Post by Mara on Nov 28, 2008 21:12:24 GMT -5
Name: Xierra Zalq [pron. zee'ERR'ah zalk]
Race: Falleen
Age: 25 standard years
Gender: female
Height: just over 6 feet/1.9 meters
Weight: about 130 pounds
Appearance: Has the traditional Falleen greenish gray skin, unless her emotions take the better of her, then it will change depending on her mood. She has medium-length dark wavy hair that falls to her shoulders, keeping it down to fore go the topknot that some of her species use as a hairstyle. Xierra has a toned and lithe body that includes the scales particular to her reptilian species along with her clawed fingers and toes. Even as one of the more physically appealing humanoid species, she is not a vain being, preferring to dress in simple brown robes and utilitarian boots. Her only weapons are the simple lightsaber hilt clipped to her belt and her bare hands. Due to a recent battle injury to her right upper thigh, she walks with a partial limp.
Birth place: unknown city, Falleen
Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight - Guardian
Bio:
Xierra was born on Falleen to her upper class parents of Fre and Pirega Zalq. Her father was a businessman who held a high position in one of the planet's largest corporations, while her mother stayed at home. Mostly entertaining guests and holding balls while a nanny mainly raised her daughter.
The first three years of her life were happy ones, despite this lack of attention by her mother and sometimes her father. As a toddler and young child she seemed to understand that her parents were busy and that they still loved their only daughter even so.
Her childhood was that of any normal Falleen child with her parents planning out her future life, the life she would lead as she grew older and joined them in the rank of nobility. Her nanny began to instill in Xierra the mindset of the Falleen, telling her that no one would ever be better than her, because of her species. Making her learn patience and self-control, even as a 2- and 3-year-old. How to control her skin pigmentation and her pheromones. Everything she would need as an adult, she was taught by her nanny and her parents when they had the time.
But Xierra never got to grow up in these ideals, never got to grow up to a young woman to leave her planet and discover for herself the superiority of the Falleen. No, just a couple months after her third birthday, a small group of Jedi had sought refuge on Falleen and subsequently found the young Falleen through her undeniable talent for the Force. Up until then, her parents and nanny had merely thought her skills to be an example of her rising intelligence, her agility and balance at such a young age to be a sign of her genes.
When Jedi Master Tran Ravisc and the rest of his small band came to the the Zalqs' door, the adults were very surprised to learn of their daughter's ability. Disbelieving, they asked to have sufficient proof; alas, the Jedi weren't the only ones to have plans for Xierra.
Master Ravisc put the young Falleen through many simple tests to determine if the Force ability he had sensed was indeed from her, and to see how powerful the presence was within her.
Satisfied, and after some negotiation, Xierra Zalq left her parents' house and went with the Jedi to train on Coruscant at the Jedi Temple. At first, she thought it was just another fun party, more people to entertain at her house, guests of her parents. But then the door closed, space was put between her house and where she was going, panic settled in. At three years old, her future as Jedi was being put into place, and Xierra bawled as the Jedi placed her aboard their transport, never to see her parents again.
Life as a youngling at the Jedi Temple completely turned Xierra's world upside down. Her calm and patient demeanor immediately got replaced by an angry and aggressive one. Without her parents and the stable environment she had previously enjoyed, she felt very abandoned and out of place. Now all of a sudden she had forced and scheduled classes. A new kind of routine was pressed upon her. Instead of fun lessons with her nanny, she was no longer alone, thrust into classes with others of her age to begin her learning in the ways of the Jedi. Instead of relaxing afternoons spent playing, she was training with little rest at all except at night. And then, she would collapse and fall immediately asleep.
Starting as a three-year-old girl and later, she rebelled against authority or played pranks on her fellow students. For Xierra, it had started to be a way to break through the monotony of everyday life in the Temple. And to bring some fun back into her own life. Then she felt it was a way to practice and put into use her new skills. Using some of these new skills like telepathy and telekinesis, she would sneak up on other younglings in the Temple. It would usually start out as simple things, when she was younger, such as slowly unlacing a boot so the being would trip. Gradually, her pranks began to flourish into more complicated things. Once she had another youngling convinced for almost a whole day that he wouldn't do well in his classes unless he hopped on one foot for a whole day, using a mind trick.
