Teynara Jeralyr
Resident Sig Lord
FACTION: Order of the Sacred Lotus
RANK: Jedi KnightSPECIES: Human (Native to Lianna)
GENDER: Female
HEIGHT: 5"6'
WEIGHT: 63kg
EYES: Blue-Grey
HAIR: Pale Blonde
SKIN: Caucasian
FORCE SENSITIVE: Yes
Teynara appears as a slender young woman around 5 feet, 6 inches in height, fairly slight in musculature, but fairly healthy on the whole due to a reasonable diet (aside from her addiction to a morning cup of Stimcaf), and those training exercises she previously enjoyed during her training, always starting her morning with a run. However, these have recently been curtailed due to her medical circumstances.
She wears her light blonde hair fairly long at shoulder-length, though she often keeps it tied up so as not to be a particular nuisance. Her eyes are a pale blue that are almost grey in colour, with fairly small pupils in relation to the coloured irises. She doesn't wear glasses or really anything that might cover her eyes or face as a rule, since she's always felt this to be a matter of vanity: either hiding what you don't wish seen, or emphasising what you do, both of which she has little time for. As a result of this, she also refuses to wear make-up.
Her manner of dress is fairly functional: she prefers to wear skirts and dresses instead of pants, usually combined with a shirt and jacket over the top, with ankle- or knee-length boots that only carry a slight heel (about her only concession to vanity), depending on her preference or the activities she is engaged in. This has not changed since she has joined the Jedi Order - if anything, her clothing choices have become considerably less ostentatious, since her tunics and skirts are mostly in the non-descript colours preferred by Jedi: browns, whites, dark blues and blacks, although she occasionally varies that a little.
Due to being injured in an attack, Teynara has been rendered paraplegic, and thus remains confined to a personal Hoverchair during the day.
A fairly quiet person as a rule, Teynara prefers to listen rather than talk (though once she gets going, it can be hard to keep her quiet!), feeling that it's easier to learn when you're letting others do the talking. As such, she also prefers quieter environments, and shies away from noisy groups or larger gatherings where chaos is at a premium. This has also led her to mostly prefer her own company, or that of a few choice companions, so she doesn't make a habit of trying to be everyone's friend, even if she remains polite towards everybody.
Growing up as an only child would, for many, have instilled a certain sense of dependency on one's parents, but Teynara was raised to believe in doing everything for herself where possible, and this has only served to make her stubborn almost to a fault, but such that she will only seek help or aid if she has no alternative, preferring to do things on her own where possible.
Her sense of humour can best be described as dry and a little sarcastic at moments, and she rather enjoys employing it, teasing her friends and comrades occasionally, not afraid to say what first springs to mind even in serious situations, simply because she feels it best to keep things relaxed and casual, rather than everyone being tense and uptight. She uses her own sense of humour in a very liberal fashion and likes to encourage others to do the same, unless the circumstances obviously don't warrant jokes or a humorous remark of any kind.
She has a rather strong stance on the use of violence, and where possible, would rather all conflicts could be solved without it, so she tends to be disdainful of anyone who is easily angered or provoked into aggressive behaviour, and will treat them in a fairly cold fashion until they relent. She has often described this as one of her biggest failings, and though not a complete pacifist, she doesn't believe violence is anything other than a last resort, and will not sanction it under any other circumstances.
Beyond that, she thinks a good conversation is one of the best gifts a person can give her, other than perhaps a good book, but she has little inclination towards small talk, and much prefers sitting down and reading when there's a pause in activity to sitting and chattering away to pass the time.
Her mind being her greatest attribute, Teynara tends to do well academically and absorbs information fairly quickly, but this has often led to a slight deficiency in her practical skills. She is essentially a booksmart individual, and can reason out information quickly, as well as be able to discuss and debate with a fair amount of enthusiasm. She is quietly proud of her reading ability, able to get through a good sized book in a matter of hours, though she then will often take an hour or two to meditate and reflect upon what she has read in order to better understand it.
Physically, she is by no means exceptional and though she keeps herself in fairly decent shape with her training regimen, she would be the first person to decry her skills in combat or gymnastics, preferring to keep her feet solidly on the ground and most definitely out of any situation involving weapons where possible. Though she can wield a lightsaber and is proficient in the basics, she prefers not to resort to the use of one, and will often keep it on her belt. When she is required to use it, her deflection skills stand out as her one area of proficiency, but lightsaber duelling is by far her weakest area, and her policy regarding combat with other Force Users states "if you can't outwit them, outrun them". When forced to fight, she will only display basic technique with a lightsaber.
That noted, her parents insisted that she learn to be able to defend herself just as a point of principle, so from the age of 10 onwards, she was given instruction in the arts of Tae-Jitsu. She is particularly proficient in this artform, and often uses the various regimens learned there in order to keep herself flexible and in good shape. She does, however, prefer only to use her abilities for self-defense, and has demonstrated a particular tendency to remain passive until attacked, after which she will proceed to defend herself. Whether or not this habit carries over into lightsaber training has yet to be established.
