Lilandra Asgarde

The Basics

Name: Lilandra Asgarde
Age: 25
Origin: Mandalore
Race: Human
Gender: Female
Class: Jedi
Concept: Jedi Knight
Affiliation: New Jedi Order
Weapon of Choice: Lightsaber (Yellow) (Medium Style)
Ship of Choice: Incom A-24 Sleuth, Cobra

Virtue: Fortitude
Vice: Lust

Background

Change was a way of life for Lilandra Asgarde. Born the same fateful year the Rebel Alliance destroyed the first Death Star and three years before the liberation of Mandalore, she lived out the earliest parts of her life on a Mandalore trying to find a place in the changing galaxy. At the end of the galactic civil war, Mandalore formed an uneasy alliance with the interim government as Lilandra grew up.

She was raised by a traditional Mandalorian clan, and grew up on a set of heavily nomadic values. Even as a child, Lilandra was all too familiar with war; her birth as a Mandalorian ensured she would never be far from it.

As the only child of a Mandolorian couple, Lilandra was raised as a warrior, devoting a full five years of her life to military and survival training. As early as age eight, it was noticed that Lilandra posessed an uncanny tracking skills. Regardless of the target (animals, sentient beings, objects), Lilandra was noted for her ability to hunt down almost any object if she had even a single clue to its prior trail. At first, her fame was only local, but as the years rolled by, Lilandra became famous as the best living tracker in Mandalorian society - no small honor, to be sure.

Luke Skywalker, focused on keeping an ear open for anyone who was potentially Force sensitive, quickly learned of this teenage girl that had upstaged some galaxy's fiercest warriors and most resourceful bounty hunters. He took it upon himself to travel to Mandalore and see the girl for himself. At first, Luke was pleased. He found Lilandra to be extremely disciplined and level headed, having been trained to handle the rigors of war. His reluctance to recruit her increased when he saw, after only a few conversations, how steadfastly loyal to her clan she was. Personal, sentimental attachments were not as frowned upon in the New Jedi order as they were the old, but in the extreme, they nevertheless presented a problem - a Jedi's sole, unwavering loyalty must be to the ideals espoused by the Jedi code. Still, beggars couldn't be choosers. Luke had to try. He pitched the idea to Lilandra, explaining to her that he felt she had a strong sensitivity to the Force and that her Mandalorian training would benefit her greatly on the path to becoming a Jedi Knight. His first attempt was unsuccessful. Lilandra simply could not bring herself to abandon the Mandalorian way of life; her people were too important to her.

Luke, not so easily discouraged, returned to Yavin IV and meditated on the issue, returning three months later. He phrased the concept of knighthood and the Jedi Order in the context of clan, bound together by their duty to protect the galaxy. He reasoned with Lilandra that her abilities made her unique, and that to remain on Mandalore would stifle her potential. As a Mandalorian, Lilandra's only other competing loyalty was to personal excellency, and it was perhaps Luke's latter-most point that drove her to accept his offer. The pair returned to Yavin IV, where she began her training.

Early on, Lilandra was a problematic student. Perpetually homesick, Lilandra tended to create surrogate fraternal bonds with whomever she could, be they classmates, instructors, people to be protected, or otherwise. Her inclination to form strong, protective relationships with individuals or groups distracted her. Although she was an excellent fighter, these tendencies presented a significant obstacle to Lilandra achieving the spiritual maturity and enlightenment necessary for knighthood. Luke, again not to be so easily daunted, had an idea. Deciding that, all else aside, Lilandra was certainly capable of handling herself in the face of danger, he felt she was ready to become a padawan learner. Knowing that she had a destructive tendency to become fanatically to devoted to whatever cause she presently championed, Luke assigned her to a master who knew a thing or two about letting go - Akea Oahu.

The beginnings of their relationship were rocky. Lilandra, in her short time at the Praxeum, had found herself largely in agreement with Luke's transient, present-minded views on the Force. She cared little for Akea's talk of destiny and the big picture, and even less so for his long history and philosophy lectures. Akea, ever the diplomat, took her to the site of an ancient Jedi temple hidden deep within the Outer Rim. He had previously done archaeological work at the site, and ushered Lilandra into the ruins of the temple, showing her first-hand the artifacts and writings of a culture older than that of even Mandalore's - the Jedi Order. After showing Lilandra the former glory of the Jedi Order, Akea saw Lilandra's excitement beginning to mount. She knew that this culture was in danger of dying, and that she was one of a handful with the power to help restore it. Somewhat to her dismay, Akea began illustrating the decrepit state of the temple, and indeed the planet itself. He pointed out that nobody had come here in many years, that the galaxy and the Jedi Order had moved to new places and new ideas, to begin anew. He further illustrated that this site would likely never be restored, just as the practices of the Old Republic's Jedi Order would never again be fully implemented, and that the traditions and policies of the Order reflect the needs of the era. Tradition is but one of many tools the Jedi use to create harmony among living things, and like many other tools, one must be able to wield it, adapt it, and if necessary, lay it to rest. This was Lilandra's first lesson, and it was a powerful one indeed.

Akea would later explain to Lilandra, who was somewhat puzzled at Akea's desire to do archaeological work after the speech he gave her, that in order to let go of the past, they must fully understand why it transpired. In the context of rebuilding the Jedi's own history, Lilandra accompanied Akea on missions across the galaxy recovering lost Jedi lore, all the while with Akea teaching Lilandra the importance and dangers of adherence to a set of beliefs or an ideal. As time progressed, their work shifted to more active duties. With the restoration of the Jedi Archives passed on to Tionne, Akea began to focus on service to underdeveloped cultures. Now, Akea taught Lilandra the virtue of change - as he showed primitive cultures how to adapt to a changing galaxy without losing their identities, he helped Lilandra to do the same.

Liilandra's defining moment came when Akea's illness surged forward in the last moments before a critical mission. Without hesitation, Akea sent his padawan forward alone - Lilandra handled the mission brilliantly, and was made a Jedi Knight for her efforts. Furthermore, having seen that Akea had successfully trained a padawan to knighthood and had fully accepted his condition, Akea was made a Jedi Master in the same turn of events.

Today, Lilandra serves the Jedi Order as Jedi Knight. She focuses most of her attention aiding oppressed societies, although her missions tend to have a much more martial slant than Akea's (such as aiding an oppressed society in a rebellion) - she remains a Mandalorian, after all. Although too disciplined to be a hothead, Lilandra still occasionally struggles with Order's reluctance to embrace relationships of a personal nature. Lilandra maintains that the love and companionship found in the bonds of romance and friendship are the strongest, purest expression of the Force. Senior members of the Order (including her former master) warn her to tread carefully around such beliefs, but Lilandra has demonstrated time and again that she finds strength in these things, not temptation.