#Exar Kun's lightsaber

[solitaire-06]

What do you think is the most fitting colour of lightsaber for a dark side wielder (besides red?)

In the Legends continuity in particular, several prominent dark siders have used non-red lightsabers, such as Exar Kun, Darths Revan, Luke Skywalker during Dark Empire, Arcann and Vaylin of Zakuul, and Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati in Ahsoka. But if you had to give a dark side user a lightsaber, and it couldn’t be red, which colour would be the most fitting in your eyes?

[holonetwork]

George Lucas and the Tales of the Jedi comics Part of a series I’ve put together focusing on the history of the EU. Sources: Tom Veitch (2, 3), Kevin J. Anderson, Dario Carrasco, Jr., Christian Gossett, and Kevin J. Anderson's anecdote regarding the LFL Christmas gift of TOTJ

[alphacomicsvol2]

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith #1 Cover Art by Hugh Fleming

[jedidryad]

I used to dream of his presence disappearing from the galaxy like that. Lifeless body on a slab. Dreamed it and laughed.

Just in time for the holidays, here are the final 2 chapters of Lightsabers Are Always Loaded. Mara returns to the academy just in time to play a minor role in defeating Exar Kun - and to question her choices once again.

Lightsabers Are Always Loaded: Chapter 32

Lightsabers Are Always Loaded: Chapter 33

Thanks for reading and supporting this story. Part 3 will be awhile but it is in the works!

[gremoria411]

Okay, so Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma mentioned, that’s fun.

But discovering that Starkiller’s saber has an exposed crystal chamber seems kinda….. dangerous? Like obviously in-character, but I just feel that if that gets knocker or offset or some enterprising foe just removes the crystal from its housing….. wouldn’t it just explode? Since it needs the crystal to focus the energy?

I really like how the way Asajj Ventress’ sabers fit together is actually explained. I know we’ve had, like “modular” lightsabers before, but the fibercord’s a nice touch to explain how they fit together.

I also really like how utilitarian the Imperial Knight’s Saber’s are, since they don’t have the artistry of care of the Jedi’s, it just looks off-the-shelf. Which is a really good way of showing the divide between the organisations.

Also I kind of just like how Yoda’s has that little emitter shroud. I dunno, it’s just neat.

Star Wars Fact File Visual Guide to Lightsabers

[haaaaaaaaaaaave-you-met-ted]

Exar Kun by 5health

[dapurinthos]

accidentally'ed sifo as a form vi user. not in the 'all form vi users died in the geonosis arena' but in the 'exar kun used form vi' way. in the 'this is the bitchiest lightsaber form' way. the 'hybrid style of previous forms minus form ii' way.

Sifo-Dyas fights astonishingly dirty. I don’t know if it’s a reaction or learned behaviour from growing up with Dooku, but he deeply enjoys getting inside someone’s guard and heading straight for them, using his lightsaber more as a tool to play keep-away with his opponent’s. Dedication to a single form? Nope. He chooses opening moves from Soresu’s suite of self-defence if he’s actually engaging in prolonged combat. If he wants it over as fast as possible, then he’s just going to settle into one of Shii-Cho’s simple opening stances and kick straight up and out at the underside of your ’saber hand at the first opportunity. Do not fight this man when there is sand about. It will end up in your eyes.

[tobyig]

I think it's time I go on a KOTOR rant-specifically about Jolee Bindo.

Jolee Bindo, for those who don't know, is a (repeatedly mentioned) old man who, while fighting with a lightsaber and the force, is more gray than anything else.

We see this again in the second game with Kreia. Both are gray force wielders that at least somewhat guide the main character through their journey and reveal more about themselves as the story continues.

The difference, or the most important one really, between them is that Kreia uses manipulation and deception to get her way. Jolee uses his past and his knowledge to (not so) gently nudge Revan to follow the canonical path of rejecting the dark side, saving Bastilla, and then the galaxy.

Jolee has a. troubled history. He was a padawan when he found the woman who would later be his wife. he knew she had great force abilities, and when he brought this to the Jedi Council, they refused to train her because she was too old. Jolee, however, didn't care. he knew she had great potential and decided to train her anyway.

