Name: Taven Tardello
Race: Human
Age: 24
Height: 5'9"
Weight: 160
Appearance: The only word worthy of describing Taven Tardello is, “beautiful.” His hair is a golden color, cut short in a stylish fashion matched with a pair of ocean blue eyes which practically shine against his pale skin. His eyebrows are thin and curved, his mouth, chin and jaw line are smooth but firm as if made from polished stone. His posture is that of a proper gentleman, chest forward, shoulders back, and head held high. His fashion sense is that of an experienced smuggler, wearing a long brown and gray coat which touches the back of his leather boots. Hiding the upper portion of his face is a hat that is similar to an akubra, same color as his coat. His shirt is a pure black color, matched by a belt with a silver buckle. His pants match his hat and coat, and are neatly tucked into his boots. Even with the appearance of a smuggler, it is quite easy to see that he is much more than that. His movements are not that of someone who is sneaky or accustomed to being on the run, but the exact opposite. He is like a statue operating with strong, bold movements but he is not a clumsy individual. In fact, you can always sense a kind of gracefulness as he passes by you.
Personality: Taven's personality will almost always appear to be calm and collective. He likes to keep himself tidy but never complains when the going gets tough or when it's time to do some dirty work. Overall he appears to be a laid back, brutally truthful but care free individual who gives half smirks as a sign of happiness rather than a full smile. But all of this is a well crafted mask to deceive and to hide what lays inside, which can only be described as a clever, manipulative, enraged and selfish soul who respects only strength and power. Anything else is considered expendable to him, and will eventually be disposed of for his own personal benefit if he should wish it. Being manipulative, it is very difficult to find any kind of loyalty or justice in Taven's normal agenda. Such a thing he reserves only for the individuals who outmatch him and are, at the same time, of use to him.
Birth place: Coruscant
Faction: Sith
Rank: Initiate
Lightsaber:
Color: Yellow
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho
Makashi
Soresu
Ataru
Shien / Djem So
>>Sub-form Backhanded
Niman
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield
Juyo
Double Bladed Combat
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 1 - 10
Telepathic: 1 - 10
Body: 1 - 10
Sense: 1 – 10
Protection: 1 - 10
Healing: 1 – 10
Destruction: 1 – 10
Specialized Skills:
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 5
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 3
Leadership: 2
Unarmed: 1 - 10
Melee Weapons: 1 - 10
Ranged Weapons: 1 - 10
Bio:
Born into Brilliance
Taven Tardello was once part of a very high-class family that lived on Coruscant. He was the youngest of five other boys who were all nearly grown up by the time he had come into the world. All of his elder siblings aspired to be great politicians, like their father before them who had become an Ambassador of the Republic.
Ambassador Tardello loved his sons, and saw to it that they were well educated, unspoiled, and behaving like grown men at an early age. Taven's childhood would be no different. Instead of waiting for the day their youngest son was old enough for school, his parents started educating him as soon as he was able to speak. His mother was the one to teach him his early lessons starting with the ABCs, learning what numbers were and so on and so forth. Being young and eager, Taven drank it all in. Like his brothers before him, he learned quickly and listened to his mother's teachings without question.
A few years passed, and when Taven turned to the age of 6, his father began to throw in little classes of his own. By this time Taven could read, write, understood multiplication and division, and had developed a curiosity for his father's job as a politician. But the explanation of his father's occupation would come much later. Instead, Ambassador Tardello filled his son's days with geography, economics, basic political terms, and books about historical events mostly revolving around Coruscant, to begin with.
Outside of his school work, Taven was showing signs that he might not be as similar to his brothers as his parents first thought. He was a mischievous little child, proving to be more of a handful than most of his brothers ever were. He also seemed to have a headstrong confidence that he must have received from his father's side of the family. The other Tardello boys shared their mother's humbleness and natural desire for good. And there was no question that something else seemed off about the boy, especially when doing his school work. It was not surprising that Taven was a brilliant little child. This was due to his parents' determination and strict academic teachings, so his above average intelligence was not the thing in question. It was his familiarity with the material before his parents ever presented it. Sometimes his parents felt as if they were the students and he was the teacher, as he would “predict” the topic for the day and then explain his understanding of it. To simply say that he was a “quick learner” just didn't seem accurate anymore.
They had never seen such progress in their other sons back when they where Taven's age. His mother pushed the mysterious thoughts out of her mind and called him her “little genius,” not bothering to worry about something that she considered to be nothing but pure talent. Ambassador Tardello, however, had his suspicions. Taven was a bright little boy, the brightest of all his other sons. Perhaps he was a genius, or perhaps he was something else. It was far too early to tell, but the possibility of his child being force sensitive crossed his mind. He was no fool, and he had heard of the Jedi and their ways of recruiting new members into their order. He wouldn't have it. No son of his would be turned into an “emotionless zealot” if he had anything to say about it. So, during that time, Taven's father kept his suspicions to himself, and continued to watch the boy for any further evidence of force sensitivity.
