Cohmac Vitus

Cohmac Vitus was a human male Jedi Master of the Jedi Order during the High Republic Era, renowned as both a scholar and mystic. He was formerly the Padawan of Master Simmix. As a Padawan, Vitus was involved in the Eiram–E'ronoh crisis, an event that affected him into his time as a Jedi Master twenty-five years later. During that time, Vitus was one of four Jedi who traveled aboard the starship Vessel to the Starlight Beacon, only to be forced off course due to the Great Disaster.
==Biography==
===Early life===
During the High Republic Era, Cohmac Vitus was taken into the Jedi Order at a young age, and became friendly with Orla Jareni during their time together in their crèche. He eventually became the Padawan of the Fillithar Jedi Master Simmix. Vitus deeply cared for his master, and found him to be a kind and understanding Jedi, but the Padawan sometimes complained that Simmix could be reckless with his own life. Simmix countered, often amused by this, that Vitus had enough caution for the both of them.
===The Eiram–E'ronoh crisis===
During his time as Simmix's Padawan, Vitus, his master, now Padawan Jareni and her master, Laret Soveral, were asked to intervene in the burgeoning Eiram–E'ronoh crisis. It was the first mission for both Padawans and the two of them were elated to be allowed to fly the T-1 shuttle given to the team. This was because it was both a departure from more tasks Padawans normally performed and a sign of confidence in their abilities. During their approach into the system, their masters were together in the passenger area of the craft in deep meditation. The Padawans detected an apparent distress call from a survivor of Monarch Cassel's ship, and Vitus automatically steered the shuttle toward the call. Master Soveral entered the cabin and demanded to know what had happened. Upon being filled in on the situation, the master grimly commented that the signal had only come from the ship, not a survivor. The shuttle was then shot down and crashed onto the surface of the lost moon that sat between the two planets.
Following the crash, Vitus quickly awakened, and made sure that Jareni was alright. He then tried to sense the two masters, but only Master Soveral came to him in the Force, leading to him panicking and rushing to try and find his master. However, Soveral found him and told him solemnly that Simmix had unfortunately died in the crash. Vitus still moved past her, and eventually found the corpse of his master, overcome with enormous grief and personal guilt. The shuttle's safety harnesses hadn't been designed for limbless beings like the Fillithar, and despite Vitus pointing that out, Simmix had not been concerned.
Distraught, but informed by Soveral that they had to keep moving, the team left the crash site and entered into a nearby cave system. Upon noting the large snake carvings along the wall, Vitus tried to focus and partly explained their origin of tying into local tales of giant serpents. It was then that the group was attacked by a white serpent, and the Jedi succeeded in dispatching it. Vitus remained frustrated, realizing that his master's urgings to learn more about local myths and legends had a purpose, since such tales always had a kernel of truth.
The Jedi were forced to press on, and after dispatching six of the large snakes, Master Soveral took point to lead them forward while the two Padawans were allowed to talk in relative private. Vitus fumed to his friend about the lack of mourning practices in the Jedi Order, and the unrealistic expectations placed on one's emotions. Despite Jareni's efforts to soothe him, he sharply proclaimed these practices as wrong, and the conversation cooled. Vitus became slightly embarrassed, aware he had been snapping at his friend and his various emotions were easily sensed in the Force by his fellow Jedi. Seeking to better represent his now deceased master's teachings, he calmed himself down and proceeded with the group.
Soon, the trio of Jedi came to the hideout of the Lasat gangster Isamer, and sprung into action to save the two captured monarchs. Unfortunately, while the group followed procedure, this allowed the Lasat criminal to shoot at the two royals. Monarch Cassel lept in the way of the shot to save his fellow captive, and died moments later. As he watched the Queen Consort Thandeka cry over the body of her departed savior, Vitus felt intense envy that she was capable of mourning openly, while he was unable to. However, he would ultimately bury his feelings and opinions on the ways the Jedi handle death for many years.
===The Great Disaster===
====Discovery of the Amaxine Station====
Two and a half decades later, Vitus was now a well respected Jedi with contributions to a broad range of scholarly fields, from ancient Force rituals to high-crisis hostage negotiation, while also being considered a knowledgeable mystic. He had decided to take up a post at the Starlight Beacon to study the cultures of the unknown or newly discovered societies in the new frontier. To reach the Beacon though, he found himself traveling with three other Jedi, Padawan Reath Silas, Jedi Knight Dez Rydan, and Jedi Wayseeker Jareni, as they were all bound for the same destination. The two friends briefly commented on the change in their lives, and that they were returning to that same fateful area of space from a quarter of a century ago. The starship that had been hired for the mission, however, was unavailable, resulting in a last-minute replacement in the form of the Vessel, crewed by Captain Leox Gyasi, co-pilot Affie Hollow, and navigator Geode.
