Vance Somaris

Vance Somaris is a Miraluka Jedi Knight from Alpheridies. He spent most of his training on the Coruscant Jedi Temple, but moved to the Jedi Academy Order for a fresh and better start.

## Description

Vance is a Miraluka male. He has medium-length black hair, and doesn't have eyes. He has several scars on his face where his eyes would be, and an 'X' scar on his left cheek. His left arm is missing from the elbow down, replaced with a prosthetic. Vance typically wears a dark tee under a black, short-sleeved coat. He wears dark, baggy shorts, boots, and a fingerless glove over his prosthetic. Due to the strict nature of the Coruscant Temple, Vance also has several different Jedi Robes in different colours. He commonly wears a purple blindfold, though has been seen with a similar blindfold in black, and a full mask that covers the top of his face.

## Personality

Vance is usually calm and collected. He is shy, though he keeps the friends he makes close. He's always willing to act as a support for his friends, and despite his shyness, will stand up for them when they need it to the point he has shown quite a temper.

## History

### Foggy Memories

Vance's past alludes many, even himself. All he remembers of his early childhood are brief flashes, the sense of happiness and love. However, he also has flashes of pain, fear, isolation. Vance's earliest, clearest memories start with him on Coruscant, passing his initiation trial and earning his first lightsaber.

Upon his initiation Vance was assigned as Padawan to Master Avon. Under his tutelage, Vance learned to fight with a saber, and how to utilize the force in stranger, more unnatural ways than most. Despite his master being a Guardian, Vance pushed for a more force-oriented role with his training, focusing on the manipulation and utilization of the Force around him. Because of this, Vance and Avon bonded.

### A Lesson in Survival

Being a Miraluka who had not been completely taught how to see, Vance was often teased by his peers, who would play tricks on him by exploiting his lack of sight. Despite him asking his Master to stop, Vance endured this his entire time at the Jedi Temple, Avon excusing it as a lesson in surviving. "If you cannot manage bullies in youth, how do you expect to survive what lies beyond the stars?" He would say.

So when the bullies returned to pester Vance, he blindly threw a punch, connecting solid with someone's face. However it wasn't a bully's. The victim of Vance's punch had been one of the other Jedi Masters, Master Leonis. Leonis also lacked his sight, so feeling Vance's pain he chose not to scold him, but instead to start teaching him how to fight with the Force as his eyes. Vance worked hard, eventually becoming so adept that it was as if he had a set of eyes of his own. To celebrate, Leonis tore a strip from his own blindfold and gifted it to Vance as a memento.

### Jedi Bootcamp

As the years went on, Vance trained under both Avon and Leonis, who both grew to become good friends. However despite now being able to fight back, Vance was still bullied, and due to starting a few too many fights he found himself on the receiving end of the Council's harsh judgement, undergoing strict punishments for things that weren't his fault. He would often find himself locked in a room with several Ysalamiri until he could herd them all into their cages, or holding onto a ledge until the sun had set. While many of these punishments were borderline torture, Vance quickly realized that they were a lesson in their own way, teaching him to see *without* the Force, or pushing his endurance. Running laps became a way to train in speed, while the Order 66 Holosuite Program became agility training.

### Taking the Fall

It was just after Vance received the rank of Adept that Tri-Star's Alpha Weapon flattened Denon. Reports came in of a dark-haired Miraluka causing havoc, destroying the place. Naturally as it happened so soon after his recent promotion, Vance was targeted by his peers. Believing it was a way to 'test his power and strength', they reported him to the council, who made the decision to sever his left arm as punishment.

This caused Vance to start isolating himself more from everyone. His trust in the Jedi he served had suddenly shattered. He began focusing on study in his own room, keeping a journal, and training with his master. He only made a single friend, Prince Devitt, who Vance saved from death during an assignment.

### Loss on Arrevanous

Vance's first assignment as a Knight would see him join Masters Avon, Leonis, and their friend Genesis, on a trip to Arrevanous' seventh moon to investigate reports of strange activity. The mission, however, would not go as planned. The four departed together expecting nothing more than a routine job. They arrived at the location, a newly opened Crystal Cave, only to be sealed in once they stepped inside. Dividing into groups of two, Vance and Leonis went one way while Genesis and Avon went the other.

While Vance and Leonis were both very skilled at seeing with the Force, they did not see the ambush that awaited them. A band of pirates laid in wait with a Ysalamiri at the ready, and as the duo approached they leapt out to attack. With their sight impaired, Vance and Leonis both struggled in the fight, exchanging blows with the thugs. With pressure mounting, Leonis ordered Vance to flee back to the others while he dealt with the thugs. Vance did so, and the cave collapsed behind him.

