Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on Oct 17, 2012 0:00:49 GMT -5
Name: Kira Jeseledai
Race: Tholothian
Age: 24
Height: 5’ 9”
Weight: 133 lbs
Appearance:
Kira Jeseledai is a Tholothian by blood, if not by culture. As such, she has a lovely dark caramel skin, which can be noticed in a single glance. However, what draws the most attention is the headdress she wears, a gift from her Master upon her Knighthood. One Youngling dubbed it “Mister Tentacles” due to the numerous strands dangling down from it. In a way it detracts from her appearance, as no one generally notices anything about the dark-skinned woman apart from her head-ware.
A closer examination reveals a long and narrow face, with full lips and an elegant patrician nose. Her eyebrows are slender and her eyes are rather average, though a lovely blue color best described as 'improbable.' They don't particularly convey any sense of depth or profound wisdom, but they are happy eyes, usually revealing a glow of joy.
Kira has a build that can be summed up in the words long and lean. She isn’t particularly curvy, and most definitely not the sort of girl over whom wars are fought, or epic poetry is composed. Her curves are minimal, with a flat chest that is nothing to write home about, and a posterior unlikely to attract attention. Her real appeal is in her smile, and an aura of sheer happiness that she exudes.
As befits a Jedi Knight, Kira wears the robes of the Jedi Order, in a combination of humble tans and browns, with white pants and reddish-brown boots resting just below her knees. The boots are worn, old friends that have been with her for years, and she's rather fond of them.
Personality: Kira is not exactly what you might expect of a Jedi Knight. While noble at heart, she has a tendency to be rather ditsy, and has never been considered the brightest crayon in the box. If Youngling classes had voted on categories, she would most definitely not have been ‘most likely to succeed.’ Without a single doubt though, she would have won the categories of ‘nicest’ and ‘best smile.’
While academically Kira was always thoroughly in the middle of the road, she tended to be a little airheaded in the rest of her life; she was often silly with ‘ridiculous’ ideals, as she was often told by her friends. She never put too much stock into such criticism however, and maintained her ‘silliness’ and those ‘ridiculous ideals.’ Like Teflon, nothing sticks to her. The criticism just rolled off her back and didn’t bother her in the least bit. She was content to stay with her ‘flaws.’
Kira has always been one to find just about anything funny, and to see the bright side in literally any situation. She is a limitless well of sympathy, and the quintessential patient ear. She is often accused of not being serious enough however, particularly when the need to scold comes up. This is a time where she tries her very best to put on a serious face, and not to find anything funny.
Most of the time Kira Jeseledai is required to keep her emotions under control, to be a professional when dealing with Younglings. It doesn’t always work out, as she can often be found laughing with children over something they both find funny. Often she plays with the Tholothian headdress she wears, dangling the ‘dangly bits’ and playing with them to amuse a child.
Those silly ideals are actually quite straight-forward. Kira firmly believes that the depiction of Jedi in every holo-movie of her youth is wholly right and without flaw. She is firmly convinced that the Jedi Order is truly the home of superbeings, home to veritable Saints. She takes the discussion of Peace and Justice in the galaxy quite seriously, and she has a child’s faith in the Jedi High Council and their ability to make decisions. In a certain sense, she doesn’t think for herself, preferring to listen to the wisdom of her elders for every possible circumstance. In another sense however she does her own thinking quite clearly, coming up with no small amount of educational tactics.
Knight Jeseledai has a redeeming trait though, she is literally one of the most patient and kind people anyone could ever meet. The Tholothian woman is always ready with a kind comment or a compliment, and she never, ever forgets a face. Her first instinct upon meeting someone is to make them a friend, and she almost always succeeds.
It is her friendly demeanor that makes Kira so successful in her chosen field as a teacher of Younglings, and her Saint-like patience is very handy as well. She has a certain childlike joy, and she can easily lower herself down to the level of any child, becoming a friend of their own age. She has no qualms getting down and playing with building blocks alongside a young member of any species.
Kira is without prejudice of any kind, holding to a ‘ridiculous ideal’ of loving everyone without exception. Were she to meet a Dark Lord of the Sith, her first instinct would be to hug it out, something countered only by self-preservation. The only time when she can become ferocious is when a child is in danger, and then she springs into action, ready to risk everything for even one youth.
Generally speaking though, her response is usually flight rather than fight, and any fighting she does is merely a delaying action to buy time for others. Luckily, the percentage of the time one needs to fight anyone in the Jedi Temple approaches 0% with great certainty, so her lack of combat prowess is not quite as crippling as it would be if she was a Guardian.
Thanks to growing up at the Rhen Var enclave, and being a very happy little girl, Kira associates snow with good memories, and she adores the fluffy white substance, sometimes going so far as to compose poetry about it.
Kira is a Jedi and cannot act on her feelings, but she is sexually attracted to both men and women, though the topic doesn't come up much and she has a tendency to not discuss sex, or nudity, or anything remotely related to romantic or sexual activities.
Kira does, however, discuss breakfast quite often. It is her favorite meal of the day, and she does wonder why the cafeterias at the Temple don't serve it all day. You can count on Kira to be an early riser, getting up with the sun and embracing a waffle and bacon with a glass of citrus juice. She still hasn't developed a taste for coffee without a ton of sugar, and probably never will.
The Tholothian Knight is not one to stand on ceremony when it comes to herself and her position. She genuinely doesn't mind if anyone calls her by her first name or forgets her title of Knight. However she is quite respectful and cognizant of the titles of others, and can always be relied on to refer to Masters properly.
Growing up on New Holstice was a pivotal experience for Kira, as was coming to the Jedi Order so late in life. There are two things especially that stuck in her mind from her youth. The first was the Jedi Memorial on her planet, which she visited on a weekly basis with a flower. The second thing was a holonet series she watched religiously growing up called “Padawan Adventures.” It centered around a group of cartoon Jedi, and it thoroughly cemented Kira’s desire to be a Jedi, which was something she literally never grew out of.
Kira Jeseledai isn’t a woman with many hobbies, but she does have two main hobbies. The first is music, as she plays the double viol quite well in a variety of styles, and the second is art. Kira is rather handy with a pencil and paper, and increasingly dabbles in actual painting. It’s safe to say that friends will receive some form of art work upon gift-giving occasions.
Birth place: New Holstice
Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight (Consular), Teacher’s Assistant
Lightsaber: Single blade single phase
Color: Green
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi
Soresu
Ataru
Shien / Djem So
>>Sub-form Backhanded
Niman 4
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield
Juyo
Double Bladed Combat
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 3
Telepathic: 5
Body: 3
Sense: 5
Protection: 5
Healing: 6
Destruction: 0
Specialized Skills:
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 5
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 4
Melee Weapons: 2
Ranged Weapons: 2
Bio:
New Holstice
Alia Jeseledai was a single mother, a Tholothian émigré, who had settled down on New Holstice just in time to give birth to a daughter, who she named Kira, in honor of her grandmother.
The birth in a Republic hospital resulted in a blood test to determine force-sensivity. When the results came back and the Jedi contacted Alia, her response was a staunch and steadfast no. There was no persuading her, no convincing her, and most definitely no reasoning with her. She wasn’t about to give up little Kira to strangers, Force or not.
Growing up, Kira was neither legitimate nor the product of a normal household with two parental figures present. Instead she spent much of her early time in the care of the next-door neighbor’s eldest daughter Niya while Alia worked hard as a nurse at a local hospital, one thing the planet was famous for.
The principle leisure activity Kira was introduced to was walking in a memorial park, which housed the Memorial to all the Jedi who had ever fallen to enemies. From as early as she could speak, Kira showed an interest in the sprawling memorial, and seemed to take naturally to the reverence the visitors had.
She would invariably ask her mother what the memorial meant, and she received the explanation that it honored every Jedi murdered or lost in wars since the very beginning of the Republic. That sparked a lifelong fascination with the Jedi.
The Jedi obsession became true hero worship, and everything soon centered around Jedi. Costumes for costume parties were Jedi robes, her blanket had the icon of the Jedi Order, and every weekend she turned on the holonet receiver in the morning and watched “Padawan Adventures,” following the exploits of the human Jedi Padawan Arki Darkrider and his friends.
