Kirana Ti

"I'm always ready to fight."

- Kirana Ti

Kirana Ti was a member of the Singing Mountain Clan of Force-sensitive, rancor-riding witches on the world of Dathomir. She was a member of the inaugural class at Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 as member of the New Jedi Order. During her training, she helped to defeat the long dead ghost of Exar Kun using the lightsaber of a fallen student to destroy Kun's spirit. She later fought in the Attack on Yavin 4, fending off Imperial aggressors. Upon her promotion to Jedi Knight, she was involved in a mission to the world of Corbos, helping her fellow Jedi to defeat a long-hidden Leviathan.

As a Jedi Knight, she fought in the Yuuzhan Vong War, using her powers to fend off the attacks of the invaders. Upon the conclusion of the war, she returned to Dathomir to establish a Jedi Praxeum to train her fellow witches as a future generation of Jedi. She continued to serve the New Jedi Order through the Dark Nest Crisis and the Second Galactic Civil War as one of the senior Jedi of the order.

Singing Mountain Clan
"What are you looking at? You miserable weakling! Get out of here. Go on and fight! Your sisters are dying!" "Your face, you've burst a vessel!"

- Teneniel Djo and Kirana Ti

Kirana Ti was born on the planet Dathomir and was part of the Singing Mountain Clan. As a Force-sensitive, she was trained as one of the Witches of Dathomir, learning how to manipulate the Force and master the teachings of Allya, the founder of the witches' teachings. She eventually took a husband and gave birth to a daughter around 7 ABY. In 8 ABY, Kirana Ti was serving alongside another Dathomiri witch, Ferra, protecting the Clan Mother Augwynne Djo. During this time, the Singing Mountain Clan was in conflict with the Nightsisters, a rival clan of witches devoted to the Dark side of the Force. The Nightsisters, hoping to find a way to escape Dathomir, had allied themselves with the Warlord Zsinj, a former officer in the Galactic Empire who had carved out his own Empire in the wake of Galactic Emperor Palpatine's death. In exchange for helping Zsinj capture New Republic General Han Solo who was on Dathomir, Zsinj agreed to give them transport off-world. At the same time, Solo had encountered the Singing Mountain Clan after crashing his ship, the Millennium Falcon near their territory. Solo's sweetheart, Leia Organa convinced the Singing Mountain Clan to protect Solo and not turn him over to the Nightsisters.

With the Singing Mountain Clan refusing to cooperate, Gethzerion attacked the Singing Mountain, sending her forces in an overwhelming attack. The Clan Mother ordered Kirana Ti and Ferra to defend the entrance to their territory, fighting alongside the local Rancors. As they raced to combat the Nightsisters, they were joined by Teneniel Djo, the Clan Mother's daughter. Upon arriving at the battle, Ferra was suddenly killed by a telekinetic attack, her neck snapped by a Nightsister. Ti pulled her blaster pistol, but was kept from attacking when Teneniel used the Force to kill the nearby Nightsisters, tapping into the dark side to do so. The vengeful attack caused a blood vessel to rupture on Teneniel's face, an identifying characteristic of the Nightsisters. Seeing her fellow clan sister with the mark of the enemy, Ti collapsed into tears, frightened of Teneniel. When she revealed the change to Teneniel, her clan sister stopped her attack, realizing that she had killed in anger and violated her oaths to the clan. The battle ended with the Nightsisters defeated when the Millennium Falcon fired its engines, incinerating the Nightsisters attempting to capture it. Many of the sisters of the Singing Mountain Clan were killed in the attack, but Kirana Ti survived.

Jedi training
Following the battle, the clan was approached by Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, who had fought on Dathomir defending the Millennium Falcon. He requested to look at the wreck of an ancient Jedi vessel, the Chu'unthor, that had crashed on Dathomir many years ago, hoping to find information on the training of Jedi. Kirana Ti and the other witches helped Skywalker break into the ship and recover old Jedi datatapes. Three year later, in 11 ABY, Ti was approached by Skywalker, who had founded a Jedi Praxeum on the moon of Yavin 4 and was searching candidates to train as the next generation of Jedi Knights. Kirana Ti agreed to join eleven other students as the inaugural class of Jedi trainees, wanting to learn better control of her powers. Leaving her husband and daughter behind, she headed to Yavin 4, taking up residence in the Great Temple. Using information he had gathered in his travels, including information recovered from the wreckage of the Chu'unthor, Skywalker had designed lessons to help his students learn to better control the Force. Ti was eager to learn and approached all of Skywalker's lessons with an open mind. One of their earliest lessons was in conjuring Mind tricks. One fellow student, Corran Horn, was proficient in this technique and showed Ti how to change the color of Nebula orchids.

