Arca Jeth
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| Arca Jeth | |
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White[4] |
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Fair[5] |
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- "Age is indeed a curious thing. As I grow older I see less clearly in the dark, but I see the dark more clearly."
- ―Arca Jeth
Arca Jeth was an Arkanian male Jedi Master with Sephi blood who served the Galactic Republic as Watchman of the Onderon worlds on behalf of the Jedi Order. From his skill with the lightsaber to his mastery of the Force, Jeth was revered as one of the wisest and most powerful Jedi of his day, and was hailed by his kinsmen as a champion of the Arkanian race. Jeth primarily resided on his homeworld of Arkania, where he instructed many of the era's most prominent Jedi in the ways of the Force.
In 4030 BBY, Jeth was part of the Jedi and Republic task force that was sent to the Hapes Cluster to eliminate the threat of the Lorell Raiders, pirates who had preyed on Republic shipping lanes for decades. Jeth was then chosen to lead two dozen Jedi Knights to combat the Nelori Marauders, whose quest of terror and piracy spanned throughout the Hyabb-Twith Corridor. The Marauders were defeated through Jeth's use of Jedi battle meditation, a rarely seen Force ability that simultaneously invigorated his allies and demoralized his enemies. The Arkanian Master proved himself again when he ended the Great Droid Revolution on Coruscant through a demonstration of "mechu macture": the incapacitation of droids via the Force. Jeth harassed the slavery operations of the space-city Ereesus shortly afterward, and liberated the Twi'lek Doneeta family, whose young son Tott was identified as strong in the Force and taken as Jeth's apprentice. The Jedi Master returned to his praxeum on Arkania, where he trained Doneeta alongside many others, including brothers Cay and Ulic Qel-Droma, the latter of whom Jeth regarded as his most gifted student.
The Arkanian Jedi sent Doneeta and the brothers Qel-Droma in 4000 BBY to settle a civil dispute on the planet Onderon between the citizens of the capital city of Iziz, and the exiled Beast Riders of the planet's wilderness. His charges failed utterly in their mission and, as the final battle of the Beast Wars erupted, Jeth arrived on Onderon to defeat the Sith armies of Queen Amanoa, and with whom was also banished the power of the dark side from Iziz. He and his students remained on the Inner Rim world for the next two years, during which time Amanoa's widower, the sorcerer-King Ommin, staged an uprising in the name of his Sith forefather, Freedon Nadd. Jeth was captured and tortured by the king and the spirit of Nadd, but was ultimately rescued by a team of Jedi Knights, led by Ulic Qel-Droma, and the prodigious young Nomi Sunrider.
Although the dark side was permanently driven from Onderon through the efforts of the Jedi, the oppression of the Sith survived in the form of the Krath cult of the Empress Teta system. Master Jeth assumed responsibility of the besieged Tetan worlds, and sent Qel-Droma and Sunrider to join the Republic Navy in battle against the Sith. Their forces were soundly defeated by the sorcery of the Krath, however, and the Jedi Assembly organized a mass-gathering on the planet Deneba in response, to discuss the growing dark side threat. Jeth was present for the Jedi conclave and advocated for swift and decisive action against the new Sith, but spoke sternly against the infiltration mission proposed by Ulic Qel-Droma. It was during the convocation's recess that an army of Krath war droids beset the Jedi, and Master Jeth joined his fellows in battle against them. However, he suffered a fatal blaster wound, and became one with the Force in the arms of his greatest student, giving the latter a desire for revenge that would lead him to the dark side.
Biography[edit | edit source]
Knight of the Republic[edit | edit source]
- "I assure you, I can sense it. And actually, I'm surprised that you cannot."