The little girl was truly smitten.
One day at the age of four and a half year old, Kira had a long conversation with her mother, starting from an item Alia had let slip. There had been a test taken at birth to see if she was Force-sensitive, and Kira demanded to know the results.
After relentless badgering, Alia admitted the truth, that Kira was eligible to be a Jedi.
That prompted an even longer debate featuring a good deal of tears and protestations before the younger party stormed off to cry under her Jedi blankets. Out of pity, Alia came in an hour later and struck up a bargain with Kira. If Kira still wanted to be Jedi by the time she was five and a half, Alia would notify the Jedi and have them discuss it with them.
Alia had never imagined her daughter’s fixation on Jedi would last so long, otherwise she might never have made the agreement. The year passed and the Jedi was summoned. Then they sat down to a very awkward three-way chat.
The Jedi was a Knight from Rhen Var, the closest enclave to their planet, and he was met with sheer adulation by Kira. She followed his every move intently, and waited on him hand and foot. He was the first Jedi she’d ever seen.
He told her that the ways of the Force were slow and difficult, and that it wouldn’t be easy. Only the thought that contact with her mother would be forbidden made her think twice, but the enthusiasm of youth could not be daunted.
For Alia, it was like ripping off a bandage. She had the option of clinging on to Kira for as long as she could, or tearing her away swiftly. She settled for the latter, and after a hug and kiss, and one final holophoto, Kira Jeseledai was off to the icy world of Rhen Var just a few days after her sixth birthday.
Becoming a Hero
Kira’s first impressions of life in the Jedi Order were quite tainted. As it happened, that was a very good thing. Most children placed onto a frigid iceball with nothing but a few stone ruins would cringe, groan, and moan over their misfortune. Kira merely took to loving snow, because it was a Jedi planet and had to be good.
Her first week was truly ideal, basking in the warm glow of having exactly what she’d wanted. She was a Jedi now. A hero. Defender of Peace and Justice, ready to go out and fight Dark Jedi, slay evildoers. What she hadn’t expected was what she’d felt the second week.
Kira had never left home before. She’d never felt homesick, but she became intimately familiar with the feeling in her sixth year of life. Every little thing reminded her of her mother and New Holstice. On those occasions she sought every comfort possible, from misbehaving for attention to standing outside in the snow until she felt like an ice cube. Her most successful outlet was a Mirialan woman named Elteria, who was quite old by the standards of a child, though she was merely forty. She was a Youngling Instructor, though not in charge of Kira’s clan. Nevertheless, the woman adapted readily to the needy girl and was always ready with a hug and soft words, serving as a sort of surrogate mother.
She filled the void, and the adjustment was gradually completed over a year, fading out into a normal schedule of learning.
It was, Kira found, disappointingly similar to school in some respects. Unfortunately it wasn’t all playing with lightsabers and levitating things with your mind. There was quite a lot of math, and science, and even some Basic literature. Kira wasn’t stupid by any stretch of the imagination, and even she felt it was daunting.
Thanks to the motherly guidance of Elteria she scraped by, running a low average on her academics and a more substantial average on her more uniquely Jedi skills.
By the age of eight she was blessed again by being a very, very happy girl. She was bubbly, and she had a magnificent way of befriending everyone. Her loneliness had been dealt with by making friends with absolutely everyone she could, and her ridiculously bright smile and carefree demeanor warmed over just about everyone at the Rhen Var enclave.
There were only two other Younglings in all the other clans who seemed immune to her charms. These were a Weequay boy named Ash-ki and a Rodian girl named Reah, both of whom were grumpy little souls. They were the very first to openly say that Kira was silly, a ditsy little girl. They looked down on her and absolutely refused to befriend her.
Kira’s tendencies towards idolizing the Jedi also led to some tension. While she could clearly remember life outside the Jedi and knew what heroes they were to little children like herself, most of the other Younglings had been taken closer to birth and couldn’t remember anything but the Jedi. They didn’t realize what all the fuss was over being a Jedi.
One girl who did was a Cathar subspecies named Hasra, who had come to the Jedi at the age of 5. She’d never watched the Holonet shows, but she had been raised on bedtime stories about Jedi, and she’d even met one once. For her it was also hero worship.
Their instructor, a Wroonian man, warned them both that placing the Order on a pedestal could be dangerous, and that they were likely to be disappointed by the actual kinds of missions they undertook. Neither girl particularly heeded those warnings.
Their second tier of friends consisted of a Twi’lek boy and girl named Zelada and Supisy, a Togruta girl named Rana, and a human boy named Ian, who was very proud of his Corellian heritage.
Kira had never really thought much about her Tholothian heritage to be honest. It was just one of those factors in life she’d never seen the point in fussing over. Granted she had seen pictures of Tholothian headdresses in the Rhen Var archives, and she wanted one.
Her progress with lightsabers was average, and her skill with the Force was above average. She did a good job in sense, protection, and healing; though she was slightly stunted in telekinesis and body abilities. On the whole though, she was remarkably balanced, leading some to believe she might make a good Sentinel some day.
One Jedi Knight thought differently. She was a Consular, a Miraluka named Daria. She was a resident of the Rhen Var enclave, though she often strayed near and far for missions, and she was certainly not immune to the charms of a certain Tholothian Youngling. Daria selected Kira at the age of 12 and immediately immersed her in the life of a Padawan.
Live Up to Your Potential
There was one thing that Daria made especially clear, “The Jedi are not a cloistered order. If you wanted to sit in a monastery and meditate all day there are other religions.”
That was the governing philosophy that reigned alongside the Jedi Code. Nothing the Jedi did would be in a vacuum, and their actions would make an impression on other people. They were responsible for the public image of the Jedi.
Daria also felt defense was important, so their very first stop as a duo was on Ilum, a world that Kira had been well-prepared for by virtue of her six years on Rhen Var, another frozen world.
Down in the crystal caverns, swaddled in a fuzzy parka, Kira was instructed to let the Force guide her to a crystal, then to obtain it and meditate over it until it ‘felt right.’ So she did.
It wasn’t easy for the girl, but in the end she had a ‘pretty good’ feeling about a formation of green crystals, so she chipped one off and took it back to her quarters and meditated over it, stopping only for necessities like food and a few quick hours of sleep.
In the end, she did get to the point where it felt right, and she presented it to Daria, who took it between her fingers and pronounced it good. Promptly the assembly of the lightsaber began from stock parts, and Kira was never ashamed to admit that her master helped her out with the assembly.
Just a few weeks after she got to practice with her new lightsaber, which prompted massive smiles, Kira and Daria had their very first mission together.
It was nothing too serious, just a mining dispute on an Outer Rim world, but it was Kira’s first exposure to diplomacy, which was probably what her Youngling Instructor had meant by risking disappointment. As it happened, he was mostly wrong.
While the nitty-gritty details of the mediation were a little foreign to the girl, she found the whole concept to be quite important and very important. She was reminded of her master’s mantra, that their actions would determine what people thought of Jedi. This was an opportunity for them to give a good impression, so Kira worked hard for it.
The negotiations were a great success, thanks to Daria rather than her young apprentice.
They returned to Rhen Var, and Kira was assigned a great deal of work to carry out, reading up on negotiating tactics. Luckily the mediation had whet her appetite, and she dove into the material. However, as was the way of children, she strayed from her work quite often in favor of running outside and making snow angels or finding ways to amuse herself with Younglings or other Padawans.
It was in one of her deviations from work that she met with Ashi-ki and Reah again, her detractors as a Youngling. They had both been taken by masters, Guardians at that, and were supremely confident.
They had also decided they didn’t like Kira.
Ashi-ki provoked a discussion about values, which Kira had learned from media depictions of Jedi. She was firmly convinced dialogue solved problems, and that talking was always best. Above all, she believed a Jedi should love everyone.
Reah taunted her for it, and Ashi-ki teased that if she loved Dark Jedi, why shouldn’t she go marry one?
They hurt her feelings so bad that Kira ran to her quarters crying, where she was discovered in tears by her master, who demanded to know the full story. It was told, and Daria’s response was to hug the girl and give her a good talk.
