Vin Garth

"Politics? Negotiations? Please! I'm a . If you're going to give me any assignment then give me the one where I get to fight on the front." "Very well. There are three on . You are to take your new Padawan and capture them, if possible."

- Vin and an unspecified Jedi Master.

Vin Garth was a    and prospective, who was widely believed to be a , who was trained firstly as a. He was born on, the Galactic , and thus came to to the attention of the  very early; and was noted for his suburb connection to. Vin was trained by a   who disappeared in, his ultimate fate unknown, and took two apprentices before and during the , where he fought across the galaxy. The first, Rick Jackson, was a who fell to the  and ended up dueling Vin on. The second, Pix, was a young, whose former master, , died on.

Early years
Vin Garth was born on the Galactic Capital 54 years before the, to restaurant owners living and working in. Vin came to the attention of the very early on in his life, where he was discovered to be a, for he would later tell Pix that he had little recollection of his mother and father or the home of his parents prior to his apprenticeship. As a he was quickly identified for his superior lightsaber abilities, developing at a level unseen in years, as well as having an uncommonly large level of, leading to a superb potential strength in. At the tender age of nine his skills had advanced to the point that he was capable of instructing his fellow initiates between lessons, which even  took notice of. also noted his superior abilities and grace in a dual and was notably disappointed when young Vin, per 's permission, choose to study, the most vicious of lightsaber forms. Vin was quickly apprenticed by a    called Anya, whom Vin came to view as a maternal figure; which he would later note in his copy of.

Padawan Years
"Stop, sit and calm down. What have I always told you?" "Not to be foolhardy; not to be reckless." "If you can recite the words that well by now then why aren't the words sinking in?" "... Maybe I took too many blows to the head on ?""

- Anya and Vin.

Under Anya Vin choose to specialize foremost in martial ability and combat, eventually becoming one of the most skilled rising stars of the Jedi Order despite his young age. Over the next ten years Vin and Anya traveled the galaxy. A lot of Vin's foolhardy attitude gave way to calmness and patience, mostly due to his masters constant berating of his negative attitudes. During a mission to to retrieve a  rumored to lie buried amongst the planets vast debris fields, Vin had his first encounter with the  in the form of a young Human female  driven almost to insanity by the death of her Jedi master on the rough Outer Rim world, who identified herself as Ellie. In an attempt to help the girl Anya was separated from Vin when a tunnel connecting to a factory collapsed, trapping Vin and Ellie on the other side. Despite his best efforts to defuse the situation Vin was forced to brandish his in self-defense, resulting in a fierce dual throughout the corridor. Despite his training in Juyo Vin maintained a defensive stance and instead employed what  would later refer to as a reverse of, which was a Sith application intended to unfocus the enemy. Vin instead redeemed Ellie just prior to the arrival of Anya, who expressed surprise at the feet her Padawan had accomplished. With Ellie's knowledge of the worlds layout the trio successfully acquired the holocron and returned to make their report to the. During the meeting Vin defended Ellie with dogged determination, claiming her loyalty to the Jedi Order and the would reveal itself in time.

Personality and traits
"A wise man once said "taking a giant leap often requires you to take two steps back". What he should have added, however, is this: "Don't close your eyes". Never try to hit above the mark you are attempting to reach, Pix, for there lies disaster."

- Vin to his apprentice, emphasizing patience and caution.

As a young boy Vin was thoughtful and kind. He tended to act in a friendly manner but was known to hold a grudge if provoked; a trait his teachers where not successful in eliminating. Vin made friends easy, was loyal to them and protective. He was a noted prodigy in a similar manner to but unlike the rising star of the Jedi Order, Vin maintained a humble attitude and sought knowledge not for personal gain or ambition, but because he simply wanted to see how far he could take himself. As such he was constantly pushing his own limits, at times appearing foolhardy and reckless, though Yoda had a sobering effect on the young Padawan. Vin instead used his prodigious skills to help in the instruction of his fellow, helping them to hone their lightsaber skills, developing a certain flair and love for teaching even when he himself was a young boy.

