Praven

Lord Praven is a supporting character in the BioWare MMORPG Star Wars: The Old Republic, serving as a major antagonist and determinedly a supporting character in the Jedi Knight storyline. Praven was a male pureblood Sith who served the reconstituted Empire as a Sith Lord and later protected the Galactic Republic as a member of the Jedi Order.
Trained as a Sith Warrior by Darth Angral, Praven participated in the attack on the Jedi Temple on the Republic capital of Coruscant at the end of the Great Galactic War. In the subsequent Cold War, Praven took on Angral's son Tarnis as his own apprentice and trained the Human as a Sith Lord, but Praven's training was not enough to prevent Tarnis' death at the hands of a young Jedi Knight when Tarnis attempted to unleash the Planet Prison superweapon against Coruscant near the end of the Cold War. Angral's pursuit of revenge drove him to dispatch his apprentices across the galaxy in order to steal other Republic weapons projects, and Praven acquired the Shock Drum weapon on the planet Tatooine after defeating the Jedi Master Bela Kiwiiks.
== Biography ==
=== Early Years ===
A male member of the Sith species, Praven was born into a family who took pride in the purity of their heritage. He was found to be Force-sensitive early in his youth and underwent training in the use of the dark side of the Force while also becoming adamantly loyal to the Sith Empire and its Emperor. A true believer in Sith philosophy who developed his own code of personal honor, Praven also developed an intense hatred of Jedi, and the Sith Warrior was taken on by the powerful Sith Lord Darth Angral as his Sith apprentice sometime before the end of the Great Galactic War with the Galactic Republic. Under Angral's tutelage, Praven achieved the rank of Sith Lord himself, and he in turn took on Angral's own son Tarnis as his apprentice. Praven's student soon became a Sith Lord in his own right, and in 3,653 BBY Praven was selected to be one of the fifty Sith who would accompany Darth Malgus on an attack on the Jedi Temple, the headquarters of the Jedi Order on the Republic capital of Coruscant. Praven and the other Sith boarded a stolen NR2 gully jumper that crashed through the front of the Jedi Temple, catching many of the Order's defenders by surprise.
During the fighting, Praven engaged the Jedi Master Usma, one of the Order's most celebrated lightsaber duelists, in combat, and their duel ended when the Sith Lord killed Usma. However, Praven spared Usma's Padawan before telling her to seek him out once the Jedi had completed her training, so that the two could face each other as equals. By the time the fighting was over, Praven was one of only twenty Sith to have survived, and they witnessed Darth Malgus aid his Twi'lek lover, Eleena Daru, after she had been injured in the battle. At Malgus' request, Darth Angral, who was leading an Imperial fleet in capturing the Republic capital, Praven and the other warriors were permitted to watch as the Imperial ships wreaked havoc across the cityscape. Around half an hour later, Malgus had his forces plant explosives throughout the ravaged Temple, and the Sith followed their leader in projecting a Force barrier to stop the debris as Malgus detonated the explosives while they were still twenty meters from the entrance. In the days that followed the Sacking of Coruscant, as the battle came to be known, the Republic was forced to sign the Treaty of Coruscant, which ended the Great Galactic War and called for the immediate withdraw of Republic forces from battlefields across the galaxy.
Robbed of his chance to destroy the Republic, Darth Angral spent the subsequent Cold War weaving complex plots to bring about his enemy's destruction; one of which sent Tarnis on an undercover mission as Doctor Eli Tarnis, a scientist in the Republic superweapon initiative. Praven's former student quickly became the head of the Planet Prison project, while Angral took on two more apprentices, Sadic and Nefarid. Praven gained a reputation among the Imperial Military after an encounter with an Imperial major ended with the man's death: Praven was insulted by the lack of respect that the major chose to show him and choked the officer with the Force, demanding an apology before breaking the man's neck as punishment. Sometime during the Cold War, Usma's Padawan tracked down Praven as he had told her to, and the Sith Lord obliged her by sending the woman to the same fate as her Master. During his time as a Sith, Praven encountered the immortal Lord Scourge, the Emperor's Wrath and personal executioner.
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=== Darth Angral's Crusade ===
Lord Tarnis seized control of the Planet Prison project and set it up in the ruins of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, intending to use it against the Republic capital while he made his escape. Praven was with Tarnis, Sadic, and Nefarid when Tarnis contacted his father and relayed via holographic transmission the success of his plans to evade his Jedi and Republic pursuers. Praven's former apprentice also sent his father copies of files on all of the Republic's superweapon projects, but the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a young Jedi Knight and the Padawan Kira Carsen. Sadic mockingly reprimanded Tarnis for failing to tie up loose ends, but Angral urged his son to strike down his enemies, and Praven watched with the others as Tarnis engaged the two Jedi in a duel; a battle that ended in Tarnis' death. A furious Angral declared undying hatred for the Knight on account of that, and Praven promised his Master that he would personally kill the Jedi.
