Post by Vaner Talos on Mar 19, 2012 16:27:59 GMT -5
Name:Vaner Talos
Race:Human
Age:31
Birthplace:Coruscant, Galactic Space
Allegiance:Jedi Order
Status:Jedi Knight
Rank:Jedi Guardian
Height/Weight:6’0/195 lbs.
Appearance:
A man of sturdy build, Vaner’s physical attributes contrast his allegiance to a peacekeeping organization. It’s spoken in jest that his face was carved from leftover granite from the Temple’s columns. His grey eyes carry a shine to them, a sense of adventure and energy to them. His usual stoic expression can sometimes mislead people to think that he is prone to fits of depression.
He tends to keep his dirty blond hair cut short, similar to that of a recently knighted Jedi. He walks with a confidence in his step. His attire befits that of a Jedi, with brown and white Jedi robes with a roughspun brown cloak and hood, and brown boots.
Personality:
In contrast to his physical attributes and overall demeanor, Vaner is a thoughtful man. When not in missions or spending time in the dueling room, he takes time to meditate amongst the waters of the fountains or staring at holovids. ‘You chose the wrong specialization, Vaner.’ His fellow Jedi speak in jests, but Vaner picked his specialization in dedication to his fallen Master. It was for him, out of a sense of strong loyalty, that he is a Jedi Guardian. While the past cannot be brought back, he seeks to recall his teachings and remember the fond times that they shared together.
His insight into the present along with being keen is ever sharp, from the slight movement of his lightsaber to the politics of the Core Worlds. While he nears the prime age to take the trials of a Jedi Master, Vaner has started to ponder what he is to look for in a Padawan. As such, he has often been seen in the halls of Jedi Younglings, keeping an eye out for any potential Padawan that comes forth.
There are occasional moments where he tends to put too much strength into his Shien form, or when his anger and tongue are sharp and quick to speak. Far and few, they have been since his days as a Padawan, especially after the death of his Master, but their shadow are at his back. The call to overcome challenges and odds (the trait of his father) remain strong and present, only eroded by the years of Jedi training.
Ships/Vehicles:
Equipment:
Lightsaber: Green;Dual-phase and single-bladed
Utility Belt: Holomap, Comlink, Food and Energy capsules, standard breather, holoprojector and grappling hook.
Stats:
Strength - Superior
Agility - Average
Intelligence – Above Average
Charisma – Average
Force Stats:
Telekinetic- Adept
Telepathic- Novice
Body- Apprentice
Sense- Adept
Protection- Apprentice
Healing:– Apprentice
Destruction– Unskilled
Combat Training:
Unarmed Combat: Adept
Melee Weapons: Apprentice
Ranged Weapons: Novice
Force Training:
Other Training: (Unskilled, Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master)
First Aid: Novice
Lightsaber Training: (Untrained, Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master, Specialist)
Shii-Cho- Master
Makashi- Novice
Soresu- Apprentice
Ataru- Unskilled
Shien/Djem So- Expert
>>Sub-form Backhanded-
Niman- Unskilled
>>Sub-form Jar-kai- Unskilled
Juyo- Unskilled
Double Bladed Combat- Unskilled
Bio:
The Unremarkable Story:
Vaner was born to a Corellian father and an Alderaanian woman who met on his home planet. She was someone that used to wander the stars as a smuggler. Jor was a farmer that belonged to a specific sect in Corellia. As Jor Talos was a member of the Enserites, he was shunned from his own sect due to marrying anyone outside the corellian system. As he had met Azah, he decided to forgo his own background and forge a new life with her. For years, they traveled and settled on Coruscant. As time went on, they settled into their duties: Jor and Azah picked up a post in the Coruscant Security Force. But both of them knew that it would be time for them to pack up and leave; their life of being nomads and the notion of wandering the galaxy was infatuating to them.
Vaner was born due to his father loving someone that wasn’t Corellian. At first, the Alderaanian woman known as Azah Talos wandered through as part of a freight crew, chancing upon Jor Talos, a member of the Enserites and a fellow pilot. The looming fact that the rest of his sect would shun him for following his heart, Jor struck pre-emptively and left with Azah and her crew. They settled upon Coruscant, another two pilots in the thriving mass of the Core World.
Whatever plans and notions of dreams of the stars beyond were stopped when Azah was with child. It frightened them so, the fact that it took a single child to ground them. When the time came and Azah delivered Vaner, so named after the boy’s paternal grandfather and member of the Corellian army.
Tested for a midi-chlorian count, a Jedi recruiter told the parents that the boy could be selected for Jedi Training. Ultimately, they decided to send the boy away after the birth, to their great regret. He was of their blood, they knew, but it was never a child they wanted to bring on a world filled with smugglers and piloting. A life at the temple, they felt, was a life of stability. Their fallacy was fortuitous in that regard, though.
They were with child a year and a half later, after months of cargo smuggling, and decided to keep it, a girl named Aari, settling upon the Outer Rim, haunted by the fact that there should have been two children at their home rather than one. Vaner, however, led a life full of children around him, under the guide of a watchful Jedi Handler.
Like the rest of the Initiates, Vaner was taught the basics of life at the temple. Soon enough, he simply dreamt of a woman from Aldeeran and a man from Corellia piloting a starship far and beyond, into the Unknown. When he awoke, he awoke to the kind Jedi Handler, who taught him the basics of walking and running. Friendships at the Temple were fostered; friendships that would bloom into a lifetime of blades clashing, reading competition and learning all they could from one another.
The boy preferred physical activity, where the boy’s Corellian blood gave him vitality. Physical exercises were preferred, but the more theoretical studies were tougher for him to focus upon. It took years for the youngling’s clan master to specialize his training, and get him to focus. As such, Vaner was one of the few to chant out hyperspace coordinates or the parts of the body when he was learning the finer points of Shii-cho. It was also a moment for him to teach the other younglings what he knew as well. This brought about a side-result, however: the boy was keen on being a member of the Medicorps should he not get a Master.
Time passed, and younglings became Padawans, where they would be ready to be picked up by a Master and continue their journey together. While he was elated for his friends, he went to sleep thinking that maybe he would have a Master to train under. As such, he dreamt of training under a room full of Jedi. He dreamt of training with a Jedi whose face he could not see, fogged with stars, but whose lightsaber he could make out distinctly.