Upon boarding the ship, Vitus used his robe's hood as a shield, as he worked hard to hide the emotions that flickered on his face while internally, he maintained order in the chaos. He expressed disquiet at returning to the area of space that had so long ago changed him from a Padawan to a Jedi in mere hours, as the well of emotions that came with those memories was difficult for him to handle. He hoped, however, that he would be able to set his feelings at peace through this voyage. The Vessel then entered hyperspace, and later, Vitus was sitting near Rydan and Silas as the younger Jedi discussed a conversation Silas had had with Hollow. Vitus was somewhat distracted as he continued to ponder his choice to go out to the frontier, thinking about his own traits and thought process, commented on by others as being precise, with a focus on reason and logic.
When he attempted to leave, Padawan Silas asked him how his activities as a folklorist worked, and he provided an explanation while gazing out of one of the ship's small viewports. He stated that while some tales were readily shared, it was often difficult to acquire stories meant to stay internal to a community, or darker tales that people did not wish to share. These words immediately turned his mind back to the events of the Crisis, but he continued on and added that every species was different. He offered the strategy of studying a group's art, as from that legends emerged to explain imagery in the work. He then pondered saying more as the two younger Jedi spoke, but he mused that he had learned to limit his words as he was aware he could readily say too much.
It was at this point that the Great Disaster began, the event echoing through the Force and affecting all of the Jedi aboard the Vessel. The ship itself was suddenly hit with debris from the destroyed Legacy Run while in hyperspace, forcing repairs conducted by Silas and Hollow. The craft then exited hyperspace in an unknown region of space near a volatile star. Vitus was able to sense that many had died, joining the other Jedi in their shared shock and pain. The Jedi all moved to the communications area to contact the Starlight Beacon, joining the ship's crew. There, they learned the extent of the disaster, multiple signals from across the galaxy overlapping. However, a broadcast from the Galactic Republic cut through the panic and called on all hyperspace travel to cease due to the dangers of using it. Vitus then left the group, but when the ship received a message from a signal beacon, Jareni and Silas went to fetch him after the Wayseeker advised caution. Jareni, however, was shaken, and as the closest to a "head monk" in the group, Vitus returned to the bridge with Silas.
There, he oversaw the assessment of their situation, asking for identification of the different ships stranded around them and helping to better ascertain why the ship that originally sent the beacon was so difficult to scan (as it was a mix of many different parts). After contact was initially made with Nan and Hague's ship, Vitus took over the call to give her instructions before turning off the call. However, the Force tugged at him, as he sensed something undiscovered, and asked for the Vessel scans to widen. This revealed an ancient space station and Cohmac directed the other eleven starships to take refuge around it and it's shields due to the nearby volatile star.
====Darkness aboard the station====
Once the station proved safe to enter, Master Vitus stood with Wayseeker Jareni, Knight Rydan, Padawan Silas and crewmate Hollow to welcome apparent refugees Nan and her guardian Hague, whose ship had been rescued by the Vessel crew and was the first to dock. Cohmac Vitus spoke with Hague about getting settled, and moved to lead boarding affairs. However, Jareni lured him away from his duties, telling him to delegate, in order to investigate the mysterious statues and technologies the boarding team had found. Jareni knew exactly what sort of teases would get Vitus' attention, specifically mentioning unknown languages, and the two moved off to investigate. Jareni then directly addressed the parallels to their current situation and their first mission years ago but was stopped by the sudden feeling of the shadow and accompanying chill reported earlier by Silas and Rydan.
A short time later, the pair were standing in the central sphere of the station, Vitus dissecting the appearance of the idols while Jareni provided her own suggestions. He noted that the design was not unlike that of the ancient Kubaz, but their star system was so distant that it could be coincidence. Jareni commented that they might not be god, instead monarchs or historical leaders, which Vitus had considered. He ultimately settled on the educated guess that the beings were gods. Just then, another chill accompanying a breeze wafted over them, and the pair discussed what might be happening. Moving to check the nearby corridor, concerned a dark force was approaching them, Orla Jareni was instead suddenly sucked into an intense Force vision. Cohmac Vitus was similarly pulled into an intense vision, and fell into the surrounding vegetation. He came out of his vision soon after, and told Jareni with great clarity that the vision had been a warning.