Four years passed with little change to Taven's strict academic schedule, mischievous behavior, or his Father's suspicions of force sensitivity. His parents could not have been more proud of their youngest son for his dedication to his studies. Unfortunately, they were unable to see that the wheels in Taven's mind were beginning to spin in another direction. Instead of soaking up his studies without question, Taven began to think in a very independent sort of way. Was this the kind of life that he actually wanted? Did he truly have his heart set in politics, or was he doing what he was told simply because he was told to do it? If so, why? Did he not have a choice? Was his father's footsteps the only set of prints that he was allowed to follow? Or could he make his own path? One that would take him beyond the vast nothingness that laid in wait for him far away from his home planet. He experimented with different answers, attempting to follow his logic and reason more so than his feelings, just as his father had taught him. But the more his mind explored several different possibilities, answers, and even more questions, it soon seemed illogical not to trust his feelings. Such things were a part of him and to deny them was to be that of a blind idiot, never truly becoming “his own man,” as his father would say.
This marked the turning point in Taven's life and way of thinking. No amount of lectures or discipline would ever make him feel otherwise. In his mind, his logic was sound and his true desires revealed. But, to be fair to his parents, he decided to continue learning from them and strive to set his feelings aside. Of course, he would never be rid of this wish to walk a different path, but he knew that putting his duties before his own desires was the right thing to do. If he failed, then he would have his answer, and his parents would just have to find some way to live with that.
Confliction
Three long years of more eduction passed as Taven struggled to stay commited to the path his parents had set before him. During the day he would play the little game of "aspiring politician," but at night he would escape from the safety of his home and into the world of constant technology that waited for him just outside the door. The never ending pulse of life was like a beacon to the youngest Tardello boy, forcing him to chase after it. At first he didn't venture far, staying cautious due to the fact that it could possibly be dangrous for a young teenage boy to be running around on his own through the night. But he didn't care, his heart was an adventurous one and he felt as if it was drawing him to something.
Most of the time it would lead him to the cantina, but not for drinking of course! Not yet anyway. It was the people, the collection of individuals following their own path and bumping into eachother by mere coincedence. He would watch them, study them as if they were one of his books, learning about them without ever speaking a word to them. He was looking for the kind of man he wanted to become, but for the longest time he didn't see anything that grasped his attention. Mercenaries, men of science, bussiness owners, soldiers, smugglers, mechanics, all of these and more were the kinds of people that piqued his interest. But none of them seemed to be the path that his heart wanted to follow.
Over a year of sneaking off into the night without getting caught made Taven think that perhaps the career of an assassin was in order. However, it wasn't long after his 14th birthday that Ambassador Tardello caught his youngest son in the act. At first he did not treat it as anything important, he merely asked why his son felt the need to hide something like this from him. It was at this moment that Taven felt he should explain how he was feeling about his future, and his desire to walk a different path. Just as he predicted, it did not go over well. The Ambassador fell into a rage, shouting his disagreement, saying how it was Taven's duty and responsibility to the galaxy to use his gifts for the only thing they were meant for. Politics. He told Taven that anything else would be a huge waste of his talent, and nothing went to waste in the Tardello family!
If Taven were younger, he would have hung his head in a defeated fashion and set his sights back on track with what his father wanted. But he was too headstrong now, too disappointed in his father's narrow minded opinion of his abilities to back down. In fact, it was his father's reaction that helped finalize Taven's decision. His father did not care about what he wanted, and therefore had other reasons for pushing him into politics. Taven wouldn't have it. He stood tall and firm in his father's angry presence swearing that politics would have no place in his life in the future. The Ambassador struck his son in anger, grabbed him by the shirt, and threw him into bed, and he made his own swear that he would make Taven's life miserable if he continued his new way of thinking.
Needless to say, Taven's relationship with his father worsened after that night. He continued his studies, but only because he knew it made him stronger and more likely to achieve success. He had decided that he would take what he needed from his father and then dissappear into the glaxy, never to return. The Ambassador attempted to begin controling Taven's scheduel outside of his school work, telling him where he could go, who he could talk to and how long he could be out of the house. This was when Taven's michievous nature turned into a rebellious one, fearlessly ignoring his father's instructions and going wherever he please just to spite him.
