Tulkas Astaldo (Jedi Renaissance)

Tulkas Astaldo, later simply known as Tulkas, was a male Ainu and a Vala of Tython. A survivor of the, Astaldo joined the other Valar on Arda after the first group had found difficulty in dealing with Melkor Belegûr and helped repel him. He married the Valië Nessa Uvaren during the first Spring of Arda and continued to rule over Arda until the return of the Jedi Order.

Life as a Je'daii
A Force-sensitive Cathar, Tulkas Astaldo was born on the planet Ska Gora in 25,805 BrS to non-Forceful parents who turned him over to the on Tython. Following his study at Padawan Kesh, Astaldo began his Great Journey which would take him to each of the Order's eight Great Temples beyond Padawan Kesh to learn the skills necessary to becoming a great Je'daii. As a Journeyer, Astaldo learned the ways of the Force, martial skills and became well read, but often times was criticized for his lack of patience. Following the completion of his Journey, Astaldo was made a Ranger and assigned to Shikaakwa and tasked with cleaning up the gangs in the northern quadrant. Carrying no weapon, Astaldo preferred hand-to-hand combat and quickly made a name for himself in the Shikaakwan underworld as a fierce opponent of wrong-doers. Present on the world when the forces of Queen Hadiya launched an assault on Tython, Astaldo left the planet to help defend Tython from attack. After years of service, Astaldo was made a Master before the outbreak of the Infinite Empire's invasion of the system. Recalled to Tython after Ska Gora fell to the Rakata and their hordes, Astaldo and several other Masters were selected to take a small group of Je'daii Rangers, Journeyers and Padawans to Tython's moon of Ashla to ensure the survival of the Order should Tython fall. Delving into the moon's crust to take refuge in a bunker hidden there, Aldaron and his compatriots remained hidden for a decade before emerging to the surface.

Along with his fellow Je'daii, Astaldo and the other survivors emerged to find the planet of Tython in ruin. Looking down on the planet from Ashla, the planet's atmosphere was filled with ash and death, the sun's light unable to reach the surface. Realizing that both the Je'daii Order and the Infinite Empire were gone, the Je'daii were determined to survive. Calling a Council of the Masters, the senior Je'daii agreed to continue the training of the youngest Je'daii and hopefully bring about the restoration of the Order. Hope seemed small for some time until the group received a Force vision, revealing the restoration of Tython and the birth of new races and people upon the world. Enamored with the beauty of the vision, it was fleeting and the details of the resurrection of the world were vague and shrouded in shadow. Determined to see the vision to fruition, the Je'daii decided to send a group to the surface to seek out stable land. With only a few surviving transports at their disposal, the Je'daii knew that there would not be fuel for a return journey, and all that descended to the surface would remain there for ill or for better.

Remaining on Ashla as a group of Masters and Rangers to the planet's surface, Astaldo watched from above as his fellow Je'daii descended into the unknown. Sometime after the group had left, Astaldo and his fellow Je'daii noticed a ship descend from Bogan, the second moon of Tython, and land near Arda where the other Je'daii were. Not long after a Force Storm was seen brewing over the world and a sense of the dark side crept into the Force. Deciding to travel down to the world with a small host of Je'daii Rangers and Journeyers, Astaldo landed on Tython to find Master Melkor Belegûr had descended in the ship from Bogan and had reacted in jealousy at the marvels the other Je'daii had crafted. Enraged by Belegûr's betrayal, Astaldo hunted down the traitor and meant to destroy him for his actions. When Belegûr heard the laughter and wrath of Astaldo he fled Arda to take refuge in Westeros across the sea.

Becoming the Ainur
Determined to see the vision of peace carried out the Masters, calling themselves the Valar, kindled within themselves and the Maiar the Flame Imperishable. As the Flame kindled within his heart, Astaldo's physical form was burned away and his spirit retained its individuality within the Force. Along with the others Astaldo became an Ainu, or a Force entity, an eternal and powerful servant of the Force. Simply known as Tulkas from that time onward, he often took the form of a fair humanoid with pointed ears, taller then any known Human and capable of astounding Force feats.

With order brought to the seas and the lands and the mountains and the fires of Melkor subdued, there was a need for light. Aulë at the prayer of Yavanna forged two mighty lamps, Illuin and Ormal. Varda filled the lamps with light and Manwë hallowed them, and the Valar set them up on high pillars; Illuin in the furthest north upon the pillar of Helcar, Ormal in the deepest south upon the pillar of Ringol. In the middle of Arda, where the light of the lamps mingled, amid the Great Lake lay the Isle of Almaren, where the Valar dwelt. It was here that Tulkas fell in love with Master Nessa Uvaren and the two were shortly wed in 25,740 BrS; the first year of the Spring of Arda.

