Concept Art of Xar Kerensky, Grand Master of the New Imperium Jedi Division
Xar Kerensky was Grand Master of the New Imperium Jedi Division. He was also the crown prince of the planet Varnus and one of the most powerful Force-users in the galaxy. He led the Jedi Order, and much of the New Imperium, in the war against the Altarin'Dakor. He was married to the Shok'Thola Zalaria, and together they had a son named Derek.
Background[]
Born in 24 BBY on the planet Varnus, Xar Kerensky grew up in the Royal Palace, crown prince and heir to the throne of his father Nikolas. He had one older brother, Ulric, an older sister Natasha, and a younger brother, Rydon Kerensky. He was also betrothed from childhood to a girl with fiery red hair and green eyes named Illiana Nakotov. Though his brother Ulric was older, it was typically the firstborn's job to become a military leader, and Ulric attended the military academy in the city of Enhasa. Xar grew up learning how to be a leader and a diplomat, and he was childhood friends with Illiana, though they both knew that they would be married one day. He also had an uncle, Aron Kerensky, who often sharply disagreed with Xar's father about affairs in the country. One day, when they had a particularly harsh falling out, Aron left Vectur and moved to the Bakal Mountains, where he lived as a hermit for years. Meanwhile, Xar was always kept under the watchful eye of the Royal Palace Guard, who included among their number Alysandr Misnera, who would later become Xar's comrade and fellow Grand Master in the Jedi Order.
The Devastation of Varnus[]
When Xar turned eighteen, he left Varnus and went on a coming-of-age journey prior to his return and promised marriage to Illiana Nakotov. However, by the time he returned to his world, everything he had known would be shattered and forever changed beyond recognition. In a strategy orchestrated by the Altarin'Dakor agent General Akira, Imperial scouts arrived at Varnus and were shortly thereafter ambushed by Rebel forces in the sector. Xar's father Nikolas attempted to negotiate a truce between the two sides, seeking to avoid a battle over Varnus. But Dasok Krun, an exiled Varnusian who hated the Kerenskys and worked for Akira, took a captured Rebel fighter and blew Nikolas' shuttle out of the sky. In retaliation Varnus' military scrambled, but Akira succeeded in fooling the Imperials into thinking the Varnusians were attacking them.
In the ensuing three-way battle the Rebels were routed, Varnus' forces were destroyed, and the surface of the planet was bombarded with turbolaser fire for hours. Aron Kerensky, Xar's uncle, had been blackmailed by Akira into revealing the security codes for Varnus' planetary shields. As a result, Vectur was virtually leveled, and the Royal Palace all but destroyed. Akira sent a team of Altarin'Dakor forces to kidnap the royal family, and they successfully grabbed Rydon Kerensky, who had also been at the academy, and Illiana Nakotov, but unfortunately Ulric and Natasha were killed before they could be found.
Capture and Training by Runis[]
Meanwhile, Xar was still off-world, and the target of someone else: Dark Jedi Master Runis. Runis had Xar attacked, planning to come to his rescue and recruit him as his apprentice, but the attack worked almost too well and Xar was critically injured. Runis stepped in and only saved his life by employing the horrendous power Dark Side Healing. Xar awoke on Runis' ship, a prisoner, with horrible scars on his body and total confusion. Runis explained that Xar had incredible Force potential, and that he would be trained as Runis' apprentice and as an assassin to kill the Dark Council members he was feuding with.
Thus began a year-long ordeal where Xar was brutally trained as a Dark Jedi. Though he hated his master, Runis always seemed to have the upper hand. Xar developed skills at combat, Force manipulation, stealth and espionage. Finally, one day Xar found the opening he needed. Exploiting a weak moment he attacked his master, and only in a stroke of luck was he able to kill Runis. However, in the process he used a power called Absorb Force Energy, by which he drew Runis' own Force powers and part of Runis as well into himself. Free and suddenly stronger, Xar set out in his master's ship and returned to Varnus.
