Author: Solir Marakis. Posted At: 01/10/2011 at 05:39 PM
Name: Arell Tonar
Species: Zabrak
Gender: Female
Homeworld: Nerrik, a former Zabrak colony world, abandoned thousands of years ago
Year of Birth: 3994 BBY (40 years old when reawakened)
Height: 5’10”
Weight: 130 lbs.
Defining Characteristics:
- Light brown skin, darker hair
- Striking violet eyes
- Missing two horns on the right side of her skull, a scar from the First Battle of Iridonia
Friends and Other Associates: Master Vandar Tokare: Senior member of the Jedi Council during the period of the Mandalorian Wars and the First Jedi Purge. He trained Arell when she was a Padawan and remained a mentor for her after her Trials.
Gann: A Mon Calamari Jedi and Arell’s best friend from their time as apprentices. Gann followed Revan in the Mandalorian Wars, putting tension on her relationship with Arell. However, Arell rescued her from the First Battle of Iridonia and maintained their friendship until they were forced to separate and go into hiding during the First Jedi Purge.
Possessions: None at time of reawakening
History:
3994 BBY: Birth on Nerrik
3981 BBY: Promoted to the rank of Padawan and assigned to Vandar Tokare
3974 BBY: Successfully completes the Trials and becomes a Jedi Knight
3963 BBY: During the First Battle of Iridonia, she defies the Council’s wishes in order to rescue Gann
3956 BBY: Part of the Republic and Jedi taskforce at the Battle of Rakata Prime
3954 BBY: After going into hiding on Bespin, she discovers a strange holocron, neither Jedi or Sith in origin; later left for dead by Sith assassins, she is put in stasis by the holocron
28 ABY: Discovered and reawakened by an archaeological team (thread forthcoming)
Arell Tonar is a relic of the Old Republic, born almost four thousand years before the Galactic Civil War on a Zabrak colony that no longer exists. Her parents discovered she was Force-sensitive when she was three years old and promptly sent her to the Jedi to be trained; she never saw them again. Arell was a remarkable student, developing her skills quickly and showing a great aptitude for telekinesis. Above all, her Masters were amazed at her focus and calm, even at a young age, and the slow, thoughtful way with which she went about her life. One aspect of her personality that carried into adulthood was her patience and refusal to rush into any action, preferring to take an extra moment to gauge the situation before making any decision.
Arell spent most of her time training on Dantooine, where she became friends with fellow apprentice Gann, a Mon Calamari. The two were nearly inseparable, a relationship that the Masters chose not to stifle as it clearly benefitted both young women. Arell eventually came to the attention of Master Vandar Tokare, who accepted her as a Padawan when she was thirteen. Under his direction, Arell honed her abilities in the Force, and if anything became even calmer and more focused than she was as a child. Master and student developed a great respect for each other, as their personalities seemed to match almost perfectly, making them a formidable team. When Arell was promoted to a full Knight, she accepted her new position with a little sadness, since she would no longer be working as closely with Vandar.
Choosing Dantooine as her home after becoming a Knight was logical and expected, as it allowed her to remain close to Vandar and her other teachers, as well as Gann, who became a Jedi Knight the following year and also stayed on Dantooine. Arell dedicated more of her time to studying and research than she did to missions on other worlds, the opposite of Gann. She was particularly interested in ancient Force artifacts and traditions, and went on excursions hoping to find lost objects for the Order to study further.
When the Mandalorian Wars erupted and Revan disobeyed the Order to join the fighting, Arell remained on Dantooine. Gann, however, did not; she felt it was the Jedi’s duty to protect the Republic and chose to join the Revanists. This choice seemed to sever their friendship, as Arell felt that Gann was betraying her oath to the Council. When news reached Dantooine that the Mandalorians were attacking Iridonia, the birthplace of Arell’s people, she did not feel compelled to intercede – until she learned through another Jedi that Gann was there, and that she was missing after a particularly devastating assault. For the first and only time in her life, Arell rushed into action, ignoring the Masters and traveling to Iridonia to rescue her friend. In the midst of the battle, she found Gann trying to get a group of refugees offworld, and helped bring them safely to a nearby Republic outpost. While there, Gann apologized for the rift her actions had caused, and the two friends agreed they each had to make their own choices and accept them. Gann opted to return to Dantooine with Arell, but even if she hadn’t, their friendship would have continued.
Arell was present at the Battle of Rakata Prime, having volunteered to join not only to serve alongside Master Vandar, but also in the hopes of studying the ancient Star Forge. When the First Jedi Purge began afterward, Arell was one of many Jedi who went into hiding, forcing her to sever her ties to Gann, Vandar, and her other friends in the Order. After a methodical study of the best options for her refuge, she chose Bespin, since it was a newly-discovered world and the mining colonies there had been basically wiped out during the Mandalorian Wars. She figured no one would look there for her. In addition, she was compelled by stories of a forgotten Force artefact there, and hoped to be able to do something productive while in hiding. In one of the decrepit mining platforms, she discovered a bizarre, diamond-shaped holocron that didn’t look like it was created by the Jedi or the Sith, and which she couldn’t open.
In the midst of her efforts to determine its purpose, she was suddenly attacked by a team of Sith assassins that had tracked her down. Though a skilled swordsman, her focus on scholarly pursuits and nearly a year spent in hiding had weakened her combat abilities, and she found herself quickly overpowered. An assassin stabbed through one of her two hearts and Force blasted her down a elevator shaft, along with most of her belongings and the strange holocron. Believing her to be dead, the assassins departed. Though she still had one functional heart, Arell didn’t have the strength to escape the elevator shaft, and accepted she was going to die. At that moment, the holocron snapped open, possibly due to the fall or due to her fading presence. While open, it extended a wave of energy that froze Arell in stasis, preserving her in time and keeping her alive as a result.
Arell remained in that state for four thousand years, until she was discovered by an archaeological team (thread forthcoming).