Out of the Ashes (Book 5)

[Akirapryde]

The Final Fall
Azgardian Dreadnought Odin's Pride
Witussa System
Inner Rim

It has been nearly thirty five long years since the battle of Hothee where the Chaos were finally defeated once and for all. The Chaos had destroyed untold number of galaxies for their evil master. It was Hothee were the combined forces of the Republic and every space faring race joined to defend this one. The battle was epic in scale and in stakes. Heroes were made and died. Enemies joined together and fought along side each other against a greater threat. There were fears that some alliances were simply to weak to stand the test of the battle. One such alliance was the forces of the Sith. They had been locked in a brutal power struggle for the past year. During this one battle, they fought as one force. One key moment was when the flagship of the Dark Queen of the Sith, Ariel, became encircled and over whelmed. Daritha Jer'cuil, a long time rival and mortal enemy of the Dark Queen, ordered his own ships to support the Dark Queen's flagship. The action saved his rival life and sixteen years later the Dark Queen returned the favor. Daritha Jer'cuil never saw his empire raise, but he did live out the rest of his life in the dungeon of the Dark Queen. One of the most surprising alliance was the one between the Jedi and the Crusade. For those that knew the history between the two ancient advisories, shock was an understatement. During the hight of the battle, nearly twenty thousand heavy capital ships hyperspaced in to the battle. Driving a wedge through the Chaos lines, the combined fire between Jedi and Crusade ships were unmatched. It was clear that this single battle was an all or nothing event for the entire galaxy. However, not all saw this battle as the end game move.

Even before the last of the enemy had been defeated, a dark force was in motion within the Mid Rim. The attempted assassination and the thought that the Jedi had discovered his plans, the Chancellor felt his hand forced. Despite the arguments of his best advisors, Generals, and Admirals, the Chancellor ordered his secret force to lunch their attack. The attack was always planned to be a surprise, and this was the prefect moment to carry out the attack. While the bulk of the Azgard home guard were fighting to protect the Galaxy against the Chaos, Republic ships hyperspaced in to Azgard space in mass. He has been working to build his secret force with the help of a number of corrupt Core World leaders. Now the fruits of those labors saw action for the first time. There was a minor short lived battle between Republic warships and cadet training ships. The limited defenders offered no resistance to the Republic warships as they were swept aside. For nearly twenty four hours, Azgard was subjected to brutal orbital bombardments. Once the planet was in flames, the Republic fleet turned and left the system before remaining Azgard Forces nearby could rally. Once the battle of Hothee was over and word reached the Azgardian fleet of the fate of their homeworld. They turned their powerful weapons on the Republic and started a match. The remains of the Jedi fleet as well as ten other allied fleets joined the Azgard on their march to remove the Chancellor from power. However, this war was not about removing the Chancellor from power. Azgard was out for the life blood of the Republic. When the war first started, no one thought that Azgard had the forces to take down the Chancellor or his Republic forces. Most worlds withdrew from the Republic and refused to aide Azgard. It was the beginning of the end for the Republic. With each new conquest of a Core World behind them and left burning, it became a realization that the Republic as many had known it was over. It has been nearly fifteen years since the forces of Azgard and her allies laid waste to what remained of the Republic and the horrors that the Supreme Chancellor had unleashed. In the end, the Chancellor took his own life before he could be captured.

It was discovered way to late to stop the war that the Chancellor long before becoming elected had suffered from paranoid attacks. The mental dysfunction was only confirmed after his death and the final destruction of the Republic. During the final march on the Republic, the Warrior Houses of Azgard left no world within the Core untouched. Any world that supported the Republic soon found themselves under the guns of Azgardian bombardment. Each and ever world that supported the Republic during the war suffered like never before. “War is ugly, War is nasty, never be fooled that War is a civil thing. This is way we exist. To show the Galaxy why war should always be averted at all cost.” Warlord Brea to her Jedi allies before the fires of Duro. The temporary leader of Azgard, Warlord Brea waged the only kind of war that she knew, total destruction of the enemy and its allies. During the war, opportunist became plentiful. It all started when the world of Ryloth was annexed by Genonosis. All eyes turned to the now dysfunctional Senate in exile to do something. When it became clear that the Republic was dead, The war over power began throughout the remains of the Republic. The old rules of warfare were tossed aside as many pointed to the war the Azgards were waging within the Core Worlds and surrounding systems. The suffering was unmatched by any other moment in Galactic history. Some suffered greater then others though.