Fortunately, one of the Masters discovered this before any harm could come to anyone. Xierra was severely reprimanded for this and other pranks, but she merely used her energy even more, especially when she realized that she was oblivious to mind tricks, a trait found in her species.
Despite all this rebellion, Xierra was still a fast learner and rose to join others at the top of her various classes. The Masters and other teachers had realized her intelligence early on and made notes about her future training. If you had told her it was because of how smart she was, she wouldn't disagree, but put most of her weight on how quickly she progressed on the fact of her species. She still remembered a few of her lessons from Falleen; something that never will quite leave her, no matter what Jedi teachings try to cover it up. When she found she was good at something, it had to be due to her being a Falleen, not due to any inherent skill she actually had.
One of the classes she especially excelled at, besides the more intelligence-based ones, was hand-to-hand combat. Being so far from Falleen and so long since being in the company of others of her own kind, Xierra did not realize that such physical combat was very atypical for Falleens, who preferred to resolve things in more disciplined and civil manner. Before she even made it to lightsaber training, she could defeat most students her age and size easily with just her own physical weapons. Realizing how fun it was to fight in this way, Xierra trained hard, making her body a weapon, so that if she was ever in a situation where she didn't have her lightsaber or another more uncivilized weapon, she would still be able to defend herself.
When Xierra was about 11 years old, Master Revisc, the human Master who had first discovered her on Falleen, returned to the Temple after completing a mission. He was told by the Council to pick a new padawan, something he had been neglecting ever since his previous one had passed his trials and was knighted. Begrudgingly, he wandered the lower levels of the Temple, observing a few of the youngling classes. He was surprised to recognize one of them in a combat class, a young Falleen female. Immediately he felt in his gut that he had to take her as his apprentice. There was just something about her Force aura that drew her to him. Something about the high intelligence he could see behind her eyes. Something about her fighting skill. Belatedly, he hoped it wasn't due to any of her pheromones and more attributed to where the Force was leading him.
Master Revisc approached Xierra Zalq, the young Falleen and mentioned his thoughts to her, that the Force had almost giving him a vision to train her. Eager to leave the Temple and actually begin some real training, Xierra accepted. At 11, she knew she was getting close to the age where she could no longer stay a youngling and would leave for a wasted life in the agricorps.
Once paired together, Master Revisc felt and learned firsthand about the turmoil and rebellion inside his young padawan. Though he knew she had more than enough ability and desire to become great, he needed to curb her intense enthusiasm, find her some form of outlet, lest she find herself drawn to the ease of dark side power.
He felt it was another working of the Force, that someone such as her would be sent to him, that of the lightsaber forms he practiced, Ataru was one of them. Revisc deeply thought that learning this aggressive form of lightsaber combat would help in focusing all of Xierra's energy.
Traveling and training with Master Revisc on various missions, Xierra felt more at home than she had ever felt at the Temple. It was almost like being back on Falleen, for what she could still remember about it. Even so, those were just memories of her past life, of her life before the Jedi Order, before she had purpose. And to help her with this, she pleaded her Master to make sure she never had to return to Falleen to be reminded of her former shell.
In addition to continuing her hand-to-hand fighting, Master Revisc taught her Ataru to supplement her knowledge of Shii-Cho. Xierra threw herself fully into this particular area of her training, finding that it complemented the fact of her making her body into a weapon. Even though it involved using the simple lightsaber given to her by her Master, it was aggressive enough to keep her satisfied, always moving, always fighting.
As she grew older, her training exercises and her subsequent skills became more advanced. Master Revisc wanted her to be well-rounded and so he worked also on her other skills, such as telepathy, telekinesis, healing and Force-assisted strength and speed. Even though she continued to gain ground in these and other areas of the Force, Xierra always fell back to her lightsaber and another close combat training where she felt the most comfortable.
Master Revisc had hoped that she would make a good Consular Jedi someday, or would at least settle down as she got older, but even as she passed her 20th birthday, fighting was always her greatest strength. Realizing that she would probably never change, and satisfied with her abilities in all other areas of her training, he planned to message the Council with his plan of setting her through the Trials and be knighted. Even though she could still be rash at times, he knew she was wholly loyal to the Jedi Order and would do her best to represent it and defend its ideals if necessary.
