#baribus thatch

[toodamnloyal]

“I thought you kept your windows open...”

“I think this serves you right.”

@worldsandmuses

[mando-of-esverr]

[mando-of-esverr]

“   something  tells  me  you’re  not  satisfied .   ”

Baribus Thatch narrowed his gold and olive eyes until they were pale golden slits behind his leather visor.

"Indeed," he said tersely. "With all due respect, Master Kenobi, this whole war, namely the use and creation of Republic's very own clone army, has been so divisive that for the first time in two Esverran centuries, a factional split has emerged on Esverr. Two hundred years of unity sir, split because of the underhanded dealings of the Republic members."

Baribus took a breath and regained his composure. He was a tall, lean, man with dark hair and an ornate uniform of dark blue with pale gold accents. Though cut in a more archaic naval style, the colors and embroidery marked him as the liaison of a Noble Esverran Household, namely the Heraldy Household, a lower Viscount but powerful merchant family of Esverr.

The man took another breath and leveled his gaze with the jedi.

"Our people have been friends of the Jedi for longer than our world has been in the Republic. However, if the Republic cannot rectify this situation with the clones, I fear the divide may worsen and lead to factional alliances with the Republic and the Separatists. Their Royal Majesties have already issued petitions to both sides for a peaceful resolution. But if the conflict continues..." He frowned deeply, making his long face seem longer. "I fear Esverr will become bloodied with a deadlier siste-civil-war to the one you are fighting now."

[mantleoflight]

Darius Lieur || Nightmares

Darius panted and shifted in his sleep, the battlefields of his dreams rising and falling like blackened tides. He held his sword, its long, curved blade striking and cutting between chitin and carapace. Black and purple and red spilled from the shapeless enemies that faced him, their gangling, grasping arms ever reaching to stay his limbs, to try and hold him prone for the fiends ahead of him.

He let out a gargled cry as his own blood dribbled forth from his raw throat, yet still he pursued.

"OH, MY WARRIOR OF DEATH, MY RED BLADE, DEVOUR OF DRAGONS AND WISHES. YOU CLAIM THIS FRAIL, HUMAN, MORTAL FORM WHEN YOU COULD BE HERE, IMMORTALIZED IN THE BLOOD OF YOUR ENEMIES! YOU WERE ONCE OF MY BROOD, MY MARK STILL SEARS YOUR SOUL! COME! RETURN! RECLAIM YOUR CHITIN SWORD AND GILD MY ALTARS WITH BLOOD!"

"NOOO!" Darius roared, swinging his sword toward the voice but finding himself alone, empty-handed in a dark room.

Soft footsteps padded outside as the door creaked open, a tall, golden-eyed hunter gazing in through the crack. Baribus leaned in, his golden gaze sweeping the room. "Darius? Are you alright?" he asked, in a low voice.

Darius twisted in his bed and quickly ran his hands through his hair, the strands slicked back with his sweat. "Yeah-yeah," he said breathlessly. "Just-just a bad dream."

Baribus frowned and knit his brow. "Would... you like to come out? Perhaps drink some tea to settle your nerves?"

Darius looked at Baribus, his eyes glinting balefully in the hallway light. It wasn't his father, not the one from his timeline, but it was still him... somehow, even now in time when the man himself was risen and a guardian with Mathafew as a psychic son, Baribus Thatch was still himself.

"Yeah," Darius said with a wavering smile. "Yeah, I think I will..."

[mantleoflight]

As the ship, (Fastion suspected it belonged to Darius' Father or the father's friend), approached the Tower landing zone, Fastion busied himself speaking to a cluster of concerned voices over the radio. Well, Branson did most of the talking and supplemented what the poor ghost was trying to convey in his panicked squeaks. Echo had handled piloting and she set the ship down with such a gentle touch that he barely felt it settle against the tarmac.

Fastion stood from his seat then and gestured for her to intercept the crowd of medics gathered outside and took himself back to the crew quarters. "Darius." He murmured and stopped in the doorway. His friend was huddled about the body of the brother. Mathafew was just as much an adult as the rest of them, but he was small and it gave the impression of youth, and with Darius huddled about him, it also spoke of frailty.

"There's healers outside." He said pointedly and then waited a moment before adding, "They alerted this world's Baribus also. His ghost is here, and he likely is also. They're going to want him." He wasn't certain if the boy was conscious or not- rather hoped that he wasnt in case this went poorly.

Already he wasn't certain whether to encourage this attachment that Darius had or caution against it in case some catastrophe happened in this world also. But, his short piece said, the weapon moved back out of the doorway so that Darius would hopefully take the boy out to the medics otherwise they'd have to come in and take what Darius refused to hand over.

