Teyia Squall | The Orfful Tag

Here are Teyia's answers to the tag! P.S. I tag you again, NightBlade, sorry, but could you please give us Vizios's answers? Pretty please? *puppy dog eyes*

1. What is your homeworld?
*screen fizzles slightly* Shh, please stop beeping, Demga is asleep in the back...
Oh, home-world. Uh...I think it's Coruscant. That's where I grew up, at least.

2. Do you have any family?
Umm...I don't know.

3. What are some of your goals in life?
Right now? Survive.
...this isn't being broadcasted, is it?

4. Who do you count as your best friend?
*looks back at the door, smiles a bit* Demga.

5. Do you have a hobby? If so, what is it?
*blinks* Hobby? Uhm...trying to live?

6. What is your species?
Human. I don't see why this is important.

7. Who would you like to be most of all?
Oh, um, that's an interesting question...
I guess I'd like to be a person who didn't have to worry about anything.

8. What was the most devastating moment of your life?
This isn't being broadcasted, right? Promise me that it isn't going anywhere!
*long pause, sighs* It would have to be when the 501st attacked the Jedi Temple, led by... *swallows* Let's just move on.

9. What was the best moment of your life?
*happy sigh* Meeting Demga.

10. Who are your enemies?
I don't know...the Empire, I suppose. And those people on our tail. Qorra or something.

11. Who do you count as your archenemy?
Archenemy? I don't think I have one...

12. Do you have any mechanical appendages?
*hides right arm behind her back*

13. Who and/or what has impacted you the most?
Demga, obviously. He's given me a reason to keep going.

14. If you could choose to save yourself or your best friend, who would you save?
Well...it depends on the situation. I would gladly give my life for Demga, but he needs me, too...
If I had to save either myself or Demga, I'd save him. If there was a chance for the both of us to get out...I'd try to save myself.

15. What do you want to do after retiring?
Will I get to retire is the real question.
Now I've got to go, Demga is waking up, and we need to keep moving.
*screen cuts to black*

Teyia Squall
Jedi Knight

Orfful Tag: Kayma Arn and Padawan Talia!

Alright! My THIRD attempt at this tag is now underway! Yes, the recent development of Kayma's character has bolstered my resolve to once again, and I shall as well fulfill the ancient tag of Talia as well!

1. What is your homeworld?
Kayma: Uh, Mandalore. Duh. *glides a hand over her beskar'gam*
Talia: I'm from Ryloth.

2. Do you have any family?
Kayma: Not really. Not that I care about anyway...well, wait. Ba'vodu Javez is still around...
Talia: No. No family--just my Master

3. What are some of your goals in life?
Kayma: Hmm. Kick butt, get rich, retire and live an awesome bachelorette life with Kara.
Talia: I would like to become a Jedi Master someday, and train up a Padawan.

4. Who do you count as your best friend?
Kayma: Well, Kara. Guess she's about all I got.
Talia: Hmm. Well, my Master is my friend. But, there are my new friends, Adali and Bree also.

5. Do you have a hobby? If so, what is it?
Kayma: Killing people. *blithe grin* Gunning for money and being an all-around bad-shebs fox.
Talia: Hmm...um, I like to practice with my lightsaber in free time.

6. What is your species?
Kayma: Uh, human? Didn't the Mandalorian thing give a clue?
Talia: I'm a Twi'lek.

7. Who would you like to be most of all?
Kayma: Um, me!
Talia: Well, I...I guess, I'd like to be more like Master Sendaris.

8. What was the most devastating moment of your life?
Kayma: Hrm. When...uh, when I had to go off on my own I guess. But that turned out to be a good thing, sooo yeah. I dunno.
Talia: When...when I learned the truth about what happened to me before Master found me.

9. What was the best moment of your life?
Kayma: Heehee...probably the exact same thing.
Talia: When Master Sendaris found me and took me in.

10. Who are your enemies?
Kayma: Well...anyone who accidentally got a heap of money on their head. And anyone who tizzes me off.
Talia: I...well, the Sith I suppose. People who threaten peace and safety.

