Yula Ardinn

"I am Yula Ardinn, Jedi Master and Keeper of the Binding. I don't know who you are or who you serve. I don't know why you tortured Sen Qorbin or why you've hunted me down here, but I will promise you this: I will not allow you to succeed. Destiny is on my side. What chance do you have?"

- to Decien before their duel.

Yula Ardinn was a Jedi Master during the Clone Wars. Part of a mission gone wrong, she found himself suddenly caught in a dark conspiracy of the Shadow Assassins that threatened to destroy the Galaxy. She was possessed by Darth Massikus during the Massacre on Carlac, but was friend by Galen and Ganner Slarwalker shortly before the latter's death. Yula then went out in search of her own destiny, and five years later, located Sen Qorbin with the help of Antimatter Squadron. She then went to Dathomir, where Talzin's spirit and Ghenste taught her the Binding, making Yula the last Keeper of the Binding until Decien captured her and extracted the information from her as he killed her.

Early life
Yula was born on Iridonia, where her parents allowed her to be taken to the Jedi Temple. She was reared as a member of the Jedi Order under the tutelage of Jedi Master Nyri Tacon.

Jedi Trials
Yula accompanied Ganner Slarwalker, Tyrral Thraxton, and Bail Malakath to an ancient temple on Haruun Kal to complete her Jedi Trials alongside them. She was partnered with Bail, who she helped to avoid being eaten by an before they entered the final chamber, reuniting with Ganner and Tyrral. When they entered, they were met for the first time by Darth Massikus, who observed that "more than one" of the Jedi before him would make suitable hosts. However, before he could attack any of them, Sen Qorbin stepped in and warded the Sith off without any combat.

The Shadow Conflict
Over time, Yula and the rest of the group became close friends and were eventually all promoted to Jedi Masters shortly after the beginning of the Clone Wars. In late 20 BBY, the team was sent to Umbara to sabotage an airfield, and stumbled upon a hidden Sith Temple after completing their mission. They were quickly attacked by Sith including Massikus, Arek Saris, and Varad Zagg, but Ganner sacrificed himself to allow the others to escape.

Their escape was short lived, as Massikus began hunting down the Jedi as they tried to escape, forcing them to crash on Mustafar where Tyrral and Thraxton both gave their lives to allow Yula to escape once more. She made it to Dantooine, where she fought both Saris and Massikus. She reached out to Ganner, trying to help him regain control over his body, and momentarily succeed. Saris took advantage of the opportunity to impale Ganner and briefly incapacitate Yula, but would soon after be fought off by Galen Slarwalker. During their duel, Yula regained consciousness and slipped away.

Yula's escape was once again foiled, this time by Taran Ragnan, acting under orders from Dylan Antiunknown to capture her after she set off Brotherhood monitoring alerts.

Once aboard, Taran Yula and interrogated her alongside Cyana Bastra, but the ship was attacked by the Nightsisters, led by Talzin and Nyri Tacon. The duo attempted to escape with Yula, but were cornered, leading to a stalemate until Nyri attacked. Cyana killed the Jedi Master, which enraged Yula, who escaped, wounding and scarring Cyana before she and Taran quickly ran into an escape pod. With Nyri out of the way, Talzin easily subdued Yula and brought her to Umbara, where she was kept until Darth Massikus took control of her shortly before the Eclipse of Umbara to go out in search of his apprentice.

Duel on Carlac
One year later, in early 18 BBY, Massikus went to Carlac to face down Ganner once and for all. To draw him out, Massikus destroyed a local village with a group of Death Watch troops. It worked, and Ganner killed the troops before engaging Massikus. Throughout the fight, Ganner retreated to his base inside a cave where Galen waited, having been taught the techniques of the Shadow Assassins, and caught Massikus by surprise. Ganner and Galen quickly worked to free Yula from Massikus' influence, but Massikus immediately attempted to take over Ganner's body in a last-ditch bid for survival, which Ganner subverted by stabbing himself through the heart with his own lightsaber.

