Post by ThunderBubbles on Jun 14, 2012 12:00:31 GMT -5
Name: Keth Sei’tu
Race: Bothan
Age: 40
Height: 4’ 7”
Weight: 93 lb
Appearance:
Keth is a lean, well-toned Bothan for his size. Due to a balanced regimen of exercise and hand-to-hand practice, he maintains this physique effectively. His fur is really quite thin, giving the impression of being more toned than he really is, and he has a very imposing demeanor for one so short by comparison to the galaxy's other denizens. By default he generally unveils no emotion with his stern black eyes.
Keth has a drawn and wizened face, with black hair and tan fur. His sharp features only accentuate the calm, focused demeanor he holds at all times. His voice is a deep baritone - deeper than most Bothans. It's capable, though, of a soothing deep and comforting tone as easily as it is for rebuking.
Personality:
When near his companions of the Jedi, Keth maintains a stern and disciplined appearance. He feels it is his obligation to present himself as an example of how a righteous Jedi should act. As such he is cool-headed and calm at all times within the Temple walls. When outside the Temple, he must interact with others and their personalities in a way that will bring peace and solve the problem at hand. As such, he opens himself up, letting his true colors shine in a very open, personable and gregarious manner. Many whom he interacts with abroad find him to be a likeable individual and are comfortable around him – the exception being those of villainous intent.
Regardless of his company, however, Keth retains a strong undercurrent of pride in his personality. He is a Bothan, after all. As an accomplished Jedi Knight, he has reason to retain some scraps of pride, but what he maintains is nothing beyond the Jedi way. It is a bit of a vice for him, a small one which will surely follow him throughout his life.
Keth is a Bothan of simple tastes. He enjoys the activities many might dread, such as exercise and meditation, practice, studying and discipline. This does not mean, however, that he is bland. He enjoys the company of others and others typically enjoy his. He's a people person on a personal level, and a stern model Jedi on a public level.
Few things worry him, as a Consular, he is collected and his mind is centered on the Living Force. His primary concerns now are the jeopardy of peace in the galaxy. He feels this is the responsibility of the Jedi to maintain. The Jedi must sacrifice themselves in order to preserve this peace. The difficulty is doing so in a way that they are not ensnared by the Dark Side. If they are too rash and bold, their emotions can trip them. If they are indecisive, their inaction can cripple them. Thorough and patient meditation followed by solid, unyielding action is ideal in Keth's mind. His allegiance to the Jedi Order and the Light Side are unwavering and to violate it would be akin to severance from his own personality. Keth's goals in his lifetime are to see peace in the galaxy, a goal he knows will supersede his own life.
Birth place: Coruscant
Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight: Consular
Lightsaber:
Color:
Blue
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi 1
Soresu 1
Ataru 1
Shien / Djem So 1
>>Sub-form Backhanded
Niman 5
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield
Juyo
Double Bladed Combat
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 7
Telepathic: 5
Body: 5
Sense: 7
Protection: 3
Healing: 6
Destruction: 1
Specialized Skills:
Force Cloak
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 5
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 6
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 7
Melee Weapons: 3
Ranged Weapons: 2
Bio:
Keth was born to the parents Brosk and Felan Sei’tu on the planet Coruscant. It was there in the hospital that they discovered his high midichlorian count. Brosk and Felan understood what this meant and were openly willing to allow their son to become a Jedi, but wanted their time with him nonetheless.
Brosk was a droid repairman, and Felan was a housewife. They lived unexceptional lives, and raised their boy as any family would, disregarding the fact that they would lose him in six short years. They and their families before them had lived on Coruscant for generations. This was the first Jedi their family had seen in the memorable history.
The next six years proceeded simply; little of note took place beyond the fact that Keth learned basic Bothese and Galactic Basic. Walking and potty training were his among his other accomplishments, however, beyond this he only received love and attention from his parents in the few short years he was with them.
He learned a little of the world around him, of the city-scape of Coruscant and of far off planets like Fondor and Corellia. He learned simple things about datapads and speeders. There was little else that could have transpired in the young, home-schooled child's life until he was to join the Jedi.
At six years of age, he went to the Jedi Temple.
From the start, Keth took to the other children with friendliness and social ease. He was quite the talker, though not overly so, preferring his studies and discipline to tomfoolery and peer pressure. As such, he was both teacher’s pet and amiable classmate. The only vice he faced was the natural affliction of pride attributed to all Bothans, in his case, with his social and well-balanced academic successes.
Keth also took a keen interest in the nature of the Force. He loved his classes in Telekinetics, though he did not shy away from lightsaber classes, either. He enjoyed all aspects of Jedi tutelage; however, what intrigued him most was the power of the Force associated with telekinesis. He pushed this as far as he could, but his time was spent in a very well-rounded manner. When he wasn’t studying, he was with friends, when he was with neither, he practiced his Shii-Cho. He enjoyed staying busy because he enjoyed the activities he spent his time on.
He made no best friends, instead many good or close friends were made over the next eight years, who he would remain in touch with as best he could over the years. Beyond this, there isn’t much to tell of Keth’s youngling years. Much of his base character rested in his gregariousness, his pride, love of the Force, joy in the blade and his heart for discipline and focus.
Keth made friends will all variety of individuals. Race, personality, awkwardness or Force Affinity, it didn't matter. The variety of those he met taught him many lessons about people and social skills. Even at the young age, he could bring a smile to the face of even the most hardened of hearts and an arm of comfort to those who would otherwise refuse it. In turn, he often received such kindness in return. This taught Keth a great wisdom for one so young, that every person generally has their own attitudes, desires and personality, and at their core simply want to be recognized for who they are. This realization was much simpler than that, it was more of an understanding than a statement, but deep down, he realized this. From this was planted the seed of the desire to ensure peace in the galaxy. To Keth it became more than what he was taught, but rather an ideal that was nurtured through the teachings of the Jedi and would soon grow from further experience to give him the undying devotion to peace and justice later in life.
The friends he made would catch a glimpse of this vision simply in the way Keth acted. Obviously as children, they had not developed a truly insightful vision such as this, but the seeds were planted within them nonetheless, and Keth - with his very personality - was watering them. His friends, being as varied as they were, show him their young understanding on the world as well. It helped Keth paint a picture of what people are, albeit of a young, inexperienced age.
It didn’t take long before a wizened older Master would take notice of Keth’s unique qualities and request him as his padawan.
63 year old Jedi Master Owen Fanis had never had a padawan before Keth. Instead, he had been promoted to Master by way of skill and dedication to the Jedi Order. This was something new for him and his padawan. Fanis had been through hell and back to receive his Master title. He had been part of numerous missions against mercenary and pirate attacks. His valor and courage in the line of duty - applied with the skill and knowledge of the Force it took to do so as a Consular - granted him the title of Master, though he'd never had a padawan. It was this hands-on experience that Master Fanis carried with him into his instruction of his first padawan.
