3rd Person

Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Or, that's the saying... anyway.

But... why do people seek power?

Do they lose themselves after gaining it... or do they lose themselves along the way?

Grievous POV

Qymaen jai Sheelal.

That was my name...

In another life.

https://youtu.be/c7NMfDeIMHs

Kalee. 

That was the name of my home...

Located far beyond the galaxy's core worlds... Kalee existed in unknown, unmapped space. 

As a result... it was scarcely ever acknowledged by the Republic, much less visited.

My people were fully content with that reality. 

We preferred to be left alone. 

...

My people...

The Kaleesh. 

That was the name of my people...

Battle... conflict... war...

To my people, these things were not merely necessities...

They were our very essence, our way of life...

Flashback

My arms were weary, my feet bruised and battered...

My grip strength was fading, the veins on my forearms popping out like a tree's roots.

As I grabbed for a higher handhold, my claws grinded against the rock face; the sound created was unholy, reminiscent of a scream.

Falling from this height would lead to my death, no question.

None of that mattered.

I'd nearly reached the summit. 

"Fight the mountain! Fight the pain!" my father demanded, shouting from up above.

After several more moments of struggle, I dragged myself onto the peak. 

"Excellent. You've done well, Qymaen." my father praised, a rare action for him.

I stood to face him immediately. 

"When do I become warlord?" I demanded childishly.

My father shook his head, stone-faced.

"When you're more experienced. In due time... I'm sure you'll become the greatest warlord of them all. Summiting the Crag of Korvis... at age eight, no less. What a feat..."

"Let's spar some more." I ordered, raising my fists.

"We've done enough of that today, there's something I wanted to show you." my father urged, gesturing to a stone shrine.

It sat squarely in the center of the plateau. 

After leading me there, my father spread his arms wide.

"Look around you, Qymaen... what do you see?" he asked.

It took me a moment to take in my surroundings. 

The mountain's elevation offered a crystal clear view of Kalee's landscape, spanning all around me.

I saw my village, along with our pyramid-like temple.

I saw the jungle's canopy.

I saw the mossy mountains that extended past the Crag of Korvis, forming a range.

I saw the vast ocean behind us. 

"I see... Kalee?" I guessed, unsure.

"War. That is the answer." my father declared, crossing his arms. 

"War?" I repeated, naïve youth that I was.

"This planet is at war with itself, just as everything else is..." my father maintained. "The sea is at war with the land... the mountains are at war with the sky... and we are at war with Kalee itself, constantly struggling to survive."

"And with each other." I added, remembering the years of tribal conflict I'd witnessed already.

"Yes, that too." my father agreed. "Our struggle is tiring... cruel. Our world is a harsh, chaotic one. Yet... through the bloodshed, life finds a balance... a harmony."

My father paused.

"That is why we fight. That is why we are warriors." he stated firmly, his eyes sparkling with grizzled determination.

After a moment, I took an interest in the tiny shrine next to us.

It was composed of obsidian-black stone, with white carvings etched upon it.

A Kaleesh ceremonial war mask lay atop the shrine... the same kind as the one my father wore.

What's more, a white silhouette was engraved on the front of the shrine.

The figure depicted was terrifying, demonic. Bestowed with four arms and razor sharp claws... it was a monster.

"Is this Korvis?" I questioned. 

"No. Long ago, the warrior king known as Korvis did ascend this mountain. However, he sleeps within Shrupak, as all the other gods do." my father elucidated.

"Then... who?" I pressed, crouching down to better observe the four-armed monster.

"Grievous." my father answered plainly. "God of fury, herald of the end..." 

"Grievous?" I repeated, perplexed. "You never told me about that god."

"That's because Grievous isn't a god... at least, not yet." my father answered, only making me more confused.

"What do you..." I started.

"I'll explain." my father assured, cutting me off. "Upon their deaths, our greatest, most honorable warriors ascend to the heavens. Thereafter, they become gods... you know this." 

My father paused.

"Grievous has not yet descended from the heavens. One day... our people will disappear, as all living things do; such is the natural order. When that day comes... Grievous will appear. It is foretold." he continued.

My father paused.

"He will grieve us." he finished.

End Flashback

Rokshin jai Sheelal.

That was my father's name.

Being the warlord of our tribe, he was both feared and respected... even by the other tribes.

I'd been under my father's tutelage since the day I was born.