And he was right.

She was a great Jedi, and they together were both stronger.

Until she found Exar Kun during his war. After hearing his story, she turned to the dark side. she begged Jolee to join, but he couldn't. He knew he had to destroy her, but he couldn't. not for a lack of ability, but a lack of capability.

He was physically unable to. so he didn't. he let her go after beating her and let her survive, where she went on to join the war and kill innocent people until she herself died.

Jolee went back to the council and told them what happened. That he, a padawan learner himself, trained and fell in love with a woman who fell to the dark side all while the council told him to leave her. He expected to be condemned, kicked out, punished. but he was praised.

He was given a second chance, this time with the rank of Jedi Knight. but he knew better. he knew he didn't deserve that. If they were willing to overlook his mistake, what else would they overlook? So he left.

Imagine how horrifying it must be to go through that then find a clueless Revan + friends years and years later and just hope beyond hope that they don't fall to the dark side.

But if Revan joins Bastilla and connects to the dark side, they kill both Juhani and Jolee. Both people with a deep and intense relationship with the dark side of the force, watching two of their strongest friends fall together and turn on them.

How horrible.

[ipreferfiction]

i've been enabled. you get Revan/Exar Kun parallels on this fine evening. more under the cut

the thing. the thing about them. the thing is that it's never enough. Exar is as powerful a fighter as the Jedi have, and clever, and so strong with the Force, but Dantooine is tiny and his master won't let him study the Dark and he's hungry for it, so hungry. he wants to know everything, he's ready, he knows he's ready, and damn what Vodo says about it -

and Revan. Revan who spends her childhood on Dantooine and hears the Emperor's voice at twelve and is never trusted, never enough, not for the masters (not for Vrook, who remembers the last war, who remembers the black-haired apprentice with his blue lightsaber and watches the black-haired padawan with her blue blades now). Revan who wants to study the Dark because she has to, because it's the only way to fight it, because she needs to know, because she knows she's ready and she knows she's good enough and she has always known herself better than any master did.

thirty years between them. and it's half their choice and half a master plan, getting them to fall. Freedon Nadd breaks half the bones in Exar's body. Vitiate doesn't even have to do that much, to push Revan into war, to make her seek him out in the end. they both deny it. they both surrender.

thirty years between them. was Exar's blood still dried on that tomb floor when Revan came to Korriban? did she know, when she went hunting for knowledge in those tombs, that she wasn't the first?

and they're good. they're so very good at galactic conquest. they're so very good at being dark lords of the Sith, at being the nightmares they once swore they'd never fall to. they're clever, they're terrifying - as charismatic as they are vicious, as creative as they are cruel. how many Jedi walk away to join Exar? how many Revanchists go to war, and how many Jedi turn to the darkness when Darth Revan reappears?

and they have so much power. so much it's terrifying. Exar walks into the Senate chamber and freezes every one of them in their seats without breaking a sweat. he works alchemy on a level only matched by Sith lords with decades more experience. he was born to power, the lightning at the center of the storm. and Revan, Revan who can kill with a wave of her hand, Revan who claws her way back from death so many times, Revan who bends the Star Forge and the Foundry and Yavin to her will - Revan, who faces Vitiate and survives - more power in her as a youngling than most Jedi have by knighthood, and she takes to it so very easily.

they are planet-killers, Revan and Exar Kun, and they gave the orders knowing the cost and deeming it worthy. Revan watches Malachor V and half her army die, and it wins her the war. Exar makes a star cluster go supernova, turns Ossus barren, destroys Urkupp. it's not even to win the war - it's for Ossus, for all the knowledge there. what is a planet, against a galaxy?

anyway. yeah. parallels.

[dandalfthewhite]

The Ballad of Nomi Sunrider

Below is the Ballad I wrote for my Star Wars Fic "Unbound."

Basically, Nomi Sunrider was an ancient Jedi (like 4000 BBY) and was a big part of the war against Exar Kun in legends. She was considered one of the greatest Jedi ever and so I assumed that the Jedi culture would honor her in their own way, with things like this ballad.