Jareni helped Vitus to his feet, and the two returned to the wider station. By the time they reached Silas and Rydan, a battle had broken out onboard between the passengers and crews of the newly arriving ships, who were looting supplies, and a few were even attempting to seize others for unsavory purposes. Master Vitus was able to stand on his own and he rushed to action, leaping through the air to the upper levels. There, he engaged the Orincans, a species from one of the docked ships. Due to his concerns about stray blaster bolts rickoeting around the station due to possible magnetic seals, he carefully reflected the bolts fired at him into nearby tree trunks and other vegetation. This show of ability caused the plunderers to retreat, and allowed Vitus a moment to get his bearings.
Realizing that he and Wayseeker Jareni would be insicicent in using their martial skills to help defuse the situation (as the looters could easily run away in the large, round space), he chose to commit an act of awe. He jumped through the air into the atrium, which caused Affie Hollow to scream, but through the use of the Force he was able to levitate himself eight meters in the air. He called attention to himself, his voice echoing clearly in the atrium space, and he ordered that in the name of the Republic everyone was to cease their criminal activities immediately. He added that in fifteen minutes, either every captain had to have their passengers and crews onboard their ships and leave, or be ready to cooperate peacefully. He finished his speech with a vague threat that everyone had to follow the laws of the Republic on this station, or else everyone would have to make a choice. His words and actions worked, and while the crews did peacefully return to the airlock level, Vitus knew the peace he had brought was only a brief reprieve.
===Complications on the station===
A short time later, Vitus and Rydan were discussing the visions had by the two older Jedi. Vitus described his vision as his conscience being removed to someplace different, where he was looking down into a terrible abyss that filled his soul with an aching anguish. Dez continued to press for information, asking if the artifacts may have triggered the event, which Vitus carefully considered possible. He said that there were legends of objects imbued with the powers of the dark side, but that all legend was rooted in some truth.
Dez then switched to suggesting that the darkness was instead coming from the plants if it was not the idols. However, Master Vitus outright rejected this, openly scoffing and stating he had encountered trees steeped in the dark side before. This darkness, he added, was different, and seemed to be a power with a focused intelligence, which surprised Dez. The Jedi scholar further postulated that the statues were a warning of the darkness, which Dez asked what they could do about. Vitus replied that for now, nothing, as they needed to shelter from the hyperspace disaster gripping the galaxy, and that they were functionally trapped with the darkness onboard. Dez then told the other Jedi to take it easy for a time, while he left to find Reath Silas.
Following this, after a criminal ship had been made to detach from the station, and supplies were being equally distributed, Cohmac Vitus stepped away to center himself. He found a space at the back of the Vessel away from the other members of the group, and knelt on a makeshift meditation mat to begin. He repeated a common mantra he had embraced over the years: "I behold the world within myself. I behold the world without myself." He then began to consider the darkness aboard the station, and what its source could be. He pondered on the lack of Jedi insight into the darkness, and then considered the violence of separating dark from light, and if that itself created darkness. Some time later, after an effort had been made by a mixed group of the station's residents, Jareni found Vitus in further meditation on the Vessel observation deck. The two entered a more in-depth discussion than before about the parallels between the present and their shared past from the Eiram–E'ronoh crisis. However, they did not get far into their talk before the pair of them were thrown into another intense, terrifying vision.
In the aftermath of this vision, the four Jedi grouped within the Vessel tiny communication's area, Silas having also experienced a vision and the need to address the threat having grown too significant to put off any longer. Jareni gave them a rundown of what they knew about the darkness on board of the station and agreed with Master Vitus' assessment of the idols as keeping a darkness sealed within, with a psychic warning seal placed over them. Vitus corrected Padawan Silas' belief that the Force only comes from life and that the artifacts had to be Sith in origin, as he stated that others had held powers in the Force. Jareni asked for options of what they should do, with Vitus affirming his belief that they needed to do something soon, as Affie Hollow's explorations of the station had revealed frequent visitation by traders, which could result in one of them accidentally freeing the darkness. However, Knight Rydan's comment on a possible connection between the shadow and the lower areas of the station caused Jareni to instruct him to find a way for his group to make their way down there successfully (as the last attempt had involved the station's 8-T droids attacking them, and Affie Hollow poisoned).
