Testament of Jogan Halder

Halder's Testament commenced with a narrative of his voyages beyond the ocean to Keshtah Minor, the land controlled by the Lost Tribe of Sith. He admitted to being abducted from Alanciar's shores by the Human Sith. Upon arrival, Halder recounted being blindfolded and transported by cart to Tahv, the Tribe's capital. He then described being unblindfolded and granted freedom to explore the city. Jogan remembered that the city teemed with Keshiri artisans, painters, sculptors, and musicians who welcomed him. The Keshiri of Keshtah informed him that they were a "happy and free" populace living under the Sith's protection, whom they revered as "Protectors," ancient deities in Keshiri mythology. He asserted that the Keshiri of Keshtah had enjoyed two millennia of peace, dedicating themselves fully to artistic pursuits like the arts, painting, music, and singing. Conversely, the Keshiri of Alanciar had supposedly spent the preceding two millennia in laborious efforts to defend against the Sith, a threat he now dismissed as nonexistent.

Halder was also permitted to visit the Tribe's capital, where he cultivated friendships with the Circle of Lords. He characterized the Circle of Lords as a council where equality prevailed among all members. The Sith conveyed to Jogan that they did not pose an actual threat to the Alanciari. While they conceded that Adari Vaal had correctly identified the presence of "evil" Destructors among the Sith on her home continent, they claimed that the Tribe had eliminated the Destructors just one day after Vaal departed for Alanciar. Halder posited that if Adari had waited a single day longer, the beings she feared would have been eradicated, rendering her warning superfluous. Consequently, he contended that the militarization of Alanciari society had been unnecessary.

However, Jogan also mentioned that a servant of the Destructors had resurfaced in Keshtah two thousand years later but was expelled from the continent. This same individual had also constructed a fleet of airships and sought to conquer Alanciar. Jogan then inquired about the airships of Edell Vrai, whose warriors had attacked and kidnapped him. The Sith councilors reassured Halder that Vrai was a trusted friend dispatched to apprehend those criminals. Vrai, they claimed, had been alarmed by the Alanciari's military and technological prowess, fearing that they too served the Destructors. The Sith had captured Jogan to ascertain whether the Alanciari were the "vile enemies of legend." According to Halder, the conflict between the Alanciari and Vaal's forces was therefore an avoidable misunderstanding. Jogan recalled assuring the Sith that the Alanciari had always championed good and would resist any evil. He added that the Alanciari did not deserve their animosity. Ultimately, Halder concluded that the Sith were satisfied with his report and offered assistance in defeating the Destructors.

The Testament of Jogan Halder formed part of Grand Lord Varner Hilts' strategy to conquer Alanciar, a continent situated beyond Keshtah Minor, the Sith Tribe's homeland. Since 3000 BBY, annexing Alanciar had been a paramount objective for Grand Lord Hilts, who exploited it as a unifying cause to end the Time of the Rot, a nine-century period of internal strife and anarchy that had ravaged Keshtah Minor. By 2975 BBY, the Sith, under the guidance of their chief engineer High Lord Edell Vrai, had developed a fleet of airships. Vrai spearheaded a reconnaissance mission to survey Alanciar's terrain before returning to Keshtah Minor.

Unbeknownst to the Tribe, the Keshiri Herald Adari Vaal had fled to Alanciar two thousand years prior, following a failed attempt to expel the Sith from Kesh. She transformed the Keshiri of Alanciar into a highly militarized society dedicated to resisting any Sith invasion from Keshtah. The Alanciari established a complex network of semaphore signal stations, anti-aircraft ballistae, an air force, a maritime Shore Guard, and a large, well-equipped, and disciplined military. Adari's message was preserved in the Keshtah Chronicles, a publicly accessible historical record detailing her knowledge of the Sith Tribe. Furthermore, patriotic plays conveying Adari's message and story were performed on Observance Day every decade to commemorate her efforts in plotting her unsuccessful uprising against the Sith.