11. Who do you count as your archenemy?
Kayma: Uhhhm...I dunno. Whoever is bounty hunting me, I guess.
Talia: I...don't think I have one.

12. Do you have any mechanical appendages?
Kayma: What!?
Talia: No.

13. Who and/or what has impacted you the most?
Kayma: Mm. I dunno. I guess probably Kara. If keeping me alive counts. Heheh.
Talia: My Master, absolutely.

14. If you could choose to save yourself or your best friend, who would you save?
Kayma: I....well....I mean, I...I guess I...don't know.
Talia: I...I would save my friend. It's what I am taught to do.

15. What do you want to do after retiring?
Kayma: Heh. Be a rich young old bachelorette.
Talia: I...hmh. I'm not sure if Jedi retire.
Kayma: Ok, are we done now? I need to-->line dead<

Moriah Alektor

     Moriah's grown over the past few days. I'm in the early stages of fleshing out her motives and backstory, which has the potential to become another indulgent, novella-length fan-fiction. Huh boy.

     Whatever the case, I thought she deserved a portrait.

     Bear in mind that Moriah's dressed differently at the moment--tussling with Parlay requires something practical. Same color scheme though.

Lylyss Silvertree

Blog Editor

Kayma Arn

Earlier today, I was looking through a few articles on Wookieepedia. My research led me through Maul's Shadow Collective, and I again came across the name of Bo-Katan. I knew of Bo-Katan's existence, but I had never looked up this character. I had assumed Bo-Katan was male, so I was surprised when I found a feminine pronoun relating to her. So I finally decided to look her up.

And instead of Bo-Katan, I found…Kayma Arn. The names even rhyme.

Can I stress the word 'exactly' enough in saying, "Bo-Katan looks exactly like my impression of Kayma Arn?" Perhaps not the hairstyle, but the similarities are…mind-blowing. If ever I found a picture of a character that looks exactly like another character, that above picture is it.

Pity that the picture below would never happen with Kayma and Thorn. Kayma would be shooting the other way.

Do your impressions of Kayma match mine? Is this how you would have imagined Kayma?

Dmitri Pendragon
Jedi Artisan

Thorn

The current battle of Thorn and Squall versus Kara, Kayma and Draejan has given me quite a bit of insight into Thorn's personality, history, skills and abilities—both Force and lightsaber combat abilities.

Thorn is excellent at coordination and other mental powers. He is skilled at tracking people mentally and Force-throwing more than one object at a time. He has extremely quick reflexes and is rarely surprised by an opponent's move, since he's fought so many times and seen so many tactics. His mental skills are such that he could deflect bullets by pulling debris in their way, but not in the midst of a fierce hand-to-hand fight.

Thorn is a powerful Force-caster. He is proficient in the Force Push, Pull, Disarm, Stun and Stasis abilities, and his mental strength allows him to unleash an extremely focused, though restricted, Force Wave to clear the vicinity of opponents and allow himself to regain his mental balance.

Thorn is less skilled in Force shielding abilities. He could create a rudimentary barrier to block a punch or a cloud of toxic gas, but he cannot create powerful Force shields or block laser blasts with his hands. To compensate, Thorn tends to use Force Pushes to knock bullets off course and his mental coordination to deflect blasts with his lightsaber. He wears durasteel Republic armour, undecorated, to further protect himself, but he only wears a helmet in the thick of battle.

Thorn was elected to the Council on account of his long history as a warrior. He is a skilled commander, able to keep his cool under heavy fire and damaging losses, and is also an able combatant. Thorn's preferred lightsaber style is Ataru, with which he is devastating on the open battlefield. He is also a powerful practitioner of Soresu because of his mental coordination and reflexes, but he uses this as a backup form to deflect blasts and face opponents in confined spaces such as alleys. Thorn is also skilled in Force valour and uses this to move quickly in confined spaces, besides using it to face multiple opponents in open spaces.