There was nothing wrong with showing love, and it was the ultimate goal for a Jedi. If they couldn’t show love, she should pity them. If they were cruel to her, she should pity them all the more. Most of all, she should never change. Daria told her she should always preserve that love she felt. If they bothered her, she should just ignore it.
Armed with a newfound love and pity, she returned to her daily routine, and much to their chagrin, she refused to rise to their taunts. Disgruntled, they gave up and moved on to other kids, though they made it quite clear they didn’t care about her ‘silly ideals.’
More than ever before, Kira clung to them.
Easily the most fun mission Kira went on was a trip to the Coruscant Temple and the Galactic Senate. It was her first time since New Holstice that she’d actually been somewhere with a sizable population, and it was her first time being on a planet where the whole of the surface was city.
It truly astonished her, and she was inspired to take up a sketchpad and start to draw what she saw. At the time, she thought her art was pretty impressive, though in subsequent years she grew less fond of it. It began a lifelong habit however, and she did grow rather skilled at it.
The ‘mission’ itself was mostly sight-seeing, punctuated by a consulting visit with a Senator. The Senator was a kindly old man, and he treated Kira just like an adult, like a real Jedi despite her age. While she sat rather passively through the discussion between him and Daria, she did find the experience enjoyable.
For the next four years, she did little more than mediate disputes and train in the enclave, practicing Shii Cho and her master’s preferred form of Niman. By the time she was 18, her Niman was much better-developed, and her Shii Cho was thoroughly on target for her age. Her Force abilities had grown as well, retaining her strengths and her weaknesses.
There really were no serious Padawan Adventures styled missions, fighting Dark Jedi and rescuing holocrons and princesses from bad guys. Instead everything really seemed to revolve around diplomacy, though occasionally those situations became aggressive.
While tensions flared on occasion, and more than once vibroblades and blasters were drawn, Padawan Jeseledai never actually had to kill anyone, which was a relief. Once she accidentally lopped off a hand rather than a blaster and she felt terribly guilty as a result. Daria told her though that she had no choice, and she shouldn’t feel bad.
Instead she advised that the girl delve deeper into her sketchpads, and maybe try to pick up some music. It worked, as a new double viol occupied much of her time, and her ‘art skills’ improved quite dramatically with practice. Often Kira wondered if they could ever be useful in her missions, and while the answer was technically no, she tried to incorporate them anyway. She took to sketching out the faces of the major people they dealt with, then giving away the sketches as gifts.
The major recipients were her Youngling friends, now grown up into older Padawans. From memory, Kira drew them all as Younglings together, and found that Ian and Rana both loved it, while Supisy and Zelada felt a little bit embarrassed about looking so young. They all received copies however.
Shape Your Future
Kira gravitated naturally towards Younglings when she was at the enclave, and she managed to talk Elteria into letting her serve as an assistant, helping the Instructors with various tasks.
She did prove to be quite useful, and not above getting down to the level of a child and really engaging with them. Chalk it up to her inner child staying strong or simply her slightly ditzy and loveable personality, but the end result was a real gift working with the children.
By 19, she was reasonably sure that she wanted to work with Younglings, and when she told Daria, the Miraluka woman seemed a little disappointed. She’d been hoping to craft the girl into a diplomat, a skilled mediator who could solve any dispute.
Kira was disappointed in the reaction, and felt a little disheartened. The normally bright and sunny girl became a little introverted for a few days right up until Daria knocked on her door to apologize. Kira promptly bounced back, and enjoyed the support of her master in her career goal.
Daria was, in Kira’s estimation, the very best master anyone could ever hope for. She was wise, and kind, and exceptionally patient. She tolerated everything with great panache, and above all she always knew just the right thing to say. The Padawan did her absolute best to emulate those traits, and managed to truly master kindness and patience, though she was never one to be ‘wise.’ More like ditzy and silly.
Learning under Elteria was quite the experience, as she was most definitely an old woman, a resident of the Rhen Var enclave for fifty years, and the Dantooine enclave for the previous twenty. Her wisdom was legendary in the enclave, and her experience with children was invaluable to learn from.
However, tragedy struck at the age of 22, when Elteria tripped and fell down a flight of stairs, breaking her neck and passing away from the trauma before medical help could arrive.
Kira was distraught, and even her chipper optimism couldn’t help her banish the grief, not for weeks. Daria did her absolute best to soothe her Padawan, to assuage her feelings. Death was a natural part of life, and that she shouldn’t cling to those who passed on into the next existence. She should accept that they were one with the Force.
An Exercise in Panic
In 3602 BBY, the enclave at Rhen Var was attacked by the Sith. It came as quite a surprise to Kira, who hadn’t seen a single thing coming. She was attending to a class of Younglings when it happened, visiting with Daria. Her master dashed off to join the fray and ordered Kira to get the Younglings to safety.
The Tholothian Padawan herded her charges along to the hangar and bustled them into a shuttle before going back to search for more Younglings. She managed to find a few clustered in one of the training rooms, and she led them to the shuttle as well. Before she could go back for more, a Jedi Master appeared in the hangar and told her to take off immediately and head for safety.
Thinking back to her basic pilot training, Kira took the shuttle out of the hangar and lifted off, stopping at New Holstice to wait for further instruction from the Jedi Order, the first safe place she could think of that wasn’t likely to be crawling with Sith.
She had to admit she also had some less noble ambitions in mind.
Padawan Jeseledai saw to it that the Younglings were safe and secure, and kept them under the supervision of local authorities, then she set off on a private quest. The Tholothian woman managed to track down her mother and knocked on the door, finding a familiar face, though one that had gained a few wrinkles.
For a few seconds it seemed Alia didn’t recognize her daughter, not after all the changes that had taken place in 17 years. However the woman caught on and let out a scream before fiercely embracing Kira. It marked the Padawan’s only real deviation from the Jedi way.
The two sat down to tea as Kira explained what had just happened. She told of the attack on Rhen Var and how she’d wanted to let her mother know she was safe. Alia agreed it was a noble gesture, and despite her years of ambivalence over yielding her daughter, she was deeply proud her little girl had become a Jedi.
The room was still the same as it had been, and Kira slept in her old bed that night, though her legs dangled off the edge.
The next morning she shared breakfast with her mother and promised to stay in touch, albeit covertly. Then she returned to the shuttle and contacted Coruscant for instructions one more time.
Kira was told to bring the Younglings to the Jedi Temple, where they would be sorted into existing Youngling clans and continue their training. She readily took them to their new home, and while there she was gifted to have two experiences.
The first joy was that Daria was alive and well, despite a few minor lightsaber burns. She’d made it off of Rhen Var with a group of survivors and had fled to the Temple straight away. That was an enormous burden off of Kira’s mind, as she’d had a near-constant low-level worry clouding her thoughts for days.
The second joy was being summoned before the Jedi Council and being issued a commendation for seeing to the safety of 24 Younglings. It was the proudest moment of her life so far.
There was bittersweet aftermath, as Kira reunited with Rana and Ian, the former now scarred across her red face and the latter with a cybernetic hand. Both the Togruta and the Human had been in the thick of the fighting on Rhen Var with their masters, one of whom had not escaped alive. Zelada and Supisy had both died or been captured. No one quite knew for sure.
But Kira rejoiced that some of her friends were still alive, doubly appreciative when Hasra returned.
The Cathar girl had been off training on Mustafar for years, her aging master preferring the pleasant temperate climate. However she had returned to Coruscant for her Knighting ceremony, and once more she was Kira's good friend.
The Fruits of Your Labor
A few months after the fall of Rhen Var and a resettlement on Coruscant, something very unexpected happened to Kira, then 23. She was meditating in her new quarters (and playing her double viol), when a Master she didn’t know knocked on the door and told her Daria needed her.
The Tholothian girl acquiesced at once and darted off, following the Master to a room in the depths of the Temple, which was surrounded by Jedi with drawn lightasabers, held at the ready though not activated.
The unknown Master told her that Daria was inside with a captured Sith, one who had been present at Rhen Var, and that she had him at the point of her lightsaber, ready to kill him. Kira was the only one who could put a stop to it.
