Awaud gave us a cin vhetin, but Vizsla built the vheh'yaim.
—Common Mandalorian saying following the Return[2]
Tarre Vizsla (
pronounced /tär 'vɪzlə/) was a Force-sensitive Human male from Mandalorian Space active during the Draggulch Period.
One of only a few Mandalorians to ever merit entry into the Jedi Order, Tarre Vizsla notably served as a Jedi Guardian during the last century of the New Sith Wars. Vizsla grudgingly accepted the title of Mand'alor during the first half of the Republic Dark Age, ruling the Mandalore sector as its de facto Jedi Lord. However, torn between dueling obligations to his people and the Jedi Order and unable to discharge the duties of his office in a timely manner, he eventually abdicated sometime prior to the the Return.
Participating in the Light and Darkness War as a member of the Army of Light's Third Legion, Vizsla perished alongside Lord Hoth's one hundred Jedi volunteers in the Valley of the Jedi, disintegrated by Skere Kaan's thought bomb. His disembodied spirit remained trapped in torment in the Valley's Force nexus for over a millennium until released by wayward Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn in 5 ABY during the mission to Ruusan.
Though overshadowed in history by Mandalore the Uniter, architect of the Return, Tarre Vizsla was viewed positively by the Mandalorian populace during his brief tenure as Mand'alor for defending against New Sith incursions into the Mandalore sector. He was celebrated by members of Clan Vizsla and the New Jedi Order for exemplifying the best of the Mandalorian and Jedi ideals, and Johun Othone included a megalithic statue of his likeness alongside those of other fallen heroes of the Army of Light in the Valley of the Jedi.
Biography
Early life
Tarre Vizsla was born to members of Clan Vizsla in Mandalorian Space around the start of the Republic Dark Age in 1100 BBY.[3] Coming of age at thirteen standard years in accordance with Mandalorian tradition,[4] Vizsla joined the multitudes of Mandalorians pursuing work as mercenaries and bounty hunters in the war-torn wider galaxy.[5] Applying himself to the concerted study of bladed melee weapons, Vizsla readily distinguished himself from his peers for both his considerable skill in the use of the beskad, a traditional Mandalorian saber[6][7] typically cast from lightsaber-resistant[4] Mandalorian iron,[8] and his uncommonly fast reflexes, characteristics which eventually brought him to the attention of his Jedi and Sith employers and patrons during his career as a mercenary.
Joining the Jedi
Though he occasionally contracted himself out to the various Sith factions that together constituted the greater New Sith Empire,[5] he often found work on worlds abandoned by the collapsing Galactic Republic in its gradual retreat back to its Core World holdings.[3][9] Vizsla was approached by Jedi recruiters during one such assignment, made aware of his Force sensitivity, and invited to join the Jedi Order, meriting inclusion into its ranks at a time during which enrollment was not restricted to infants.[10][11][12] During his tenure in study among the Jedi as one of the few Jedi Padawans with viable military experience, Vizsla applied his already considerable skills with a beskad to the specific peculiarities of lightsaber combat, pursing a specialization in Shii-Cho for its similarities to the conventional sword combat techniques with which he was already familiar.[13]
Upon ascending to Jedi Knighthood after several decades of concerted study under a variety of Masters, he was widely regarded as one of the finest Form I duelists of his generation and one of the most promising Jedi Guardians in recent memory. He eventually put his skills as a warrior to use in the service of the Republic, fighting with the Republic Military on the frontlines of the New Sith Wars and serving as a Chancellor's Guard[14] for a succession of Jedi Supreme Chancellors[3] prior to and during the Republic Dark Age. However, as one of only a handful of Mandalorians to merit entry into the Jedi Order,[15] Tarre Vizsla was viewed with some suspicion by many of his peers and contemporaries on account of his Mandalorian heritage and his prior contracting work with the New Sith.
