Wanted to say a couple of things before getting started with the story. Most important first: thank you so much, to each and every one of you for reading. Feedback would absolutely make my day, so I can improve my stories for you. But regardless each pair of eyes makes me happy. I love to write and this is my first time showing my work to the public. The Old Republic is my favorite period in Star Wars, and I hope I can do it justice. The Mandalorian Wars is pretty unexplored, and I wanted to fill some of that in.
Since Disney decanonized Legends, I've made some creative changes. For that reason, the following explainer has spoilers for several Old Republic-era media. If you don't really know anything about Old Republic era lore (or plan on playing KotOR), skip this. It's more for those who are very up-to-speed on this era of Star Wars lore.
*SPOILERS*
(1) The Mandalorian Wars take place over 100 years after the Exar Kun Wars (as opposed to 20 years in Legends). The point was that the Republic had no major wars in its recent memory and was very complacent and lazy in its peacefulness.
(2) The Mandalorians were never manipulated by the Sith into invading the Republic. That decision really peeved me when it came out, and I never agreed. Just because the Sith are bad guys doesn't mean they're responsible for EVERY bad thing that happens in the entire universe. Some things just happen organically. This, to me, is one of them.
(3) The Sith never control Revan and turn him to the dark side. Again, when I learned this from the Revan novel, I was shocked. Revan, one of the most intelligent, powerful, and strategically minded individuals in galactic history, becomes a lap dog for some other Sith lord. Yeah, right. Bungled up one of the best storylines in the SW universe, in my opinion. As above, some things happen organically. Revan's fall to the dark side is one of them - the horrors and power that comes with war can do that to some people. Along with, of course, being shunned by the traditionalists in the Jedi Order.
END SPOILERS
With that being said, read on! I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it.