Thorn's limitations in lightsaber combat focus around his inability to fully utilise Ataru in restricted spaces, where he is forced to use defensive tactics. He also prefers to incapacitate his opponents if he intends to capture them, which limits him where beskar'gam is involved. Thorn also uses Soresu to tire out superior opponents, but as a Jedi Master and a member of the Jedi Council on Ossus, plus a warrior and commander all his life, few opponents can match his skill.

Now the personal application side, and here I'm interpreting the abilities of characters based on what I've seen. If Thorn had chosen a more open location in which to fight, if he was trying to kill Kara, Kayma and Draejan instead of trying to capture them, and if he didn't have to worry about Squall being dismembered, the battle would have gone quite differently. Kara could possibly be stronger in raw Force powers than Thorn, but Thorn is better coordinated and stronger in focused Force powers. As an Ataru practitioner empowered with Force valour, he would likely be able to take down Kayma very quickly; and, finally, based on his vast knowledge of opponents' tricks and ploys, his abilities in hand-to-hand combat, and his mental abilities in deflecting bullets and blasts, he could also take down Draejan without being injured. This paragraph is my personal interpretation of Thorn's powers, and an actual battle might go very differently.

This is Thorn.

Dmitri Pendragon
Jedi Artisan

Kara Werda | The Orfful Tag

What's your homeworld?
Mandalore. *gestures to beskar'gam* Isn't it obvious?

Do you have any family?
Did. They're gone now...unless you count Kayma. Don't tell her, but she's kinda like my yet-to-be-adopted little sister...*sighs* She's gonna kill me when she finds this.

What are some of your goals in life?
Be the best at what I am, make my name known across the galaxy.

Who do you count as your best friend?
Kayma is the closest to me, I guess. I've had other friends, but she's the only one who puts up—somewhat—with my shab.

Do you have a hobby? If so, what is it?
I play the bes'bev, which is a Mandalorian flute that can also serve as a weapon. Elegant and deadly.

What's your species?
Human...at least, I hope I'm fully human.

Who would you like to be most of all?
*blank stare* Really? I don't want to be anyone other than myself.

What was the most devastating moment in your life?
*hesitates* *lowers voice* My Jedi master died saving me because I was acting stupid. *squares jaw* But that's past. I'm over it.

What was the best moment of your life?
*dryly* Being born.

Who are your enemies?
You want the list?

Who do you count as your archenemy?
Archenemy... Well, I'd tell you, but then his cronies would find out that I was the one who killed him and come after me.

Do you have any mechanical appendages?
If I did, I wouldn't tell you I had them.

Who and/or what has impacted you the most?
Kayma. That little shabuir has yanked me out of the gutter more times than I can count. I owe her a lot.

If you could choose to save either yourself or your best friend, who would you save?
Kayma. End of story.

What do you want to do after retiring?
That's if I don't die before-hand. Meh, I'd probably just buy a house overlooking a lake on Alderaan. Who knows.
___________

 Next, WookieeElf said she wants to tag Kayma Arn! :)

Moriah Alektor- The Orfful Tag

1. What is your home world?
Ithmonike. That little dwarf planet wheeling around the rim of the galaxy…? *sighs* Not many people have heard of it.

2. Do you have any family?
In theory. Spontaneous generation is impossible, you know.

3. What are some of your goals in life?
Short term? Cheat the Jedi. My long term plans are much more complicated. I could read you my 1675-step plan, but apparently there's not enough time.

4. Who do you count as your best friend?
In my line of work, there aren't many opportunities to make friends... But I left a few people behind on Ithmonike.

5. Do you have a hobby? If so, what is it?
I am quite accomplished at the lyre.

6. What is your species?
Human. More specifically, a Nissi Ithmonikia.

7. Who would you like to be most of all?
I… *scowls hard for a minute. Blinks and reverts to her usual self* I am happy like this, thank you very much.

8. What was the most devastating moment of your life?
*scowl reappears* *rubs her eyes* *sigh* Next question, please?

9. What was the best moment of your life?
Ah. I like this one much better. Yes, yes, my life is overflowing with good moments. I don't know which one to choose… perhaps when I began my apprenticeship with Nordan? The day I purchased my lyre?

