History Tropers / Tarlonniel

Just derping around. Muffin?

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sanguis.jpg]]

A novel-length retelling of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'''s Sith Warrior storyline, primarily from the viewpoints of a Twi'lek adventurer named Vette and an Imperial officer named Malavai Quinn. Originally published [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12057518/1/Blood-and-Honor here]], with an updated version [[http://archiveofourown.org/works/7942558/chapters/18157078 here]], it follows the rise to power of a Pureblood Sith named Sanguis, dealing with temptation, treachery and bad Twi'lek humor along the way. It also addresses Vette's search for her long lost family and Quinn's struggles to reconcile love and duty. Jaesa Willsaam, a Jedi Padawan, eventually comes along with her own part to play.

Spoilers for both the game and the story lie ahead!

!!Tropes found long, long ago and far, far away:

* BattleCouple: Sanguis and Quinn, though they go back and forth on the "couple" part for about half the story due to Quinn's personal issues. Eventually they end up together on and off the battlefield. Sanguis typically gets in close with her lightsabers to take out the biggest threat while Quinn uses his brains and blaster to wreak havoc from a distance.
* BlueBlood: Purebloods can trace their descent from the high priests of the ancient Sith race, and Sanguis is no exception. Her storied heritage is brought up occasionally and she has a family estate, complete with servants, on the Imperial homeworld of Dromund Kaas. Several other Sith encountered over the course of the story mention being familiar with her house.
* BornIntoSlavery: Vette was born a slave on Ryloth and separated from her family at a young age. After being sold to various owners, she was freed, only to end up in a slave collar again shortly after the story begins. Eventually she manages to find both her mother and sister and buy the latter's freedom.
* CloseRangeCombatant: Sanguis relies almost entirely on her lightsabers in combat, which requires getting close enough to the enemy to use them. Darth Vengean is able to raise a Force barrier which renders her ineffective until he's weakened enough for her to get through. If ranged attacks are needed, Vette and Quinn provide them.
* CoDragons: Lord Draahg, Baras's second apprentice, is introduced when the plan to take down Darth Vengean goes into effect. He is nearly on a level with Sanguis in terms of power and Baras treats his two apprentices as equals.
* CombatMedic: In addition to being a sharpshooter and tactician, Quinn has medical training. He performs first aid in the field several times and can also give follow-up treatment in a medbay.
* CruelMercy: When Sanguis realizes that killing Jedi isn't as satisfying as she hoped it'd be, she turns to this instead, bringing out the darkness lurking in the hearts of several of her opponents and then leaving them to face the truth about themselves.
* DeadpanSnarker: Vette loves poking fun at self-important Sith, stupid plans and the universe in general. Even a shock collar can't prevent her from taking jabs at her jailer.
* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Neither Sanguis nor Quinn have a problem with slavery, as it's both legal and common in the Empire. Quinn is also very anti-alien and consistently treats Vette as less than a person.
* DualWielding: Sanguis starts out with one lightsaber, but upon defeating her first Jedi, picks up the lightsaber of her opponent. She is shown practicing dual saber techniques afterwards and fights with both weapons from then on.
* EnemyMine: Sanguis and her team join forces with Republic soldiers on one occasion, Organa troops on anther, and a Jedi Master on a third. The first two team-ups are more or less voluntary - trading a favor for a favor - but the Jedi Master blackmails Sanguis into the alliance and she's ''not'' happy about it.
* EstablishingCharacterMoment: Vette is about to be killed by shyracks while raiding a tomb when Sanguis swoops in and saves her life. Only to then turn her over to the Korriban authorities for questioning.
* EtTuBrute: Despite all evidence to the contrary, Sanguis firmly believes that Baras would never betray her. When he does, it hurts her deeply. Quinn's own, smaller betrayal, as well as his attempt to leave her on Taris, are very unpleasant surprises as well.
* FantasticRacism: As an alien, Vette deals with a good deal of prejudice from the various Imperials she encounters, including Quinn. Most refuse to even use her name.
* GeniusBruiser: Sanguis becomes one of the best lightsaber combatants of her era, but she's also cunning, well-educated and a student of Sith politics, history and poetry.
* GentlemanSnarker: Sanguis is usually polite and well-mannered, even to her opponents, but she has a wry sense of humor which becomes more evident the longer she spends with Vette. She enjoys flirting with and flustering Quinn and throws out an occasional bit of verbal wordplay.
* GunsAkimbo: Vette carries two blasters and is rather proud of her skill with them. Though she typically uses both at once, she does switch to one on occasions when accuracy is important.
* HeroicLineage: Sanguis's mother earned a name for herself in the last war, made Darth and earned widespread respect among her fellow Imperials. Sanguis is very proud of this and tries to follow in her mother's footsteps.
* HonourBeforeReason: As a light side Force user in the Empire, Sanguis occasionally catches flack for this from her fellow Sith. She keeps her word, refuses to turn on her superiors and never seeks out personal glory. She also refuses to force herself on Quinn - when he rejects her advances, she respects his wishes.
* InASingleBound: As a Force user, Sanguis is able to leap long distances, in one case jumping from a platform onto a walker which is some twenty feet away.
* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Vette's birth name is Ce'na, but this isn't revealed until she reunites with her sister, Tivva. She still goes by "Vette" afterwards.
* LadyOfWar: Sanguis is the Imperial equivalent of nobility and carries herself as such, striving to be self-possessed, well-mannered and gracious. Her fighting style is characterized by agility and grace rather than brute strength.
* MasterSwordsman: Only once does Sanguis meet someone who's nearly a match for her in swordsmanship, and that is early in her career. All others - Sith or Jedi, Darths or Masters - are no match for her. She spends nearly all of her free time improving her skills.
* TheMole: Quinn unwittingly acts as this for a large part of the story, studying Sanguis and secretly passing on information about her to Baras, unaware that Baras intends to kill her eventually. After she survives the trap Baras laid for her, Quinn is contacted again to help in a second attempt, triggering a personal crisis.
* MoralityPet: Vette acts as this for Sanguis, who, especially early on, still has dark side leanings. Vette gradually helps her employer change her outlook on slaves, Jedi and aliens, and the two bond over their mutual lack of family.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Quinn and Sanguis are both ultra-dedicated Imperials, but they hate the in-fighting which runs rampant and the extreme cruelty of some Sith. Sanguis also clearly dislikes some of the orders given to her by Baras, but she carries them out loyally.
* NobleDemon: Sanguis has a personal code of honor which often conflicts with how Sith are expected to behave in the Empire. She regularly shows mercy to her enemies, keeps her word, frees Vette from slavery at the first opportunity, and engages in small acts of charity when prompted either by her friends or her conscience. On the other hand, she is completely dedicated to the defeat of the Republic, has no issue with slavery in general and loyally follows the orders of her superiors, even when they are personally distasteful to her.
* NobleTopEnforcer: Sanguis is Baras's right hand and top enforcer, employed to intimidate or eliminate his rivals. The Emperor eventually recruits her to do the same job for him. Though she carries out their orders faithfully, she often chooses to behave mercifully and shows displeasure at some of the more underhanded assignments.
* PluckyGirl: Vette doesn't let torture, slavery, the uncertain fate of her family, the downtrodden state of her people, or anything else get her down for long. In the first few chapters of the story she faces near-certain death with unflinching bravery. She's certain that things will work out, one way or another, and on the off-chance they don't, she's determined to go down with her head held high and a good one liner.
* RedOniBlueOni: Vette - talkative, excitable, more at home in the underworld than anywhere else, wielding dual blasters and spending most of her free time in cantinas - versus Quinn - traditional, reserved, dedicated to the Empire and his duty, a consummate professional who looks down his nose at those he thinks are unprincipled or undisciplined.
* ShockCollar: Vette is fitted with one when she's turned over to the authorities on Korriban. Her jailer makes use of it when she gets mouthy, which is all the time, so she ends up in a fair amount of pain. Sanguis, on the other hand, though given the controller, never uses it or even threatens to. When they leave Korriban, the collar is removed.
* StalkerWithoutACrush: Acting on Baras's orders, Sanguis becomes this for Jaesa Willsaam, tracking down the Padawan's family, mentors and friends in an effort to draw her out of hiding.
* TheStationsOfTheCanon: The story follows most of the major plot points of the video game canon, though some events - such as Quinn's betrayal - are altered significantly. Also, some of the companions recruited in the game are either not mentioned at all (Broonmark), not recruited (Pierce) or recruited at a different time (Jaesa Willsaam).
* UnequalPairing: Quinn, a low-ranking Imperial officer, is very much the social inferior of a Pureblood Sith such as Sanguis. She is also, in a sense, his superior officer.
* WhatTheHellHero: Vette calls Sanguis out on her actions several times, questioning the Sith's unforgiving treatment of Jedi, disinterest in the welfare of Jaesa Willsaam, and participation in the entrapment and murder of a Dark Council member.
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* InASingleBound: As a Force user, Sanguis is able to leap long distances, in one case from a landing onto a walker some thirty feet away.
* KnownOnlyByTheirNickname: Vette's birth name is Ce'na, but this isn't revealed until her sister calls her that. Everyone else still calls her Vette.

