Darren Edermath

Darren Edermath, Jedi Master

**Darren Edermath** was a Force-Sensitive Human male who unwillingly lived through the EXALT crisis, has aided the Jedi Order with their efforts to restore the enclave on Ossus and helped Corellia restore communications with the Jedi Order.

Born in 865 ABY, Darren was sent to the Jedi Order before he consciously knew his parents. While growing up as a Jedi was not difficult, Darren always had a certain curiosity about what was outside of temple walls. It was because of this that Darren used whatever method he could to learn about other planets and cultures. As Darren became a Padawan to Jedi Master Sildar Archnetrion, he used every opportunity to venture off-planet. What he discovered on other worlds, however, was never what he had grown to expect. Over the years, Darren proved to be a calm and collected Jedi, becoming a Jedi Knight with relative ease after a harrowing Trial of Flesh. Upon attaining Knighthood, Darren refused to set his path in a particular class, because the idea of picking a class caused him to feel uneasy. Spending most of his time pondering about the nature of things and writing these thoughts down, Darren had little time to do perform other forms of labour, though he openly shared his ideas in many lectures.

Although he never trained a Padawan to Knighthood, Darren attained the rank of Jedi Master in 900 ABY. Feeling that this promotion urged him to act more prominently, Darren finally took two Padawans, preparing them for the times ahead. Slowly becoming more intertwined with the Jedi, Darren sought a leading role and was accepted in the Jedi High Council. When the EXALT crisis began, Darren took it upon himself to restore the organisation to what he assumed it once was. After, presumably, failing in this task, Darren started to spend all his energy on the structure of the Jedi, aiding with the rebuilding of the Ossus enclave. Whilst doing this, a period of hardship dawned upon Darren, ending with the climax of the loss of his parents. This loss, however, brought new insight in Darren's life and changed his perspective on many things. Pulled into the EXALT crisis because of sheer "luck", Darren played a pivotal role in its ending, after which Darren seperated himself from Dathon and Aris; bestowing the title of Knight upon them.

After losing his Padawans to Knighthood, Darren returned to the isolation he knew before he had met them. Slowly returning to old habits, Darren tried to keep his mind off things with simple tasks. Venturing back to Corellia, Darren wound up becoming a lecturer at the CoroNet university in the Gold district. This act gained him some fame amongst the populace of Corellia, resulting in him being chosen as Watchman of Corellia. Stepping down from the council due to some disagreements and his forseeable busy life as a Watchman, Darren acted a lecturer, Watchman and master of a new Padawan to keep his mind off things. Being unable to ponder, Darren greatly enjoyed his constant moving between Corellia, Ossus and Coruscant.

## **Biography**

### **Youth (865 ABY - 884 ABY)**

Born in 865 ABY, Darren was discovered to be Force-sensitive soon after his birth. His parents hesitated to send him to the Jedi Order, but soon realised that they would never be able to raise a Force-sensitive child. Darren, as he became of age, never realised that he had ever had parents, so he failed to miss them. As a Youngling and Padawan, Darren had an incredible urge to venture beyond the temple walls and discover what was out there. He was, obviously, never allowed to do so, however. This resulted in Darren - in an act of seeming defiance - seeking as much knowledge about planets, systems and the galaxy. Darren came to learn about many theories regarding many things. Most theories, however, were surrounding the Force. It was this curiosity that led him to read quite a bit about the dark side. Though he did think of it as interesting, he was never truly drawn to it.

#### **An uneventful Padawanship**

Darren's training was uneventful. As a Padawan, he felt that he was forcibly kept inside the temple walls as much as possible. Not wishing to annoy his master, he simply spent most time socialising, learning and practising. In the last moments of his time as a Padawan, Darren and his master were finally sent out to excavate a small part of a Massassi temple  on Yavin IV.  While Darren's master went ahead, Darren was forced to wait outside. Yet, as minutes became hours and hours eventually became a day, Darren finally decided to go after his master, but never found him. After the event, Darren kept mostly to himself. Details surrounding his master's vanishing were vague, yet he assured his peers that he had never found his body. Whatever Darren had found, however, he would not share with anyone.

### **Knighthood (884 ABY - 899 ABY)**

#### **The Trial of Flesh**

The loss of his master resulted in the breaking of a Force Bond, which was so harrowing to Darren's mental health that it was considered to be his Trial of Flesh. Darren, now free to roam as he wanted, refused any support the Jedi offered and went to roam the galaxy. His time spent wandering was a time spent wondering, for he had many ideas that clouded his mind. Many questions, yet no answers. Every breath was spent pondering on questions regarding existence, the mind and the body.

#### **Voyage into the "unknown"**

His first exploration would be that of Ruusan. Having heard of the Valley of the Jedi, Darren felt himself drawn not to its Force Nexus, but to a small path that was seemingly carved out by a long dried-out stream of water. Following the path, Darren barely managed to squeeze through an exit that lead to a small clearing in the rocks. It was not a cave, for he could see the sky. Then, as his senses returned to him, he saw that the place had been used long ago. He saw several stones, to be used for meditation, as well as a small cabinet with several pictures in it. The various pictures portrayed men and women, sorted as if to show some connection. Trying to imagine the lifes they had, Darren set down and faded into meditation. During his rest, Darren heard soft, gentle voices prodding at his consciousness. They told him about their experiences. To Darren, it seemed to take days, yet it could not have lasted longer than a few seconds. Overcome by what he had come to realise, Darren left Ruusan with renewed vigor.