10. Who are your enemies?
Jedi in general. Anyone who gets in my way or distorts justice.

11. Who do you count as your archenemy?
Bors and Parlay at the moment.

12. Do you have any mechanical appendages?
No. *Clasps her hands behind her back, hiding the left one from view*

13. Who and/or what has impacted you the most?
Oh dear. Another personal question.
I suppose that Nordan has impacted me the most. Without him I'd still be a little girl on a little planet.

14. If you could choose to save yourself or your best friend, who would you save?
My friend. Without a doubt.

15. What do you want to do after retiring?
It's embarrassing for me to say this, but I haven't thought that far ahead. *A beat* There's a nice villa back home by the vineyards. Maybe I could grow old there.
______

NEXT… I nominate Kara! :)

The Jedi Councils

Recently I learned that there is more than one Jedi Council if there is more than one Jedi Temple. Probably the Temple on Tython has undergone the most development, and this is the Temple at which most of the Temple plots have happened or are happening—Mark's assassination of Master Ti, Jorus's climactic battle with Matrus, Moriah's diplomatic mission.

Three other Jedi Temples have been mentioned in the Battle, though—the Ossus Jedi Temple, the Coruscant Jedi Temple, and the Taris Jedi Temple. How canonical these Temples are I don't know, but Coruscant definitely has a Jedi Temple even at this point, and Ossus and Taris are both worlds associated with the Jedi.

I looked up the Jedi High Council on Wookieepedia for research on this post. This is the best known Jedi Council, being composed of twelve Jedi Masters: five permanent, four long-term, three limited-term. What I'm wondering is if the Jedi Temples on Ossus, Taris and Coruscant would have Councils similar to the Jedi High Council on Tython—not High Councils themselves, but based around the structure of the High Council.

CaC2 isn't strictly true to the times of Star Wars in which it takes place—to the small details, the history. For example, I imagine CaC2 is taking place in around 3653 BBY before the Sacking of Coruscant, but I think WookieeElf and NightBlade may be imagining it post-3960, just after the Mandalorian Wars. So we're not strictly in any Expanded Universe time frame.

What do you guys think about having multiple Jedi Councils structured the same and based on different worlds—Tython, Taris, Ossus, Coruscant? I'd expect one to be the Jedi High Council, probably the Tython one, while the rest are ranked equally with one another and are subordinate to the High Council.

If yes:

Jedi High Council (Tython)
1. Tarmys Darumar (Master of the Order)
2. Ora (Permanent)
3. Zadock Sift (Permanent)
4. Shor To (Permanent)
5. Neera Talinth (Permanent/Long-term?)
6. Master Kiri (Long-term)
7. Warnu Rakorn (Long-term)
8. Nelev Sepech (Long-term)
9. (no character)
10. Kazadan Sarsis (Limited-term)
11. Hul Maessk (Limited-term)
12. Sabera Vayn (Limited-term)

Sabera Vayn's limited term is almost over, so she will soon step down from the Council, and Tarmys Darumar has announced his attention to resign from the Council when they have decided on a suitable replacement for him as the Master of the Order.

Two other candidates for the Jedi High Council were Corrogan Mald and Trien Ganoth, but currently they're not on the Council.

Jedi Council (Ossus)
1. Soranon Javard (Master Presiding/Permanent)
2. (no character)
3. (no character)
4. (no character)
5. (no character)
6. (no character)
7. (no character)
8. (no character)
9. (no character)
10. Master Thorn? (Limited-term?)
11. (no character)
12. (no character)

Jedi Council (Taris)
1. (no character)
2. (no character)
3. (no character)
4. (no character)
5. (no character)
6. (no character)
7. (no character)
8. (no character)
9. (no character)
10. (no character)
11. (no character)
12. (no character)

Jedi Council (Coruscant)
1. (no character)
2. (no character)
3. (no character)
4. (no character)
5. (no character)
6. (no character)
7. (no character)
8. (no character)
9. (no character)
10. (no character)
11. (no character)
12. (no character)

(Oh, and currently there is no Grand Master among the Order. At least, no one's created one yet.)