Peace reigned supreme in Arda for nearly three millennia, while the Valar created new life on the planet. Plants and animals returned to the continent and spread their seeds far and wide. The pillars bathed the continent in light while the shroud of darkness blotted out the sky across the entire world and preventing any other life from flourishing. Tulkas and Nessa contributed to the Spring as well, bringing vitality to nature and fierceness which had been lost. Unknown to the Valar, Melkor returned from his time abroad in Westeros and took up residence in the north, just outside the light of the Lamps where he established his fortresses at Angband and Utumno where he began to amass a great army of fierce beasts and monsters through the use of alchemy. Summoning a group of Maiar from Bogan, these Je'daii were adherents of the dark side and pledged themselves to the Dark Lord.

Weary from his work at creating their new home, Tulkas grew complacent and slept a long sleep. Complacent on Almaren, the Valar did not act quickly enough as Melkor succeeded in marring Arda with his darkness. Unleashing his great horde on the land, the Dark Lord cast down the lamps and shattered the continent and caused the seas to rise. The perfect, unblemished continent of Arda was torn asunder and Tulkas and his fellow Valar were forced to flee Almaren and take refuge on the western portion of the continent. Looking out over Arda, the Valar found their work to be left in ruin; the once symmetric continent was shattered into several different land masses with the Sea of Helcar raging between them. The western land mass, Aman, was taken by the Valar as their new seat of power while Melkor was permitted to remain on the eastern mass of Srednata Zemya with his followers.

Founding the kingdom of Valinor as a safe place for life to flourish on Aman, Yavanna sang into existence two great trees which cast radiant light when their flowers bloomed, creating a day and night cycle in Aman. Tulkas, unlike the majority of his brethren, was impatient with Oromë's decision to allow Melkor to continue his reign in Srednata Zemya. Demanding the Valar wage war against the Dark Lord, Oromë cautioned that precipitous behavior might interfere with the awakening of the new races of Tython as prophesied back on Ashla. Relenting stubbornly, Tulkas patiently awaited the coming of the Children as predicted. It wasn't until 20,865 BrS when Varda finished collecting the light from the Lamps and spread it into the night's sky that the Children first began to awake. With stars once more in the night's sky the First Race awoke unbeknownst to the Valar at the time.

In 20,820 BrS, Tulkas discovered that several members of the First Race had been imprisoned by Melkor in the east and perverted into a race known as the Orc. Enraged, the Valar lead an assault against the armies of Melkor and shatter his strongholds in the north and send his armies into a full retreat. Capturing Melkor, the Valar put him in chains and drag him to Valinor for a trial. Sentenced to a 5,000 year imprisonment within the Halls of Mandos, Tulkas gladly saw the Dark Lord locked away and helped in the retaking of Srednata Zemya. Time begins to heal the world, though Melkor's release comes to soon and in 15,818 BrS Melkor's surviving generals aid him in destroying the Great Trees and retaking his former strongholds. To protect themselves, the Valar hide Valinor behind impassable mountains and begin to plan their next move against the Dark Lord, who at that point had been renamed Morgoth following his theft of the Simarils.

War with the Dark Lord
From Valinor, Tulkas and his fellow Valar sat in contemplation as the threat of Morgoth loomed in the East. To replace the Great Trees, Varda cleared the last of the ancient mists which blocked out the sun and revealed the radiant light of Tythos and the glowing orbs of Ashla and Bogan after ten millenna of darkness. Witht he return of the sun, Humans awoke on Tython once more and the First Age of Man was said to have started in 15,815 BrS. Easily corrupted, Morgoth gathers a host of Men and Eldar to stand against the Valar once more. For 590 years the warring raged until Morgoth was captured once more at Angband and brought before the Valar. Trying him, Tulkas demanded he be tossed out into the void and banished from Arda. Agreeing with their brother Valar, Morgoth was decapitated with a great sword and his spirit unleashed from his physical form. Wrangled by the Valar, Morgoth was banished from the continent, doomed to roam the world formless until the foreseen Day of Doom upon which he would return to do battle with Tulkas and the fate of civilization would be decided.

Personality and traits
Tulkas was described as delighting in wrestling and contests of strength. He wielded no weapon and rode no steed. As he cared little about either past or future he was not a good counselor but nonetheless a very hardy friend. He was described as being slow to wrath, but also slow to forgive—for that reason, he was one of the Valar that opposed the release of Melkor. Tulkas also tended to be impatient; before the Awakening of the Eldar he urged the other Valar to wage war against Melkor. After the Darkening of Valinor he also hurried Fëanor to take a decision about surrendering the Silmarils. It was said that in the Dagor Dagorath, Tulkas would once more oppose Melkor, and would directly fight him in the battle and play a large role in assisting in his defeat.