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- "He'll do well, I think."
"He'll die." - ―Ori and Candra Kitai discussing Campion's skills as an uvak wrangler
Campion Dey was an uvak wrangler from the southlands of Keshtah, a continent on the planet Kesh. He was a member of the Lost Tribe of Sith, who were a group of Human Sith that had become stranded on Kesh during the Great Hyperspace War in 5000 BBY. In 3960 BBY, he represented the Kitai family during a rake-riding event that took place in the stadium Korsinata in the city Tahv. During the event, Dey attempted to assassinate Lillia Venn, the Grand Lord of the Lost Tribe of Sith, but his attack failed and he was killed seconds afterwards by the Luzo brothers Flen and Sawj. In reality, this assassination attempt had been staged by Grand Lord Lillia as an opportunity to eliminate her political opponents and to strengthen her own political position by promoting her supporters to the Circle of Lords. Dey's actions triggered a chain reaction of events which led to the exposure of the secret Jedi Jelph Marrian and his starship, the demise of Grand Lord Venn, and ushered in the Time of the Rot, a millennium of anarchy and chaos in the Tribe's history.
Biography
Rake-Riding
- "We're going to have to win sometime."
"Not today." - ―Ori and Candra watching Campion Dey during his last rake-riding game
Campion Dey grew up more than a millennium after the ancestors of the Lost Tribe of Sith led by Captain Yaru Korsin had subjugated the native Keshiri living on Keshtah, a continent in the planet Kesh's southern hemisphere.[2] Campion was an uvak wrangler who specialized in rake-riding, a violent blood sports which pitted flightless uvak, reptilian beasts, and their riders against each other. Uvak used in rake-riding had their wing muscles cut at birth, keeping them permanently grounded. He came from the southlands of the continent and lived near Starfall, which was also the home of his sponsors High Lord Candra Kitai and her daughter Sith Saber Orielle Kitai. He developed a close relationship with the Kitais who sponsored his training and dotted on him. While Campion was competent, he was not regarded as being one of the best rake-riders.[1]
In 3960 BBY, Campion participated in the Donellan's Day rake-riding games, which were attended by several prominent Sith citizens including the reigning Grand Lord Lillia Venn, Candra, Orielle, and Dernas and Pallima, the latter being the leaders of the Red and Gold Factions. While the Grand Lord and her allies, the two Luzo brothers Flen and Sawj Luzo, sponsored two uvak-wranglers, the Kitais only had one entry: Campion. These sporting events were considered to be succession struggles between the rival Sith factions. During the games, the Kitais speculated that Campion did not have a good chance of winning since he was competing against more aggressive and experienced riders. Following the start of the game, Campion and his uvak unexpectedly disengaged from the fray.[1]
Campion then somehow got his uvak steed to leap and fly towards the grandstands. Standing in his saddle, Campion raised his Sith lightsaber and shouted something indecipherable to the crowd. Campion's actions caused much panic and confusion among the Sith and Keshiri spectators. Campion then set the uvak on a gallop towards the Grand Lord's royal box in the grandstand, injuring several spectators in the process. However, Grand Lord Venn used Force lightning to kill Campion's uvak, causing the animal and its rider to fall backward onto the lower seating. Venn's bodyguards Flen and Sawj then descended on the wounded Campion and finished him off with their lightsabers. Campion's actions horrified his sponsors, the Kitai family, who had not staged an assassination attempt on the Grand Lord and were bewildered by his rash actions.[1]
Legacy
- "What happened, Mother?"
"You...you'd better go, Ori." - ―Ori and Candra responding to Campion's failed assassination attempt against Grand Lord Venn
Campion Dey's actions set a chain reaction of events that would alter the course of the Tribe's history. In reality, this assassination attempt had been staged by Grand Lord Lillia as an opportunity to eliminate her political opponents and to strengthen her own political position by promoting her supporters to the Circle of Lords. Firstly, his sponsors, the Kitai family, were reduced to the status of slaves and were stripped of all their former titles, lands, and possessions. His main sponsor, the High Lord Candra Kitai, was coerced into confessing that she had conspired with Dernas and Pallima, the leaders of the Red and Gold Faction, to assassinate Lillia. While the Grand Lord Lillia spared her life, she made a public example of Candra by forcing her to shovel manure in public. Secondly, this political downfall motivated Candra's daughter Orielle Kitai to find a means of restoring her family's status. An opportunity to do so materialized when Orielle discovered that her friend Jelph Marrian was actually an offworld Jedi who had a hyperspace-capable starship, a "Kesh-shaking" technology that would allow the Tribe to return to the stars.[1]
Thirdly, Lillia learnt about Orielle's discovery after the latter's mother betrayed her daughter and sold the information to the Grand Lord in return for "improved working conditions." Seeking to further her ambitions, Lillia traveled to Jelph Marrian's farm where she attempted to seize the starship. However, it had been rigged to an ingenious "anti-theft system", which destroyed the vehicle, its occupant, and Lillia's followers during a violent conflagration. Thus, Dey's actions brought about the demise of Grand Lord Lillia, which would have profound consequences for the successive centuries. Finally, the "disappearance" of Lillia during the so-called Night of the Upside-Down Meteor created an internal power struggle that would last for almost a millennium. This conflict devastated much of Keshtah until the Caretaker Varner Hilts succeeded in ending this conflict and reuniting the Tribe in 3000 BBY.[3]
Personality and traits
Campion Dey was a skilled uvak wrangler who rode flightless uvak that were used in rake-riding, one of the most violent blood sports on Sith-dominated Kesh. As a member of the Lost Tribe, he was Force-sensitive and also knew how to use a lightsaber. He developed a close friendship with his sponsors Lady Candra Kitai and her daughter Orielle Kitai. However, he kept one secret from them: his plan to murder the reigning Grand Lord Lillia Venn. This mad and reckless action led to his death and brought about the downfall of his sponsors.[1]
Behind the scenes
Campion Dey appeared as a minor supporting and non-point-of-view character in John Jackson Miller's eBook Lost Tribe of the Sith: Purgatory, which was released on October 25, 2010. This marks his only known appearance in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. According to an email from Miller dated to January 22 2014, Campion was either set up by Lillia Venn's agents into making a lone-wolf attack on the Grand Lord herself or was flipped by Venn's camp into staging at attack only to find out to his surprise that he had to die in the process.[4]
Appearances
- Lost Tribe of the Sith: Purgatory (First appearance)