The morning after, at the tender age of twelve, Vaner was especially focused during a blaster bolt deflection. It was a simple manifestation of Force Sense, but to him, it seemed like staring at the heart of the galaxy. He pointed out that there was someone at the door.
True enough, it was Jedi Knight Dagos Zem, Twi’lek native to tattooine and a Jedi Shadow. While it was a while since the man, nearing his fifty years of life, trained a Padawan, the Force determined it was time for Dagos to visit Younglings. Keen on Vaner’s focus that day, he told the boy to continue but with the blinding visor on. Confused, Vaner did as told, and continued with the exercise.
And felt that the bolts were hitting back. The boy, confused as can be, continued with slow but strong movements. When the exercise was over, he took off the helmet to reveal that there was a lightsaber at the other end, held by his new Master. The hilt he dreamed of was Dagos’, and the fog full of stars pulled back to reveal the Twi’lek’s kindly look. With a session under their command, Dagos and Vaner set off to their life as student and Master.
Of the Jedi who was called to the stars:
As a chance to impress an experienced Jedi Master, Vaner would jump at the chance to any training that Dagos would assign him. A teenage human from Corellia shows one thing: the boy had rocket fuel for blood, indeed. Training sessions indicated that, while the boy carried a sensible nature, it was well-hidden beneath sheer kinetic energy and strong strikes of a lightsaber. Moments not spent in the library nor in the dueling room were under the Room of a Thousand Fountains, meditating on moments where the boy had not properly learned. Slowly but surely, Dagos and Vaner bonded, while they learned from one another’s personality. Dagos pointed out to the boy that this is a normal occurrence meant to foster a strong relationship.
It took longer, however, for Dagos to instill in Vaner a sense of academic pursuit. While Vaner saw the point in learning of politics and discourse, lightsaber combat came easier for Vaner to do. While Vaner wanted to learn of the ways of old Jedi and their dueling ways, Dagos made sure that Vaner learned Shii-Cho’s finer points first. To recite hyperspace coordinates in twi’lek to having telekinetic contests with other Padawans, Dagos ensured to hide his teachings in games and contests, in order to appeal to Vaner’s hyperactive state. And in retrospect, Vaner was grateful.
Though the boy was curious as to why his master stopped taking missions as a Jedi Shadow. When he asked Dagos, he would reply that he had more pressing matters. While Vaner did not ask further, he still felt like the answer was not satisfying.
There was one moment, when Vaner was sixteen, he dreamt of a lightsaber; a green blade that shone in the dark. At his master’s encouraging, Vaner sought to scrape parts off spare parts and a piece of a malfunctioning door (his master’s way of playing a prank on him). Months went by, and while Vaner would built the saber’s casing, he could not get it to turn on. Granted, there was no crystal to indicate the process, but Dagos’ eye was ever watchful, indicating the Padawan that the process was not complete yet.
As time passed, and Dagos noticed the boy’s skill with Shii-Cho grew, the Twi’lek noticed Vaner’s impatient nature was still there. As such, he started to teach him the way of Soresu, an art that he was no good at. Because of it, Dagos asked for some time away from missions as a Jedi Shadow in order to ensure Vaner was properly instructed in the way of Form III in the temple’s dueling room. Over time, Vaner grew impatient and felt like an Initiate again, starting to express his desire to take those missions and gain experience.
When Dagos finally decided to take a mission, it was to work with Peacekeepers. After a discussion with Vaner, Dagos explained that the boy was better off in seeing the Jedi jobs through his own eyes, rather than Dagos’. Over time, from working with Peacekeepers along with the Corps, Vaner slowly gained a deeper insight into how the Jedi Order was a single unit split apart. It was also a test for Vaner to determine what type of Jedi he would be. But to Vaner, however, there was still the dream of the green blade in the darkness, this time meeting against a crimson one.
So, the duo’s first mission by themselves was indeed that of a Jedi Guardian’s. Dagos determined that maybe the boy could be encouraged to grow there. They were sent to Tattooine, to investigate pressured moisture farmers on behalf of Hutts. While it was unusual for Jedi to be sent to the Outer Rim, Dagos’ experience as a Jedi Shadow helped here, since he knew the finer arts of being inconspicuous.
On the way there, Dagos explained the planet’s dynamic and importance on moisture farming. Vaner learned of how it was mostly inhabited by moisturizer farmers, but the Sand People often raided whatever they could find. And Dagos’ also explained to him the finer points of hiding in plain sight, with or without the Force’s aid.
As they arrived at Tatooine, they were sensed things were strange. It seemed to run as a routine mission, with talking with a few moisture farmers and receiving complaints of equipment being scorched and scrapped. Making their way to a marketplace, the pair investigated where missing pieces of moisture farms would be.
Sensing they were being tailed, Dagos and Vaner decided to lose them at the spaceport. As they were nearing the spaceport, the Rodian criminals opened fire and being aware that he had a training lightsaber, Vaner pushed a Rodian away with the Force and Dagos ordered him to head for cover. Obeying him reluctantly, Vaner headed back inside the spaceship. He wanted to fight alongside his Master, pacing the ship from top to bottom.
When Dagos arrived back to the spaceship, Vaner wondered where Dagos was all this time. Dagos knew that Vaner wouldn’t go anywhere to look for him, so he went after the slave encampment. Dagos did not speak of what happened, but Vaner felt it was weighing him down. They conversed on what it meant to take a life. Vaner felt that his Master seemed different. He did not seem so willingly to go over what they had experienced in the mission like before. Finishing the investigation, it turned out that the Hutts were not in charge of anything related to harassing the moisture farmers. It was all on those Rodians that opened fire on the pair.
Right after the debriefing on the Council on Coruscant, Dagos and Vaner went to the Room of a Thousand Waters to commune. In there, Vaner saw a young man wander around the Room. He seemed livid; enraged of how his Master told him he was impatient. Vaner confronted the young man and realized that he saw himself; brash and impulsive, the rocket fuel stirring within.
The boy woke up from his trance, and sought Dagos’ guidance, fearful of what he saw. The Jedi Master encouraged Vaner to follow the vision to its conclusion, but being mindful of it’s allure altogether. It was then that Vaner revealed his insecurities as a Padawan, feeling lacking in certain areas that others excelled in. Dagos’ pointed out the boy’s skill in battle, and that one day, his patience will yield fruitful results. “Whatever we do now, it comes back to us tenfold in the future.” Dagos explained.
