Kev'al Darkrider

### Family

Voldus Darkrider (Father); Frel'tor Darkrider (Brother); Bosegra Darkrider (Brother); Vaenos Darkrider (Brother)

### Known Associate(s)

Clodoe Ispa; Zanick Roafor

> *"The Sith cannot be beaten except by the Jedi. Nothing we can do is more important than bringing the Jedi back."* - Kev'al Darkrider
>
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Kev'al Darkrider was a male Corellian Human Jedi Knight who re-formed the Jedi Order after it was destroyed in the Jedi Purge. Kev'al served as the Jedi Grand Master of the Order when it was formed and after passing the Grand Master title to Clodoe Ispa several years later, he served as the Grand Master of the Mystic School. Kev'al was known for his mastery of the deeper intricacies of the force as well as his skill in combat.

A Jedi Padawan at the time of the Jedi Purge, Kev'al escaped the slaughter of the Jedi, mostly because of the sacrifice of his Master Xol. After escaping off-world he was joined up with a group of smugglers led by Jorj Car'das. He spent nine years with that group becoming one of Car'das's top lieutenants.

Visited in a vision by his dead Master, Kev'al regained the resolve to follow the will of the force. He decided to resume his training under his Masters tutelage as a force spirit. Kev'al used his contacts to track down Clodoe Ispa and convinced him to join him in training.

After five years of dedicated training the small group of Jedi were declared Jedi Knights. They officially re-organized the Jedi Order and Kev'al was chosen to be the Jedi Grand Master in the first Jedi Council.

After eight years serving as the Grand Master of the Order, Kev'al handed off the responsibility to his long-time friend Clodoe Ispa, as he felt he needed to focus more on his role as Mystic Grand Master in a time where the dark side so pervaded the Galaxy.

## Biography

### Early Life

Kev'al was born in 35 BBY on the planet Corellia. His parents were Voldus Darkrider and Kaella Darkrider. He was the first of their children to come. His father Voldus was the Captain of a frigate in the Corellian Defense Fleet. The Republic at the time had no standing navy so it was up to the various systems to protect their own. His mother stayed at home in their respectable house on Corellia just outside Coronet.

It wasn't long before Kev'al's force-sensitivity manifest by 3 months he had started levitating toys, stuffed animals, and generally whatever was in his room. His father was deployed with his ship for 8 months immediately after Kev'al's birth. His mother, fearing the loss of their child tried to keep it a secret, even holding back from telling Voldus what had been happening. When Voldus returned home to Corellia it was impossible to hide from him any longer. He despaired at the idea of losing his first-born son, but knew that they weren't equipped to raise a baby that was strong in the force. He convinced her of what she already knew in her heart. They had to send him to the Jedi.

Voldus contacted the Jedi Watchman of Corellia, a man that Voldus knew by reputation as a fair and kind man. Upon arriving in their home, he immediately sensed the force manifesting itself through Kev'al. It was settled quickly and was made clear to them that Kev'al wouldn't be encouraged to get to know his parents, to help him succeed as a Jedi. It was a hard decision but they agreed and said their goodbyes.

The care for infant Jedi-to-be was very basic, mostly a nursery with small exercises that encouraged the babies to manifest the force. At the age of three, Kev'al with several others became younglings and was sorted into a youngling clan. Kev'al was chosen to enter into the Heliost clan along with another youngling who would become a life-long friend, Clodoe Ispa. Their daily routine included force instruction during morning sessions; history and politics at midday; and physical training in the afternoon. In addition, they engaged in five mandatory meditation sessions each day. Kev'al spent almost every waking moment, training, eating, and sleeping surrounded by his clan.

Kev'al tended to be determined in his studies, even a bit serious. He excelled at his training in the force and his physical abilities grew quickly, but some of the others in his clan found him to be a bit aloof. He struggled to relate to the other Jedi.

At the age of eight the younglings were to choose their focus of study for the foreseeable future. It was a serious event in a younglings life. Kev'al spent a lot of time trying to meditate on what he should do and finally went to one of his instructors, Master Yoda, for help after a class. The diminutive Jedi Master only chuckled as Kev'al asked him, seeming so worried about the decision. Kev'al would always remember his response, "Guide you, the force will. Worry not about choices, only act. If strive you do to do what's right, right it will be." Due to his affinity with the force he choose to enter the Consular school and received a green training lightsaber to mark his choice.

Entering the next phase of their training, Kev's clan was split into rooms, sharing it only with one other youngling. Kev'al was assigned to bunk with Clodoe Ispa, a fellow human youngling of the same age. Clodoe, like Kev'al possessed a natural skill with the force, but that's where their similarities ended. Where Kev'al was focused and determined in his studies, Clodoe tended to be rash and relied a bit too much on his natural skill. Where Kev'al viewed the rules given down to them as firm commandments, Clodoe chafed at the restrictions and tended to go outside the lines a tad. It came to a head one day when Clodoe and a few other initiates had decided to sneak out of the Jedi Temple to see what Coruscant was like. Kev'al woke as Clodoe opened the door to leave their room and argued with him about his leaving, saying it would get them in trouble. Clodoe challenged Kev to stop him, and though he grabbed for his training saber, he hesitantly put it down and let Clodoe leave. The little band of younglings didn't make it outside the front gates, setting off an alarm as they traipsed through the temple. They all booked it back to their quarters, trying to avoid getting caught. Unfortunately for Clodoe, the night supervisor for their clan, a horned, muscled iktotchi named Master Korle caught sight of a flash of robes entering their room as he went out to check on the clan because of the blaring alarm. He came in saw, Clodoe unseated and started shouting about conduct un-befitting of a Jedi and severe consequences, when little Kev'al spoke up from behind and said it was him that had tried to sneak out. He said he had wanted test his abilities and see if he could make it outside. Master Korle had sensed Clodoe as the one entering the room but didn't reveal it and began in on Kev'al for his poor behavior. He decided if this young Jedi wanted to take the fall, he would let him. Kev'al was saddled with weeks of extra cleaning chores, but he had earned the admiration of the rest of the clan, and had earned a life-long friendship with Clodoe Ispa.

Kev'al continued to study and showed great potential in the force. He quickly mastered the basics of the first form of lightsaber combat, Shii-Cho and was allowed to choose another form to study. He began practicing form II: Makashi which excelled in lightsaber dueling, and spent much of his free training time in the combat hall. To this day he remembers a particular sparring match between the combat instructor Cin Drallig and Jedi Master Mace Windu. Though Master Drallig was one of the greatest duelists in the Order, there was no stopping Master Windu. His form had a way of overwhelming any defense.

As he grew in his abilities and age, at 11 years old he decided to enter the Apprentice Tournement. Where 32 initiates entered to display their abilities for masters seeking padawans. Kev'al made it to the final round before losing to an older student, but he caught the eye of Master Xol, a Feeorin Jedi Master.