When he turned 15, he had his first alcohilic beverage through the aid of an elderly smuggler named Jorso Dax, whom he had become regularliy familiar with and had eventually confided in. The smuggler expressed his own difficulties as a young man with his father, and told Taven that one day he left, joined a crew who were looking for an extra hand to smuggle valuables off planet. And he had been in that kind of bussiness ever since. At first, it made that idea of smuggling more attractive to the young teenager, but then he decided he would have to agree with his father on this one. Smuggling would be a huge waste of his talents. He kept his heart open and eager, feeling as if he would soon know what kind of life he would lead.
His drinking continued, as did his hateful conversations with his father. The only person that he truly cared for anymore was his mother, who assured him that his father loved him very much and only wanted what was best for him. Taven understood and knew that she spoke the truth, but that didn't mean that his father wasn't a complete idiot who was selfishly controlling his son's life. There was nothing that could make him pity his father or ever care for him again, so long as he continued to stay so narrow minded.
The Desired Path Revealed
Taven's relationship with Jorso Dax grew stronger each day as his relationship with his father weakened. Jorso was every bit of the father that Taven had wanted. He was accepting of Taven's desires, understanding of his feelings, and more human than anyone Taven had ever met. Jorso's decision always revolved around his emotions, how he felt and what he wanted. But it wasn't to the degree that his emotions were controlling him. It was strange whenever the two of them were together. Taven could feel something inside of him awakening each moment he spent with the old man, as if a unknown passive side of him was beginning to rise up from beneath the person that his parent's had raised him as. For the first time in his life, Taven felt geniunly happy and free.
Unfortunately, his positive emotions would change forever in the blink of an eye. One late night when Taven's parents were attending a dinner party with his fellow politicians, they caught the eye of a shady individual while on their way home. It was a human, a lowlife thug whose mind was constantly bent on obtaining credits. Work had been tough for him lately, until he saw the rich and happy couple walking down the streets of Coruscant and to their house. When Taven's parents turned down the round into the quiet area of their neighborhood, the thug sprung into action, pushing a blaster in their faces and demanding they give him everything they had. Taven's mother reacted instinctively, shouting for help! The thug silenced her with one squeeze of the trigger, to which the Ambassador rushed forward to get his hands on his wife's murderer. But to no avail. The thug gunned him down almost as quickly as he did Taven's mother, grabbed their belongings and a decent amount of credits, and dissappeared into the night.
Taven was a ball of fire when he was informed by a few lawmen, enraged and hungry for revenge. His father's death was something he could accept, but not his mother's. She was the only thing that had kept him together throughout his whole ordeal with his father. And with her gone, a beast had immerged from inside the young man. A beast that he could not control.
He immediatly saught the help of his friend Jorso Dax, who knew something was wrong the moment he saw the young Tardello standing before him in a heap of anger, his eyes practically bursting with hellfire as he listened to the boy's story. After calmly listening to every bit of what had happened, Jorso ordered the boy to sit, and bought him a drink. He apologised to the boy, because he had not been totally truthful with him. Jorso could feel a stronger connection to the force in Taven that he had not felt before. Jorso always knew that his young friend was force sensative, but never imagined Taven was gifted enough to properly use it until he realized the boy was naturally drawing power from his anger.
Jorso Dax explained that he was once a young Jedi, and the story he had spoken of about his own father wasn't the whole truth. The man whom he called his father was actually his Jedi Master, a man who had trained Jorso since he was a small youngling. Jorso explained that as he got older, his master saw a deep collection of anger and corruption within him, one that he could not find the source to but later attempted to purge. He failed, Jorso's anger ran deep and when his master confronted him about it, his anger spilled out of control and he attacked the man he once thought of as his father. The Jedi Master walked away unscatched, because he was more than a match for Jorso, and then brought him to the council to be judged. He was exiled, his lightsaber taken from him, stripped of everything he once knew and was forced to live among the scum of the galaxy, becoming a smuggler almost immediatly after being exiled.
Taven couldn't believe what he was hearing, but as he looked into Jorso's eyes he could feel that the old man was telling the truth. He then asked why he was being told all of this? What did Jorso's past have to do with what was going on at that moment in time. Jorso explained that he knew Taven's life was changed forever, and that a new life would need to fill what had been lost. He offered the path of the force to him, explaining that Taven had the potential to become something remarkable. It might even help him gain his revenge on the man who murdered his parents one day in the future. This was it! This was the path Taven's heart had been searching for, and he took Jorso's offer without question. The old man then explained to him that he had work to do off Coruscant and was not planning to return anytime soon. If Taven was truly prepared to learn the ways of the force, he would have to follow Jorso wherever he went, no matter how dangerous it may be. The young teen agreed, and abandoned his old life to follow the old man, seeking to further his connection to the force.