The two found they made fast friends, with respect to their positions. Keth had traits that every Master might dream of finding within a padawan: a hunger for learning and well-behaved with a keen interest in Force, lightsabers, and philosophy. Keth was not perfect, by any stretch of imagination, because though he desired all of these things and was indeed quite ready to learn them, he was a slow learner up until his late teen years.
Day after day, the advanced skills Master Owen taught to Keth drained him heavily to learn, but his determination kept him strong. For every ounce of difficulty, Keth fought back with twice as much willpower. He would learn, but for a long time, it would take him a while. Master Owen was patient, and for both of their efforts, Keth learned in the same length of time what any mediocre Knight might learn. Mediocrity was not Keth’s style, though.
At the age of eighteen, frustrated and impatient, during Keth’s Niman instruction (the form which Keth sought to eventually master), when he could not get his form right. He deactivated his lightsaber and dropped it on the ground, and walked out without saying a word. Sensing his padawan’s dismay, Owen simply let him go. Keth walked straight to a meditation room, through a hallway of trafficking Jedi – anger thick in his expression and the Force – and went directly to meditating. He had started lightsaber practice in the morning and did not leave the room until late at night. He meditated on his frustrations and his anger. He knew where they came from; they were directed at himself, for his slow learning and for the frustration that made him feel. He felt he had so much potential and loved so much what he learned, but his inability to retain it was driving him away from it. He worked his mind and spirit through that, and though he did not overcome it the first day, with progressive meditations he worked past his impatience and anger in two year’s time. In doing so, he actually had managed by then to overcome the learning block itself. So passed his Trial of Spirit.
At the age of twenty, Keth had learned much in the ways of the Force and was working hard towards the specialization of a Consular. He was nearly a skilled Knight, though as his Master would often remind him, he had much to learn. “There are things only experience can teach,” he would say. This held true during a response to an anonymous tip of illicit activity on Dantooine. Keth and Owen had been sent to investigate, since they were already on-planet visiting the Enclave. A collection of pirates and ex-mercenaries had taken refuge in nearby caves, robbing, extorting and terrorizing nearby settlements in the night, but had yet to be caught. The pair tracked down the mercenaries who had taken refuge in a cave. Unbeknownst to the two, there were far more mercs involved than had been reported. They sensed danger, but they did not realize how heavily outmatched they'd been. By the time they'd discovered the true numbers, it was too late, the trap had been sprung. The Master and Padawan were separated and guarded.
They placed the two in cuffs and sent them to different “prisons” within the cave, to be guarded until their fate was decided. By the cruel hand of fate, many of the gang held heavy anti-human sentiment, and later in the night came and beat Keth heavily. The rest of the bandits didn’t seem much to mind such treatment. As far as they knew, no one else knew of the Jedi’s presence on Dantooine. They were mistaken. For three nights the beatings continued, to where Keth was within an inch of his life and without the Force to sustain him, it was almost too much. He was ready to give up hope. That last night he slipped into unconsciousness, and when he awoke, he was on a Republic ship bound for Coruscant. Apparently, Owen had informed a friend before their departure of where they had gone, and when they hadn’t returned for so long on such a simple quest, they’d realized something must have certainly gone wrong. Keth didn’t learn much else about the bandits, other than that the few who’d survived his rescue were now behind bars for the rest of their lives. Through his devotion to the Force and the Jedi Code, he forgave them, and let go of his anger for their abuse towards him, albeit not immediately, but quickly. Having survived such a hate-filled abuse, such pain is not easily forgiven. The knowledge of the destructive capacity of festering anger kept him from retaining it for too long. The lesson stuck with him though. The Jedi are not all-powerful. They can fall. So piqued his interest in the unarmed arts, and so too did he pass his Trial of Flesh.
Not long after this, Owen decided it was time for Keth to learn to craft his lightsaber. Due to Keth's struggle, they had held off such a ceremonial event until he had found peace within himself and could create his tool of justice as it was meant to be. They had both agreed on this. Many months of instruction went into this practice, Keth was determined to succeed and to manage the feat all on his own. When the knowledge had been fully imparted, and Keth was prepared to take to the task, he began. Little by little he worked away until a month and a half later and he had constructed a basic, simple and elegant lightsaber. Many, Keth knew, worked hard to create a work of art, and fully unique lightsaber with eccentric oddities on them, so he decided that the most unique lightsaber one could make was one that was actually the simplest. After all, it was the warrior behind the blade that mattered.
When Keth was twenty-one years of age - nearing his 22nd soon - he and Owen intercepted a rogue Dark Jedi on a visit to Onderon. The Jedi was apparently skilled in confusing his affiliation and ties with the Force, as he blended in with the inhabitants of the planet. Keth and Owen had been setting a shipping dispute that had been blown way out of proportion, to the point that violence might take place. When it seemed the matter had been settled, the Zabrak man who had threatened violence in the dispute suddenly drew a lightsaber from the folds of his robes and assailed Keth. Not one to be trifled with, Keth immediately drew his own weapon, which ignited in just enough time to catch the blade of his enemy. Owen reared up his own green blade and brought it down to bear on the fighting Dark Jedi, but he simply flashed another lightsaber from his sleeve and ignited it, catching Owen’s blade with his own. The trio were now engaged in combat in a single-file line, but it was clear the Zabrak could not hold his own against the two. Though Owen was old – by now in his late 60’s – and Keth was in-training, Keth was young and spry, while Owen was wise and experienced. Before long, and after many attempts to Force Push the two away in order to gain the upper hand, the Zabrak surrendered and was apprehended . As it so happened, he was extremely mentally confused and his views had recently been shattered, he was in a state of mind that he earnestly believed he could defeat the two Jedi. So it was that Keth passed his Trial of Courage.
Not long after his Trial of Courage, Keth stood before the Council to receive their verdict on his knighthood. Though no specific incident for his Trial of Skill truly stood out, they allowed him to face an already accepted knight in simulated combat with a training lightsaber. Keth managed to defeat his opponent and so win the Council's decision.
So passed Keth into knighthood.
Keth’s next few years were filled with excursions to the outside universe, most - if not all - of which were assignments given by the Council. Rarely was there a time when he was within the walls of the Temple. While he still had many friends and comrades within the ranks of the Jedi, he also had a new-found freedom and the chance to explore and experience the galaxy in a way that he had never had before. This world of opportunity was all-too appealing to Keth, and he learned much in these few years. He picked up a firm grasp on many languages, including Shyriiwook and his own tongue of Bothese. He learned about ship maintenance, how to fire and maintain a pistol (though he was a horrible shot), riding various creatures, and a general insider’s insight of most every planet excluding those in the Outer Rim. His wanderlust knew few bounds for the next eight years.