No worlds suffered like the sixty systems directly around Azgard space. The Order of Long Daggers uncovered a act of betrayal that Azgard could never forgive. Those worlds closest to Azgard had all set silently by as the Chancellor's forces slipped through their systems on their way to attack Azgard. Given the chance to offer some warning of the coming attack, they choose to remain silent and in some cases even shut down planetary communication networks to ensure that no waring would be sent out. When the surviving members of the Azgardian Council of Warlords found out, they set their fleets on to these worlds. The orders to the worlds were simple, surrender unconditionally or suffer. At first many worlds attempted to fight back only to have their forces blasted from space under the Azgardian onslaught. When these short battles were over, the entire population of these worlds were transplanted as refugees to other worlds far from Azgard space. As the expansion reached its finally stages, the last of these worlds within the ring simply surrendered once the Azgard fleets arrived in system. For these worlds who saw surrender as a better option then forced relocation, they found their own citizens forced in to the Azgardian culture and under Azgardian law. The transition was hard for most but unlike those worlds that fought back, they still had a homeworld to call home. In the end, Azgard Space grew considerably as they turned their new found resources to rebuild their shattered military and fueled the war against the Republic. Though this was hardly any consolation to the Warrior Houses as Azgard had been laid to waste by the Republic's surprise attack. The memories of their home world laid to waste fueled hatred for the Republic that no victory could satisfy. Most of the Azgardian Science Caste estimated that it would take Azgard nearly a thousand years to recover from the Republic attack.

The Leadership of Azgard didn't fair so much better. With the cold blood assassination of Warlord Raynar, Warlord Ton won the right to lead Azgard as per their own rights and laws. He lead the Azgard in to the war with the Chaos. Warlord Ton gave his life during the battle of Hothee when his ship was attacked and destroyed by a Chaos ship. Warlord Mikkjel of House Fury took over leadership of Azgard during the battle of Hothee in what had been organized as a path of succession prior to the battle. Noting that his House took the brunt of the Republic's attack on Azgard and that the last remaining warriors of his house served off world, Warlord Mikkjel issued the order to all Azgardian Warriors, “Burn the Republic from history!” Warlord Mikkjel had set forth to punish the Republic and bring an end to the Chancellor once and for all. He led the Azgard from one victory to the next as they marched towards the Core Worlds and later deep within them. Half way through the Core Worlds, the forces of the Chancellor were able to deal crushing blow to the Azgard advance. During the Battle of Trosia, the Republic forces were able to destroy the Azgardian Dreadnought Fárbauti Strike. Though they paid for this victory heavily with ships they couldn't afford to loss. They did manage to slow the Azgardian advance by two weeks. With the fiery death of the Fárbauti Strike, Warlord Mikkjel's leadership ended. His reign was surprisingly short, being only nine years but history will never forget him.

The Chancellor had numbers in his favor, and he expected the loyalty of other Republic worlds to support his war with Azgard. The rumors of their culture and the misinformation that spawned their reputation caused many worlds to fear the Azgards. He had built a massive secret force that shocked and surprised the entire galaxy once they moved. However all historians believe that had he waited ten maybe as short as five more years the war between Azgard and the Republic would have been completely different. Fueled by first year victories against the Azgards, many worlds actually thought that the end of the Azgards was in fact at hand. The mass media under the Chancellor ensured that the rest of the Republic saw each victory and counted up warship losses. The war of fear was well underway between the Republic and Azgard. The Chancellor had been warned about under estimating the Azgard. Sadly, the Chancellor bought in to his own propaganda. This was clear when he openly declared war on the Crusade and the Jedi as well near the end of the first year. These victories which the Republic enjoyed during the first year was only while the Azgard was rallying their forces and moving in to position. At the end of the first year, the tide had changed and Azgard was fully mobilized with their allies.