@sundanceofapache

It was a mess. The mission, their fireteam, the whole thing. Still, being the more experienced of their crew, Salem and Echo managed to calm the tide of people wanting to get in and help. So many people, so many thoughts, there was no way Mathafew was ready for so many people at once.

"Easy there! Only a few at a time! Medics only!" she shouted before spotting the grim figure of Baribus Thatch. He marched his way up, his features set like the grim reaper itself as he stepped onto the gangplank.

"Where are they?" he asked, his voice cold and forceful. "Where is my son?"

Stoat appeared beside his head, a little cloud of pixels dissipating behind him. "He wants to know where Mathafew is," he said helpfully, looking over at Echo.

Echo looked at the two and canted her head. "Which means you're probably his dad, right? Hunter, Baribus Thatch?"

"Yes," Baribus replied briskly. "Now where is my son?"

Echo looked over as Salem glanced up the gangway. "He's this way," she said, waving him along as she jogged up the gangplank. "You're not going to like what you see, but he's alive."

She led him through the ship and to the cramped crew quarters of her ship. It was lucky she'd recently gotten an upgrade or she never would've been able to transport them all. With a few taps on a wall keypad, the door to the ship's quarters opened, revealing the three figures of Fastion, Darius, and Mathafew inside.

Echo frowned and led Baribus in, glancing back at him uncertainly. "Salem did his best to fix him up... but Warlock Light can't do much for fixing things after a psychic attack..."

A chill entered the room, weighing the air heavily as Baribus stepped inside. His golden green eyes took in the scene like a hawk surveying the horizon. It seemed they had just finished talking as the Titan turned to leave and found him standing there. Baribus didn't recognize him, most likely a new light caught in the frenzy of the mission. The second he recognized, though only by his jacket and armaments, was the one who helped Mathafew bring him back.

He didn't spare a glance for either of them though, his focus drawn to Mathafew, curled up in the man's arms like a child in the throes of a night terror. His expression softened as he knelt down, reaching over to stroke his son's hair. "Oh, Mathafew," he said gently.

"He can't walk," the young man murmured softly. "We didn't know the Egregore would affect him like this..."

"It's a psychic fungus that feeds on death," the hunter said darkly, "your commanders should have known better."

The other man's jaw clenched at his words but he didn't say anything. Instead, he kept his gaze on Mathafew, pointedly avoiding looking at the stony-faced hunter. Gently, Baribus slipped his hands around Mathafew, as if to pull him away, but he seemed to hold fast, pulling himself closer to Darius if possible. Perplexed, he loosened his grip.

"You must've had quite the impression on him," Baribus said, his tone soft and quiet as he too gazed at Mathafew. "I've never seen him hold onto anyone like that besides me."

"I had a little brother before I came to the tower," the young man said softly. "I guess you could say we connected over that..."

Baribus frowned and ran his thumb over Mathafew's brow. He could sense the man was dodging his statement, or the implications of it anyway. Before he could say anything, the young man leaned forward and whispered to the young psychic.

"Mathafew," he said, his voice soft and gentle. "Mathafew, it's alright. It's okay to let go."

To the hunter's astonishment, his son obeyed, his fingers slowly uncurling from the young man's clothes. In moments, Mathafew released the young man, allowing himself to be pulled into Baribus' arms. Stunned, the hunter looked down at him and then at the young man beside him. Now that he saw him properly, he couldn't help seeing the remarkable resemblances Mathafew had told him about. The narrow eyes, long nose, and contour of his cheeks. Yet there were other traits, one's so familiar yet he couldn't put a name to them.

"Who are you?" he asked, his voice a low whisper.

The young man pursed his lips, his uncertainty plain on his face. "I'm..." he paused, struggling to find his words, before heaving a sigh and shaking his head. "I have so many answers to that question, so many things to say that could explain..." He closed his eyes, grimacing as he fought with the pain of his decisions. "I an anomaly. You could say I'm like the Stranger on Europa... Someone from a different timeline, who came to make sure this one didn't end up like theirs. Like mine..." The young man looked away, his expression so much like the hunter's when he brooded on thoughts he didn't want to voice. Vague, roundabout, not wanting to confront whatever it was that tied them to this supposed time traveler...

Baribus hardened his gaze. "Your name," he said sternly, drawing up the young man's gaze. "Tell me your name and if we have qualms as what I suppose we do, considering how you hedge yourself, we'll say no more of it."

The young man blinked at him as if he'd grown two heads, but quickly regained his composure.

"Darius," the young man replied hesitantly. "My name is Darius."

Baribus felt his shoulders fall.

Darius. His Darius. his young, bright-eyed lad who caught fish to show his mother. His spry, dark-haired son, who ran amongst the tide pools, kicking up water while chasing crabs and sea birds, whose long nose and blue eyes looked just like his while his cheeks, chin, and raven hair looked just like his mother's.