He crammed his spare moments with exercise and pushed his limits with Telekinesis practice. He always took time to meditate the moment he felt overwhelmed, though. A trait he had picked up in his padawan days. When he wasn’t abroad, he was cutting up with the Jedi of the Temple, and frequenting the Battlemaster for instruction in every form of Jedi lightsaber combat, however, he sought only to learn the basics. The form he spent most of his time refining with the Battlemaster, was Niman, however. He planned to create his variant involving Push and Pull techniques, as well as manipulating his environment in combat, being that Niman was a form designed for adaptation. Niman was balanced, like himself.
In his Knighthood, Keth rarely encountered any Dark Jedi, though he met many bounty hunters, smugglers, pirates and mercenaries – a sizable portion of which aimed to kill him upon meeting – he only ever once encountered a Dark Jedi, when he was 26 years old. The Dark side follower did not at all attempt to minimize his presence in the Force and showed little sign of ill-will upon Keth. He simply sat at the bar sipping his drink on Tatooine, a sense-cloud of the Dark side spiraling around him. Keth approached him, bewildered. In but a few short sentences, he discovered a human who had given up hope. He thought his ambitions would be realized when he left the Jedi, but his dreams were crushed over the course of a few years. The Dark side had not satisfied him, the Light side had not been enough for him, he was simply drifting through the rest of his life feeding on anger, the Force and Juma Juice. Keth left him; as far as he knew, he was committing no crimes and from his words he had no intention of ever doing so.
Before Keth had reached his ship, Keth’s sense kicked in. Just at the edge of the spaceport, the Dark Jedi was Force Choking a bewildered Bith pilot. Keth charged in, lightsaber drawn and demanded that the Bith be released. Just before he reached the Dark Jedi, he dropped the pilot and drew his lightsaber and a blaster pistol. He fired it into the Bith’s leg and fought against Keth, using the blaster as part of his form. The form was fairly clumsy, however, and before long, Keth had Force Pushed the pistol out of the Dark Jedi’s hand and pressed his advantage. Just as he disarmed the Dark Jedi with a cut to his wrist and was prepared to apprehend him, he Pulled the blaster back to his hand and fired into his own head, before Keth could react. It would be the only time in those eight years when he would encounter a Dark Jedi, and it was the most shocking and disturbing of any event he’d witnessed. It taught him what they were capable of and how they functioned, yet the more he thought about it, the less it made sense.
Before he left, he tried to treat the wounds of the Bith, but he was unskilled with healing and knew little first aid. He was forced to leave the Bith after calling for aid from local authorities and so returned to the Temple. This bothered Keth heavily throughout the years so much so that when he reached the age of 30, he sought training in the techniques of Force Healing.
During these years, Keth remained very interested in unarmed combat, since the episode on Dantooine, he knew he could not always rely on the Force or a lightsaber and would need more than simple Broken Gate to defend himself. He learned a variety of mixed martial arts both in the Temple and abroad when he could, but most of the instruction he sought was out of the Temple walls, where the true experts in hand-to-hand combat were – with those who had no connection to the Force. These techniques and practices he tied into his exercise regimens during travel. He had a reason to learn them; he had motivation and on more than one occasion, found the skill to be very useful. As with all else, he practiced hands-on learning with hand-to-hand combat.
With each passing year, Keth grew bolder and bolder, relinquishing his discipline for a free-spirited nature. He was always respectful, but he was soon growing deeply into his studies and adventure so heavily - loosening up due to an excess of freespiritedness - that he did not retain any structure or focus and in some cases reverted to informality around those with whom he would have normally been formal with. This was until not long after he had turned 30, a friend insisted upon him that he would make a great Master, but was squandering it in pursuit of whatever it was he was looking for. He believed that if Keth could prove himself, he could attain the title of Master. He just needed to impress the Council and show great promise over the years. Because his Master before him had succeeded in this same feat, surely he could do the same. This was all the motivation Keth needed to see what he could do.
Keth jumped back on track with routine and focus. He continued meeting with the Battlemaster until he had mastered Niman (and continued to keep a running understanding of the other forms as well), and initiated instruction with Jedi Healers as well, so that he would have an average grasp on the skills of healing, picking up on the interest. He found it to be constructive interest to maintain and develop and be looked upon well by the Council. He knew it wasn’t his mish-mash of skills that the Council had rebuked him for, but his social and behavioral traits. He spent more time in the Temple looking after those younger and seeking the advice and wisdom of those older than he. All this time he had been concerned about learning by experience, that he did not realize that it was the only means of learning. He found there was much for him in the Temple as well.
Of course he continued his excursions to the galaxy, to continue missions for the Order, hone his unarmed combat and preserve peace. More and more often he chose missions with others of the Order rather than solo missions, which had done the majority of the time only a few years prior. His demeanor shifted slowly into a stern and sensible Jedi, rather than that of a playful Knight. While there was nothing wrong in the way he acted, he felt deep down that a true Master was calm and serious, that the outside should reflect the collected and wise Master on the inside. In private, he kept to his gregarious and joyful self, but elsewhere, he was working to become a Jedi Master.
Due to the fact he would be working toward Masterhood without a padawan, he realized he needed to prove in some way that he was worthy of the Master title. He sought out younglings who wished to learn what he could teach them and various other padawans as well. He proved to be a wise and effective mentor, though by no stretch of the imagination an instructor.
No event had brought the curiosity to his mind, or even a story he’d overheard, but Keth discovered word of the technique of Force Cloak and immediately was interested in how it might be done. He sought the instruction of Jedi Shadows who were skilled in its application and committed to learning it right away. It was a skill that felt in some ways cowardly to him, when he learned of how to manipulate to Force to conceal himself. In some ways, it went against his nature and so made it much more difficult to learn. He took this as a challenge to himself. He knew the skill would be useful in many ways, and if he could overcome the struggle of learning something that was so diametrically opposed to who he was, he felt it would help him grow. In some ways, it was his own personal post-Trial of Spirit. This drive only pushed him to try harder, as if he was a padawan once more, learning to overcome the challenges of the universe around him by first overcoming himself. He certainly didn’t learn the skill in those five years, but continued to practice and work towards it regardless.
Keth was always a heavy practitioner in the arts of Force powers, while he had no qualms or difficulties with lightsaber combat, he relied most often on the Force in dire situations. One such instance would become a viral tale around the Temple for a number of months, though he remained humble about it. He had been visiting a village on Alderaan situated just under a mountain. He had heard tales of a man skilled in unarmed combat, and what he'd heard intrigued him. The styled seemed similar to that of what Keth was interested in, which taught that using joints, particularly fists and elbows as its primary means of dishing out pain and incapacitating. As he made his way there, a powerful rumble shook the ground - a small, yet destructive landslide. Acting quickly, Keth rushed toward the landslide rather than away, and began to center himself immediately outside the village. He he acted in the flow of the Force, he could divert the boulders away from the village.