A New Vision
Galen helped Yula to recover after the duel, and stayed with her on Carlac until Vara and Antimatter Squadron arrived for Ganner's funeral. Yula went back with the Slarwalkers to Dantooine, where she resided for a few months before going on a personal quest of introspection. On her quest, she had a vision of Ganner bowing down to Decien that lead her to work together with Ranulph Darkhitch, who had left Antimatter Squadron after reading the holorecording left for him by Ganner. The duo eventually managed to track down Sen Qorbin to a facility on Quesh, but decided it was time to work with the Antimatter squadron again. They contacted the team just in time to save their life on Manaan, and enlisted their help.

Yula met with the team on Quesh in an abandoned Separatist facility after they found Qorbin in a stasis tank. Decien, who was monitoring Qorbin, also contacted the team and recognized Yula before ending the transmission when she arrived. Yula then explained the situation to the team, and they decided to return to Carlac to make sure Ganner was still dead. They found his body and journals untouched, and left, unaware that Decien had tracked them and now knew where to look for information.

Next, Yula decided to go to with the team to Dathomir and speak with Talzin. Before she departed, she spoke briefly with Cade about his feelings concerning the planet and considered for the first time that he could be Force-sensitive. With her parting parting words, she encouraged him to fight the temptations of the Dark Side.

The Last Keeper
Yula made her way towards the Temple but was beset by Nightsisters, who were close to defeating her when Ghenste intervened. Ghenste brought Yula to the temple's chamber of visions, where Talzin spoke to her and showed her visions of Hans on the Brotherhood HQ, Cyana Bastra and Barak Dakens drawing blasters on each other, and Cade standing alone with a blue lightsaber against a shrouded figure. Talzin told Yula that the Prophecy of Three needed to come to pass, and Yula realized Talzin wanted her to bring Ganner back from the dead. Talzin then took possession of Yula's body, forcing her to injure herself and perform the Binding on a Nightsister named Rheni. Talzin brought her own self back to life, but her body quickly lost stability and disintegrated. As Yula recoiled from the ritual, Ghenste explained to Yula that a person could only be resurrected once, and that Yula was now a Keeper of the Binding. As Yula decided she would never allow herself to be manipulated ever again, Decien appeared in orbit with a small fleet.

Yula attempted to escape the Temple, but was cut off by Decien, who engaged a group of Nightsisters before attacking Yula, who retreated back into the temple in hopes that Ghenste would assist her. Her hopes were in vain, and Yula exchanged words briefly with Decien before the two dueled, a fight which Yula was at a disadvantage from the start. Decien knocked Yula unconscious, and took her back to Imperial Facility 406-P.

When she woke, Decien spoke with Yula about the future of Ganner and the Galaxy, and Decien asked Yula to join him. Yula, shocked that he would even extend such an offer, asserted that she would never again help the forces of evil. Decien expressed disappointment, but did not hesitate to impale Yula, killing her within seconds as Decien drained her memories, ironically turning her last moment of defiance into yet another one used to further a dark plan.

Personality and traits
Yula was a devout Jedi, and was a more pacifistic Jedi compared to the others she surrounded herself with. The only time she was ever known to have lost her control of her emotions was when Cyana killed her master, and even then, the moment was short-lived and Cyana escaped alive. She was frequently used merely as an object for other forces to enact their will, a role which she would eventually actively attempt to avoid.

Yula was caring towards most beings, and was deeply hurt by the loss of her friends, especially her Master. However, those who Yula opposed found it impossible to reason with her, for she was incredibly stubborn and determined.

Powers and abilities
Yula was an average duelist, matched in skill with Arek Saris and losing to Darth Massikus and Decien. She was a powerful Jedi, strong enough that Darth Massikus considered her a viable host, and her body indeed never showed signs of deterioration even after a year of possession. Yula was also taught by Talzin how to perform the Binding, though it was against her will.

Appearances

 * LOTF: Ganner Slarwalker
 * LOTF: The Hunted
 * LOTF: Resurgence