Makhzor (Old Soul)

The face of Vesanis, Makhzor's current host.

"I have lived countless lives and taken countless more. I will survive beyond the ending of the galaxy itself. Without me, you were nothing. Cast me out, and you are nothing once more." - Makhzor to Vesanis (his host) on the Zabrak's first attempt at independence.

Makhzor was the name of an ancient Old Soul, a Force-based intelligence that lived the lives of countless mortals. Makhzor typically possessed a child at birth, chosen for potential ability and social significance. He then lived out the host's life, doing what he deemed necessary to keep the galaxy on what he saw as the right course. 

This particular Old Soul led lives as Jedi guardians and consulars, Sith inquisitors and warriors, all over the span of over 10,000 years. Every so often, he even chose a child with no Force awareness if this child was strong enough (or well-placed enough) for the tasks ahead. 

The Age of Makhzor

Summoning

This Old Soul did not call this galaxy home, nor even this universe. He was called forth from a parallel universe by the former Emperor Keine Raam  of the Sith Imperium . Keine, using a ritual of his own make, tore the Old Soul from the body of the Sith Sorcerer Emundans Venaris, in a final attempt to return to the Empire he had created. He then planted the Soul in a somewhat willing young Zabrak Sith Warrior.

Unfortunately, Keine had underestimated the strength needed for the ritual. It left him drained, and he fell into a shallow coma shortly after it was completed. Leaving Keine in the care of another Pureblood Sith on Makeb, Makhzor and his Zabrak host joined Keine's former Empire, during the first reign of Lord Emperor Darth Arestenax.

Makhzor's New Host

Unfortunately for the Makhzor, Keine placed him in an already sentient individual. In his home universe, Makhzor had simply possessed a strong child at birth and asserted his dominance over the child's undeveloped mind, essentially making the body a puppet to his will with no thoughts or opinions of its own. At the body's death, the Makhzor would leave it a husk, taking the accrued energy from the body's life, and find a new candidate. 

When former Emperor Keine forced Makhzor into the body of the Zabrak Sith Warrior Vesanis, the body had already developed an intelligence of its own. At times the Old Soul would lose control and Vesanis regained consiousness. Even more unfortunate than this is that when the Makhzor took control, Vesanis's mind was splintered by the experience. On the rare occasions that Vesanis regained control of his body, he was overcome by anger and attempted gain his freedom. Eventually he decided that death was freedom enough, made sweeter by the fact that he would be robbing Makhzor of his body. 

Makhzor before and after Vesanis's final attempt at freedom.

Vesanis's last attempt nearly succeeded, severely damaging the torso and right half of the body. In retaliation, Makhzor expunged Vesanis entirely from the body and left him as a mad Force spirit. Makhzor gained complete control and repaired his body with enhanced cybernetics where the Force could not save flesh. Most of these cybernetics were priceless, given their odd mixture of beskar (Mandalorian iron) and cortosis, making his artificial parts invulnerable to lightsabers and most blasters.

Makhzor in the Imperium

Makhzor started life in this universe in the body of a large Zabrak, with the skills and abilities of a Sith Juggernaut. He strove to make the best of his situation. though he wished he hadn't been torn away from his own home before he was finished shaping it with the rest of his kind. He entered a universe that had gone untouched and unnoticed by a single Old Soul, and resigned himself to balancing it on his own.

His efforts, as well as his quiet wisdom and power, quickly brought him to the attention of Lord Emperor Arestenax. After being tested by being made a judge soon after his arrival, Makhzor quickly rose to the station of Minister of the Sphere of Mysteries & Ancient Knowledge. It wasn't long before he was promoted from that and made Lord Emperor Arestenax's first "Hand". It was this station that he last held before his final disappearance.

Ascendance: The Right of the First

After some time and research, Makhzor found where the First , this universe's version of its Guardian, was hiding. Makhzor spoke with it and inherited the "Right of the First ", granting him nearly unlimited power and knowledge in order for the Old Soul to bring the Force to balance in the universe. Despite his might, his noticeable contributions to the Imperium changed litte; taught by the Guardian before attaining the Right, Makhzor knew that direct interference could cause massive damage to this universe. Instead, he simply planned further ahead and with greater detail, and granted the Imperium greater defensive power.

Disappearance: The Growing Dark

Makhzor has now been missing for decades, with most of his servants dead, comatose, or left mad by the absence of their master and primary source of power. 

The cause of his departure was revealed by the barely-sane ramblings of Bahr've'ahz, the favored of Makhzor's former servants. Makhzor had been watching the Multiverse and, in the years before his disappearance, saw universes disappearing at first one by one, then in droves. Dozens of them were dying all at once. As he watched this, he could see and feel the Source, from which all life flows, growing weaker.  

He immediately investigated and found different versions of the Emperor Vitiate succeeding in his stated goal to devour all life. Makhzor fought and defeated several of these, discovering the hard way that they could prove more of a match than any other opponent he had encountered.  

Destroying the most powerful among them, he realized that many of the universes under assault were beyond his reach, given that the Right of the First bound him tightly to the Source. He split himself hastily into a dozen fragments, which were NOT bound, using a butchered version of the Old Soul reproductive process. He cast each of these fragments to several universes in which the Emperor could still be stopped with help.  

Makhzor, as he was, is gone. 