The first few rocks were smaller, and he waved them away with flicks of the wrist, but then came the brunt of the rocky wave. With the greatest of concentration, Keth created a powerful Push diving right down the middle of the boulders and pushed them around the small village. While people were screaming and fleeing their homes with the roar of heavy rocks rumbling down the mountainside, Keth heard none of it. He was too centered and focused within the Force to hear or feel anything more than the relocation of rocks. Sweat ran down his face in rivulets, and his stance was growing tired as he seemed to use the Push of the Force to swim through the boulders, pushing them aside as they made their descent. Just nearing the end of the landslide, he proceeded to create a two-handed Push of equal force with a Push to essentially stop the last of the boulders just on the edge of the village. A large "C" shape of rocks and boulders now rested on the perimeter of the village, and save a few broken fences, the village remained undamaged. The entire event lasted no more than fifteen seconds. While the feat did little in the way of preserving the galaxy, when word got out of Keth's skill and bravery for so little a populace, needless to say that many were quite impressed. If Keth was asked, he'd simply state he'd hope never to do that again. It some ways, Keth considered it his Trial of Skill.
When Keth was about 35 years old, he found himself captured at the hands of pirates. They'd intercepted his ship in transit in the Outer Rim making their way to Mustafar from Geonosis. As a transport ship with minimal weaponry, they were quite powerless against the surprise attack of the well-armed pirates and surrendered. From the start, Keth knew that these men were bigoted towards his race from the way they spoke to him. Taking the rest of the soldiers on board hostage, they demanded Keth's lightsaber, which he handed over reluctantly. As soon as he did so, one of the Trandoshan men smashed his blaster rifle butt into both of Keth's kneecaps - breaking his legs - and had him dragged to a prison cell on their ship. Their plan was to negotiate a hostage situation for a ransom.
While imprisoned, Keth healed his wounds, but found he could only do so much and he couldn't walk without support. Not long after, some of the men visited Keth in his cell. They paid particular attention to Keth's tender knees in their abuse, and they left him on the brink of death. It was through his above average skills in healing and sustaining himself on the Force that he managed to survive until the distress call they sent through their transport ship could reach help and help arrived. A Republic fleet happened to be patrolling nearby and overpowered the pirates before they could react. Again, Keth was forced to come to terms with those who had wronged him. Not only once had irrational hate nearly killed him, but twice. Coming to grips with the suffering he'd faced at their hands, disposing of the anger he held for people who hated and assaulted him for nothing more than his race, was even more difficult than the first time had been. He had never known such pain, either, making it that much more difficult to forgive. Keth was older now, and wiser, and so it helped him to overcome. In a sense, this was his second Trial of the Flesh, and he'd succeeded.
Many other traumatic missions followed that he'd been sent by the Council to perform, and each one was as successful as the last. Each one taught him something new about himself and the galaxy, though his interactions with Dark Jedi remained limited. He was quite curious how he might fare should he ever engage one in combat, though he wished he wouldn't have to. At this point in his life, also, he continued his express interest in unarmed combat, seeking instruction from various martial artists who leaned toward his style of fist and elbow blunt attacks and defenses. He synthesized every technique he learned from these masters he sought out into his own style, making him less predictable to those versed in specific arts of hand-to-hand combat. His art was open-minded like Niman, in ways that it allowed for improvisation, such as Force powers. He practiced with it nearly as often as he did his Telekinesis, determined that his lightsaber and sheer Force would never be his only source of defense. As a Consular, he was insightful, and sought knowledge in all its forms, after all.
At about the age of 36, Keth slowed down in his campaigning across the galaxy. He knew that experience could come from the Temple as easily as it could abroad, and so decided to spend his time equally in both.
For the next five years, war and thought pervaded the already full life of Keth Sei'Tu.
Keth continued as he always had and those skills that he worked hard to learn, he continued to hone and refine even further. He stayed polished on the basics of every lightsaber form, hopefully he could use the knowledge to his advantage should he cross paths with another Dark Jedi. He worked to retain average skill as a healer. He was never exceptional, but he could close a good number of wounds, mend burns and reduce pain. Slowly but surely, at about 38, he had mastered the skill of Force Cloak.
With what free time he had, he would meet with younglings and fellow Knights alike to engage in conversation and philosophy. By now, he had developed his stern demeanor around the Temple while also maintaining a friendly and inviting personality abroad. He wore the skin and presence of a devout Knight, and within beat the heart of a joyous, friendly Jedi. Aside from these things, he exercised more (he was getting older, after all) and practiced existing skills to stay sharp.
Life was simple and plain, it was about this time that news of the War was spreading and the Supreme Chancellor would declare war on the Sith Empire. Keth was indecisive for the first time in his life. On one hand, the threat was very real and powerful, on the other, there were many unknown factors. Was it even the place of the Jedi to intervene on such a large scale? They weren’t soldiers, they were defenders of peace.
He meditated the more in these five years than he had his whole life, and apparently, he wasn’t alone. It seemed the meditation rooms were a little more crowded these days. War was a tricky subject. He knew he would be called upon at some point to throw his hat in the ring, it was only a matter of time.
So he continued to nonchalantly refine and practice and strengthen the skills he’d spent a lifetime learning, all the while hoping that the day would not soon come when he would need every one of them to protect the galaxy. It seems, however, that that day has finally come.
RP Sample:
”For the last time, put your blasters down so we can talk this over,” Keth said to the three trandoshan mercenaries who had taken hostage a very confused Rodian.
The big one in red armor shook his head and said nothing. This could go on forever if something wasn’t done. He would have to incapacitate them somehow, but without hurting them. The problem here was that they were trandoshans…
”If you won’t settle this the easy way, then – “ Keth started, but cut himself off as he called upon the Force and raised his hands directly at the trandoshans on the left and right. The trandoshan in the center, with his back to the hostage, raised his blaster in preparation to fire, but Keth somersaulted forward out of the line of fire and leaped up to the trando boss. Using the Force behind his palm, he slapped the blaster rifle from the mercenary’s hands and proceeded to then dodge the incoming hail of attacks from his assailant.
The others would soon regain their bearings and then the situation would really get tricky. While he was excellent at hand-to-hand, the brute strength of the combatant in front of him was nothing to sneeze at. It was a fair fight, he needed the upper hand. With quick thinking, he ducked under a haymaker to the face and with the trandoshan reeling for a moment, he stepped behind him and projected Force Cloak. Invisible now, he rushed to the Rodian who sat with his hands over his head in fear and pushing the Force to give off an air of calmness, whispered to him and took his hand, pulling him away from the frenzied and confused trandoshans. The confusion spent searching for the furry Bothan Jedi gave the Rodian the time he needed to escape.
Due to the fact that Force Cloak was an extremely taxing skill to use, and because he’d accomplished what he’d needed, Keth deactivated the power and spoke to the trandoshans now a few yards away:
”It seems you’ve lost your upperhand…”
With no hostage, and no reason to fight a Jedi, the trandoshans shouted in grunts of rage and retreated. Local law enforcement would catch up with them before they got the chance to escape.
