I am Te Na'mirci Mand'alor - Ask Me Anything

[Mandalore the Liberator]

This character is new, and I'm still feeling out his edges (:mischief), so answering things and questions in character would help out a whole bunch with getting him straight.

Also, Mandalorian culture can be a bit of a headache at times, and we're fudging certain things, so I can answer questions on that too. I'll even (try and) do translations too, because that's just the kind of caring and helpful militant overlord that I am.

So yes. Ask away! :dance

[Charley]

Where do you see the Mandalorians fitting in within the power struggle between the Alliance and Empire?

[Mandalore the Liberator]

Where do you see the Mandalorians fitting in within the power struggle between the Alliance and Empire?

As far as political interaction and foreign affairs, neither the Empire nor the Alliance has particularly ingratiated itself with the Mandalorian people. While I personally have an appreciation for the Alliance's efforts to muun'bajir the Empire, and while it is true our current liberty might not have been possible without their existence and actions, their choice to protect the Jedi - our ancient foe - irritates me, as does the exodus our Onderon cousins felt forced into after the Treaty was signed. I would not be as inclined to shoot or run through a member of the Alliance on sight as I would be with an Imperial; but any diplomatic overtures the Alliance makes had better be to Mandalore's considerable benefit, if they expect to have it taken seriously.

Much as it pains me to say it, the New Mandalorians were onto something with their desire for neutrality. Every misguided effort to take sides during the Clone Wars brought disaster; and our history is littered instances where choosing a side in someone else's conflict has led to our cultural demise. Mandalore needs to be selfish and introspective for a while, and when we become active in the galaxy again it should be as leaders, not followers.

[Charley]

Where do you get all of your wonderful mando words. Did Karen Traviss write a full-on Mando dictionary to flick the v's at the trekkies for having a Klingon one?

[Mandalore the Liberator]

She did, and there's a pretty handy version of it online, here (http://www.mandoa.org/)!

There's also stuff about it on her website (http://www.karentraviss.com/page20/page26/page25/), which includes some limited grammar insight and such, though it's a little sketchy. To get the word "Liberator", I had to take the verb mircir (cage), shorten it down to the route mirc, stick a random i back on the end to make it an "agent noun" (her notes don't tell you to do this, I had to "reverse engineer" that grammar rule), and then put na' on the front to make it negative. Literally, Beskade is "Mandalore the Uncager"; there's a lot of "that's close enough" when it comes to Mandalorian, it seems.

My favourite bullshit factoid is that the apostrophes in Mando words - where you pause - have no grammatical meaning, and are just shoved in wherever sounds the coolest.

[Cleo Némain]

:whaa Why are alla ya sa tall?

[Mandalore the Liberator]

I think the more important question is: why does it matter if you aren't?

Mandalorians stop being thought of as children when they reach thirteen, and we are a system of beliefs, not a race: I have known Mandalorians as small as Squibs and Sullustans, or as tall as Trandoshans and Herglics.

It is not the side of the Mandalorian that makes the difference, jetii'ika; it is the size of their heart.

[Kale]

What's your weapon of choice?

[Falcris Ordo]

Have you considered the ramifications of taking in neo-crusader mando'ade from what is now Alliance territory. While I believe our brothers and sisters should go where they please and answer to no one but their own calling, the Empire could see such a force within their own territory to be a prelude to aggression.

[Mandalore the Liberator]

What's your weapon of choice?

I have the Darksaber (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Darksaber_%28lightsaber%29) that Pre Vizsla and Darth Maul used as a symbol of their authority. I had to pry it from the dead hands of the ori'alor when I defeated him on Shedu Maad, but he didn't exactly protest at the time.

That's more of a ceremonial weapon though, and I don't really trust it. I'm usually most comfortable with a beskad (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Beskad) or two; a little on the nose perhaps given what my parents named me, but they're pretty reliable as signature weapons go.


Have you considered the ramifications of taking in neo-crusader mando'ade from what is now Alliance territory. While I believe our brothers and sisters should go where they please and answer to no one but their own calling, the Empire could see such a force within their own territory to be a prelude to aggression.

The Empire can see it as a prelude to anything they want, Sol'yc.

The Neo-Crusaders have been living in isolation away from the Mando'ade for four thousand years. I am allowing them to return home, and no amount of consideration or ramifications will ever convince me that any other course of action is the right one. If the Imperials choose to perceive the Homecoming as a threat, they are more than welcome to try and do something about it.

They'll find Manda'yaim with a little more bite than the last time they tried it, though; lets see how their conquest goes when there aren't any New Mandalorians to deceive.