SpeciesGenderAgeAppearanceReni stands at 6'3 and weighs 190 pounds, body corded with the ropey muscle typical of Mirialans and soldiers. Her light green skin is dotted with various large tribal tattoos, most of her own making. She is also the proud owner of numerous scars, some ritual, while others earned the old-fashioned way. The most notable are a trio of jagged scars stretching diagonally from hip to mid-torso and a ragged circular scar on her right shoulder from a blaster bolt. Aside from these characteristics, the Jedi could kindly be described as “plain.” Years in harsh weather and desert sun have prematurely aged her, though her prominent nose, gaunt face, lean frame, and dull hair already ensured she was no great beauty even before her trials. Reni typically wears inconspicuous robes or plain clothes with no particular flair.
Although Reni is a Jedi Knight, she is still a woman undergoing a great transition. Growing up, the Mirialan was gregarious, quick with a joke, and full of passion and energy. Reni still possesses all of these qualities, but they have become muted as she seeks to find her place in the galaxy. Once, she had been so sure of her fate that it may as well be written in the stars. Following several setbacks and hardships, Reni has started to reevaluate herself and the world around her, becoming more introspective.
After witnessing the brutality of war, Reni now places all her faith in the Jedi Order, largely because of their commitment to nonviolence. Reni's belief in the sanctity of all life in the galaxy, engrained into her at a young age by her tribe's shaman, has only strengthened since joining the Order. She is still tortured by those she killed and those she lost during her military service, and looks to the philosophy of the Jedi's code to help her find peace. For the most part, she has succeeded.
Reni's disdain for violence colors much of her personality. Believing deeply in the oneness of all life through the Force, Reni's personal code holds life above everything else. She will go to great lengths to save any living creature, and only kills as a last resort. When she must, it affects her profoundly. She is also a strict vegan, refusing to eat or wear animal products, and loves all animals great and small.
Still, much of the old Reni remains. She is friendly, possesses a positive outlook, and loves humor and practical jokes, even if hers may be somewhat lacking. Reni enjoys a friendly physical competition and has a passion for music, both making it and discovering new types. She has traveled much and seen much, but remains optimistic and eager to see the best in people. The Mirialan is also honest, almost painfully so, which often gets her into trouble. She is incredibly patient, as well as incredibly stubborn, two traits that seem to work in tandem. Patient when fighting, learning, and teaching her apprentices. She is set in her ways though, adhering strictly to the Jedi code and her own personal code. She struggles to accept any other worldview or take in new information that contradicts what she knows.
Despite her seemingly calm and friendly demeanor, she harbors a deep hatred inside, which Reni knows she will have to confront.
The Mirialan despises the Sith, a hatred formed at a young age when force-sensitive children in her tribe were stolen away in the night by Sith searching for new apprentices. Her hatred festered on Veldont when she encountered Sithspawn, animals malformed and reshaped by Sith alchemy. This debasement of the Force and the natural world, both of which she holds to be sacred, solidified Reni's abhorrence for all worshippers of the Dark side. She knows that harboring this hate is not the Jedi way, and understands it will have to be addressed, but tries to hide her resentment nonetheless. The Sith she has encountered since have only reinforced her hate, as she can feel the darkness and corruption emanating from them through the Force. Reni spends much of her spare time combing the crumbling Jedi archives, seeking to understand her foe so that she might not be driven to despair or madness by her resentment. Reni passed the Trial of the Spirt, so she knows she can best this internal foe, but is unsure how.
Reni wields a simple, single-bladed lightsaber composed of a light metal alloy, with the grip partially wrapped in synthetic leather. The crystal is standard green, chosen because she claims it matches her complexion. Nothing too fancy for this Knight.
SkillsForm III: Reni is hesitant to use a lightsaber at all, but when she must, the knight prefers Form III. The tight, defensive posture compliments her physical and mental strengths, and allows Reni to tire her opponents out so she may end a fight without the loss of life. Against foes of similar or lesser skill, the Mirialan seems almost untouchable, but still struggles to take the offensive with a lightsaber. Reni practices rigorously in her favored form as a method of warrior-like meditation.
Scout: Reni's youth spent traveling the wastelands of Mirial and fighting with the 1st Recon have taught her how to move in silence, track almost anything, and find her way across many types of terrain. Her strong connection to the Force has deepened these skills as well, using it to detect nearby life and sense previous presences.
Nature Bond: Reni has always gotten along better with beasts than people, able to tame wild animals native to her homeworld with startling ease. Now with greater access to the Force, Reni has trained extensively to reach out to the wild world around her and calm raging animals, sense their presence and intentions, and very rarely, call upon them when she is in need. Reni would be hard-pressed to put a peaceful creature in danger, just as she loathes killing them, but may do so in utterly dire circumstances.
