Who and what are you? From where do you come, to where are you going? Tell us about yourself.My name’s Divellyn Gan Tuum. The other Padawans called me Divelli or Div. I’m originally from Orleon, because my dad was a horticulturist and he wanted to study the plants there—they’re really different because of how wet and rainy it is. Oh, I’m half Zelosian—my mother’s human, and she’s where I get my eyes. Otherwise I look more like my dad. Uhm, as to where I’m going… Well, I’m not sure what you mean. Do you mean in general, or just now? Right now I’m not really going anywhere, since I’m kind of stuck in a prison…
I’m seventeen, and I’ve been at the temple since I was eight. I was just preparing to become a full-fledged Padawan with my own master when the temple was attacked. It was… something I was excited about. I’ve trained for this for nine years, and it’s all been taken away. Everything’s been destroyed—our temple’s gone, so many of us are dead… and then there’s me, captured. It would be stupid to say I’m not scared, because I am, but I can’t let it rule over me.
Few men truly serve more than one cause. Sure, you might pay lip service to many and support others, but which cause do you serve most? The Galactic Republic and the Jedi order, or the glorious Sith Empire?I support the Jedi Order. They’ve taken care of me for years, and I love my brothers and sisters very much. Er, they’re not actually related to me, but we all learn together, and we’ve gotten close. My best friend’s name is… (Snnrk. Sniff.) I’m sorry, can we move on?
Eyes grow weak with age. They cannot see you clearly. Would you kindly describe what you look like and the sort of clothes you wear?
I have hazel eyes like my mother, and very long brown hair. If I’m not careful it gets in the way when I fight, so I usually tie it back. My clothes are pretty normal—a blue turtleneck with a zipper so I can open it and a pair of brown pants. I trip over Jedi robes, so my teachers thought it was best I don’t wear them just yet.
Now you have described somewhat about yourself, but you have not covered why you fight. Is it out of idealistic belief, or is it something else?I guess… It’s because of Jeena. My friend. Before that, it was because I wanted to protect everyone else. I wanted to make sure nobody had to fight ever again. I wanted peace, in some, big, vague way. Now that I’m… here, and Jeena’s not… well, there’s more at stake. The Order needs me to be strong. They need me to survive and get home.
Surely you are not like everyone else. What sort of skills make you stand out from the rest?My grasp of the Force is better than most of my classmates. I can levitate small things, including my practice lightsaber and throw it at targets. I can also swing it around without touching it. While I’m not too strong in swordsmanship, I’m getting better.
You have not been in touch with the rest so far. How do you relate to them? Are there any friends of yours among them? any enemies? Or perhaps you even have family therein?I’m alone in here. I don’t really know who else is captured—I don’t know if they know me, though. I… I kind of wish Jeena got captured too. I know that’s terrible to say, knowing what the Sith are going to do to us, but I wish she was alive.
The past makes you who you are. What sort of events made you the one you are?Well, I mentioned I was born on Orleon, right? My mom was a freighter captain before she met my dad on Naboo, and after they got married he brought her to Orleon where he was going to do a research paper on the plant life there. The plants grew really big and tall because the soil was so well-hydrated and the atmosphere was so humid, and there were a lot of different types. We lived there until I was six, when Dad finished his book (his research paper just kept growing and eventually became a 400-page guide to Orleon’s flora).
The Sith Empire and the Republic had been fighting for years, pushing each other back and forth. On Orleon, we didn’t really hear much; all I knew was from things my mother said or from the books we had. Naboo was going to be very different.
Once we were back (well, Mom and Dad were back, I had never been), we got a new house and settled in. Now that we were back with other people, we were hearing more and more about the war, about how the Empire was coming, slowly but steadily. My parents were careful not to discuss it in front of me, but I still heard.
I went to school for two years and liked it a lot, but I missed being able to play outside on Orleon. We were the only people living there, so you would think I’d get lonely but I never really felt it. On Naboo I got to play with other kids for the first time. That was when I figured out picking things up without touching them was weird.