Leaving Ruusan, Darren felt himself drawn to Nar Shaddaa, to the old refugee sector. Here, he did not act as a Jedi, for his mind was too clouded by the incredibly dense emotions that the planet emitted. Rather, he cast aside his hilt and Jedi clothing to try and find a place to work. His search was not very succesful, so Darren inevitably ended up in a cantina. His aura seemed to call certain Force-strong individuals to him, however, and he soon found himself in good company. When asked about his life, Darren answered in metaphores and with anecdotes. This did not work out as expected, however, as he soon became known as 'The Comedian' for his witty answers to said questions. Ironically, this got him a job as a bartender at the cantina. During his time at this cantina, Darren heard many lifestories of lots of people from varying races. Feeling at his place, Darren slowly realised why he had felt drawn to this place: when one looked past the dread that surrounded the planet, one could feel how alive it was. Hope engulfed him, as he could feel a spark of light slowly seeping through Nar Shaddaa's pits of darkness. Despite enjoying his job, Darren took the lessons he had learnt and set out to a different planet, one experience heavier.

It took Darren quite some time to reach his next destination: Tatooine. On his way there, Darren stopped at Bothawui, Kamino and Scarif. His longest stop was at Kamino, where he spent several months gazing into the restless currents of the planet, trying to discover where it would lead him to. Travelling from planets with seas to Tatooine, however, caught Darren by surprise. With the credits he had earned, Darren claimed a small plot of land that was left abandoned and spent several weeks trying to improve the small home that was on it. He discovered that he was not made for the Jundland Wastes quickly. Sand and wind were quite hazardous on Tatooine and Darren failed to realise that fast enough. One day, while travelling to a nearby settlement, Darren got caught in a sandstorm and barely made it out alive, and event which would affect his health and appearance forever.  He was found by some Jawas and taken into their crawler, where he slowly returned to strength. On the crawler, Darren came to understand their language, but never quite understood why. To him, it seemed as if they understood him too. Slowly learning how to strip apart and fix broken machinery, Darren came to see technology as more than just technology. Slowly, he came to the realisation that there was an odd "vibe" to the machinery he spent so much time with and he became an adamant opponent of regulary memorywhiping droids. At a particular moment in time, Darren found a datapad with details regarding Dxun, a moon of Onderon. Leaving the Jawas behind, Darren set forth to Onderon, but not before he had pointed his little friends to his small claim on the Jundland Wastes.

Instead of heading straight to Dxun, Darren sought out a group of Jedi on Onderon and spent some time acting as their librarian, even though he was not one formally. During his stay in their temple, Darren felt that he was drawn to another Jedi. She would actively search for him too, but Darren never felt quite at ease. One night, while reciting the Jedi Code, Darren came to the conclusion that he should leave Onderon immediately and headed to Dxun. Here, he explored the tomb of Freedon Nadd, where he was overcome by the same sensation that he had felt on Yavin IV. Almost succumbing to the pressure of the dark side, Darren felt the urge to run, which he did. After a few paces, however, Darren realised that one could never face any threat if he was not actually facing it. Turning back, Darren ventured into the deepest part of the tomb and sat down to meditate there. In his trance, Darren fought a mental battle with the curents of the dark side around him and came out victorious, eventually leaving the tomb a new man.

On his way back to Corellia, Darren visited many other places, but he never disclosed where he had actually been or what had happened there. When he finally returned to Corellia, he set out to where he had originally started: his parents. Arriving at his old house, one knock was enough to send the door flying towards him. His parents, perhaps being Force-strong themselves, had felt that he would return some day. Spending a few days talking with his parents about all his trainings and travels, Darren felt warm and welcomed. Despite that, his parents eventually persuaded him in leaving them behind again, arguing that he had many Jedi duties to perform. Darren, understanding this, returned to the temple he had left many years ago. Older, wiser.

### **Return to the Jedi Path (900 ABY - 905 ABY)**

His return to the Jedi temple was an easy one. Darren felt very comfortable on the Jedi grounds, but rarely spoke. Rather, he spent most of his time trying the answer the many questions he still had. One day, while pondering, a Jedi Knight reached out to him and asked him what was on his mind. Forgetting common etiquette for a moment, Darren exploded in a fiery rant regarding the nature of the Force in the middle of a courtyard. His speech enthralled many Jedi, which led to him being invited to teach not only the Padawans, but all ranks amongst the Jedi. Slowly yet certainly, Darren became a respected lecturer and teacher at the temple. Spending most of his time writing down his words, Darren refused to take a Padawan, but was eventually granted the rank of Jedi Master for his many lessons.

#### **Considering ideas**

While Darren returned to Dardanaka, the Sith also resurfaced. Darren spent most of his time trying to grasp their motivations, but failed to truly comprehend them. Thus, he set out for recently conquered planets and tried to come in contact with them. Not meeting any one of them on Corellia after if had been seized, Darren ran into Alcaeus on Nar Shaddaa. Their discussion was brief and Alcaeus barely spoke, which left Darren with more questions than answers. After a short return to Dardanaka, Darren caught wind of Yavin IV being assaulted and set out immediately. Arriving on time, Darren evaded detection of most Imperial forces before finding a quiet place to be found. Dropping all his Force defenses, Darren acted as a "beacon" for individuals to home in on. Found by Etenim soon after, the two shared opinions and thoughts regarding many topics, but mostly regarding Etenims life choices. To Darren, Etenim's choices seemed based on many misconceptions regarding all kinds of topics. After having heard enough, Darren bid the Sith good luck and returned to Dardanaka.

