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Only the dead have seen the end of war.
—Josham Kavar

Josham Kavar was a Jedi Master and a member of the Jedi High Council during the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. Along with Vrook Lamar, Zez-Kai Ell and Lonna Vash, Josham was heavily involved in the discovery of four out of six ancient relics that were said to point the way to a vast trove of knowledge somewhere in the galaxy. The search was put on hold when Revan and Malak began their conquest of the Galactic Republic, and Josham and his three counterparts were each forced to take one of the four discovered relics and make their way into hiding after the destruction of Katarr. While he was in hiding on Onderon, Josham became an adviser to Queen Talia Kira and aided her and her soldiers during the Onderonian Civil War.

Just days after the civil war on Onderon ended, Josham was reunited with Vrook and Zez-Kai on Dantooine by Jaxia Veers, whom he trained from time-to-time when she was a padawan, but unfortunately Lonna had been killed on Korriban. Josham and the other two Jedi Masters were attacked by Darth Traya in the presence of Veers during the Second Sith Civil War, an attack which killed Vrook Lamar and Zez-Kai Ell after stripping them of their connection to the Force. The attack nearly killed Josham as well, but due to his younger age he was able to survive. While his abilities to use the Force were gone for years, he was able to redevelop some of his skills and gained back some of his lost power. He continued to serve on the Jedi High Council when he was stationed at the Great Jedi Pyramid and helped rebuild the Jedi Order after many Jedi who had exiled themselves to survive returned to Coruscant. He also restarted the quest to find the remaining two relics.

History[]

First Quest[]

Nothing was known of Josham Kavar's early life until the Mandalorian Wars began, though he did become a Jedi Master and frequently trained padawan Jaxia Veers, though he was not her master. When the Mandalorian Wars began, many believed that Josham would be placed in command of the Galactic Republic war effort once the Jedi Order entered the war. However, Josham and the rest of the Jedi High Council, of which he was a member, chose to remain neutral throughout the conflict. In the end, it was Jedi Knights Revan and Malak who led the force of rebellious Jedi in the place of the Council. Many within the Mandalorian ranks wondered how differently the war effort would have been had Josham, not Revan, been leading the Jedi forces.

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Josham and the other three masters discuss the relics in private.

During the war, Josham was one of four Jedi Masters that discovered information about six relics hidden by the ancient Jedi which pointed to a trove of knowledge that could have surpassed even the archives in the Great Jedi Pyramid. The other three masters were Vrook Lamar, Zez-Kai Ell and Lonna Vash. Despite knowing that six of them existed, they were only able to find four. In order to keep the four relics safe, they each took one so they would remain protected. During that time, the Mandalorian Wars ended and Revan and Malak disappeared into the Unknown Regions, along with hundreds of Jedi Knights and the Republic fleet that they had used to defeat the Mandalorian crusaders. Jaxia Veers, however, was the only Jedi Knight to return to face the judgment of the Jedi High Council after the final battle on Malachor V. Though it was difficult to do so considering Jaxia was a friend, Josham voted alongside the council to expell Jaxia from the Jedi Order because she had joined Revan and Malak's cause, thus defying the will of the Jedi Council.

After Jaxia's exile, Josham and the others were preparing to begin a quest find the other two relics, but that was stalled when two different lines of thought emerged about why the relics should have been located. Vrook and Zez-Kai were adamant on finding the knowledge trove so they could either hide it or destroy it, as they felt that it was too dangerous to remain in existence. Kavar and Vash, however, felt that they should find it to further the Jedi Order’s knowledge of the galaxy. They were never able to come to a decision, and in the end they were forced to suspend their search indefinitely as Revan and Malak returned from their years-long disappearance as the Dark Lords of a new Sith Empire and began a conquest to take over the galaxy. Josham fought alongside the Jedi ranks against Revan and Malak and he allowed the galaxy-at-large to believe he was dead when the war effort seemed to almost collapse.

Three years after the war began, Revan was redeemed and killed Malak. He disappeared shortly thereafter, but his repentance had allowed the Republic to try and begin the rebuilding process. Unfortunately, that was short lived as a new Sith Triumvirate had risen to power and began to make short work of countless Jedi Knights, causing the order’s number to seemingly dwindle into the dozens. Jedi Master Atris called an emergency conclave of all Jedi on Katarr and most went, but Josham and the other three masters with the relics felt that it would be unwise for the four of them to group together.