However, before he could fulfill his promise to his padawan, Master Revisc's life ended before its time. On their last mission together before their planned return to Coruscant, Xierra's human Master was wounded by a local animal while they were searching for some food in the neighboring jungle and later succumbed to infection. She tried her best to heal him, because in his weakened state, he needed all his focus to keep his internal systems working and could not go into a trance. But because of her inferior skills in the healing arts, her Master slipped farther and farther into the Force, eventually going into it completely, leaving Xierra with one more teaching, "Let the Force guide you, always..."
Distraught with pain and anguish, she mourned overnight, defending his remains from all predators. In the morning, she hefted his clothing, lightsaber and other items, all that was left after he became one with the Force, and found the Jedi encampment. The other Knights and Masters were not surprised; they had felt it through the Force and already sent a message ahead to Coruscant and the Council.
Finally, her emotions dull, she and the rest of the Jedi returned to Coruscant after the mission was completed. After they all went their separate ways, Xierra remained at the Temple, unsure about where the Force was going to lead her. Not knowing her Master had thought her ready for the Trials, she didn't even ask about it, for it never crossed her mind. She just assumed she would be reassigned eventually, even though all she wanted to do was leave the Order or die.
[See Xierra's Databank thread for more of her continued adventures.]
Equipment:
Fighting rods: two 1-meter long poles, retractable to third the length, made of metal alloy
Color: dark brown
[link to weapon app thread]
Lightsaber: Single blade, single phase; hilt is silver and of simple design except for some intricate scrollwork radiating around it
Color: pale green
Xierra's main lightsaber, the one she completed to become a Knight.
Lightsaber: Single blade, single phase; hilt is black with intricate patterns at the base
Color: deep blue
Master Revisc's old lightsaber.
Practiced Lightsaber forms (in order of knowledge and strength):
Shii-Cho - 5
Ataru - 4
Niman - 1
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 4
Telepathic: 5
Body: 6
Sense: 6
Protection: 3
Healing: 1
Destruction: 0
Specialized Skills: N/A
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 5
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 7
Melee Weapons: 5 [mostly with her fighting rods]
Ranged Weapons: 3
Force Attunement: +5
RP Sample:
Xierra and Master Revisc were laughing together as they walked slowly through the jungle. They had been to so many different places lately, the Falleen female couldn't even remember the name of this particular planet, nor did she care. She had her Master with her, and after they found some food to bring to the others, she could fight. At long last, Master Revisc had given in to her pleading to fight him in a more open combat situation, something more than just a simple training exercise.
She had glanced away to her right, thinking she had seen something, with the human male cried out. Some form of predatory animal she couldn't identify had attached its jaws around her Master's head. Immediately, she activated her lightsaber and its familiar snap-hiss brought to life its pale green blade. Xierra slashed at the creature, and finally it released its grip, only to be cut down in pieces by the padawan's fury.
Distinguishing her blade, she knelt down by her Master. He was gasping for air, and only then did she notice the 8-inch gasp through his abdomen, springing forth his guts. Xierra suppressed a cough and the smell, looking over his body for any other wounds. There were only the two--the head wound and the deep chest gash. Frightened, she pulled the Force around her, trying to apply the Force healing techniques she had learned as a youngling, as well as encouraging her Master to do the same.
"Xierra... I cannot... I'm too weak...for a healing trance. You must..." Master Revics was interrupted by about of coughing, which brought up some blood.
Tears welled up in Xierra's eyes. This was something unknown to her, something she wasn't prepared for. Her Master wasn't supposed to leave her, not yet, but that was what was happening to her. Her meager powers weren't enough.
"You can make it. You always make it, Master. It's not bad.
I'll get the others. We can--"
Shakily, he held up a hand to stop her. "No. No." He stopped to cough again before resuming. "Using all my strength to... meditate on the Force.
I will always be with you, my padawan. Let the Force guide you, always..." With his last breath, he slowly disappeared in front of Xierra's eyes. She had heard about returning to the Force but never quite believed it, not in this manner. Moments later, she was kneeling by his Jedi ropes, empty of her Master's body.