Some time later, Vitus was with Gyasi and Geode in the cockpit of the Vessel when he felt a disturbance in the Force, indicating that something was wrong. He immediately rushed out of the ship followed by Gyasi, and they encountered the distraught group who had attempted to breach the lower level again but had now fled back to the wider station. His emotions were destabilized as he realized what had happened to Rydan, and harangued himself for not sensing what the similarities between his past and now present could have meant for the mission. After learning more information about the accident, he bluntly stated the likely truth, that Rydan had been vaporized, and upon reaching out in the Force, he could feel nothing of the Jedi Knight. A few minutes later, Vitus boarded the Vessel and retreated to his cabin to meditate, his disrupted emotional state clearly felt by his friend Jareni.
====Final preparations====
Soon after this meeting, the refugees aboard the Amaxine space station received word from the Republic that hyperlanes were conditionally open, with enough information fed to starships by the Republic to allow for essential travel. Master Vitus joined a meeting of Padawan Silas, Wayseeker Jareni, Captain Gyasi and co-pilot Hollow in the comm area of the ship, where he remained withdrawn, allowing Reath Silas to speak on the essentials of Force artifacts. The group ultimately affirmed that the idols were Force containers, as well as with Master Vitus' belief that they should be removed from the station. Vitus finally spoke and suggested a binding ritual should be performed on the idols to make sure the darkness contained within stayed that way during transport. The other two Jedi agreed, and the group ultimately separated.
After this meeting though, Jareni went to confront Vitus, feeling he was neglecting his duties and allowing the death of Dez Rydan to impact him more than was natural. Vitus began to rail against the death of Rydan, and how it didn't feel right for him to overcome the anger within him, and that the young Knight should be openly mourned. After some further prodding from Jareni, Vitus openly admitted the ties between these present feelings with those he had held onto since his past. However, despite Jareni's efforts to affirm both Jedi teachings, and the fact that everyone had shared responsibility that day for what went wrong, Vitus was not swayed from his position. He then disengaged in the conversation, to focus on continued preparations for the binding exercise.
Some time after this, he, Padawan Silas, and Wayseeker Jareni went into the center of the Amaxine station's central sphere and commenced their binding ritual on the idols. Vitus led the ritual, which was somewhat taxing, but the task was ultimately accomplished, with Jareni quipping afterward that the hard part was now transporting the heavy statues to the Vessel.
====Return to Coruscant====
Cohmac Vitus oversaw the departure preparations in the cockpit of the ship before he left as the ship prepared to jump into hyperspace. As they flew through the rocky journey, he and Jareni stood in the cargo bay keeping an eye on the mysterious idols. He answered Jareni's questions about how rough the trip was with an explanation provided by what information he knew of the effects of the disaster and the Republic's solution to it. By this time, his inner anger and lack of balance had calmed.
He joined with the other Jedi as a distress call was received by the Vessel, and affirmed that the craft should respond to it. He then joined Jareni and Silas in their plunge onboard the heavily damaged passenger ship Journeyman once the Vessel had exited hyperspace and attached itself to the larger ship. Donning a breath mask, Vitus rushed through the burning ship to reach the main loading bay. Once there, he shouted to be taken to the escape pod doors and dislodged debris keeping the ship's passengers from accessing the pods. Realizing he could not return on the path he'd come, he joined the throng moving to the escape pods and contacted the Vessel to learn the progress of the rest of his team. He soon came into contact with two Wookiee parents who had lost their child in the chaos, but was able to assure them of their child's safety as the youth had been rescued by Reath Silas.
Upon the group's return to Coruscant, Cohmac Vitus immediately sought an audience with the Jedi Council despite the state of his appearance, being covered in soot and his robes dirtied and singed from his efforts aboard the Journeyman. He gave his report to three of the Council's Masters, Master Adampo and Master Teri Rosason being among this group. He informed them of the death of Dez Rydan, as well as the events of their time onboard the Amaxine station, in a calm and nearly droid-like fashion. Internally however, he was enraged at both his tone, and the lack of mourning from any of the Council members. He almost asked them if they had no more emotion to share beyond the brief moment of sadness. However, he controlled his internal outburst, and left.
Later, he joined Wayseeker Jareni, and Masters Poreht La, Tia Mirabel, and Giktoo Nelmo at the Shrine in the Depths to handle the Force containers which had been moved to the site from the Vessel by Jareni. He then entered a deep trance with these idols as they surrounded the idols. The connection was profound, and they were all in a deep harmony that would allow them to best combat whatever darkness lay within the idols. However, upon removing the Force barrier around the idols, the group learned there was nothing present, and instead, the idols had been keeping a darkness contained aboard the ancient station.