Designing the Darksaber
Despite being a notable duelist and expert practitioner of Form I by the time of his ascension to Jedi Knight, Tarre Vizsla never managed to achieve the same level of comfort and consistency with a standard lightsaber as he had previously with the weighty[8] Mandalorian beskad sword. He was particularly wary of the trademark weightlessness[16] of the lightsaber blade,[17] a property of the weapon he believed contributed to its unpredictability and difficulty of use.[17] He was likewise less than fond of the perfectly circular grips most traditional lightsaber hilts sported,[18] preferring instead the slimmer profile, angular crossguard, and ovular grip of the beskad.[6] Vizsla eventually went about designing a personal weapon of his own design that consolidated the comfort offered by the beskad's hilt with the properties of the traditional lightsaber to produce a weapon specific to his needs.
The Darksaber was designed to consolidate the comfort of a beskad's hilt with characteristics of a conventional lightsaber.
The resultant weapon, colloquially known as the "Darksaber,"[19] intentionally resembled Vizsla's beloved beskad sword in its hilt's shape and weight. Through the implementation of a unique wiring system and use of a slit-shaped blade emitter,[19] the weapon's plasma core took on the form of a thin, flat, metal blade tapered to a point[19] that likewise drew comparisons to the beskad,[6] and its synthetic lightsaber crystal gave the blade a unique black sheen[19] that generated a vague feeling of discomfort when viewed up close.[20]. However, as Vizsla had failed to accurately replicate the natural geological processes of crystal formation while employing a geological compressor in the crystal's construction,[21] the Darksaber's blade was unstable in form[21] and frequently flickered and crackled with electrical discharges along its edge.[19]
Wanderings of a Warrior
The last century of the New Sith Wars saw the collapse of the Republic in all but name,[3][9] giving rise to the era known as the Republic Dark Age.[11] Due to galaxy-wide unrest, widespread bouts of Candorian plague, and the irreversible decline of the Republic,[11] many sectors were forced to look to themselves for protection against banditry and the ever-present menace of the New Sith.[9] As the last bastion of strength in the galaxy, the Jedi Order was forced to carry increasingly greater burdens in the fight against the Sith.[22] Many Knights and Masters led the charge to protect worlds left undefended in the wake of the Republic's collapse, over time accepting leadership positions as "Jedi Lords" of their territories as they grew more firmly entrenched in the politics of their respective sectors.[22]
Much to the chagrin of his supervising masters on the High Council, Vizsla was prone to engaging in extended perambulations across the galaxy during this time, often neglecting his duties as a Jedi Knight to undertake "knight errant" missions deep into New Sith-occupied space. Vizsla's wanderings increasingly took him back home to the Mandalore sector, home of his Mandalorian kin and a region plagued by rampant banditry,[9] Candorian plague,[23] piracy,[9] and incursions by the New Sith Empire, a significant faction of which lay immediately on the Mandalore sector's northern rimward border.[5]
Managing Mandalorian Space
Concerned that the New Sith were seeking a steady supply of lightsaber-resistant Mandalorian iron for the construction of their beskar'kandar armor,[24] Vizsla rallied the clans and led a series of expeditions aimed at repelling the Sith from the sector. Though Mandalorian numbers were thin due to multiple outbreaks of the Candorian plague,[23] Vizsla's leadership and battlefield prowess led the Mandalorians to a series of victories over New Sith interlopers on multiple occasions. It was during this time that the Darksaber came to serve as a rallying symbol of the Mandalorian defenders symbolizing the resolve of the Mandalorian people to retain their independence in the face of foreign invasion.[19]
On account of Vizsla's string of victories, many grateful clan leaders urged him to take up the kyr'bes and stake a claim to the unclaimed title of Mand'alor as formal leader of the clans. Though conflicted on account of his divided loyalties and outstanding obligations to the Jedi Order, Vizsla grudgingly assented to "keep the seat warm" as titular Mand'alor until a more qualified candidate should emerge. He served as the de facto Jedi Lord of the Mandalore sector for some time, and like many of his Jedi Lord peers,[22] eventually married and sired a Mandalorian heir to Clan Vizsla in accordance with his obligations under the tenets of the Resol'nare.[4]
However, though Vizsla successfully served in the traditional capacity of a Mand'alor—uniting the people and providing direction as needed while staying out of the affairs of the clans otherwise[4][25]—some Mandalorians were critical of the occasional absences from Mandalorian Space that accompanied his continued service to the Jedi. Likewise, due to their minimal numbers and the frequent outbreak of disease and famine, the Mandalorians under Vizsla were largely unable to eradicate the rampant banditry and piracy that plagued the sector,[9] despite Vizsla's organization of task forces for this purpose.