- ―Arca Jeth, while fighting the Nelori Marauders
Arca Jeth was an Arkanian male with Sephi blood[3] from the homeworld of the former, Arkania, who served with distinction as a member of the Jedi Order. His aptitude with the Force and dedication to the service of the Galactic Republic saw him rise quickly within the ranks of the Jedi. Jeth was one of many Knights of the Republic sent to the defense of the Hapes Cluster from the Lorell Raiders,[8] pirates who had discovered a number of safe routes through the Transitory Mists from which they could attack Republic shipping lanes. In 4030 BBY, a Republic task force commanded by Jeth and stationed just outside the Mists destroyed a large force of Raiders, a loss from which they could not recover. In their new-found freedom, the women of the Hapes Cluster, who had been forced into servitude by the male Raiders, instituted a new matriarchal society that no man would ever govern, ruled instead by an all-powerful Queen Mother.[9]
Jeth next participated in a series of fierce battles between the Jedi Knights and the Nelori Marauders of the planet Dachat. A series of defeats drove the enemy from their home to the safety of the Hyabb-Twith Corridor, in recognition of the local government's reluctance to provoke each other with mutual efforts to patrol such heavily disputed shipping lanes. The Marauders executed numerous attacks from the safety of the Corridor itself, and with each they grew bolder as they penetrated deeper into the Core. The increase in number of dead Republic citizens disturbed the Jedi and prompted a meeting on the library world of Ossus, where the decision was made to stand against the Marauders. Jeth was one of two-dozen Knights immediately sent from Ossus in pursuit of the pirates, several of whose starships were encountered and pursued through the Hyabb-Twith Corridor to their headquarters on the planet Voon. Severe damage was dealt to the Nelori stronghold, and most of those stationed therein were killed. However, the besieged Nelori were able to call for reinforcements from other Marauder bases in the vicinity. The Jedi suffered vicious reprisals upon their arrival, and of the original twenty-four dispatched to the Hyabb-Twith Corridor, only Jeth and four others survived. Forced to call for aid themselves, the beleaguered Jedi endured another forty-eight hours before thirty Knights arrived in their support.[1]
Since the initial attack, the sum of the Marauders had gathered from throughout the Corridor and established a last bastion on Voon. Together, the Jedi converged upon the Nelori stronghold, only to find it seemingly deserted. Troubled by the suspicious absence of the enemy, the Jedi wondered how the Marauders could have escaped the planet beneath their notice. Jeth stretched out with the Force and sensed that below the Nelori stronghold was a mass of indistinguishably tangled and entwined life, the likes of which he had never felt before. Jeth cautioned his fellow Jedi, and together they descended deep into the subterranean caverns that pocketed Voon's crust. Warily they came upon a crudely cut, sloped corridor which led to a cavernous antechamber that passed into an adjacent chamber, where Jeth once again sensed a dark coldness permeating their surroundings. Suddenly, the antechamber erupted with blaster fire as more than two hundred Nelori Marauders attacked the enclosed Jedi, killing four immediately. With the other Knights on his heels, Jeth attempted to halt the Marauder's advance, and together they formed a defensive perimeter around their fallen comrades. The Jedi bulwark was little match for the Marauder's ferocity, and their numbers slowly dwindled. Meanwhile, Jeth began to realize that his own attacks had become fiercer, empowered by emotions without control of the Force, used to counter the enemy's attack. With an adjustment of focus, Jeth instead began to concentrate on an image of victory as he gave himself to the will of the Force. What followed was an unexpected change of events, with the tide of the battle soon turned in favor of the invigorated Jedi, while the demoralized Marauders were suddenly in a state of upheaval. Jeth's sudden implementation of battle meditation resulted in a swift Nelori rout and defeat, thus erasing their threat from the Hyabb-Twith Corridor and ultimately the Core.[1]
Jedi Master[edit | edit source]
New responsibilities[edit | edit source]
- "There are no shortcuts to mastery of the Force, Haazen—and there can be no excuses."
- ―Jedi Master Arca Jeth
In 4015 BBY, the prototype HK-series assassin droid, HK-01, led a violent insurrection on the Republic capital of Coruscant itself, in which thousands of automatons revolted against their sentient owners. In the weeks that followed, countless citizens fell to the murderous rampage of all manner of rogue droid models, from sanitation, to those specialized for security, and even protocol.[9] However, it was the reckless abandon of the assassin and especially lethal Juggernaut war droids that warranted the intervention of the Jedi Order's greatest Masters, of whom Jeth was now counted among. He disabled HK-01's entire droid army via the Force in the subsequent defense of the capital, and with the destruction of the lead hunter-killer, the Great Droid Revolution was brought to an end.[10]