Her Force abilities are not particularly strong, though she has started gaining in proficiency and is able to use the more rudimentary abilities taught to all Jedi, though her confidence in doing so is fairly limited. Teynara's preference for taking a more scientific approach to her training has often led to difficulties in reconciling the more intuitive nature of the Force, and this perhaps accounts for her slow progress.
However, her skills are by no means limited to those areas trained by the Jedi. Her knowledge of Xenobiology is considerable and she can apply this knowledge effectively to medical situations, though mostly requiring standard First Aid and possible triage, rather than anything more severe. Having added Force Healing techniques to her repetoire, although limited in this, Teynara can nonetheless be considered an effective field medic when required.
The Force
Telekinesis: ■■■■■■■■■■
Force Jump: ■■■■■■■■■■ (No longer possible)
Force Healing: ■■■■■■■■■■
Force Sense: ■■■■■■■■■■
Tutaminis: ■■■■■■■■■■
Tapas: ■■■■■■■■■■
Combat Skills
Shii-Cho: ■■■■■■■■■■
Tae-Jitsu: ■■■■■■■■■■
Health and Fitness
Due to the nature of Teynara's disability, several of her previous skills are no longer possible for her to use.
Power: ■■■■■■■■■■
Endurance: ■■■■■■■■■■
Swimming: ■■■■■■■■■■
Climbing: ■■■■■■■■■■
Balance: ■■■■■■■■■■
Medical Skills
First Aid: ■■■■■■■■■■
Anatomy: ■■■■■■■■■■
Xenobiology: ■■■■■■■■■■
Surgery: ■■■■■■■■■■
Physiotherapy: ■■■■■■■■■■
General Skills
Piloting: ■■■■■■■■■■
Cooking: ■■■■■■■■■■
Computing: ■■■■■■■■■■
Strengths
- Highly independent, organised and intelligent. Prefers not to let others do things for her, and will always strive toget the job done by herself where possible, believing that this is the best way to avoid mistakes and also to avoid anyone else paying for hers.
- Always the optimist, Teynara tries to perceive the good in everyone and in every situation she finds herself, always trying to be cheerful and positive, and even seeing conflicts as a disagreement that can probably be resolved by peaceful means. That said, she can be a little snarky or act in a very resigned manner when her optimism is countered by the darker overtones of realism - she always hopes for the best, but can often be disappointed.
Weaknesses
- Paraplegic: Due to injuries sustained in combat, Teynara is confined to a hoverchair at all times, unable to make any use of her legs whatsoever. Although she has had therapy both from Jedi Healers and considerable time in a Bacta tank, these injuries have not been repaired, and she remains chair-bound as a consequence.
- As a Pacifist, Teynara prefers to avoid violence at all costs, and though she will fight if she absolutely has to, the situation would need to be pretty dire (i.e. likely to otherwise be fatal) for her to do so. As far as she is concerned, everyone has a personal responsibility for their own conduct, and each must contribute to the efforts against violence if the Galaxy is to be a peaceful place.
- Although she tries to hide her sensitivity beneath an outwardly calm and often sarcastic veneer, Teynara has a clear affinity for others, and finds it quite distressing to see them come to harm. As such, she lacks the dispassionate sense of tranquility possessed by other Jedi, and finds it harder to cope with situations where others are in danger. Ironically, she seems less concerned with her own safety, and more concerned with that of the people around her.
- Her sarcastic sense of humour and clinical nature can be quite offensive to some, and she's well aware that she can occasionally alienate people, particularly if they are acting a way that she feels is foolish or unnecessary (and she rarely hesitates to remark upon it!).
- Teynara's studies as a scientist tend to lead her to seek a rational explanation for everything, and she can become rather exasperated when a solution or a reason eludes her, and can be agitated by people doing irrational things, rather than approaching matters in a logical manner. She has little time for recklessness or impulsive behaviour, and can be highly disdainful of those who act in such a manner.
- Though she has begun her studies in use of the Force, Teynara is a slow learner in this respect: although she is capable of developing her Force Abilities, her initial progress in this is perhaps more stunted than that of her peers, and it takes her a long time to gain an intuitive sense of a skill. Even though she can understand a lesson in the academic sense, her rational mind struggles with the more spiritual and intuitive aspects of these disciplines.