Exile[]

While the Jedi Order was assembled on Katarr, the Sith Lord Darth Nihilus destroyed all life on the planet, thus killing hundreds of Jedi Knights. Days after learning about the attack, Josham met with the three other Jedi Masters with the relics in the Jedi High Council chambers in the Great Jedi Pyramid. They discussed what happened on Katarr and learned that no one had reported back, leading them to assume that everyone, including Masters Atris and Vandar, had been killed by the Sith Lord's power. To ensure the safety of themselves and the relics, Josham and the others decided to part ways with one another. While one of their main goals was to lure the Sith into a false sense of victory by believing they had destroyed the entire Jedi Order, one of the major reasons was to protect the relics from the Sith. Josham went to Onderon while Lonna went to Korriban, Zez-Kai went to Nar Shaddaa and Vrook went to Dantooine.[1]

When he arrived on Onderon, Josham became an adviser to Queen Talia Kira. He would stay in the shadows of the Royal Palace, but when he did speak he was described as being "cryptic as hell". As tensions rose between Talia and her cousin General Vaklu, Josham highly reccomended that Talia wait until the true threat, Vaklua's unseen supporters, showed itself before taking any action. During the height of tension, Jaxia emerged from her exile and attempted to make her way to Onderon in the Ebon Hawk, though Vaklu's forces fired upon it and sparked a massive dogfight between Onderonian forces and the Republic, thus creating even more tension on the planet.

Utilizing an alliance with the Mandalorians on Dxun, Jaxia made arrangements through a doctor named Dhagon Gent to meet with Josham. He met with her in the Iziz Cantina and was preparing to tell her the full circumstances behind her trial and exile, but the forces of Colonel Tobin arrived and opened fire. Josham stunned Tobin's men and escaped to the palace, while Jaxia was forced to fight her way through several troops back to her ship. As he ran, Josham told Jaxia that he would get word to her when he was able.

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Josham during the defense of the Onderonian Royal Palace.

Not long after, Josham sent a message to the Mandalorian Kelborn telling him to contact Jaxia to tell her that he had arranged safe passage for her back to Onderon. However, Jaxia got the message too late, and Vaklu was able to influence the Council of Lords to declare that Talia was guilty of treason. With the Onderonian military divided between support for Talia and Vaklu, the Onderonian Civil War began and passage to the planet was no longer safe. During the fighting, Jaxia used a Basilisk War Droid to get to the planet. While Jaxia was fighting her way up the Sky Ramp, Josham and a group of royalist troops fought at the palace gates against Vaklu’s supporters, as well as the Sith and their beasts. Josham was forced to retreat inside the palace where he coordinated the battle. Jaxia eventually reached him and he directed her to Captain Kadron for support.

Both Jaxia and Josham eventually made it to the throne room. Josham rushed in and was able to eliminate some of Vaklu’s troops, but he stayed back when Talia and Jaxia fought Vaklu directly. Vaklu lost the duel and Talia decreed that he was to be executed. Josham was impressed with Jaxia when she requested that Vaklu be spared, and Talia agreed to give him a fair trial. When that happened, the short but devastating civil war came to a close. With the battle over, Jaxia began to question Josham about her trial and exile, and Josham answered her questions for her. He was also shocked to find out that Atris survived the attack on Katarr, not knowing that she had not attended the fateful conclave. Per Jaxia’s request, Josham agreed to join the other surviving members of the council on Dantooine, but only after Jaxia gathered all of the other remaining Jedi Masters.

Rebuilding[]

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Josham, Vrook and Zez-Kai are attacked by Kreia, nearly killing Josham.

Days later, Josham arrived on Dantooine and met with Vrook and Zez-Kai at the rebuilt Jedi Enclave, though he learned that Lonna had been killed on Korriban, which also meant that her relic was in danger of being found. When Jaxia arrived before them, they showed her little compassion, something that Josham did not feel comfortable in doing. All three of them decided it would be necessary to cut her off from the Force once again, though as they were able to do so Kreia arrived in the chamber, which came as a surprise as Josham and the others believed she was dead. She scolded them for their arrogance and decided to make them see the Force through the eyes of Jaxia, so Kreia drained them of the Force as Jaxia had at Malachor V. Josham nearly died due to being unable to cope with the transition, but his younger age was able to keep him alive somehow. The older Vrook and Zez-Kai, however, did not survive.[1]