Jeth continued to serve the Jedi Order and the Republic in the years that followed the Coruscant droid revolt. When the Masters of the Order began to forebode return of the Dark Lords of the fabled Sith Empire, Jedi were sent to various sites throughout the galaxy that were once concentrated places of dark side power. Jeth returned to his homeworld of Arkania, a planet that in yesteryear had been a longstanding repository of ancient Sith knowledge.[1] He established a Jedi praxeum in the wilderness, far removed from the most remote diamond mines that pocketed the planet,[8] and trained as many as twenty students at any given time.[11] Jeth's students learned meditation, powers of the Force, and lightsaber combat drills that imitated the lightning-fast strikes of the Arkanian dragon.[8] While his students trained, Jeth continued to survey the planet and searched for any influence, no matter how small, of the dark side.[1]
In that era, the public's perception of the Jedi Order was that of an elitist fraternity, an opinion that was frowned upon by an acquaintance of Jeth's, Miraluka Jedi Master Noab Hulis. In an experiment, Hulis brokered a deal with Jeth to train an illustrious financier named Barrison Draay, as well as his lowly retainer, Haazen. Jeth also agreed to train Hulis' daughter Krynda, the third of Hulis' daughters to become Jedi. While after a time, the Jedi Council deemed complete the training of Draay and Krynda Hulis, Haazen was looked upon as deficient. A Knighting ceremony was held at the Arkanian praxeum, where Jeth, Noab Hulis, and several additional Jedi bestowed rank upon the successful apprentices. They openly rejected the promotion of Haazen, who Jeth rebuked for his failure to embrace the Jedi way and denied the opportunity for reconsideration. While Draay and Hulis were wed[12] and became great Jedi, Haazen's dejection eventually led to his fall to the dark side of the Force.[6]
On a particular offworld mission, Jeth intercepted a vessel en route to the slave markets on the space city of Ereesus. He defeated the slave drivers and freed the captives, among them the Twi'lek Doneeta family. Awed by the Master's power, their Force-sensitive son Tott wished to be trained as a Jedi, and Jeth obliged. He returned to Arkania with the boy and trained him alongside many students, including two sent from Alderaan by their mother, Lien-Tsai Qel-Droma, a friend of Jeth's and a renowned Master in her own right. The Twi'lek became close friends with her sons, the brave yet headstrong Ulic, and the mechanical-minded Cay.[1] Not long afterward, Master Jeth was caught in a fire and severely burned. Many of his injuries were healed and deformities repaired by Arkanian doctors, but Jeth's pointed ears—a trait prominent among those of Sephi heritage—were not restored. Because he was regarded as a Jedi champion among the Arkanian people, surgeons did not reconstruct his ears, and instead mended them to conform with those of pure blood, baseline Arkanians. The prominent Adasca family of Arkania also altered all known holos of Jeth so that past records reflected his current appearance.[3] Around that time, he loaned his holocron to friend and fellow Jedi Master Thon of Ambria, to assist in the training of his latest apprentice, a young Human woman named Nomi Sunrider.[13]
Galactic turmoil[edit | edit source]
Jedi Watchman[edit | edit source]
- "In keeping with our pledge to the Republic, the Jedi Masters assign one of their number to become the Watchman of each new system…today I've accepted charge of the Onderon worlds."
- ―Arca Jeth
In 4000 BBY, Republic explorers chanced upon Onderon, an underdeveloped Inner Rim world previously unknown to galactic astrographers. In accordance with the Jedi Order's mandate to liaise with new civilizations on behalf of the Republic, Jeth was assigned as Watchman of the Onderon worlds, and agreed to help the namesake planet's Queen Amanoa bring an end to centuries of civil war. At the end of a drill in which Ulic Qel-Droma displayed his skill in lightsaber combat against a training droid, Jeth called him, his brother, and Tott Doneeta together, to explain—through benefit of an extremely lifelike Force illusion—the history of Onderon. According to him, the planet was inhabited by two separate and very distinct societies: the established society of the walled city of Iziz ruled by Amanoa, and the Beast Riders, descendants of exiles who refused to abide her sovereignty, and rode the ferocious creatures of the planet's wilderness. Although Watchman duties had been given to Jeth, he instead sent his three apprentices in what would be a test of their Knighthood to bring the conflict on Onderon to a peaceful resolution.[14]
Doneeta and the Qel-Droma brothers arrived at the walled city of Iziz, and discovered that its citizens were under the influence of the dark side spirit of the ancient Sith Lord Freedon Nadd. The Jedi found themselves suddenly in the midst of a conflict when Amanoa declared war on the Beast Riders. The Queen wrought havoc upon her enemies with Sith magic learned from Nadd's ghost, and victory for her was nigh at hand. However, Jeth, who had sensed the failure of his charges from afar, arrived on Onderon in his personal ship, the SunGem, and demoralized Amanoa's forces through his mastery of Jedi battle meditation, which strengthened the resolve of the Beast Riders into victory.[14] In the battle's wake, stern rebukes were given to Ulic Qel-Droma for decisions made in haste that ultimately resulted in unnecessary bloodshed, and also to Cay, for the careless loss of his arm to a Royal Protector of the queen.[15] Jeth was determined to also break the pall of Freedon Nadd's spirit over Iziz, an oppression suffered by the Onderonian monarchy for centuries. With the help of Amanoa's daughter, Princess Galia, Jeth located the queen in the tomb of Freedon Nadd, and cast the Dark Lord's power from the city, which also resulted in Amanoa's death.[14] He later oversaw the consecration by Republic laws the union of Queen Galia and Oron Kira, the leader of the Beast Riders, and their official assumption of planetary sovereignty.[15]
The Naddist Revolt[edit | edit source]
- "Ommin…listen…do you hear them?"