Alanciari forces decimated Vrai's reconnaissance fleet above Garrow's Neck. However, Edell and some of his followers survived and captured two Alanciari soldiers: Jogan Halder and his secret lover Quarra Thayn, the wardmaster and chief military administrator of Uhrar. They also seized Halder's copy of Adari Vaal's Keshtah Chronicles from his personal library. This book furnished the Tribe with invaluable insights into the Alanciari mindset and culture. Vrai and his crew also commandeered an Alanciari harvester, the Mischance, which they used to return to Keshtah Minor with Jogan Halder as a captive. Meanwhile, Vrai remained on Alanciar with Quarra Thayn, who agreed to guide him on a reconnaissance ground probe of her home continent in exchange for Halder's safety.

Following Edell Vrai's unsuccessful mission, his followers managed to establish contact with Grand Lord Hilts. Upon learning of the situation on Alanciar, Hilts conceived a plan to conquer Alanciar while minimizing casualties for the Tribe. After studying the contents of the Keshtah Chronicles, he resolved to bring Jogan Halder to Keshtah Minor and indoctrinate him into believing that the Tribe posed no real threat to Alanciar. Thus, Hilts instructed Vrai's crew to return with Halder on the Mischance, which the Tribe intended to study due to their lack of technology and resources for building wooden sailing ships. As part of this grand deception, Hilts arranged for the Tribe's most loyal Keshiri supporters to stage a large public carnival in the capital, Tahv, on Jogan's scheduled arrival day. Simultaneously, the Sith withdrew from public view to reinforce the illusion that they were benign and resided in their capitol in "quiet contemplation."

Hilts' "great deception" unfolded as planned. Upon arriving in Keshtah, Jogan Halder was transported by cart to the Sith capital, Tahv. Throughout the journey, Jogan was blindfolded while his captors coordinated the deception. As soon as Jogan reached Tahv, he was greeted by the local Keshiri, who assured him of the Sith's benevolent intentions. He was later granted access to their capitol building, where the Circle of Lords misled him into believing that the Sith were the Protectors, ancient deities in Keshiri religion. The Sith asserted that Edell Vrai and his airships, which the Tribe had previously shot down, posed no threat to the Alanciari. Instead, they were emissaries of the Tribe dispatched in pursuit of Korsin Bentado, a rival High Lord whom they described as a "servant" of the Destructors, malevolent entities in Keshiri religion. The Sith claimed that Bentado had been driven from the Tribe but had constructed a fleet of airships with the intention of conquering other continents. Ultimately, Halder was swayed by the Sith's arguments and became their "ambassador" to the Keshiri.

In reality, the Sith had always intended to conquer Alanciar. Vrai had actually been sent to scout Alanciar in preparation for Korsin Bentado's invasion. Bentado was the military commander of the Tribe's invasion force, known as the Ebon Fleet due to the dark color of its airships. Aware of the Tribe's military capabilities based on Vrai's dangerous "first contact," Grand Lord Hilts had intentionally allowed Bentado to invade Alanciar, intending to give the Alanciari a "fight" they could win. During the invasion, Bentado's Ebon Fleet was destroyed. However, the High Lord and several of his followers survived and regrouped. They then infiltrated the Alanciari capital of Sus'mintri, where they assassinated the entire War Cabinet and seized control of Vaal Hall and its centralized signal tower, which controlled the entire semaphore network throughout Alanciar. This benefited the Sith because they had effectively decapitated the centralized military leadership of the Alanciari without provoking the local population and garrison.