=== The Shock Drum Project ===
Tarnis' death drove Angral to the edge of sanity, and in his rage the Sith Lord dispatched his three apprentices to take control of the three superweapons that were detailed in Tarnis' files. While Sadic and Nefarid were sent to the moon Nar Shaddaa and the planet Alderaan, respectively, Praven traveled to the desert world of Tatooine, where he commanded a detachment of Imperial soldiers in his search for the Shock Drum; a weapon that utilized seismic vibrations as an offensive weapon, literally softening up enemy defenses, though the device would destabilize the core of a planet after enough time. Storming the Shock Drum Facility in the Jundland Mountains and destroying the compound's power generators, Praven discovered the Togruta Jedi Master Bela Kiwiiks was there to defend the project, and the Sith Lord defeated the Jedi in battle despite losing many of his soldiers. However, Praven's sense of honor led him to take Kiwiiks alive as a prisoner, and he destroyed the project's security droids and took the Shock Drum prototype. Informing the project staff that they were no threat and therefore did not deserve an unjust death, Praven departed the facility with his two prizes and the remaining soldiers.
While traveling west into the Dune Sea region, Praven contacted Angral and relayed his success. Angral ordered his apprentice to activate the Shock Drum weapon and leave Kiwiiks to die alongside it, ensuring that the Jedi Master would suffer before her death, and he also commanded Praven to destroy the Shock Drum's deactivation codes so that Tarnis' killer would be unable to prevent the Shock Drum from destroying Tatooine. However, Praven was disgusted by his Master's attempts at treachery, and his honor drove him to disobey that final order after leaving the active Shock Drum and Kiwiiks beneath an abandoned mining complex in the Dune Sea. Praven contacted the recently arrived Jedi Knight, who had just finished restoring the research facility's scanners in order to locate the weapon, and interrupted the Knight's holocall to the researcher Hare'en. Informing the Jedi that he had changed the Shock Drum's deactivation codes so that only he possessed them, Praven challenged the Knight to an honorable duel in the mountains in exchange for the codes.
=== Confrontation and Redemption ===
Praven sent the Jedi the coordinates for the Esus Mesa and awaited his opponent there. He was at the far edge of the mesa, gazing out across the Dune Sea, when he sensed the Knight's powerful presence in the Force approaching. Praven understood that his student had died because the Knight was more powerful than Tarnis had been, and that realization filled the Sith with a sense of regret that the Jedi was surprised to feel. When questioned by the Jedi, Praven stated that he relied on the passions of integrity and honor rather than the lesser emotions of arrogance, hatred, and fear, and he drew his lightsaber to begin their duel. The Knight and a companion battled Praven back and forth across the mesa, with Praven utilizing tactics such as physical combat, Force blasts, Force paralysis, and Force barriers in his struggle against the pair. However, the duel ultimately ended in Praven's defeat, and the wounded Sith Lord fell to his knees in submission.
But to Praven's surprise, the Knight did not move immediately to kill the Sith Lord, and he questioned the Jedi as to why. Praven brushed aside the Knight's attempts to convince him to abandon the dark side, acknowledging that the Jedi would be a powerful Sith, but he admired his opponent's resolve and fulfilled his part of their bargain by giving the Jedi the deactivation codes. Praven further informed the Knight of Kiwiiks' situation, explaining that she was specifically targeted by Angral because she detected Tarnis' presence on Coruscant, and then asked the Knight to end their duel with his death. However, the Jedi refused and again asked Praven to forsake the dark side, finally convincing him to do so by sparing his life. Accepting the Knight's offer, Praven urged the Jedi to go and save Tatooine while he departed the Esus Mesa and contacted the nearest Republic cruiser. Praven surrendered himself to Republic authorities with the request that he speak with the Jedi Order, and to his surprise the Order accepted him into their ranks as a Padawan. Under the tutelage of the Jedi, Praven forsook his past as a Sith and devoted himself to becoming a servant of the light side of the Force. Praven later sent a message to the Knight, who succeeded in shutting down the Shock Drum, expressing his thanks and informing the Jedi that he intended to devote himself to making up for his past actions as a Sith.
=== Jedi Knight and Battle for Corellia ===
Eventually, the Cold War escalated into a full-fledged Galactic War between the Republic and the Empire. In 3,641 BBY, almost two years after the events on Tatooine, Praven was sent to the embattled planet of Corellia, where he fought alongside the native Corellians and the Republic Military in the Battle of Corellia. Having shed his title of Lord, Praven worked to defend the citizens of Coronet City from the battle, and when the Padawan learned that the Empire had dispatched several war droids to destroy a resistance cell in the tunnels beneath the Blastfield Shipyards region, he immediately set out to save the resistance fighters. Utilizing his personal red-bladed lightsaber, Praven defended the fighters as waves of droids attacked, and during the battle Praven was joined by the same Knight whom he had fought on Tatooine; a Knight who had become known as the Hero of Tython after defeating Darth Angral two years earlier. When the Knight and a companion found Praven, the former Sith drew his lightsaber and sent it spiraling past the new arrivals to destroy the trio of war droids that were approaching from behind the Jedi. Praven then greeted the Hero, explaining that he never received the chance to thank the Knight for changing his life. Upon learning that the Hero had been appointed Supreme Commander of all Jedi on Corellia, Praven complied with the Knight's instructions to rendezvous with the other Jedi at the Socorro Freight building.
