made of Beskar, easily and effortlessly parried my attacks before, with one powerful blow, Mei knocked my lightsaber blade aside and had her sword to my throat before I could regain my bearings. The spar lasted no more than thirty seconds.
I will admit, without using a club as her daughters did, I had forgotten just how strong Mei would have to be.
The next two spars were more evenly matched, in part due the harsh reminder Mei had given me in regards to her own strength. I will admit that, despite being a counselor, I had never thought my lightsaber skills to be lacking, yet Mei still bested me in both matches.
Afterward, Koenrad offered to avenge me, somewhat jokingly. Not thinking he was being serious, I accepted, and he and Mei spared for myself and his daughters.
While it was obvious that Koenrad was not as strong as his wife, it was very clear to me that both were excellent warriors, and masters with their chosen blades. I have witnessed spars between Jedi Masters, Guardians who specialized in lightsaber combat, before. What I witnessed between Mei and Koenrad made those spars seem like nothing but the fumbling attempts of two padawans in their first practice duel. It was only after several minutes of intense combat that the fight ended with Mei pinned to the ground below her husband, his blade at her own neck.
I was then witness to a very passionate kiss, and the two didn't even say a word as, upon getting up from the ground, Mei dragged her husband away.
According to Yasaka, it would be hours before anyone would see them again. Mariko just grumbled about the lack of soundproofing between her parents room and the room the two sisters shared during their stay
Before I left, the two sisters asked if they were sure I didn't want to spar with one of them. The glint in their eyes saw me making a hasty retreat to my waiting ship.
Yasaka appears to have let the matter go, but to this day I still receive the occasional com from Mariko asking for a spar.
This clan is the result of my desire to write a story featuring ogres/oni, specifically how I would present them in the Star Wars universe. In regards to Mei and Koenrad's skill as opposed to my Jedi Observer counterpart, please remember that Mandalorians are known Jedi Killers, Mei and Koenrad are particularly skilled, and the Jedi in question is a Counselor, not a Guardian.