Under the Uniter
In 1060 BBY,[4] a particularly infectious bout of Candorian plague reached Mandalore and spread throughout the greater sector, decimating the population considerably[4] and costing Vizsla his wife and a fair few of his fellow Clan Viszla relations and family members. Though Vizsla managed to requisition some medical supplies and foodstuffs from the Republic through a mix of favors and outright coersion, the Mandalorians suffered considerably, and Vizsla, as Mand'alor, largely blamed himself for failing to adequately prepare the sector for another infectious outbreak of the disease. He abdicated his role as Mand'alor soon thereafter, citing both his failures to eradicate piracy and the plague and his superfluity due to the decreased number of Sith incursions into the sector on account of the ongoing Sith civil war.[26] He returned to the Jedi Temple in a state of grief and regret, though in accordance with the tenets of the Resol'nare,[4] returned to defend Mandalorian Space whenever summoned.
Tarre Vizsla ruled as Mand'alor and de facto Jedi Lord of the Mandalore sector prior to the Return.
In 1058 BBY,[9] a Mandalorian mercenary of Clan Awaud named Aga Awaud returned home to Mandalore after an extended tour of duty in the greater galaxy.[9] Finding both his clan and the Mandalorian population decimated by the Candorian plague and harried by armed pirates and brigands,[9] Awaud resolved to bring an end to the decay of the Mandalorian society and usher in a period of renewal for his people and the greater Mandalorian way of life. Over the next seven years,[9] Awaud campaigned across the sector and built up a following of like-minded individuals, finally staking a claim to the title of Mand'alor with Tarre Vizsla's encouragement and public support in 1051 BBY.[9] Claiming the kyr'bes for his own, Awaud formally announced the Return, calling upon all wayward Mandalorian clans scattered throughout the galaxy to return home to the Mandalore sector and reinforce their ancestral homeworlds.[27]
Conflicts with the Council
Over the next several decades, Vizsla intermittently participated in the Mand'alor's campaign to drive banditry, piracy, and the Sith from the sector.[27][9] During this time, Vizsla's neglect of his Jedi duties became more pronounced, and his absences away from the Jedi Temple grew longer. Eventually, he began receiving formal admonitions from the Jedi High Council on Coruscant, bringing him into conflict with its Masters and the prevailing political establishment of the Order. Though he continued to obey the dictates of his supervising masters and remained true in his devotion to the Order and the Jedi Code, he abandoned his assigned duties with alacrity whenever summoned back to the Mandalore sector by Mandalore the Uniter, citing the sixth tenet of the Resol'nare as his justification.[4]
As the Dark Age progressed and the Jedi Lords collectively acquired increasingly greater political hegemony in the galaxy,[22] many began to openly ignore and disregard the dictates of the High Council.[22] Over time, the most powerful and influential Jedi Lords organized themselves into their own Grand Council,[28] handling internal matters for their constituents and ajudicating disputes between lesser Jedi Lords across the galaxy. Though he declined offers to sit on the Grand Council in an effort to preserve his shaky relationship with the mainline Jedi, Vizsla served its members as an advisor on occasion, bringing him into further contention with the masters of the High Council.
Right of Denial
With the fall of Skere Kaan, former golden child of the High Council,[28] to the dark side in 1010 BBY,[3] the New Sith remnants were radically reorganized into the Brotherhood of Darkness,[3][11] a reconstitued Sith Empire under Kaan that spanned the galaxy and incorporated the vestigial remnants of other Sith factions.[28] In response, the Grand Council raised an army of Jedi Lords under Lord Hoth to combat the rising Sith threat,[28] a legendary force known as the Army of Light.[11][28] Poised for a final showdown, the resultant Light and Darkness War saw the Jedi and the Sith clash on battlefields across the galaxy in a final dramatic campaign for galactic hegemony.[29]
Conflict between Tarre Vizsla and the Jedi High Council finally came to a head during this last decade of the Republic Dark Age. Though many Knights outright abandoned the High Council and Jedi Temple to join Hoth's Army of Light without permission,[28] Vizsla submitted a formal request for leave and addressed the Council directly in the High Council Chamber. In the ensuing debate, Vizsla was forbidden from joining what the Council viewed as an unsanctioned organization[28] and ordered to remain in residence on Coruscant.