The door slid open and Kira walked dumbly inside, feeling thoroughly overwhelmed. Her Miraluka master was there, ranting and raving about the evils of the Sith who had destroyed Rhen Var, and killed so many good Jedi.
Then she turned to Kira and asked her to kill the man, to take revenge for the loss of Rhen Var. She had to feel it too, the lust for revenge, the chance to pay back the enemy for the loss of so many good Jedi, including her friends. And no one would know. She’d say there was a struggle, that in the fray the Sith had been killed. No one would blame her at all.
The words were seductive, and kept echoing in the Padawan’s head, making her actually contemplate the reprehensible course of action. She was conflicted for long moments, during which only the hum of Daria’s lightsaber spoke.
Then the Sith started to taunt her, to mock the people he’d killed at Rhen Var, and it made Kira genuinely angry. Her hands formed fists and she shook a little, torn between her conscience and her anger.
Finally Kira loudly protested and uttered five words in the most serious tone she’d ever used in her life. “No! I am a Jedi!”
To her pure astonishment, Daria’s lightsaber deactivated and she said two words. Well done.
Kira felt pure elation over that twist of fate, and a surge of giddy joy she couldn’t control. It had all been a test, a challenge for her! And she’d passed it. Her smile only grew broader as she stepped out through the door with her master and the ‘Sith,’ received by the applause of all the Jedi outside. When the Master who’d brought her told her that she was a ‘true Jedi’ she nearly died.
For the first time, she felt like she’d earned the right to be called a Jedi, and the right to wear the robes she had. Her Trial of Courage was passed.
With the Trials begun by surprise, the rest took place as well in a slow but steady succession, paraded along one at a time almost leisurely, not pushing the Padawan through with urgency. Only one was she deemed to have already completed, which was the Trial of Flesh. The loss of Master Elteria Tanara on Rhen Var a year prior had been deemed a significant enough loss to qualify.
Skill came next, which took place with a few Guardians, one of which was seasoned with much experience, but a man with a gentle touch. He took her through a sparring session, running through all the basics of Shii Cho and Niman, before sending her off with his blessing into a training chamber with a simulated Dark Jedi, under the supervision of a pair of Knights who took great delight in telekinetically throwing objects at her.
Invariably Kira fought a delaying action, disengaging and retreating again and again, and never successfully going for an attack. That was a matter of concern for the observers, and ultimately they consulted their outside counterpart on what verdict to make.
By 2 to 1, they determined that Padawan Jeseledai had passed the Trial, and the Council agreed to that decision.
That left only spirit
Daria told Kira this one would be the hardest, that she would see things, feel things, that would disturb her. Kira wasn’t entirely sure she could believe that. Nevertheless, she went into it with an open mind, delving deep in meditation.
Much to her surprise, Kira’s vision took her back in time rather than forward. She was following the unknown master back to the room where Daria had been with the ‘Sith,’ and immediately Kira became complacent. She’d passed that challenge with flying colors, and as she nonchalantly walked into the same encounter, she was horrified to find that her answers were different. Without control, she began to lose her own ability to choose words in the vision, and instead her mouth uttered nasty threats in response to the “Sith’s” taunts. When he begged her to strike him down, she lashed out with her saber, and found herself fighting Daria.
Blinded with rage, she refused to back down, and she fought until her arm was severed. The pain was excruciating and she toppled to the floor and cried.
In the span of her vision, she saw the long recovery, she saw the way others looked at her. She felt ostracized, she felt guilty. She became wholly convinced it was the worst mistake she had ever made.
And then she woke up.
It was all a vision. She was safe, she was secure, and she’d learned a lesson: the Dark Side would only cause suffering and pain, and one could never yield to it.
Daria was satisfied the Trial was complete, and she relayed that to the Council. The Councilors agreed Kira was ready for Knighthood, and in a ceremony her braid was severed and she was given the title of Knight Consular. It was an immensely proud day for Kira, and she was further surprised when the Younglings she’d gotten off of Rhen Var gave her a signed card congratulating her. And that wasn’t the only gift she received.
Kira’s master, now promoted to Jedi Master, had long been planning a special gift, and she presented to her former Padawan a hand-made Tholoth headdress. While the Jedi as a whole were not overly keen on attachment to cultures, Daria was known for finding a little leeway, and as she made quite clear “No one is going to expel you for wearing a funny hat.”
The headdress became a daily staple, and was soon given a name by a young Mirialan girl named Luminara. The green girl christened ‘him’ Mister Tentacles, due to the uncanny resemblance to some kind of jellyfish. It stuck, and Kira took to referring to her headdress by that name, as well as waving the ‘tentacles’ with her hands and making a sound effect with her mouth, a combination all but guaranteed to make Younglings laugh.
Kira was 24, and she felt comfortable with her life. She was obeying the code with a single exception, something she kept secret. Once a month, she sent a letter and sketches back to New Holstice, to keep her mother informed. She knew she wasn’t supposed to, but Kira couldn’t help herself. It didn’t feel right to keep her own mother in the dark.
Knight Jeseledai was promptly given the role of teaching assistant, and made a roving instructor, to help out as needed with the various Youngling clans. She was most pleased with the assignment.
RP Sample:
“And one, and two, and three, and four, and five, and six” a voice called out evenly and patiently, as the body connected with it motioned with a green blade, making strokes towards the different target regions of an imaginary opponent, her movements being followed by a dozen children.
The children were Younglings in the Jedi Order, and the speaker was Knight Kira Jeseledai, their Instructor. Well, their instructor for the day. Unlike their regular minder, Kira was roving, a young Jedi Knight who bounced back and forth between the different clans, generally being helpful and filling in where needed. In non-Jedi terms she was a cross between a substitute teacher and a teacher’s assistant. Regardless, she had a way with the Younglings.
Kira deactivated the lightsaber she was holding and turned around to face the children, smiling and making eye contact the whole time. She was lucky in that the default expression on her face seemed to be a half-smile, a constant indicator of happiness. Unlike many in the galaxy, Kira deeply loved her job. Her calling was a more apt description, as the Tholothian woman had always longed to be a Jedi.
And here she was, childhood dream fulfilled. A Jedi. A hero of Peace and Justice, noble servant of the Republic. Even after 18 years it still gave her a giddy sensation in her stomach when she thought about it. She’d come so far from the little girl wearing costume Jedi robe to parties on New Holstice. Now she was the real deal.
“All right, everyone find a partner for the spar!” Kira instructed before looking down to see a little human boy tugging at the white cloth of her pants. Promptly she lowered herself down into a kneeling position so she could see him eye to eye.
“Yes?” She said softly.
The boy smiled sheepishly. “Knight Kira, can I go to the bathroom?”
“Of course you can, but make it quick.” She tried to stand again but her robes were tugged one more time.
“And can I wear Mister Tentacles?”
Kira giggled. “No, Mister Tentacles has to stay on my head where he belongs.”
Mister Tentacles was, of course, the Tholothian headdress she wore, with numerous tendrils of a whitish-blue-green dangling down the sides, which she had to admit did look distinctly like the tentacles of some kind of jellyfish perched on her head.
The dark-skinned Tholothian woman reached both hands up to the foremost strands and shook them vigorously while making a sound-effect with her mouth, and was rewarded immediately by a bout of giggling, which she swiftly joined in on.
Then she straightened, rising to her full tall height again and patting the child on the shoulder, sending him off to the bathroom. In the meantime she stepped into his place opposite a green Twi’lek girl, activating her own saber and helping the girl to spar, though her attention was divided between that and supervising the remaining children.
She blocked a strike geared for her leg, and then her arm. Her feet never moved, the reddish brown boots were rooted to the hard floor. Her movements were subdued and passive, and when she made her own strikes they were gentle and slow. Nothing would have made her feel quite as guilt as accidentally hurting a Youngling.
It wasn’t long before the human boy came back, and Kira stepped away from the Twi’lek, letting the boy in to continue the spar. After that she backed up and watched from the outside of the circular room, her hazel eyes taking in every movement made, watching both the execution of the Shii Cho fundamentals and the way in which the Younglings behaved, looking for ones with a potential problem she could help solve.