"What is it, Arca, my friend—? Are you ready so soon to join the dark side?"
"Listen…do you hear it? My Jedi Knights are with us." - ―An imprisoned Arca Jeth and King Ommin
Galia was given official dominion of Onderon with her husband, King and Beast-Lord Oron Kira, and enjoyed two years of relative peace as their two societies attempted to integrate and thus rebuild themselves. Jeth remained on Onderon with his apprentices during that time, but occasional and seemingly-random acts of terrorism led him to believe that a darkness caused by the residual potency of Freedon Nadd's remains still overshadowed Iziz,[14] and that wielders of Sith magic continued to practice their arts in secret.[16] In an effort to lift the pall of the dark side, Jeth ordered the relocation of both the sarcophagi of Amanoa and Nadd to the farthest side of Dxun, the primary moon of Onderon, in a tomb-fortress constructed of nearly-indestructible Mandalorian iron.[17] Several Beast Rider patrols were also charged with surveillance of the catacombs beneath Iziz. Jeth then sent Doneeta to the nearby planet Ambria, whereupon resided the Jedi Master Thon, from whom the Twi'lek was to request reinforcements. His mission accomplished, Doneeta returned soon afterward with the Vultan Jedi Oss Wilum, just as the funeral procession of the late Amanoa and her Sith forefather began with Jeth at the head.[16] The solemnities were interrupted by Beast Rider Commander Gobee, who rushed to alert Jeth of the fast-approaching legion of darksiders discovered during his subterranean reconnaissance.[14] An enormous tunneling war machine burst forth to assail the procession just then, from which emerged a massive ironclad Dark Jedi at the forefront of a host of Naddist soldiers.[16]
Jeth was immediately smitten by a powerful Force attack from an unknown and unseen foe, and Doneeta and Ulic Qel-Droma were compelled to his protection while the remaining Jedi joined Oron Kira and the present Beast Riders in battle against the Naddist army. As he began to recover, Jeth realized that the tactics of the Dark Jedi, one called Warb Null, were diversionary; while he held Cay and Wilum at bay, and with Ulic and Doneeta attending to Jeth's defense, the dark side soldiers confiscated both sarcophagi and loaded them onto their groundboring machine. With their mission successfully executed, Null disengaged his opponents to rejoin the Naddists in their underground retreat. The assault against Jeth confirmed his suspicions that Sith magic still maintained a negative influence over the city, one that had to be eliminated immediately.[14]
Queen Galia then suggested that the Jedi seek out her supposedly dead father,[14] King Ommin, whom Galia revealed to be an even more powerful Sith sorcerer than her late mother. Wilum, Doneeta, and Cay Qel-Droma remained topside with Oron Kira to secure the palace,[16] while Jeth and Ulic followed Galia into the tunnel created by the Naddist war machine. They soon entered the underground lair of Ommin, where he was confined to a necessary mechanical life support contraption. Jeth immediately recognized the heaviness of dark-side influence about the king, and demanded that he relinquish control of the stolen sarcophagi. At first Ommin feigned ignorance, but he soon revealed that the very spirit of Freedon Nadd had been called from the depths of Chaos for his benefit. The specter of the Dark Lord appeared at that moment, and Jeth deduced that it was Nadd that fueled the sorcery that still plagued the planet. The Jedi Master's suspicion was confirmed by Ommin, who was no longer the invalid he had once pretended to be, and had risen up to smother Jeth with dark side energies afforded him by the power of Nadd's ghost. Present also was Warb Null and the Naddist army, who were left to deal with Qel-Droma and Galia while the unconscious Arkanian was taken by Ommin and Nadd deeper into the king's lair, where they planned to subject him to such severe torment as to force him into their service. Qel-Droma dueled and killed Null in an attempt to save his Master, but was ultimately forced to flee with the queen rather than face the throng of Naddist warriors between him and the departed king.[16]