I didn’t think it was, since I’d been able to do it for as long as I could remember, but the other kids were either scared or impressed. The ones who were impressed were easier to deal with than the frightened ones, but they never hurt me or anything. I didn’t have any close friends so I didn’t have to worry about them being with the scared kids. Hidden blessing.
Eagan Everille was the Jedi master who recruited me. On the lookout for teachable children, he heard from my dad’s university that I was ‘special’. He decided to see for himself. He came to our house and asked me to levitate things for him. I’d heard about Jedi from my mom—she’d worked with a couple, years ago, when she still had her freighter, and she sat with Master Everille while I concentrated on the steel ball he put on our table. When it lifted into the air, I think Mom realized I really was different.
Up until then, she had been proud of me, like most parents are of their kids, but seeing my abilities firsthand kind of brought it home, to her. I remember the look on her face—all that pride. She was thrilled I’d gotten the attention of the Jedi Order. When Master Everille offered to take me to the Academy, to teach me to use the Force properly, she couldn’t say yes fast enough.
Dad was less enthusiastic, because he and I were closer than me and my mom. He tried to convince her not to let me go. He told her it was dangerous, and that I was too little to go. It was me who convinced him… I said I wanted to go. After seeing the look on Mom’s face and how Master Everille had smiled when I picked up the ball, I wanted to go.
I met Jeena at the Academy. After I spent a few days overcoming my dad’s reservations regarding the war and the Sith, Master Everille took me to Coruscant to be trained. While I was there, I heard much more about the war—when Rhen Var was attacked, many of the Masters went away to fight. Master Everille went with them, and when he came back, he looked sadder than I’d ever seen him. Later I found out his Padawan at the time, Sidri Nalaar, had been killed in the battle.
I’ve worked hard in my classes, trying to be everything my mother wanted me to be. Everything Jeena wanted to be.
No good character is without his or her flaws. Nobody’s perfect. The heroes, be they good or evil, tend to have more blatant flaws than the tagalongs. What be thine flaws?Um, well… I care more about what people think than I let on. Aaaand… I’m kind of naïve. It’s weird knowing that I’m gullible and that I always see the best in everyone else but not being able to stop myself from being that way. Jeena usually stopped me from being too trusting, but she can’t do that anymore…
No matter if you are a Jedi or a Sith, you probably made a lightsaber once upon a time. What does it look like?Mine is green. The hilt is about as long as my forearm, so maybe fifteen inches? I haven’t really done much to it—I just got it when everything happened.
If you wield a Lightsaber, which of the Seven combat forms has your order trained you in?I use Soresu, if I’m forced to fight. I try to keep out of frontline combat, because the Force techniques I use require a lot of space. I’d hate to hurt someone else with a wide swing.
What sort of person are you? Do you use the Force for combat, or do you prefer to wield its more mystical branches? Is there something you excel at above all other things? Is there something you are hopelessly bad at? What limitations do you have?
Don’t forget that this is in the middle of a war. Anyone of truly great skill would have been at or near the front lines.I was in the middle of practicing my swordsmanship when the attack came. I’m not well-versed in the forms in spite of all my trying. I work hard, but it just doesn’t seem to work.
Where I truly shine is in the Force. I can move things and pick them up, and it’s always been really easy for me. I can get really fierce when I’m feeling a deep connection, which happens when I concentrate hard enough. So far I can lift and throw other people, as long as they aren’t too big. I know it’s frowned upon in the Order to enjoy fighting, but I like winning. Or, well, more accurately, I like competing. I try to shut off that part of myself when I fight, though.
You are Jedi. Yet you have not been held with the other prisoners. Why not? Were you captured elsewhere? Did you just get captured? Or have you simply been isolated till now?I… I think I got hurt. Badly. It was because I was stupid. I… I left the fight to bury Jeena. Everything’s very confused, but I remember dragging her away and then crying and leaving a flower for her. The only ‘girly’ thing she would ever tolerate was a flower now and then. She liked putting them in her hair.
Somebody must have come up behind me. I don’t know.
Is there anything else you would like to mention about yourself?I will never betray the Jedi. Jeena would want me to be strong. I have to be strong.
