Headfirst "Hero"
J A R I N V A L E
JEDI KNIGHT
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
“The first step is forward.”
NAME: Jarin Vale
AGE: 23
SPECIES: Human
HOMEWORLD: Saleucami
RANK: Jedi Knight
AFFILIATION: The High Republic | Jedi Order
FORCE SENSITIVE: Yes
OVERVIEW
Jarin Vale is a recently elevated Jedi Knight who has spent virtually his entire life within the Jedi Order. Born on Saleucami and identified as Force-sensitive while still very young, Jarin remembers the family and world he came from but has never seriously questioned the path that brought him to the Jedi.
He was never considered a prodigy. Jarin was instead the sort of student instructors expected to succeed because he was dependable, hardworking, and clearly talented. Physical training and lightsaber combat came naturally to him, while the more contemplative and scholarly aspects of Jedi life required greater effort.
Friendly, energetic, and intensely idealistic, Jarin believes that protecting others is among the most sacred responsibilities of a Jedi. The turmoil of recent years has challenged that belief as war, political collapse, and the scattering of the Jedi have repeatedly forced him to confront situations where doing the right thing is considerably less obvious than he would like.
Now a Knight in his own right, Jarin is beginning to decide exactly what kind of Jedi he intends to become.
HISTORY
Jarin was born into an ordinary family on Saleucami. His sensitivity to the Force became apparent through small things: unusual reflexes, exceptional coordination, and an uncanny tendency to sense danger before those around him.
He was discovered by the Jedi while still a young child and spent nearly all of his formative years within the Order. Jarin proved to be a promising but otherwise ordinary student. He worked hard, developed a particular aptitude for lightsaber combat, and eventually became the Padawan of an experienced Jedi Master.
His Master was patient, knowledgeable, and considerably more contemplative than Jarin. Much of Jarin's training revolved around learning patience, restraint, and the importance of understanding a situation before rushing to change it. Jarin listened closely to those lessons, although experience has increasingly shown that he did not always understand their deeper meaning quite as well as he believed.
His later apprenticeship coincided with the increasingly violent decline of the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order. Jarin experienced war, evacuation, and the loss of places he once considered secure. During the chaos surrounding the eventual scattering of the Jedi, Jarin and his Master became separated.
His Master's fate remains unknown.
Jarin continued serving where he could before eventually finding his way to the Jedi of the High Republic. With his training effectively complete and years of practical experience already behind him, he was formally elevated to the rank of Jedi Knight.
His story begins shortly afterward.
PERSONALITY
Jarin is warm, sociable, and considerably less solemn than many people expect a Jedi Knight to be. He enjoys conversation, competition, physical training, and the company of others. He possesses an easy confidence without considering himself particularly important.
He is intelligent but not especially academic. Jarin learns best through experience and possesses excellent instincts when situations become immediate or physical. Politics, bureaucracy, and complicated diplomacy are significantly less comfortable territory.
Above almost everything else, Jarin believes that strength carries responsibility. If someone is in danger and he possesses the ability to help them, standing aside is extremely difficult for him.
That belief is simultaneously one of his greatest virtues and one of his greatest weaknesses.
STRENGTHS & WEAKNESSES
DEPENDABLE
Jarin's reputation has always been built more upon consistency than brilliance. He prepares, works hard, accepts correction, and can usually be trusted to do what is expected of him.
ATHLETIC
Physical training has always been one of Jarin's greatest strengths. He is fast, coordinated, and possesses excellent endurance even before augmenting himself through the Force.
SWORDSMAN
Lightsaber combat is Jarin's strongest Jedi discipline. He is notably skilled for his age, though he still lacks the experience and adaptability possessed by veteran Knights and Masters.
IDEALIST
Jarin genuinely believes the Jedi can make the galaxy better. Cynicism does not come naturally to him, and he tends to believe that people are worth helping until given a reason to think otherwise.
NAIVE
Jarin often assumes moral problems have clearer answers than they actually do. His political instincts are limited, and he can be slow to recognize manipulation that does not involve an immediate physical threat.
THE FIRST ONE IN
Jarin is far too comfortable risking himself when others are in danger. He understands that he can die. What he has not fully learned is that his decisions may also endanger the people who choose to follow him.
PATIENCE
Jarin is perfectly capable of waiting when he understands the reason. What he struggles with is being told to wait while people are actively suffering.
ABILITIES
LIGHTSABER COMBAT
Jarin is primarily a practitioner of Form V, particularly Shien and Djem So. Its emphasis on active defense and counterattack suits his instinct to confront threats rather than simply endure them.
He retains the standard Shii-Cho foundation of Jedi training and possesses some familiarity with the more athletic techniques associated with Ataru.
Jarin is a talented young swordsman, but he is far from a master.
THE FORCE
Jarin possesses solid conventional Jedi training rather than unusual or highly specialized Force abilities.
His training primarily includes:
• Telekinesis
• Force-assisted movement
• Enhanced reflexes
• Precognitive awareness
• Force sensing
• Basic mental discipline
• Standard Jedi defensive techniques
Physical applications of the Force generally come more naturally to him than mystical or scholarly disciplines.
OTHER SKILLS
• Athletic conditioning
• Basic piloting
• Field survival
• Leadership under pressure
• Standard Jedi education
• Limited diplomatic ability
• Very limited political instinct
STORY
A KNIGHT UNBOUND
A KNIGHT UNBOUND
For nearly his entire life, Jarin had a Master to challenge his assumptions, temper his instincts, and ultimately carry the responsibility of deciding what came next.
Now he does not.
At twenty-three, Jarin Vale enters the High Republic as a newly minted Jedi Knight in a galaxy where the Sith continue to advance, Jedi disagree over how they should respond, and restraint is becoming increasingly difficult for him to distinguish from inaction.
For the first time, the choice belongs to him.
JARIN VALE • JEDI KNIGHT