During his stay on Dardanaka, Darren spent most of his time writing down his thoughts regarding existence. He spotted a secret passage close to the infirmary and decided to "guard" it while occassionally passing through it to find what it is supposed to hide. Darren found older, less popular books aswell as the generator room of the moon base. From that point on, Darren would spend his daytime activities in the infirmary. Reading and occasionally conversing with several other Jedi. One particular Jedi left a cold vibe in the infirmary, prompting Darren to question him. The Jedi seemed devoid of all meaning and had accepted meaninglessness in an odd fashion. Darren, wishing to overcome this, wrote a small piece *On Existence* and let his opinion on the matter rest after that. Soon after this meeting, Darren would run into two more lively Jedi: Dathon and Aris Vion. Enjoying their company as well as their bold stories, Darren sought them out and wished to teach them as his Padawans. He took his time, though, making sure that they themselves did not feel pressured to accept an offer he had not yet made. Before he could do so, however, the order relocated to Ahch-To and Darren decided to take a detour. After sharing this with the Vions, they urged him to let them tag along. Darren - albeit a tad reluctantly - agreed. It was on Ruusan that Darren came to a realisation that silence would not help him come to any understanding, thus he started trying to engage in more casual conversation with the Vions. Although it never seemed like much, Darren swore of his vow of silence and accepted he himself often needed to provide meaningful additions to a conversation too. Nevertheless, Darren convinced himself that he was still always better of listening. After the meeting with the Vion family, Darren set out to Corellia and spent a few weeks with his parents. During this time, Darren's parents gifted him a traditional Corellian Jedi robe. Moved by the gift, Darren started to wear the robes with pride. After having received the gift, Darren went to Ahch-To to re-unite with his fellow Jedi. Once there, he took an active role as a teacher and lecturer, opting to train Aris and Dathon as his Padawans and frequently enlightening Jedi on many subjects.

#### **Meeting EXALT**

In 905 ABY, a refugee from New Alderaan came to the Jedi on Ahch-To, carrying a seemingly deceased woman with him. He begged for their aid, after which Darren quickly sprang to life and read the woman's vitals. The woman, Elena Sipherius, was quickly declared deceased by Darren. The refugee begged him to try again. Darren, somehow convinced by de man his pleas, tried again and felt the exact same feeling. Resting his hand on her head, Darren called her time of death. Then, as if by a miracle, he felt the slightest pulse of life venture through the woman. Acting upon it quickly, he revitalized and tried to heal the woman. His revitalize brought her back to stable conditions, but his healing was not powerful enough. Exhausted because of the use of the Force on such scales, Darren ordered Elena to be put in medical detention and collapsed. After the event, Darren sought for her way of apparent revival in the archives and discovered how she could have survived such horrible wounds. When he tried to question Elena after she recovered, Elena would not reveal many details, which resulted in perceived EXALT operative Donathan Hawthorne to kill her by means of overdose on sedatives. Darren, unsure what was going on, thought he did something wrong and tried to resolve the situation. When it dawned upon him what Donathan had done, he collapsed until Aris could free him from the ray shield which surrounded medical detention. When Darren realised that he should give chase to Donathan, it seemed to be too late.

### **The EXALT crisis (905 ABY - 905 ABY)**

> "You **murdered** a harmless, sedated woman!"
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> "I ended a threat. You provided me with the means; I acted when you could not."
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> ― Darren and Donathan, both true to their beliefs
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Donathan had waited on the steps of the entrance, however, and Darren soon ran into him. The two spoke about their beliefs, but mostly why Donathan had done what he did. Darren became conflicted, realising that there was some truth on Donathan's words, but also knowing that his radical mindset would not lead to a desired outcome. When Aris entered the scene, Darren was too lost in his thoughts to respond to Donathan. Eventually coming to the conclusion that Donathan was wrong on many layers, Darren spotted that Donathan was not truly around anymore, but that he was being projected by a small holoprojector. After the trialogue was over, Donathan invited the duo over to Nar Shaddaa, but Aris and Darren decided not to run headfirst into danger. Darren, now conflicted, hoped to learn and understand what had become of the once great EXALT organisation. Aris convinced that EXALT was not their priority, which seemed very reasonable to Darren. He, along with Aris and Allison were the first to arrive on Jedha after Darren forced the evacuation of Ahch-To. Preparing the temple and receiving other Jedi, Darren slowly began to feel responsible for a large part of the Jedi Order and spent a lot of time making sure it would soon prosper.