Healer: The Mirialan honed her skill as a healer long before joining the Jedi Order, studying under her tribe's medicine woman. She has a good grasp of herbal and modern medicine, is able to set broken limbs and tend to the ill, and if all else fails, can call upon the Force to mend most injuries. Reni surpasses most Knights in this power, though she is too modest to admit it.
EquipmentReni doesn't have much in the way of worldly possessions, and she prefers it that way. She held on to a pair of battered macrobinoculars from her time with the 1st Batallion, keeps a comlink on hand, and has a tribal tattoo kit stashed away somewhere. She also owns a g'ali, a simple Mirialan wind instrument similar to a ney, but that's the extent of her personal belongings.
WeaknessTechnophobe: Reni grew up cloistered away from the rest of the galaxy, and even after a stint in the military remains wary of and unfamiliar with technology. She struggles to operate even the most basic datapad, and strongly distrusts droids since they aren't connected to the Force. An encounter with a particularly nasty Imperial enforcer droid strengthened this unease in her. Even space travel disturbs her to some degree. It is doubtful she'll ever be a great pilot, or perhaps even a pilot at all. Though Reni became an excellent marksman in the 1st Recon, she loathes blasters now, only using them as a last resort. She is more likely to pick up a bow than a slugthrower.
Pacifist: Reni comes from a peaceful herding tribe, whose religion focused on the interconnectedness of all living beings through the Force. As such, she learned not to take any life lightly. Her time in the Republic Army left her with a bitter taste in her mouth and an abhorrence for killing. She takes the Jedi's commitment to nonviolence very seriously; Reni goes above and beyond to resolve conflicts without bloodshed, or at least without the loss of life, which can often be dangerous. Any life Reni takes will doubtlessly cause her serious anguish.
Chewed-Up: Reni's three-year stint in the New Republic Army left her with some considerable injuries. Physically, an old blaster wound on her right shoulder and a relatively recent trio of ragged scars on her abdomen cause her varying amounts of discomfort, the scarred flesh feeling tight and sore. This combined with the usual wear-and-tear a foot soldier's body undergoes makes Reni feel about ten years older. She's developed a routine of stretching and meditating to heal these old injuries, but it is unlikely the aches will ever fully leave her. Reni is also haunted by the soldiers she was unable to save, those she killed, and above all, the cruelty of the Sith. Reni still harbors a festering hatred in her heart for those fallen to the Dark Side, and knows she will have to overcome this if she ever wishes to fully heal and truly become one with the Force.
Background Reni was born in 23 BBY, four years before the Republic fell, on the planet Mirial, a cold, desert-like planet largely ignored by the rest of the galaxy. Reni's people were a nomadic and nearly primitive tribe who were constantly on the move to find new pastures for their livestock, and to avoid the new threat of Imperial eyes. Mirialans had a higher number of Force-sensitive offspring than many species, and this often drew the attention of Sith lords seeking new apprentices. Rumors spread of cloaked figures snatching Mirialan children in the night, almost to the point of superstition among the tribes. It was best, they determined, to keep a low profile, especially for those Force-sensitive among them.
Life on the desert planet was difficult, but Reni's childhood was made easier by her tribe. Entirely communal in nature, children were raised by the collective. Reni had not two parents, but many, and more brothers and sisters than she could count. Like many tribal Mirialans, they practiced a primitive religion that combined nature-centered animism with the Force. As such, Reni knew from a young age that she was Force-sensitive and was taught to hide this from outsiders at all costs. It was said the Empire had servants even among other tribes.
As a youth, Reni was taught by her elders herding, leather tanning, tracking, and even marksmanship. However, among these practical skills, Reni also learned how to live. Dancing, singing, storytelling, comradery, and a love for all things natural. She was also instructed in the ways of the Force in the tribe's rudimentary ways, and Reni discovered she had an affinity for healing. She earned her first tattoo, a series of diamonds across her cheek and nose, after healing one of her brothers when he was gored by a rampaging Bukund bull.
The tribe made cautious necessary trips into the cities that dotted Mirial to trade hides and meat for goods they couldn't produce. It was in these marketplaces that the young Reni met her first love, a human named Linac. Months or years would pass before they could reunite, but the young lovers remained faithful to eachother. Ultimately it was the Galactic Civil War that tore the two apart. Linac joined the Rebel Alliance the first chance they could, and that was the last time Reni saw them. Perhaps Linac died fighting, or perhaps they'd simply forgotten Reni. She hoped it was the latter.