It was all just a day in the life of Kira Jeseledai.
Race: Tholothian
Age: 24
Height: 5’ 9”
Weight: 133 lbs
Appearance:
Kira Jeseledai is a Tholothian by blood, if not by culture. As such, she has a lovely dark caramel skin, which can be noticed in a single glance. However, what draws the most attention is the headdress she wears, a gift from her Master upon her Knighthood. One Youngling dubbed it “Mister Tentacles” due to the numerous strands dangling down from it. In a way it detracts from her appearance, as no one generally notices anything about the dark-skinned woman apart from her head-ware.
A closer examination reveals a long and narrow face, with full lips and an elegant patrician nose. Her eyebrows are slender and her eyes are rather average, though a lovely blue color best described as 'improbable.' They don't particularly convey any sense of depth or profound wisdom, but they are happy eyes, usually revealing a glow of joy.
Kira has a build that can be summed up in the words long and lean. She isn’t particularly curvy, and most definitely not the sort of girl over whom wars are fought, or epic poetry is composed. Her curves are minimal, with a flat chest that is nothing to write home about, and a posterior unlikely to attract attention. Her real appeal is in her smile, and an aura of sheer happiness that she exudes.
As befits a Jedi Knight, Kira wears the robes of the Jedi Order, in a combination of humble tans and browns, with white pants and reddish-brown boots resting just below her knees. The boots are worn, old friends that have been with her for years, and she's rather fond of them.
Personality: Kira is not exactly what you might expect of a Jedi Knight. While noble at heart, she has a tendency to be rather ditsy, and has never been considered the brightest crayon in the box. If Youngling classes had voted on categories, she would most definitely not have been ‘most likely to succeed.’ Without a single doubt though, she would have won the categories of ‘nicest’ and ‘best smile.’
While academically Kira was always thoroughly in the middle of the road, she tended to be a little airheaded in the rest of her life; she was often silly with ‘ridiculous’ ideals, as she was often told by her friends. She never put too much stock into such criticism however, and maintained her ‘silliness’ and those ‘ridiculous ideals.’ Like Teflon, nothing sticks to her. The criticism just rolled off her back and didn’t bother her in the least bit. She was content to stay with her ‘flaws.’
Kira has always been one to find just about anything funny, and to see the bright side in literally any situation. She is a limitless well of sympathy, and the quintessential patient ear. She is often accused of not being serious enough however, particularly when the need to scold comes up. This is a time where she tries her very best to put on a serious face, and not to find anything funny.
Most of the time Kira Jeseledai is required to keep her emotions under control, to be a professional when dealing with Younglings. It doesn’t always work out, as she can often be found laughing with children over something they both find funny. Often she plays with the Tholothian headdress she wears, dangling the ‘dangly bits’ and playing with them to amuse a child.
Those silly ideals are actually quite straight-forward. Kira firmly believes that the depiction of Jedi in every holo-movie of her youth is wholly right and without flaw. She is firmly convinced that the Jedi Order is truly the home of superbeings, home to veritable Saints. She takes the discussion of Peace and Justice in the galaxy quite seriously, and she has a child’s faith in the Jedi High Council and their ability to make decisions. In a certain sense, she doesn’t think for herself, preferring to listen to the wisdom of her elders for every possible circumstance. In another sense however she does her own thinking quite clearly, coming up with no small amount of educational tactics.
Knight Jeseledai has a redeeming trait though, she is literally one of the most patient and kind people anyone could ever meet. The Tholothian woman is always ready with a kind comment or a compliment, and she never, ever forgets a face. Her first instinct upon meeting someone is to make them a friend, and she almost always succeeds.
It is her friendly demeanor that makes Kira so successful in her chosen field as a teacher of Younglings, and her Saint-like patience is very handy as well. She has a certain childlike joy, and she can easily lower herself down to the level of any child, becoming a friend of their own age. She has no qualms getting down and playing with building blocks alongside a young member of any species.
Kira is without prejudice of any kind, holding to a ‘ridiculous ideal’ of loving everyone without exception. Were she to meet a Dark Lord of the Sith, her first instinct would be to hug it out, something countered only by self-preservation. The only time when she can become ferocious is when a child is in danger, and then she springs into action, ready to risk everything for even one youth.
Generally speaking though, her response is usually flight rather than fight, and any fighting she does is merely a delaying action to buy time for others. Luckily, the percentage of the time one needs to fight anyone in the Jedi Temple approaches 0% with great certainty, so her lack of combat prowess is not quite as crippling as it would be if she was a Guardian.
Thanks to growing up at the Rhen Var enclave, and being a very happy little girl, Kira associates snow with good memories, and she adores the fluffy white substance, sometimes going so far as to compose poetry about it.
Kira is a Jedi and cannot act on her feelings, but she is sexually attracted to both men and women, though the topic doesn't come up much and she has a tendency to not discuss sex, or nudity, or anything remotely related to romantic or sexual activities.
Kira does, however, discuss breakfast quite often. It is her favorite meal of the day, and she does wonder why the cafeterias at the Temple don't serve it all day. You can count on Kira to be an early riser, getting up with the sun and embracing a waffle and bacon with a glass of citrus juice. She still hasn't developed a taste for coffee without a ton of sugar, and probably never will.
The Tholothian Knight is not one to stand on ceremony when it comes to herself and her position. She genuinely doesn't mind if anyone calls her by her first name or forgets her title of Knight. However she is quite respectful and cognizant of the titles of others, and can always be relied on to refer to Masters properly.
Growing up on New Holstice was a pivotal experience for Kira, as was coming to the Jedi Order so late in life. There are two things especially that stuck in her mind from her youth. The first was the Jedi Memorial on her planet, which she visited on a weekly basis with a flower. The second thing was a holonet series she watched religiously growing up called “Padawan Adventures.” It centered around a group of cartoon Jedi, and it thoroughly cemented Kira’s desire to be a Jedi, which was something she literally never grew out of.
Kira Jeseledai isn’t a woman with many hobbies, but she does have two main hobbies. The first is music, as she plays the double viol quite well in a variety of styles, and the second is art. Kira is rather handy with a pencil and paper, and increasingly dabbles in actual painting. It’s safe to say that friends will receive some form of art work upon gift-giving occasions.
Birth place: New Holstice
Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight (Consular), Teacher’s Assistant
Lightsaber: Single blade single phase
Color: Green
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi
Soresu
Ataru
Shien / Djem So
>>Sub-form Backhanded
Niman 4
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield
Juyo
Double Bladed Combat
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 3
Telepathic: 5
Body: 3
Sense: 5
Protection: 5
Healing: 6
Destruction: 0
Specialized Skills:
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 5
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 4
Melee Weapons: 2
Ranged Weapons: 2
Bio:
New Holstice
Alia Jeseledai was a single mother, a Tholothian émigré, who had settled down on New Holstice just in time to give birth to a daughter, who she named Kira, in honor of her grandmother.
The birth in a Republic hospital resulted in a blood test to determine force-sensivity. When the results came back and the Jedi contacted Alia, her response was a staunch and steadfast no. There was no persuading her, no convincing her, and most definitely no reasoning with her. She wasn’t about to give up little Kira to strangers, Force or not.
Growing up, Kira was neither legitimate nor the product of a normal household with two parental figures present. Instead she spent much of her early time in the care of the next-door neighbor’s eldest daughter Niya while Alia worked hard as a nurse at a local hospital, one thing the planet was famous for.
The principle leisure activity Kira was introduced to was walking in a memorial park, which housed the Memorial to all the Jedi who had ever fallen to enemies. From as early as she could speak, Kira showed an interest in the sprawling memorial, and seemed to take naturally to the reverence the visitors had.
She would invariably ask her mother what the memorial meant, and she received the explanation that it honored every Jedi murdered or lost in wars since the very beginning of the Republic. That sparked a lifelong fascination with the Jedi.
The Jedi obsession became true hero worship, and everything soon centered around Jedi. Costumes for costume parties were Jedi robes, her blanket had the icon of the Jedi Order, and every weekend she turned on the holonet receiver in the morning and watched “Padawan Adventures,” following the exploits of the human Jedi Padawan Arki Darkrider and his friends.