#### **Showdown on Nar Shaddaa**

After almost a year of receiving and training Jedi, Darren felt the irresistible urge to venture to Nar Shaddaa and once again trade ideologies with Donathan. Taking Aris with him, Darren felt watched from the second he set foot on Nar Shaddaa. When it began raining too, he was overcome by the feeling that he had to leave, yet he did not. As the duo made progress to the place where Darren thought Donathan would be, he noticed that they were being shadowed. Trying to avoid their followers, Darren quickly found himself herded in a direction. Now completely left at the mercy of the EXALT operatives hunting them down, Darren was forced to retreat inside Orso's bar under heavy blasterfire. Not surprisingly, this is exactly where the duo found Donathan. Utilizing multiple layers of deception, Donathan managed to surprise Darren and hit him with several stunbolts. Darren, utilizing tutaminis to take most of the stunning effects, spent some time recovering while Aris held Donathan off. Eventually Darren rose, noticing that Aris was wounded, and easily swatted aside multiple volleys of blasterbolts which Donathan was firing. When Aris jumped Donathan with an improvised taser, Darren flung Donathan against a wall with the Force. Donathan, now shocked and enraged, charged Darren with a vibroweapon. Knowing that Donathan just made a mistake, Darren blocked the weapon and caused a superconducting loop with the weapon, tearing it to shreds. Darren succesfully caught most of the shrapnel with the Force, yet Donathan was forced to retreat because of the blast. Without a thought, Darren tended to Aris' wounds and vowed to never play EXALT's games again, admitting that he was outplayed and outsmarted.

### **Coming of Age (906 ABY - 906 ABY)**

Feeling himself becoming older, Darren realised that — even though he still considered himself very capable — it was time to pass on the torch. Whenever possible, Darren taught Jedi on all topics. Ethics, forms, doctrines, codes and values, none were spared. Scurrying around the temple all day, Darren found a new distraction of his thoughts in consciously expending all his energy on others, rather than lingering in his own thoughts. As a result, Darren was often exhausted at the end of the day. Exhausted, but content. He knew that he should leave an ironic distance with his jack-of-all-trades nature, knowing that others were just as, if not more, capable than he was at some tasks. Nevertheless Darren convinced himself that he acted out of necessity, not any other motive. Caught between wanting to act and teaching others how to act, Darren seemed to avoid his seemingly paradoxical motives by keeping himself busy at all times.

#### **Raid on Jedha**

This paid out one day, as an omniscient group of Sith arrived at the temple's doorsteps. While Darren was busy writing a text with Aris, he felt a tension that he had never truly felt before. Having already accepted the possibility of death a long time ago, Darren rose without any fear and explained to Aris what was about to happen. As he finished, three Sith barged in: a knight with two apprentices. Darren engaged his blade, feeling their thoughts and knowing that there was no reasoning with them. As he moved to engage all three Sith, he briefly instructed Aris to only defend herself. He then proceeded to trade blows with the three Sith, quickly realising that he was in absolute control of the situation thanks to his mastery of Soresu. When one apprentice peeled off to engage Aris, Darren caught the other apprentice off-guard, as he had not properly disengaged: striking the apprentice in his side arching up, Darren quickly killed the apprentice with a precise stab to the heart through his side. The knight responded in anger, lunging at Darren with enraged Juyo-strikes. Even though he kept his cool, Darren was temporarily overwhelmed by the ferocity of the attacks and was forced to retreat. The Sith gloated, which allowed Darren to launch concentrated Force-energy towards him. Trying to defend himself, the Sith boldly focussed on his passive Force defenses, yet failed. As the energy made contact, the body of the Sith burnt up and blackened, resembling charcoal more than it did a body. When Darren turned to face the third Sith, he saw that Aris had already struck him down. Knowing her mental fragility, he ordered her to evacuate, taking as many Jedi with her as she could. Darren himself felt that his friend and ally, Ki, was in dire need of help. Forcing himself to aid him, he traded blows with a young Sith capable of using fire both offensively and defensively. Quickly overpowering the child, he was glad to see that reinforcements arrived. His spirits were crashed when Ryon Exillus arrived and broke both Ki and Elijah Shan their backs. After they had been saved by Aden Morningstar, Darren guided them to safety and spent the remainder of his energy to heal both of them, then collapsed. Mentally fatigued once again, Darren allowed himself to be evacuated by the Jedi he had just saved.

### **Hardship and Loss (906 ABY - 907 ABY)**

#### **Loss of the Force**

Evacuating the Jedi to Ossus, Darren was too busy with the pain of others to realise his own. When he finally sat down and allowed his body and mind to rest, he felt broken and bruised, more mentally than physically. Even worse: he could feel the Force, but it had never felt so far away. Where Darren once heard a storm, he now heard a slight breeze. The warmth of the Force had seemingly left him, leaving only a terrible headache and incredibly sore muscles in its wake. Distancing himself from other Jedi, he tried to meditate, but failed. Having lost control of his own thoughts, Darren wondered what remained of the man whom he had been just before the raid and what had happened to him. Knowing that he could not show weakness now, Darren convinced himself to at least still be perceived as strong and in control. Saddened by the fact that he was now living a lie, he exhausted all options of finding the Force again. Trying everything at his disposal, Darren was convinced that the Force had abandoned him. No amount of meditation or conversation could persuade him to any different thoughts, which resulted in Darren considering himself stuck in his own thoughts. Openly sharing his weakness with Aris and discussing it, he realised that she was set for Knighthood, but wanted to make certain that she was fully prepared. When Aris herself stated that she did not consider herself ready, he took acceptance to that. After a brief talk with Ki, Darren knew that this situation was beyond his control, which coincided with his parents inviting him over to Corellia.