Vaner took this to heart and entered the room again. There, he spent most of his time in the room when he was not with his studies in the training spire (his Master happened to walk in the Room the day after and decided not to disturb him). In that month, Vaner watched his apparition sit down far away and remain in a meditative state with him. During that time, visions changed between himself as he was and himself as he could be; a strong Jedi that people could turn to. The Jedi that he was now seemed to build something, he could sense as he meditated in the Room amongst the waterfalls and flora. The Jedi he could be, however, had already built something and just honed his skills with it.
When the month was over, Vaner emerged from the room, restful and focused. Vaner showed his master something: it was a simple lightsaber hilt. Vaner explained that it had neither of the two crystals needed inside it and it was built from some spare parts that he had refined but couldn’t remember how. Impressed and proud, his Master explained how the process of the crystals went about as they embarked on a planet that Vaner never visited before.
As they arrived to Ilium, neither would think that the journey to build a crystal would take over two years to refine. As such, they started to call Ilum home as they stayed there for two years in order for Vaner to attune his crystal. For two years, he couldn’t find the green crystal in his dreams. He just felt all the crystals were alike. Dagos and Vaner decided to not leave, and called Ilum home for two years. The pair settled upon the Ilum Jedi Temple, furthering Vaner’s Force powers along with his Soresu.
Vaner often despaired as he saw Jedi enter and leave with lightsabers during his time there. He seemed determined to find his own and kept going. Finally, during his sleep, Vaner watched himself as a grown Jedi, walking out of the cave at Ilum with a lightsaber in his hand. The morning after, he and his Master trekked further into the caves.
After two years, Vaner received a vision. During one day of trekking, Vaner and his Master stopped to rest. Vaner started meditating and while his Master meditated as well, focusing on what was it that drove him to look out his window as a Youngling, seeing the sprawling city below?
Within his meditations, he heard his and his master’s heartbeats. And along side them, joined separate thrumming. One of them was subtle, a whisper at the edge of his mind. The other was stronger, much wilder than the first. Vaner followed the thrumming. While his eyes were closed, he could feel the ice around, and the crystals offering warmth to all that felt the Force.
Dagos, however, just saw Vaner walk around the cave, and followed him silently. He watched as the boy was just as focused as the day they met, stripping the lightsaber bare using the Force and assembling it back together. When Vaner awoke, he noticed the simply-built lightsaber, and turned it on to reveal the very blade he dreamt of in the dark.
Upon their travel back to Coruscant, Vaner and Dagos spoke at length of what the young man could do within the Order. Unsurprisingly to Dagos, Vaner wanted to be a Jedi Guardian when he was to be knighted.
And found his home in Adventure:
While Vaner felt he could not become a Jedi Knight just yet, Dagos felt otherwise. Dagos argued that to be a Jedi is to grow and learn, while Vaner felt he was just coming to grips with his brash nature. The two could not see eye to eye on Vaner’s future as a knight, but Dagos’ won out, as the boy presented himself before the Council. There was the matter of Vaner’s visions in both Ilum and in the Temple to address, and Dagos’ hoped they would count as part of the Trial by Spirit.
At the Council’s suggestion, Vaner explained the very nature of his visions, and how they developed throughout his meditations. Vaner explained his inadequacy before the Council, as he attempted to downplay his achievements throughout his time as a Padawan. The Council spoke well of his modesty, but told him to be mindful of these apparitions in the future, for Jedi are always enveloped in the Force. In the end, the Council felt that the visions were not enough to count as part of the Trial of the Spirit. Confused, Vaner was instructed to meditate once again, this time looking deeper into his spirit, for the Force will reflect it outward.
Once more into the breach, Vaner went. The young man stood in the midst of the Room, looking past what he had seen previously. From his time mastering Shii-Cho to moments where his Master chided him for not having his breather on his utility belt, Vaner slowly but surely felt he was incapable as a Jedi. It took him far longer than usual to make a simple lightsaber, let alone fine-tune the proper elements of the Force. Dagos entered the room and kept an eye on him throughout.
Watching past his and his Master’s time together, Vaner focused into what he was looking for. With no one to guide him through, Vaner wandered into his inner self. His eyes were stars, and his body was a conduit, that much he knew. But his mind was in one place and his heart was in another. His heart had lain at that time that he heard thr wild thrumming of his lightsaber crystal, unrefined and untrained it was.
And it was approval he craved, embodied in the apparition of himself as he was younger. He saw a boy walking with a Jedi Master, at the age of seven, pointing to the Jedi Library and speaking of how he is to be a good Jedi. Jealousy of Padawans that built lightsabers before him, or learned Force Sense better seeped in and could not be shaken. Anger of how Dagos still saw him as a boy, by not undertaking missions as a Jedi Shadow. Faulty lightsabers and years where he chose to train one thing and forgot another. It was why he felt he was not ready to be a Padawan.
Vaner woke up, in cold sweat as he looked at Dagos and realized what he had seen. He wanted to not be a lost cause. Vaner saw that the Jedi were: not seekers of fame but rather, teachers. Keepers of something greater than their sense of self and their humility had to reflect such a state. Vaner wanted to be someone that adventured amongst the stars. He was told he had spent a week in meditation and that he should convene with the Council. Dutifully, he did. He voiced out all that bothered him. All that worried him in the past. A Jedi’s path is not full of prizes, Vaner voiced out as he talked with the Council, merely of travels and insight.
A Jedi is not one to look at the stars, longing for adventure. But rather, he should prepare himself for it and be forever ready. The Council stated that he had passed the Trial of Spirit. It seemed strange for him to have passed the Trial of Courage as well. He was told it often involved physicality. Courage is not how much you can stand up to others in the face of adversity, said a Council member, but how one can stand up and look at oneself in the mirror and come to grips with what he sees.
A short time after this, Vaner and Dagos were sent to the Outer Rim, in the Mantan system. There were rumors of Fallen Jedi there that were utilizing Sith Holocrons for their use. As they arrived, they were treated to the sight of what seemed to be a cult. Dagos seemed affected by it, as he was reminded of Tatooine and the incident where he killed all the Rodians when they told him that the slaves were dead.