A later lesson concerned using the Force to protect oneself from harm, using a hot spring for practice. Although frightened of possibly being burned by heat, Ti was able to use the Force to create a barrier against the hot water. The training continued with telekinesis, and Ti was able to join her powers with another student, Tionne, to lift Skywalker's droid, R2-D2. However, during this lesson, one of the other students, Gantoris revealed that he had constructed a lightsaber and challenged his teacher to a duel. In shock, Ti and Tionne lost control and dropped R2. The other students stepped back to watch the fight, which Skywalker won by telekinetically pulling Gantoris' lightsaber from his grasp. Unknown to the rest of the students, Gantoris had been corrupted by the spirit of the dead Dark Lord of the Sith, Exar Kun. Following the duel, Gantoris fully gave into the power of the dark side and it consumed him from within, charring his body with dark side energies, killing him. The rest of the students and Skywalker discovered Gantoris' corpse and were greatly affected, frightened of what had killed the man.

The Loss of Skywalker
"It's as if he has left us." "What can we do?" "We are all alone now."

- Kirana Ti and Cilghal

Despite Gantoris death, the remaining students continued their training, eventually being joined by three new students, Mara Jade, Kyp Durron,, and the Mon Calamari Cilghal. However, Kun was still present, and he latched himself onto Kyp Durron, who had shown great promise as a Jedi student. Durron was seduced and corrupted by Kun with promises of helping to destroy the Galactic Empire. Skywalker began to school the students on Jedi history, letting them listen to the tales of ancient Jedi through a recovered holocron, but Durron, armed with knowledge from Exar Kun, loudly disagreed with the stories, giving a sympathetic version of the Sith to the other students. Skywalker was disturbed by the knowledge Durron had acquired, and when Durron departed Yavin 4 in a Z-95 Headhunter stolen from Mara Jade, the students were concerned by the loss of yet another member. Despite the turmoil, Ti was still committed to her training, and she found herself working closely with another student, Streen, listening to Jedi ballads about their history, and taking journeys into the jungles of the moon to explore and train.

While the students were sleeping in their quarters, Kyp Durron returned to Yavin 4 on a mission to recover the Sun Crusher, a superweapon hidden in the planet Yavin Prime. Skywalker awoke and confronted Durron, but aided by the power of Exar Kun, Durron defeated Skywalker, striking him with Force lightning and placing him into a coma. The next morning, Tionne discovered Skywalker's body and informed the students who were eating in the dining hall. They ran to his fallen body and tried to revive him, but found him unresponsive, unable to sense his presence within his body. With their teacher incapacitated, the rest of the students banded together to protect Skywalker from whatever had attacked him. Ti suggested having an honor guard to protect Skywalker at all times. The Minister of State and Skywalker's sister, Leia Organa Solo arrived with her children, Jacen and Jaina to tend to her brother. In a meeting with Organa Solo, Streen revealed that the "Dark Man" had been speaking with him in his dreams and invading his thoughts. The students, frightened of Exar Kun's powers, began to discuss abandoning the Jedi path, but they were reprimanded by Organa Solo who reinvigorated their devotion to the Jedi path. The students agreed to continue training together and protect Skywalker from the presence of Kun.

Defeating Exar Kun
"Are you running away, Exar Kun? Frightened off so easily?" "Another foolhardy student, I would have come to you in time. The witches of Dathomir would be fine additions to a new Sith Brotherhood." "You'll never get a chance to ask them, Exar Kun. You are trapped here. You won't leave this chamber." "You cannot threaten me."