Korsin Bentado informed Grand Lord Hilts of the news. This pleased the Grand Lord, who then departed for Alanciar on his airship, the Good Omen, with his "ambassador," Jogan Halder. He ordered Bentado to hold his position until more Sith reinforcements arrived. However, Bentado then conspired against Hilts, having already planned to kill Hilts and establish a "Second Tribe" on Alanciar under his leadership. Bentado regarded Hilts as an obstacle to the Grand Lordship. He planned to use Vaal Hall's signal tower to order the Keshiri gunners and uvak squadrons to shoot down Hilts' airship before it could land at Port Melephos, a maritime port. However, Bentado was thwarted by Hilts' ally Edell Vrai, Quarra Thayn, and his own Keshiri aide, Squab, who was secretly loyal to Grand Lord Hilts. In the end, Bentado was personally killed by Squab. Vrai then secured control over Bentado's followers.

Jogan Halder's Testament was delivered on three known separate occasions. The first was shortly after Grand Lord Varner Hilts' airship Good Omen landed at Port Melephos. The second occurred at the Alanciari capital of Sus'mintri. The third involved Halder delivering the Testament via Vaal Hall's semaphore system, which transmitted the Testament throughout Alanciar. On each occasion, Jogan Halder's Testament drew large crowds and was overwhelmingly well-received by the local populace, who saw it as ending centuries of their society being perpetually prepared for war. Many Keshiri considered him the new "Herald" and successor to Adari Vaal, who had profoundly shaped Alanciari society. However, skeptical observers like Quarra Thayn noted that this new "Herald," unlike Adari, "told tales which pleased the Sith."

Jogan Halder's testament was immediately succeeded by an address from Grand Lord Hilts, who proclaimed himself the "Kesh-born" minion of the Bright Tuash, an avian Keshiri deity. Hilts asserted that he was two thousand years old and that both the Sith and Keshiri were his children. He also claimed that Adari Vaal, the revered founder of Alanciari civilization, was his daughter and that she had been well-intentioned but misguided. He corroborated Jogan's account and expressed sadness that the Destructors had attacked and killed the Alanciari War Cabinet. He assured the Alanciari that the Destructors and their leader had been defeated by his agent Edell Vrai and the Alanciari woman Quarra Thayn, whom he described as a skilled soldier. To facilitate peace between the two continents, the "Bright Tuash" decreed that both Human and Keshiri relief workers in white robes would arrive from Keshtah in the coming days to promote reconciliation and unity.

Jogan Halder's Testament marked a pivotal turning point in the history of the planet Kesh. Due to its message, the Alanciari peacefully submitted to the Tribe. Following the Sith annexation of Alanciar, Jogan became a professional hermit, traveling to various Alanciari cities in the airship Good Omen to reiterate his story. Halder's story was dramatized with the assistance of Keshiri actors and songwriters imported from Keshtah, gradually replacing the Observance Day plays based on the life of Adari Vaal, whose teachings were deemed outdated, if not subversive, by the new Sith authorities. According to official rhetoric, Adari had merely been found on a rock. In contrast, Jogan had lived on a rock before his revelation of the truth. Thus, Jogan was regarded as the new "Rock of Kesh." The Sith also propagated the notion that the past two thousand years of Alanciar's history had been lost to a form of "collective madness" driven by an unnecessary fear of the Sith. Due to his services to the Tribe, Halder attained a position of honor in their society. This prestige was further enhanced by the fact that he was the first recorded Alanciari visitor to Keshtah Minor, the Tribe's domain. Finally, he severed contact with his former lover Quarra, preoccupied with his new role and status.

As a result of the peaceful annexation of Alanciar, the Lost Tribe gained access to a large and wealthy continent with a substantial industrial base and abundant lumber. This lumber enabled the Tribe to construct a significant fleet of sailing ships, which began exploring other regions and seas of Kesh in 2974 BBY. Grand Lord Hilts himself considered the conquest of Alanciar one of his most successful policies, as it not only expanded the Tribe's territories but also eliminated a political rival, Korsin Bentado. Hilts regarded the act of willingly bringing the Alanciari Keshiri into the Sith's service as a greater victory than capturing new slaves in combat. This victory was documented in Hilts' testament, which was read to the Tribe's leadership every twenty-five years. Finally, Halder's former captor, Edell Vrai, was appointed the new governor of Alanciar.