Disappointed with the Council's refusal to take responsibility for Kaan's fall and disgusted by their disinterest in both acknowledging the threat their former protégé posed and confronting the consequences of their inaction, Vizsla invoked the Right of Denial, a seldom-used privilege afforded non-Councilors that permitted Jedi to formally protest the Council's decision and lay aside their Knighthoods to become Jedi in little more than name.[30] Surrendering the Darksaber to the Council as part of the process,[30] Vizsla denounced the Council's cowardice and ineffectual governance and departed the Order to join the Army of Light.
Assisting the Army of Light
Lord Hoth and the Jedi Lords of the Army of Light were pleased to have as renowned a duelist as Tarre Vizsla in their midst, and Lord Newar Forrth readily offered the Mandalorian a commission as a knight bachelor in his Third Legion of Light.[29] Over the next decade, Vizsla participated in a multiplicity of campaigns against the Brotherhood of Darkness, most notably the Battle of Corsin.[5] This particular battle saw Vizsla and the Third Legion engage the Brotherhood in conjunction with a sizable Mandalorian task force created by Mandalore the Uniter to protect the sectors along the Hydian Way.[9] Vizsla built upon his already considerable reputation as a warrior even further as the war raged on, winning the acclaim of his peers and commanding officers alike despite his advanced age. Though offered higher-ranking commissions in the Army of Light, Vizsla contented himself with field grade ranks so as to remain close to the battlefield as a combatant.
Ruin on Ruusan
Johun Othone included a monolithic statue of Tarre Vizsla in the Valley of the Jedi monument on Ruusan in the years following the end of the Ruusan campaign.
In 1001 BBY,[3][28] faced with an imminent Brotherhood invasion of the Core Worlds,[31] the forces of the Army of Light converged upon the Sith staging ground of Ruusan for a final confrontation that would decide the fate of the galaxy.[3][28] Marshalling to their sides their entire remaining forces, the Jedi and Sith fought a series of seven protracted battles[11] that reduced the once verdant world to a wasteland of ruined cities and devestated biomes.[32][33][34] By the final battle, both sides were languishing and largely lacking in resources, arming their remaining warriors with primitive spears and going so far as to recruit children to serve as child soldiers.[11][28] In the hopes of bringing to end the last vestiges of the Jedi force, Skere Kaan commissioned the creation of a thought bomb, a weapon of pure Force energy capable of eradicating all life in an affected radius.[33][35][36] Believing himself and his allies invincible and immune to the effects of such sorcery,[29] Kaan intended to release the thought bomb on Ruusan.
In response, Lord Hoth, Seneschal of the Army of Light,[28] gathered to his side one hundred Jedi[37] and descended into the caves below Ruusan to which Kaan had fled during the latter stages of the Ruusan campaign.[36][38] Accompanying him was Vizsla, who had elected not to remain with Lord Valenthyne Farfalla and the evacuating remnants of the Army of Light.[39] Confronting Kaan, Hoth and his Jedi followers attempted to stop the detonation of the thought bomb, but were unable to reach the fallen Jedi in time.[37] In an instant, the bodies of the Jedi and Sith in the vicinity of the epicenter were incinerated, their disembodied spirits trapped in torment in the Force nexus created in the aftermath of the bomb's detonation.[35][36][38][40] All that remained of Vizsla was his beskad and his beskar armor and helmet, buried in ash deep within the caves of Ruusan along with the personal effects of Jedi and Sith alike.[37]
Recovered Relic
Vizsla's passing was marked on his adoptive homeworld of Mandalore by many of the clans. The aged Mandalore the Uniter led a small ceremony honoring Vizsla in the Oyu'baat, the downtown Keldabe tapcaf[25] in which Vizsla had first grudgingly agreed to serve as Mand'alor decades prior. As was common in Mandalorian culture,[4][41] the members of Clan Vizsla sought to possess Tarre's armor, helmet, and beskad for the purposes of preserving his memory,[4][41] and petitioned the Jedi for assistance. However, their request was denied on account of the Order's difficulty in accessing the collapsed caverns in which Vizsla and his fellow Jedi had died[37] and the High Council's desire to forget[42] the political embarassment[28] that was the Ruusan campaign[36] and greater Light and Darkness War. Clan Vizsla requested the Darksaber be returned to them instead, but were once again declined by the Order due to both Vizsla's outstanding and unresolved invocation of the Right of Denial[30] and a desire to bury the memory of both the battle[36] and the Jedi Lords whom had defied them.[28]
