Lord Melkor
Senior Member
Gallador`s story, part one, what do you think?:
Gallador Enkidu was taken to the Jedi Temple before the first year of his life has passed. He was a gifted pupil, curious to learn as much about the Force as possible, with above average general potential and strong talent for Living Force, his sensitiveness and emphathy made him particularly good at influencing minds. Yet he was too emotional to fit with Jedi model, so Masters made considerable effort to teach him how to supress his feelings. Gallador was an eager student, and worked hard to be more in tune with Cosmic Force, with good results.
But he didn`t spend most of his time on lightsaber training. Instead, Gallador became fascinated with Jedi Lore. He studied the stories of ancient jedi heroeses, how they defeated the Sith and their evil, negotiating peace and promoting cooperation between the worlds throughout the Galaxy, guiding and inspiring others- and so Old Republic was born, bringing an era of justice and prosperity to Galaxy. Gallador couldn`t wait to finish his training, so he could defend others and help maintain peace and order in the Republic- he wanted to be a peacemaker more than a warror, he considered it more "pure"
Later, Gallador was assigned as Padawan to Jedi Master Harrar-Ur, renowned diplomat and wise mentor. But as he began to travel across the Republic, he discovered it is vastly diffrent compared to his idealistic vision developed in the Temple. There was much suffering, injustice and corruption, and Jedi had to bow and show respect to greedy, corrupt politicians, who didn`t care about the well-being of their people at all, focusing solely on accumulating more power. He asked his Master why do Jedi tolerate this situation- surely they could take matters in their own hands, guiding other beings more directly with their great wisdom and insight? His Master answered that Jedi do not force their beliefs on others, this is the road to the Darkside, path that Sith have taken. Jedi are to advise, never rule! Gallador had to take this answer, but he felt that his childhood dreams have shattered. He also wondered about the reasons for which sentient, civilized beings commit evil deeds- that they are enslaved by their anger, fear-inner demons often so strong that no reasoning can help. But Jedi are able to influence weak minds and alter perception of others for a brief period of time, why they could not make a more pernament effect- it was said that Sith of old could corrupt their victims, twisting their minds through the Power of Darkside. Could Jedi not use reverse technics to heal the minds of criminals? His Mentor didn`t like this line of thought, warning Gallador that he would better forget about those dangerous ideas- using Force to pernamenty influence the minds of of sentient beings is a violation of free will, and clear path to the Darkside! Other Masters were not willing to discuss those matters with Gallador, with two exceptions- Scavione, whom Gallador deeply respected for the guidance in the earliest stages of his training, but whose cold logic made Gallador frustrated, and Master Nume Rand- who was actually quite interested in Gallador`s ideas.
A turning point in Gallador`s life came with a mission to a planet in Hutt Sector, where he accompanied his Master, who was tracking a dangerous Dark Jedi, involved in illegal slave trade, rumored to be a former associate of Kuylen, or even connected to the Sith Lord whose apprentice died on Tatooine.( I am leaving it vague so I don`t mess with Ush`s ideas). Here he discovered the abominable practises of Hutt slavers, and discovered that one of the slaves is a young girl from his own world! She begged for help, saying that she was kidnapped by pirates, and now facing a proscept of being an "entertainer" for Hutts, and she would rather kill herself than meet such fate. Gallador asked his Master for help, but he refused, reasoning that they are outside of Republic territory, on dangerous mission, and have neither time nor resources to start freeing slaves. Young Padawan felt shaken and torn apart! This girl counted on him, he was her only hope, and he felt a kind of bond towards her- she was first member of his species he has ever met, and seeing her brought memories long lost- of his mother, his people and their home! No, he could not fail her, their meeting was certainly a manifestation of the will of the Force. Ancient Jedi would surely act diffrently, they were always ready to fight evil, and not cared about politics! So he made his choice, and what followed was a rescue attempt that resulted in... failure, as Gallador was not experienced and skilled enough to prevail against the defences of powerful Hutt slaver. Fortunately, Harrar-Ur came to his rescue, but at the same time the Dark Jedi decided it is an opportunity to make a move.... and the effect was total mayhem. The Elessar girl tried to convince other slaves to rebel, and was mercilessly killed by slavers. And Gallador`s master died, striken by Darksider`s lightsaber. Than something snapped inside him, and suddenly all the discipline, control, years of training...-it didn`t matter at all! There was only pain, and sorrow, guilt and fear, which turned into anger, and finally into fiendish fury-which brought Power, strenght he never realized he had. Darksider was weakened by the previous fight and Gallador`s Darkside rage surprised him, so he was another to die that day, in that place. Hutt slaver followed, cut into pieces, Gallador didn`t even hear him begging for mercy, than he managed to escape from exploding mansion. He didn`t tell Council the whole truth, and he was a diffrent person than before... - (To be continued)