With Azgard turning early Republic gains in to defeat after defeat, the Chancellor opened up his second front against the Crusade. Assassinations became the order of the day as supporters of the Crusade found themselves under the blade of the Chancellor's Rangers. The Crusade's military arm had been devastated during the battle of Hothee. However, the true power of the Crusade was in the shadows. The Chancellor might have been protected from assassination, however, his off world supporters were not so well protected. Across the Republic political, military and social leaders who voiced their support for the Chancellor started dropping dead. These assassinations added greatly to the power vacuum throughout the Republic and fueled more power struggles. The Shadow War between the Chancellor's Rangers and the Crusade left both factions in ruin by the end of the war. With the Chancellor openly waging war on the Jedi, they found themselves forced in to allying with Azgard rather they liked the kind of war that was being waged or not. By the end of the second year, support for the Chancellor's war had shrunk to the Inner Rim and the Core Worlds and all worlds between.

After the death of Warlord Mikkjel, Warlord Brea stepped forward and assumed command of Azgardian Forces so that the war would not suffer from the loss. With their ranks severely limited due to battle losses, the Council of Warlords could not elect a new leader under their laws. It was decided by the religious caste that Warlord Brea would follow Warlord Mikkjel in succession. During the hight of the battle for Duro, Warlord Brea was named leader of Azgard. With worlds fleeing the Chancellor in droves, the Republic's boarders continued to shrink as Warlord Brea continued to push Warlord Mikkjel's first order. The final battle for Coruscant was more of a whimper than a epic battle. As Azgardian forces arrived, they found the system already in flames. The last remnants of the Republic Forces loyal to the Chancellor turned their mighty weapons on the inhabited worlds of the system. It was the final death of the Republic. It would turn to be a hollow victory for the Azgard. Their focus on the Republic left them oblivious to the large number of smaller wars that continued to burn across the galaxy.

For the next fifteen years, the Azgard did everything they could to try to bring these conflicts under control. They would move in mass from one conflict region, bring peace and secure waring factions. They would move on to the next region only to have war break out in the region they just left. Many Azgardian allies suggested that Azgard form the next Galactic Government. Warlord Brea flatly rejected the idea with the complete support of the Council of Warlords. “We are warriors, not political leaders.” As the years passed and the wars continued to flame between systems, the sense of failure sank in on many warriors and their respected Warrior Houses. This race of proud warriors were unmatched on the battlefield. However, they were complete failures when it came to bringing lasting peace. However, under the leadership of Warlord Brea and with the aide of the Jedi, they tried. It was the secret of the relationship between Azgard and the Republic. The Republic needed Azgard to fight its wars, and Azgard needed the Republic to secure the peace.

Brea looked down at the reports once more with profound sadness in her heart. She had read them already five times, she just didn't want to believe it. With the death of the Republic, a power vacuum caused former allies to turn on each other. Azgard had tried to invite former Senators back to Coruscant space to start rebuilding the Republic. However with Coruscant in ruins and self serving being the order of the day, very few Senators answered the call. Conflicts had been erupting across the Republic between neighboring systems and there was simply nothing she could do to stop them. They did everything in their power to try to talk these systems in to resolving their differences peacefully. Then she moved to order her forces to destroy the ability of waring factions to make war. This only turned more systems against her and her warriors. There was nothing she could do to stop these conflicts and some worlds actually used this lack of ability of the Azgards to form their own multi system governments.

