Gantoris

"I have dreamed of you. A dark man who offers me incredible secrets, then destroys me. I am lost if I go with you."

- Gantoris, to Luke Skywalker

Gantoris was a Human male native to the planet of Eol Sha. He was the Force-sensitive descendant of the Jedi Ta'ania, herself the daughter of a Jedi Knight. Gantoris used his fledgling abilities to protect the people of the volcanic world, and was eventually made the leader of their forgotten colony.

In 11 ABY, Luke Skywalker journeyed to Eol Sha, searching for the offspring of Jedi, specifically Gantoris's ancestor, Ta'ania. He was brought before the planet's leader by one of the colonists, Warton. Gantoris mistrusted the black-robed Jedi Master, believing him to be the "Dark Man" who had plagued his nightmares for many years. Gantoris made Skywalker face tests of his powers to prove himself, before accepting Skywalker was whom he claimed to be. He then became the first student Skywalker recruited to join his Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4.

However, the ambitious trainee was frustrated by Skywalker's individualistic and unorthodox training methods. Gantoris was visited more frequently by the "Dark Man," who transpired to be the spirit of the Sith Lord Exar Kun. He accepted training from Kun, who had entrapped his spirit within the Massassi temples on Yavin 4. Eventually, Gantoris fashioned his own lightsaber, responding to Kun's subtle guidance through the Force, yet he was unaware that Kun was actually draining his power to strengthen his own spirit. When Gantoris eventually turned on Kun, the specter incinerated him, making him the first student to die at the Praxeum.

Early life
"On our world we don't have many choices. My people must take what we can find."

- Gantoris

Gantoris was born into the sole isolated settlement on the volcanic world of Eol Sha. His affinity with the Force first became apparent when he survived an avalanche as a child&mdash;despite his companions being crushed mere feet from him, Gantoris instinctively shielded himself, using the Force to survive the onslaught of rock. He also unwittingly used his connection with the Force to protect his fellow colonists on the unstable planet, accurately predicting earthquakes, eruptions, and avalanches. Gantoris had repeated dreams of a "Dark Man"&mdash;a man who would promise him great power before destroying him. His abilities, combined with his tough attitude and charismatic leadership, led to him becoming the leader of the abandoned colonists that made up his home planet.

When Luke Skywalker came to Eol Sha in 11 ABY, he was searching for the offspring of Ta'ania to join his Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4. Ta'ania, Skywalker had discovered, was the daughter of a Jedi Knight, and he felt her experience would be invaluable to him. Landing on the planet, his first encounter was with Warton, a friend to Gantoris. Unsure of what to make of the visitor, Warton brought Skywalker to Gantoris, who was aiding the excavation of an avalanche to save two children, working with a fervor that exceeded that of his peers. In order to help, Skywalker called on the Force to move the large heavy boulders out of the way. Gantoris believed that Skywalker, in his black robes, might be the "Dark Man" who had plagued his dreams, and separated him from the colonists. Listening to Warton and the colonist that brought him food during his isolation, Skywalker concluded that Gantoris must have been a descendant of Ta'ania.

Gantoris tested Skywalker's abilities with two challenges, to see if the young Jedi could wield the powers to support his claim. First, Gantoris led him into a geyser tunnel to collect lichen. The suspicious leader covertly exited the geyser column, waiting to see if Skywalker could survive an imminent eruption. Sensing the rising heat and the pressure below, Skywalker tried to climb out, but eventually had to use a Force Leap to escape. For the second test, Gantoris made him cross a lava pit and confront the deadly fireworm within. When Skywalker succeeded in passing both challenges, Gantoris agreed to follow him off Eol Sha on the condition that the other inhabitants of the hostile world be relocated by the New Republic.

Jedi training
"Success and failure will always be a part of your training." "Not for me. I choose not to fail."