First Step Into a Larger World
Taven's first set of lessons revolved around what the "Force" was, how it effects every living thing in the galaxy and how one can draw power from it, and the difference between lightside and darkside. Jorso would constantly use the lessons he had learned from his master to teach Taven, but with his own little twists. He taught his young apprentice that the Jedi were weak because of their rules about emotion and attatchments and so forth. He explained that emotions were what brought out the most potential in a force sensative individual. It made them stronger, but it could also lead loss of control. "Emotion is power, but restraint is key." the old man would say.
Taven attempted to follow his teacher's advice, but he lacked the discipline that his "Jedi trained" teacher had acquired over years and years of practice. Jorso could feel the boy's willpower break against the power of the darkside, allowing it to manifest itself and make him powerful, but also hungry for more. Jorso was pleased, but at the same time concerned. He foresaw Taven becoming a prisoner to the dark side of the force, turning into a blood thirsty monster rather than a disciplined warrior seeking justice. Taven could not yet fully understand the danger he was in, and Jorso thought that perhaps it had been a mistake to allow his young student to learn from him. Nevertheless, the boy was his responsibility now, and he swore to himself that he would not lose his pupil's mind to the dark side of the force, but also would not "pamper" him or make him weak by forbidding him to endulge himself in his emotions. He would teach Taven the best of both sides of the Force: the power of the darkside, but the enlightenment of the lightside.
Taven's knowledge of the Force grew stronger each day as Jorso guided him through mentally strainuous tasks which forced him to rely on his connection to the Force rather than his physical strength. Jorso would push Taven's mind to the edge by challenging him to lift small objects with the Force, keeping them suspended in the air for as long as possible. It was quite a difficult thing for Taven to comprehend, and he struggled to complete Jorso's exercises for an entire year, after which the exercises became something that Taven was able to understand. He still struggled from time to time, but he had proven to his teacher that he was nearly ready for the next step in his training.
Six months after Taven's 17th birthday, Jorso Dax began training him with a lightsaber. Jorso had constructed it a few years after his exile with several materials that he had acquired during his work as a smuggler. He informed Taven that he was years away from being ready to forge his own lightsaber, but that didn't mean he shouldn't learn how to use one. Jorso introduced his student to one of two lightsaber forms that he had been training in when he was younger. It was called the Shii-Cho form, one that Jorso knew exceptionally well due to the vigourus training under his old Jedi Master.
This was when Taven started to truly understand the importance of his connection to the force, using his emotions to fuel his power, and using his power to guide his lightsaber strokes. His lightsaber training went smoother than his Force exercises, but he was sloppy and cumbersome. "As are all students who first learn the Shii-Cho form," Jorso assured him. Taven's skill with handling a lightsaber progressed faster than Jorso had expected. Only after one more year of training, Taven could handle the weapon with relative ease and gracefulness. Jorso believed that he had just barely scraped the surface of Taven's lightsaber skill potential. The time had finally come for Taven to construct his very own lightsaber.
Jorso dug deep into the secret compartments of his ship, grabbing all the essentials needed for a lightsaber. He had stocked up on them so that he would be able to perform maintenance on his saber, if needed. But the work of a smuggler hardly ever calls for the use of a lightsaber, so none of his spare parts had been expended. With the help of Jorso Dax's instruction, they would now become Taven's firs lightsaber. The young 19 year old had learned to keep his emotions hidden behind a calm and hardly expressive face, but Jorso could feel the boy's excitement and hunger for power as he slowly lifted the materials into the air. Hours passed as Jorso went over each part of the lightsaber in detail, showing Taven how to connect them together and how to properly place the crystal. It took several tries, but Taven finally accomplished the construction of his very first lightsaber. The blade burst forth from it's hilt as Taven activated it, the yellow color of the blade matching his hair. It was at this time Jorso decided that they would have dueling sessions on a daily basis in-between their jobs as smugglers.
After several duels a day for a month, Jorso realized he had a student naturally gifted in the art of swordplay. Taven was a perceptive, intuitive, and extremely powerful sparing partner who had yet to even dabble into the more powerful forms of lightsaber combat. He was already proving himself to be ready for a more advanced lightsaber form, but Jorso did not want to "over feed" his student's desire for power. Taven could feel his master's thoughts, his desire to restrain and control Taven's skills. The boy's anger fired up inside him, accusing Jorso of holding him back. An argument broke out, but throughout the whole argument Taven appeared to be calm, using logic and determination to shoot down his master's decision to "protect" him from becoming something terrible. The argument ended with Jorso succumbing to Taven's wishes.
RP Sample:
thanks Mara!