Jeth was hung on a wall and endured weeks of torture at the hands of King Ommin and the spirit of Freedon Nadd, wracked by the crushing power of the dark side.[18] Ulic Qel-Droma and Galia meanwhile discovered that Iziz had been recaptured by the Naddists, and the Jedi sent a call to the Galactic Senate for reinforcements.[16] Along with the full strength of the Republic Navy that arrived were five Jedi Knights: Qrrrl Toq, Shoaneb Culu, Kith Kark, and Humans Dace Diath and Nomi Sunrider, the latter of whom employed her inherent facility with battle meditation to swiftly turn the tide of battle in their favor. Two unexpected visitors named Aleema and Satal Keto had also come to Onderon, indirectly from the Empress Teta system and in search of King Ommin's Sith wisdom. Their initiation included a visit with the humbled Jeth, whom Ommin explained was delusional and in the process of being remade into an agent of the Sith. Jeth, however, maintained his resolve, and alerted King Ommin to prepare himself for the arrival of Jedi rescuers; a team of Knights soon stormed Ommin's stronghold, wherein all the king's present Dark Jedi and war droids were slain, and Jeth was freed. Nadd's spirit then appeared and condemned his failed servant Ommin to the mercy of the Jedi, whose newly-restored leader, Jeth, confronted and banished the Dark Lord's ghost from Onderon forever. The planet was placed under martial law in the aftermath of the battle, and Jeth, along with his Jedi Knights and the king and queen, ventured to Dxun for the entombment ceremony of the last vestiges of a long-lived Sith dynasty finally commenced on the grounds of the new mausoleum.[9] Jeth also recorded the events of and surrounding the Freedon Nadd Uprising within the recesses of the Great Jedi holocron.[19]
The new Sith[edit | edit source]
- "I've got some bad news, my friends. I thought the Sith teachings that were active here had been contained. Apparently, I was wrong."
- ―Arca Jeth, to the Jedi on Onderon
The Jedi and Republic forces returned to Onderon and continued to assist the natives in the reestablishment of a viable civilization under new and just leadership. Jeth and his apprentices enjoyed a brief respite on Onderon, during which time they learned to fly the drexl mounts of the Beast Riders, collected and cataloged all Sith artifacts seized from Naddist possession, and established a permanent Jedi base to combat resurgent dark side threats on the planet.[20] Initially unknown to the Jedi, the spirit of Freedon Nadd made contact with Aleema and Satal Keto during their visit to the planet,[16] and offered to train them both in the ways of Sith magic. With power bestowed upon them in subsequent months of Sith tutelage, the Ketos formed the Krath cult of sorcerers and installed themselves as rulers of the Empress Teta system, from which they planned to terrorize the galaxy once their own system was brought to heel.[7]
Tidings of the Krath's malice reached Jeth who, as the Jedi Assembly's chosen warrior for his experience with dark side threats,[5] assumed Watchman responsibilities of the besieged Tetan worlds. He called all the Knights to him with new assignments; Dace Diath, Qrrrl Toq, Oss Wilum, and Shoaneb Culu were to make haste to Ossus with report of the events on Onderon;[20] Tott Doneeta and Cay Qel-Droma were to remain on the Inner Rim world and continue to maintain peace while they oversaw the completion of the Jedi outpost; after a lesson in Jedi battle meditation, Nomi Sunrider was to immediately accompany Ulic Qel-Droma as Jedi representatives of the mustering Republic war effort against the Krath.[20]
A month passed following the departure of Sunrider and Qel-Droma, during which time Arca Jeth and the remaining Knights continued their work on Onderon. The Jedi Master learned through the Force that a visitor named Exar Kun would soon arrive, one with a dangerous desire for forbidden knowledge and no reservations about lying to obtain it. Prior to his departure on an errand, Jeth gave explicit instructions to Tott Doneeta and Cay Qel-Droma to neither assist Kun nor give him any information, whatsoever. He returned sometime later on an enormous drexl tamed through the Force, and was greeted by Kun, whom Jeth denied access to any of Nadd's Sith artifacts despite his claim as a representative of the Academy of Jedi Archaeology. Even though he refused to assist Kun, Jeth did nothing further to hinder his quest, which ultimately led the Jedi Knight to Iziz. Jeth's concern was elsewhere; the Republic was scheduled to arrive in the Tetan system soon, and Jeth worried for those he had sent to join them. The Jedi were in fact defeated in battle for the capital world of Empress Teta, confounded by the Sith magic used against them by the Krath.[21] The Jedi Assembly was alarmed by the speed with which the dark side had spread across the galaxy, and the defeat of their own prompted a summons of all Jedi to a war conference on the planet Deneba.[20]
Conclave on Deneba[edit | edit source]
- "Vodo's in great torment these days…one of his students left him to seek forbidden knowledge. No good will come of it, I'm sure."
