User:DjMack/Savage Opress

"This is not the work of a Sith Lord, or a Jedi... but a reckless, impulsive animal."

- Obi-Wan Kenobi, referring to Savage Opress

Savage Opress was a male Dathomiri Zabrak who lived as a member of the Nightbrother clan on Dathomir. The brother of Feral, Opress was more commonly remembered as the brother of the Sith Lord Darth Maul. A noble warrior, and one who cared for the well being of his kin, Opress was the leader of one of the Nightbrother tribes, who lived subservient to the Nightsister witches who lived on the other side of Dathomir.

In 21 BBY, in the midst of the Clone Wars, Opress was handpicked by Asajj Ventress, a Nightsister warrior who served as a disciple to Darth Maul's Sith successor, Darth Tyranus, to be physically enhanced by the witchcraft of the Nightsisters after proving his worth in three trials to test his combat capabilities. Opress was then donated to Tyranus as a new apprentice, under the guise of being a complimentary gift from Mother Talzin, the leader of the Nightsisters. In reality, Opress was implanted as a sleeper agent with the intention of killing Tyranus, a vehicle for Ventress' desire for vengeance. Mentally conditioned to obey Ventress, to the point of mindlessly killing his own brother Feral at her command, Opress nevertheless became an ally to Tyranus, single handedly killing two Jedi and a squadron of clone troopers on Devaron. Following several sessions of brutal Sith training, Opress was deployed on a botched mission to abduct King Katuunko of Toydaria, which ended in his accidental murder. When the time came for Ventress to carry out her plot to kill Tyranus, Opress' hatred for both of his masters broke his brainwashing and allowed him to act independently.

A subsequent battle with Dooku, Ventress and the Jedi Knights Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, the latter being the man who apparently killed Darth Maul on Naboo, left Opress wounded. Limping off to Dathomir, Opress turned to Mother Talzin for help. She claimed to Opress that Darth Maul had survived his encounter with Kenobi and was in exile in the Outer Rim. Talzin offered Opress a talisman that would lead him to Maul. Opress embarked on a personal journey to confirm that his brother was alive and to receive his help in destroying both Dooku and Ventress.

Warrior tests
"You have heard of the Sith Warrior, Darth Maul, have you not?''" "Yes... He was slain on Naboo at the hand of Obi-Wan Kenobi." "''A few still remain in his bloodline. The men dwell on the far side of Dathomir. What if I could provide another of his kind?"

- Mother Talzin and Count Dooku

Count Dooku's Sith Master, Darth Sidious, did not trust the growing power of his apprentice' assassin, Asajj Ventress, with the dark side. To prove his complete loyalty to Sidious, Dooku was ordered to eliminate his most trusted and valuable servant. However, following her escape from the Count's execution attempt, Ventress fled to her home planet of Dathomir. She reunited with her fellow Nightsisters and sought vengeance on the Count. Despite their efforts, they failed to kill him in his palace on Serenno, his homeworld.

Ventress then conspired with Mother Talzin in a new plot to get Count Dooku a replacement apprentice that would serve as his protector but eventually become his killer. Talzin contacted Dooku and offered him the chance to take on a male from Dathomir as his new apprentice, as he could not "tame" a female. The Count decided to take her up on the offer.

As soon as Dooku accepted the offer of another apprentice, Ventress went to the Nightbrother village and tested the best warriors there in a series of brutal combat exercises in which the candidates were killed one-by-one. After the tests, Opress was chosen and taken from his village. Mother Talzin and the other Nightsisters then used their powers to transform Opress into the ultimate killing machine who would serve as the Count's new apprentice. In the process, his horns grew, his strength increased, and his hate was fueled. Ventress' final test for Opress was to murder his own brother, Feral. Despite his kinman's pleas for mercy, Opress complied and, after a brief moment of hesitation broke his neck. Talzin then traveled to Serenno beside Naa'leth and Karis in a Sheathipede-class shuttle and introduced Dooku to Opress.

Dooku's new assassin
"I foresee we will do great things together. I shall teach you the ways of the dark side. Soon, your powers will rival that of the great Sith Lord, Darth Maul. We will be even more powerful than Lord Sidious. We shall rule the galaxy together, my apprentice." "I am your servant, Master."

- Darth Tyranus and Savage Opress

Wanting to test Opress as an apprentice, Darth Tyranus sent him to the planet Devaron so that he could seize a Galactic Republic outpost: the Temple of Eedit. During his mission, Opress killed Jedi Knight Halsey, Jedi Padawan Knox and all of their clone troop forces. With the success of his mission, Opress returned to Serenno so that he could continue his training under Tyranus. When he returned, Tyranus declared that together they would become more powerful than Darth Maul and Lord Sidious, and Opress swore loyalty to the Dark Lord.