Thwarted at every turn, several members of Clan Vizsla hatched a plan to recover Tarre's unique weapon themselves. The most furtive of their number, previously trained as assassins and spies by various factions during the war, travelled to Coruscant and managed to gain access to the Jedi Temple during a time in which its precinct was largely abandoned due to losses sustained on Ruusan. In a heist immortalized in Vizsla family history,[19] these Mandalorian raiders managed to navigate the maze of the Temple[43] down to the artifact repository in the Jedi Archives[43] while avoiding members of the Order and Temple Security Force, cleanly recovering the Darksaber held therein.[19] Upon their return to Mandalore, the Darksaber became a valued heirloom of the clan,[19] held by only its greatest warriors even into the era of the Republic Classic era.[19] It remained in the Vizsla clan's possession until claimed by Darth Maul during the Clone Wars.[44]
Tenure in Torment
Not long after the end of the New Sith Wars, Johun Othone, Lord Hoth's former Padawan,[36][42] began publicly querying the High Council for permission to commemorate the fallen of the Light and Darkness War in a vast memorial on Ruusan.[42] Though the Council declined out of a desire to forget the war and bury the memory of the Army of Light,[36][42] Chancellor Tarsus Valorum and the Senate supported Othone and offered the young Chancellor's Guard significant financial backing to carry out construction of his planned monument.[42] Built around the vicinity of the cave system in which the one hundred Jedi had perished,[37][45] the resultant Valley of the Jedi monument included a number of monolithic statues of several notable Jedi Lords and Knights,[45][46] including Lord Hoth and Tarre Vizsla. Though Ruusan was lost due to shifting hyperspace lanes in subsequent centuries,[32] Othone's monument endured for over a millennium into the era of the New Republic.[29][42]
In 5 ABY,[47] during a mission to Ruusan,[29] the wayward Jedi Knight Kyle Katarn rediscovered Ruusan and freed the tormented souls housed in the Valley's Force nexus from perdition in accordance with the Poem of Ages.[46][48] Finally released from torment, Vizsla's Force spirit was finally free to depart the land of the living and become one with the Force,[49] bringing an end to his eleven hundred-year existence. In the years that followed the reopening of Ruusan, members of Clan Vizsla probed the caves of the Valley of the Jedi and managed to recover Tarre's decaying beskar helmet, armor, and sword, properly interring the artifacts in their clan headquarters and putting their ancestor's memory to rest.
Legacy
As the immediate predecessor of Mandalore the Uniter, the architect of the Return,[9][27] Tarre Vizsla was largely overshadowed in life and in subsequent histories of the Mandalorians by his contemporary Aga Awaud. Likewise, as a renegade Jedi Knight who openly denounced the High Council, invoked the Right of Denial, and unashamedly associated himself with the Jedi Lords of the Army of Light, Vizsla was largely excluded from the histories of the old Jedi Order on account of the High Council's desire to bury[42] the political embarassment[28] that was the Light and Darkness War.[36]
However, among those Mandalorians who lived during his tenure as Mand'alor, Vizsla was remembered positively for both keeping the clans united in the chaos immediately preceding the Return and successfully preventing the New Sith Empire from establishing a foothold in the Mandalore sector. Likewise, among the members of Clan Vizsla, Tarre Vizsla was revered as a paragon of Mandalorian honor who did not allow his service to the Jedi interfere with his observation of the Resol'nare or his steadfast devotion to his people. The New Jedi Order, following Kyle Katarn's rediscovery of the Valley of the Jedi in 5 ABY,[47] maintained a more respectful view of Vizsla and his fellow Jedi Lords than had the previous incarnation of their order, and praised their sacrifice on Ruusan as exemplifying the Jedi ideal of self-sacrifice.[34]
Personality and traits
In darkness I don beskar'gam, so that one day the faithful may do so in daylight.