Xierra let the tears come.
Race: Falleen
Age: 25 standard years
Gender: female
Height: just over 6 feet/1.9 meters
Weight: about 130 pounds
Appearance: Has the traditional Falleen greenish gray skin, unless her emotions take the better of her, then it will change depending on her mood. She has medium-length dark wavy hair that falls to her shoulders, keeping it down to fore go the topknot that some of her species use as a hairstyle. Xierra has a toned and lithe body that includes the scales particular to her reptilian species along with her clawed fingers and toes. Even as one of the more physically appealing humanoid species, she is not a vain being, preferring to dress in simple brown robes and utilitarian boots. Her only weapons are the simple lightsaber hilt clipped to her belt and her bare hands. Due to a recent battle injury to her right upper thigh, she walks with a partial limp.
Birth place: unknown city, Falleen
Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight - Guardian
Bio:
Xierra was born on Falleen to her upper class parents of Fre and Pirega Zalq. Her father was a businessman who held a high position in one of the planet's largest corporations, while her mother stayed at home. Mostly entertaining guests and holding balls while a nanny mainly raised her daughter.
The first three years of her life were happy ones, despite this lack of attention by her mother and sometimes her father. As a toddler and young child she seemed to understand that her parents were busy and that they still loved their only daughter even so.
Her childhood was that of any normal Falleen child with her parents planning out her future life, the life she would lead as she grew older and joined them in the rank of nobility. Her nanny began to instill in Xierra the mindset of the Falleen, telling her that no one would ever be better than her, because of her species. Making her learn patience and self-control, even as a 2- and 3-year-old. How to control her skin pigmentation and her pheromones. Everything she would need as an adult, she was taught by her nanny and her parents when they had the time.
But Xierra never got to grow up in these ideals, never got to grow up to a young woman to leave her planet and discover for herself the superiority of the Falleen. No, just a couple months after her third birthday, a small group of Jedi had sought refuge on Falleen and subsequently found the young Falleen through her undeniable talent for the Force. Up until then, her parents and nanny had merely thought her skills to be an example of her rising intelligence, her agility and balance at such a young age to be a sign of her genes.
When Jedi Master Tran Ravisc and the rest of his small band came to the the Zalqs' door, the adults were very surprised to learn of their daughter's ability. Disbelieving, they asked to have sufficient proof; alas, the Jedi weren't the only ones to have plans for Xierra.
Master Ravisc put the young Falleen through many simple tests to determine if the Force ability he had sensed was indeed from her, and to see how powerful the presence was within her.
Satisfied, and after some negotiation, Xierra Zalq left her parents' house and went with the Jedi to train on Coruscant at the Jedi Temple. At first, she thought it was just another fun party, more people to entertain at her house, guests of her parents. But then the door closed, space was put between her house and where she was going, panic settled in. At three years old, her future as Jedi was being put into place, and Xierra bawled as the Jedi placed her aboard their transport, never to see her parents again.
Life as a youngling at the Jedi Temple completely turned Xierra's world upside down. Her calm and patient demeanor immediately got replaced by an angry and aggressive one. Without her parents and the stable environment she had previously enjoyed, she felt very abandoned and out of place. Now all of a sudden she had forced and scheduled classes. A new kind of routine was pressed upon her. Instead of fun lessons with her nanny, she was no longer alone, thrust into classes with others of her age to begin her learning in the ways of the Jedi. Instead of relaxing afternoons spent playing, she was training with little rest at all except at night. And then, she would collapse and fall immediately asleep.
Starting as a three-year-old girl and later, she rebelled against authority or played pranks on her fellow students. For Xierra, it had started to be a way to break through the monotony of everyday life in the Temple. And to bring some fun back into her own life. Then she felt it was a way to practice and put into use her new skills. Using some of these new skills like telepathy and telekinesis, she would sneak up on other younglings in the Temple. It would usually start out as simple things, when she was younger, such as slowly unlacing a boot so the being would trip. Gradually, her pranks began to flourish into more complicated things. Once she had another youngling convinced for almost a whole day that he wouldn't do well in his classes unless he hopped on one foot for a whole day, using a mind trick.