He taught me everything.

https://youtu.be/TVxuAJinu3I

Flashback

I was now ten years old.

As a result, my physicality has increased dramatically.

It was still nothing compared to my father, however.

Deep within the jungle foliage of Kalee, a sparring match was taking place. 

"Bam!"

My vision went briefly went dark as my father's fist devastated the side of my face.

Only after did I feel the impact.

I stumbled, losing my balance briefly.

Quickly recovering, I flipped my head to the side to avoid a lethal straight punch. 

"Whack!'

I returned with a slug of my own, burying my fist into his stomach area.

He huffed violently, having had the wind knocked out of him.

Still, it wasn't enough to stop him.

My father swiftly immobilized me with a grab.

Afterward, he drove his knee into my stomach area.

"Crunch!"

With that, I crumpled onto the muddy ground.

"Those who hide behind a starship... are cowards! Those who hide behind a blaster... are cowards! Even still, those who hide behind a sword... are cowards! When challenged, an honorable warrior is always prepared to settle a fight with only his claws and fists!" my father bellowed, raising a fist.

As I lay on my stomach, defeated... I realized that my face was caked in mud.

I felt the aching pains from my father's blows.

I then peered up at my father, focusing on his masked face.

Suddenly, I sprung up from the forest floor with a shocking uppercut.

As my knuckles connected with his jaw, my father's war mask flew off of his face.

The look of astonishment on his face was palpable.

I came at him with a follow-up straight punch, but he parried. 

Immediately after the parry, my father spun in a circle... generating rotational force.

He finished with a lateral kick that obliterated the side of my torso. 

With that... I was finished.

"I... yield." I coughed, spitting out blood. "I'm... sorry... father. I've dishonored you."

"There's no shame in admitting defeat, Qymaen. A true warrior accepts when the fight is lost." my father assured, still maintaining his serious demeanor.

End Flashback

The Kaleesh were a warlike people. Tribal conflict was common, encouraged even.

Nevertheless, in times of peril... we united.

Eventually, Kalee was faced with a grave threat.

When it came time to choose a war leader, the tribes called upon the one warrior fit to command them.

My father. 

https://youtu.be/bL1kzvvmMsk

He led the Kaleesh into the Great Huk War.

The Yam'rii were a race of insectoids; their planet was located within the same system as ours.

Having recently acquired hyperspace capabilities, and possessing technology superior to that of my own people... their insatiable greed inevitably led them to Kalee.

The Yam'rii had already conquered two neighboring planets, Tovarskl and Abbaji. Those conquests had gone smoothly, largely unchallenged.

Kalee would not be taken so easily. 

My people would never stand for invasion.

We called them "Huk."

In the tongue of my people, "Huk" means "soulless bug."

That's exactly what they were.

No soul, no honor...

Only an avaricious appetite for the wealth of natural resources that lay beneath Kalee's surface.

That, a temperament for enslaving my people, and the thirst for death. 

So much death.

Upon one's death, the remains of a Kaleesh were to be burned beside the Jenuwaa Sea.

Their spirit would be freed, then able to ascend to the heavens. If they were judged to have been a great warrior of honor, they might even ascend to godhood...

That was the ritual.

For one particular battle, the bloodshed was so great that a mass burning was prepared... for the mountain of corpses brought back.

Flashback

As the fire was lit, the bodies quickly burst into flame.

I could feel the harsh heat on my skin, even from a distance.

It would be an understatement to say they caught fire... rather, they combusted rapidly.

My people's innards were extremely susceptible to flame. That fact was known.

"Our organs are extremely flammable. Do you know why that is, Qymaen?" my father whispered, gripping my shoulder.

"No..." I responded, shaking my head slightly.

 It's because... of our burning spirit." my father stated, watching solemnly as his fellow warriors disintegrated to ash.

As I looked upon the pyre, I felt a surge of emotions welling up within me.

Sorrow... confusion... why did they attack my home? Why did they take such pleasure in killing us?

More than anything, for the first time... I felt myself being consumed by hatred and bloodlust.

Was that my 'burning spirit?'

End Flashback

Years of all out war devastated the landscape of my home.

The jungles, burned to a crisp...

The mountains, leveled by bombardments...

The sea, tainted with blood...

Yet, my people survived. We held on...

Just as we always had.

Eventually, my father successfully repelled the Huk invasion. 

After several long years of bloody war, Kalee was freed.