Race: Bothan
Age: 40
Height: 4’ 7”
Weight: 93 lb
Appearance:
Keth is a lean, well-toned Bothan for his size. Due to a balanced regimen of exercise and hand-to-hand practice, he maintains this physique effectively. His fur is really quite thin, giving the impression of being more toned than he really is, and he has a very imposing demeanor for one so short by comparison to the galaxy's other denizens. By default he generally unveils no emotion with his stern black eyes.
Keth has a drawn and wizened face, with black hair and tan fur. His sharp features only accentuate the calm, focused demeanor he holds at all times. His voice is a deep baritone - deeper than most Bothans. It's capable, though, of a soothing deep and comforting tone as easily as it is for rebuking.
Personality:
When near his companions of the Jedi, Keth maintains a stern and disciplined appearance. He feels it is his obligation to present himself as an example of how a righteous Jedi should act. As such he is cool-headed and calm at all times within the Temple walls. When outside the Temple, he must interact with others and their personalities in a way that will bring peace and solve the problem at hand. As such, he opens himself up, letting his true colors shine in a very open, personable and gregarious manner. Many whom he interacts with abroad find him to be a likeable individual and are comfortable around him – the exception being those of villainous intent.
Regardless of his company, however, Keth retains a strong undercurrent of pride in his personality. He is a Bothan, after all. As an accomplished Jedi Knight, he has reason to retain some scraps of pride, but what he maintains is nothing beyond the Jedi way. It is a bit of a vice for him, a small one which will surely follow him throughout his life.
Keth is a Bothan of simple tastes. He enjoys the activities many might dread, such as exercise and meditation, practice, studying and discipline. This does not mean, however, that he is bland. He enjoys the company of others and others typically enjoy his. He's a people person on a personal level, and a stern model Jedi on a public level.
Few things worry him, as a Consular, he is collected and his mind is centered on the Living Force. His primary concerns now are the jeopardy of peace in the galaxy. He feels this is the responsibility of the Jedi to maintain. The Jedi must sacrifice themselves in order to preserve this peace. The difficulty is doing so in a way that they are not ensnared by the Dark Side. If they are too rash and bold, their emotions can trip them. If they are indecisive, their inaction can cripple them. Thorough and patient meditation followed by solid, unyielding action is ideal in Keth's mind. His allegiance to the Jedi Order and the Light Side are unwavering and to violate it would be akin to severance from his own personality. Keth's goals in his lifetime are to see peace in the galaxy, a goal he knows will supersede his own life.
Birth place: Coruscant
Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight: Consular
Lightsaber:
Color:
Blue
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi 1
Soresu 1
Ataru 1
Shien / Djem So 1
>>Sub-form Backhanded
Niman 5
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield
Juyo
Double Bladed Combat
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 7
Telepathic: 5
Body: 5
Sense: 7
Protection: 3
Healing: 6
Destruction: 1
Specialized Skills:
Force Cloak
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 5
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 6
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 7
Melee Weapons: 3
Ranged Weapons: 2
Bio:
Birth to Age 6
Keth was born to the parents Brosk and Felan Sei’tu on the planet Coruscant. It was there in the hospital that they discovered his high midichlorian count. Brosk and Felan understood what this meant and were openly willing to allow their son to become a Jedi, but wanted their time with him nonetheless.
Brosk was a droid repairman, and Felan was a housewife. They lived unexceptional lives, and raised their boy as any family would, disregarding the fact that they would lose him in six short years. They and their families before them had lived on Coruscant for generations. This was the first Jedi their family had seen in the memorable history.
The next six years proceeded simply; little of note took place beyond the fact that Keth learned basic Bothese and Galactic Basic. Walking and potty training were his among his other accomplishments, however, beyond this he only received love and attention from his parents in the few short years he was with them.
He learned a little of the world around him, of the city-scape of Coruscant and of far off planets like Fondor and Corellia. He learned simple things about datapads and speeders. There was little else that could have transpired in the young, home-schooled child's life until he was to join the Jedi.
At six years of age, he went to the Jedi Temple.
Ages 6 – 12
From the start, Keth took to the other children with friendliness and social ease. He was quite the talker, though not overly so, preferring his studies and discipline to tomfoolery and peer pressure. As such, he was both teacher’s pet and amiable classmate. The only vice he faced was the natural affliction of pride attributed to all Bothans, in his case, with his social and well-balanced academic successes.
Keth also took a keen interest in the nature of the Force. He loved his classes in Telekinetics, though he did not shy away from lightsaber classes, either. He enjoyed all aspects of Jedi tutelage; however, what intrigued him most was the power of the Force associated with telekinesis. He pushed this as far as he could, but his time was spent in a very well-rounded manner. When he wasn’t studying, he was with friends, when he was with neither, he practiced his Shii-Cho. He enjoyed staying busy because he enjoyed the activities he spent his time on.
He made no best friends, instead many good or close friends were made over the next eight years, who he would remain in touch with as best he could over the years. Beyond this, there isn’t much to tell of Keth’s youngling years. Much of his base character rested in his gregariousness, his pride, love of the Force, joy in the blade and his heart for discipline and focus.
Keth made friends will all variety of individuals. Race, personality, awkwardness or Force Affinity, it didn't matter. The variety of those he met taught him many lessons about people and social skills. Even at the young age, he could bring a smile to the face of even the most hardened of hearts and an arm of comfort to those who would otherwise refuse it. In turn, he often received such kindness in return. This taught Keth a great wisdom for one so young, that every person generally has their own attitudes, desires and personality, and at their core simply want to be recognized for who they are. This realization was much simpler than that, it was more of an understanding than a statement, but deep down, he realized this. From this was planted the seed of the desire to ensure peace in the galaxy. To Keth it became more than what he was taught, but rather an ideal that was nurtured through the teachings of the Jedi and would soon grow from further experience to give him the undying devotion to peace and justice later in life.
The friends he made would catch a glimpse of this vision simply in the way Keth acted. Obviously as children, they had not developed a truly insightful vision such as this, but the seeds were planted within them nonetheless, and Keth - with his very personality - was watering them. His friends, being as varied as they were, show him their young understanding on the world as well. It helped Keth paint a picture of what people are, albeit of a young, inexperienced age.
It didn’t take long before a wizened older Master would take notice of Keth’s unique qualities and request him as his padawan.
Ages 12 to 22
63 year old Jedi Master Owen Fanis had never had a padawan before Keth. Instead, he had been promoted to Master by way of skill and dedication to the Jedi Order. This was something new for him and his padawan. Fanis had been through hell and back to receive his Master title. He had been part of numerous missions against mercenary and pirate attacks. His valor and courage in the line of duty - applied with the skill and knowledge of the Force it took to do so as a Consular - granted him the title of Master, though he'd never had a padawan. It was this hands-on experience that Master Fanis carried with him into his instruction of his first padawan.