Some systems like Dorin had actually attempted to form their own system to replace the Republic. The Sages named their own newly formed government, the Galactic Alliance. It was made up of nine different systems directly around Dorin. The Azgard did nothing to recognize this government or opposed it. Sadly Azgard had their own hands filled with attempting to control the conflicts. The Galactic Alliance lasted just under five years till Dorin and three other member systems went to war over trade route rights. Despite winning the war, Dorin found themselves alone within their Galactic Alliance. Other independent governments lasted longer, while others lasted shorter. As the years passed and open warfare took its toll on the Galactic network and shipping lines started to fall apart. The loss of ready information of what was happening across the Galaxy seemed to invite the power hungry to attempt to take over worlds. Most were put down, some dictators managed to secure power. The cost was high in both cases. And in the middle was Warlord Brea, she hated the idea that there was nothing she could do to stop these mindless conflicts.

With the conflicts growing out of control, one by one Azgardian Fleets started requesting permission to return home. While she was selected as the interim Warlord of Azgard by the religious caste, she had not won the right to lead them as per their laws. None of the other Warlords or Warrior Houses had any requirement to follow her. They only followed her now because she earned their respect in battle. However she knew she could not force them to stay and help put the fires out. She had to allow them to return home with their honor intact. There was nothing Warlord Brea could do but allow the Fleets to return home. At the hight of the Azgard/Republic war, Azgard fielded well over fifty thousand warships and billions of warriors ready to die at her order. Today, Brea was barely able to field two fleets of thirty ships each. Her troop numbers were down to only a hundred divisions. Even now, those numbers are about to be cut once more.

An aid walked up slowly from behind her, “Warlord” he said softly and waited for her to acknowledge him before continuing. He had been with her from the beginning. She had earned his loyalty during the Flail attack on Azgard. He watched her ascend from shamed warrior to House Warlord and later to lead their people. He knew more than anyone else the ill affects this dark time had on her. She was a warrior right down to her core, but she also felt such petty for what was happening. She turned her head slightly over her shoulder and nodded. He continued, “They are here. Waiting in your briefing room, Warlord.”

She took in a deep breath and sighed as she nodded, “Good.” she turned back to her datapad and keyed a few lines, “Pass this to the rest of the fleet. Use the highest level encryption we have. Also, forward a copy back to Azgard control.” She finished keying the orders and turned the pad off.

She looked out from the bridge of her mighty warship and sighed once more. The people of Witussa had been attacked by their neighbors three times. And three times, Azgard had been called back to bring peace to the system once more. She felt horrible in what she was about to do but she had to think of her own warriors as well. She didn't have a choice any more. What was going to happen, Azgard could no longer stop. It was true, Azgard had destroyed the Republic. They had fulfilled their destiny. She felt a great sense of guilt for the suffering that was being caused, but there was nothing she could do. Her and her warriors had simply run out of resources to continue. She looked down at the datapad almost forcing herself to issue the order. She thrust her hand at the aide as she handed him to the datapad.

She turned to her command chair and grabbed her large claymore. She turned back to her aide, “I knew a man that stood taller than anyone I had ever known in my life. History will remember him as the Slayer of Darkness, the Bringer of Peace, the Most Honorable. He died a hero. The loss of his light will darken more than just our galaxy. The loss of his light has darken my very soul. Will my actions today have the same affects on others or shall I be remembered only as the one who brought death to the Republic and left suffering in her wake.” Warlord Brea said softly as she looked down on the nearly six foot aide.

He shook his head, “I don't know how History will see us Warlord. I know all that you have done. You never stopped trying to bring peace.” he said then motioned out the window to the world below, “You can not be held responsible for the actions of others.”

She nodded at him with a frown, “I wish I believed you, my friend.” She tossed her heavy claymore over her shoulder and walked passed the aide as she added, “Get those orders out right away.” She left the bridge of her flagship without saying a word to anyone else.