When he arrived, he nearly broke down from despair. The world had been devastated by the attack. His family was dead. The only survivor was his uncle Aron, who convinced him to hold on, promising to watch over the Royal Palace until Xar's return. Then Xar fled, seeking new purpose in life. He set off to explore the galaxy and continue his training as a Jedi. Along the way he visited the Crinn, from whom Runis had gotten his ship, and also received weapons and technology from them. He also built his lightsaber, using rare materials gathered from worlds all across the galaxy. Then he set out to make revenge on the Rebels for whom he assumed were responsible for the bombing of his world.
Xar's lightsaber, which emitted a yellow-orange blade.
Service to the Empire[]
Xar became a fighter pilot for the Empire shortly after the Battle of Hoth, in 2 ABY. He rose through the ranks and along the way met and befriended Maarek Stele, legendary ace. They were both approached by the Secret Order of the Emperor, although Xar kept as low a profile as he could, and Maarek barely understood what the Order was trying to do with him. They both ended up serving with Grand Admiral Thrawn after the Battle of Endor. However, unlike Maarek, who went with Thrawn into the Unknown Regions, Xar finally stepped down, losing his faith that the Empire would eventually win the war.
Using his stored wealth from Varnus, he started a trading company dealing in ancient antiquities, and he traveled the galaxy in search of rare artifacts, especially those pertaining to the Force. Among his searches was for the Force Shard on the planet Lyccos II, though he didn't find it. Eventually, however, Xar returned to the Empire, this time joining the Imperial Remnant in Minos Cluster. He also joined the Dark Brotherhood there, entering Jedi House Ar'Kell in 6 ABY, founded by Mathis Organa, with whom he became good friends.
Jedi House Ar'Kell[]
In Ar'Kell, Xar performed numerous missions, and impressed Organa so much that he was made second-in-command. Xar helped stop a dark Jedi named Janus who had been sent to Lyccos II by General Akira to find the Force Shard. This time the Shard was found, and Xar stopped Janus, though the Shard was destroyed. Shortly thereafter, Xar returned to Varnus to touch base with his uncle, and also visit the Crinn one more time. On the way back, Xar faced off with a rogue Jedi named Cain, who nearly killed him. At the last minute a mysterious watcher named Icis Novitaar saved Xar, killing Cain, and then revealed himself to Kerensky as one of the immortal Travelers, sent to watch and record galactic events. He convinced Xar to take him on as an adviser, after which Icis continued to watch Xar from the shadows.
Returning to Palace Ravenspyre, Xar and the rest of Ar'Kell came under attack from a group of dark Jedi led by Dasok Krun, sent by Akira to destroy the house, kill or capture Kerensky, and retrieve the legendary Scepter of Karanishma buried there. Xar and the others fought back, defeating the invaders. Along the way Krun revealed the truth about the bombing of Varnus, and also claimed he had killed Xar's uncle Aron after they had last met. In the resulting duel, an enraged Xar killed Krun, once again using Absorb Force Energy to absorb Krun's Force power and part of himself into Xar. After the battle, Mathis Organa decided to step back and place Xar in charge of the House.
After becoming leader of Ar'Kell, Xar was surprised to find that Alyx Misnera, his former bodyguard, was also in the Brotherhood, and he convinced Alyx to join him in Ar'Kell. After Icis Novitaar warned them of a plot by the Brotherhood, under Akira's influence, to destroy Ar'Kell, they decided to flee, taking the entire house with them to Varnus in 9 ABY, where they decided to start a new Jedi Order.
The New Imperium[]
Ar'Kell joined with other groups in Epsilon Sector, including the Intruder Wing led by Arfann Dogar and the New Corporate Sector Authority led by Walt Amason, to form a new government, which they christened the New Imperium. Xar founded the Jedi Division, based in the Royal Palace in Vectur, on Varnus, which was rebuilt as one of the NI's capital worlds. Xar also served as the first Diktat of the New Imperium, where he helped defeat the Krri'Graq, add worlds such as Moro and Sigma to the NI, and defeat threats such as the Eyes of Elfodd. He discovered a cache of Force artifacts, including Null Spheres and Holocrons, in a vault on Moro, along with a Jedicon from the Great War named Bren, whom he revived. Xar was also pleasantly surprised when Maarek Stele came calling, offering his services to Xar to help build the New Imperium. Xar readily accepted.