Dmitri Pendragon
Blog Moderator

Varon Parlay | The Orfful Tag

1. What is your homeworld?
Varon: Obroa-skai. The library world. My homeworld's had a definite impact on how I view learning, and the Jedi Archives have become one of my favourite places besides my post.

2. Do you have any family?
Varon: No. Well, sort of, but all I remember is my mother humming and my father laughing. Most Jedi have a few memories like that.

3. What are some of your goals in life?
Varon: Become a Jedi Weapon Master. Train a Padawan who, hopefully, won't be the giggling, head-crazy sort. Maybe be a Jedi Librarian someday.

4. Who do you count as your best friend?
Varon: Hmm. Um…I think I'd say Master Parigos Trenn. I respect him, his view on life and the Order, and his sense of humour. And my own Master, of course, Dorian Keth. I credit Master Keth with my capacity to take the Trials, and I don't know where I'd be without her.

5. Do you have a hobby? If so, what is it?
Varon: Reading. Study. I know some of the Younglings call me Master Gloom because I spend my days in what they call boring pursuits, but they have no idea how intriguing the Archives can be.

6. What is your species?
Varon: Human. I may have some Hapan blood in me.

7. Who would you like to be most of all?
Varon: Is this a trick question? Everyone has been given one life to live. I intend to live mine without comparison or complaint, thank you very much.

8. What was the most devastating moment of your life?
Varon: I don't believe I've had a devastating moment yet. Being banned from the Archives temporarily as a Padawan?

9. What was the best moment of your life?
Varon: Passing the Trials.

10. Who are your enemies?
Varon: The Sith, obviously…? I may be slightly skeptical of the Council, too, especially Master Sift and Master Pollik. In a way, I do hope Lady Alektor turns out to be an operative. That way I can reveal Master Sift's decision to let her in as a bad one.

11. Who do you count as your archenemy?
Varon: Right now, Moriah Alektor is my archenemy. Intriguing, that—I'm her escort, under orders to disarm and detain her if she tries anything besides her diplomatic assignment, whatever that is.

12. Do you have any mechanical appendages?
Varon: Not yet.

13. Who and/or what has impacted you the most?
Varon: Knowing I came from Obroa-skai has influenced my view on study and learning. Master Keth and Master Trenn have also influenced me greatly with their ideas and actions, and I hope to be like them both someday.

14. If you could choose to save yourself or your best friend, who would you save?
Varon: As Master Trenn said, he's not just a diplomat, and Master Keth is quite a powerful fighter as a Jedi Sentinel herself. If it came to a fight, I think I would be the least skilled of them, and they'd probably end up saving me rather than the other way around. Although, if a situation arose where Master Trenn and Master Keth would die unless I sacrificed myself, I would sacrifice myself. Such is the way of the Jedi.

15. What do you want to do after retiring?
Varon: After I retire from what? I think I'll be a Jedi Librarian when I'm older and live and die as a Librarian. I don't intend to leave the Order.

Varon: What do you mean by tagging someone? Tag's a game the Younglings play. Well…if it comes to it, I'll tag Moriah Alektor. See if I can figure out her motives and goals that way.

Dmitri Pendragon
Jedi Artisan

(@NightBlade: If you want to write Talia Amrilla's Orfful Tag, you can still do that.)

The Creation of Jorus Travar

Jorus is my favourite character, and based on the reactions I got when he died, he appears to be a favourite among other CaC2ers. Today I thought I'd give you a look into the original inspiration of the Shadow of Umbara.

The reason I created Jorus is because I wanted a Jedi character to interact with the other protagonists in CaC2, as at that time Jaraal was my only active character. I created the profiles for Ari Erinnen and Jorus Travar in the same document, Ari first. For Jorus, I drew inspiration from various places.