Warlord Brea walked in to the briefing room with a great sense of defeat on her face. There was simply no reason to hide it or ignore it anymore. Her gaze first fall upon Jedi Grand Master Preena Tabanne with her best friend, Jedi Knight Pol Murl, sitting at the table. She nodded at Preena as she remembered the day that Preena had been rescued by a Heartman transport. Near dead, Preena's starfighter had been attacked and she was left for dead. Found in a state of coma, no one knew who the young padawan was. Her survival nearly went completely unnoticed till her coma broke. Her memory was in shreds but she had a story to tell. Had Azgard not been attacked by the Republic, the story would have been discounted on its surface. However, by the time her coma broke, Azgard was already six months in a war with the Republic. Preena had gone on to lead the Jedi during the war with the Republic. With the death of Daz Murl and the continued alliance with the Crusade, Warlord Brea was able to return a young Kel Dor padawan to Preena.

It took Brea some heated work with the Crusade to get them to part ways with the cure for Pol Murl. In the end, the Crusade had little choice but to surrender the cure. War made for strange bed fellows. Preena took Jedi Padawan Murl as her padawan and the pair fought side by side like sisters. When Preena became Grand Master of the Jedi Order, it was no surprise that her best friend was there to support her. Preena gave Knight Murl her first critical mission. Once the Galactic Alliance was formed, Preena sent Knight Murl to Dorin with the mission to attempt to work out a treaty with the Alliance. Knight Murl discovered the plot by the Sages to use the Alliance to make a bid for power in their region. After narrowly escaping an assassination attempt, Knight Murl escaped Dorin and warned a delegation from another Alliance Member world of the plot. The plot triggered a war that lead to the fall of the Alliance. Under the leadership of Grand Master Tabanne and with loyal Knights like Jedi Murl, the Order was well on the road of rebuilding. However, their numbers had been cut to below a thousand. Over half of these numbers were younglings and padawans.

Across from the two Jedi, set five commanders of the remaining allies Azgard still had. During the war, Azgard called on their allies to help fight the Republic. During the hight of the war, these allies seemed unwavering in their loyalty. Now that the war was over, those allies returned home to help fight in the very conflicts that the Azgards were attempting to stop. Now, their allies have dropped to five loosely formed fleets. Theses units had been with the Azgard since the war first broke out with the Republic. Most of them were former Republic ships and units that refused to follow the Chancellor. They bleed side by side with the Azgard. Their loyalty had been proven in blood as well as deeds. Warlord Brea knew she could count on them when ever she needed them. It was because of this reason that she was going to make a special offer to these units and ships. She would respect their choice one way or the other. She felt that they earned as much if not more.

At the end of the table set Prince Saar and Priestess Shalla Heartman. Many who viewed the assassination thought for sure that the pair would be put to death. It was thanks to the Chancellor's mental instability that their lives were spared. He had thought that there were factions within his own Rangers that had helped with the assassination. The pair suffered greatly as they were tortured to release names of people that simply didn't exist. Two months after the assassination the pair were freed during a daring jail break carried out by the Coruscant Liberation Front (CLF). Even though the CLF had no contacts within the Rangers, the Chancellor knew for sure that one of his beloved Rangers had betrayed him. Prince Saar meanwhile became the leader of the CLF and conducted a guerrilla war within the Coruscant system that caused much disruption to the Republic war effort. With the help of Priestess Heartman and her connections with the Order of Long Daggers, Prince Saar and Priestess Heartman were able to help form similar organizations on other Core Worlds.

She sighed as she walked up to her seat, “thank you all for coming at such short notice.” They all greeted her in pleasant voices but it was clear that there was despair in the air. The war with the Republic had been over for nearly fifteen years and still there was no movement towards rebuilding the Republic. “I know we have had a long road with little success at our goals. It is clear to me that there is simply nothing we can do to save the Republic or rebuild something else in its place. I have received word from Warlord Floskubak. He has requested to take the remains of his fleet back home. With his departure from this conflict, our forces are cut down to just over twenty ships. There is no way we could continue to keep this up.” she looked down. She felt as if she was turning her back on everyone that looks to Azgard to protect them. Just lifting her head to see the others, “Most of you have fought loyally by our side. But we all must accept the facts. The Republic is tumbling in to one of its most darkest times. I am releasing your ships and men back to your commands. I am truly sorry that we could not do any better. But we have simply run out of resources to continue.” she looked down in defeat once more. She knew that even if the rest of Azgard had followed her, they would have still reached this point. It would have taken longer, but the end result would have still been the same. There was no question in her mind about this.