#### **Loss of a Past never lived**

> "Oh, Darren -- To feel is so much more pure than to think. We have always loved you, have you never felt it?"
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> ― A mother to a son, moments before their last embrace
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He knew his parents had gotten old, and Aris was quick to note the same. Preparing himself for the worst, he set out to Corellia as soon as he allowed himself and went to his parental home. His parents had grown old, like he had expected, yet they received him with open arms. They knew that he knew, so they never truly spoke about death in the weeks that Darren stayed on Corellia. Spending every waking hour, as his parents put it, 'catching up to his childhood', Darren visited movies, parks and generally took care of his parents. His father would be first to pass: after four days, Darren had to say his final goodbyes to his father, keeping himself strong for his mother. Carrying his father's coffin during the funeral, Darren forced himself to upkeep his Jedi training. Yet, when even his mother's health started to deteriorate, the two shared a meaningful conversation. His mother was proud of him, and she always had been. She spoke to him as if he had been around every day, asking Darren if he was upset that they had given him to the Jedi Order. Darren, feeling the extent of his mother's guilt, ensured her that he felt no remorse, and that he was happy that they got to share even this little amount of time together. When his mother was forced to be taken to the hospital, he stayed by her side at all times. Slowly watching her mind drift, Darren was devastated knowing that his last anchor to his "normal" life would soon be gone. As he tried to use the Force to ease his mother's pain, he noticed that the compassion he had for her had brought the Force closer than it had ever been. The last words shared between a mother and a son where those of feeling, rather than thinking. Finally allowing his control to fail, Darren held his mother until she too passed away. Carrying his mother's coffin only a week after he had carried his father's, Darren broke down while walking through the aisle. He did not care: none of these people knew him as a Jedi, only as a son. He would stay on Corellia to take care of any formalities, but mostly to imagine what his life would have been if he had never joined the Jedi Order. Agreeing that everything could have been different, but just as meaningful, Darren would return to Ossus after three weeks.

### **Return into the EXALT crisis (907 ABY - 909 ABY)**

#### **The search for a Holocron**

Ossus was a quiet, hospitable place and Darren enjoyed spending his time there. Training several Jedi, his Padawans amongst them, Darren was busy becoming a prominent figure in the Jedi Order. He had to deal with many of the daily routines of the Jedi Order; welcoming visitors, giving classes and attending high council meetings. Darren would spend all the free time he had with Eric Aiken's holocron in order to understand the way of the Sentinel better, a task he had been given by Ki. Slowly starting to see the galaxy from a more experimental perspective, Darren tried to resist the urge to learn by experience, feeling and seeing instead of thinking about hypothetical situations. A chance arose when Eric informed him of the Tennant estate, which might be of interest to Elijah Shan since he wanted to become a Shadow. Setting out to Telos IV, Darren tested his skills as a pilot. Upon landing, Darren, Aris and Elijah quickly ran into a seemingly empty square. Eric informed them of a powerful illusion which could only be noted when at peace and in control. Darren did not see the illusion, rather: he saw right through it, but played along anyway, not wishing that he would be in the spotlight. Granting Elijah and Aris time to understand the abilities at play, Darren was glad to discover that Aris had also seen it. Upon entering the house which had been hidden behind the illusion, Darren was amused when Eric called it the 'Tennant estate'. Seemingly finding a holocron of Cade Tennant, Darren sat and watched as Aris, Eric and Elijah engaged in conversation. Cade, cynical, tried to enlighten the group of Jedi on his ways. While Darren found himself disagreeing, he did see what Cade has discovered, yet was not as pessimistic. Eventually saying their goodbyes, Darren left Telos IV an incredible experience richer.

#### **The EXALT crisis continued**

Taking some time to reorganise on Ossus, Darren soon received a weird signal from Yavin IV. Believing it to be a residual transmission from his master, Darren took Aris and immediately set out for Yavin IV. Aris and Darren talked about Darren's lost master, discussing several topics regarding Yavin IV's history. Knowing that the praxeum which emitted the signal was covered up by an illusion, the duo tried to discover a weakness in the shield, only to run into Spire breaking it. Spire explained that Donathan had overtaken most of EXALT, and that the tranmission was a lure for a final stand. Overcoming distrust and explaining battleplans, Darren watched as the EXALT loyalists prepared to make their final stand. Keeping Aris close to him, Darren watched as the Donathan arrived with his own group of operatives. Being quick to ignite his lightsaber, Donathan stood back as his operatives seized inatiative. Darren and Aris protected Spire's troops from serious harm while slowly closing the gap with Donathan. Darren engaged Donathan first, quickly taking the upperhand. It was only when Donathan made a serious mistake that Darren made one of his own: he struck a cortosis-layered shoulderpad, resulting in the failure of his blade. Forced to retreat, Darren noticed that Donathan charged him and had to resort to tutaminis to catch a lightsaberblade. Spending all his energy in one short burst, Darren was saved by Aris pulling Donathan away from him. As Aris engaged Donathan, Darren recovered while defending EXALT operatives. Slowly, the battle seemed to progress in Donathan's favour. When Aris was hit, Darren jumped back in, only to be disabled by a quick slash across his entire body. Darren succumbed to a serious fleshwound and could only look as Aris was also slowly beaten. Holding on to his thoughts, Darren pulled his blaster from his belt and tried to raise his aim towards Donathan. When Donathan just claimed victory, the howl of a wolf was heard and Donathan's men were quickly overrun by 'the Wolves' brigade' appearing out of nowhere, led by a young-looking man. Donathan, shocked, was then put down by Darren, whom fired a blasterbolt at him. With the battle over, Spire seemed to have disappeared. The fight was over, but Darren wondered at what cost. Accepting that he was aging, Darren vowed to take less dangerous missions in the future, stepping down from missions that would likely end in physical conflict that he could no longer combat.