- ―Arca Jeth, speaking to Master Thon in regard to Exar Kun
The Jedi from Onderon reconnected with their battle-wearied comrades on Deneba. As they made their way to the amphitheater nestled within a mountain called Meru, Jeth and Thon expressed concern for their close friend and fellow Jedi Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, caused by his rebellious apprentice Exar Kun. Baas had yet to arrive, however, and places were taken without him, as Odan-Urr, the president of the Jedi Assembly, began the proceedings. Jeth was among those who advocated for swift military action against the Krath; rather than confine the darkness in the galaxy as Thon had done on Ambria, Jeth believed that a unified front of light-side power would defeat the Krath.[2]
Ulic Qel-Droma, who led the failed assault on Empress Teta, instead suggested a plan to infiltrate the Krath, and learn the dark side so that it might be used against them. Jeth and nearly all those present rejected Qel-Droma's idea, and the Arkanian Jedi Master prepared himself to address the masses, but experienced at that moment through the Force the despair of Exar Kun, resultant of his initial embrace of the dark side of the Force. The designs of the Krath were also realized in the form of life pods that suddenly bombarded Deneba, from which emerged an army of war droids that attacked the gathered Jedi. The servant droids, which were already planetside, were reprogrammed by the Krath and joined in the Jedi assault. Surrounded by the enemy, Jeth destroyed many of the automatons through the power of the Force alone, and saved the life of Ulic Qel-Droma from one in the process. However, in a moment of distraction, Jeth was fatally blasted from behind by one of the droids, which was then destroyed by his former apprentice. In Qel-Droma's arms, Arca Jeth became one with the Force, leaving behind only his Jedi robes and lightsaber.[2]
Legacy[edit | edit source]
- "Cold…cold…my heart is like the ice around me. Why won't it just stop beating?"
"Because you must live Ulic Qel-Droma…"
"Master Arca! Are you real, or are you just another ghost…like all the others?"
"There are no simple answers, my son. Life is not simple. But still, you must live…or are you too much a coward for life?" - ―The ghost of Arca Jeth confronts the dejected Ulic Qel-Droma
Unyielding grief and guilt plagued Ulic Qel-Droma after his Master's death,[22] and he collected Jeth's Jedi garments to keep forever with him as a treasured heirloom.[3] The death of so great a Jedi Master rocked many of his contemporaries,[7] a tragedy that spurred Qel-Droma, regardless of the counsel given by his late mentor, to carry out the infiltration mission for which he had so vocally campaigned.[2] Indeed did his action result in folly; Qel-Droma fell to the dark side as warlord of the Krath, and soon afterward became the apprentice of Exar Kun, whose own journey into darkness had been rewarded with his acquisition of tremendous power[22] as Dark Lord of the Sith.[23] Together they waged the Great Sith War against the Jedi and Republic,[24] which saw the death of another of Jeth's apprentices, Cay Qel-Droma, at the hands of his own brother.[25] However, the elder Qel-Droma ultimately renounced his Sith allegiance and assisted his former allies in the final defeat of Exar Kun, who was forever bound to his temple with the wall of light technique[26] suggested for use by Jeth during the Conclave on Deneba.[2] Qel-Droma eventually began his own journey to redemption ten years later,[27] and honored his fallen Master with an ice sculpture on the frozen world of Rhen Var, crafted with the blade of his lightsaber.[28] He then vowed to reclaim his life, after he was visited and encouraged to do so by the spirit of Jeth.[27]
Shortly after the Great Sith War, Antos Wyrick, a Zeltron scientist who had obtained a sample of Arca Jeth's DNA, began experiments on fetuses in whom he desired to genetically engineer Force sensitivity through the combination of their cells and those of the late Jedi Master. Wyrick was unsuccessful, as none of his test subjects manifested a facility with the Force, thus dashing his dream to create an army of Mandalorian Knights with which his kinsfolk planned to avenge their defeat against the Jedi Order during the Great Sith War. Among the "descendants" of Arca Jeth was the Arkanian Offshoot Jarael, and Wyrick's white-haired daughter, Chantique.[3]