But... that wasn't enough. 

The Huk had come before.

They would come again. 

And so... my father took the fight to them.

He set his sights on their homeworld.

At the ripe age of twelve, I joined my father in battle.

Flashback

The dense forests here weren't too dissimilar from the foliage of my homeworld.

The huk... their planet was truly beautiful.

If only they'd been content with that.

The sound of war drums echoed throughout the wood. 

The steady, uniform march of Kaleesh warriors was its own percussive instrument.

With all the tribes united, our force was formidable. Unstoppable.

It was an army no raiders had ever dared to face...

Until now.   

"Psshew!" 

Firing from my Czerka Arms Outland Rifle, my bolt hit its mark. 

The filthy huk I'd been aiming at slumped over. 

All around me, my fellow warriors each fired a volley as well.

In but a few moments, we'd exterminated their entire recon squad.

I approached the body of the soldier I'd slain.

No... it wasn't a body.

It was a husk.

"To the capitol." my father ordered grimly. 

Before we resumed our march, I took one last look at the corpse...

To remember my hatred.

To reignite my fiery fury.

End Flashback

That day... our assault on their capitol was successful. 

We stormed through their gates, overwhelming their technology with our warrior's courage and superior battle tactics.

Some civilians were caught in the crossfire... 

After relieving their leader of her head, we paraded her corpse around the city.

It was only to strike fear into the hearts of any huk who dared to set foot on Kalee again. 

That day... the huk war did come to an end.

Just... not in the way we'd expected.

That day... they came.

Them.

The Jedi.

Flashback

The unexpected landing of several shuttles sent a wave of apprehension through the army. 

Strange... I'd never seen that type of spacecraft before.

The landing ramps descended, and swaths of mysterious, cloaked figures emerged.

They were diverse... of many different races, most of which I'd never seen.

A humanoid man with fleshy tentacles sprouting from his scalp...

A gray-skinned woman with a tall head.

A short, green-skinned woman with black diamond facial tattoos. 

And...

A huk... with mandibles, scythe-like arm protrusions and all.

All of them were draped in long, brown robes.

Upon seeing the huk at the front of the strangers, several Kaleesh warriors charged forward with their swords.

What came next was forever burned into my memory.

The strangers grabbed cylindrical devices from their waists in unison.

Some of them even... willed their device to their hand?

"Pssshew!" "Pssshew!" "Pshew!" "Pssshew!" "Pssshew!" "Pssshhew!" "Psshew!" "Pssshew!"

A spectrum of colors burst forth from each of the devices. Blues, greens, purples, even indigos. 

Laser swords, also known as...

Lightsabers.

Jedi? 

"Halt!" my father commanded, stopping the advancing horde.

Three warriors ignored his orders, zeroing in on the Huk Jedi.

"Ksssh!" "Ksshew!" "Sssshhk!"

They were promptly cut down, dying by the sword.

"My apologies for that!" my father bellowed at the Jedi, keeping his guard up. "What business does the Republic have out here?" 

"We've come.... to put an end to all the bloodshed." the Huk Jedi clicked with his mandibles. 

End Flashback

Though we were a warlike people, the Kaleesh knew better than to provoke the Republic. 

Or... did we?

If the Kaleesh had been privy to the future, perhaps we would have preferred a suicidal rebellion.

The Republic forced us back to Kalee, effective immediately. After that came...

Our punishment.

The Jedi spelled doom for my people.

They came... not with armies, or machines of war, but with 'diplomacy,' and 'trade embargos.'

Near the end of the war, In a last ditch effort... the Huk had begged for the Republic to intervene.

They'd begged... the slimy, dishonorable scum. 

The Republic had obliged their request... I'm sure that filthy Huk Jedi Master was behind it.

Jedi Master Jmmaar... that was his name. 

In a cruel twist of fate, my people endured most of the blame. We... who had been robbed and pillaged. We... who had only desired isolation from the outside worlds. We... who had fought only to protect ourselves. 

We were burdened with it all.

The monetary sum we were expected to pay for damages was absurd. We would never be able to come up with the credits those greedy, soulless insects had demanded.

As a result, much of our land was seized... and given to the Huk. 

They even set their sights on my village, building a settlement right next to ours. Bit by bit, they even seized our dwellings.

Any attempt to push back was met with swift retribution...

The Jedi, who called themselves peacekeepers, became little more than a police force designed to keep us down. 