The two found they made fast friends, with respect to their positions. Keth had traits that every Master might dream of finding within a padawan: a hunger for learning and well-behaved with a keen interest in Force, lightsabers, and philosophy. Keth was not perfect, by any stretch of imagination, because though he desired all of these things and was indeed quite ready to learn them, he was a slow learner up until his late teen years.
Day after day, the advanced skills Master Owen taught to Keth drained him heavily to learn, but his determination kept him strong. For every ounce of difficulty, Keth fought back with twice as much willpower. He would learn, but for a long time, it would take him a while. Master Owen was patient, and for both of their efforts, Keth learned in the same length of time what any mediocre Knight might learn. Mediocrity was not Keth’s style, though.
At the age of eighteen, frustrated and impatient, during Keth’s Niman instruction (the form which Keth sought to eventually master), when he could not get his form right. He deactivated his lightsaber and dropped it on the ground, and walked out without saying a word. Sensing his padawan’s dismay, Owen simply let him go. Keth walked straight to a meditation room, through a hallway of trafficking Jedi – anger thick in his expression and the Force – and went directly to meditating. He had started lightsaber practice in the morning and did not leave the room until late at night. He meditated on his frustrations and his anger. He knew where they came from; they were directed at himself, for his slow learning and for the frustration that made him feel. He felt he had so much potential and loved so much what he learned, but his inability to retain it was driving him away from it. He worked his mind and spirit through that, and though he did not overcome it the first day, with progressive meditations he worked past his impatience and anger in two year’s time. In doing so, he actually had managed by then to overcome the learning block itself. So passed his Trial of Spirit.
At the age of twenty, Keth had learned much in the ways of the Force and was working hard towards the specialization of a Consular. He was nearly a skilled Knight, though as his Master would often remind him, he had much to learn. “There are things only experience can teach,” he would say. This held true during a response to an anonymous tip of illicit activity on Dantooine. Keth and Owen had been sent to investigate, since they were already on-planet visiting the Enclave. A collection of pirates and ex-mercenaries had taken refuge in nearby caves, robbing, extorting and terrorizing nearby settlements in the night, but had yet to be caught. The pair tracked down the mercenaries who had taken refuge in a cave. Unbeknownst to the two, there were far more mercs involved than had been reported. They sensed danger, but they did not realize how heavily outmatched they'd been. By the time they'd discovered the true numbers, it was too late, the trap had been sprung. The Master and Padawan were separated and guarded.
They placed the two in cuffs and sent them to different “prisons” within the cave, to be guarded until their fate was decided. By the cruel hand of fate, many of the gang held heavy anti-human sentiment, and later in the night came and beat Keth heavily. The rest of the bandits didn’t seem much to mind such treatment. As far as they knew, no one else knew of the Jedi’s presence on Dantooine. They were mistaken. For three nights the beatings continued, to where Keth was within an inch of his life and without the Force to sustain him, it was almost too much. He was ready to give up hope. That last night he slipped into unconsciousness, and when he awoke, he was on a Republic ship bound for Coruscant. Apparently, Owen had informed a friend before their departure of where they had gone, and when they hadn’t returned for so long on such a simple quest, they’d realized something must have certainly gone wrong. Keth didn’t learn much else about the bandits, other than that the few who’d survived his rescue were now behind bars for the rest of their lives. Through his devotion to the Force and the Jedi Code, he forgave them, and let go of his anger for their abuse towards him, albeit not immediately, but quickly. Having survived such a hate-filled abuse, such pain is not easily forgiven. The knowledge of the destructive capacity of festering anger kept him from retaining it for too long. The lesson stuck with him though. The Jedi are not all-powerful. They can fall. So piqued his interest in the unarmed arts, and so too did he pass his Trial of Flesh.
Not long after this, Owen decided it was time for Keth to learn to craft his lightsaber. Due to Keth's struggle, they had held off such a ceremonial event until he had found peace within himself and could create his tool of justice as it was meant to be. They had both agreed on this. Many months of instruction went into this practice, Keth was determined to succeed and to manage the feat all on his own. When the knowledge had been fully imparted, and Keth was prepared to take to the task, he began. Little by little he worked away until a month and a half later and he had constructed a basic, simple and elegant lightsaber. Many, Keth knew, worked hard to create a work of art, and fully unique lightsaber with eccentric oddities on them, so he decided that the most unique lightsaber one could make was one that was actually the simplest. After all, it was the warrior behind the blade that mattered.
When Keth was twenty-one years of age - nearing his 22nd soon - he and Owen intercepted a rogue Dark Jedi on a visit to Onderon. The Jedi was apparently skilled in confusing his affiliation and ties with the Force, as he blended in with the inhabitants of the planet. Keth and Owen had been setting a shipping dispute that had been blown way out of proportion, to the point that violence might take place. When it seemed the matter had been settled, the Zabrak man who had threatened violence in the dispute suddenly drew a lightsaber from the folds of his robes and assailed Keth. Not one to be trifled with, Keth immediately drew his own weapon, which ignited in just enough time to catch the blade of his enemy. Owen reared up his own green blade and brought it down to bear on the fighting Dark Jedi, but he simply flashed another lightsaber from his sleeve and ignited it, catching Owen’s blade with his own. The trio were now engaged in combat in a single-file line, but it was clear the Zabrak could not hold his own against the two. Though Owen was old – by now in his late 60’s – and Keth was in-training, Keth was young and spry, while Owen was wise and experienced. Before long, and after many attempts to Force Push the two away in order to gain the upper hand, the Zabrak surrendered and was apprehended . As it so happened, he was extremely mentally confused and his views had recently been shattered, he was in a state of mind that he earnestly believed he could defeat the two Jedi. So it was that Keth passed his Trial of Courage.
Not long after his Trial of Courage, Keth stood before the Council to receive their verdict on his knighthood. Though no specific incident for his Trial of Skill truly stood out, they allowed him to face an already accepted knight in simulated combat with a training lightsaber. Keth managed to defeat his opponent and so win the Council's decision.
So passed Keth into knighthood.
Ages 22 – 30
Keth’s next few years were filled with excursions to the outside universe, most - if not all - of which were assignments given by the Council. Rarely was there a time when he was within the walls of the Temple. While he still had many friends and comrades within the ranks of the Jedi, he also had a new-found freedom and the chance to explore and experience the galaxy in a way that he had never had before. This world of opportunity was all-too appealing to Keth, and he learned much in these few years. He picked up a firm grasp on many languages, including Shyriiwook and his own tongue of Bothese. He learned about ship maintenance, how to fire and maintain a pistol (though he was a horrible shot), riding various creatures, and a general insider’s insight of most every planet excluding those in the Outer Rim. His wanderlust knew few bounds for the next eight years.