The little girl was truly smitten.
One day at the age of four and a half year old, Kira had a long conversation with her mother, starting from an item Alia had let slip. There had been a test taken at birth to see if she was Force-sensitive, and Kira demanded to know the results.
After relentless badgering, Alia admitted the truth, that Kira was eligible to be a Jedi.
That prompted an even longer debate featuring a good deal of tears and protestations before the younger party stormed off to cry under her Jedi blankets. Out of pity, Alia came in an hour later and struck up a bargain with Kira. If Kira still wanted to be Jedi by the time she was five and a half, Alia would notify the Jedi and have them discuss it with them.
Alia had never imagined her daughter’s fixation on Jedi would last so long, otherwise she might never have made the agreement. The year passed and the Jedi was summoned. Then they sat down to a very awkward three-way chat.
The Jedi was a Knight from Rhen Var, the closest enclave to their planet, and he was met with sheer adulation by Kira. She followed his every move intently, and waited on him hand and foot. He was the first Jedi she’d ever seen.
He told her that the ways of the Force were slow and difficult, and that it wouldn’t be easy. Only the thought that contact with her mother would be forbidden made her think twice, but the enthusiasm of youth could not be daunted.
For Alia, it was like ripping off a bandage. She had the option of clinging on to Kira for as long as she could, or tearing her away swiftly. She settled for the latter, and after a hug and kiss, and one final holophoto, Kira Jeseledai was off to the icy world of Rhen Var just a few days after her sixth birthday.
Becoming a Hero
Kira’s first impressions of life in the Jedi Order were quite tainted. As it happened, that was a very good thing. Most children placed onto a frigid iceball with nothing but a few stone ruins would cringe, groan, and moan over their misfortune. Kira merely took to loving snow, because it was a Jedi planet and had to be good.
Her first week was truly ideal, basking in the warm glow of having exactly what she’d wanted. She was a Jedi now. A hero. Defender of Peace and Justice, ready to go out and fight Dark Jedi, slay evildoers. What she hadn’t expected was what she’d felt the second week.
Kira had never left home before. She’d never felt homesick, but she became intimately familiar with the feeling in her sixth year of life. Every little thing reminded her of her mother and New Holstice. On those occasions she sought every comfort possible, from misbehaving for attention to standing outside in the snow until she felt like an ice cube. Her most successful outlet was a Mirialan woman named Elteria, who was quite old by the standards of a child, though she was merely forty. She was a Youngling Instructor, though not in charge of Kira’s clan. Nevertheless, the woman adapted readily to the needy girl and was always ready with a hug and soft words, serving as a sort of surrogate mother.
She filled the void, and the adjustment was gradually completed over a year, fading out into a normal schedule of learning.
It was, Kira found, disappointingly similar to school in some respects. Unfortunately it wasn’t all playing with lightsabers and levitating things with your mind. There was quite a lot of math, and science, and even some Basic literature. Kira wasn’t stupid by any stretch of the imagination, and even she felt it was daunting.
Thanks to the motherly guidance of Elteria she scraped by, running a low average on her academics and a more substantial average on her more uniquely Jedi skills.
By the age of eight she was blessed again by being a very, very happy girl. She was bubbly, and she had a magnificent way of befriending everyone. Her loneliness had been dealt with by making friends with absolutely everyone she could, and her ridiculously bright smile and carefree demeanor warmed over just about everyone at the Rhen Var enclave.
There were only two other Younglings in all the other clans who seemed immune to her charms. These were a Weequay boy named Ash-ki and a Rodian girl named Reah, both of whom were grumpy little souls. They were the very first to openly say that Kira was silly, a ditsy little girl. They looked down on her and absolutely refused to befriend her.
Kira’s tendencies towards idolizing the Jedi also led to some tension. While she could clearly remember life outside the Jedi and knew what heroes they were to little children like herself, most of the other Younglings had been taken closer to birth and couldn’t remember anything but the Jedi. They didn’t realize what all the fuss was over being a Jedi.
One girl who did was a Cathar subspecies named Hasra, who had come to the Jedi at the age of 5. She’d never watched the Holonet shows, but she had been raised on bedtime stories about Jedi, and she’d even met one once. For her it was also hero worship.
Their instructor, a Wroonian man, warned them both that placing the Order on a pedestal could be dangerous, and that they were likely to be disappointed by the actual kinds of missions they undertook. Neither girl particularly heeded those warnings.
Their second tier of friends consisted of a Twi’lek boy and girl named Zelada and Supisy, a Togruta girl named Rana, and a human boy named Ian, who was very proud of his Corellian heritage.
Kira had never really thought much about her Tholothian heritage to be honest. It was just one of those factors in life she’d never seen the point in fussing over. Granted she had seen pictures of Tholothian headdresses in the Rhen Var archives, and she wanted one.
Her progress with lightsabers was average, and her skill with the Force was above average. She did a good job in sense, protection, and healing; though she was slightly stunted in telekinesis and body abilities. On the whole though, she was remarkably balanced, leading some to believe she might make a good Sentinel some day.
One Jedi Knight thought differently. She was a Consular, a Miraluka named Daria. She was a resident of the Rhen Var enclave, though she often strayed near and far for missions, and she was certainly not immune to the charms of a certain Tholothian Youngling. Daria selected Kira at the age of 12 and immediately immersed her in the life of a Padawan.
Live Up to Your Potential
There was one thing that Daria made especially clear, “The Jedi are not a cloistered order. If you wanted to sit in a monastery and meditate all day there are other religions.”
That was the governing philosophy that reigned alongside the Jedi Code. Nothing the Jedi did would be in a vacuum, and their actions would make an impression on other people. They were responsible for the public image of the Jedi.
Daria also felt defense was important, so their very first stop as a duo was on Ilum, a world that Kira had been well-prepared for by virtue of her six years on Rhen Var, another frozen world.
Down in the crystal caverns, swaddled in a fuzzy parka, Kira was instructed to let the Force guide her to a crystal, then to obtain it and meditate over it until it ‘felt right.’ So she did.
It wasn’t easy for the girl, but in the end she had a ‘pretty good’ feeling about a formation of green crystals, so she chipped one off and took it back to her quarters and meditated over it, stopping only for necessities like food and a few quick hours of sleep.
In the end, she did get to the point where it felt right, and she presented it to Daria, who took it between her fingers and pronounced it good. Promptly the assembly of the lightsaber began from stock parts, and Kira was never ashamed to admit that her master helped her out with the assembly.
Just a few weeks after she got to practice with her new lightsaber, which prompted massive smiles, Kira and Daria had their very first mission together.
It was nothing too serious, just a mining dispute on an Outer Rim world, but it was Kira’s first exposure to diplomacy, which was probably what her Youngling Instructor had meant by risking disappointment. As it happened, he was mostly wrong.
While the nitty-gritty details of the mediation were a little foreign to the girl, she found the whole concept to be quite important and very important. She was reminded of her master’s mantra, that their actions would determine what people thought of Jedi. This was an opportunity for them to give a good impression, so Kira worked hard for it.
The negotiations were a great success, thanks to Daria rather than her young apprentice.
They returned to Rhen Var, and Kira was assigned a great deal of work to carry out, reading up on negotiating tactics. Luckily the mediation had whet her appetite, and she dove into the material. However, as was the way of children, she strayed from her work quite often in favor of running outside and making snow angels or finding ways to amuse herself with Younglings or other Padawans.
It was in one of her deviations from work that she met with Ashi-ki and Reah again, her detractors as a Youngling. They had both been taken by masters, Guardians at that, and were supremely confident.
They had also decided they didn’t like Kira.
Ashi-ki provoked a discussion about values, which Kira had learned from media depictions of Jedi. She was firmly convinced dialogue solved problems, and that talking was always best. Above all, she believed a Jedi should love everyone.
Reah taunted her for it, and Ashi-ki teased that if she loved Dark Jedi, why shouldn’t she go marry one?
They hurt her feelings so bad that Kira ran to her quarters crying, where she was discovered in tears by her master, who demanded to know the full story. It was told, and Daria’s response was to hug the girl and give her a good talk.