Another of Jeth's pupils, the seer Krynda Draay, who grieved in perpetuity after the loss of Barrison in the Exar Kun War, dedicated herself to vigilance against the dark side through a secret covenant of Jedi, tasked to watch for any sign of Sith resurgence.[12] The Covenant's mission was inherently flawed by Jeth's failed Padawan Haazen who, as one of its founders, had also been Sith in disguise, and had orchestrated the near-annihilation of the Jedi Order from within.[6]
Following the sterilization of Ossus after the detonation of the Cron Cluster, the Jedi Temple on Coruscant began to take shape as the headquarters of the Order. Along its Processional Way as of 3956 BBY, a giant bronzium statue of Arca Jeth was erected alongside the likenesses of fellow Masters Ooroo and Odan-Urr.[29] Tales of Arca Jeth's valiance and the circumstances of his death had become the stuff of legend among the Jedi, but heeded not so much by those of other beliefs.[3] A university on Arkania was also renamed in honor of the deceased, whom the Arkanian people heralded as a hero of their race,[3] which was known to be active at least through the Cold War between the Republic and the resurgent Sith Empire.[30] Jeth's holocron eventually became buried on Arkania, lost until its rediscovery and subsequent possession thousands of years later by Jedi Master, historian, and archaeologist Tionne on behalf of the New Jedi Order.[31]
Although designed by fellow Jedi Master Tharis Orne, Arca Jeth created the Noetikon of Science, one of three such devices that nearly cataloged the entirety of the Jedi Archives. A measure of Jeth's personality was incorporated in holographic form alongside Masters Vandar Tokare and Orne, the three of them representing the "Jedi spirit of scientific inquiry." During the Cold War, the wisdom of the Masters of all three Noetikons, including Jeth, was called upon to save the life of Jedi Master Yuon Par.[32]
Personality and traits[edit | edit source]
- "A Jedi needs more than mere bravery…overconfidence has been the undoing of many a seasoned warrior. Let the Force be your strength!"
- ―Jedi Master Arca Jeth
Arca Jeth was an elderly male of common Arkanian appearance, with white hair; pupil-less white eyes; clawed, four-digit hands; and pale skin[31] that was gnarled by age.[20] Prior to his disfigurement by fire, Jeth had the telltale pointed ears of the Sephi, only to have them later reconstructed to resemble those of pure Arkanian descent.[3] His raiment was a unique variation of traditional Jedi apparel; a long, voluminous mustard-colored robe with brown pauldrons and a chain that connected them. A full-length tunic in a darker hue was worn beneath, and bound with a large-buckled belt under which was a hooded and thick-necked blouse that nearly matched the color of Jeth's over-robe.[15]
Jeth strove to exemplify peace and believed that all things were so in the Force.[7] A man of unusual wisdom and insight[1] who conveyed an air of serenity, even in the midst of serious conflict, Jeth was regarded as a quintessential Jedi of the Old Republic.[8] His diplomacy skills were paramount in the resolution of many a conflict, though he was not hesitant to raise arms when necessary. Even still, he preferred non-aggression to violence and frequently stressed its importance with his apprentices.[7] Jeth believed that all those with ample aptitude were worthy of Jedi membership, although he was somewhat hesitant to instruct Barrison Draay, whom he felt was too old and soft to survive the rigorous training. However, when Draay successfully completed his apprenticeship, Jeth openly confessed to gladness at having been proven wrong.[6]
Haazen, whom he had taken as a show of good faith, proved himself to be less than worthy of advancement in Jeth's eyes, not because of his social status, as believed by the apprentice, but rather his own lacking merit and character.[6] Jeth often reprimanded Ulic Qel-Droma for his brash overconfidence, a trait that sometimes proved perilous for even experienced warriors, and reminded all of his apprentices that their strength was in the Force.[15] He enjoyed friendships with many of his contemporaries, including Masters Noab Hulis,[6] Ood Bnar,[15] Thon,[33] Lien-Tsai Qel-Droma,[1] and Vodo-Siosk Baas, among others.[2] His essence within the Noetikon of Science, however, frequently bickered with that of fellow Master Vandar Tokare, something that annoyed their partner, Tharis Orne.[32] Jeth's service to the galaxy and the Jedi Order was honored in myriad ways, from monuments,[29] to renamed universities,[3] and through holocrons his teachings were passed down through generations.[19][31]
Powers and abilities[edit | edit source]
- "Ah, Jedi battle meditation. Thon is good at that. Arca was even better. Arca could raise the will of a defeated army and make them victorious."