Watching the brainwashed people brandish lightsabers, Vaner immediately brandished his and saw someone that resembled him. As the lookalike advanced on him, they engaged in a lightsaber duel. The young man named Jor wondered where he had come from and if he was a clone. Vaner replied in the negative and as they kept dueling, Jor angrily stated that strangers are not welcome there. As the duel went on and Dagos set about disarming and making sure that Tatooine wouldn’t happen over again, Vaner continued his duel with Jor, which ended in a stalemate as Jor knocked him back with the Force and ran away from the spaceport.
Quickly, Dagos and Vaner followed suit and trailed him to their temple. Dagos warned him that it would be difficult to enter the temple and to be mindful of his emotions. Vaner confronted him about that matter, replying about the time in Tatooine. It was then that his Master explained the whole ordeal. Shocked, Vaner had nothing to say as they arrived at the temple and they fought most of the disciples there. At Dagos’ suggestion, they were not to be harmed, merely incapacitated. But there seemed to be too many of them for only two Jedi to fight.
As they arrived, The Dark Jedi advanced on Dagos while two Dark Jedi Apprentices engaged with Vaner. It had come to light that the Fallen Jedi was a Jedi Knight who fell out of the Order and ran away from Dantooine, establishing a following in Mantan. Coincidentally, it was also the place where Vaner’s parents settled. As Krath (the Fallen Jedi) and Dagos (who had disarmed the novices) dueled viciously, Vaner continued his duel with Jor. They seemed on even footing and even seemed to know where the other would land. Continuing their duel, Vaner deflected a blow and knocked Jor unconscious with the hilt of his blade (which was turned off). He immediately ran towards his Master’s aid and the two of them took on the Jedi Knight.
And the unfortunate stroke of death struck when Krath, with a feint, swiped off the head of Dagos and knocked Vaner back onto the ground. As Vaner quickly stood up, Vaner watched the lifeless body of his fallen Master and it enraged him. With swipe after swipe, Vaner started to knock back the Fallen Jedi. He felt rage guide his blade, even though he heard his Master call out to him. Vaner never got to tell Dagos that he was proud of how he handled the situation in Tatooine. Finally, Vaner swept Krath to the ground and with a stab; he pierced the heart of the Fallen Jedi. Enraged, he turned around and saw Jor standing up and ran towards him.
Vaner kept him pinned to the ground. He wanted to cut his head off as Krath had done his Master. But he couldn’t. His Master wouldn’t let him. Dagos, in some way or another, did not let him. With that, Vaner simply cut off Jor’s lightsaber and walked away to pick up the body of Jor. But not before cutting the rest of the lightsabers as well. The Jedi could not have a problem like this come back to them in hindsight. Vaner never found out Jor was his brother or whatever happened to him after that. Vaner simply held a Jedi’s Funeral for his Master on Dantooine before heading to Coruscant. There were never any Sith holocrons: Just a Fallen Jedi that trapped people and killed them in order to take their lightsabers.
As Vaner entered the Council Chambers, the room lit up with the lightsabers of the council and he was told to step forward and have his braid cut. At the age of twenty-two, after missions of peacekeeping and training sessions with the visor on, Vaner Talos entered the ranks of Jedi Knight like his Master before him. The unfortunate part was that he could not have his Master with him to celebrate it.
A Blade in the Dark
Immediately, he continued to hone his skills in the training chambers and taking on solo missions of his own. His first mission was another one similar to Tattoine: resolve a conflict between slavers. Naturally, he went alone in order to resolve such a conflict. But he missed his Master. He missed the conversations with Dagos about politics, diplomacy and other aspects of philosophy.
The mission did go as unexpected as can be. Once again, the unfortunate happened in that Vaner didn't get there in time to rescue all the slavers. It was an incident that haunted his life. He ensured to not let it happen again. The second he returned to Coruscant, he delved headfirst into the lightsaber arts. As such, he started taking on peacekeeping missions and body guarding the Senate. People noted the distant behavior of the Jedi, seeing him as a man that did business first. But those close to him noted that he was simply trying his best to cope and let go, like all good Jedi do.
He had yet to pick a Padawan. He did not deem himself ready for such an event. He did not want to be the same as his Master. All Vaner wanted was to be the best he could so his future Padawan could learn all he could from him. But there was another thing that haunted him: that young man that he encountered with on Mantan. He seemed so familiar to him and so alike that he couldn't help but wonder if he was related to him. It had been quite a long time since that event in Mantan. Missions in which he carried with success and he still compared them to his first solo mission.
Vaner's years were split in days in the Room of a Thousand Waters and the training spire, developing his skills with a blade. In that time, he started to explore possibilities of being proficient in the lightsaber forms, but keen on the concept of open spaces and leaving his body open for any strikes that he decided against pursuing the studies of Form Four. He felt it was too much since he was already bulky in terms of physical stature that he felt it best to endeavor in the pursuit of a lightsaber form that favored him. As such, he continued his studies in Form Five, a style that favors kinetic strength. He still continued his research in Soresu, feeling it prudent to bring in elements of that style to his own way of battling.
Vaner's skill grew in the ten years after his braid was cut. Now nearing the age that Knights are stated to take on Padawans, Vaner has refused multiple times, stating that he is not yet ready to undertake such an important task. He is too focused to do his part in aiding the war effort, peacekeeping missions or anything related. But all he wants is to uphold the Will of the Force. It has not yet called him to have an apprentice.
RP Sample:
Race:Human
Age:31
Birthplace:Coruscant, Galactic Space
Allegiance:Jedi Order
Status:Jedi Knight
Rank:Jedi Guardian
Height/Weight:6’0/195 lbs.
Appearance:
A man of sturdy build, Vaner’s physical attributes contrast his allegiance to a peacekeeping organization. It’s spoken in jest that his face was carved from leftover granite from the Temple’s columns. His grey eyes carry a shine to them, a sense of adventure and energy to them. His usual stoic expression can sometimes mislead people to think that he is prone to fits of depression.
He tends to keep his dirty blond hair cut short, similar to that of a recently knighted Jedi. He walks with a confidence in his step. His attire befits that of a Jedi, with brown and white Jedi robes with a roughspun brown cloak and hood, and brown boots.