There, Praven assumed a leadership role within the newly gathered Outer Rim Jedi Forces, a group of Jedi who had been selected as reinforcements for the Hero in the mission to stop the corrupted Jedi Tol Braga. Braga was attempting to massacre thousands of civilians so that the Sith Emperor could begin a dark ritual and thereby consume all life in the galaxy. Under the command of the Hero's lieutenant Unaw Aharo, Praven and the other Jedi followed the Hero's orders to relocate to the Labor Valley district, and he worked alongside his fellow Jedi to liberate the weapons factories of Republic-allied corporate official Magremme Thrakus. By doing so, the Outer Rim Jedi reclaimed a valuable source of munitions for the Republic Military effort while the Hero of Tython prevented several Sith from detonating a chemical bomb in the area.
Praven, Aharo, and the Nautolan Jedi Bengel Morrthen led the Outer Rim Jedi to the Axial Park district, and the trio met with Colonel Brint of the Republic Military and Corellia's Senator Jol Zackin in the Corellian Science Museum. The senator asked the Jedi to rescue a large number of wrongfully imprisoned civilians from the Empire's slave camps in the area, and Zackin was engaged in a fierce argument with Brint when the Hero arrived, and Praven listened as both Brint and Zackin made their cases to the Knight. The Knight ignored Brint's attempts to bribe the Jedi with advanced combat equipment, choosing to commit the Outer Rim Jedi to Zackin's cause instead of that of Brint, as the colonel wanted the Jedi to strike back against the Empire in revenge for Imperial raids on the Republic's medical evacuation sites. Morr, Praven, and Aharo then complied with the Hero's orders, leading their fellow Jedi in raids against the nearby slave camps, and traveled to the Drall Library in the Government District to meet up with their commander after completing their mission.
While the Hero infiltrated the Imperial battle cruiser Eclipse above the city and prevented Tol Braga from detonating the ship's engines, Praven and the other Jedi worked with the forces of General Var Suthra to distract the Empire's forces by raiding Imperial strongholds across the district. After the fighting, the Hero assigned the Outer Rim Jedi to work with Suthra while the Knight departed for a final confrontation with the Emperor, and Praven continued to fight alongside the Republic as they achieved victory in the Battle of Corellia.
== Personality ==
The single most important principle of a warrior, in Praven's mind, was a strong sense of honor. Fiercely loyal to the Empire and an ardent believer in the strength and power of the dark side during his time as a Sith, Praven was unlike many of his fellow Sith in that he was calm and collected in his speech and actions. He followed a strict code of personal honor, eschewing the random acts of sadism and cruelty that his fellows often partook in. Despite his sense of honor, however, Praven was raised to believe that the Jedi still sought vengeance against the Sith for the Great Hyperspace War, and he considered members of the Order to be his personal enemies. Praven's pride in his heritage was so strong that he killed an Imperial officer for not showing him the proper respect that he felt was due to a pureblooded Sith.
However, Praven grew disillusioned with Sith philosophy while witnessing Darth Angral's descent into madness. Praven's sense of duty led him to carry out Angral's orders, but the elder Sith's drive for revenge and his callous disregard for both honor and the lives of innocents clashed greatly with Praven's personal values, which ultimately drove him to defy Angral by challenging the Jedi Knight to a duel. Praven ignored the Knight's initial attempts to convert him to the Jedi way, but the Knight's refusal to kill him was the catalyst that opened Praven to the possibility. As a result, Praven was able to renounce his past as a Sith without forsaking his honor and personal values, and found that the path of a Jedi Padawan came easily when he accepted his place among the Jedi. Despite the strange contrast between saving lives and taking them, Praven felt more righteous and secure in his actions as a Jedi than he had ever felt as a Sith.
== Powers and abilities ==
As a Sith, Praven was very strong in the dark side of the Force, though he felt stronger with the light side as a Jedi. He wielded a single red-bladed lightsaber as both a Sith and a Jedi, and he was skilled in the use of a wide variety of Force powers, including Force lightning, Force blasts, and Force paralysis. He was also a skilled unarmed combatant, making use of physical blows in conjunction with lightsaber combat to overpower his opponents, and was capable of guiding a thrown lightsaber with enough accuracy to destroy three war droids with one throw.
Category:Star Wars Heroes
Category:Redeemed Villains