Rhyme - TheOrderMSU/TheOrderMSU GitHub Wiki
Rhyme
| BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION | |
|---|---|
| Homeworld | The Birthship |
| Born: | 275 ABY |
| Died: | - |
| PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION | |
| Species: | Rodian |
| Gender: | Male |
| Height: | 6' 1" |
| Mass: | 179 lbs. |
| Hair color: | - |
| Eye color: | Blue lenses |
| Skin color: | Green |
| CHRONOLOGICAL AND POLITICAL AFFILIATIONS | |
| Era(s): | Legacy |
| Affiliation: | The Kruskan Academy, The New Jedi Order |
| Masters: | Darth Viscera, Master Daelan, Master Furn Runik |
| Apprentice(s): | Aksoren, Ru'uksha |
| FAMILY | |
| Father: | An unnamed Rodian businessman (clone template) |
| Mother: | - |
| Brother: | 100+ other clones on the Birthship (deceased) |
| Sister: | - |
"That's a lap."
— Rhyme to unruly trainees.
Introduction
Master Rhyme was a Rodian Jedi Master that lived during the Legacy era. He was known for his unusual use of the Force in the shape of his Force Projection and Force Farsight abilities, as well as his tendency to obsess over details, be they in they in the wrinkles on his robe or that annoying clicking that a hyperdrive shouldn't be making. He fought with the other Jedi in the War of the Storms and shortly afterwords brought down the Black Academy on Veski with the help of his apprentices, Ru'uksha and Aksoren.
An Unfortunate Gift
Rhyme was born as a naturally-aging clone of a prominent businessman on an illegal cloning station called the "Birthship" under the designation "Beriadan-17." As he grew up, he began to notice that his dreams never left the confines of the station. No galaxy-spanning adventures, no horrific nightmares, nothing of the sort. His dream always seemed to rest over his own sleeping body. It was around this time that he realized that he could move about as he pleased in his dreams - spying on the matrons, watching security guards play Pazaak in the control room, and other such things. He called this ability "Dream Eyes."
Force Sensitivity in one individual clone of a non-Force Sensitive template gave great pause to the administrators of the Birthship, and Beriadan-17 was put into an induced coma for further examination. He spent ten years watching the doctors through his "Dream Eyes" as they ran his unconscious body through thousands of different procedures. He could feel every needle prick, every incision, and every bone that they broke. All he could do was shout in the vacuum, begging them to stop.
Eventually, it was time to wake him back up and once they did, the tortured youth channeled every ounce of hate and desperate rage he could muster and easily killed the doctors and several matrons with the Force. The disturbance caught the attention of a group of Sith on the station for a resupply, and they quickly ferried his frail, atrophied body to a Sith Academy on Kruskan where he spent the next 8 months undergoing intense physical therapy before being added to the Academy's roster as a Sith initiate.
The Acolyte
After recovering from his decade of torture, Beriadan-17, now calling himself “Rhyme,” was admitted as a student to the Sith Academy on Kruskan. Alongside three other acolytes- Kio Langree, a Bothan woman and former slave, Jerrod Innus, a male Human whose father was an Admiral in the Sith fleet, and a gigantic Trandoshan named Yussk, began his training under one Darth Viscera, a flamboyant but cruel and sadistic Sith Lord who wasted no time giving them an ultimatum: “How tragic that only the last one of you alive will be my apprentice!” The four immediately distrusted one-another.
It was in this Academy that Rhyme learned the true nature of his "Dream Eyes"- in that it was a manifestation of the Force. He called it "Force Projection" and it served him well during his time there. He used it to avoid an ambush from a group of bloodthirsty apprentices led by one Pollir Greshnov, and subsequently beat him to death with a durasteel rebar. He also used it to watch Yussk kill Jerrod and partially eat him out in Kruskan's wilds.
Knowing that Yussk was Viscera's favored to win his little game, Kio approached Rhyme and offered to join forces with him to take Yussk down. Rhyme hesitantly agreed, and together they were able to ambush and knock Yussk from the Academy's top floor and onto the ground below.
The next day, angered that his favorite hopeful had been killed, Viscera ordered the two to fight each other in front of the entire Academy. Kio managed to defeat Rhyme, but found herself unable to deliver a killing blow. Viscera immediately had her taken away to the "Holding Pens" where they experimented with creating new Sithspawn and had Rhyme sealed in stasis on the Academy's lowermost floor.
For whatever reason, the Academy was abandoned shortly afterwords and Rhyme remained in the basement for 113 years until an archaeology team unearthed him. They promptly sent him to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant where the Council approved him for training in the ways of the Jedi and became apprenticed to Master Daelan.