Taking in a deep breath, “Each of you have bleed for our cause. Because of this, as Warlord of Azgard, I would like to make this offer to each and every warrior under your command. If anyone so chooses, anyone may join us as we return to Azgard. They will be granted second class warrior status and all the rights of that status. They will have a home with us.”

The allies answered just as Brea had expected. Each of them said that they would have to speak with their warriors about it, but they were sure that they would be returning to Azgard space with her and her forces. Brea nodded at the comments and allowed them to leave the meeting so that they may speak with their warriors. The others however were harder for Brea to judge. She turned to the Jedi Grand Master first. The Order might be on the road to reconstruction, but they would never be the Order they once were. The war with the Rangers cost the Order all of its temples and nearly all of its Masters. While the Crusade didn't survive the war, there were still assassins out there that were hunting lone Jedi. The losses were adding up and Brea knew that Preena had been considering disbanding the Order once and for all.

Preena smiled as she always does with a soft nod, “I am grateful for the offer. However, we have already talked about this possibility. Last months encounter with those Crusade assassins proved to me once more that we are still needed here. If we do not stand and teach the ways of the Jedi, than all that we fought for would be lost. With this said, we have a large number of younglings here with you under your protection. The Council and I all agree that we can not protect them as they need during the coming dark times. I would ask you to take them with you. Please, protect them and guard them from harm.”

Warlord Brea smiled and nodded, “Of course Jedi Master. They will be protected within our space.”

Prince Saar took the pause to speak up, “Trosia is still in ruin. A few years ago, I was asked to take the thorn. I told them that as long as this mission was on going, I couldn't take the thorn with a clear heart. The offer, I am told still stands today. If we can not rebuild the Republic. Then I think I would like to rebuild my homeworld.” he said softly. When Warlord Brea first met Biggs Saar during the Jedi Civil War, she hated the man. He was arrogant, a lier, and a bastard. That man then is not the man sitting before her today. She watched him fight like a tiger and his passion for Shalla was only matched by the love he shows for his first love, Lysire. Warlord Brea had asked Prince Saar about the glowing stone he wears about his neck. He smiled and said that it is part of Lysire's soul. It was that moment that the aged Warlord decided she would stop trying to understand the way of the Force. Still she had come to respect and trust Prince Saar with her life. Brea had pretty much known that the Prince would remain to rebuild his homeworld. Prince Saar gave a moment of thought then turned to Shalla, “I would never ask you to leave your people behind.”

Priestess Heartman smiled at him as she looked deep in to his eyes, “This is why I would never leave your side, my love.” She turned back to Warlord Brea still smiling, “That is if I have your permission. I would like to spend the rest of my life with Prince Saar. Maybe we can make a difference here after all.”

Warlord Brea smiled as she nodded. There was something about the pair that seemed to give her hope through all of these. No matter what happened, they always seemed to find something to hold on to and to give them hope for a better tomorrow. It was something that time had taken away from her. “Yes, you have my permission to remain.” She thought for a moment, it was now that the great secret had to be revealed. She knew that none of them would expose this secret. “It is time for you to understand something. A few years ago, the Council of Warlords decided that it was time to cut off the Galaxy from our space. In hopes of protecting Azgard space from the conflicts, Azgard will no allow any ships to come or go from our space. During all this time, a series of defense stations were being built. The shipping lines and markers have all been removed. I have been able to hold off the finally closing of our boarders till return. Now, that this is going to happen. Our boarders will be completely closed. If you remain, don't follow us. You will only find death.”

Each of them nodded as Warlord Brea explained what would happen. Prince Saar waited for her to finish before he stood up. “Warlord, as you know. We had been hunting down the followers of the Flail for the past year. Just before you summoned us here” he said and looked at Shalla, “We were on the trial of Graff. We found him and we would like to offer you this gift from us to you personally.” he said placing a pack on the table and sliding it over to the Warlord.

