It is far better to make one's own way in the woods, rather than to follow the beaten dirt road.
—Galak Avara speaking to a group of Force philosophy students.
Galak Avara was the Prime Envoy of the New Jedi Order who served during the resurgence of the Sith Empire and the subsequent war. He was born on Dantooine outside Khoonda, where he was discovered as Force-sensitive and taken in as a youngling of the Enclave there. Galak was apprenticed to High Council member Errand Khoss, the then-Sage Master of the New Jedi Order, after which he was whisked away to Coruscant to complete his training.
Galak passed the Trials of Knighthood at the age of nineteen. He then chose the role of Jedi Consular with specializations as a Diplomat. Over the course of years, Avara became a skilled aggressive negotiator, training a young Human Padawan named Joshua Mulunar. At thirty-four, he was promoted to the formal rank of Jedi Master, in which he took on more intensive training. He eventually became an accomplished orator, serving as a teacher of younglings at the Coruscant temple and losing a Padawan to the dark side before he was appointed to the Jedi Council as the chief of the Jedi Ambassadorial and Diplomatic Corps and granted a seat on the Galactic Congress as the primary liaison between the Order and the Galactic Alliance.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Galak Avara was born on the world of Dantooine in 952 ABY. His father, Barak Avara, was the owner of a large farm on the outskirts of Khoonda, the capital city, but his mother and father willingly gave him up to the Jedi Order when their firstborn was discovered as Force-sensitive.
Galak spent his early years, from age two onward, as a Jedi youngling, where he quickly made friends and was known as a natural leader and mediator between his peers. He immediately took to the principles of the Order, clinging tightly to its structured nature. He got on well with his teachers and was regarded as a promising student of the Force. He began competing in lightsaber tournaments and skill demonstrations to attempt to draw in a Master to begin training him. His world would be flipped upside down, though, when Kel Dor Jedi Councilor Errand Khoss would take him as his Padawan and whisk him away to the metropolis world of Coruscant, where he would spend the rest of his apprenticeship to the Sage Master of the New Jedi Order.
Apprenticeship[]
My job as your master is not to teach you, but to hone what the Force has already bestowed upon you.
—Errand Khoss speaking to Galak upon taking him as his Padawan.
After being taken to Alliance capital Coruscant, Khoss and Galak began intensive training sessions together to hone the Padawan's skills. He immediately took to the archaic dueling form of Makashi, enjoying the upper hand it gave him in dueling and its unique salutes and application. What Galak truly found solace in, though, was his ability to speak and be heard.
Galak found that his abilities lay in negotiation and oration, which he would often use on missions of peace, calming worlds riddled with civil dispute and war. Throughout his time as a Padawan Galak trained to master the ability of diplomatically handling situations utilizing finesse and a powerful grace. Avara's natural characteristics as a leader made people want to follow him, and he would use this trait to command respect from his betters even as an apprentice of the Order.
Knighthood[]
Galak eagerly took on and passed his Trial of Knighthood at the age of 19; he then chose for himself the specialization of Jedi Consular to allow himself to better focus on the nature of the Force and his diplomatic abilities. Galak joined the ranks of Jedi Diplomats and made a name for himself as an aggressive but effective diplomat in various encounters. He was not afraid to carry and use his lightsaber when necessary, but he always searched for peaceful measures if there was one available.
After six years of service as a lone Knight in the field, Galak took on his own apprentice, a creative tech-enthusiastic Human named Joshua Mulunar. The two bonded instantly and would become great friends throughout their training. As master and apprentice they meshed perfectly and made a name for themselves as a combined force to be reckoned with. The two played off of each other's strengths, and Galak granted his Padawan enough freedom to do as he wished while remaining within the boundaries set down by the Jedi Code. Avara and Mulunar remained a team for seven years before Joshua took on Jedi trials of his own, and the former master and apprentice plunged into brotherhood rather than a father-son relationship, with their mentorship and bond remaining strong.
Galak continued on his own again for two more years, distinguishing himself as an exemplary member of the Order with a profound grasp of the Force before he was approached by his former Master who, along with the High Council, had decided to appoint him to the rank of Jedi Master.