Personality:
In contrast to his physical attributes and overall demeanor, Vaner is a thoughtful man. When not in missions or spending time in the dueling room, he takes time to meditate amongst the waters of the fountains or staring at holovids. ‘You chose the wrong specialization, Vaner.’ His fellow Jedi speak in jests, but Vaner picked his specialization in dedication to his fallen Master. It was for him, out of a sense of strong loyalty, that he is a Jedi Guardian. While the past cannot be brought back, he seeks to recall his teachings and remember the fond times that they shared together.
His insight into the present along with being keen is ever sharp, from the slight movement of his lightsaber to the politics of the Core Worlds. While he nears the prime age to take the trials of a Jedi Master, Vaner has started to ponder what he is to look for in a Padawan. As such, he has often been seen in the halls of Jedi Younglings, keeping an eye out for any potential Padawan that comes forth.
There are occasional moments where he tends to put too much strength into his Shien form, or when his anger and tongue are sharp and quick to speak. Far and few, they have been since his days as a Padawan, especially after the death of his Master, but their shadow are at his back. The call to overcome challenges and odds (the trait of his father) remain strong and present, only eroded by the years of Jedi training.
Ships/Vehicles:
Equipment:
Lightsaber: Green;Dual-phase and single-bladed
Utility Belt: Holomap, Comlink, Food and Energy capsules, standard breather, holoprojector and grappling hook.
Stats:
Strength - Superior
Agility - Average
Intelligence – Above Average
Charisma – Average
Force Stats:
Telekinetic- Adept
Telepathic- Novice
Body- Apprentice
Sense- Adept
Protection- Apprentice
Healing:– Apprentice
Destruction– Unskilled
Combat Training:
Unarmed Combat: Adept
Melee Weapons: Apprentice
Ranged Weapons: Novice
Force Training:
Other Training: (Unskilled, Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master)
First Aid: Novice
Lightsaber Training: (Untrained, Novice, Apprentice, Adept, Expert, Master, Specialist)
Shii-Cho- Master
Makashi- Novice
Soresu- Apprentice
Ataru- Unskilled
Shien/Djem So- Expert
>>Sub-form Backhanded-
Niman- Unskilled
>>Sub-form Jar-kai- Unskilled
Juyo- Unskilled
Double Bladed Combat- Unskilled
Bio:
The Unremarkable Story:
Vaner was born to a Corellian father and an Alderaanian woman who met on his home planet. She was someone that used to wander the stars as a smuggler. Jor was a farmer that belonged to a specific sect in Corellia. As Jor Talos was a member of the Enserites, he was shunned from his own sect due to marrying anyone outside the corellian system. As he had met Azah, he decided to forgo his own background and forge a new life with her. For years, they traveled and settled on Coruscant. As time went on, they settled into their duties: Jor and Azah picked up a post in the Coruscant Security Force. But both of them knew that it would be time for them to pack up and leave; their life of being nomads and the notion of wandering the galaxy was infatuating to them.
Vaner was born due to his father loving someone that wasn’t Corellian. At first, the Alderaanian woman known as Azah Talos wandered through as part of a freight crew, chancing upon Jor Talos, a member of the Enserites and a fellow pilot. The looming fact that the rest of his sect would shun him for following his heart, Jor struck pre-emptively and left with Azah and her crew. They settled upon Coruscant, another two pilots in the thriving mass of the Core World.
Whatever plans and notions of dreams of the stars beyond were stopped when Azah was with child. It frightened them so, the fact that it took a single child to ground them. When the time came and Azah delivered Vaner, so named after the boy’s paternal grandfather and member of the Corellian army.
Tested for a midi-chlorian count, a Jedi recruiter told the parents that the boy could be selected for Jedi Training. Ultimately, they decided to send the boy away after the birth, to their great regret. He was of their blood, they knew, but it was never a child they wanted to bring on a world filled with smugglers and piloting. A life at the temple, they felt, was a life of stability. Their fallacy was fortuitous in that regard, though.
They were with child a year and a half later, after months of cargo smuggling, and decided to keep it, a girl named Aari, settling upon the Outer Rim, haunted by the fact that there should have been two children at their home rather than one. Vaner, however, led a life full of children around him, under the guide of a watchful Jedi Handler.
Like the rest of the Initiates, Vaner was taught the basics of life at the temple. Soon enough, he simply dreamt of a woman from Aldeeran and a man from Corellia piloting a starship far and beyond, into the Unknown. When he awoke, he awoke to the kind Jedi Handler, who taught him the basics of walking and running. Friendships at the Temple were fostered; friendships that would bloom into a lifetime of blades clashing, reading competition and learning all they could from one another.
The boy preferred physical activity, where the boy’s Corellian blood gave him vitality. Physical exercises were preferred, but the more theoretical studies were tougher for him to focus upon. It took years for the youngling’s clan master to specialize his training, and get him to focus. As such, Vaner was one of the few to chant out hyperspace coordinates or the parts of the body when he was learning the finer points of Shii-cho. It was also a moment for him to teach the other younglings what he knew as well. This brought about a side-result, however: the boy was keen on being a member of the Medicorps should he not get a Master.
Time passed, and younglings became Padawans, where they would be ready to be picked up by a Master and continue their journey together. While he was elated for his friends, he went to sleep thinking that maybe he would have a Master to train under. As such, he dreamt of training under a room full of Jedi. He dreamt of training with a Jedi whose face he could not see, fogged with stars, but whose lightsaber he could make out distinctly.
The morning after, at the tender age of twelve, Vaner was especially focused during a blaster bolt deflection. It was a simple manifestation of Force Sense, but to him, it seemed like staring at the heart of the galaxy. He pointed out that there was someone at the door.
True enough, it was Jedi Knight Dagos Zem, Twi’lek native to tattooine and a Jedi Shadow. While it was a while since the man, nearing his fifty years of life, trained a Padawan, the Force determined it was time for Dagos to visit Younglings. Keen on Vaner’s focus that day, he told the boy to continue but with the blinding visor on. Confused, Vaner did as told, and continued with the exercise.
And felt that the bolts were hitting back. The boy, confused as can be, continued with slow but strong movements. When the exercise was over, he took off the helmet to reveal that there was a lightsaber at the other end, held by his new Master. The hilt he dreamed of was Dagos’, and the fog full of stars pulled back to reveal the Twi’lek’s kindly look. With a session under their command, Dagos and Vaner set off to their life as student and Master.