The Journey to Master
For the next 11 years, studies the ways of the Jedi at the feet of the wayfaring Master Daelan, in particular learning to control his "Dream Eyes" a bit better by projecting whilst meditating as well as sleeping, but also experiencing the galaxy at large only returning to Coruscant when summoned or when Rhyme was due for a trial. He also learned how to build, design, and repair ship systems, circuitry, droids and even hyperdrives by doing constant maintenance on Daelan's floating slag-heap, the Avium.
Early on in his training and on a return trip to Coruscant, Rhyme encountered a Jedi Padawan named Tanallin. The young Omwati was much younger than Rhyme himself, but was deemed unworthy to become a Jedi because of his untameable temper and was due to be sent to spend the rest of his life on a Republic agriworld as a farmer. Horrified and only just then becoming privy to the , Rhyme helped him to escape into Coruscant's Lower City and left him in the care of Mannak Alguli, a kindly Caamasi who ran an orphanage far from the Jedi Temple.
In 423 ABY, Rhyme finally attained the rank of Master. Weary of travelling around the galaxy, he opted for a quiet, peaceful life in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. He took a young H'nemthe named Ru'uksha as an apprentice, and only a few weeks into his training the pair were dispatched on a low-security mission to see how Ru'uksha could handle being in the field. The two were dispatched to Thyferra to investigate reports of an abandoned, 400 year old Rebellion Alliance base.
Upon arriving at the archaeologist's campsite, they found that the entire forward team had been killed. Alarmed, Rhyme attempted to radio for help only to hear a static jammer over his comm. Calmly, Rhyme sat and meditated, using his "Dream Eyes" to discover that a small Sith exploratory force under the command of a low ranking Sith Warrior had arrived just hours earlier. Together, the two made short work of the interlopers.
Upon returning to Coruscant, Rhyme requested that one of the old starships found at the base be transferred to him. Since they were going to be scrapped anyway, the Republic requisition committee approved the request. Over the next year, in addition to training his new apprentice, Rhyme spent a lot of his free time restoring, refitting, and heavily modifying the old A-wing into his personal starfighter, naming the vessel "White Zephyr. During this time, Rhyme also built his personal medical droid from scratch, designating the droid "M1-01."
The Dantooine Conspiracy
Shortly after completing both his ship and his droid, Rhyme and Ru'uksha are reassigned to the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine. There, they continue their training in realtive peace until Muurik, the apprentice of fellow Master Nuvar Nankin, falls to the dark side, kills his master, and flees into the plains. Sensing a learning opportunity, Rhyme sends Ru’uksha and three other apprentices after him, much to the chagrin of the council. Ru’uksha returns the next morning, Muurik in tow, but two of the three apprentices had been slain. Muurik is exiled from the Order and put to work as a farmer on a Republic agriworld and the Dantooine Council, led by Master Vor Khalsi, file a formal complaint against Rhyme to the High Council on Coruscant, demanding that Rhyme be exiled as well due to his “dark taint.” Rhyme is imprisoned until word comes.
A few days later, Councilman Sigil Eldaki gives word to the Dantooine Council that claims that while Rhyme's methods are harsh, the lessons learned are ones that the surviving apprentices, and especially Muurik, will never forget. Begrudgingly, the Dantooine Council releases Rhyme.
After three days pass, the Council orders the Enclave to be put on lockdown and order the Jedi stationed there to kill any Republic personnel as well as Rhyme and Ru'uksha specifically. Rhyme, Ru'uksha Rhyme’s personal protocol droid M1-01, and a Republic Lieutenant named Leroy Bern manage to escape into Khoonda. The execution of a Jedi Master who dissented the order at the hands of the Dantooine Council is broadcast over the local comm systems, with the instigator, Master Vor Khalsi, citing that dark siders have infiltrated the Order’s ranks with the help of the Republic, and that Jedi who are loyal to this cause are to cut ties with the “Tainted Order.”
It doesn't take long for Rhyme, Ru'uksha, and the remaining Republic forces assault the Enclave. Together with Lt. Bern, they push all the way to the Council chamber where they interrupt the execution of two Padawans. They engaged the Council, where fallen Masters Rein Heo and Alarna Enkos are killed, Lt. Bern is wounded, and Vor Khalsi is taken prisoner only to quickly escape off-world with the help of his supporters. Rhyme left his apprentice and allies to give chase.
Three weeks into his search, the Council called him back to Coruscant to help contend with a far more pressing issue.