Fortunately, one of the Masters discovered this before any harm could come to anyone. Xierra was severely reprimanded for this and other pranks, but she merely used her energy even more, especially when she realized that she was oblivious to mind tricks, a trait found in her species.
Despite all this rebellion, Xierra was still a fast learner and rose to join others at the top of her various classes. The Masters and other teachers had realized her intelligence early on and made notes about her future training. If you had told her it was because of how smart she was, she wouldn't disagree, but put most of her weight on how quickly she progressed on the fact of her species. She still remembered a few of her lessons from Falleen; something that never will quite leave her, no matter what Jedi teachings try to cover it up. When she found she was good at something, it had to be due to her being a Falleen, not due to any inherent skill she actually had.
One of the classes she especially excelled at, besides the more intelligence-based ones, was hand-to-hand combat. Being so far from Falleen and so long since being in the company of others of her own kind, Xierra did not realize that such physical combat was very atypical for Falleens, who preferred to resolve things in more disciplined and civil manner. Before she even made it to lightsaber training, she could defeat most students her age and size easily with just her own physical weapons. Realizing how fun it was to fight in this way, Xierra trained hard, making her body a weapon, so that if she was ever in a situation where she didn't have her lightsaber or another more uncivilized weapon, she would still be able to defend herself.
When Xierra was about 11 years old, Master Revisc, the human Master who had first discovered her on Falleen, returned to the Temple after completing a mission. He was told by the Council to pick a new padawan, something he had been neglecting ever since his previous one had passed his trials and was knighted. Begrudgingly, he wandered the lower levels of the Temple, observing a few of the youngling classes. He was surprised to recognize one of them in a combat class, a young Falleen female. Immediately he felt in his gut that he had to take her as his apprentice. There was just something about her Force aura that drew her to him. Something about the high intelligence he could see behind her eyes. Something about her fighting skill. Belatedly, he hoped it wasn't due to any of her pheromones and more attributed to where the Force was leading him.
Master Revisc approached Xierra Zalq, the young Falleen and mentioned his thoughts to her, that the Force had almost giving him a vision to train her. Eager to leave the Temple and actually begin some real training, Xierra accepted. At 11, she knew she was getting close to the age where she could no longer stay a youngling and would leave for a wasted life in the agricorps.
Once paired together, Master Revisc felt and learned firsthand about the turmoil and rebellion inside his young padawan. Though he knew she had more than enough ability and desire to become great, he needed to curb her intense enthusiasm, find her some form of outlet, lest she find herself drawn to the ease of dark side power.
He felt it was another working of the Force, that someone such as her would be sent to him, that of the lightsaber forms he practiced, Ataru was one of them. Revisc deeply thought that learning this aggressive form of lightsaber combat would help in focusing all of Xierra's energy.
Traveling and training with Master Revisc on various missions, Xierra felt more at home than she had ever felt at the Temple. It was almost like being back on Falleen, for what she could still remember about it. Even so, those were just memories of her past life, of her life before the Jedi Order, before she had purpose. And to help her with this, she pleaded her Master to make sure she never had to return to Falleen to be reminded of her former shell.
In addition to continuing her hand-to-hand fighting, Master Revisc taught her Ataru to supplement her knowledge of Shii-Cho. Xierra threw herself fully into this particular area of her training, finding that it complemented the fact of her making her body into a weapon. Even though it involved using the simple lightsaber given to her by her Master, it was aggressive enough to keep her satisfied, always moving, always fighting.
As she grew older, her training exercises and her subsequent skills became more advanced. Master Revisc wanted her to be well-rounded and so he worked also on her other skills, such as telepathy, telekinesis, healing and Force-assisted strength and speed. Even though she continued to gain ground in these and other areas of the Force, Xierra always fell back to her lightsaber and another close combat training where she felt the most comfortable.
Master Revisc had hoped that she would make a good Consular Jedi someday, or would at least settle down as she got older, but even as she passed her 20th birthday, fighting was always her greatest strength. Realizing that she would probably never change, and satisfied with her abilities in all other areas of her training, he planned to message the Council with his plan of setting her through the Trials and be knighted. Even though she could still be rash at times, he knew she was wholly loyal to the Jedi Order and would do her best to represent it and defend its ideals if necessary.