Of the Jedi who was called to the stars:
As a chance to impress an experienced Jedi Master, Vaner would jump at the chance to any training that Dagos would assign him. A teenage human from Corellia shows one thing: the boy had rocket fuel for blood, indeed. Training sessions indicated that, while the boy carried a sensible nature, it was well-hidden beneath sheer kinetic energy and strong strikes of a lightsaber. Moments not spent in the library nor in the dueling room were under the Room of a Thousand Fountains, meditating on moments where the boy had not properly learned. Slowly but surely, Dagos and Vaner bonded, while they learned from one another’s personality. Dagos pointed out to the boy that this is a normal occurrence meant to foster a strong relationship.
It took longer, however, for Dagos to instill in Vaner a sense of academic pursuit. While Vaner saw the point in learning of politics and discourse, lightsaber combat came easier for Vaner to do. While Vaner wanted to learn of the ways of old Jedi and their dueling ways, Dagos made sure that Vaner learned Shii-Cho’s finer points first. To recite hyperspace coordinates in twi’lek to having telekinetic contests with other Padawans, Dagos ensured to hide his teachings in games and contests, in order to appeal to Vaner’s hyperactive state. And in retrospect, Vaner was grateful.
Though the boy was curious as to why his master stopped taking missions as a Jedi Shadow. When he asked Dagos, he would reply that he had more pressing matters. While Vaner did not ask further, he still felt like the answer was not satisfying.
There was one moment, when Vaner was sixteen, he dreamt of a lightsaber; a green blade that shone in the dark. At his master’s encouraging, Vaner sought to scrape parts off spare parts and a piece of a malfunctioning door (his master’s way of playing a prank on him). Months went by, and while Vaner would built the saber’s casing, he could not get it to turn on. Granted, there was no crystal to indicate the process, but Dagos’ eye was ever watchful, indicating the Padawan that the process was not complete yet.
As time passed, and Dagos noticed the boy’s skill with Shii-Cho grew, the Twi’lek noticed Vaner’s impatient nature was still there. As such, he started to teach him the way of Soresu, an art that he was no good at. Because of it, Dagos asked for some time away from missions as a Jedi Shadow in order to ensure Vaner was properly instructed in the way of Form III in the temple’s dueling room. Over time, Vaner grew impatient and felt like an Initiate again, starting to express his desire to take those missions and gain experience.
When Dagos finally decided to take a mission, it was to work with Peacekeepers. After a discussion with Vaner, Dagos explained that the boy was better off in seeing the Jedi jobs through his own eyes, rather than Dagos’. Over time, from working with Peacekeepers along with the Corps, Vaner slowly gained a deeper insight into how the Jedi Order was a single unit split apart. It was also a test for Vaner to determine what type of Jedi he would be. But to Vaner, however, there was still the dream of the green blade in the darkness, this time meeting against a crimson one.
So, the duo’s first mission by themselves was indeed that of a Jedi Guardian’s. Dagos determined that maybe the boy could be encouraged to grow there. They were sent to Tattooine, to investigate pressured moisture farmers on behalf of Hutts. While it was unusual for Jedi to be sent to the Outer Rim, Dagos’ experience as a Jedi Shadow helped here, since he knew the finer arts of being inconspicuous.
On the way there, Dagos explained the planet’s dynamic and importance on moisture farming. Vaner learned of how it was mostly inhabited by moisturizer farmers, but the Sand People often raided whatever they could find. And Dagos’ also explained to him the finer points of hiding in plain sight, with or without the Force’s aid.
As they arrived at Tatooine, they were sensed things were strange. It seemed to run as a routine mission, with talking with a few moisture farmers and receiving complaints of equipment being scorched and scrapped. Making their way to a marketplace, the pair investigated where missing pieces of moisture farms would be.
Sensing they were being tailed, Dagos and Vaner decided to lose them at the spaceport. As they were nearing the spaceport, the Rodian criminals opened fire and being aware that he had a training lightsaber, Vaner pushed a Rodian away with the Force and Dagos ordered him to head for cover. Obeying him reluctantly, Vaner headed back inside the spaceship. He wanted to fight alongside his Master, pacing the ship from top to bottom.
When Dagos arrived back to the spaceship, Vaner wondered where Dagos was all this time. Dagos knew that Vaner wouldn’t go anywhere to look for him, so he went after the slave encampment. Dagos did not speak of what happened, but Vaner felt it was weighing him down. They conversed on what it meant to take a life. Vaner felt that his Master seemed different. He did not seem so willingly to go over what they had experienced in the mission like before. Finishing the investigation, it turned out that the Hutts were not in charge of anything related to harassing the moisture farmers. It was all on those Rodians that opened fire on the pair.
Right after the debriefing on the Council on Coruscant, Dagos and Vaner went to the Room of a Thousand Waters to commune. In there, Vaner saw a young man wander around the Room. He seemed livid; enraged of how his Master told him he was impatient. Vaner confronted the young man and realized that he saw himself; brash and impulsive, the rocket fuel stirring within.
The boy woke up from his trance, and sought Dagos’ guidance, fearful of what he saw. The Jedi Master encouraged Vaner to follow the vision to its conclusion, but being mindful of it’s allure altogether. It was then that Vaner revealed his insecurities as a Padawan, feeling lacking in certain areas that others excelled in. Dagos’ pointed out the boy’s skill in battle, and that one day, his patience will yield fruitful results. “Whatever we do now, it comes back to us tenfold in the future.” Dagos explained.
Vaner took this to heart and entered the room again. There, he spent most of his time in the room when he was not with his studies in the training spire (his Master happened to walk in the Room the day after and decided not to disturb him). In that month, Vaner watched his apparition sit down far away and remain in a meditative state with him. During that time, visions changed between himself as he was and himself as he could be; a strong Jedi that people could turn to. The Jedi that he was now seemed to build something, he could sense as he meditated in the Room amongst the waterfalls and flora. The Jedi he could be, however, had already built something and just honed his skills with it.
When the month was over, Vaner emerged from the room, restful and focused. Vaner showed his master something: it was a simple lightsaber hilt. Vaner explained that it had neither of the two crystals needed inside it and it was built from some spare parts that he had refined but couldn’t remember how. Impressed and proud, his Master explained how the process of the crystals went about as they embarked on a planet that Vaner never visited before.