I envision this one to be more like one Padawans know and study, and it focuses on her legacy more than her martial accomplishments, which I feel is rather Jedi-like. (I also wrote some commentary on it in this work on AO3. This goes into why I did what with the meter, etc. Feel free to check it out and learn more.) Enjoy the poem, and there's more beyond the cut!

-----

The embers dance like memories, As twilight dims to night. Hear now the tale of Nomi's path, A beacon of the Light.

In grief she walked, with child in arms, Her husband struck from life. The lightsaber she would not touch, That caused such bitter strife.

"The Force flows through all living things, From distant stars to stone. The path ahead is never clear, But none shall walk alone."

On Ambria's shore, with Master Thon, Reluctant as she was. The Force awakened in her soul, Despite her fear and pause.

When darkness rose and Sith returned, The stars grew cold with fear. But Nomi stood with strength unveiled, Her purpose kyber clear.

"The Force flows through all living things, From distant stars to stone. The path ahead is never clear, But none shall walk alone."

Her powers turned the battle's tide, Where swords alone would fail. A leader born of wisdom's flame, Against the dark prevail.

The scattered Jedi, far and wide, Like stars across the night. She called them home to stand as one, United in the Light.

"The Force flows through all living things, From distant stars to stone. The path ahead is never clear, But none shall walk alone."

"A temple built of living hope," She spoke with quiet grace. "Where knowledge flows like ancient streams, A sacred meeting place."

Yet as the stones were laid with care, A shadow crossed her mind. One center where all light could shine— Or all at once go blind.

She whispered to the evening air, As doubt crept like the tide: "Have I now made a shining mark Where darkness might reside?"

But still she built with steady hands, The Order bound anew. "The future shifts like desert sands, Yet this I know is true:

"The Force flows through all living things, From distant stars to stone. The path ahead is never clear, But none shall walk alone."

"If darkness comes in future days, To test what we have done, The Light will find its champions still, In daughters and in sons."

Her legacy of unity, A flame that would endure. Through ages long beyond her time, Her vision still burns pure.

Now when you feel the Force's call, Remember what she knew: That scattered stars may fade and fall, But constellations true

Will guide the way through darkest night, If we but stand as one. The Jedi path that Nomi lit, Until all days are done.

"The Force flows through all living things, From distant stars to stone. The path ahead is never clear, But none shall walk alone."

[azems-familiar]

okay okay okay. fine. my interpretation of Ulic, obviously, which i personally think is pretty accurate if you get rid of some of the ridiculous shit that makes no sense the comics pulled, and extrapolated based on little things. anyway.

they're both gifted kids, you know. Ulic is given over to Arca when he's 11, this absolute powerhouse and prodigy. his mother believed herself incapable of training him, instead sending him to a master who scolded him for not developing the innate power of battle meditation; he resented her for it, and resented Arca, but never believed Arca was wrong. Revan, thirty years later, just as powerful in the Force, with the same martial bent as him, feared by Vrook Lamar and certain other masters she would resent for the rest of her life. picked up at twelve by Arren Kae, who only chose her because one day you will save the Republic, i've Seen it.

arrogant, both of them, even as the brightest of Jedi. Ulic knew his strength and believed he could handle anything - boasted about it, even. what were the Krath against his Jedi strength and righteousness? Revan had succeeded at everything she turned her mind to, and was certain she could outsmart Cassus Fett and win the war. what were the Mandalorians against her righteous anger and the Jedi's compassion?

(how long did a Jedi's compassion and righteousness last when loss came, when anger came, when a way to win that wasn't the right path presented itself?)

how often did Nomi Sunrider look at Alek and Qatya, Revan's most loyal friends, and see Cay? (see Tott, see herself?) Qatya, standing numb before the Jedi Council, a fresh scar across her face and her connection to the Force ripped away. Cay, bleeding out and crumpled on the ground, Ulic's lightsaber having carved through his chest.

a mask. an amulet. power, not of the mystic kind but of blade and charisma and tactical genius and an army loyal to the death. Ulic would have taken Coruscant had Aleema not betrayed him. thirty years later, Revan was six months out from conquering the Republic, Coruscant included, until Malak turned and shot her in the back.