- Kirana Ti and Exar Kun

Exar Kun continued to try to destroy Skywalker, and he influenced Streen, convincing the Jedi student that Skywalker was actually the "Dark Man" and that Streen needed to destroy him. Streen used his Force powers to manipulate the weather, conjuring a Force storm to kill what he believed was a threat. Ti, coming up a turbolift into the chamber where Skywalker's body was being held, saw Streen controlling a wind storm to destroy Skywalker. Corran Horn, who was with her, projected an image of the room being empty into Streen's mind, delaying his attack and allowing Ti to get inside Streen's defenses. She threw herself at Streen, tackling him to the ground and pinning his arms behind his back. Streen came out of his trance, distraught over being manipulated by Kun and almost killing his master. Although the other students were frustrated with Streen, Ti supported her friend, believing he was innocent of consciously attacking Skywalker. Following Streen's attack, the students found that they were able to communicate with Skywalker's spirit, which had been separated from his body. Now confident that their master was still alive, the students gathered in the war room to organize a plan of attack against Exar Kun. Although many of the students were not confident in their ability to defeat Kun, Ti believed that they had a chance, as the Dark Lord of the Sith had been defeated by Jedi before. Horn gave the students a plan of attack, telling them that they would counteract Kun's darkness with the light.

The students planned an ambush of Exar Kun's spirit, and although the other students did not want to include Streen in their plans, worried by how Kun had manipulated Streen in the past, Ti vouched for him to be included. Streen was given Skywalker's lightsaber and posted next to Skywalker's comatose form. As planned, Kun appeared to Streen, attempting to convince him to attack his master. When Streen refused, Ti and the other students appeared to attack Kun. Ti wielded Gantoris' lightsaber and prevented Kun's spirit from escaping. The Jedi students joined their powers together to build a wall of light, trapping their enemy. They were joined by the spirits of Skywalker and Exar Kun's former master, Vodo Siosk-Baas. As Kun tried to lash out at them, Ti and Streen crossed their lightsabers across Kun's form, shattering his spirit. As the damaged fragments of Kun tried to reach out and infect the Jedi, Streen used the Force to manipulate the wind, scattering the remnants of Kun out of the temple and into the vastness of space. With the "Dark Man" destroyed, Skywalker returned to his body, proud of his students for defeating their enemy. Ti continued to train on Yavin 4 after this ordeal, looking to develop her skills further.

Imperial attack
In 12 ABY, Kyp Durron, Dorsk 81, and Cilghal were promoted to Jedi Knight, and Ti was present at the ceremony where Skywalker presented the new Jedi Knights to the rest of the Jedi Academy. A short time afterwards, the Empire, in an effort to wipe out the Jedi Academy, arrived above the moon. At the time, Ti and the rest of the Jedi students were making repairs to the Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster, as the Jedi trainees had run out of space in the Great Temple. As they used the Force to remove rubble and broken slabs, they were interrupted by the arrival of Dorsk 81 and Kyp Durron. The two Jedi Knights informed their fellow Jedi about the imminent Imperial attack. The Jedi prepared to fight, but before they could formulate a plan of attack, TIE fighters, TIE bombers, TIE Landers, and Ground Assault Vehicles began to attack their position.

On the Empire's first airstrike, Ti used the Force to push other trainees to cover and fling blocks of stone at the TIE fighters. The other trainees followed Ti's lead and defended themselves with a hail of thrown boulders. As a second wave approached, the Jedi retreated back to the Great Temple. Tionne attempted to raise communications with the New Republic, but they had been jammed by the Empire. With no other choice, the Jedi prepared to defend their home. In the war room, Dorsk 81 suggested pooling their energies through him to push the seventeen Imperial-class Star Destroyers that were spilling Imperial troops onto the moon out of the system. Dorsk 81 made his way to the top of the temple, and augmented by the powers of the temples on Yavin 4, the Jedi fed their powers through the Jedi Knight. In the same way that they had joined their energy to defeat Exar Kun, Dorsk 81 was empowered enough to telekinetically push the Star Destroyers out of the system. All of the Jedi were physically drained by the attempt, and the concentrated energy overwhelmed Dorsk 81's body, killing him.