As they arrived to Ilium, neither would think that the journey to build a crystal would take over two years to refine. As such, they started to call Ilum home as they stayed there for two years in order for Vaner to attune his crystal. For two years, he couldn’t find the green crystal in his dreams. He just felt all the crystals were alike. Dagos and Vaner decided to not leave, and called Ilum home for two years. The pair settled upon the Ilum Jedi Temple, furthering Vaner’s Force powers along with his Soresu.
Vaner often despaired as he saw Jedi enter and leave with lightsabers during his time there. He seemed determined to find his own and kept going. Finally, during his sleep, Vaner watched himself as a grown Jedi, walking out of the cave at Ilum with a lightsaber in his hand. The morning after, he and his Master trekked further into the caves.
After two years, Vaner received a vision. During one day of trekking, Vaner and his Master stopped to rest. Vaner started meditating and while his Master meditated as well, focusing on what was it that drove him to look out his window as a Youngling, seeing the sprawling city below?
Within his meditations, he heard his and his master’s heartbeats. And along side them, joined separate thrumming. One of them was subtle, a whisper at the edge of his mind. The other was stronger, much wilder than the first. Vaner followed the thrumming. While his eyes were closed, he could feel the ice around, and the crystals offering warmth to all that felt the Force.
Dagos, however, just saw Vaner walk around the cave, and followed him silently. He watched as the boy was just as focused as the day they met, stripping the lightsaber bare using the Force and assembling it back together. When Vaner awoke, he noticed the simply-built lightsaber, and turned it on to reveal the very blade he dreamt of in the dark.
Upon their travel back to Coruscant, Vaner and Dagos spoke at length of what the young man could do within the Order. Unsurprisingly to Dagos, Vaner wanted to be a Jedi Guardian when he was to be knighted.
And found his home in Adventure:
While Vaner felt he could not become a Jedi Knight just yet, Dagos felt otherwise. Dagos argued that to be a Jedi is to grow and learn, while Vaner felt he was just coming to grips with his brash nature. The two could not see eye to eye on Vaner’s future as a knight, but Dagos’ won out, as the boy presented himself before the Council. There was the matter of Vaner’s visions in both Ilum and in the Temple to address, and Dagos’ hoped they would count as part of the Trial by Spirit.
At the Council’s suggestion, Vaner explained the very nature of his visions, and how they developed throughout his meditations. Vaner explained his inadequacy before the Council, as he attempted to downplay his achievements throughout his time as a Padawan. The Council spoke well of his modesty, but told him to be mindful of these apparitions in the future, for Jedi are always enveloped in the Force. In the end, the Council felt that the visions were not enough to count as part of the Trial of the Spirit. Confused, Vaner was instructed to meditate once again, this time looking deeper into his spirit, for the Force will reflect it outward.
Once more into the breach, Vaner went. The young man stood in the midst of the Room, looking past what he had seen previously. From his time mastering Shii-Cho to moments where his Master chided him for not having his breather on his utility belt, Vaner slowly but surely felt he was incapable as a Jedi. It took him far longer than usual to make a simple lightsaber, let alone fine-tune the proper elements of the Force. Dagos entered the room and kept an eye on him throughout.
Watching past his and his Master’s time together, Vaner focused into what he was looking for. With no one to guide him through, Vaner wandered into his inner self. His eyes were stars, and his body was a conduit, that much he knew. But his mind was in one place and his heart was in another. His heart had lain at that time that he heard thr wild thrumming of his lightsaber crystal, unrefined and untrained it was.
And it was approval he craved, embodied in the apparition of himself as he was younger. He saw a boy walking with a Jedi Master, at the age of seven, pointing to the Jedi Library and speaking of how he is to be a good Jedi. Jealousy of Padawans that built lightsabers before him, or learned Force Sense better seeped in and could not be shaken. Anger of how Dagos still saw him as a boy, by not undertaking missions as a Jedi Shadow. Faulty lightsabers and years where he chose to train one thing and forgot another. It was why he felt he was not ready to be a Padawan.
Vaner woke up, in cold sweat as he looked at Dagos and realized what he had seen. He wanted to not be a lost cause. Vaner saw that the Jedi were: not seekers of fame but rather, teachers. Keepers of something greater than their sense of self and their humility had to reflect such a state. Vaner wanted to be someone that adventured amongst the stars. He was told he had spent a week in meditation and that he should convene with the Council. Dutifully, he did. He voiced out all that bothered him. All that worried him in the past. A Jedi’s path is not full of prizes, Vaner voiced out as he talked with the Council, merely of travels and insight.
A Jedi is not one to look at the stars, longing for adventure. But rather, he should prepare himself for it and be forever ready. The Council stated that he had passed the Trial of Spirit. It seemed strange for him to have passed the Trial of Courage as well. He was told it often involved physicality. Courage is not how much you can stand up to others in the face of adversity, said a Council member, but how one can stand up and look at oneself in the mirror and come to grips with what he sees.
A short time after this, Vaner and Dagos were sent to the Outer Rim, in the Mantan system. There were rumors of Fallen Jedi there that were utilizing Sith Holocrons for their use. As they arrived, they were treated to the sight of what seemed to be a cult. Dagos seemed affected by it, as he was reminded of Tatooine and the incident where he killed all the Rodians when they told him that the slaves were dead.
Watching the brainwashed people brandish lightsabers, Vaner immediately brandished his and saw someone that resembled him. As the lookalike advanced on him, they engaged in a lightsaber duel. The young man named Jor wondered where he had come from and if he was a clone. Vaner replied in the negative and as they kept dueling, Jor angrily stated that strangers are not welcome there. As the duel went on and Dagos set about disarming and making sure that Tatooine wouldn’t happen over again, Vaner continued his duel with Jor, which ended in a stalemate as Jor knocked him back with the Force and ran away from the spaceport.
Quickly, Dagos and Vaner followed suit and trailed him to their temple. Dagos warned him that it would be difficult to enter the temple and to be mindful of his emotions. Vaner confronted him about that matter, replying about the time in Tatooine. It was then that his Master explained the whole ordeal. Shocked, Vaner had nothing to say as they arrived at the temple and they fought most of the disciples there. At Dagos’ suggestion, they were not to be harmed, merely incapacitated. But there seemed to be too many of them for only two Jedi to fight.