After he became a Padawan a lot of his Master's believes and attitudes rubbed off on Vin, though he remained a kind boy in spite of this, as Yoda would later comment on. He did however become far less foolhardy and reckless, instead becoming clam, composed and collected even in the face of what his mentor called "aggressive negotiations". The only time his calm was shattered was when his Master disappeared and was labelled dead in the Outer Rim Territories. It took Vin a considerable deal of time to come to terms with his Master's fate though it is a generally agreed upon fact that it helped mold Vin into the wise, patient and sympathetic Jedi Knight he ultimately became.

He also demonstrated unique training methods. He was known to take a very direct approach in the training of his Padawans, for he often sparred at length with Rick whilst explaining his faults and weaknesses as they dueled, though most of the time this served to unbalance him as well. Master Windu once commented that Vin's approach was similar to documents the Jedi had on ; a form of psychological warfare usually employed by the. He did in fact employ this trait in battle against his fallen apprentice on Bespin. Pix responded very well to his methods and it quickly became apparent that Vin wasn't a one-trick pony when it came to teaching, for he molded Pix and a number of other orphaned Jedi throughout the Clone Wars, though Pix was his only official Padawan learner.

Pix
"Trust in me, young one, and I'll return that trust with every fiber of my being. Listen to me and heed my words for there is wisdom in taking the time to hear what others have to say."

- Vin to Pix, who became his new apprentice.

Powers and abilities
"A wise Jedi, Vin Garth is. Master of and potential, he was."

- Yoda speaks about Vin to Pix.

Yoda described Vin as a specialist in regards to as well as a potent  practitioner and hand-to-hand specialist, who, from a very young age, practiced. Despite being trained in the most aggressive of the seven forms of lightsaber combat, he maintained a strict defensive posture as well, being fluent in the application of. His hybrid application of Forms III and VII led to an advanced skill-set and he was considered one of the finest duelists within the, capable of engaging such opposition as , Master Yoda and , losing only to Windu. He tended to defend and then immediately counter with sudden aggressiveness, often using the Force. Against his fallen apprentice Vin demonstrated skill in the technique, using not only his own lightsaber, but his apprentice's lightsaber as well. He maintained a working knowledge of all seven classical forms and could quickly identify them in his opponents technique. In addition to his mastery of combat Vin was a capable Force practitioner, though he tended to rely on his lightsaber skills predominately. His personal style of lightsaber combat was positively reinforced by his study of. A hybrid fighting style, Niman incorporated elements from, but balanced out between their various specializations. During one training session with Pix Vin offered an explanation for his study of Niman. He stated that Niman was designed as a "jack-of-all-trades" Form, and that it balanced out his aggression, as Juyo often required a practitioner to enjoy combat. Niman answered Vin's own darkness and channeled his enjoyment of combat into something positive, while Soresu calmed and focused his mind, as well as offering adequate protection against the open battlefields of the Clone Wars.

He was a master of for he commonly used this particular Force power in calculated bursts to quickly overwhelm his opposition with quick offensive marches, as was the case when he defeated his former apprentice on Bespin. Rick simply lacked the speed required to cope with Vin's speedy assault and relentless strength, resulting in his lightsaber being ripped from his grasp. The Jedi Knight was also proficient with, using the power to lift and throw and rubble, as well as a component he often applied through his lightsaber, clearing entire corridors of enemies. With enough concentration he could even seize flying and  them. Regardless of whether or not it was the Force or with lightsaber in-hand, Vin employed one consistent trait when engaged in battle or even training. He employed a form of psychological warfare that ultimately unnerved and unbalanced his opposition, with Master Windu once comparing this trait to, which was a practice. He demonstrated this to great effect against his fallen apprentice Rick on Bespin, enraging Rick to the point he couldn't concentrate properly, which gave Vin the opening he needed to press home his superior skills.

Appearances

 * Force Chronicles (First appearance)