I recently realised that I took Jorus's name from the Star Wars Random Name Generator, which includes names from canonical Star Wars characters as well as random Star Wars–style names. As such, Jorus's first name would have come from Jorus C'baoth, a canonical Star Wars character…at least, I guess, canonical until Star Wars: The Force Awakens smashes years of once-canonical Star Wars material.

I credit Xyerra Tirith's profile with making Jorus into who he is. Some of the inspiration from Jorus I drew from Xyerra, mainly the Master who left the Order to marry (although in Kyra's case, Kyra was exiled several years after marrying in secret and had no intentions of leaving). The death of Shiebrynn (who was at that time unnamed) naturally followed on from Jorus thinking of leaving the Order to marry, as I wanted Jorus a Jedi, and this in turn affected his personality. Xyerra's profile also inspired the position of Jedi Shadow, which Xyerra has hopes of becoming.

At that time, I had no idea there were Jedi ranks beyond Padawan, Knight, Master and Grand Master. Being the insanely curious person I am, I looked up Jedi Shadow on Wookieepedia and discovered these pictures, which ultimately led to the creation of Jorus Travar.

These pictures obviously affected who Jorus would become. The double-bladed green lightsaber is a dead giveaway. And the Shadow's posture and general mood in the first picture also helped to inspire Jorus's mindset as an instrument of wrath and judgement. Feel scared yet, Essa?

For Jorus's species, I merely opened up a list of different alien species on Wookieepedia and scoured them for one that would fit him, eventually deciding on Umbaran. This detail inspired Jorus's appearance. I actually wrote something like "See the picture of the Umbaran on its Wookieepedia page—that's what Jorus's face is like" in Jorus's original profile. Many of Jorus's traits and abilities came from the Umbaran species, among them his ability to read minds, his natural talent for silence and stealth, and his baldness.

This is Jorus's original profile, copied from the CaC2 thread.

Name: Jorus Travar
Pronunciation: JOUR-oos trah•wahr

Age: 26
Gender: Male 
Position: Jedi Shadow

Race: Umbaran (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Umbaran )

Appearance: See the profile picture for Umbaran—that's his face; he wears a dark grey cloak and dark green armour underneath.

Personality: Silent and watchful, calculating and sad.

Armour: Dark green, hidden beneath his cloak.

Weapons: Double-bladed green lightsaber.
Abilities: Stealthy, silent and powerful in the Force; can immediately sort out a situation and carry out the best role he can.

Weaknesses: Sad history. Dislikes people questioning him about that history. 
History: Once considered leaving the Jedi Order to marry the woman he loved; however, she was slain by Sith Troopers, and he threw himself back into his training to become a Jedi Shadow. He received the honour at a young age.
Other: His Master was a human Jedi Consular named Kyra Solari, who left the Order to marry, which led to his own considering of leaving to marry.

If you're wondering, Shiebrynn's name first appeared when Jorus answered a tag on my writing thread. It was a name I took from a list of names I had saved for further use, and I originally planned to use it sparingly in CaC2 and later reuse it for a different, unrelated character. Little did I know how significant Shiebrynn would become in my expanded universe.

Jorus never took a Padawan, remaining a Jedi Knight until his death at the hands of Matrus. He did help to mentor Cald Arenna during the Koros War, a major pre-CaC2 event in my expanded universe. Jorus also intended to take Kian Shekk as his Padawan, but died before making those intentions clear to the Council.

Today, Jorus Travar remains my favourite character of my own and of any other author's characters, among such other notable figures as Rudolf Rassendyll from The Prisoner of Zenda, Cruedwyn Creed from Legends of Karac Tor, Merodach from The Staff and the Sword Trilogy, and Ty from Stasis (as well as others I can't think of at this moment). His impact on CaC2 was major and even now affects Cald, Tarmys, Kyra and other characters of mine who knew him. I hope you've enjoyed having this look into the creation of Jorus Travar, the Shadow of Umbara.

Dmitri Pendragon
Jedi Artisan

(Although not part of the original inspiration, this picture could literally be of Jorus. Especially considering the fallen enemies in the background.)