As they arrived, The Dark Jedi advanced on Dagos while two Dark Jedi Apprentices engaged with Vaner. It had come to light that the Fallen Jedi was a Jedi Knight who fell out of the Order and ran away from Dantooine, establishing a following in Mantan. Coincidentally, it was also the place where Vaner’s parents settled. As Krath (the Fallen Jedi) and Dagos (who had disarmed the novices) dueled viciously, Vaner continued his duel with Jor. They seemed on even footing and even seemed to know where the other would land. Continuing their duel, Vaner deflected a blow and knocked Jor unconscious with the hilt of his blade (which was turned off). He immediately ran towards his Master’s aid and the two of them took on the Jedi Knight.
And the unfortunate stroke of death struck when Krath, with a feint, swiped off the head of Dagos and knocked Vaner back onto the ground. As Vaner quickly stood up, Vaner watched the lifeless body of his fallen Master and it enraged him. With swipe after swipe, Vaner started to knock back the Fallen Jedi. He felt rage guide his blade, even though he heard his Master call out to him. Vaner never got to tell Dagos that he was proud of how he handled the situation in Tatooine. Finally, Vaner swept Krath to the ground and with a stab; he pierced the heart of the Fallen Jedi. Enraged, he turned around and saw Jor standing up and ran towards him.
Vaner kept him pinned to the ground. He wanted to cut his head off as Krath had done his Master. But he couldn’t. His Master wouldn’t let him. Dagos, in some way or another, did not let him. With that, Vaner simply cut off Jor’s lightsaber and walked away to pick up the body of Jor. But not before cutting the rest of the lightsabers as well. The Jedi could not have a problem like this come back to them in hindsight. Vaner never found out Jor was his brother or whatever happened to him after that. Vaner simply held a Jedi’s Funeral for his Master on Dantooine before heading to Coruscant. There were never any Sith holocrons: Just a Fallen Jedi that trapped people and killed them in order to take their lightsabers.
As Vaner entered the Council Chambers, the room lit up with the lightsabers of the council and he was told to step forward and have his braid cut. At the age of twenty-two, after missions of peacekeeping and training sessions with the visor on, Vaner Talos entered the ranks of Jedi Knight like his Master before him. The unfortunate part was that he could not have his Master with him to celebrate it.
A Blade in the Dark
Immediately, he continued to hone his skills in the training chambers and taking on solo missions of his own. His first mission was another one similar to Tattoine: resolve a conflict between slavers. Naturally, he went alone in order to resolve such a conflict. But he missed his Master. He missed the conversations with Dagos about politics, diplomacy and other aspects of philosophy.
The mission did go as unexpected as can be. Once again, the unfortunate happened in that Vaner didn't get there in time to rescue all the slavers. It was an incident that haunted his life. He ensured to not let it happen again. The second he returned to Coruscant, he delved headfirst into the lightsaber arts. As such, he started taking on peacekeeping missions and body guarding the Senate. People noted the distant behavior of the Jedi, seeing him as a man that did business first. But those close to him noted that he was simply trying his best to cope and let go, like all good Jedi do.
He had yet to pick a Padawan. He did not deem himself ready for such an event. He did not want to be the same as his Master. All Vaner wanted was to be the best he could so his future Padawan could learn all he could from him. But there was another thing that haunted him: that young man that he encountered with on Mantan. He seemed so familiar to him and so alike that he couldn't help but wonder if he was related to him. It had been quite a long time since that event in Mantan. Missions in which he carried with success and he still compared them to his first solo mission.
Vaner's years were split in days in the Room of a Thousand Waters and the training spire, developing his skills with a blade. In that time, he started to explore possibilities of being proficient in the lightsaber forms, but keen on the concept of open spaces and leaving his body open for any strikes that he decided against pursuing the studies of Form Four. He felt it was too much since he was already bulky in terms of physical stature that he felt it best to endeavor in the pursuit of a lightsaber form that favored him. As such, he continued his studies in Form Five, a style that favors kinetic strength. He still continued his research in Soresu, feeling it prudent to bring in elements of that style to his own way of battling.
Vaner's skill grew in the ten years after his braid was cut. Now nearing the age that Knights are stated to take on Padawans, Vaner has refused multiple times, stating that he is not yet ready to undertake such an important task. He is too focused to do his part in aiding the war effort, peacekeeping missions or anything related. But all he wants is to uphold the Will of the Force. It has not yet called him to have an apprentice.
RP Sample:
Looks peaceful tonight. Mused Vaner as he looked from out of his quarters. He still looked out at the stars, even as an adult. With his hands behind his back, Vaner watched as the fleeting ship headed up to the stars. There were days in which he wondered what it would be to walk away from it all. But such a call seemed too alien to him. He was called to serve the Force and he would do well to do as he was told. It was something far greater than he would be. As such, it was his duty to uphold the will of the Force. It was a worthy cause, at the end of things. The stirrings and rumblings in the Force seemed fleeting, but he could feel them. It was time he would undertake a Padawan. He felt it was time since something told him to do so. As he looked out the window, he decided it could do well to go for a walk. As he put on his simple brown cloak, Vaner wondered of who his apprentice would be. It seemed so strange to be thinking about such a thing. It seemed like only yesterday when he was looking for a Jedi Master to train him.
Now, he was looking for a student. Full circle, it seemed. Vaner walked with his hands behind his back and watched the students interact amongst themselves. Hiding his smile, Vaner continued his walk as he continued to hear younglings talking amongst themselves. They seemed to look at him with awe. As he entered the library, he watched as students diligently read from the datapads or watched the holovids. Who would the Padawan be? Will it be someone younger than he when he was chosen? Would the Force choose for him? Perhaps, Vaner mused as he picked up a lone holovid from a table and started to watch it. This one was about strategies; a holovid he felt he read countless times. It felt so strange to understand it. It had been only yesterday when he had seen it and not understood it. As he made himself comfortable, he started replaying the video once more.
Vaner did agree that it would have been strange to see a Jedi Knight such as him watching a holovid designed for younglings. But it did well to relearn what was necessary. What's necessary can help us. Vaner thought as he continued to watch the holovid. He felt the stares of other Jedi Knights look at him quizzically. He did not mind them looking at him since he wasn't looking back. He just kept reading. What he did not realize however, was the content smile on his face that the young ones would see when they saw him sitting on a table, reading a holovid designed for younglings.