- ―Odan Urr
As a Jedi Guardian,[5] Jeth was an expert swordsman who first earned legendary status with[1] his green-bladed lightsaber[3] during the Hyabb-Twith Campaign. Although he always carried his weapon, Jeth seldom used it in his later years.[34] It was during the Hyabb-Twith affair when Jeth first demonstrated his facility with battle meditation.[1] While not the first to display the ability,[35] Jeth was but one of a handful of Jedi to ever truly master it. Jeth was able to inspire entire armies into victory, even as their defeat was only moments before imminent.[15][24] He was also well known for his mastery of mechu macture, the ability to disable droids through the Force.[1] His strong position in the light side also afforded him a wide range of abilities: focused resolve augmentation;[5] realistic Force illusions;[4] telekinetic finesse; the transference of Force power;[36] Force sight, stealth and healing; farsight, telepathy, and the mental coercion of beasts;[5] the ability to either purge[15] or contain dark side power,[2] and to even sever another being's connection to the Force.[5]
Jeth was an authority on galactic lore, alien species, and languages.[1] He spoke the Arkanian tongue, Basic, and the antiquated High Galactic dialect.[36] His vast knowledge also extended into the history and ways of the Sith,[14] and he prided himself on his ability to recognize the dark side more clearly with age.[7] Once it became apparent to him that Freedon Nadd's spirit was the source of malevolent influence in Iziz, he attempted to remove the Dark Lord's remains and cleanse the city thereby. Only from Amanoa was the darkness initially driven, however, and Jeth, even with assistance from other Jedi, was unable to himself reverse the planet's dark-side infusion. He was admittedly no match for King Ommin, whose revitalization by the spirit of Nadd granted him incredible power, of the kind Jeth had never before encountered.[14] Nor was he able to drive the darkness from his homeworld, despite many attempts at eradication.[31]
Behind the scenes[edit | edit source]
- "I decided to focus in on a few characters and let the stories spin out from there. I think Master Arca was my first character."
- ―Tom Veitch
"Master Arca," as the character was most often referred, was created by Tom Veitch for the 1993 release of Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon, the first story arc of the Tales of the Jedi comic book series. The following year, Jeth was an influential character in Veitch's Freedon Nadd Uprising, wherein Jeth is drawn by Tony Akins, as opposed to Chris Gossett, who first penciled the character in Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon. He next appeared in the first three issues of the Dark Lords of the Sith, written by Veitch and another veteran Star Wars writer, Kevin J. Anderson, and again drawn by Chris Gossett. Jeth is prominently featured in both Tales of the Jedi full-cast audio dramas, voiced by Larry Keith in the first, and Jim Ward in the second. Up until that point, a surname for the character had yet to be identified, and was revealed as "Jeth" with the 1996 release of the Tales of the Jedi Companion a sourcebook for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game published by West End Games. He was the first Tales of the Jedi character created by Tom Veitch, who worked closely with Chris Gossett to illustrate a satisfying death scene for the character in Descent to the Dark Side.[37]
Jeth was mentioned throughout Kevin J. Anderson's subsequent The Sith War comic story, in the final issue of which, Dark Lord, the character Thon is mistaken by the author for Jeth as the Master of Ulic Qel-Droma. In the final Tales of the Jedi story arc, Redemption, Jeth appeared as a Force ghost in the second issue, and as an ice sculpture in the fourth and fifth. He is recognized in several comic issues of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic meta-series,[38] one of which, Vindication, Part 2, incorrectly misspelled his first name as "Arka" in a particular caption. The misspelling is also present in the Vindication trade paper back. Paul S. Kemp's Deceived novel, Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight by Michael Reaves, and Empire's End, both comic and Empire's End audio drama, include insignificant mentions of Jeth as well.
On page nineteen of the Tales of the Jedi Companion it is stated that "two dozen Jedi warriors" were initially dispatched to deal with the Nelori threat. However, at the end of the same paragraph it incorrectly states "Only five of the twelve Jedi survived the encounter". Also, the Jedi Academy Training Manual erroneously identifies Arca Jeth as the first Jedi to implement battle meditation on a large scale.[35] In Redemption 2: The Search for Peace, Jeth is shown with a five-fingered hand, which is contrary to all of his other comic appearances, as well as the characteristics of baseline Arkanians as defined in The Essential Guide to Alien Species, which correctly depicts the Jedi Master with two four-fingered hands. In addition to inclusions in an array of source and reference book material, Jeth received fleeting acknowledgements in several issues of The Official Star Wars Fact File, as well as mentions in the StarWars.com Databank entries for both the Jedi Order and Ulic Qel-Droma. He was also given entries within the Star Wars Encyclopedia and its updated version. For 2011's Star Wars: The Old Republic video game, Arca Jeth is given a human appearance, with five-fingered hands and pupils. His hair is short, his eyes are blue, and his accent is considerably different from his original voiced appearance in the Tales of the Jedi audio dramas.[32]
Appearances[edit | edit source]
Sources[edit | edit source]
Notes and references[edit | edit source]
This page was moved from wook:en:Arca Jeth. It's edit history can be viewed at Arca Jeth/edithistory