War of the Storms
Rhyme played a minor role in the War of the Storms. He led a platoon of Jedi and Republic troops against the Sith during the Battle of Isteria, and while squaring off against Lady Xion's forces his platoon was decimated by a surprise attack by Dark Lord Deus' bombers. Rhyme survived the bombing and proceeded to rendezvous the remaining Jedi as Isteria began to crumble. Rhyme, along with Destrian, Infinity, Cheshire, and Ru'uksha (needs citation) are among the Jedi that confronted the turncoat Daelan during the escape. Unfortunately, Daelan was able to get away.
Rhyme also briefly served as an adviser to the acting Grandmaster, Khairyn, when Grandmaster Izen left him in charge while he and Sigil briefly left for meditation. During this time, he found himself with a second apprentice - a Verpine named Aksoren.
The Black Academy
Shortly after the conclusion of the War of the Storms, Rhyme once again set out to hunt down Vor Khalsi and potentially bring him to justice. After nearly six months of false leads and cold trails, he, Ru'uksha, Aksoren, and M1-01 locate and capture one of Khalsi's followers. After some persuading, the man reveals the location of the Black Academy - a training ground for Dark Jedi and a haven for Khalsi's teachings. The temple was located on an uncharted world on the fringes of known space, and getting there safely took several more months.
Upon arrival, they discovered that an indigenous sentient species known as the Dekorabina had already been living on the planet when when the temple was set up, and a local warlord gleefully offered them his Force Sensitive warriors for training. Upon approach, Rhyme's vessel is shot down and Rhyme himself is captured by Khalsi's men. He is tortured and taken to the top of the temple for his execution, but is interrupted by Ru'uksha and Aksoren. The three face down Khalsi and his supporters and Khalsi is killed, but M1-01 is destroyed in the process. While his supporters and the native Dekorabina flee, Rhyme finds himself in the Academy's archives where he finds an odd holocron.
On the lengthy return trip, Rhyme discovers that the holocron belonged to an obscure Jedi Master named Furn Runik. Runik had lived thousands of years ago prior to the Jedi Civil War and his final resting place had been that very undiscovered world. Runik had mastered the art of Force Farsight, which was essentially the ability to scry people, objects, or locations at unfathomable distances but the strain on the body was so great that death would come to the unwary. Rhyme learned this technique quickly, but despite four full days of preparation, the strain of using this power was enough to knock him out for three days.
Coruscant Blues
Upon returning to Coruscant after disbanding the Black Academy, Rhyme is approached by his old friend Tanallin, who is now making a living in Coruscant's Lower City as a private detective. Mannak Alguli, the orphanage patron who had taken Tanallin in so long ago, had been found mutilated in the streets. No one knew who did it, but a note had been left on the body that read "Sith Lover." Rhyme immediately decides to help, leaving his apprentices to train on their own and trading his robe for street clothes.
It doesn't take long for the pair to dig up information on the murder. Several others had been perpetrated in that area with a similar method, and rumors of entire families and households disappearing begin springing up. Disturbed, the two rest at a cantina near The Works, which is Coruscant's lowest level. While there, they overhear two men talking about the murders and how their "leader" did a good job. Alarmed, the two follow the two men, catch them alone, and interrogated them. They belonged to a Jedi-worshiping cult called the Keepers of Sanctity and that each Sith that died made the Jedi stronger. When asked why these seemingly random people had been killed, they simply called them "Sith Lovers." A few more hours of interrogation, they discover that a recruiter for the Keepers of Sanctity takes in people not far from there. They leave the two men tied up where they were.
After speaking with the recruiter and gaining access to the cult's inner sanctum, they meet the cult leader, and man named Lark Mizik. Mizik is a tall, grey-haired, imposing old Human who welcomes them to the group. Upon asking if the killings were his doing and showering him with false compliments, Mizik claims that people who are in tune with the Force, but somehow manage to escape the notice of the Jedi will inevitably become Sith, and therefore not only the galaxy but also the "Divine Protectors," also known as the Jedi, are put at risk too. By killing Force Sensitives and those who protect them, then they are preventing Sith from springing up and slaughtering them all. Losing his temper at this, Tanallin immediately drew his blaster and killed Mizik where he stood, forcing the two of them to blast their way through his hordes of zealots, and Rhyme loses track of Tanallin during the fighting, and upon returning with Republic troops finds the lair in the Works empty and only a bloodstain where Mizik had fallen remained, with a note that read "You can't catch the light."