Mastery[]
The skill of diplomacy is not one earned, but learned.
—Galak Avara, speaking on his experience in the field.
Holding Honoghr on the brink of civil war.
Galak was appointed as a Master of the New Jedi Order in 996 ABY. He was assigned to the temple to put his musings on the Force in writing and begin teaching youngling students on the subject of philosophy. He immediately took to this new challenge to put his oratory skills to the test and became a great instructor of the methodology and nature of the Force. This also gave Galak the opportunity to continue his individual training and meditation without being interrupted by major missions that took him away from the Temple for long periods of time. Galak took advantage of his spare time by mastering the Diplomat's Form, Niman, in it's single bladed variation, and delving deeper into his studies of the Force.
The Instructor served in this capacity for six years until, the day after he turned forty, he decided to return to active duty and begin taking on missions of a larger scale for himself. Galak also took a new apprentice, a fiery Kiffar male named Jace Corr. The two maintained a more professional relationship, but Galak's view on the dark side would soon be completely changed by events he never could have foreseen.
The duo was deployed to a civil dispute on the world of Honoghr, but little did the Council know that a Sith played a part in the chaos inflicted on the planet. While working independently, the fifteen-year-old apprentice was seduced by the lure of the dark side with promises of power and strength beyond his imaginings. He fled the planet with his newfound master, leaving Galak on the planet to mop up the mess on his own and report back to the Council alone. Galak blamed himself for the incident and took two weeks leave to meditate and surround himself with the light side. Galak felt his teachings had not been enough to safeguard the boy from the teachings of the dark side, and this time of contemplation of the Force helped him to ease his self-blame.
Avara returned to the Order a stronger yet more reserved master. He continued to test and hone his skills as a diplomat for fourteen years until his distinguished reputation and mastery over the Force and lightsaber granted him a position on the High Council at the right hand of the Grand Master. During this time he felt proud to finally sit in the same position as his old master, who had since passed away. Appointed the Prime Envoy of the Order, Galak was loosely tasked to head the Jedi Diplomatic and Ambassadorial Corps. He was also granted a seat on the Galactic Congress and tasked with handling all diplomatic matters of the Order between the Alliance and its fellow worlds. Galak's authority would grow to become second only to the Grand Master, in a position where the political bearing of the Order rested on solely on his shoulders. With a resurgent Sith Empire prevalent in the galaxy, Galak took to the helm of the Order with his fellow Councilors to guide the Order and Alliance through evil times of resurgent Sith and rogue factions. With the Force as his compass, Galak strived to lead his faction to the best of his ability at the cost of his leisure and life and serve the Grand Master and Force with all of his being.
Personality and traits[]
From an early age Galak was regarded as a natural leader and mediator, and these traits would go on to significantly aid him in his career as a diplomat and ambassador of the Order. Galak's commanding presence allowed him to demand the respect required from his audiences, and his powers of oration were almost unmatched in the Jedi Order by the time he ascended to the Council. Galak possessed a cool head under fire, and he had no problem issuing tough orders to his subordinates. He formed bonds easily with his apprentices but became a much more reserved man after losing his second apprentice to the dark side. Galak had always held a firm core sense of justice within himself, and he strove to see all incarnations of the Sith and Dark Jedi abolished by whatever means necessary.
Powers and abilities[]
Galak's first and only lightsaber hilt.
Galak Avara was noted as a skilled lightsaber duelist and held a firm mastery over the Force, though his skills lay in the direction of negotiation and diplomacy. He was a master of both Form II "Makashi," and Form VI "Niman," as well as proficient at the defensive style of Soresu. His Force powers were regarded as extremely potent, his arsenal including electric judgment, battle meditation, and stasis field.
Behind the scenes[]
Galak Avara's name was originally conceptualized from the random name generator of the original Knights of the Old Republic role-playing game for Xbox. His name has been frequently used in the past by the author until, when appointed second in command of the New Jedi Order for the 5th Timeline of TheStarWarsRP.com, he decided to give this character name to one of his steadfast characters.
Appearances[]
- Star Wars Legacies (First appearance)