However, before he could fulfill his promise to his padawan, Master Revisc's life ended before its time. On their last mission together before their planned return to Coruscant, Xierra's human Master was wounded by a local animal while they were searching for some food in the neighboring jungle and later succumbed to infection. She tried her best to heal him, because in his weakened state, he needed all his focus to keep his internal systems working and could not go into a trance. But because of her inferior skills in the healing arts, her Master slipped farther and farther into the Force, eventually going into it completely, leaving Xierra with one more teaching, "Let the Force guide you, always..."
Distraught with pain and anguish, she mourned overnight, defending his remains from all predators. In the morning, she hefted his clothing, lightsaber and other items, all that was left after he became one with the Force, and found the Jedi encampment. The other Knights and Masters were not surprised; they had felt it through the Force and already sent a message ahead to Coruscant and the Council.
Finally, her emotions dull, she and the rest of the Jedi returned to Coruscant after the mission was completed. After they all went their separate ways, Xierra remained at the Temple, unsure about where the Force was going to lead her. Not knowing her Master had thought her ready for the Trials, she didn't even ask about it, for it never crossed her mind. She just assumed she would be reassigned eventually, even though all she wanted to do was leave the Order or die.
[See Xierra's Databank thread for more of her continued adventures.]
Equipment:
Fighting rods: two 1-meter long poles, retractable to third the length, made of metal alloy
Color: dark brown
[link to weapon app thread]
Lightsaber: Single blade, single phase; hilt is silver and of simple design except for some intricate scrollwork radiating around it
Color: pale green
Xierra's main lightsaber, the one she completed to become a Knight.
Lightsaber: Single blade, single phase; hilt is black with intricate patterns at the base
Color: deep blue
Master Revisc's old lightsaber.
Practiced Lightsaber forms (in order of knowledge and strength):
Shii-Cho - 5
Ataru - 4
Niman - 1
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 4
Telepathic: 5
Body: 6
Sense: 6
Protection: 3
Healing: 1
Destruction: 0
Specialized Skills: N/A
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 5
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 7
Melee Weapons: 5 [mostly with her fighting rods]
Ranged Weapons: 3
Force Attunement: +5
RP Sample:
Xierra and Master Revisc were laughing together as they walked slowly through the jungle. They had been to so many different places lately, the Falleen female couldn't even remember the name of this particular planet, nor did she care. She had her Master with her, and after they found some food to bring to the others, she could fight. At long last, Master Revisc had given in to her pleading to fight him in a more open combat situation, something more than just a simple training exercise.
She had glanced away to her right, thinking she had seen something, with the human male cried out. Some form of predatory animal she couldn't identify had attached its jaws around her Master's head. Immediately, she activated her lightsaber and its familiar snap-hiss brought to life its pale green blade. Xierra slashed at the creature, and finally it released its grip, only to be cut down in pieces by the padawan's fury.
Distinguishing her blade, she knelt down by her Master. He was gasping for air, and only then did she notice the 8-inch gasp through his abdomen, springing forth his guts. Xierra suppressed a cough and the smell, looking over his body for any other wounds. There were only the two--the head wound and the deep chest gash. Frightened, she pulled the Force around her, trying to apply the Force healing techniques she had learned as a youngling, as well as encouraging her Master to do the same.
"Xierra... I cannot... I'm too weak...for a healing trance. You must..." Master Revics was interrupted by about of coughing, which brought up some blood.
Tears welled up in Xierra's eyes. This was something unknown to her, something she wasn't prepared for. Her Master wasn't supposed to leave her, not yet, but that was what was happening to her. Her meager powers weren't enough.
"You can make it. You always make it, Master. It's not bad.
I'll get the others. We can--"
Shakily, he held up a hand to stop her. "No. No." He stopped to cough again before resuming. "Using all my strength to... meditate on the Force.
I will always be with you, my padawan. Let the Force guide you, always..." With his last breath, he slowly disappeared in front of Xierra's eyes. She had heard about returning to the Force but never quite believed it, not in this manner. Moments later, she was kneeling by his Jedi ropes, empty of her Master's body.
Xierra let the tears come.