"Darius?" he asked, reaching for the young man, his throat strained and dry. "My Darius?"

The expression on the young man's face lit up, recognition breaking through his nervous facade like sunlight through clouds. In an instant, Baribus had him by the shoulder and pulled him in for a tight hug which was returned with equal fervor. His boy, his son, his sea skipper lad, was returned to him!

[leerofthevinegaroons]

A deck of cards is left for Baribus. The deck is facing down. Four cards are face up; the two black aces, two black 8s. A fifth card, the 8 of diamonds is face down.

Baribus was never a cards man. Never a gambling man. Always business or hunting. But he has a feeling the cards hold some significance to them. 2 black aces? 2 black 8s and a mysterious fifth card. Curiously, the videre reached down and turned over the 5'th card.

8 of diamonds.

Frowning with confusion, Baribus huffed and scooped the cards to slide back into the mysterious deck. He wasn't sure what the five cards meant but he didn't trust it. That old salt side of him was convinced it was an omen of bad luck, while his more rational videre mind thought of it as nothing but superstitious nonsense.

But early years on the seas bore its teeth at the cards, still unsure of whether this curious array of cards was a bad omen or not.

[leerofthevinegaroons]

//Welp I went and did it

//Have a rust/copper troll Changeling posing as an upstanding 18’th century mariner & gentleman.

[leerofthevinegaroons]

Starwars!Verse: Eyes of Mandalore

Born in 32 BBY, Baribus Thatch served as member of the Videre Houses of Esverr, highly trained, force-sensitive skillsmen who filled a variety of capacities—most notably as Scourmen (trackers, hunters and marksmen), and Truemen (mind readers, truth-seers, negotiators), and Veilmen (truth-seers, force users, spiritual guides). One of the best Scourmen in Esverr, Baribus served one of Esverr’s Noble Houses, the Heraldy family. As the personal guardian of Viscountess Lavinia Heraldy and secondary factotum of her father, Viscount Charles Cornelous Heraldy, Baribus was trained to be both guide, bodyguard, and ambassador.

Baribus was known for his excellence in both his work and moral character, but nothing could have prepared him for 15 BBY when agents of the Empire finally overturned the Esverrean Noble Houses and overtook the planet’s sovereignty. Assassins had been set out to silence rebellious nobles, further solidifying Imperial power in the vacuum of the House Nobles. Careful to retain their power through commerce, the Heraldy family managed to stave off execution until 7 BBY when evidence was discovered that proved Viscount Charles Heraldy’s secret financial support of the Rebel Forces—a crime punishable by death.

Afraid for his family, Charles evacuated his brother Cornelious, son and heir, Charles II, and his daughter, Lavinia. With them came Baribus and an unexpected ally—a Jedi by the name of Lan who’d been hidden away in the depths of the Esverr forest. But as he did, his wife—who had revealed his secret to begin with—was killed for trying to stall the troopers and let her family escape. Charles perished running to his wife’s aid and never got to see his children’s craft lift off.

What should have been a quick escape quickly became a race for their lives, but even the most stalwart noble could not withstand the Imperial grip. The ship was shot down and with their enemies expecting no one to survive. By some miracle, Baribus survived the crash and had been found and recovered by an Emergency Response Droid who transported him to the nearest medical center. Those in the staff who knew him, rushed to hide him until he could recover, marking him off as “dead on arrival” to avoid anymore Imperial executions.

When he was finally recovered, Baribus was sent away from his homeworld as the Empire began its extermination of the Videre and their people.

Having lost his home, his family, and his people, Baribus fell into despair and let his feet lead him to wherever they would. Following the flow of Providen’s will (The Force), found himself collapsing before an altar he didn’t recognize in a place he didn’t know. There he prayed to know the path Providen had for him and for Providen to show him the way he should go.

It was there he was found by a Mandalorian armorer who asked who was and what he was doing there. Baribus gave his name and confessed that he had been praying, that he had been left without home or kin, the last of his people and was searching for the way he should go. The Amorer ponders this and remarks that his journey had led him to her forge. Baribus admits that it seems that it had. She asks if he is desires to continue the path he has found to which he answers, “If this is the way Providen has led me, then I will walk it, but I do not know the way.” The Armorer nods sagely and replies to him, “Then I shall show it to you. This is the way.”

The year is now 5 ABY and Baribus Thatch has donned the armor of a Mandalorian, following closely to his new religion’s culture and tenants. While some may call the members of his sect “Zealots”, he will forever know them as “Saviors”, for it was they who found, gave him purpose, saved him from his own spiraling, hopeless abyss.