Mission to Toydaria and duel with Dooku and Ventress
After being subjected to many of Dooku's harsh and brutal tests, Opress was assigned a new mission by Dooku: capture the King of Toydaria and bring him to Dooku alive. Taking off in Dooku's solar sailer, Savage easily landed and penetrated the Toydarian defenses, mercilessly slaughtering every guard who stood in his way. Subduing the King himself, Opress unexpectedly encountered Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, who'd been dispatched by the Jedi Council to take Opress into custody. The two Jedi dueled with Opress, while the King attempted escape, but met death at the hands of Opress' relentless force choking. Opress finally managed to seemingly crush the two Jedi with a hovering platform, and, with the King's corpse in tow, fled Toydaria for an awaiting Separatist dreadnought, but not before destroying the ship of the two Jedi.

Landing aboard the dreadnought, Savage delivered the corpse to his master. The angry Dooku, who'd demanded that the King only be taken alive, unleashed a barrage of force lightning upon Savage, while rebuking him for his foolish actions. At that moment, Ventress arrived to the surprise of Dooku, and, after engaging in a brief battle of witticisms with Dooku, tapped Opress on the forehead and reminded him of his loyalties, while Dooku demanded that Opress attack Ventress. Ultimately, Opress sided with the former and, at Ventress' side, engaged in combat with Dooku. However, he failed to breach Dooku's defenses, upsetting Ventress and causing her to rebuke him as she fought the Count. Angered at his skills being rejected by both of his "masters," Savage betrayed both Dooku and Ventress by force choking them into a brief submission, broken when the two fled through escape hatches in the floor to persist in their battle elsewhere. Abruptly, Savage was now confronted by Anakin and Obi-Wan once more, as the two had managed to follow him to the dreadnought. However, Dooku, after defeating Ventress and forcing her retreat, commanded his battle droids to kill Savage Opress, deeming him a "traitor." However, Opress barely managed to escape the two Jedi and Dooku's battle droids, making his way to Dathomir in Dooku's stolen solar sailer.

Seeking a new Master
After Opress's attempt to kill Tyranus, he headed back to Mother Talzin wounded. Claiming that Ventress had betrayed him Mother Talzin claimed that Savage had a surviving brother in Darth Maul. Maul, despite his apparent death on Naboo, was capable of training Savage. Mother Talzin gave Opress an artifact before he left, allowing him to search for his brother, who Talzin claimed was somewhere in the Outer Rim.

Personality and traits
Originally, Savage Opress was an honorable being, caring greatly for his brother, Feral. He went so far as to abandon his attack on Ventress, risking death in the process, to ensure that Feral was alright. Savage knew and understood that Feral was weaker than he was, and during the selection, told Feral not to draw attention to himself. In what would be their last stand together before Savage's transformation, Savage asked that Ventress spare his brother. This showed that he, at this point, was dedicated to Feral's own life, even if Savage himself was killed. After the Nightsister's rituals transformed him, the former Savage ceased to be, replaced by a violent, psychotic monster.

Indeed, Opress's first act after regaining consciousness was to attempt to strangle Asajj Ventress to death, recognizing her initially as the one who put him through such brutal punishment. His compassion for Feral was also gone, replaced by disgust for his brother's weakness, and he brutally murdered Feral with no remorse and only a moment's hesitation. Upon taking his position as Count Dooku's enforcer, Opress proved himself utterly ruthless, slaughtering every clone trooper in his path and even destroying his own droid allies if they stood in his way. He also expressed contempt and hate for the Jedi, brutally slaying both Halsey and Knox in battle without a second thought and absolutely no hesitation.

As his training under Dooku continued, Opress grew to hate his master, a hate which made the Zabrak stronger in the dark side of the Force. He also showed himself to possess poor impulse control, and was prone to give in to frustration, blindly attacking Dooku during his training and later, murdering King Katuunko when he failed to capture the Toydarian alive. At several points during his brief apprenticeship under Dooku, Opress also displayed something of a defeatist state of mind, disbelieving that he could accomplish a training exercise, and, during his duel with Dooku, did not believe that he could best the Sith Lord.

When Opress discovered that he was nothing but a pawn in Ventress' vendetta against Dooku, the Zabrak warrior was enraged, violently throttling her in pure spite, and attempting to follow her to continue his attack. In his subsequent escape from the Conferate Dreadnought, Opress further expressed his brutality, viciously attacking Kenobi and Skywalker as well as forcefully destroying every droid that got in his way. Upon returning to Dathomir, Opress recognised that he was not powerful enough to destroy his enemies, and sought a new teacher, that he might be trained to obtain his revenge.

Powers and abilities
After becoming the Nightsisters' pawn, Opress developed brute strength and a knack for destruction. Opress was strong in combat, proving capable of surviving the tests he was subjected to, and even putting up resistance to Dark Acolyte Asajj Ventress. After his transformation, Opress's skill remained formidable, but increased. He easily tore his way through a legion of ARF troopers, and besting two Jedi with little difficulty. He also has great skill with an vibroaxe as shown when he used his vibroaxe to easily cut through all the clones in his path and slay the two Jedi.

Behind the scenes
Savage Opress is voiced by voice actor Clancy Brown.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures video game
 * Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures video game