Warlord Brea reach up and pulled the pack to her and opened it. Within it were a pair of double bladed lightsabers. Graff had caused her more then enough problems and was like a ghost to find. She couldn't help but laugh when she saw the pair of cybernetic arms. She remembered the order she gave about disarming the villein at all costs. Prince Saar continued, “We would like to offer this to Azgard and the Warrior House of Heartman as a show of our unending respect for your culture and proud people.” He said as he pulled up a large case and pushed the heavy item across the table.

Warlord Brea had to stand up to open the case and right as she did, she fell back in to her chair. She was starring at Raynar's Warhammer. “We honored all of the rights of our people, Warlord. I personally ensured in its care and it was Prince Saar's request that its return be ensured, Warlord” Priestess Heartman said softly. It was Biggs wish to go after Graff once they caught a lead to the villain. But when they found out that the Hammer was with him, Biggs ensured that the terrorist didn't escape. The duel was like all things with Biggs, epic in scale. She had never seen her husband fight with such passion. And when he ran Lysire's lightsaber through the terrorist's chest there seemed to have been a massive weight lifted from Biggs' own soul.

Brea didn't know what to say as she looked over the weapon carefully. Personally she had only seen this weapon up close three times. Once was on its receiving in during her first defeat while attempting to challenge of one of Warlord Raynar's commands. Despite its fine craftsmanship and artistic details, the Warhammer was more than just a weapon to be carried. It was the first weapon to be welded by the First Warlord of Azgard. It was forged with his own hands and tempered in the blood of Azgard's most fiercest enemies. It was a symbol of their leadership, their pride, their power and most importantly their honor. It was a blood right for those who wish to ascend to this highest rank within the Azgard. For only those who could trace their own blood heritage back to the First Warlord of Azgard had a right to lay claim to the highest rank of Azgard. What had become known simply as Raynar's Hammer was so much more than just his preferred weapon of choice. Without it, under their law, there could be no true ruler of Azgard. It held that much power over the entire culture and race. Its true value and power had been hidden from all none Azgardians for very good reasons.

It was actually feared that General Graff would attempt to use the Hammer to lay claim on the leadership of Azgard and its warriors. This threat of this was so real and so feared that the Council of Warlords and the Religious Caste sought to train their best warriors to ensure that General Graff would not win his Challenge of Leadership. The thief of the Hammer was a slap in the face to all Azgardians and their culture. However, allowing its thief in favor on an end to the Jedi Civil War only reflected their commitment to their new Jedi Allies. Still, its loss had been a bitter pill for the Azgard to sallow. Every Warrior House and the entire Order of Long Daggers had been attempting to locate without success. Then it dawned on her, “What you have done here today is beyond belief. Beyond words. You have no idea what this means to us.” she said in a broken sentence. Finally lifting her eyes from the case and pointed at Prince Saar's necklace, “I will make it my last will, I promise you this. You and yours alone will always be allowed to enter Azgard space when ever you wish.” She pulled her hand back and shook her head, “Azgard will honor this debt that you have given to us till the end of our culture as a whole. I will make this my last will. I swear it!”

Two weeks later, the last Azgard ship slipped in to hyperspace for home. Two weeks later Azgard and their proud warriors drifted from the galactic stage and in to distant memories. The Jedi would be the last of the old guard to hold the candle against the night. However, even with their control over the force, they were unable to stop the continue slid in to darkness. Less than a year after the last Azgard ship was spotted in the Galaxy, the order to disband was given and they too drifted in to history. The galaxy would continue to war among themselves without control. There were a few small breaks in the wars and conflicts. However these moments in peace were short lived and far between. The endless cycle of war would only come to an end over a thousand years after the fall of the Great Galactic Republic. It was by no act of diplomacy which brought an end to the wars and conflicts. What finally brought an end to the cycle of wars and conflicts was that the ability to wage war on a galactic stage had become exhausted. The shroud of darkness had completely covered over the galaxy as it waited for hope to return once more.