Fallen Star
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
[+] Unyielding- Once Brool commits himself to something, he is remarkably difficult to dissuade. Pain, fear, exhaustion, and unfavorable odds rarely convince him to surrender. When someone he cares about is threatened, that determination becomes even stronger.
(+/-) Kel Dor Physiology- Brool has the natural advantages and limitations of his species. Kel Dor are generally quick and possess quicker reflexes, along with eyes adapted to the unusual conditions of their homeworld, Dorin. Their leathery skin offers some protection from environmental conditions, and their physiology is well suited to their homeworld.
Away from Dorin, however, that same biology becomes a liability. Kel Dor cannot safely breathe the oxygen-rich atmospheres common throughout much of the galaxy and must rely upon an antiox breath mask and protective goggles when operating in them. Damage, loss, or removal of this equipment can quickly leave Brool incapacitated and potentially become life-threatening. His exposed eyes are likewise vulnerable outside the conditions for which they evolved.
[-] Pride- Brool has difficulty accepting that some things are beyond his ability to change. His confidence isn't loud; instead, it manifests as an almost pathological belief that there must always have been something more he could have done. Failure therefore becomes intensely personal.
[-] Attachment=- Where the Jedi taught Brool to love without possessing, he increasingly sees detachment as an excuse for inaction. He forms powerful emotional bonds and will go to dangerous lengths to protect those he considers his own. Losing someone once makes him considerably more desperate to prevent it from happening again.
BIOGRAPHY:
Brool was born on Dorin to parents who loved him but were very young. They didn't have the means to take care of their baby, so when he first showed signs of being Force-sensitive, they asked the Alliance to take him in for testing. When it came back that he was indeed sensitive to the Force, his parents were far too eager to have the Jedi take him for training. He was quickly accepted as a youngling and began his journey toward becoming a Padawan. His master, Sol-Ari Venn, who at the time was a Jedi Knight, took him under his wing and began training him in the ways of the Jedi.
Over the years, Brool and Sol-Ari went on many adventures and missions across the galaxy. The Cerean Jedi Knight taught Brool what it meant to be a Jedi and warned him of the dangers of the Dark Side of the Force. There were many afternoons spent on the grasses of Jedi temples across the galaxy, eyes closed and minds open. Master Venn was a huge proponent of not holding onto connections, of letting go and allowing the Force to guide the outcome. He was also the first to introduce Brool to his species' Force tradition, the Baran Do Sages, teaching him to listen to the Force and sense what was coming.
By the time Brool was a teenager, he was fully initiated into the Jedi lifestyle. He and his master had become known as a duo that could get things done. Whether it was rescue missions, negotiations, or reconnaissance, Brool and Master Venn found a way to succeed. Through those years, the two of them grew quite close. Sol-Ari became like a father to the young Kel Dor Jedi. Brool didn't have many memories of his biological parents, so it was hard for him not to grow attached. Even much to the lament of Master Venn, Brool couldn't help it. He looked up to the man and wanted to be just like him when he was older. Day after day, his master warned him that possession would lead him toward the Dark Side.
The older he got, the more attachment turned into pride. Brool was quite the gifted Padawan, and the Jedi Council grew familiar with the pair's exploits. He began to believe that anything they threw at them was too easy and always asked for more. More danger, more combat, more responsibility. There were times when the young Kel Dor teetered on the edge of the darkness inside him, thinking too highly of himself and allowing it to cloud his judgment. He was always able to pull himself back, however, especially with the help of Master Venn.
More years passed, and Brool became a young man. He stayed with the Jedi through the fall of the Alliance and the formation of the High Republic. He and Master Venn had been frontline fighters against the Empire and the Sith before, and together they watched as the Core fell to the same forces they had spent years fighting back under the Alliance. Brool was close to knighthood. He could feel it. Master Venn would finally become a Jedi Master. It had been years in the making: countless nights spent studying and meditating, days spent sparring no matter how tired he was. Everything was coming together, and the darkness he had once found himself fighting seemed like a distant memory.
Then the Sith Order invaded Thyferra.
Brool and his master went to answer the call. On the battlefield, a Sith wounded Master Sol-Ari Venn, striking him while he tried to protect innocent lives. Brool Koon was no healer, but he was smart, and he had always been able to find a way out of every situation before. So he did what he thought he could.
He tried to save his master's life. Master Venn begged Brool to let him go, to carry on without him and not give in to his pride. He knew he was doomed, but his Padawan was unable to stop. Brool kept trying, using everything he could think of to extend his master's life. For a little while, it worked. Sol-Ari stabilized, and Brool thought he had done it.
Inevitably, Master Venn became one with the Force not long after. The inability to save his master's life broke Brool. It felt like he had lost a parent for the second time. He knew that if he had just tried a little harder, he would have been able to save him. If the Jedi hadn't placed so many restrictions on what he could learn and what he could do with the Force, he could have saved his master's life. If he had been given the freedom to train until his limits were actually met, he would have been much stronger than he was. Strong enough to save Master Venn.
It was then that Brool decided to turn his back on the Jedi Order he had been a part of since he was a youngling. He vowed to never again let someone he cared about be taken from him because of the Jedi's weakness. Pride was not something to shy away from. His emotions were not something to fear. If the Jedi refused to give him the strength he needed, he would find it somewhere else.
And vengeance would be the only goodbye the Sith received.
Brool Koon left Thyferra a Jedi, but not one who would be welcome in the halls of the High Republic. He set a course back to Dorin, hoping to find whatever family he might still have left.
Then his ship crash-landed in Sith space.