I don't believe I've had the opportunity to test myself to my full potential. None of my opponents have matched to my abilities, with a weapon or with their mind." -Berak Grae to Master Aas
—Berak Grae
Berak Grae was a Rodian male and Jedi Master born on Rodia in 56 ABY. Being trained by Jedi Master (later Grandmaster) Aas himself, Grae was highly skilled in both his Force abilities and lightsaber combat. In 90 ABY, Grae took Kashaar as his first and only Padawan learner.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Berak Grae was born on Rodia to Ianta Grae and Doran Grae. He wouldn't form a bond with his family, as he was taken from his home almost a year after his birth by Ronin Jensari, a Thisspiasian Jedi Knight.
Padawan Learner[]
Grae was chosen to be the Padawan of the infamous Jedi Master Aas, who claimed Grae had a strong, natural connection to the Force. Grae was also said to be enthusiastic and always looked for new ways to expand his knowledge.
Knighthood[]
Impressed with Grae's self-determined urge to keep learning new things, Master Aas decided to Knight his Padawan in 80 ABY. After being Knighted, Grae began teaching himself Jar'Kai, the art of using two lightsabers in combat. On top of learning Jar'Kai, Grae also spent most of his time in the Temple library and studying the Jedi Archives.
Not long after being Knighted, Grae was tasked with locating Jedi Knight Nilbin Chan, who vanished weeks after leaving for Nal Hutta. Upon arriving, Grae requested an audience with the Hutt Council, who had denied any involvement of Chan's disappearance. While leaving the Council's chamber, a Pa'lowick female informed Grae than Chan was on Tatooine being used as a prize that would be presented to the winner of a Pod Race sponsored by Ganeda the Hutt. Grae traveled to Tatooine and, disguised as a bounty hunter, located Chan through use of the Force. While freeing Chan from the small cage he was locked in, two Gamorrean guards attacked the Jedi, who were able to fight them off with ease. Aside from fending off many of Ganeda's forces while escaping, both Jedi made it back to Coruscant unscathed.
Two months after freeing Chan, a bounty hunter managed to infiltrate the Jedi Temple and attacked Grae inside the Temple library, and soon revealed that Ganeda had placed a bounty on the Rodian Jedi. According to Chief Librarian Chi Jotsu, Grae got carried away and killed the bounty hunter.
After the fight, Grae was ordered to report to the Jedi Council, where his actions were questioned. Although he faced expulsion from the Jedi Order, Grae was dismissed after Master Jotsu retracted his previous statement and claimed that the bounty hunter wouldn't have stopped fighting until one of them was dead. Despite this, Grae felt like a failure to the Order and began teaching himself restraint in battle.
First Padawan[]
In 90 ABY, Grae finally allowed himself to begin training a Padawan of his own, and chose Kashaar. During their training throughout the following years, Grae taught Kashaar how to harness his Force abilities and better his lightsaber skills. However, Grae's teachings focused more heavily on mastering the Force, and Kashaar, who believed that lightsaber combat was a more important skill to master, confronted his master and voiced his opinion. Grae claimed that being able to master the Force would "do more good than engaging in violence with a lightsaber", but agreed to adjust his training methods with his Padawan, as long as Kashaar worked to enhance his Force abilities on his own time. Despite both of their opposing belief systems, the duo continued to work well together.
Jedi/Imperial War[]
After the Battle for Felucia in 99 ABY, the Jedi Order went to war with the New Galactic Empire, and Grae was not selected to become a Jedi General or any other rank in the Jedi Order's new army, and he spent most of his time during the war inside the Jedi Temple training Kashaar.
In 100 ABY, Master Jotsu stepped down from his position as Chief Librarian and the position was offered to Grae, who declined, choosing to help maintain the Jedi Temple's defenses instead.
Attack on the Senate Building[]
In 103 ABY, Chancellor Kyrus informed the Jedi High Council that he heard rumors of an attack on the Senate Building during the Senate's next meeting. Believing the rumors to be true, the Council sent almost 20 Jedi, led by Masters Grae and Jensari, to uphold the Senate Buildings security. Senators were ordered to make sure their previously assigned Jedi bodyguards attended the meeting alongside them. Before the meeting was held, two Jedi and a squadron of Jedi soldiers were positioned on each landing pad. Grae and Nilbin Chan shared the same landing pad, along with Chan's Padawan, Tora Follan, while Jensari oversaw the meeting inside the building with Kashaar and Jedi Knight Jetsu Niata. Snipers were also positioned many in nearby buildings.