### **A time of Calmth (909 ABY - 913 ABY)**

#### **Return to old habits**

> "It is silly, really -- For many years I longed for silence. Now that I have found it, it frightens me."
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> ― Darren upon losing his apprentices to knighthood
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With the knighting of Aris and Dathon, Darren felt himself return to old habits. Wandering the jungles of Yavin IV, he was constantly caught in his own thoughts again. Every body of water reflected who he was, slowly setting his mind adrift towards thoughts he had long let go. He was becoming old, his physical body started to tire easily. Hoping that he could maintain the health of his mind, he once again returned to pondering. The Force guided him constantly, never sending him astray. Noting the absurdity of his own thoughts, Darren realised that he was only 50 years old and that he had many years to go, but that it would not get easier from this point. Thus, he started doing what he had always done: looking after the Jedi, his thoughts to himself. Where others did indeed perceive a recline to a 'former self', Darren knew that he had not changed. He knew that he simply had to recover from what he perceived as the loss of a bond. Whilst knowing that the friendship between himself and his previous apprentices had not changed, he could not help but feel like it truly had. Vowing to continue the friendship he and the Vions had built up over the years, Darren knew he had to continue too. Branching out and looking for new challenges, Darren prepared himself to guide a new apprentice.

An uncomfortable silence fell upon the galaxy, however, and Darren had little succes finding a suitable apprentice. Seeing that the Jedi he had taught were now completing the tasks he had performed for so long, Darren realised that he could take a less hands-on approach and step out of the spotlight. Leaving the temple he was serving at behind on good terms, Darren decided to act as he had done while he was travelling. Returning to Corellia, he was often recognised as "that Corellian Jedi" because of his green robes. This eventually led to him being invited to host a guestlecture at a university in the Gold Sector of CoroNet. The lecture was received with incredible interest and Darren was invited to remain on Corellia as a teacher. Gladly accepting the offer, Darren taught students about philosophy, cultural differences, language and geography. Knowing that he slowly started to become a respected figure on Corellia and in CoroNet, Darren contacted the Order and asked for permission to become the Watchman of Corellia. His request accepted, Darren now found himself as an active participant in many groups: a councillor and Watchman for the Jedi, a teacher in CoroNet and a Master for the Force-sensitives of CoroNet. Running into the likes of Laurents Vion and his guardian several times, Darren had little time to rest. When Elijah Shan contacted him in 913 ABY, however, Darren returned to a Jedi temple to hear what he had to say.

#### **Return to the Jedi temple**

The return to the Jedi temple was not a peaceful one, however, for after only two hours had passed, Darren heard an explosion that made the ground tremble. Rushing from the archives to the place where he heard the explosion originate form, Darren was soon confronted with the sight of four Jedi surrounding a single mandalorian. Amidst the chaos, Darren caught that the conversation was about the darksaber. While one Jedi urged the others to simply hand the darksaber over to the one offending mandalorian, Darren sided with Vailen Eoziras and Kareem Windu whom knew what the darksaber meant for the mandalorians: a symbol to rally all the clans behind. As the situation became more tense, the mandalorian called a turbolaser bombardment on the temple. Darren and several other Jedi made sure that the integrity of the structure held while most people evacuated. Eventually, Darren urged a handful of Jedi to assist him in giving the ship a powerful Force shove. When only Kareem Windu was brave enough to help, Darren knew that his death might soon follow. The energy of the two Jedi masters was able to push the ship out of orbit, which led the mandalorians to retreat. Both Darren and Kareem were mortally wounded, but by some miracle pulled through. Darren, knowing not to exhaust himself now, returned to receive medical attention and soon visited Kareem, whom physically seemed significantly worse off than Darren was.

After recovering from the incident, Darren began to spend time fixing small problems around the Ossus temple. Mainly working in and around the archives, Darren also welcomed a new group of Jedi looking to set up a special training regiment there. Whilst training many younglings, students, padawans and guiding a handful of Jedi knights aswell, Darren reunited with his old apprentices and began to cooperate with them to provide new learning experiencs for the Jedi. When Elijah Shan left shortly after attaining knighthood, Darren was saddened by this somewhat predictable loss. While continuing to receive and train new Jedi, he also planned a way to bring Elijah back to the order.

#### **The loss of an Apprentice**

During this time, Darren met a young Jedi: Devron Shire. Teaching him all the things a youngling should know, Darren was quick to accept him as his padawan. When the duo headed off to Coruscant to presumably meet some senators, Darren was surprised to run into Elijah Shan. The duo managed to convince Elijah to return, but he had to make a run to his bunker on Alderaan first. Darren agreed, but felt a disturbance in the Force a few hours later: Vailen Eozira had killed Elijah Shan; murdered him in cold blood. Darren, though physically and mentally hurt by the broken Force Bond, gathered evidence and witnesses to grant Vailen a proper trial. Vailen, however, showed no remorse for his actions. He seemed proud of what he had done, and the council decided to exile the Jedi shadow. Darren, happy that Elijah had found some form of justice, told Vailen that Elijah would have tried to redeem him before excusing him from the council chambers. Changed forever by this event, Darren spent some time alone, not wishing to be disturbed, hoping to process these events.