There was nothing wrong with showing love, and it was the ultimate goal for a Jedi. If they couldn’t show love, she should pity them. If they were cruel to her, she should pity them all the more. Most of all, she should never change. Daria told her she should always preserve that love she felt. If they bothered her, she should just ignore it.
Armed with a newfound love and pity, she returned to her daily routine, and much to their chagrin, she refused to rise to their taunts. Disgruntled, they gave up and moved on to other kids, though they made it quite clear they didn’t care about her ‘silly ideals.’
More than ever before, Kira clung to them.
Easily the most fun mission Kira went on was a trip to the Coruscant Temple and the Galactic Senate. It was her first time since New Holstice that she’d actually been somewhere with a sizable population, and it was her first time being on a planet where the whole of the surface was city.
It truly astonished her, and she was inspired to take up a sketchpad and start to draw what she saw. At the time, she thought her art was pretty impressive, though in subsequent years she grew less fond of it. It began a lifelong habit however, and she did grow rather skilled at it.
The ‘mission’ itself was mostly sight-seeing, punctuated by a consulting visit with a Senator. The Senator was a kindly old man, and he treated Kira just like an adult, like a real Jedi despite her age. While she sat rather passively through the discussion between him and Daria, she did find the experience enjoyable.
For the next four years, she did little more than mediate disputes and train in the enclave, practicing Shii Cho and her master’s preferred form of Niman. By the time she was 18, her Niman was much better-developed, and her Shii Cho was thoroughly on target for her age. Her Force abilities had grown as well, retaining her strengths and her weaknesses.
There really were no serious Padawan Adventures styled missions, fighting Dark Jedi and rescuing holocrons and princesses from bad guys. Instead everything really seemed to revolve around diplomacy, though occasionally those situations became aggressive.
While tensions flared on occasion, and more than once vibroblades and blasters were drawn, Padawan Jeseledai never actually had to kill anyone, which was a relief. Once she accidentally lopped off a hand rather than a blaster and she felt terribly guilty as a result. Daria told her though that she had no choice, and she shouldn’t feel bad.
Instead she advised that the girl delve deeper into her sketchpads, and maybe try to pick up some music. It worked, as a new double viol occupied much of her time, and her ‘art skills’ improved quite dramatically with practice. Often Kira wondered if they could ever be useful in her missions, and while the answer was technically no, she tried to incorporate them anyway. She took to sketching out the faces of the major people they dealt with, then giving away the sketches as gifts.
The major recipients were her Youngling friends, now grown up into older Padawans. From memory, Kira drew them all as Younglings together, and found that Ian and Rana both loved it, while Supisy and Zelada felt a little bit embarrassed about looking so young. They all received copies however.
Shape Your Future
Kira gravitated naturally towards Younglings when she was at the enclave, and she managed to talk Elteria into letting her serve as an assistant, helping the Instructors with various tasks.
She did prove to be quite useful, and not above getting down to the level of a child and really engaging with them. Chalk it up to her inner child staying strong or simply her slightly ditzy and loveable personality, but the end result was a real gift working with the children.
By 19, she was reasonably sure that she wanted to work with Younglings, and when she told Daria, the Miraluka woman seemed a little disappointed. She’d been hoping to craft the girl into a diplomat, a skilled mediator who could solve any dispute.
Kira was disappointed in the reaction, and felt a little disheartened. The normally bright and sunny girl became a little introverted for a few days right up until Daria knocked on her door to apologize. Kira promptly bounced back, and enjoyed the support of her master in her career goal.
Daria was, in Kira’s estimation, the very best master anyone could ever hope for. She was wise, and kind, and exceptionally patient. She tolerated everything with great panache, and above all she always knew just the right thing to say. The Padawan did her absolute best to emulate those traits, and managed to truly master kindness and patience, though she was never one to be ‘wise.’ More like ditzy and silly.
Learning under Elteria was quite the experience, as she was most definitely an old woman, a resident of the Rhen Var enclave for fifty years, and the Dantooine enclave for the previous twenty. Her wisdom was legendary in the enclave, and her experience with children was invaluable to learn from.
However, tragedy struck at the age of 22, when Elteria tripped and fell down a flight of stairs, breaking her neck and passing away from the trauma before medical help could arrive.
Kira was distraught, and even her chipper optimism couldn’t help her banish the grief, not for weeks. Daria did her absolute best to soothe her Padawan, to assuage her feelings. Death was a natural part of life, and that she shouldn’t cling to those who passed on into the next existence. She should accept that they were one with the Force.
An Exercise in Panic
In 3602 BBY, the enclave at Rhen Var was attacked by the Sith. It came as quite a surprise to Kira, who hadn’t seen a single thing coming. She was attending to a class of Younglings when it happened, visiting with Daria. Her master dashed off to join the fray and ordered Kira to get the Younglings to safety.
The Tholothian Padawan herded her charges along to the hangar and bustled them into a shuttle before going back to search for more Younglings. She managed to find a few clustered in one of the training rooms, and she led them to the shuttle as well. Before she could go back for more, a Jedi Master appeared in the hangar and told her to take off immediately and head for safety.
Thinking back to her basic pilot training, Kira took the shuttle out of the hangar and lifted off, stopping at New Holstice to wait for further instruction from the Jedi Order, the first safe place she could think of that wasn’t likely to be crawling with Sith.
She had to admit she also had some less noble ambitions in mind.
Padawan Jeseledai saw to it that the Younglings were safe and secure, and kept them under the supervision of local authorities, then she set off on a private quest. The Tholothian woman managed to track down her mother and knocked on the door, finding a familiar face, though one that had gained a few wrinkles.
For a few seconds it seemed Alia didn’t recognize her daughter, not after all the changes that had taken place in 17 years. However the woman caught on and let out a scream before fiercely embracing Kira. It marked the Padawan’s only real deviation from the Jedi way.
The two sat down to tea as Kira explained what had just happened. She told of the attack on Rhen Var and how she’d wanted to let her mother know she was safe. Alia agreed it was a noble gesture, and despite her years of ambivalence over yielding her daughter, she was deeply proud her little girl had become a Jedi.
The room was still the same as it had been, and Kira slept in her old bed that night, though her legs dangled off the edge.
The next morning she shared breakfast with her mother and promised to stay in touch, albeit covertly. Then she returned to the shuttle and contacted Coruscant for instructions one more time.
Kira was told to bring the Younglings to the Jedi Temple, where they would be sorted into existing Youngling clans and continue their training. She readily took them to their new home, and while there she was gifted to have two experiences.
The first joy was that Daria was alive and well, despite a few minor lightsaber burns. She’d made it off of Rhen Var with a group of survivors and had fled to the Temple straight away. That was an enormous burden off of Kira’s mind, as she’d had a near-constant low-level worry clouding her thoughts for days.
The second joy was being summoned before the Jedi Council and being issued a commendation for seeing to the safety of 24 Younglings. It was the proudest moment of her life so far.
There was bittersweet aftermath, as Kira reunited with Rana and Ian, the former now scarred across her red face and the latter with a cybernetic hand. Both the Togruta and the Human had been in the thick of the fighting on Rhen Var with their masters, one of whom had not escaped alive. Zelada and Supisy had both died or been captured. No one quite knew for sure.
But Kira rejoiced that some of her friends were still alive, doubly appreciative when Hasra returned.
The Cathar girl had been off training on Mustafar for years, her aging master preferring the pleasant temperate climate. However she had returned to Coruscant for her Knighting ceremony, and once more she was Kira's good friend.
The Fruits of Your Labor
A few months after the fall of Rhen Var and a resettlement on Coruscant, something very unexpected happened to Kira, then 23. She was meditating in her new quarters (and playing her double viol), when a Master she didn’t know knocked on the door and told her Daria needed her.
The Tholothian girl acquiesced at once and darted off, following the Master to a room in the depths of the Temple, which was surrounded by Jedi with drawn lightasabers, held at the ready though not activated.
The unknown Master told her that Daria was inside with a captured Sith, one who had been present at Rhen Var, and that she had him at the point of her lightsaber, ready to kill him. Kira was the only one who could put a stop to it.