Grief (in progress)
A few days after dealing with the Keepers of Sanctity, Rhyme was sent out on a routine mission as a bodyguard to several Republic researchers as they examined an uncharted planet in the Unknown Region. Their job was simply to take samples of the flora and fauna there back to the main Republic labs on Coruscant for more thorough examination. After a few hours, Rhyme suddenly becomes aware of a huge disturbance in the Force that seemed to have manifested itself from nothing. Alarmed, he wills himself to sleep to investigate with Dream Eyes, leaving the research team totally helpless as a being calling itself “the Fallen” appears and strikes them all down. Unable to return to his body in time, Rhyme watches helplessly as the strange assailant decapitates him with his own lightsaber.
Succumbing to despair, Rhyme’s spirit aimlessly wandered the galaxy for months, hopping on various vessels as a ghostly stowaway until finding himself drawn back to the now near-derelict Birthship, having been aboard a pirate vessel bound for there. Once aboard, he was drawn to the lower vaults, an area untouched by looters, and there he discovered something that both disgusted him and brought him great hope.
Along one of the walls, six Rodians were encased in carbonite for safekeeping, and upon further investigation he determined that these were clones of himself formed while he was being held here so many years ago and whose sole purpose were to serve as mindless lab rats for the further investigation of Rhyme’s unexpected attunement to the Force. Titled “Project: Adept”, the source of the “miracle” that had taken place must be determined, and with that knowledge, the cloners would sell the mass-produced Force Sensitives to the Sith and other groups for use as totally obedient and expendable Force-using footsoldiers.
He is totally outraged by this discovery, but despite his apprehension, was able to inhabit one of the mindless clones as though he was inhabiting his own body. Several weeks later, following a trail of clues and a hunch that they may be able to find Rhyme’s body by tracking the nanomachines in his blood put there in his youth by the cloners, Ru’uksha and Aksoren, accompanied by Tanallin and a slicer named Vusdol, accidentally freed Rhyme from his carbonite prison as the Sith Zerold attacked them. Despite his new, weak body, Rhyme was able to send Zerold packing before passing out.
Personality and Traits
"A lot of people annoy me, Khairyn. Except droids. And Padawans. They're not really people, after all."
Rhyme to Khairyn
Rhyme is often seen as impatient, easily annoyed, but curiously laid back in the face of disaster and possesses a sarcastic, blunt, and mostly tell-it-like-it-is attitude that serves mostly to infuriate the people around him. He also has a tendency to play fast and loose with the rules (a trait undoubtedly picked up from Daelan) and prefers the company of droids and machines over that of people. Many Jedi don't trust Rhyme due to his disposition and his Sith origin, but when confronted, he tends to take it all in stride. Possibly one of Rhyme's biggest drawbacks is his complete and total lack of regard for Jedi traditions and standard teaching methods, often sending padawans headlong into certain danger as "training exercises". On many occasions, he has left his apprentices to fend for themselves during their training, a trait that greatly annoys Ru'uksha.
Powers and Abilities
Rhyme is particularly skilled in the Sense school of the Force. His innate ability to use the Force Projection ("Dream Eyes") ability and his quick grasping of the Force Farsight ability attest to that. He's also no slouch in the Alteration school either, with Force Light being his go-to power when dealing with Sith. Also, Rhyme's history lends itself well to using the Dark Side powers Force Horror and Force Fear.
In combat, Rhyme usually doesn't charge in headfirst into a melee. He prefers to stick to the outskirts of brawls - picking off stragglers or using the Force to support his allies from afar. He he currently has mastery of Soresu, Ataru, Djem So, Shien, Juyo, and is an elder of Shii-Cho.
Behind the Scenes
Order Tactics
Rhyme was a playable character in the unfinished and unreleased RPG Maker VX game Order Tactics. According to the storyboards, Rhyme was one of the three Jedi who would serve as the Master to the main character if the player had chosen Jedi Counselor as their base class. Like the other two Masters, Rhyme was designed to be powerful early on, but low growths would make him less than optimal for the rest of the game. His best stats were Force Defense and Speed, which made him an excellent unit for removing Force-heavy threats like Sith Sorcerers and Force Adepts, but his low HP and Physical Defense made him unfit to stick around long in a fight. He was to be one of the few characters in the game who could learn Force Clone and the only unit in the game outside of the main character who could use his signature abilities Dream Eyes and Force Farsight.
Rhyme is played by Alex Knipp.
Rhyme's name came about when Alex Knipp and a friend decided to call themselves "Rhyme" and "Reason." This plan fell through, but Rhyme's saber is named "Reason" in honor of that plan.
Rhyme's favorite color is green.
In lore, Rhyme owns several lightsabers. Their colors are green, yellow, golden-yellow, and blue.The golden-yellow lightsaber is made from incredibly fine materials and hardly ever sees use. He calls it his "Artisan's Opus."
Rhyme lost his yellow lightsaber when he was killed by the Fallen.
Sketch by Amanda Tussey