- Luke Skywalker teaches Gantoris

Skywalker and Gantoris then traveled to Bespin, to convince a gas prospector named Streen to join them. There, to demonstrate to Streen the potential of the Force, Skywalker began to teach Gantoris. Skywalker used telekinesis to move a metal structure in order to produce a gong-like sound, causing a rawwk to take flight. Gantoris proved himself a quick learner, being able to sense all the buildings around him through the Force and perform the exercise exactly. The two new students went on to become friends at the Praxeum. Gantoris had become accustomed to a certain level of prestige due to his former position, and was wont to complain while the pair regularly undertook menial tasks such as clearing much of the Massassi Temple that was to become the Praxeum itself.

At the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4, Gantoris quickly became a talented student, although this served to heighten his arrogance. He quickly became a rival of the Corellian student Corran Horn, former Rogue Squadron pilot and CorSec officer. Both men were disciplined, rising earlier than other trainees to exercise and begin the day before their peers. Skywalker believed the mutual envy was generated because of the pair's similarities to each other, constantly pushing themselves for improvement, striving to be the best student. Gantoris felt threatened by this other ambitious student, believing the man of equal determination and dedication was a true challenger to his own skills. Likewise, Horn envied Gantoris for his grasp of certain Force techniques, particularly telekinesis, an area in which Horn was weak. Gantoris's distaste for the Corellian manifested itself when Horn discovered one of his own strengths, Force Illusion. Intending to raise a large boulder with telekinesis, Horn unintentionally implanted the image of the stone rising in the minds of all the students while doing nothing of the kind. Gantoris believed he was tricked, demanding the other student explain how he had made it appear that the rock had risen. Master Skywalker was able to placate Gantoris, saying what the other student had done was begun to discover his potential with the Force.

The "Dark Man" Gantoris had seen in his dreams had begun to talk to him, convincing him that Skywalker was withholding the true secrets of Jedi knowledge. Gantoris's impatience only heightened the temptation of the power the Dark Man claimed to teach. Skywalker's student was unaware the "Dark Man" was in fact Exar Kun, a long-dead fallen Jedi turned Sith Lord who had instigated the Great Sith War 4,000 years earlier. Desperate to learn more, he undertook this mysterious tutelage, constructing a dual-phase lightsaber. To construct it, he used three corusca gems that he had found near one of the Massassi temples. The combination of these gems gave the blade a purple hue, and also possessed the ability to quickly increase its blade length to be three times that of a normal lightsaber. Gantoris then used his new lightsaber to challenge Skywalker to a duel, threatening to strike him down if he did not defend himself. Many times during the fight he attacked out of anger, forcing Skywalker to constantly defend. The Jedi Master refused to go on the offensive, fearing it would aggravate the student even more. Gantoris's rage meant he was perilously close to the dark side&mdash;only when he was momentarily distracted by a runyip charging through the undergrowth was Skywalker able to telekinetically pull the lightsaber from Gantoris's hand, ending the duel. To the astonishment of the other studets, Skywalker returned the lightsaber to his student, telling him to be wary of the anger that had gripped him during the duel, before returning to the temple.

The night after his duel with Skywalker, Gantoris knew he would be visited by the "Dark Man" again. He no longer trusted Exar Kun, but believed he could at least face the Sith Lord without help from the other Jedi trainees or Skywalker. Gantoris attempted to remain peaceful during Kun's goading, but the specter showed him the colonists he had led on Eol Sha as they were slaughtered by the Imperial forces under the command of Admiral Natasi Daala. However, Gantoris could not maintain his composure upon witnessing an AT-AT blasting his old friend, Warton. He leapt at the shadow of Kun, futilely slashing with his lightsaber but striking nothing but the wall. When the other Jedi students went to Gantoris's room the next morning, they discovered his body, incinerated from the inside out, and his lightsaber on the floor. This made him the first of Skywalker's academy students to die and deeply shook the Jedi Master's confidence in his teaching abilities.

Legacy
As the strongest apprentice at the Praxeum, Gantoris's death shook Skywalker's confidence in his skills to teach the Jedi trainees he had gathered together. Gantoris's fall to the dark side, despite his evident skill with the Force, also unnerved many of the students. Gantoris's death served as an example of the power of the dark side, its seduction, and eventual destruction of oneself, but the students also used him as motivation to overcome the dark side and work together.