Vitus was deeply dismayed at the mistake, though others attempted to alleviate the guilt he and Wayseeker Jareni were experiencing. He struggled to calm himself, and tried to proceed to the next step, returning the idols to the station and re-establishing containment. Instead, the Council wanted to wait and take their time to establish a proper team, to prevent any further loss of life. Vitus promptly shouldered the responsibility of taking the idols to a secure location, but once the other Jedi had left him and Jareni, he confided in her his intention to fix their mistake.
Cohmac then went to recruit Silas to their cause, finding him in the Jedi Archives and explaining the situation to him. He rapidly recruited the young Padawan, who was already eager to fix his own mistake as he had since learned that Nan and Hague were both Nihil. Vitus also knew this, but his focus was on returning the idols. The pair of Jedi went to the crew of the Vessel to hire them for the mission, but upon arrival were initially dismayed to hear that the ship had already been hired by another party. However, this new party was soon revealed to be Jareni, and the group of Jedi then huddled to discuss their plan.
====Return to the station====
On their emergence from hyperspace, the Vessel was suddenly confronted by a massive Nihil warship attached to the station. By the piloting expertise of Gyasi, the Vessel was attached to a nearby small asteroid, effectively hiding the starship from the larger vessel. Vitus complimented the captain on his quick maneuver, and worked to discuss options for their successful docking with the station outside of the view of the larger, menacing, ship. It was Geode who proposed the plan, and when executed, resulted in the Vessel orbiting on the opposite side of the station from the Nihil ship. But, as boarding still needed to be accomplished, Vitus joined Jareni, Hollow and Silas in donning exosuits to leave their ship and float down to the Amaxine station. The group then exited the Vessel and used their thrusters to reach the airlock, with the three Jedi using the Force to pull the idols to safety, and into the station.
Once aboard, the darkness the Jedi had been sensing before was overwhelming, and the group split up to handle their mutual assignments. As Jareni and Vitus walked together, Jareni commented on the rapid spread of the darkness, and Vitus agreed with her. She further commented that the visions they had seen before had a strange familiarity to them now, but she dismissed it before the two of them headed into the dense brush. As they walked, Vitus brought up the clay warriors of the moon Zardossa Stix, which Jareni had heard of, but his mention of them at that particular moment put her on edge. Vitus speculated that the idols were keeping an army in place due to the nature of what they were feeling in the Force around them, though Jareni couldn't see an army.
However, the two were suddenly approached by plantlike beings, the Drengir, who expressed pleasure at having encountered meat. The pair were gradually surrounded by the creatures, and an oppressive sensation in the Force itself settled over them. The Drengir revealed the fact that they had been captured by the Sith which gave the Jedi pause before moving in to attack. Vitus sliced through a whip of thorns that had been directed at him, severing the tendril but it continued to slither on the ground. As Jareni began attacking the Drengir, Master Vitus realized that the plant creatures were rapidly regenerated. The two Jedi then continued to duel against the increasingly large number of Drengir closing in on their position.
Vitus kept the fight going as best as he could, though Jareni was suffering from a blow to her leg. Eventually separated, the Jedi Master was slowly being pinned to one of the major arches of the central atrium. Fortunately, Wayseeker Jareni came to his rescue, severing a bower connected to the atrium's ceiling which began to collapse as she fell down to the ground. Landing awkwardly due her damaged leg, she joined Vitus in deflecting the probes of the Drengir while backing up, bringing the Drengir to a point directly beneath the collapsing bower. The architecture, drenched in vegetation, ultimately fell right on top of the Drengir, temporarily waylaying them. When they sought to cut themselves free, they damaged the vegetation which resulted in swarms of 8-Ts descending on them as they were perceived as harming the station's plant life. Jareni and Vitus watched on before centering themselves and formed a new Force container out of the idols sitting in the atrium. The act appeared like a green flash to the Jedi, and its effect was instantaneous, the Drengir melting into the vegetation of the station. The two friends then rushed to find Hollow and Silas but were instead encountered by the Nihil member Hague.
The elderly Zabrak attempted to shoot his blaster at the pair, but Jareni used the Force to slow the bolt, the pair of Jedi stepping to the side of it, before she released it, allowing it to crash into the nearby wall. Their confrontation continued, with Hague's earlier hidden rage freely flowing to the surface, and he trapped the pair of them with him in the airlock ring by shooting the door controls. After alerting the other Nihil on the station of the Jedi, a group soon closed in on their position as the Nihil vessel was directly moored to the airlock ring. However, a grenade thrown by Affie Hollow disrupted the Nihil's charge, allowing Master Vitus and Wayseeker Jareni to charge forward themselves. Jareni dealt with Hague, while Vitus held the remaining Nihil at bay in an archway, not allowing them through to attack him and Jareni.
