Voren Na'al/Legends

"My critics have often scoffed that I cannot see the galaxy for the systems, for I tend to get bogged down on individual personalities. I believe the smallest pieces are as important as the whole they make, which is why I approach history - even current history - from the individuals who help create it."

- Voren Na'al

Voren Na'al was a prominent historian. Beginning as a reporter for the Galactic News Service, his experiences during the Imperial overthrow of the government of Corsin drove him into the arms of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, where he became a historian tasked with compiling the histories of the Heroes of Yavin. His historical works led him to continued advancement, first as Director of New Republic Council Research and Assistant Historian to the Republic, and later as Archivist Emeritus of the Historical Council of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances.

Early life
Na'al was a child of a family devastated by the Clone Wars. Though his parents apparently survived, Na'al lost grandparents, aunts, and uncles that he never had the opportunity to even meet. As a result, he carried some prejudice regarding the idea of cloning into adulthood. Even as a boy, he was interested in the causes of galactic events. History and journalism became hobbies of his, nurtured by his journalism teacher, Arhul Hextrophon.

His hobbies soon blossomed into a fledgling career, as Na'al became a stringer for the Galactic News Service. On the planet Corsin in the Greater Plooriod Cluster, Na'al was first exposed to the depredations of the Galactic Empire. Na'al was fortunate to get an assignment covering the prestigious swoop races there. While covering the opening matches, a platoon of stormtroopers burst into the press area and placed everyone under arrest. Na'al was kept in a detention cell for three weeks, visited only occasionally by an interrogator droid that asked no questions. No reasons were ever given for his incarceration, but later, Na'al discovered that the Galactic Empire had deposed the government of the world and replaced it with one dedicated to the New Order, dispensing with civil rights and placing the entire population under a police state. The incarceration of the journalists had been a method of keeping them silent.

Na'al was disturbed by this event, and realized he had two options: quit reporting and ignore the growing tyranny of the Empire, or go all-out and show to the Galaxy what the Empire was becoming. Fortunately, before he had the opportunity to pursue the more reckless path, he had a chance encounter with his old teacher, Arhul Hextrophon. Hextrophon had been with the Alliance to Restore the Republic since its inception, and convinced Na'al that the young reporter could make a difference in the Galactic Civil War by joining the Rebellion.

Historian for the Rebellion
"It has long been a maxim of my profession that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it."

- Voren Na'al

Na'al was placed in the historian corps, a special Rebel squad under Major Hextrophon, the Alliance's Master Historian. While still freshly recruited, Na'al made the acquaintance of a Rebel-sympathizing Imperial cadet named Biggs Darklighter. When Darklighter discovered that Rivoche Tarkin, the niece of Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, was quite willing to spy for the Alliance, he put her in contact with Na'al. Rivoche's precarious position as a deep cover spy meant that Na'al was one of the few Rebels who knew of her existence, and also one of the most vocal advocates for extracting her before the Empire realized her role.

Within a few years of joining the Rebellion, Na'al had earned the rank of Lieutenant, and Hextrophon assigned him to write an account of the Battle of Yavin and the events surrounding it, for inclusion into the Official History of the Rebellion, Volume One. Starting from the Rebel base at Thila, Na'al took a circuitous route via Yuga 2 and the Kuari Princess to Tatooine to begin his research, under the guise of being a reporter for the Imperial News Bureau. On Tatooine, he encountered Jawas trying to peddle two droids, which he succumbed to purchasing. Fortunately, these droids happened to be R5-D4 and an EG-6 power droid, both of which had been present when Jawas had captured and subsequently sold R2-D2 and C-3PO. After thoroughly interviewing the droids for all relevant information, he gave the power droid to a needy moisture farmer, and sold R5-D4 to Tour Aryon's assistant administrator, where the droid spied for the Alliance. He then traveled to the Imperial bureaucratic hub of Galvoni III, where he sliced into restricted computer files at the Imperial Records Office to acquire an overview of the first Death Star and its crew, only narrowly escaping capture. This information, combined with interviews of many of the players leading up to the battle and the Heroes of Yavin themselves, was compiled in a report to Hextrophon.

In 2 ABY, Na'al was tasked by Hextrophon to ascertain the truth of Han Solo and Chewbacca's adventures on Aduba-3.

Impressed with his work, Hextrophon tasked Na'al with generating an executive summary of a 168,000 DSUs report on the growth, organization, equipment, activities and objectives of the Alliance for Mon Mothma herself. Na'al completed the summary in 3 ABY prior to the Imperial discovery of Echo Base. Following the difficult battles of 3 and 4 ABY, Na'al wrote detailed accounts of the Battle of Hoth and the Battle of Endor, which joined his record of Yavin.

After Endor


"I'm a little too old to be hopping around the Outer Rim like an overzealous kid."

- Voren Na'al

After the events at Endor, Na'al was tasked with presenting the report to the Provisional Council of the Alliance of Free Planets regarding the Battle of Bakura. Na'al's report, the conclusions of which advocated suppressing information about the Ssi-ruuk to the galaxy at large and committing a task force to negotiate with the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium from a position of strength, was provocative to say the least.

Voren Na'al was eventually promoted to the positions of Director of New Republic Council Research and Assistant Historian to the Republic. He compiled reports on the campaigns of Grand Admiral Thrawn against the New Republic as well of those of the cloned Palpatine. He also began growing close to former New Republic Intelligence agent Rivoche Tarkin, niece of the infamous Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin, who provided him with firsthand accounts of the devastation of Coruscant in her new profession as journalist. Shortly after the Battle of Mon Calamari, Na'al interviewed Han Solo on New Ralltiir regarding his exploits in the Corporate Sector for use by New Republic forces expanding into that region.

Voren eventually retired as Head of New Republic Council Research, becoming a history professor. He and Rivoche Tarkin were married, and had several children together. Nearly ten years after the destruction of Mount Tantiss, he enlisted the help of one of his students, the Devaronian Pollo Tipn, in investigating for Mon Mothma some unusual reports emanating from the Kathol Sector, reports connected to Grand Admiral Thrawn.

Following the Yuuzhan Vong War, Na'al became the Archivist Emeritus of the Historical Council of the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. He oversaw the release of the second edition of an important historical chronicle, around the time of the events of the Killik expansion.

Personality and traits
Voren Na'al was an unimposing youth when first volunteering for the Alliance, though his years recording the exploits of the heroes of the galaxy, and his adventures in documenting them, had made him a wiser and more experienced man late in life. During both phases of his life, however, he held great enthusiasm for the personalities he reported on; this occasionally led to a nearly unprofessional zeal in his writings, one which he himself was self-conscious of and sometimes felt the need to apologize for.

Later in life, Voren settled into his role as a family man, and would turn down offers to explore abroad; it took a personal and persuasive request by Mon Mothma to convince him to go to the Kathol Sector. His advancing age, and concern for the request of his wife that he not go alone, convinced him to take Pollo Tipn along as help.

Behind the scenes
Voren Na'al is the in-universe "author" of several sourcebooks published by West End Games, as well as the New Essential Chronology and assorted articles. The character of Na'al was created to provide an in-universe perspective on the subjects WEG covered in its works, and to leave room for uncertainty in these accounts, in case of continuity conflicts or if a gamemaster wanted to ignore some facts in a sourcebook for his own campaign.