Master Skywalker and his lover Callista Ming arrived shortly thereafter to organize the Jedi defense and inform the Jedi of the appearance of the Executor-class Star Dreadnought Knight Hammer that had come to finish the attack. The Jedi agreed to spread out and attack the Imperials while they waited for New Republic military reinforcements. Ti and Streen joined together and hid in a thicket nearby as Imperial troops advanced on the Great Temple. Streen used his abilities to topple All Terrain Scout Transports and Ti attacked with her lightsaber. The two Jedi worked together to eliminate as many Imperials as they could, using the terrain to their advantage. The battle was eventually won when Callista, who had hijacked a TIE bomber from Imperial forces, infiltrated Knight Hammer and destroyed the ship's engines. The Knight Hammer plunged into the heart of Yavin Prime, destroying it and wining the day for the New Republic and the Jedi.

Jedi Knight
"Heard about your fight with the Leviathan of Corbos." "That was a tough one, Kirana Ti, Dorsk 82, Streen, and I really had our hands full on that mission. But Jedi Knights expect to face challenges like that."

- Han Solo and Kyp Durron

Following this attack, Kirana Ti was promoted to Jedi Knight and assigned as one of the few Jedi available for missions to aid the galaxy. When Skywalker was informed of a disturbance on the planet Corbos, he sent Kyp Durron and another Jedi trainee, Dorsk 82 to investigate, leaving Ti and the other new Jedi Knights to train and wait for their opportunity to leave for their own missions. However, while they continued to train at the academy, they received word from Durron and Dorsk 82, requesting help on Corbos. Ti and Streen boarded a starship and departed Yavin 4 to help. Upon their arrival, they discovered Dorsk 82 who informed them that they had discovered a dangerous beast that had wiped out Corbos Mining City. Durron was locked in combat with the creature, and Ti, Streen, and Dorsk 82 boarded an overlander and raced to their friend's aid.

When they arrived at the site where Durron had been last seen, the group descended into the mines where the creature had appeared. During their exploration, they discovered a large group of Leviathan larvae, the precursors to the beast that had wiped out the colony. The larvae attacked the group, but they fended them off, using their the Force and their lightsabers. The group continued to search for Durron, sensing him on the other side of the mine, and after climbing their way out, they found Durron next to a Leviathan, having killed it in battle. However, the Leviathan he had defeated was only a juvenile version, and a full-grown Leviathan appeared. The Jedi worked together to drive the beast back, but it was unaffected, and they were forced to attack it with their lightsabers. In the struggle, the Leviathan fell into the mines, plunging into a lake of magma below. However, the creature was still not dead, and it continued the attack, throwing lava blindly. However, Dorsk 82 came up with a plan to defeat the Leviathan, using a generator placed in the mines. As Ti and the other Jedi distracted the creature, Dorsk 82 activated the generator, electrocuting the creature when it bit into the metal cables attached to it. Successful in their mission, the Jedi returned to Yavin 4. Their victory on Corbos was lauded as a great victory, remembered even many years later.

Later exploits
In 25 ABY, war with the Yuuzhan Vong broke out, forcing the Jedi to the frontlines to defend the galaxy. Kirana Ti used her powers to fight against the invaders. Following the conclusion of the war, Kirana Ti was present at the Conclave on Zonama Sekot where she listened alongside the other Jedi to an address by Master Skywalker on the state of the Jedi Order following the losses they had sustained in the war. Ti told Skywalker that she, Damaya, and Streen would head to Dathomir to aid in rebuilding there. With her fellow Jedi, Ti established a Jedi Praxeum on the world to train the native witches in the ways of the Jedi.

In 36 ABY, the Jedi had become involved in the Dark Nest Crisis and subsequent Swarm War. When the Jedi Saba Sebatyne and Leia Organa Solo were captured by the Galactic Alliance, the successor state of the New Republic, the Jedi argued whether to rescue their comrades, as it would violate the alliance they had with the galactic government. Kyp Durron advocated for the rescue mission, supported by Ti, Tam Azur-Jamin, and six Barabel Jedi Knights that belonged to Sebatyne's Wild Knights. However, they were opposed by Corran Horn, and two other members of the Master's Council, Tresina Lobi and Kenth Hamner. Their argument resulted in the cancellation of the rescue mission, but Organa Solo and Sebatyne were eventually freed from Alliance custody.