After his tenure as Diktat, Xar focused his efforts on building the Order, establishing more Houses and training Jedi leaders. He also worked hard to find General Akira, who he knew had operated in Epsilon Sector in the past, but he could turn up no leads. A mission to Dathomir to recruit Force Witches there resulted in a sidetracked mission, where Xar encountered his first Jedicon and faced off against Turles on the planet Hijarna, saving the life of a young boy and powerful Force-user named Derek, with whom Xar grew close. Xar considered Derek like his son, and taught him personally many things about the Force.
In 12 ABY, a mysterious group calling themselves the Altarin'Dakor tried to bully the New Imperium into making an alliance with itself. When then-Diktat Ryskar D'larit refused, the AD struck, killing him and attacking Varnus directly. Xar Kerensky was kidnapped and the planet blockaded, though shortly thereafter the entire combined NI Starfleet drove the invaders back.
Duel with Kronos, Bond with Zalaria[]
Xar awoke on a space station in the Mizar System, where he was taken before the Shok'Thola Kronos. He was shocked to learn that his former betrothed, Illiana Nakotov, was alive and part of Kronos' harem, and that General Akira was Kronos' top commander. For the next several days, Kronos tortured Xar and tried to break him, but Xar would not bend. Finally the Warlord killed him, causing all his internal organs to rupture, and leaving him for dead. But just at that moment, another Shok'Thola who was onboard the station, Zalaria, healed Xar, Bonding him in the process so that his life energy would remain, and giving him a permanent link with her through the Force. She then nursed him back to health, where Xar was astonished again to learn that his brother, Rydon Kerensky was alive as well, and serving Zalaria. She then equipped Xar to go and fight Kronos, to stop his plan to release the Zelduk to unleash on the New Imperium. Xar burst into the room, killed Akira, and faced off with the Warlord. Saved at the last minute by a team of Jedi Division members, Xar defeated Kronos and destroyed the station, ending the Zelduk threat.
From that point on, however, Xar was a profoundly changed man. Infatuated with Zalaria because of the Bond, he decided to go in search for her, despite vehement opposition from Icis Novitaar and the rest of his friends. He abandoned the NI, heading into AD space to find her, and when he did, he pleaded with her to come back to Varnus with him. She did, but only after he fought her brother, the Shok'Thola Nimrod, who mysteriously allowed them to leave.
Returning to Varnus with Zalaria and her forces, Xar became obsessed with stopping the Altarin'Dakor after his ordeal under Kronos, and any means became justified in obtaining that goal. He began training his Jedi as living weapons, teaching them faster, driving them harder, even while he drove away some of the closest friends he'd made of the last several years. Zalaria and the Altarin'Dakor became the only things he focused on. He assembled a team of elite Jedi that accompanied him constantly, called the "cadre", who performed whatever task or mission he needed them for. Working to root out AD spies, he became more and more ruthless and prone to anger.
The Tides of War[]
When on a mission to discover the source of the Force Shard, a powerful rumored artifact that could give them the power to stop the AD, Xar and a team of Jedi matched wits with the Shok'Thola Strife. They then discovered that the artifact was in fact a Force machine called the Collector, constructed by the Celestials, and when they tried to make contact the device sent both sides hurtling through time and space. Xar made his way back to Varnus to discover that six months had passed, and everyone else had been waiting for him.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Xar and Zalaria were married, though they had little time for a romantic honeymoon. Their villa was attacked by the Shok'Thola Velius, who nearly destroyed them and the entire planet, and was only stopped by a powerful Focus Bomb from Zalaria.
After that, Xar and Zalaria returned to Vectur to discover that the Altarin'Dakor invasion had begun anew, this time led by Nimrod. One by one, New Imperium systems fell to the AD, while Xar tried desperately to prepare his forces for an inevitable showdown. Xar's transformation continued, as he became darker and less trusting of everyone around him. Finally he seemed to lose trust of his wife, as well, finding out that she and Nimrod had wiped her entire race during the Great War. Nimrod's forces continued to encircle Varnus, driving millions of refugees there, before he finally struck in a massive assault. Jedicon invaded the Royal Palace from the catacombs underneath, and when the shields came down, AD forces rained down onto the surface in an all-out battle.