Following his death, Gantoris was buried in a grove on Yavin 4, and the site was marked by a gray plinth. His lightsaber was used by several students at the Praxeum who did not possess lightsabers of their own&mdash;Kirana Ti wielded it when the students stood against Exar Kun's spirit and Kyp Durron was given it during a redemption test by Skywalker. Durron had to go into Kun's temple with the lightsaber&mdash;he passed the test by refusing to use it to strike down Kun's shadow that appeared before him. The shadow then changed into Durron's brother, Zeth Durron, showing he had passed.

Personality and traits
"I want your anger, Gantoris."

- Exar Kun, to Gantoris

Having become a respected leader, Gantoris was a headstrong and confident man, even to the point of arrogance. He had gotten used to his position of leadership, and was not used to succumbing to the opinions and decisions of others. His rapid development at the Praxeum would only enforce his self-importance, where he outstripped his peers in terms of progression. His high ambition meant Gantoris always strove to improve his skills, as his life on Eol Sha had meant he had to rely mostly on his own abilities. This ambition led him to challenge Luke Skywalker in a lightsaber duel, in which he was defeated.

He had trouble in grasping the possibility that others could possess power he did not, as was demonstrated when Corran Horn created the illusion of the rising rock over all the members of the Praxeum. Gantoris's outburst demanding him to explain his powers of mind manipulation showed he felt he was fooled by Horn, and was loath to be deceived or outclassed in any way.

Despite these foibles, Gantoris's hardened experience meant he knew the importance of solidarity, teamwork, and aiding others. He would lead by example, challenging himself time and again to improve, encouraging others at the Praxeum to do the same. He upheld concepts such as honor above personal disputes, as he showed when he refused to attack an unarmed Horn during combat training in the Praxeum. Despite his strength over the other students, Gantoris was respected by many of his peers, with Streen counting him as a friend at the Praxeum.

Powers and abilities
"My first true failure as a teacher was Gantoris. He built his lightsaber in only a few intense days, following instructions given to him by the spirit of Exar Kun. Gantoris thought he was ready, and my mistake was not seeing what he was up to."

- Luke Skywalker

Gantoris had used his ability to sense his surroundings with the Force most of his life; as a result he was skilled at feeling the area around him and noticing any changes, particularly surges of emotions or environmental instabilities that could prove dangerous. Having to draw on the Force for most of his life in order to survive the harsh world of Eol Sha meant that he rapidly learned the techniques he was taught at the Praxeum. He was the most promising student there, showing strength for the generating of a protection bubble. He used this to protect both himself and fellow trainee Dorsk 81 from a surge of heat when the students relaxed in a natural hot spring. He was also highly adept at telekinesis. Under instruction from Exar Kun, Gantoris was able to overcome tiredness by drawing strength from the Force. He also wielded a lightsaber with minimal instruction.

Behind the scenes
Gantoris was created by Kevin J. Anderson and first appeared in The Jedi Academy Trilogy opening novel Jedi Search. He is the first student Luke Skywalker recruits for the Jedi Praxeum, and as the most promising student he represents the success of the new line of Jedi. This makes his fall to the dark side haunt the Jedi trainees even more. He is also used in the novel to introduce the character of Exar Kun, a key antagonist, in the second Jedi Academy novel, Dark Apprentice.

Gantoris's lightsaber is described in Dark Apprentice to be purple-white with rainbow colors running along its length. No other works involving lightsabers reference these shimmering colors, with Gantoris's lightsaber itself referred to as purple, amethyst or purple-white in other works, including I, Jedi, The Jedi Academy Sourcebook, and The New Essential Chronology.

The Jedi Academy Sourcebook allows the playable Gantoris character to wield a double-bladed lightsaber, although his lightsaber is specified as being dual-phase from both Dark Apprentice and I, Jedi.

Gantoris' entry in the Star Wars Encyclopedia states that Gantoris was aware the Dark Man was Exar Kun, the sole refernce to do so.

Appearances

 * I, Jedi
 * Jedi Search
 * Dark Apprentice
 * Champions of the Force
 * Children of the Jedi
 * Young Jedi Knights: Lightsabers
 * Dark Tide I: Onslaught
 * Dark Tide I: Onslaught