He crammed his spare moments with exercise and pushed his limits with Telekinesis practice. He always took time to meditate the moment he felt overwhelmed, though. A trait he had picked up in his padawan days. When he wasn’t abroad, he was cutting up with the Jedi of the Temple, and frequenting the Battlemaster for instruction in every form of Jedi lightsaber combat, however, he sought only to learn the basics. The form he spent most of his time refining with the Battlemaster, was Niman, however. He planned to create his variant involving Push and Pull techniques, as well as manipulating his environment in combat, being that Niman was a form designed for adaptation. Niman was balanced, like himself.
In his Knighthood, Keth rarely encountered any Dark Jedi, though he met many bounty hunters, smugglers, pirates and mercenaries – a sizable portion of which aimed to kill him upon meeting – he only ever once encountered a Dark Jedi, when he was 26 years old. The Dark side follower did not at all attempt to minimize his presence in the Force and showed little sign of ill-will upon Keth. He simply sat at the bar sipping his drink on Tatooine, a sense-cloud of the Dark side spiraling around him. Keth approached him, bewildered. In but a few short sentences, he discovered a human who had given up hope. He thought his ambitions would be realized when he left the Jedi, but his dreams were crushed over the course of a few years. The Dark side had not satisfied him, the Light side had not been enough for him, he was simply drifting through the rest of his life feeding on anger, the Force and Juma Juice. Keth left him; as far as he knew, he was committing no crimes and from his words he had no intention of ever doing so.
Before Keth had reached his ship, Keth’s sense kicked in. Just at the edge of the spaceport, the Dark Jedi was Force Choking a bewildered Bith pilot. Keth charged in, lightsaber drawn and demanded that the Bith be released. Just before he reached the Dark Jedi, he dropped the pilot and drew his lightsaber and a blaster pistol. He fired it into the Bith’s leg and fought against Keth, using the blaster as part of his form. The form was fairly clumsy, however, and before long, Keth had Force Pushed the pistol out of the Dark Jedi’s hand and pressed his advantage. Just as he disarmed the Dark Jedi with a cut to his wrist and was prepared to apprehend him, he Pulled the blaster back to his hand and fired into his own head, before Keth could react. It would be the only time in those eight years when he would encounter a Dark Jedi, and it was the most shocking and disturbing of any event he’d witnessed. It taught him what they were capable of and how they functioned, yet the more he thought about it, the less it made sense.
Before he left, he tried to treat the wounds of the Bith, but he was unskilled with healing and knew little first aid. He was forced to leave the Bith after calling for aid from local authorities and so returned to the Temple. This bothered Keth heavily throughout the years so much so that when he reached the age of 30, he sought training in the techniques of Force Healing.
During these years, Keth remained very interested in unarmed combat, since the episode on Dantooine, he knew he could not always rely on the Force or a lightsaber and would need more than simple Broken Gate to defend himself. He learned a variety of mixed martial arts both in the Temple and abroad when he could, but most of the instruction he sought was out of the Temple walls, where the true experts in hand-to-hand combat were – with those who had no connection to the Force. These techniques and practices he tied into his exercise regimens during travel. He had a reason to learn them; he had motivation and on more than one occasion, found the skill to be very useful. As with all else, he practiced hands-on learning with hand-to-hand combat.
With each passing year, Keth grew bolder and bolder, relinquishing his discipline for a free-spirited nature. He was always respectful, but he was soon growing deeply into his studies and adventure so heavily - loosening up due to an excess of freespiritedness - that he did not retain any structure or focus and in some cases reverted to informality around those with whom he would have normally been formal with. This was until not long after he had turned 30, a friend insisted upon him that he would make a great Master, but was squandering it in pursuit of whatever it was he was looking for. He believed that if Keth could prove himself, he could attain the title of Master. He just needed to impress the Council and show great promise over the years. Because his Master before him had succeeded in this same feat, surely he could do the same. This was all the motivation Keth needed to see what he could do.
Ages 30 – 35
Keth jumped back on track with routine and focus. He continued meeting with the Battlemaster until he had mastered Niman (and continued to keep a running understanding of the other forms as well), and initiated instruction with Jedi Healers as well, so that he would have an average grasp on the skills of healing, picking up on the interest. He found it to be constructive interest to maintain and develop and be looked upon well by the Council. He knew it wasn’t his mish-mash of skills that the Council had rebuked him for, but his social and behavioral traits. He spent more time in the Temple looking after those younger and seeking the advice and wisdom of those older than he. All this time he had been concerned about learning by experience, that he did not realize that it was the only means of learning. He found there was much for him in the Temple as well.
Of course he continued his excursions to the galaxy, to continue missions for the Order, hone his unarmed combat and preserve peace. More and more often he chose missions with others of the Order rather than solo missions, which had done the majority of the time only a few years prior. His demeanor shifted slowly into a stern and sensible Jedi, rather than that of a playful Knight. While there was nothing wrong in the way he acted, he felt deep down that a true Master was calm and serious, that the outside should reflect the collected and wise Master on the inside. In private, he kept to his gregarious and joyful self, but elsewhere, he was working to become a Jedi Master.
Due to the fact he would be working toward Masterhood without a padawan, he realized he needed to prove in some way that he was worthy of the Master title. He sought out younglings who wished to learn what he could teach them and various other padawans as well. He proved to be a wise and effective mentor, though by no stretch of the imagination an instructor.
No event had brought the curiosity to his mind, or even a story he’d overheard, but Keth discovered word of the technique of Force Cloak and immediately was interested in how it might be done. He sought the instruction of Jedi Shadows who were skilled in its application and committed to learning it right away. It was a skill that felt in some ways cowardly to him, when he learned of how to manipulate to Force to conceal himself. In some ways, it went against his nature and so made it much more difficult to learn. He took this as a challenge to himself. He knew the skill would be useful in many ways, and if he could overcome the struggle of learning something that was so diametrically opposed to who he was, he felt it would help him grow. In some ways, it was his own personal post-Trial of Spirit. This drive only pushed him to try harder, as if he was a padawan once more, learning to overcome the challenges of the universe around him by first overcoming himself. He certainly didn’t learn the skill in those five years, but continued to practice and work towards it regardless.
Keth was always a heavy practitioner in the arts of Force powers, while he had no qualms or difficulties with lightsaber combat, he relied most often on the Force in dire situations. One such instance would become a viral tale around the Temple for a number of months, though he remained humble about it. He had been visiting a village on Alderaan situated just under a mountain. He had heard tales of a man skilled in unarmed combat, and what he'd heard intrigued him. The styled seemed similar to that of what Keth was interested in, which taught that using joints, particularly fists and elbows as its primary means of dishing out pain and incapacitating. As he made his way there, a powerful rumble shook the ground - a small, yet destructive landslide. Acting quickly, Keth rushed toward the landslide rather than away, and began to center himself immediately outside the village. He he acted in the flow of the Force, he could divert the boulders away from the village.
