Author's Note
Somebody once said that a good story doesn't come from one idea but from combining [at least] two different ones. So it is for the Despot trilogy. I had two goals for this project going in. One was to tell the story of the rise and fall of Xim the Despot, which has been lightly sketched in various EU stories and supplementals, with plenty of room for embellishment. The second is to show the birth of the Jedi Order on Ossus.
Despot's Dream moves toward both ends. While Despot's Reign aimed to introduce new setting and characters with one compact plot, this is a more sprawling story that brings in new characters, new conflicts, and new worlds, while fleshing out the earliest era of SW history.
While it continues to draw lore from Dawn of the Jedi, KotOR, and Michael Kogge's Despotica, the Despot trilogy stands apart from pretty much everything and can be read on its own without prior EU knowledge (Which is in theory makes it more accessible but in practice means it'll be less read, because such is the nature of fanfiction. So it goes).
Enjoy.
Dramatis Personae
The Gravity Scorned & Allies
Ajek Kroller, captain and pilot, Gravity Scorned
Vaatus, his son
Reina Kroller, his daughter
Erakas, Jedi Knight
Sohren, their son
Essan, Jedi Knight
The Empire
Xim, emperor
Xer VIII, his father and prisoner
Marco IV Jaminere, First Viceroy
Erissa Orenaia, his wife, Duchess of Livien
Marco V, their son
Vardoc Orenaia, Erissa's father, Grand Duke of Livien
Maslovar Tiatiov, a minister
Sait Kadenzi, an admiral
Thane, an admiral
Oziaf, Special Plenipotentiary
The Federation
Hylei Indrexu Cortess, Queen of Ranroon
Hylei Venta Ynex, captain of the royal guard
Massor Rossu Weltan, a minister
Gelistar, president of Yutusk
Others
Gedor, the Prophet of Idux
Pres'carn, his follower
Katorr, a Nikto trader
Morguk, a Nikto warrior
Churabba the Liberator, a goddess