The door slid open and Kira walked dumbly inside, feeling thoroughly overwhelmed. Her Miraluka master was there, ranting and raving about the evils of the Sith who had destroyed Rhen Var, and killed so many good Jedi.
Then she turned to Kira and asked her to kill the man, to take revenge for the loss of Rhen Var. She had to feel it too, the lust for revenge, the chance to pay back the enemy for the loss of so many good Jedi, including her friends. And no one would know. She’d say there was a struggle, that in the fray the Sith had been killed. No one would blame her at all.
The words were seductive, and kept echoing in the Padawan’s head, making her actually contemplate the reprehensible course of action. She was conflicted for long moments, during which only the hum of Daria’s lightsaber spoke.
Then the Sith started to taunt her, to mock the people he’d killed at Rhen Var, and it made Kira genuinely angry. Her hands formed fists and she shook a little, torn between her conscience and her anger.
Finally Kira loudly protested and uttered five words in the most serious tone she’d ever used in her life. “No! I am a Jedi!”
To her pure astonishment, Daria’s lightsaber deactivated and she said two words. Well done.
Kira felt pure elation over that twist of fate, and a surge of giddy joy she couldn’t control. It had all been a test, a challenge for her! And she’d passed it. Her smile only grew broader as she stepped out through the door with her master and the ‘Sith,’ received by the applause of all the Jedi outside. When the Master who’d brought her told her that she was a ‘true Jedi’ she nearly died.
For the first time, she felt like she’d earned the right to be called a Jedi, and the right to wear the robes she had. Her Trial of Courage was passed.
With the Trials begun by surprise, the rest took place as well in a slow but steady succession, paraded along one at a time almost leisurely, not pushing the Padawan through with urgency. Only one was she deemed to have already completed, which was the Trial of Flesh. The loss of Master Elteria Tanara on Rhen Var a year prior had been deemed a significant enough loss to qualify.
Skill came next, which took place with a few Guardians, one of which was seasoned with much experience, but a man with a gentle touch. He took her through a sparring session, running through all the basics of Shii Cho and Niman, before sending her off with his blessing into a training chamber with a simulated Dark Jedi, under the supervision of a pair of Knights who took great delight in telekinetically throwing objects at her.
Invariably Kira fought a delaying action, disengaging and retreating again and again, and never successfully going for an attack. That was a matter of concern for the observers, and ultimately they consulted their outside counterpart on what verdict to make.
By 2 to 1, they determined that Padawan Jeseledai had passed the Trial, and the Council agreed to that decision.
That left only spirit
Daria told Kira this one would be the hardest, that she would see things, feel things, that would disturb her. Kira wasn’t entirely sure she could believe that. Nevertheless, she went into it with an open mind, delving deep in meditation.
Much to her surprise, Kira’s vision took her back in time rather than forward. She was following the unknown master back to the room where Daria had been with the ‘Sith,’ and immediately Kira became complacent. She’d passed that challenge with flying colors, and as she nonchalantly walked into the same encounter, she was horrified to find that her answers were different. Without control, she began to lose her own ability to choose words in the vision, and instead her mouth uttered nasty threats in response to the “Sith’s” taunts. When he begged her to strike him down, she lashed out with her saber, and found herself fighting Daria.
Blinded with rage, she refused to back down, and she fought until her arm was severed. The pain was excruciating and she toppled to the floor and cried.
In the span of her vision, she saw the long recovery, she saw the way others looked at her. She felt ostracized, she felt guilty. She became wholly convinced it was the worst mistake she had ever made.
And then she woke up.
It was all a vision. She was safe, she was secure, and she’d learned a lesson: the Dark Side would only cause suffering and pain, and one could never yield to it.
Daria was satisfied the Trial was complete, and she relayed that to the Council. The Councilors agreed Kira was ready for Knighthood, and in a ceremony her braid was severed and she was given the title of Knight Consular. It was an immensely proud day for Kira, and she was further surprised when the Younglings she’d gotten off of Rhen Var gave her a signed card congratulating her. And that wasn’t the only gift she received.
Kira’s master, now promoted to Jedi Master, had long been planning a special gift, and she presented to her former Padawan a hand-made Tholoth headdress. While the Jedi as a whole were not overly keen on attachment to cultures, Daria was known for finding a little leeway, and as she made quite clear “No one is going to expel you for wearing a funny hat.”
The headdress became a daily staple, and was soon given a name by a young Mirialan girl named Luminara. The green girl christened ‘him’ Mister Tentacles, due to the uncanny resemblance to some kind of jellyfish. It stuck, and Kira took to referring to her headdress by that name, as well as waving the ‘tentacles’ with her hands and making a sound effect with her mouth, a combination all but guaranteed to make Younglings laugh.
Kira was 24, and she felt comfortable with her life. She was obeying the code with a single exception, something she kept secret. Once a month, she sent a letter and sketches back to New Holstice, to keep her mother informed. She knew she wasn’t supposed to, but Kira couldn’t help herself. It didn’t feel right to keep her own mother in the dark.
Knight Jeseledai was promptly given the role of teaching assistant, and made a roving instructor, to help out as needed with the various Youngling clans. She was most pleased with the assignment.
RP Sample:
“And one, and two, and three, and four, and five, and six” a voice called out evenly and patiently, as the body connected with it motioned with a green blade, making strokes towards the different target regions of an imaginary opponent, her movements being followed by a dozen children.
The children were Younglings in the Jedi Order, and the speaker was Knight Kira Jeseledai, their Instructor. Well, their instructor for the day. Unlike their regular minder, Kira was roving, a young Jedi Knight who bounced back and forth between the different clans, generally being helpful and filling in where needed. In non-Jedi terms she was a cross between a substitute teacher and a teacher’s assistant. Regardless, she had a way with the Younglings.
Kira deactivated the lightsaber she was holding and turned around to face the children, smiling and making eye contact the whole time. She was lucky in that the default expression on her face seemed to be a half-smile, a constant indicator of happiness. Unlike many in the galaxy, Kira deeply loved her job. Her calling was a more apt description, as the Tholothian woman had always longed to be a Jedi.
And here she was, childhood dream fulfilled. A Jedi. A hero of Peace and Justice, noble servant of the Republic. Even after 18 years it still gave her a giddy sensation in her stomach when she thought about it. She’d come so far from the little girl wearing costume Jedi robe to parties on New Holstice. Now she was the real deal.
“All right, everyone find a partner for the spar!” Kira instructed before looking down to see a little human boy tugging at the white cloth of her pants. Promptly she lowered herself down into a kneeling position so she could see him eye to eye.
“Yes?” She said softly.
The boy smiled sheepishly. “Knight Kira, can I go to the bathroom?”
“Of course you can, but make it quick.” She tried to stand again but her robes were tugged one more time.
“And can I wear Mister Tentacles?”
Kira giggled. “No, Mister Tentacles has to stay on my head where he belongs.”
Mister Tentacles was, of course, the Tholothian headdress she wore, with numerous tendrils of a whitish-blue-green dangling down the sides, which she had to admit did look distinctly like the tentacles of some kind of jellyfish perched on her head.
The dark-skinned Tholothian woman reached both hands up to the foremost strands and shook them vigorously while making a sound-effect with her mouth, and was rewarded immediately by a bout of giggling, which she swiftly joined in on.
Then she straightened, rising to her full tall height again and patting the child on the shoulder, sending him off to the bathroom. In the meantime she stepped into his place opposite a green Twi’lek girl, activating her own saber and helping the girl to spar, though her attention was divided between that and supervising the remaining children.
She blocked a strike geared for her leg, and then her arm. Her feet never moved, the reddish brown boots were rooted to the hard floor. Her movements were subdued and passive, and when she made her own strikes they were gentle and slow. Nothing would have made her feel quite as guilt as accidentally hurting a Youngling.
It wasn’t long before the human boy came back, and Kira stepped away from the Twi’lek, letting the boy in to continue the spar. After that she backed up and watched from the outside of the circular room, her hazel eyes taking in every movement made, watching both the execution of the Shii Cho fundamentals and the way in which the Younglings behaved, looking for ones with a potential problem she could help solve.
It was all just a day in the life of Kira Jeseledai.
