Drewika Ziratae

Drewika Ziratae (/druːˈiːˌkɑː ziːrˈɑːˌteɪ/; droo-EE-kah zeer-AH-tay), born Draicus Ziratae, was a Force-sensitive male Acrolian from Acrolis who notably served as a Republic Military contractor during the Clone Wars, a Military Executor of the Galactic Empire during the Imperial Period, and presiding Emperor of the Acrolian Star Empire during the post-Imperial period.

Draicus Ziratae was a born a member of the prestigious House of Ziratae on Acrolis, a verdant Force nexus situated on the western flanks of the galactic barrier in the greater Unknown Regions. Like most of his homeworld's residents, Ziratae was an Acrolian, a near-Human species of Force-sensitive changelings recognizable for their distinctive red-eyed, charcoal-skinned appearance, cultivation of the arts, and predatory, krato-magocratic culture.

Like many members of the nobility, Ziratae's early life was split between an idle pursuit of the arts and the cultivation of his Force sensitivity. Though he had initially aspired to pursue a career as a musician, his talent in his species's form of shapeshifting and predisposition towards stealth-based Force powers like Force stealth, Force mask, and Force conceal ultimately compelled him to serve the Acrolian Star Defense Force as one of its spies in the eastern galaxy.

His subsequent perambulations across the eastern galaxy brought him into contact with many Forceful sects and galactic governments. He most notably served as a Teräs Käsi instructor for the Grand Army's clone assassins during the Clone Wars and as the Galactic Empire's first Military Executor. He eventually returned home to Acrolis and was subsequently elected by the Acrolian Star Empire's prince-electors to serve as its Emperor, a position he held until his death.

Early life
Draicus Ziratae was born in 287 BBY on Acrolis as a member of the native Acrolian species. His homeworld of Acrolis, a verdant fortress world and Force nexus in the greater Unknown Regions, lay situated upon the western flanks of the galactic barrier, a string of hyperspace disturbance anomalies that bisected the galaxy west of the Core and separated the eastern galaxy from the western Unknown Regions. As a member of the planet's native population of Acrolians, a near-Human species of Force-sensitive changelings, Ziratae exhibited the trademark charcoal complexion, red eyes, gaunt appearance, and sharp features of the Acrolian species, in conjunction with a potent connection to the Force.

Draicus Ziratae was the propective heir of the House of Ziratae, an ancient and distinguished Acrolian noble house whose members had intermittently served as the elected emperors of the Acrolian Star Empire over the intervening millennia. As a Force-sensitive member of the family, Ziratae was immersed in the traditional Acrolian study of the Force from a young age. In contrast to the light side-dark side cosmological dualism that defined the Jedi and Sith religions of the eastern galaxy, the Acrolian paradigm was more akin to that espoused by their fellow Unknown Regions residents, the Knights of Zakuul. An ancient military order of the Eternal Empire, the Knights of Zakuul viewed the Force outside the lens of mysticism and religion as a tool solely in service of justice and the Empire. Likewise, the Force-sensitive among the Acrolians were taught to use the Force solely as a means of protecting Acrolis and Acrolian culture from the barbarism of outsiders.

Likewise, as a member of the nobility, Ziratae was raised within the framework of traditional Acrolian culture. Though martial in nature and defined by predatory, imperialistic, krato-magocratic mores that inculcated notions of Acrolian supremacy in the general populace, Acrolian culture was simultaneously defined by an appreciation for and cultivation of the arts. As such, in addition to exhibiting his species's distaste for non-Acrolian societies, Ziratae came to possess a refined appreciation of music in particular, and demonstrated a degree of skill on the Acrolian lute after many years of study and practice.

Solitude
As he grew older, Ziratae graduated from solo instruction in the Force to matriculation at Acrolis's dedicated Forceful academies. During his tenure in residence at these institutions, he readily demonstated a unique predisposition towards the use of stealth-based Force powers like Force stealth, Force mask, and Force conceal. He likewise demonstrated a latent skill in his species's limited shapeshifting abilities. While all Acrolians possessed the genetic mutation governing the alteration of skin and eye color to a limited degree, some were more flexible in the application of the technique and could adopt passingly convincing forms of Humans and some near-Human species. Though not as adept as those talented few who could imitate more complex Humanoid species like the Anzati or pureblood Sith, Ziratae eventually developed a proficiency in shifting into a Human form with minimal effort and pain.

Ziratae spent much of his youth in idle recreation and leisure. Aspiring to a career as a musician, he performed publicly on a regular basis, employing his family's wealth and influence to gain access to recording industry executives. Despite his relatively uneventful upbringing, the young Ziratae's life was shattered by tragedy around the time of his early teens. The elder Lord Ziratae, a general officer in the Acrolian Star Defense Force, was killed in one of the many Vagaari incursions that occurred on the northern borders of the Acrolian Star Empire, and his mother died shortly thereafter. Desirous of revenge and inspired by his father's example, Ziratae elected to abandon his pursuit of the arts in favor of a career in the ASDF.