In secret, I wield the Darksaber, so that one day our honor shall be apparent to all.
In silence I summon the worthy, so that one day our cause will ring out.
—An extract from Tor Vizsla's Ba'jurne Kyr'tsad Mando'ad
As a Mandalorian of an ancient clan, Tarre Vizsla was raised in the traditional martial culture of the Mandalorian people,[4] and his personality was in large part defined by his lifelong relationship with combat and warfare. Like many Mandalorians, he looked upon combat not as an evil but as a crucible in which sentient beings were tested, hardened, and improved into better versions of their former selves.[4][50] He believed combat, like fear, served to indicate the limits of individuals' physical and mental endurance and served as a means by which those limits could be tested and ultimately transcended.[25][50] Upon joining the Jedi and awakening to the wider world of the Force, he likewise came to see combat as a means by which the sheer breadth of the Living Force could be fully grasped in the frantic interplay of battlefield participants, and despite the presence of the dark side in the resultant death and hate warfare generated, Vizsla likewise saw the presence of the light side in the self-sacrificial heroism of soldiers and civilians alike.
Vizsla spent much of his life seeking to carefully balance his often-conflicting obligations to the Mandalorian people and the Jedi Order. As a Mandalorian traditionalist with Neo-Crusader sensibilities, he remained in strict compliance with the six tenets of Resol'nare,[4] eschewing the traditional Jedi apparel for stylized beskar armor adorned with Jedi imagery,[51] writing and speaking in Mando'a whenever possible, returning to the Mandalore sector to defend his clan or answer the summons of his Mand'alor, and siring Mandalorian heirs. However, as a Jedi Knight, he likewise lived in compliance with the Jedi Code[52] and spent the time his Mandalorian peers invested in their mercenary careers in service of the Jedi Order. Though he frequently came into conflict with his supervising Jedi Masters for his divided allegiances and the resultant conflict of interest they generated, he remained true to the light side and the Jedi ideal despite his personal foibles and often-unorthodox beliefs.
Much to the consternation and concern of his Jedi instructors, Vizsla was sympathetic to certain aspects of Sith doctrine pertaining to kratocracy on account of their compatibility with his Neo-Crusader sensibilities.[52] Like the ancient Mandalorians and the Sith alike,[52] Vizsla personally considered the krato-magocracy that characterized prevailing Tsisajak ("Sith doctrine"[53][54]) to be a desirable system reflective of the natural order in which the strong and fittest survived and ruled over the weak on the basis of qualification and suitability. By extension, he believed it was also the right of the Forceful to rule over the Forceless on the basis of their ability to more readily discern and execute the Force's will without inhibition as chosen vessels of the Force's power.
However, in contrast to Sith individualism and on account of his embrace of traditional Mandalorian values regarding personal honor, collectivism, clan loyalty, and the behavior expected of Mand'alors,[4] he believed the strong and Forceful had the attendant responsibility to act honorably towards their constituents, treat their power and authority as burdens and duties of care, and act for the collective good of society as so-called "philosopher kings." As such, he condemned the wanton excess, violence, and abuse of power evidenced in the New Sith Empire as dishonorable and morally reprehensible, instead citing the examples of his fellow Jedi Supreme Chancellors[3] and Jedi Lords[22] as embodiments of his ideal on account of their self-sacrifice in the service of their constituents and honorable conduct in the execution of their duties.
Powers and abilities
The army of opposition consisted of beings from many species and planets, representing all walks of life. But they had one thing in common. They were Jedi.