My people did not scream in anguish. There were no massacres... not even a drop of blood was spilt on our soil after the war. 

No... the suffering of my people was silent. Forcibly closed off from the rest of the Galaxy, burdened by sanctions... we starved.

https://youtu.be/H76_uW1Fnso

Flashback

I could smell it... the tantalizing scent of meat sizzling on a hot surface.

The huk knew how to cook a good steak... I'd give them that much.

"Grrrrr."

My stomach growled, urging me to thieve the morsel. My mind knew better... to wait.

I wasn't supposed to be here. This section of the town was strictly off limits to the Kaleesh.

I peeked around the corner, sneaking a glance at the huk meat vendor.

'Just a little more. You just have to wait a little more.' I commanded myself.

I was famished... my family was famished.

They were counting on me.

As soon as the vendor looked away, I darted forward, looting a bundle of well-done steaks.

Just as I reached the corner, just as I was about to slip away with the goods... I felt the bundle fly out of my hands. 

When I turned around, I was face to face with him.

The Huk Jedi.

Jedi Master Jmmaar, with my delicious treasure in his insectoid arms.

Glaring at the Jedi, I rushed forward to attack.

This wasn't petty thievery. This was a fight for survival.

The Jedi raised his hand, and I felt a force act upon me, pushing me away from him.

The force.

"You little thieving lizard!" the vendor screamed, starting toward me. 

"Leave him be... he's just hungry." the Jedi master commented, stopping the vendor. "Run along, young one."

As I trudged away, defeated, and still hungry, my anger grew.

Did the Jedi think he was doing me a favor by stopping me... by stopping my foe?

I would have gladly fallen to that vendor, if only to display my honor as a warrior. 

Whether the Jedi had created peace or not, my people were still hungry. 

Peace...

It was a hollow peace.

...

The force.

Throughout all my years of training, nothing my father taught me could have prepared me for such a power.

That... that sorcery was beyond my comprehension. I would never be able to comprehend, let alone utilize that power.

It was unfairness incarnate.

End Flashback

Eventually, we were forced out of our village entirely... separated from our sacred land.

Gradually, more and more of the Kaleesh starved to death. Entire tribes disappeared, forgotten from history. 

I remember holding my father's wispy, skeletal hand every day.... until finally, he too withered away into nothingness. 

The memory is still fresh...

Jedi Master Jmmaar.

Jedi Master T'chooka D'oon.

Jedi Knight Luminara Unduli. 

Thirteen year old me burned those names into my memory...

To forever remember our oppressors, and to immortalize my hatred... in the hopes that one day, I'd have the strength to retaliate.

The axe forgets, but the tree remembers. 

...

When I reached adulthood, I was promptly crowned warlord.

The only Kaleesh warlord.

My tribe was now the last.

Having inherited the heavy debt of my race, I was forced to take up work for the Intergalactic Banking Clan as a debt collector.

They'd heard the tall tales of my combat prowess and skills as a tactician.

Begrudgingly, I accepted. I had to... to keep my people afloat. 

I had no love for the elite, but they'd agreed to take on the debt of my people. 

That was all that mattered to me at the time.

I was even given a small force of elite droids, acting as my subordinates...

Hollow, soulless machines. They were everything I had loathed.

But... sometimes I noticed them moving faster, stronger than myself... to my shame.

Nevertheless, under my command... they were effective. 

At one point, I took on a supplementary request... to burglarize the castle of a certain Count. 

Flashback

I stealthily tiptoed through the gothic, dark architecture of the palace on Sorenno.

I stopped dead in my tracks after I heard the sound of someone clearing their throat.

"Qymaen jai Sheelal, great warrior of Kaleesh." spoke the voice of a sophisticated, aged man. 

He was graced with a pearly white beard, and an elegant stature. 

"Did you put me up to this... Count Dooku?" I hissed, coming to several conclusions at once.

"You could say that I've taken an interest in you... for your exploits are legendary. Why don't you join me for a drink? My master would very much like to meet you." the Count suggested politely.

End Flashback

Dooku let me on very many things... alongside his mysterious, gaunt master, cloaked in black. 

Plans for a secessionist movement against the republic, the creation of a massive droid army... he said that they were in need of a supreme commander.

Intriguing.

I declined.

My people were my priority, my focus.

My reason to live...

Flashback

As I neared the new village we'd constructed, I caught wind of three unmistakable scents.