Reni's sorrow eventually faded, but the memory of Linac did not. Reni came of age shortly after, and it was time for her to leave the tribe. A rite of passage to earn her place among the elders, to achieve great deeds, and maybe earn some new tattoos along the way. She knew of only one path to take. All the long cold nights, Reni thought of Linac, and how they spoke of the Rebel Alliance; swaggering, rugged freedom fighters finding adventure all over the galaxy, bathed in glory. She signed up just as Mon Mothma formally established the Rebel Alliance.
Life in the fledgling Rebellion wasn't quite what Reni expected. The culture shock alone could have killed her, going from the primitive, tribal life to sleek starships and light speed. However, her background proved useful to the Rebellion, and she found herself embedded with the 1st Reconnaissance Batallion, a ragtag fighting force that specialized in scouting rugged terrain on inhospitable planets. Swift, silent, and dangerous. Reni continued to hide her Force sensitivity, still afraid to reveal her powers to her comrades, but proved herself in other ways. She was an excellent scout, able to move in complete silence, and able to read terrain like a book.
The 1st Batallion fought the Empire everywhere, including a few major battles. Though the fighting was brutal, the struggle was noble, and Reni grew to believe in the cause. On Mirial, she didn't even know what democracy meant, but now she was ready to fight and die for it. The victory at Endor remains one of Reni's proudest moments, a turning point in the war when all seemed lost.
There was no rest for the fighting 1st after the Battle of Yavin. They deployed throughout the galaxy, rooting out Imperial holdouts hiding in jungles, mountains, and deserts on Republic planets. It was hard work, but not particularly dangerous; the holdouts were typically so depleted of supplies that they willingly surrendered. If not, the 1st Batallion simply called in the big guns, another Republic Army force meant for brute force assaults. Several years into her military career, and Reni felt like she'd found a new tribe. She'd also treated herself to a couple of new tattoos. Then, the Siege of Veldont.
The Outer Rim planet was a tree-cloaked backwater, but it was Rebel territory and the locals had reported some Imperial activity deep in the forest. This far out from the Imperial core, they didn't expect much resistance from the starved-out soldiers.
The intel must have been wrong.
Instead, the nimble 1st Reconnaissance Batallion stumbled across a veritable fortress, far beyond anything they'd encountered before. Imperial defenses opened fire on the soldiers almost the second they laid eyes on it. Unable to extract, they called for backup and dug in. Thus began five months of brutal trench warfare, as Rebel soldiers continued to drop into the planet and get chewed up by the well-supplied Imperial soldiers. Reni watched her closest friends ripped apart by blaster fire, trying to heal those she could, but most died. Then their replacements would arrive, and they died too. Rather than surrender, the Imperials made a final counterattack, revealing what they'd been so desperate to defend. Sithspawn, lab-grown abominations twisted beyond recognition through the dark side. The creatures cut through the Rebel forces, almost routing them before they were finally encircled and put down, with Reni receiving a near-fatal wound from one's claws. The 1st Recon suffered an 83% casualty rate.
After the siege, the 1st Reconnaissance Batallion was dissolved, the survivors dispersed into other Rebel forces. They were too valuable to simply lose. Reni was bounced around the Alliance military, mostly as a trainer for new scouts. After the Battle of Jakku, the Rebellion became the New Republic, and the Alliance Military was disbanded.
Reni spent most of her savings traveling through the galaxy's backwaters, drinking, gambling, and trying to forget the horrors of Veldont. It wasn't until a fight broke out in a cantina that things changed. A young Zabrak had been shot through the chest over cards, and Reni knocked the gunman out cold with a Force push before desperately laying her hands on the dying woman to revive her. Completely exhausting herself, Reni brought the Zabrak back from the brink. A man in flowing robes pulled Reni aside. He was a Jedi knight, and told Reni that her skills were being wasted here; he extended an invitation to the New Jedi Order, and Reni eagerly accepted. Perhaps she'd earn some new tattoos.
Since that fateful meeting, Reni has studied under Master Skywalker and the other Jedi who survived the Great Purge. Much of her training focused on healing her broken spirit and body, as well as delving into the history of both the galaxy and the Jedi Order, the latter a topic of great interest to Reni. Unlike some apprentices who chose to focus their attention on lightsaber training, learning as many forms as they possibly could, Reni chose to master just one, inspired by stories of the legendary Obi-Wan Kenobi. The Way of the Mynock. The Mirialan was always more interested in the Force, honing her skills as much as possible so she could end any conflict without bloodshed. She passed the Jedi Trials, much to her own surprise, and sometime later, acquired apprentices of her own.