She was eventually able to reach alternative controls on the ceiling, and activated emergency doors which separated them from the Nihil. Unfortunately, they realized too late that they had trapped Affie Hollow on the other side of the doors with the majority of the Nihil, and so moved in to assist her, drawing off a portion of her attackers in their approach. While Jareni engaged a pair of Nihil wielding energized polearms, Vitus used the Force to grab and swing a metal beam through the legs of the main Nihil group, causing many of them to fall over. The Nihil then retreated, and the two senior Jedi went to regroup with Silas and Hollow. While Jareni scouted the station for anything to use against the Nihil, Vitus found Silas and a surprisingly alive Rydan. Shocked but rapidly filled in on what had happened, Vitus moved to help Silas get Rydan back to the Vessel.
On the way back to the ship, the group of Jedi ran into Gyasi. After conferring with the man, who then rushed off to find Hollow, Padawan Silas implored Master Vitus to get Knight Rydan back to the Vessel. Initially Master Vitus was hesitant to allow Padawan Silas to leave on his own, but given the condition of both Rydan, and the need to sabotage the Nihil efforts on board the station through engagement with its technology, the senior Jedi allowed the Padawan to leave. Vitus accompanied Rydan back to the airlock that the Vessel was now docked at, but just before he entered the ship, he saw the form of Geode receding down the station hallway into the chaos. Staying onboard the ship, he eventually overheard the return of Hollow and Gyasi. Hearing of how the ship was attached to the station by vines, he moved out to go find his Jedi companions in order to initiate their escape.
On the way, he encountered the battle now raging between the Nihil and the Drengir in the central atrium, but did not engage with it as Reath Silas and Orla Jareni emerged from the smoke to meet him. Moving back to the Vessel, neither of the older Jedi realized that Padawan Silas had run off on his own mission. Shortly after his departure, Silas vented the arboretum into space, while also launching all of the hyperspace-capable pods. The station was not significantly damaged, but the death of Drengir and most of the Nihil allowed the group to take their time cutting away the vines that had tried to trap the Vessel before departing. Vitus came to check on Dez Rydan, and was there to witness Leox Gyasi using the spice on board the ship to help keep the haggard Dez Rydan stable.
====Aftermath====
Upon their return to Coruscant, Jareni, Vitus, and Silas were called before the Jedi High Council to account for their actions. All three ultimately went undisciplined for their actions due to the net benefit, and that it was out of their character to disobey the rules of the Jedi. Soon after this ruling, Vitus received a call from Jareni onboard her newly purchased ship, the Lightseeker. He congratulated her on the fine ship after she gave him a small tour of its facilities. The two then spoke of his state following the affairs of the past few weeks, and he insisted his place was still with the Order. Jareni then raised her hand in a farewell.
Later on, Master Vitus was in the Coruscant Jedi Temple's meditation center when Padawan Silas found him. After all they had been through, and the death of his master fighting the Nihil, Silas wished to join Vitus on his assignment out on the frontier as newly minted master and apprentice. After hearing Silas' explanation, Cohmac openly discussed his trepidation at the prospect, but that he must be courageous, and continue to work through his difficulties with the choices of the Jedi. Ultimately, however, he accepted Silas as his Padawan. Weeks later, the two were at the opening ceremony of the Starlight Beacon. Following the celebration, Vitus explained to his new Padawan that anything could happen from this point forward, and there was joy to be found in that.
===Battle on Mulita===
Cohmac Vitus participated in the battle on Mulita against the Drengir.The High Republic (2021) 8
===Mission to Genetia===
Approximately one year after the Amaxine Station incident, Vitus found a petition from the academic community of the planet Genetia, which was on the brink of civil war. He and Silas traveled to Genetia and retrieved a large number of artifacts and datatapes for safekeeping on Starlight Beacon.
===Detour to Tiikae===
After being summoned to Coruscant to testify to a Galactic Senate committee about the atrocities they witnessed on Genetia, Vitus and Silas took the Fraunesaa from Starlight Beacon, bringing Jedi Knight Vernestra Rwoh and her Padawan Imri Cantaros with them. The Jedi received a distress call from the Jedi temple on Tiikae, reporting an attack by the Nihil. The Jedi subdued the Nihil force there and met the local deputy, Jordanna Sparkburn, whom Vitus agreed to take with them to Coruscant.