Ulic was a prodigy. he proved it a hundred times over before the end. Revan saved the Republic, and then turned around and nearly destroyed it. both of them left shadows over the galaxy that would linger for generations. oh, they'll tell you Exar Kun masterminded the Great Sith War, and maybe they're right - from his hand was the dream of a new golden age birthed. but it was Ulic who led their armies, unmatched by any Republic tactician.

the same eyes in different people, time after time after time.

so yeah. sometimes i think about Ulic and Revan.

[vixensdungeon]

It's time to play with Star Wars toys again.

Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded (West End Games, 1996)

Since this edition doesn't really have its own distinct time period, I'm going to dip into one of its sourcebooks.

Character Name: Temlav Darksun Type: Battle Master Gender/Species: Female/Human Age: 22 Height: 1.75m Weight: 75kg Physical Description: Red of hair, with a ready smile, wearing a tunic and an ankle-length skirt with slits on the sides for mobility under her robes. Blue lightsabers

Dexterity 3D Lightsaber 5D

Knowledge 2D Survival 3D

Mechanical 2D Beast riding 3D

Perception 3D

Strength 3D Stamina 4D

Technical 2D Lightsaber repair 3D

Special Abilities: Control 3D, sense 1D Control: Remain conscious Control and Sense: Lightsaber combat

Move: 10 Force Sensitive: Yes Force Points: 2

Equipment: Two lightsabers (5D), link armor (+1D physical +2 energy, -1D Dexterity), robes, PTP link, pulse wave blaster pistol (4D)

Temlav is a pretty standard heroic Jedi, there's not much to say. She fights for the republic in the Sith War against Exar Kun and Ulic Qel-Droma. She is canonically the ancestor of all my characters in Star Wars: The Old Republic.

[alphacomicsvol2]

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith #1 by Chris Gossett

[magnetarbeam]

Sleep deprivation thoughts: This post about the symbolism of dual-phase lightsabers (mostly citing Corran's use of his saber in I Jedi and NJO) got me thinking about the choices I made to give Ahsoka her own spin on the concept in Voices of the Force, for the sabers she uses in the New Jedi Order.

My original reasoning for the decision was mostly because I thought it would be cool, particularly as a progression from her having carried a regular saber and a shoto before into carrying two blades that can be either, and these being a new variation allows her to develop new and surprising moves to even the odds against Sith Sabers she'd otherwise be lucky to fight to a standstill.

But the idea in the linked post was that the duality of the dual-phase blades represents the capacity for either good or evil to arise from our choices, and that the design is often associated with characters who have a particular temptation to the dark side (i.e. Gantoris learning the design from Exar Kun, and Corran copying it because he's petty and wanted to win).

I don't think anything about Ahsoka makes her naturally more likely to fall. But her old Master was Anakin Skywalker, and now she has no idea how much of what he taught her was the beliefs of Darth Vader.

And of course, once she finally starts to be able to access the Daughter's essence, the powers of a Force goddess are perhaps the ultimate temptation to the quick and easy dark path, so she's gonna go through the wringer trying not to fall, and the capacity for good or evil from her actions is more than any Jedi before or since.

[sw5w]

Maul's Lightsaber

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:16:57

[deas-junk-bin]

Hi my name is Maul and I am a hunter who walks a road of graves. I have killed so many (that's how I got my name). I have crimson red skin like the Sith of old with black war-marks that strike fear into my enemies and glowing gold eyes like twin suns and a lot of people tell me I look like Exar Kun (if u don't know who he is get da hell out of here!). I am knives in the dark. I'm a Zabrak and my horns are keen and sharp. I've been the apprentice to the most powerful being in the galaxy for three years (I'm seventeen). I'm a Sith (in case you couldn’t tell) and I wear mostly black. For example today I was wearing a black halter neck top with matching ribbon tassels on it and a black long double-split skirt, a black cloak thrown over one shoulder, and black Frank Thomas Titan motorcycle boots. I had my lightsaber, but I didn't really need it, because the Force is always with me. I was walking outside the Jedi Temple. It was thundering and raining so there was no sun, which I was very happy about. A lot of Jedi stared at me. I put up my middle finger at them.