Smoke, ash, and burning flesh. 

I immediately broke into a run.

When I reached the precipice that overlooked my home, my heart dropped.

Everything... everyone had been incinerated.

Walking around the piles of charred wood that had once been homes, I stepped over body after body. 

Charred skeleton after charred skeleton. 

Of the Kaleesh, a once great warrior race...

I was now the last.

The familiar, fiery fury that swirled within me was now accompanied by a deep, crushing sorrow. 

End Flashback

The Jedi, as well as the huk, expressed their condolences. 

It was the work of extremists, racial purists... that's what they told me. They assured me the perpetrators would be caught and punished.

I wanted to kill them, the huk and the Jedi.... crush their skulls right then and there, but...

My warrior's spirit had been shattered.

Flashback

Stumbling out of a sleazy bar, entranced in a drunken stupor, I entered the city streets.

It was then that I noticed two Jedi pushing through the crowd, evidently off-world on an assignment.

I followed them into a dark alleyway, then confronting them. 

"Bam!" 

One of the Jedi violently slammed me against the wall, knocking the wind out of me. 

"Jedi scum!" I raged, running toward the perpetrator to slug him in the face.

"Slam!" 

"Crunch!"

"Crash!"

"Use it! Use your lightsaber!!" I begged, overcome with shame. 

Again and again, they pushed me away... staring at me with a look of pity...

Honor... did such a thing exist with an unfair advantage such as the force?

If only my body had been stronger... faster... more durable.

Eventually, the pair of Jedi left.

As I lay in a heap of trash, bruised and battered, I began to cry.

What a cowardly, pathetic being I'd become.

Thinking back to Dooku's offer, I silently made a decision.

"Forgive me, father... for what I'm about to do." I whimpered to myself.

End Flashback

Dooku... Sidious... I sought them out, and accepted their offer.

... 

The cyborg body was my idea.

Flashback

The chamber was filled with white smoke, obscuring the surgical apparatus.

I saw nothing... but I felt everything.

I felt the flesh being torn off of my bones... replaced with circuitry and motors. 

I felt my skin being diced and peeled off... replaced by a cold, pale shell of metal.

It was blinding, agonizing, unbearable pain.

However, I soon became numb to it all. 

As I rose out of the smoke, reborn... I heard the duo of dark lords talking amongst themselves.

"Will he do, master?" Dooku inquired calmly.

"He will fit into our plans perfectly." Sidious cackled.

I was then pronounced general, as well as Supreme Commander of the Droid Army of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

As my first command... I returned home. 

One last time.

Sure enough... Jedi Master Jmmaar was still stationed there... the scum.

Flashback

Ship after ship landed on the surface of Kalee, adding more and more numbers to the horde.

 I smelled those three familiar smells... smoke, ash, and burning flesh. 

But... huk flesh didn't smell the same. How could it?

As my army of droids razed the village, I could hear villagers screaming in the distance.

Their punishment. 

"It's... you, isn't it? I recognize your eyes." Jedi Master Jmmaar asked, his voice trembling in fear.

 I'd blocked his path to the village. 

"You don't have to do this..." he begged.

I continued to approach him, splitting my cyborg arms into four.

To him, I must have been demonic... a monster.

"Pssshew!"

He ignited his green-bladed lightsaber, but I had already lunged forward with machine-like acceleration.

His disarmed laser sword fell into the moss, along with the arm that had held it.

"Crunch!" "Crunch!"

I hammered my robotic fists against the Jedi's insectoid head.

"Crunch!" "Crunch!"

Fluids began leaking out of his exoskeleton.

"Crunch!" "Crunch!"

Finally... I grinded his head into a pulp. 

Wiping the green fluids onto the moss, I clasped the lightsaber of the fallen Jedi.

The prized, most treasured artifact of the Jedi.

Now mine.

End Flashback

I balanced the scales.

I brought to the huk exactly what they'd brought to us.

Extinction.

Afterward... I set out to cleanse the galaxy of Jedi slime. 

I shed my body... I abandoned my honor... and I let go of my name...

Thereafter, I was Grievous... the vengeful god of fury birthed from the cruel extinction of my people.

End Flashback

"We must capture Grievous at any cost! For the sake of the republic... and for the sake of peace." Luminara Unduli had stressed urgently.

'Peace...'

'PEACE?!'

'I've seen your peace, Jedi... it means nothing.'