As Kyrus previously warned, New Imperial forces attacked the building during the meeting, and Jensari locked down the Grand Convocation Chamber while Grae, Chan, Follan, and the other Jedi fought off the enemies outside. The Jedi and their soldiers defended the building with ease, but Grae realized that the battle was just a distraction for something greater. When Grae realized this, Chan and Follan turned and attacked him. Grae managed to hold off both of them for a while, allowing Chan to use his Padawan as a distraction to find Chancellor Kyrus, who was being escorted to safety by Cyto Ki, Jensari, and Niata.
After defeating Follan and leaving him with the Jedi soldiers, Grae tracked Chan down and discovered that he had killed Niata and was dueling the other two Jedi on his own. Grae joined the battle so Ki could escort the Chancellor to safety.
Grae and Jensari Vs Chan[]
Despite being outnumbered by two Jedi Masters, Chan proved himself an extremely capable duelist, holding his own until New Republic security arrived to help overwhelm him. Not wanting to continue a fight he was bound to lose, Chan fled down a hallway. Grae continued after Chan while Jensari helped fight off a group of stormtroopers. Despite Grae's efforts, Chan got to a landing pad outside and was able to escape by leaping from the edge, avoiding Jedi Knight Nash Patura and his Padawan Grun Iilac, who were stationed there at the time.
Hunting for Chan[]
After the attack on the Senate building, the Jedi High Council placed one of its most trusted members, Jedi Master Hanyon Zonnan, in charge of hunting down the rogue Chan. Zonnan ordered Grae and Kashaar to search Coruscant's cities in the underworld. Patura and Iilac also searched the planets underworld, but after months of searching, Chan was never found. Grae also began thinking that restraining himself too much is what caused Chan to escape in the first place.
Grae accompanied Zonnan to interrogate Follan, who was imprisoned by the New Republic and being held on Coruscant. Follan denied any involvement or contact with Darth Katos, the Wookiee Sith Lord leading the New Galactic Empire, and that he and his Master were acting on their own accord, but did say that their plan was meant to end in the Chancellor's death. Follan also claimed to not know of Chan's whereabouts.
Becoming a Master[]
Kashaar passed the Trials of Knighthood in 104 ABY, and sometime later, the Jedi High Council decided to grant Grae the title of Jedi Master.
Personality and Traits[]
As a Padawan, Grae had an eagerness to learn, and would spend most of his free time perfecting his lightsaber and Force skills. After his controversial killing of a bounty hunter, Grae felt immediate regret and began teaching himself how to restrain his powers.
Later on, Grae began doubting the importance of showing restraint, fearing it kept him from achieving victory in extreme scenarios. As he aged, his devotion to the Jedi Order grew more powerful, making him extraordinarily loyal.
While training Kashaar, Grae realized that his belief that Force mastery was more important than lightsaber mastery was rivaled his Padawans opinion that supported the opposite belief, but was more than capable of reaching agreements with him in order to complete the training to both of their liking. Grae did this throughout Kashaar's apprenticeship.
Grae was known to be incredibly wise, partly due to his immense hours spent at the Jedi library studying the Jedi Archives and his desire to continue learning about the Force. Grae was even offered to become the Chief Librarian, but declined.
Powers and Abilities[]
Lightsaber Skills[]
Grae was quickly able to learn the "recovered" Forms I and IV under the training of Master Aas, and soon taught himself Forms II, and a basic concept of Form III. He later adapted all five Forms into his own fighting style, utilizing different aspects and moves from each one. Grae was more than confident in his skills whenever he fought Nilbin Chan and Tora Follan, the latter of which wielded a double-bladed lightsaber, and was able to defend himself well despite being blindsided by them. Grae also had some knowledge about Jar'Kai, being able to defend himself against it when Chan used two lightsabers against him in battle.
Force Abilities[]
Grae strongly believed that skills with the Force were more important that skills with a lightsaber, and would spend most of his spare time training in the ways of the Force. Because of his constant training, Grae grew to be a powerful Force user capable of pushing his opponents hundreds of yards away and sensing the emotions of non Force-sensitive beings.
Grae realized his potential in both skills, and has claimed multiple times that he hasn't been able to test the true limits of his abilities, yet says he'd rather wonder than have to find out.