Early Life
So, where do you begin when you're talking about your life? I'm a child of the planet Lianna, which is in the Allied Tion Sector, in case you don't want to find yourself a starmap and look. Not a particularly famous planet, but it's a well-populated one for sure, so you never really find yourself short of people to talk to. That's besides the point, though. Sufficed to say, that's where my life started, though I wouldn't call it overly interesting. I'm not an orphan or the victim of war time tragedy. Seems like a lot of Jedi start out life that way, or have some form of serious trauma in their pasts that caused them to want to alleviate that in others, or maybe that just revealed their Force Sensitivity. By comparison, I've had a fairly mundane life, and I'm thankful for it!
So, my parents are both medical professionals, which I always found fascinating but I guess most people would think of that as irrelevant. Who cares what my parents did, right? This is my story. You'd think that, but it's pretty relevant to me, so I'm putting it here all the same. They're both in practice together, and were apparently like that even before they were married, so I guess that's how they met. I never actually thought to ask, but I don't suppose I need to, do I? They met, they married and, years later, here I am. I don't think I need to draw a diagram to show you how that all works.
Oh, I ought to mention something: I'm an only child. Did that make me spoiled? Maybe, but I don't think it was in a bad way. My parents were pretty balanced people. Okay, I had a pretty good education - they both had a pretty solid income (who doesn't need a doctor every once in a while?), and since we were a three-person household, I was involved in nearly everything. My Dad would help me with my homework unless it was something to do with Math (his weaker subject), in which case Mom would sit and help. I learned to cook, clean, hold a good argument when debating with my parents and make myself useful and try not to be a complete nuisance. Can't always guarantee success in the latter, but that's what kids do sometimes.
Neither of them were beyond pushing me to learn new things, though - I know everyone says that having parents with expectations can be a burden on you, pressuring you to be better than you are, and always going for top grades, but I don't think it ever quite worked that way for me. I liked learning - I'm ridiculously curious, when you get right down to it - and they always tried to get me to pursue new lines of inquiry or just pick up as much as I could. That went for their lives, too: by the time I was twelve, I had a fairly good grasp of basic Anatomy and Physiology, not to mention basic treatments for common ailments. I guess my parents always figured that'd come in handy somewhere along the line.
If you're curious as to why the Order didn't pick me up before that, it's because the Jedi didn't seem to have much to do with Lianna as a rule. I later learned that they typically sent out Jedi to scout for potential Force Sensitives, at least to most major worlds, but they weren't exactly popular there, so I guess they didn't much stop to look. I'd learned a fair bit about them, though - my parents both thought that the Order did a lot of good, so they didn't exactly discourage learning about them.
Once I was eighteen, I left Lianna for the first time and travelled to Rudrig to study at University there. I'd decided to major in Xeno-biological sciences - not exactly a thrilling subject from your perspective, I imagine, but a good one for me. I guess I figured I could use it as a pathway into studying medicine later, but that was a decision for after graduation. I rather enjoyed it, I have to admit: learning about the different ways species adapt to their different environments, creating considerable distinctions between races that are even classified as being similar to one-another. I also minored in Psychology, because it seemed like a good choice for working out why people do what they do. Fascinating times.
Graduation left me a little adrift for a while. I went home and stayed there for a few months while working out a game plan. Following my parent's footsteps seemed like a good option, but I admit, it didn't quite jump out at me as ideal. I'm not sure why: up until that point, I'd been good and enthusiastic about it. Maybe it was just the idea of spending so many more years in training until I could actually start doing some good. Maybe not. In the end, I decided I at least ought to narrow down my options a little, so I booked myself onto a flight to Empress Teta in the Deep Core, so I could meet with the Jedi. Let's separate that into a different chapter, shall we?
The Jedi Order
Ironically, walking into a Jedi Temple is exactly what you'd think: easy. For all those who think the Jedi constitute a military order, try walking into your nearest military base and getting the same response. You wouldn't. I was just met by some students on gate duty and they asked if I was carrying any weapons (which, of course, I wasn't!) and then inquired as to my business with the Order. I told them and they conducted me inside to meet with the Masters responsible for dealing with potential recruits. I was a little surprised by it all - everyone was nice and polite, not at all brusque or demanding, and the Temple itself just felt...relaxed. Not what I'd expected, not at all.
The interviews and tests lasted a few days, so I was a resident of the Temple for a little while. Frankly, it was amazing how much you had to do to join up, although I think only the first few tests were actually designed to check your initial suitability. They did blood tests to check for certain biochemical markers, a few short written exams to test academic ability (which I later found out was just so they could schedule classes for those deficient), psychological evaluations (which I admit I rather enjoyed) and then a series of, well, I'll call them intuitive tests. Now I realise they were there to test latent Force Sensitivity, but I didn't know that at the time. I just indulged them.
Anyway, I passed, so I could handed a new set of robes and a few sundry items I was told I'd need for my training, and then I got passed on to their training facility. Turns out being a Jedi requires considerably more of an education than I've had so far, so it's back to the drawing board in that respect. I always figured there'd be a lot to learn, but it's always nice to have a suspicion confirmed.