### **Jedi Watchman (913 ABY - ??? ABY)**

After the incident, Darren continued trying to aid the Jedi Order. Something within him had changed, however, or so he thought. He felt that during the lessons he gave, few ever truly listened or even paid attention. Even worse: during a lecture where he encouraged questions, no questions were asked. Darren became somewhat demotivated, which resulted in him falling back on old routines. Returning to Corellia, Darren continued acting as Watchman of his homeplanet and returned to teaching at the GoldNet university. Still feeling responsible for some Jedi stationed on Ossus and Coruscant, Darren often took prolonged leaves of absence whenever possibly. Darren and Devron would travel between Corellia, Ossus and Coruscant quite frequently. Devron's training proceeding exceptionally well, Darren once again felt a bond arising with one of his Padawans.

#### **The sacking of Telos IV**

While returning to Corellia, Darren received an urgent message from Telos IV: a Sith captive was attempting escape and all aid possible was to head to Telos immediately. Ordering Devron to take care of wounded troopers outside, Darren ventured into the academy on Telos IV to witness Aeacus Windu and Ailen Vezo in combat with Plini Espen. As Darren joined, Ailen was struck and wounded superficially. Darren made sure Ailen could recover whilst Aeacus continued the assault on the Sith. When an opening was created, Darren showed his excellent control of Makashi and quickly lunged at Plini's side, wounding him. When the Sith continued to fight, Darren swapped to Djem-So to pressure the Sith into surrender. The use of Djem-So tired Darren quickly, which resulted in him having to back off after a series of clashes. When another Sith named Geziel arrived, Darren was shocked by his use of Force Lightning. Vowing to take down both Sith in one move, Darren pulled the wreck of Plini's ship towards both himself, Plini and Geziel. Planning to jump over the wreck at the last moment, Darren was surprised by Plini rushing to his side whilst the ship was already heading to the trio. Darren, jumping, got grazed at his extended hand and was surprised to see that the wreckage was heading up after him: Aeacus had lifted the wreck, slamming it into Darren and causing it to miss both Plini and Geziel. Knocked out of the fight, Darren was evacuated by Ailen.

## **Personality and traits**

Darren seemed to be lost in thought continiously. Even though he truly enjoyed social activities, Darren was so busy with his own thoughts that he often gave short replies to many questions. Some considered this behaviour rude and uninterested, but Darren always had the best intentions: he believed that if a message can be relayed in a few words, it should be. When teaching, lecturing or in a hefty discussion, Darren seemed to be 'distracted' from his own thoughts and capable of portaying himself as a much more energetic individual. It almost seemed as if he was off auto-pilot whenever engaged in such activities. When with people Darren considered his friends, he clearly showed more energy regardless of activity.

Spending most of his time pondering, reading or writing, Darren always had a troubled look on his face, which has resulted in his wrinkles showing at a reasonably young age. These are not necessarily frowns and bad wrinkles however: when one takes the time to read Darren's wrinkles, one easily discovers that he has smiled, laughed and been surprised regularly during his life. As far as his expressions go, however, it could be quickly discovered that Darren barely reacted to most attempts at persuasion, humor and taunting. Some individuals have claimed that they never saw Darren smile, yet that they kept catching a glimpse of happiness in his eyes.

Control was an important aspect of Darren as an individual: control over himself, any situation he is in or even the people he is with. Although this could be misunderstood as Darren wishing to have power over others, he himself has explained it as 'knowing what is going on and what will be going on' during all previous, current and future events. In this sense, he controls his own thoughts, has the ability to guide others to understand something they were once uncertain about and also seems to have many plans ready in case they are needed. Showing incredible capability of adaptation to any and all circumstances, Darren truly seemed at the epitome of control.

After the raid on Jedha, Darren retreated back to his own thoughts. Overcome by constant headaches and feeling himself numbed from the Force, he slowly lost his ironic distance with meaning and life. Truly afraid of completely losing his ability to use the Force while he was also aging, Darren tried to meditate whenever possible but found himself unable to because of a constant stream of violent thoughts. Not wishing to show this, he tried to isolate himself from Jedi whenever he was not required, yet faked his old persona when teaching or during matters of importance. With the loss of his parents after spending their last weeks together, Darren returned to his former self. Thanks to his parents' words and the shared experience, Darren seemed a different man: in control, but ready to cast it aside to feel.

## **Powers and Abilities**

### **Lightsaber abilities**

Darren, despite his passive nature, was an experienced lightsaber combatant. Preferring the defensive styles Soresu and Shien, Darren was often seen using fluid movements which almost resemble Makashi, or, to an untrained eye, dancing. He took this to a next level, however, as he also frequently switched between a normal grip and a reverse grip. He has frequently displayed expertise at deflecting and reflecting blasterbolts, seemingly capable of taking on enormous groups of blaster-wielding opponents with incredible ease. Switching from Soresu deflection to Shien reflection was more of a habit to Darren than anything else, resulting in him being in complete control of most situations with blasters involved. Darren's offensive abilities were not lacking, as he was an avid user of Djem-So, but he was not renown for it since he rarely took the offensive.