New Revelations[]
In the end, the NI fleet was destroyed and the palace breached, and Nimrod descended to claim his victory. Xar faced him down valiantly, but was no match for the Warlord. Xar was critically injured, and finally convinced that he was going to die. Only then, at the last possible moment, a mysterious youth appeared before Nimrod and dispatched the Warlord with ease. He then healed Xar and took him aside, revealing unbelievable news: he was Xar and Zalaria's future son, returned to save his father - not to help them against the Altarin'Dakor, but to enlist Xar's help in a future war against a much graver and unstoppable threat - the Ones.
His son then left, and Xar was left alone, overwhelmed. On one hand he couldn't believe that he had a son returned from the future. On the other, the news that he was supposed to die that day meant that the destiny he'd believed in for himself was a lie, leaving him purposeless. As the others gathered around him to find out what had happened, Zalaria laid claim to all of Nimrod's territory and forces, as well as that of the NI. Xar had an emergency meeting with this leaders to figure out what they needed to do next.
Then suddenly Bren burst into the room, carrying the body of young Derek, slain by Jedicon that had been left in the palace. At the sight of the dead boy, whom he had loved as a son, Xar broke down. That moment struck him harder than anything else in the war, and with his greatest hopes dashed right before his eyes, Xar simply gave up. He lost hope and fell into depression, claiming that he didn't care about the New Imperium, or anything else, anymore.
Zalaria, Icis and others tried to help Xar, but it seemed that he was falling farther and farther away. He became more and more aggressive and ruthless, driving everyone away, and finally his friends came to realize that something was really wrong. Zalaria believed something had happened inside Xar's mind, but even she could not determine what it was. Icis Novitaar felt he could find the answer, but in order to do so he needed to take Xar to Kajarn, back to his people. Yet Icis had been banned from his homeworld forever. He would have to find another way.
Personality and Traits[]
Xar underwent many changes throughout his life. Initially a kind-hearted young man, he was brutally and ruthlessly trained under Runis to be a cold-hearted killer. For years he struggled with the brainwashing he'd received, still acting cold and calculative during his days in the Empire, although the emotions slowly began coming out. After he faced Dasok Krun, the emotions began to flow much more heavily, though Xar still genuinely wanted peace and to create in the New Imperium a place where all peoples would be protected and could live happily. However, after the Altarin'Dakor came and the torture by Kronos, Xar became hard and ruthless, obsessed with stopping the Altarin'Dakor at any cost. Others thought him cruel and uncaring, with a "means justifies the ends" attitude. He fell in love with Zalaria, eschewing everything else besides her for a time, although eventually his distrust grew even of her. At times Xar didn't even know what was happening to him, or why, and it was unclear to his friends and followers alike what had happened to the real Xar Kerensky.
Xar Kerensky's ceremonial uniform.
Xar was of average height, with dark hair and eyes that were hazel and almost gray in color. He loved antiques and ancient artifacts, and the accumulation of knowledge about the galaxy and the Force, something that rubbed off on him from his time with Runis. He collected numerous weapons from various cultures, and one of his favorite hobbies was building lightsabers, of which he had many. His primary blade was constructed of rare, hybrid materials, including some that were organic, and he used a rare and famous crystal to power it, creating a searing yellow beam that could cut through almost anything.
Xar was one of the most powerful Force-users in the galaxy, and his powers continued to grow, with spikes after absorbing the energy of Runis and Dasok Krun. He eventually reached 50,000 on the Force Power Levels scale, which according to both Zalaria and Icis was the limit that could normally be attained by any individual since the end of the Great War. Xar was excellent in all forms of combat, from hand-to-hand to the lightsaber, and he had a natural affinity for energy projection. He could create blasts or beams of energy far greater than normal men could, but conversely his ability to absorb and dissipate energy was disproportionally weak; he could barely stop a blaster bolt coming at him from causing damage. Xar spoke nearly a dozen languages and had a vast knowledge of both the history and lay of the galaxy. He was especially interested in galactic history and the so-called First Races, such as the Celestials. He had traveled across nearly the entire galaxy and visited hundreds of worlds by the time the Altarin'Dakor attacked the New Imperium.