===Rescue on the Gravity's Heart===
At the behest of Senator Ghirra Starros, Vitus and Silas accompanied Rwoh, Cantaros, Sylvestri Yarrow, and Xylan Graf on an expedition to the Berenge sector to investigate rumors of a Nihil weapon being built. Graf took them to his family's space station Everbloom, where they were ambushed by a group of Nihil, resulting in the capture of Silas, Cantaros, and Yarrow. Vitus and Rwoh confronted Matriarch Catriona Graf, who offered them the Vengeful Goddess to rescue their companions. Vitus, Rwoh, and Sparkburn traveled to the coordinates of the Gravity's Heart space station. Vitus fought the Nihil's ships while Rwoh and Sparkburn boarded the station from an escape pod. Rwoh and Sparkburn rescued Silas, Cantaros, and Yarrow while reinforcements from the Republic Defense Coalition arrived and destroyed the Gravity's Heart.
===Mission to Corellia===
While sparring with Silas on Starlight Beacon, Vitus and Silas were invited by Padawan Ram Jomaram to participate in a mission to Corellia, along with Jomaram and Master Kantam Sy, to investigate claims of Nihil activity. Before leaving, Vitus spoke with Orla Jareni via hologram. When Silas walked in on the conversation, Vitus admitted that he had been feeling a great sadness, which Jareni was trying to help him find the meaning of. Vitus, Silas, Sy, and Jomaram departed from the station on a shuttle called the Talmadge. During the hyperspace journey, Vitus asked Sy if they had ever considered being a Wayseeker, and Sy told him about the time in Sy's youth when they walked away from the Jedi Order.
After arriving in Coronet City, Vitus and Sy payed a visit to Minister Fendirfal, who had notified the Jedi of the apparent Nihil presence on Corellia. Fendirfal told the Masters that, due to the bombing at Gus Talon University, she was busy and would not be able to help them, and that all of the Jedi from the Coronet City temple had been deployed to Gus Talon. The minister brought Vitus and Sy to a gathering of city officials held by Alys Ongwa, who had recruited Silas and Jomaram to assist her. When a brawl broke out, Vitus suggested that the four Jedi go into a side room to discuss what the Padawans had been up to. After the brawl died down, Ongwa met with her crew and the Jedi. She wanted them to be at the upcoming Finance Ball to scout for information, and needed a singer unknown on Corellia to perform at the event. Jomaram suggested Zeen Mrala, who had just contacted him to inform him that she was on her way to Corellia.
While watching over Ongwa's friend Svi'no Atchapat at a performance of her band, Vitus and Sy intercepted someone rushing toward Atchapat, who turned out to be her ex-boyfriend Tivbak. The Masters then met Barg'no Atchapat, who asked about the rumors of a Nihil presence on Corellia and declared that the Atchapat Family would fight if necessary.
===Battle at the shipyards===
The following day, Vitus and Sy were visited by Minister Fendirfal, who told them about reports of a conflict at the municipal police barracks. The two Jedi took a speeder bike to the barracks and saw smoke rising from the building. At that point, they both sensed devastation on Starlight Beacon through the Force. A man fled from the barracks, and the Masters chased him down and questioned him. The muni officer told them that a red-skinned girl showed up at the barracks, then a fight broke out with the newly-recruited officers and a gas was released. The officer fled as a gunship attacked the Jedi. Vitus swiftly killed the gunship's crew. Sy was unnerved by his ruthlessness, but Vitus said that decisive action must be taken to defeat the Nihil. Vitus wanted to return to Starlight and defend his home and Orla Jareni, but Sy convinced him that he was needed on Corellia. The two then saw a convoy of vehicles piloted by the Nihil on the move. They sneaked onto one of the walkers, which took them to the shipyards. Watching the Nihil wait for their allies, Sy reasoned that their plan must be to steal the ships, not destroy them as they had assumed.
Vitus and Sy fought their way through a horde of Nihil, starting on opposite sides and working their way to the middle. They witnessed Reath Silas, who had stowed aboard a Nihil troop transport, jump down into the battle. Vitus dropped his lightsaber in the fray and was rescued by Sy. The Masters joined with Silas and were led to the Corellian fighters' barricades by Svi'no Atchapat.