By 40 ABY, Kirana Ti was still a member of the Jedi Order, and her niece, Sanola Ti had become a Jedi, fighting in the Second Galactic Civil War.

Powers and abilities
"An expert in the physical side of the Force."

- Luke Skywalker

Ti was Force-sensitive and her powers in the force caused her to be recruited as one of the first students in Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum. While still on Dathomir, she received training from the Witches that resided there, developing her powers, found that her skills were still undeveloped. It was this desire for greater control that caused her to accept Skywalker's proposal for further training. While under Skywalker's tutelage, Ti became skilled in telekinesis and sensing the outside world. While fighting Exar Kun, she was able to tap into the powers of her fellow students, strengthening her powers and anchoring herself in the light. These same skills were used in the attack on Yavin 4 when Ti poured her energy into Dorsk 81 so that he could push attacking Star Destroyers out of the system.

Following Gantoris' death, Ti took custody of his lightsaber, using it in the fight against Exar Kun. Her use of the weapon combined with Streen's use of Luke Skywalker's lightsaber resulted in the final destruction of Exar Kun. This white and amethyst blade was used by Ti even after the defeat of Kun, as she used it to fight against the Imperial attack on Yavin 4. However, shortly thereafter in the mission to Corbos, she wielded a yellow lightsaber. Ti was a skilled pilot, an ability that was inherited by her niece, Sanola. She used her abilities to fly a shuttle to Corbos to aid Durron and Dorsk 82, and later agreed to fly a starship alongside Kyp Durron to rescue Saba Sebatyne and Leia Organa Solo, although the mission did not proceed.

Personality and traits
Kirana Ti was a tall and athletic woman, outpacing her fellow students in conditioning. She had long muscular legs, developed from her time as a warrior on her homeworld. She was known to go barefoot during training, but wore boots on her mission to Corbos. While training to become a Jedi, Ti attempted to adopt Jedi robes, but when the academy was put in danger by Exar Kun, Ti returned to wearing the lightweight reptilian armor from her homeworld, as she felt vulnerable without it. She wore this armor so that she could be ready for battle at a moment's notice, and continued to wear her armor even after becoming a Jedi Knight. The armor allowed freedom of movement for Ti and accentuated her figure and muscular physique.

Ti had a daughter on Dathomir and was friendly with children, specifically the Solo children Jacen and Jaina. To follow her desire to become a Jedi Knight, Ti left her child behind on Dathomir with her fellow witches. Although she was a fierce warrior, Ti had a soft side, defending Streen from criticism and exclusion following his manipulation by Exar Kun. Ti became good friends with Streen, working alongside him closely and being promoted to Jedi Knight at the same time. She fought with him on several occasions when she defended the Jedi Praxeum from the Empire and later against the Leviathan of Corbos.

Behind the scenes
Kirana Ti was created by Dave Wolverton for use in his 1994 novel, The Courtship of Princess Leia. Kirana Ti was later used by Kevin J. Anderson for use in his Jedi Academy Trilogy, as one of the first members of Luke Skywalker's Jedi Praxeum. She appeared in the second book of the series, Dark Apprentice and the conclusion, Champions of the Force. Her role in the trilogy was referenced in the later novel, I, Jedi, which summarized events of the trilogy. Ti was used again by Anderson in his novel, Darksaber, which showed the character's continued training on Yavin 4. The character was first illustrated in the comic series, Jedi Academy: Leviathan, also written by Anderson. Following this, the character was used sparsely by later authors, receiving brief mentions in Young Jedi Knights: Return to Ord Mantell, The Unifying Force, Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen, and Fury.

Kirana Ti was referenced as one of the earliest Witches of Dathomir in Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Nightsisters but Were Afraid to Ask, an article in Star Wars Insider 122. This article mistakenly identifies Kirana Ti with a picture of Tenel Ka Djo.

Appearances

 * The Courtship of Princess Leia
 * Dark Apprentice
 * Champions of the Force
 * I, Jedi
 * Darksaber
 * Jedi Academy: Leviathan
 * Young Jedi Knights: Return to Ord Mantell
 * The Unifying Force
 * Dark Nest II: The Unseen Queen
 * Fury