—Luke Skywalker's 5 ABY comments on the Army of Light as recorded by Tionne Solusar in her Jedi vs. Sith compendium
As a Jedi Guardian specializing in lightsaber combat,[55] Tarre Vizsla was not as competent in Force-mediated combat nor as strong in the Force as his fellow Jedi Sentinels[56] and Consulars.[57] Despite this, as a trained Jedi Knight, he exhibited a baseline level of competency in many standard Force powers on account of his years of Jedi training. Upon his ascent to Knighthood, he illustrated proficiency in the use of such rudimentary powers as Force telekinesis, Force punch, Force speed, and Force jump, many of which he employed to one degree or another in the course of his lightsaber duels. As he grew older on the battlefields of the Light and Darkness War, he likewise came to cultivate and rely upon Force valor and Enhance Attribute to overcome the infirmities of his advanced age and maintain his degree of mastery in single combat through temporarily boosting his other Force abilities and pushing the natural limits of his body.[58]
Tarre Vizsla was often viewed by many of his contemporaries in the Jedi Order as one of the finest Form I practitioners of his generation. As he entered the Order at a significantly older age than many of his fellow initiates, Vizsla brought his already considerable abilities in melee swordsmanship to his lightsaber training. As Form I was developed at a time during which the Jedi were shifting away from the use of Force-imbued blades towards the protosaber,[13] Vizsla considered it the ideal form permitting him to best take advantage of his established skills with a Mandalorian beskad sword while still benefiting from more modern lightsaber-specific combat techniques. Over subsequent decades, Vizsla augmented his abilities in lightsaber combat through the study of other forms, integrating select defensive techniques borrowed from Form III and Form V[13] and offensive one-on-one duelist techniques adapted from Form II.[13]
As a Mandalorian youth raised in Mandalorian Space, Tarre Vizsla was a native speaker of Mando'a, the traditional language of the Mandalorian people.[4] He was likewise familiar with the mutually intelligible[25] Concordian dialect used on Mandalore's moon of Concordia[59] and the nearby world of Concord Dawn.[60] However, upon coming of age at thirteen standard years[4] and entering into his people's traditional occupation as a mercenary and bounty hunter,[5] he developed an occupational fluency in Galactic Basic Standard and Huttese on account of these languages' ubiquitous use in many sectors across the galaxy.
Despite the "saber jockey" stereotype of the Jedi Guardians[55] and the public perception of Mandalorians as uncivilized barbarians,[25] Vizsla cultivated an interest in a number of artistic pursuits unrelated to combat or warfare. Perceiving himself as a modern "warrior poet," Vizsla was particularly fond of epic poetry and wrote a number of narrative pieces in Mando'a that chronicled the heroic exploits of his Mandalorian and Jedi peers during the Republic Dark Age, many of which were studied by later generations of historians for the insights they provided into the historical circumstances of the period. Vizsla was likewise a proficient bes'bev player and consistently carried a beskar flute on his utility belt throughout his life, using it both to entertain his fellow Jedi and impale or bludgeon his Sith enemies in accordance with its intended use.[61][62]
Equipment
This lightsaber was stolen from your Jedi Temple by my ancestors during the fall of the Old Republic. Since then many Jedi have died upon its blade. Prepare yourself to join them!
—Pre Vizsla wields his ancestor's Darksaber against Obi-Wan Kenobi
Prior to his entrance into the Jedi Order and following his invocation of the Right of Denial in 1010 BBY, Tarre Vizsla employed a standard Mandalorian beskad sword as his main melee weapon of choice. A simple sword[6][7] constructed of Mandalorian iron,[8] the beskad was fully capable of resisting both energy weapons like lightsabers and advanced melee weapons like cortosis-laced vibroblades with ease.[4] Though the beskad was a notoriously heavy weapon requiring a strong arm to wield successfully,[8] Vizsla was widely acknowledged as one of the finest swordsmen ever produced by Clan Vizsla during its history, and his skills with the sword were eventually transferred and translated to the use of the lightsaber with Vizsla's construction of the Darksaber during the late New Sith Wars period.
On account of his familiarity with the beskad and his dissatisfaction with the perfectly circular grips of most conventional lightsaber hilts,[18] Vizsla designed the hilt of his personal lightsaber, colloquially known as the Darksaber,[19] with the beskad's characteristic slimmer profile, angular crossguard, and ovular grip in mind.[6] Likewise, the use of a unique wiring configuration and a slit-shaped blade emitter gave the weapon's plasma core the appearance of a thin, flat, metal blade tapered to a point[19] that similarly drew comparisons to the beskad. The blade exhibited a shimmering black sheen[19] that seemed to soak in the light[20] on account of the synthetic lightsaber crystal used in its construction, though the blade was unstable[21] and frequently flickered and crackled with electrical discharges along its edge[19] on account of imperfections introduced into the crystal's design during its formation.