Master Sy divided up the Jedi, sending them to guard different ships from the Nihil. As the battle took a turn for the worse, Sy made the decision to destroy the remaining operational ships rather than let them fall into Nihil hands. After the Nihil deployed gas, Sy and Vitus cleared some of it away using the Force. Ram Jomaram met them on the battlefield and told them that he had hidden an injured Silas in one of the MPO star cruisers. The Jedi saw one of the Longbeams, seized by the Nihil, take off, and Jomaram rushed off to stop it.
Vitus continued the battle alongside Sy and Zeen Mrala, but another ship, an MPO cruiser, was taken by the Nihil. In an attempt to evacuate the remaining fighters, Vitus joined Sy leading a charge through the surrounding Nihil. Yet another ship began to take off, and Vitus and Mrala protected Sy as Sy concentrated on stopping the ship through the Force. Then Master Yoda appeared, pulling the ship from the sky and joining the fight. Vitus cut down Nihil alongside Yoda and the others, and the tide of the battle turned in their favor.
===Leaving the Jedi Order===
During the attack on Corellia by the Nihil, Cohmac expressed doubt towards the Jedi Order's way of dealing with the Nihil threat, saying that the entire Order and the Jedi Code was not made for the state the galaxy is currently in. After knighting his Padawan Reath Silas, sensing the destruction of Starlight Beacon and the death of Orla Jareni, Cohmac Vitus left the Jedi Order; giving his lightsaber to his now former Padawan Reath Silas.The High Republic: Midnight Horizon
==Personality and traits==
Cohmac Vitus stood at average height for a male human, but appeared tall due to his slender, angular build, the thick greying black hair he wore down almost to his shoulders and a gravitas that accompanied his presence.
Vitus was a wise Jedi Master who appreciated ancient history, which caused the Padawan Reath Silas to look up to him. Vitus was outwardly very calm and methodically logical but internally, he was rocked by the death of his master and, although he buried his grief as was dictated by Jedi teachings, could not help but feel angry about Simmix's death and was even angrier at the fact that Jedi teachings tried to make him ignore such feelings. Furthermore, Vitus was troubled by the split between the light side and the dark side of the Force espoused by the Jedi Order and believed that the refusal to examine the darkness could potentially make it even stronger. When Vitus thought nobody was watching him, he appreciated the sight of Xylan Graf's chest when it was partially bared.The High Republic: Out of the Shadows
==Powers and abilities==
Cohmac Vitus had an enormous knowledge of histories and ancient cultures, among other subjects, and was considered a notable mystic among his peers. As a result of this, he had an analytical mind capable of referencing a broad spectrum of information. He also possessed a strong connection to the Force and was granted many notable abilities. Vitus was capable of sensing the energies of the dark side of the Force onboard the Amaxine station, and was able to probe deeper and understand there was a malicious intelligence behind it. Like most Jedi, Vitus could use the Force to jump many meters into the air with ease but he was also able to levitate himself a similar distance in the air. Vitus was also skilled in the usage of a lightsaber, fending off multiple Nihil at once while also effectively combating the foreign threat of the Drengir.
==Equipment==
Cohmac Vitus wore robes and wielded a blue lightsaber.
==Behind the scenes==
Cohmac Vitus was first mentioned in the 2021 novel The High Republic: Light of the Jedi, written by Charles Soule, in which Vitus was described as a Jedi Knight.The High Republic: Light of the Jedi The novel The High Republic: Into the Dark by Claudia Gray, however, where he made his first full appearance, states that Vitus was a Jedi Master. Gray's original live-action comparison for Vitus was actor Oded Fehr.
==Appearances==
*The High Republic: Into the Dark 
*The High Republic: Light of the Jedi 
*The High Republic (2021) 8
*The High Republic: Out of the Shadows 
*The High Republic: Midnight Horizon 
*The High Republic Adventures (2021) 12
*The High Republic: The Fallen Star 
*The High Republic Adventures (2021) 13 
*The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight 1 
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*The High Republic: Temptation of the Force 
*The High Republic: Tears of the Nameless 
*The High Republic Adventures – Echoes of Fear 3
*The High Republic Adventures – Echoes of Fear 4
*The High Republic: Seeds of Starlight 
*Padawan 
*Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy's Edge – Last Call 
==Sources==
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*Star Wars: The High Republic: Chronicles of the Jedi
*Star Wars: Timelines
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*Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
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*Star Wars: The High Republic: The Lightsaber Collection
*Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy
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==Notes and references==
Category:Former Jedi
Category:Humans
Category:Individuals with he/him pronouns
Category:Jedi Masters during the High Republic Era
Category:LGBTQIA+ individuals
Category:Males