Josham woke up from the attack in a medical facility in Khoonda the day after the attack. When he did, he found Berun Modrul and Administrator Terena Adare standing over him, hoping that he was recovering. They introduced themselves to him, and they told him the news that Vrook and Zez-Kai had not survived the attack. He, on the other hand, had been found after settlers heard the commotion inside the Jedi Enclave, and he was nearly comatose. Berun, however, had been able to bring him out of it. For a few minutes, Josham was barely able to breathe because of his loss of the Force, but the relaxation techniques he learned as a youngling were used to his advantage. Before he was allowed to go anywhere, Berun insisted that he get a few more hours of rest.[1]

A few hours later, Josham went out to the Khoonda Plains for fresh air. He brought a portable news feed with him and saw the news that Malachor V had been destroyed. While the HoloNet did not know the cause, Josham knew that it had undoubtedly been the work of Jaxia and Kreia. Knowing that the Sith Triumvirate had likely been destroyed, he made the decision to return to Coruscant and call all of the remaining Jedi back to the pyramid, even though he would have no real power over them without the Force. Berun approached him and told him that Adare had ordered him to bring Josham wherever he needed to go. They first returned to the Jedi Enclave and Josham took the two relics from the bodies of Vrook and Zez-Kai, hoping that they would be safe with his. He then set up a funeral pyre and ensured that they were properly cremated. He then made the decision to go to Korriban and find Lonna's relic, hoping that it was still with her body.[1]

The next day, Josham and Berun arrived on Korriban. Josham expected to be briefly overtaken by dark energy, but because he could no longer feel the Force he was not. Armed with only swords and blasters, they began to make their way up a large walkway that brought them into the Valley of the Dark Lords. They made their way through the valley and into the ancient academy where they did not find anyway. After searching for quite awhile, they were able to find Lonna's body in the interrogation chamber. It was still somewhat warm, so they knew she had only been killed a few days earlier. Josham took the relic, though he still did not tell Berun what they were for. When it was secure, Josham asked Berun to take him to Coruscant and they immediately set off.

Personality and traits[]

When Josham was still connected to the Force, he had a strong and confident demeanor which he showed at all times. His confidence was expressed while he was in combat, as he practiced the difficult two-bladed form of Jar’Kai. His confidence was furthered by his powers with the Force, one example being that he was so proficient in using Force Stun that he could stun multiple targets simultaneously. While he did not let it cloud his judgment, Kavar was also constantly given confidence by the fact that he had to live up to his title as the “famed Jedi Guardian”.

Despite his confidence, there were times when he felt a great deal of guilt, especially after he voted to expel Jaxia Veers from the Jedi Order. While he would have felt somewhat guilty anyway, most of the guilt he felt was brought on by the fact that she was a friend. Even so, he understood why he had to vote for her expulsion, and years later when she was before him and the other members of the Jedi High Council again he voted once more to expel her and strip her of the Force, though that only resulted in the deaths of Vrook Lamar and Zez-Kai Ell, as well as him being stripped of the Force.

After he lost the ability to connect with the Force, Josham became a deeply reflective man. He always tried to figure out what poor decisions he made while he was a Jedi Master, and many of those thoughts led him to feeling guilty about the deaths of his fellow Jedi Masters. He also knew that he could not let them die in vein, hence why he restarted the quest to find the rest of the ancient relics and why he helped to reorganize the Jedi Order. Not wanting anyone else to make the same mistakes he did, he also felt that it was his duty to be an adviser to the Jedi High Council even though he was not on it because of his lack of the Force.

Talents and abilities[]

Josam practiced Jar'Kai variants of the lightsaber combat forms Ataru, Shien, Niman and Juyo. Because of these abilities, he was frequently called the "famed Jedi Guardian". Unlike most members of the Jedi Order of his time, he fought using two blue lightsabers. The first was a normal-sized lightsaber in his right hand, and in his left hand he used a shoto. This made him a competant foe against many of his opponents. He was also a master of the advanced Force powers, including Force Stun. He had become proficient enough when he could still use the Force that he was able to take out multiple targets with the power at the same time, something not many Jedi were able to do.

Behind the scenes[]

Josham Kavar first appeaerd in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, then known only as "Maste Kavar", as the Jedi Master that the Jedi Exile meets on Onderon. When Brandon Rhea decided to make him a main character in the Chronicles of the Great War series, based on the fact that there was no in-universe confirmation of the deaths of the Jedi Masters, Rhea created the first name of Josham.

Josham's line of dialogue stating that "only the dead have seen the end of war" is believed to have originated from Plato. However, it is unknown whether or not that is the actual source, and some believe that it was mistakenly attributed to him during a farewell address given by General Douglas MacArthur to cadets at West Point in 1962.

Appearances[]

See also[]

Notes and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Chronicles of the Great War: Aftermath
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