Vrook Lamar (ASWS)

"If you find me overly critical, perhaps it is because you do not fully understand what is at stake."

- Vrook Lamar

Vrook Lamar was a Jedi Master and a member of the Jedi High Council during the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. Along with Josham Kavar, Zez-Kai Ell and Lonna Vash, Vrook was heavily involved in the discovery of four out of six ancient relics that were said to point the way to a vast trove of knowledge somewhere in the galaxy. The search was put on hold when Revan and Malak began their conquest of the Galactic Republic, and Vrook and his three counterparts were each forced to take one of the four discovered relics and make their way into hiding after the destruction of Katarr. Vrook made his way to Dantooine and remained in the Jedi Enclave, though he was also considered a member of the Khoonda Militia.

Just days after being located by former Jedi Knight Jaxia Veers, Vrook was reunited with Kavar and Zez-Kai on Dantooine by Veers, padawan, but unfortunately Lonna had been killed on Korriban. Kavar and the other two Jedi Masters were attacked by Darth Traya in the presence of Veers during the Second Sith Civil War, an attack which killed Vrook and Zez-Kai after stripping them of their connection to the Force. The attack nearly killed Kavar as well, but due to his younger age he was able to survive. In order to keep the relics safe, Vrook’s relic was taken off of his body and brought with Kavar after he left Dantooine.

First Quest
Very little was known of Vrook Lamar’s early life, and the history that was known began after the Great Sith War. After the war ended, Vrook took up his primary residence at the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine, though he also attend meetings of the Jedi High Council on Coruscant after he was appointed to the position. One of the meetings he presided over was the one that directed Shaela Nuur, Duron Qel-Drooma and Guun Han Saresh to continue the Great Hunt. He was also later at the meeting where the council questioned the members of the Jedi Covenant over the loss of their padawans. Vrook was in support of separating the four masters.

Vrook helped oversee the training of Jaxia Veers on Dantooine, though he was not her master. During Jaxia’s time there, Vrook demanded that Vandar Tokare discipline her after he caught her in a heated argument with his padawan and her master refused to do anything about it. He referred to her as a mediocre Jedi with a lust for power that would draw her to the dark side, and also voiced concern about the influence she had over other students. Vandar, however, believed that she was a natural leader and saw her immense potential, so he told Vrook that her actions were none of his concern.

During the Mandalorian Wars, Vrook was one of four Jedi Masters that discovered information about six relics hidden by the ancient Jedi which pointed to a trove of knowledge that could have surpassed even the archives in the Great Jedi Pyramid. The other three masters were Josham Kavar, Zez-Kai Ell and Lonna Vash. Despite knowing that six of them existed, they were only able to find four. In order to keep the four relics safe, they each took one so they would remain protected. During that time, the Mandalorian Wars ended and Revan and Malak disappeared into the Unknown Regions, along with hundreds of Jedi Knights and the Republic fleet that they had used to defeat the Mandalorian crusaders. Jaxia Veers, however, was the only Jedi Knight to return to face the judgment of the Jedi High Council after the final battle on Malachor V. Vrook voted alongside the council to expel Jaxia from the Jedi Order because she had joined Revan and Malak's cause, thus defying the will of the Jedi Council.

After Jaxia's exile, Vrook and the others were preparing to begin a quest find the other two relics, but that was stalled when two different lines of thought emerged about why the relics should have been located. Vrook and Zez-Kai were adamant on finding the knowledge trove so they could either hide it or destroy it, as they felt that it was too dangerous to remain in existence. Kavar and Vash, however, felt that they should find it to further the Jedi Order’s knowledge of the galaxy. They were never able to come to a decision, and in the end they were forced to suspend their search indefinitely as Revan and Malak returned from their years-long disappearance as the Dark Lords of a new Sith Empire and began a conquest to take over the galaxy.

Exile
Vrook remained on Dantooine during the Jedi Civil War. After the capture of Revan, Vrook was the sole member of the enclave council who was against the notion of retraining the former Sith Lord in the ways of the Jedi. He worried that Revan would embrace his former identity as the Dark Lord of the Sith, but his fear ended up being proven wrong. As the former Dark Lord continued to grow in the Force, he remained true to the ways of the Jedi. As Revan left with Bastilla Shan and Carth Onasi on the Ebon Hawk to search for the Star Forge, Malak attacked the Jedi Enclave, though Vrook and his fellow Council members survived the Sith assault.

Only days later, Revan destroyed the Star Forge and disappeared shortly thereafter, but his repentance had allowed the Republic to try and begin the rebuilding process. Unfortunately, that was short lived as a new Sith Triumvirate had risen to power and began to make short work of countless Jedi Knights, causing the order’s number to seemingly dwindle into the dozens. Jedi Master Atris called an emergency conclave of all Jedi on Katarr and most went, but Vrook and the other three masters with the relics felt that it would be unwise for the four of them to group together.

While the Jedi Order was assembled on Katarr, the Sith Lord Darth Nihilus destroyed all life on the planet, thus killing hundreds of Jedi Knights. Days after learning about the attack, Vrook met with the three other Jedi Masters with the relics in the Jedi High Council chambers in the Great Jedi Pyramid. They discussed what happened on Katarr and learned that no one had reported back, leading them to assume that everyone, including Masters Atris and Vandar, had been killed by the Sith Lord's power. To ensure the safety of themselves and the relics, Vrook and the others decided to part ways with one another. While one of their main goals was to lure the Sith into a false sense of victory by believing they had destroyed the entire Jedi Order, one of the major reasons was to protect the relics from the Sith. Vrook went to Dantooine while Lonna went to Korriban, Zez-Kai went to Nar Shaddaa and Josham went to Onderon.

One year later, Jaxia Veers tracked down the surviving members of the Jedi High Council. During that time, Vrook was participating in the restoration of the destroyed Dantooine Enclave. During his time in the ruins, he allowed himself to be captured by mercenaries on Dantooine to deter them from attacking Khoonda. When Jaxia heard of his capture, she went to the mercenary base near the crystal cave, not knowing of Vrook’s plan. After she slew his captors, Vrook bitterly criticized her and explained the situation. Both of them rushed back to Khoonda to help defend it. Vrook left to attack a mercenary camp and returned in time to help Jaxia finish off the mercenaries.

Although Vrook’s attitude towards Jaxia grew more benevolent following her heroism, he did not allow his feelings to alter his judgment when he reconvened with Kavar and Zez-Kai, though Vash had been killed on Korriban. They passed judgment on Jaxia once more and said that she would be exiled again, deciding that she was too grave of a threat to the galaxy. While attempting to carry out their sentence, Vrook and the other two remaining High Council members were killed by former Jedi Master turned Sith Lord Darth Traya. However, they were not killed because they were Jedi Masters, but rather because she could not allow them to harm Jaxia after she had done so much for them. Traya drained him and the others of the Force, and because he and Zez-Kai were not able to adjust they died.

Appearances

 * Shadows and Light
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 4 - Commencement, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 6 - Commencement, Part 6
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 9 - Flashpoint Interlude: Homecoming
 * Galactic Republic Defense Ministry Daily Brief KD0092
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords
 * Chronicles of the Great War: Aftermath