As a Mandalorian warrior of an influential clan, Tarre Vizsla owned several expensive suits of beskar Mandalorian armor during his lifetime. During the Republic Dark Age, his preferred armor consisted of a set of heavy beskar'kandar of a type popular among Force users during the Light and Darkness War.[24] While his beskar helmet sported the recognizably Mandalorian T-shaped visor,[1] it was a highly stylized and open-faced variant of a distinctive design,[51] and eschewed the traditional round skullcap in favor of a pointed, "sugar loaf" helm[51] meant to help deflect and redirect blows struck to the head. This helmet sported the shriek-hawk sigil of his clan[51] in accordance with established Mandalorian tradition.[4] This particular armor set contributed to the look for which Vizsla was best remembered in artistic depictions from the era, and was further immortalized in his monolithic statue[51] in the Valley of the Jedi on Ruusan.
Behind the scenes
Frankly I wouldn't have believed it, had anyone told me that I would someday read about a 'Jedi Mandalorian' character that was actually creative, well-written, and meshed properly with the rest of established lore. Well, here it is I guess.
—MPK
Though not the biggest fan of the new Star Wars canon due to growing up in the era of the Expanded Universe, the author admittedly enjoyed elements of Star Wars Rebels related to Mandalorian culture and history. He was particularly interested in the explanation provided for the significance of the Darksaber in Mandalorian society and its origins as the weapon of a Mandalorian Jedi. Noticing that the "Legends" continuity lacked a proper explanation for the Darksaber's existence, the author adapted many elements of the Tarre Vizsla account to Legends, carefully keeping the character from contradicting any other established elements of that continuity. The resultant character was intentionally constructed as an example of what the author terms "feasible fanon," that is, fanon subjects that could be readily inserted into their respective canon continuities without requiring any retcon. As a result, the article was designed to be a standalone page linking only to Wookieepedia and requiring no ancillary links to other Star Wars Fanon pages.
In writing this Legends version of Tarre Vizsla, the author was careful to remain true to the description of the character as presently existing in Canon at the time of writing. Vizsla's tenure as Mand'alor in canon was acknowledged in the form of his rule as de facto rule of the Mandalore sector, the unique design of the Darksaber attributed to Vizsla's established proficiency with a traditional Mandalorian beskad, and the weapon's recovery during the "fall of the Old Republic" by members of Clan Vizsla was acknowledged as being a product of the cultural importance placed on personal effects in Mandalorian society as described in Legends publications by Karen Traviss. Additionally, the existence of a massive statue to Vizsla in canon was acknowledged in this account, though it was more logically moved from Mandalore to Ruusan as part of the statue-heavy Valley of the Jedi monument.
The original version of Legends!Tarre Vizsla was voted "Best Light-sided Force User" in the Fifteenth Wiki Awards. However, in 2021, the author cleaned up, refactored, and streamlined certain elements of the original version's narrative. To increase compliance with established canon, Vizsla's canon tenure as Mand'alor was acknowledged in his Legends equivalent's upgrade from Jedi Lord to Mand'alor. Likewise, as the canon character has never been confirmed to have ascended to Jedi Masterhood, the Legends equivalent was downgraded from Jedi Weapon Master to Knight-level Jedi Guardian. The material dealing with Vizsla's interest in the history and culture of the ancient Sith species—originally attributed to his apprenticeship under Volfe Karkko—and his subsequent encounter with Dathka Graush was removed from the account for being little more than author self-gratification born of his personal interest in the Sith that did little to nothing to advance the narrative development of the character.
Appearances
- Dark Forces: Jedi Knight (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars: Jedi vs. Sith (Indirect mention only)
- Darth Bane: Path of Destruction (Indirect mention only)
Sources
- Power of the Jedi Sourcebook (Indirect mention only)
- The New Essential Chronology (Indirect mention only)
- Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force (Indirect mention only)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (Indirect mention only)
- Jedi Academy Training Manual (Indirect mention only)
- The Essential Atlas (Indirect mention only)
- Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side (Indirect mention only)