* TheMole: Quinn unwittingly acts as this for a large part of the story, studying Sanguis and secretly passing on information about her to Baras, unaware that Baras intends to kill her eventually. After she survives the trap Baras constructed, Quinn is contacted again to help in a second attempt, triggering a personal crisis for him.
* MoralityPet: Vette acts as this for Sanguis, who, especially early on, still has significant dark side leanings. Vette gradually helps her employer change her outlook on slaves, Jedi and aliens, and the two bond over their mutual lack of family.
* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Quinn and Sanguis are both ultra-dedicated Imperials, but they hate the in-fighting which runs rampant and the extreme cruelty which some Sith demonstrate toward their enemies. Sanguis also clearly dislikes some of the orders given her by Baras, but she carries them out loyally.
* NobleDemon: Sanguis has a personal code of honor which often conflicts with how Sith are expected to behave in the Empire. She regularly shows mercy to her enemies, keeps her word, frees Vette from slavery at the first opportunity, and engages in small acts of charity when prompted either by her friends or her conscience. On the other hand, she is completely dedicated to the defeat of the Republic, has no issue with slavery in general and follows the orders of her superiors, even when they are personally distasteful to her.
* NobleTopEnforcer: Sanguis is Baras's right hand and top enforcer, employed to intimidate or eliminate his rivals. The Emperor eventually recruits her to do the same job for him. Though she carries out their orders faithfully, she often chooses to show mercy where possible, and privately shows her displeasure at some of the assignments.

* RedOniBlueOni: Vette - talkative, excitable, more at home in the underworld than anywhere else, wielding dual blasters and spending most of her free time in cantinas - versus Quinn - traditional, reserved, dedicated to the Empire and his duty, a consummate professional and tactical genius who looks down his nose at those who are unprincipled and undisciplined.
* ShockCollar: Vette is fitted with one when she's turned over to the authorities on Korriban. Her jailer makes use of it when she gets mouthy, which is all the time, so she ends up in a fair amount of pain. Sanguis, on the other hand, though given the controller, never uses it or even threatens to. When they leave Korriban, the Sith removes it.