The first few rocks were smaller, and he waved them away with flicks of the wrist, but then came the brunt of the rocky wave. With the greatest of concentration, Keth created a powerful Push diving right down the middle of the boulders and pushed them around the small village. While people were screaming and fleeing their homes with the roar of heavy rocks rumbling down the mountainside, Keth heard none of it. He was too centered and focused within the Force to hear or feel anything more than the relocation of rocks. Sweat ran down his face in rivulets, and his stance was growing tired as he seemed to use the Push of the Force to swim through the boulders, pushing them aside as they made their descent. Just nearing the end of the landslide, he proceeded to create a two-handed Push of equal force with a Push to essentially stop the last of the boulders just on the edge of the village. A large "C" shape of rocks and boulders now rested on the perimeter of the village, and save a few broken fences, the village remained undamaged. The entire event lasted no more than fifteen seconds. While the feat did little in the way of preserving the galaxy, when word got out of Keth's skill and bravery for so little a populace, needless to say that many were quite impressed. If Keth was asked, he'd simply state he'd hope never to do that again. It some ways, Keth considered it his Trial of Skill.
When Keth was about 35 years old, he found himself captured at the hands of pirates. They'd intercepted his ship in transit in the Outer Rim making their way to Mustafar from Geonosis. As a transport ship with minimal weaponry, they were quite powerless against the surprise attack of the well-armed pirates and surrendered. From the start, Keth knew that these men were bigoted towards his race from the way they spoke to him. Taking the rest of the soldiers on board hostage, they demanded Keth's lightsaber, which he handed over reluctantly. As soon as he did so, one of the Trandoshan men smashed his blaster rifle butt into both of Keth's kneecaps - breaking his legs - and had him dragged to a prison cell on their ship. Their plan was to negotiate a hostage situation for a ransom.
While imprisoned, Keth healed his wounds, but found he could only do so much and he couldn't walk without support. Not long after, some of the men visited Keth in his cell. They paid particular attention to Keth's tender knees in their abuse, and they left him on the brink of death. It was through his above average skills in healing and sustaining himself on the Force that he managed to survive until the distress call they sent through their transport ship could reach help and help arrived. A Republic fleet happened to be patrolling nearby and overpowered the pirates before they could react. Again, Keth was forced to come to terms with those who had wronged him. Not only once had irrational hate nearly killed him, but twice. Coming to grips with the suffering he'd faced at their hands, disposing of the anger he held for people who hated and assaulted him for nothing more than his race, was even more difficult than the first time had been. He had never known such pain, either, making it that much more difficult to forgive. Keth was older now, and wiser, and so it helped him to overcome. In a sense, this was his second Trial of the Flesh, and he'd succeeded.
Many other traumatic missions followed that he'd been sent by the Council to perform, and each one was as successful as the last. Each one taught him something new about himself and the galaxy, though his interactions with Dark Jedi remained limited. He was quite curious how he might fare should he ever engage one in combat, though he wished he wouldn't have to. At this point in his life, also, he continued his express interest in unarmed combat, seeking instruction from various martial artists who leaned toward his style of fist and elbow blunt attacks and defenses. He synthesized every technique he learned from these masters he sought out into his own style, making him less predictable to those versed in specific arts of hand-to-hand combat. His art was open-minded like Niman, in ways that it allowed for improvisation, such as Force powers. He practiced with it nearly as often as he did his Telekinesis, determined that his lightsaber and sheer Force would never be his only source of defense. As a Consular, he was insightful, and sought knowledge in all its forms, after all.
At about the age of 36, Keth slowed down in his campaigning across the galaxy. He knew that experience could come from the Temple as easily as it could abroad, and so decided to spend his time equally in both.
Age 36-40
For the next five years, war and thought pervaded the already full life of Keth Sei'Tu.
Keth continued as he always had and those skills that he worked hard to learn, he continued to hone and refine even further. He stayed polished on the basics of every lightsaber form, hopefully he could use the knowledge to his advantage should he cross paths with another Dark Jedi. He worked to retain average skill as a healer. He was never exceptional, but he could close a good number of wounds, mend burns and reduce pain. Slowly but surely, at about 38, he had mastered the skill of Force Cloak.
With what free time he had, he would meet with younglings and fellow Knights alike to engage in conversation and philosophy. By now, he had developed his stern demeanor around the Temple while also maintaining a friendly and inviting personality abroad. He wore the skin and presence of a devout Knight, and within beat the heart of a joyous, friendly Jedi. Aside from these things, he exercised more (he was getting older, after all) and practiced existing skills to stay sharp.
Life was simple and plain, it was about this time that news of the War was spreading and the Supreme Chancellor would declare war on the Sith Empire. Keth was indecisive for the first time in his life. On one hand, the threat was very real and powerful, on the other, there were many unknown factors. Was it even the place of the Jedi to intervene on such a large scale? They weren’t soldiers, they were defenders of peace.
He meditated the more in these five years than he had his whole life, and apparently, he wasn’t alone. It seemed the meditation rooms were a little more crowded these days. War was a tricky subject. He knew he would be called upon at some point to throw his hat in the ring, it was only a matter of time.
So he continued to nonchalantly refine and practice and strengthen the skills he’d spent a lifetime learning, all the while hoping that the day would not soon come when he would need every one of them to protect the galaxy. It seems, however, that that day has finally come.
RP Sample:
”For the last time, put your blasters down so we can talk this over,” Keth said to the three trandoshan mercenaries who had taken hostage a very confused Rodian.
The big one in red armor shook his head and said nothing. This could go on forever if something wasn’t done. He would have to incapacitate them somehow, but without hurting them. The problem here was that they were trandoshans…
”If you won’t settle this the easy way, then – “ Keth started, but cut himself off as he called upon the Force and raised his hands directly at the trandoshans on the left and right. The trandoshan in the center, with his back to the hostage, raised his blaster in preparation to fire, but Keth somersaulted forward out of the line of fire and leaped up to the trando boss. Using the Force behind his palm, he slapped the blaster rifle from the mercenary’s hands and proceeded to then dodge the incoming hail of attacks from his assailant.
The others would soon regain their bearings and then the situation would really get tricky. While he was excellent at hand-to-hand, the brute strength of the combatant in front of him was nothing to sneeze at. It was a fair fight, he needed the upper hand. With quick thinking, he ducked under a haymaker to the face and with the trandoshan reeling for a moment, he stepped behind him and projected Force Cloak. Invisible now, he rushed to the Rodian who sat with his hands over his head in fear and pushing the Force to give off an air of calmness, whispered to him and took his hand, pulling him away from the frenzied and confused trandoshans. The confusion spent searching for the furry Bothan Jedi gave the Rodian the time he needed to escape.
Due to the fact that Force Cloak was an extremely taxing skill to use, and because he’d accomplished what he’d needed, Keth deactivated the power and spoke to the trandoshans now a few yards away:
”It seems you’ve lost your upperhand…”
With no hostage, and no reason to fight a Jedi, the trandoshans shouted in grunts of rage and retreated. Local law enforcement would catch up with them before they got the chance to escape.
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