In more recent duels with his Padawans, Darren has shown that he has mastered the form Soresu not just as a form, but as a mindset: effortlessly surviving while adapting to the style of his opponent, yet still seizing offensive opportunities. Clearly showing that he prioritised survival of both himself and his enemy above all things, his cuts and jabs are are true representation of Darren himself: completely in control, regardless of circumstances. This had led to him being considered difficult to read while in combat, since he barely showed any intent through both expressions and the Force.

During his prime, Darren was able to use Soresu, Niman and Djem-So/Shien in rapid succession, often switching between the styles. As he got older, however, he was more reliant on the Soresu mindset with a Makashi moveset and Djem-So approach to attacks. Taking his time to discover his opponents approaches and holding out with Soresu, Darren often tried to disable his opponents with a single strike as soon as he had seen the patterns to their movesets. With incredible knowledge regarding the saberforms, Darren had no trouble reacting to most opponents unless they greatly outclassed and overpowered him.

### **Force powers**

Darren believed that in the Force there is infinite potentiality, but that it is quite difficult to turn that into actuality. His philosophy is often shown in his skills: though he knows about many abilities, he seems to lack the power to use them. In this sense, Darren was a knowledgeable, yet average Force-user. An example to illustrate this is when in 905 ABY Darren used Force Revitalize and a lesser form of Force Heal to stabilize a dying Elena Sipherius. This encounter wrecked Darren's mental fortitude, showing that he had trouble using such straining Force powers for prolonged periods of time even though he was clearly capable of using them.

Seemingly realising his Force-based shortcomings in 905 ABY, Darren started to spend more time on his connection with the Force and meditated frequently. This clearly paid off, as he was capable of using multiple abilities such as Speed, Push and Ballistakinesis in rapid succession during his encounter with EXALT on Nar Shaddaa, only succumbing to fatigue after healing Aris from her wounds. As a result from this closer bond with the Force, Darren's overall capabilities seemed to increase significantly aswell. After having to act as a healer many times, Darren's healing abilities also drastically improved.

The epitome of Darren's strength was reached during the raid on Jedha: he was able to cast many abilities in rapid succession, casting waves, bursts and several defensive techniques without any delay between them. After having healed Ki and Elijah, Darren was so fatigued that he could only keep himself standing thanks to a Force Valor. After he succumbed to mental fatigue, however, his connection with the Force seemed to drastically diminish, weaking Darren considerably. It took Darren a full year to recover from this incident.

As Darren aged, his skillset increased through necessity contstantly. Feats such as prolonged usage of telekinesis and illusions were easily attained by Darren, although he still showed rapid fatique when having to use these techniques. During the final duel with Donathan Hawthorne, Darren was forced to use a technique which exposed his body to more Force energy than it could handle, effectively sacrificing his health for the sake of maintaining a connection to the Force. Using this ability, Darren was able to catch a lightsabers blade with an advanced form of tutaminis.

### **Other abilities**

> "That is right: I just *literally* folded space."
>
>

> ― Darren bluffing his way out of a situation
>
>

Darren has learnt many things during his travels and he had a deep understanding of many subjects, theoretical and practical. He had no trouble repairing machinery, dressing wounds or even bartending. His most notable skills, however, are his rhetorics and his ability to think logically.
As Darren started spending more time trying to talk to Jedi, he took a different approach to 'listening': almost every question Darren got asked, he replied to with another question. Through this method, Darren hoped to let the individual speaking to him come to realisations on his own, rather than having Darren spell everything out for them. Apparently, Darren was so skilled with this method, that some claimed he could 'draw the answers out of them' without any trouble, like Nasaas stated in 902 ABY.
While being shadowed by EXALT operatives on Nar Shaddaa, Darren showed remarkable perception and knowledge of the general skullduggery of Nar Shaddaa and its inhabitants. Immediately noting that something was off during his arrival, Darren spotted several EXALT operatives and realised that they were showing unnatural behaviour considering the circumstances. Instinctively avoiding snipers and patrols, Darren managed to keep Aris out of harms way by constantly devising plans and strategies to seize initiative, significantly delaying but not fully overcoming the trap that Donathan had laid out for them. Having some medical skills from his journeys after taking care of himself and others with little resources, Darren is skilled with the use of medkits and medical machinery. He proved this when he was able to attach a new, robotic arm to a badly wounded A'Koba Hett. Forced to act out a certain character on many occassions, Darren slowly became a quite a good actor. Initially, Darren had to practise his character for the interrogation of Elena Sipherius many times, eventually performing the role quite well. During many interactions with other parties, Darren proved knowledgeable of skullduggery and even capable of acting a complete alter ego of himself. Developping this skill even further, Darren was capable of fooling most unprepared individuals whom did not know him well. During an incident with a bounty hunter, Darren bluffed that he was capable of sending the hunter's target to Belsavis through the use of fold space, when he was actually casting a simple illusion. During the event, Darren acted odd enough for people whom actually knew him that they easily caught on to his ruse and managed to play along.

### **Equipment**

After having left Nar Shaddaa, Darren refused to wear Jedi robes and simply wore casual atire with a "Jedi vibe" to them. When his parents gifted him traditional Corellian robes, however, Darren proudly wore them to show his origins. His single-bladed hilt has a cyan blade and an unoriginal design. Though he is not a materialist, he always carries a sizable amount of credits with him, noting that they are an easy way out of many tricky situations. At an unknown time, Darren adopted a blaserpistol to his arsenal, using it to stun opponents when they were hard to reach.