When Vance returned to Genesis and Avon alone, Genesis was fuming. He felt betrayed, one of his best friends had been left behind and to him it was all Vance's fault. Vance quickly became the target for Genesis' anger, but Avon stepped in to calm them down. They returned to the temple without their lost friend.

### The Blenjeel Incident

Tasked with helping oversee the construction of a new Jedi Temple, Vance headed to Bespin as his first assignment alone. There, he acted as both a security detail and overseer, reporting back to the Coruscant Temple on how progress was coming along.

As the days turned into weeks, Vance found himself at ease. A group of construction workers approached, explaining that they needed to complete a supply run, and that they required a Jedi escort of at least two. Vance agreed, then having heard of the generosity of Jedi from the Jedi Academy Order stationed on Ilum, asked their representative if he could assist. The two later met up in the hangar bay to formulate a plan, the representative introducing himself as Xyr Nei'ur.

The plan was simple. Vance would stay aboard the cargo ship with the construction workers to act as on-board security. Xyr would escort them in his Z-95. They would keep the location of each jump location a secret until right before they were about to jump, then would repeat this process at the next system to maximize secrecy and security. However, a gang of pirates were able to pick up on this, and pursued the two ships to the Blenjeel system. There, with the smell of fortune in their noses, they shot down the two ships and let them crash into the desert planet below.

Vance was first to awake after the crash, and with his knowledge in the force he got straight to work by healing the injuries of the other passengers. There he remained until help arrived, keeping Xyr updated through the Force. Rescue finally came, and the group were all brought to the Jedi Temple on Ilum. The construction workers were sent on their way, retrieving the supplies they needed before returning to Bespin. Vance, however, stayed behind at the Ilum Temple to recover from his own injuries.

### A New Beginning

A week passed, and Vance's injuries had finally healed. He thanked the Jedi for their hospitality, and left for Coruscant once more. However, nobody had even noticed he was missing. Nobody had bothered to search for him, or even seemed concerned at the fact. Dejectedly, Vance simply returned to his duties as a Knight.

Later in the week, Master Genesis was reported killed-in-action, and Master Avon was repoted missing-in-action a week later. The temple seemed shaken by the losses, much like when Leonis was reported the same way. Fed up, Vance took advantage of the situation and fled. Nothing had changed in his absence. Wondering if they were still as generous, he returned to Ilum on a 'visit'. Later at his request, he was granted permission to transfer, though he would have to prove himself by starting as a Padawan again.

Over the years, Vance cemented himself as part of the Order, as if he'd always trained there. He was assigned to Jaxy Kafid as Padawan, became good friends with Zelos'Koon and Avali Trell, and Anna. As time passed, Vance and Anna grew closer, and eventually started dating. Vance also made many rivals, including Kalthani and Ramsey.

### An Old Face, Resurfaced

Vance continued training hard, working to prove he was a capable student at the Jedi Temple. A distress call was sent to the Jedi Temple from an old facility on Kamino. When the away team returned, they brought back evidence that someone was starting to create an army of clones, despite cloning being outlawed. Vance recognized the face immediately. Genesis.

During the Genesis War, Vance was sent to many locations to investigate Genesis sightings, combat his forces, and rescue hostages. While the Jedi were stationed on Ivory Base, Vance took up a smaller role in helping with tactics, while also helping people around the base. When offered the chance to leave and help the New Dawn in the fight against Altizia, Vance refused.

### Blind-sided

Vance was tending to some of the injured Deepground members on Ivory Base when the alarms began to blare and the ground shook beneath them. Genesis Copies had breached the wall and were pouring in, while ships flew overhead and deployed more from above, or dropped bombs onto buildings. Vance lead a team of Deepground infantry to protect civilians in the business district of the base, however was met by Genesis himself. The two clashed, but Vance wasn't quick enough and was ultimately bested. He was then taken prisoner, being carried into a shuttle and flown to a Genesis Base off-world.

Despite being missing for over a year, Vance is still alive. In his captivity, he was able to contact Anna through the Force and tell her he was alive, though he wasn't sure where he was. The two forged a bond to at least be connected until Vance is found.

## Trivia

* Vance's surname, Somaris, comes from a character in the game Warframe, named Cephalon Simaris.

* On one occasion, Vance used both a saberstaff and a single saber simultaneously to fend off a foe.
	+ Despite being able to, Vance is normally left very drained afterwards as a result of focusing so hard, so he does not do this often.
* Vance was initially planned to be killed off during the Blenjeel Rescue mission.