Star Wars: Despot's Ruin

by HandofThrawn45

The war between Xim's Empire of Mankind and the Hutt Supremacy grows fiercer every day. Jedi from cross the galaxy converge in the hopes of stopping it. As Erakas, Essan, and their fellow Jedi try to halt an apocalypse, their former comrades are drawn deep into Hutt space by a mystery that will change everything they know about the war. Volume 3 of the Despot Trilogy.

1. Introduction

Author's Note

So we've come to the third and final volume of the Despot Trilogy. It's been a long and slightly twisted road; part of book 3 were written before book 2 was finished. Despot's Ruin brings two story arcs to completion: the fall of Xim and the birth of the Jedi Order on Ossus. The former has been outlined in various source materials over the decades; the latter was a blank slate that allowed me to use ideas I've wanted to place in a SW setting for a long time but never had the space for until now. Some of those ideas I've poached from unrealized official SW projects, but the biggest inspiration for Despot's Ruin is a certain piece of classic literature that should be obvious by the end (Everyone steals from somewhere and you might as well steal from the best).

Readers are welcome and encouraged to comment, but I'm going to ask for no public spoilers on this one.

Dramatis Personae

The Empire of Mankind
Xim, the daritha (human male)
Marco IV Jaminere, First Viceroy (human male)
Oziaf, Special Plenipotentiary (T'iin T'iin male)
Essan, Jedi Knight (Sith female)

The Hutt Supremacy
Kossak the Clever, a Throne (masculine Hutt)
Churabba the Acquisitor, his aunt and Virtue (feminine Hutt)
Boonta the Denier, a Dominion (masculine Hutt)

The Iduxians
Gedor, the Prophet
Erakas, Jedi Knight (human male)
Shen, Jedi Knight (Rakata male)
Mal-Oba Talyak, Jedi Master (Talid male)
Daneel Kayn, Jedi Master (Zabrak male)
Jecca Tholme, Jedi Knight (human female)
Ashar Gell, Jedi Knight (human male)
Vediah, Jedi Knight (Devaronian female)
Koltatha, Jedi Knight (Noghri male)
Moorai, Jedi Knight (Selkath female)

Others
Ajek Kroller, captain of the Gravity Scorned (human male)
Reina Kroller, his daughter and navigator (human female)
Vaatus, his son, a rebel (Nikto male)
Morguk, a rebel (Nikto male)
Fasol Indrathi, of the Scorned (human male)
Taith Onderas, a scholar (human male)
Brexin, captain of the Pilgrim (human male)