Physical Description

Makhzor's host body was tall and burly, though largely (and usually discreetly) cybernetic. Makhzor moved deliberately and efficiently. 

The Zabrak face would have been considered physically attractive, had it not been for the extensive scarring. At most times, Makhzor chose to wear a mask or helmet. This was largely symbolic: Makhzor was not the face beneath the helmet - he was more.

The Zabrak host's voice, before his possession, was a smooth baritone. After the possession, when the Old Soul speaks, his voice was similar to a very deep and gentle whisper, though his words always reached the intended ears. This is done partially through telepathy. When Makhzor was angry or bringing his power to bear, his voice had an odd echo, as though he spoke with many voices which were in perfect harmony.

Old Soul Powers

As he began his time as a Bakar Old Soul, he has the abilities inherent among them, as well as those powers common amongst all Old Souls. After attaining the Right of the First, Makhzor also gained the abilities of the Ro'a and the Guardian. At that point, there were few abilities beyond his reach, should he desire to use them.

The Old Soul-specific abilities that he possessed were:

• Telepathy: Most Force-users were able to project simple ideas or feelings long distances with the Force. Old Souls were able to carry out full, complex conversations with mortals inside the mortal's head. This was often be likened to a Force Meld, though far more refined.
• Immortality: No Old Soul could be killed by any creature or by the mere passage of time. However, if they did not reproduce at the right time (if if tried to split themselves with too little energy, or if it waited too long), then they appeared to pop out of existence; what actually happened to them was unknown.
• Creation: Old Souls could create more Old Souls by absorbing Force Energy and then splitting off a fraction of their own essence, granting that fragment their memories and abilities.

• Possession: The primary ability shared by every single Bakar was the ability to possess mortals. It was typically used on an infant, as the child's undeveloped mind could not fight against the new intelligence controlling it. In extreme circumstances, a Bakar possessed any mortal who has not learned to effectively fight such invasions.
• Magnetism: A Bakar, while possessing a mortal, could choose to project a sphere of influence similar to Force-persuasion. Mortals within this sphere viewed the Bakar with greater respect and, depending on the strength of the Bakar, sometimes awe. Older Bakar eventually began doing this automatically.
• Shield: Many Force-users were able, with a lightsaber, to deflect and even redirect projectiles and melee weapons. A strong Bakar was able to create a Force-shield around itself, making the weapon unnecessary; attacks merely bounced off of it. This was an advanced ability, and highly draining.

• Division: Makhzor was not forced to reproduce to survive, like he woudl have been in his home universe - and he primarily chose not to. However, his host body was incapable of containing his growing power. So Makhzor placed his essence within multiple bodies, acting in many ways as a hive mind inside his servants' heads.
• Empowerment: Makhzor, through his multiple mortal connections, was able to grant most of them at least a fraction of his power. These beings, Force-sensitive or not, could draw on Makhzor's strength to move faster or hit harder, or even to think more clearly.
• Suspension: Makhzor devised a ritual that could suspend a servant of his between life and death while binding their will to his. This would keep the servant from being distracted by life's pleasures, and prevent them from succumbing to death's embrace. He used this on Rotzkha.

• Link: A Ro'a could choose to guide a specific mortal thoughout his/her entire life. When a mortal with great potential was born, a Ro'a embodied a link between him/her and the Force, increasing his/her Force sensitivity and Force strength until the mortal's death. 
• Distortion: A Ro'a, being free from mortal flesh and the rules and restrictions that come with it, often sped up its thought processes by an incredible amount, essentially pausing time in order to make difficult decisions or move quickly from one place to another. A Linked Ro'a sometimes enabled the mortal it was Linked to to share in the Distortion for a short period of time.
• Teleportation: A Ro'a was a being purely of the Force, and (provided it was not sufficiently chained down by Links) had the ability to essentially move from location to location instantaneously. Makhzor could leave his body in suspension and utilize this.

• Inter-universal Transport: The Guardian was able to travel to other dimensions that were sufficiently close to the Source.
• Force Plague: The Guardian, in both Makhzor's home universe and the universe of the Imperium, grew angry at the rampant Dark Side dominance that occurred during the reign of the Rakatan Infinite Empire. In its rage, it created a disease carried by the Force that specifically targeted the Rakata, making them go mad shortly before killing them.
• Force Disconnect: The Guardian could remove a being's connection to the Force. As their Empire started to die out, the Rakata lost all semblance of unity and tore themselves to pieces. Distressed by the consequences of its actions, the Guardian reached out and disconnected the remaining Rakata from the Force. The plague, which was spread through the Force, could no longer touch them.
• Force Empowerment: The Guardian had the ability to strengthen a person's (or object's) connection to the Force. Makhzor used this ability to experiment with other, lifeless dimensions. He would enter a short-lived universe and balance it in the Force, strengthening Dark and Light Side nexuses (or weakening them with Disconnect) until each balanced the other.
• Enhanced Creation: The Right of the First granted the Guardian the ability to choose the preferences and abilities of any Old Souls it created. It could also essentially cause conception in most mortal species with little effort.
• Source Chain: The Guardian was directly tied to the Source, from which all life energy, or the Force, flowed. This was what granted it its incredible power and knowledge, but it also tied it down. The Guardian could not move beyond a certain distance from the Source; any universes in the multiverse beyond that point were inaccessible to it, though it would observe them from afar.