Halagad Ventor

"Could it be? Have I suffered all these years for a sin not so dark as I believed?"

- Halagad Ventor

Halagad Ventor was a Human Jedi Knight who was trained at an unusually late age, due to the fact that he was passed over for training initially during his childhood on Alderaan. Since the nature of his training was unnatural, Ventor's actions as a Jedi were considered unorthodox, and he neglected the more subtle aspects of the Force. During the Clone Wars, Ventor served as a Jedi General, most notably at Bal'demnic.

After Order 66 was executed, he was interrogated by Darth Vader, and named names of several other Jedi in hiding. He escaped Vader and fled to Trinta, where madness and the dark side of the Force consumed him. After many years, a band of Rebels confronted him, and drew him out of the dark side, redeeming him. Ventor would persist in the Force as a Force ghost, and would guide survivors of his betrayal years after his death.

Early life
"I'll need to know many things to be a Jedi, and cannot confine myself to but one discipline."

- Halagad Ventor

Despite being strong in the Force, Ventor was passed over for Jedi training by Acquisition Division at an early age. Despite this setback, he aspired to be a scholar, and studied ancient tomes. During his studies, he learnt the history of the Jedi Knights, and aspired to be one. He began teaching himself the Jedi ways. As a way of securing friends in high places that might be of use to him in the future, Ventor began to associate with Bail Organa, who would go onto become Senator and Viceroy of Alderaan.

Due to the difficulty of self-teaching, Ventor was unable to truly master any area of Jedi or non-Jedi study. He argued that Jedi should focus on all aspects of the Force, and not specialize in a particular ground. However, these thoughts were likely born of inexperience. Upon becoming an adult, Halagad sought to find a Jedi Master that would train him in the ways of the Jedi. No Master would accept him though, citing that he did not have enough control over his mind, anger, fear and greed. He was not discouraged however, and eventually found a Master that agreed to train him: Everen Ettene. But, in spite of Ettene's code-adherent teachings, Ventor persisted with his personal beliefs, and failed to reach his full potential.

Jedi training
Ventor, as an unusual case in the post-Ruusan Jedi, found it difficult to flourish as a Jedi. He quickly became a great warrior under Ettene, but he failed to grasp the more subtle aspects of Jedi work, such as diplomacy and healing. In some cases, even, he was completely ignorant of these powers.

During the Separatist Crisis, Ventor and Ettene were paired with Ludwin Katarkus and Danyawarra, and dispatched by the Jedi High Council to Virgillia 7, in order to estabish peace talks in the Virgillian Civil War. Upon arrival at Virgillia 7, their transport was attacked by dissenters, and destroyed. Ventor and Danyawarra survived the attack, and were able to elude capture and death for over three weeks. He, along with his master and the two other Jedi were presumed dead back at Coruscant, and a Jedi funeral was held for the four of them. At a later stage, Ventor was able to return to civilization, and his status was upgraded to "alive."

The Clone Wars
Ventor was not initially given the title of Jedi Knight after the death of his master, and would serve under General Obi-Wan Kenobi in many battles. Under Kenobi, he received the Medallion of Honor from High Command for his efforts. He eventually earned the rank of Knight and was promoted to General himself, ending his collaboration with Kenobi.

As General, Ventor continued to serve. As the war reached its waning months, the Confederacy of Independent Systems launched Operation Durge's Lance, affecting worlds from the Outer Rim to the Core. Ventor, along with several other Jedi Knights including Sha Koon, were sent to the Outer Rim planet Bal'demnic to halt the CIS advance. Intercepted CIS transmissions indicated that the Commerce Guild was planning to mine cortosis from the planet. Cortosis, being resistant to lightsabers, was known to be a great asset in anti-Jedi warfare, and it had been used by Wat Tambor in the early stages of the war, so Jedi Master Mace Windu considered Bal'demnic a high priority.

What greeted Ventor and Koon's forces when at the island planet was an extraordinary sight. The Kon'me natives had risen up against the Commerce Guild's tyranny, and launched their own revolution against the droid armies. War profiteers had smuggled in weapons that allowed the Kon'me to fight on equal terms with the droids. Unfortunately for Ventor and Koon, it allowed them to also fight on equal terms with the Grand Army. As soon as the Republic forces touched down on Bal'demnic, the Kon'me started firing on them. Due to the unusual terrain, Ventor and Koon were forced to call a retreat. However, the Confederacy forces were also driven away, so the mission was at least a partial success.

Order 66
"Halagad, old friend. It is a pleasure to see you again. My men say you have been uncharacteristically silent today&mdash;a far cry from the boastful braggart who craved medals and acclaim. You are a loud man, Ventor, wielding the Force like a club. The Force was meant to be used like a vibroblade. A slice here, a slice there, and I will carve the information I want out of your mind. Of course, when I am done, you may have a mind no longer. Pity."

- Darth Vader

Ventor was able to evade Galactic Emperor Palpatine's agents during Order 66 and the subsequent destruction of the Jedi Order. He followed the suit of many of his fellow survivors, and attempted to flee the Republic (by then the Galactic Empire). The following day, Ventor's image was emblazoned on HoloNet News among other Jedi such as Kai Justiss and Koffi Arana, all labeled as dangerous fugitives. Before he was able to leave for the Outer Rim Territories, he was captured by Stormtroopers. Imperial Intelligence officers extensively tortured Ventor onboard Vader's flagship (probably the Star Destroyer Exactor, ) but Ventor told them nothing.

Darth Vader, formerly Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight who Ventor had fought alongside in the Clone Wars, was Palpatine's agent of execution for the Great Jedi Purge. He personally interrogated Ventor, and progressively broke down the man's mental shields. As Ventor gave into the dark side, he revealed the names and locations of all the Jedi he knew who had escaped Order 66. Satisfied, Vader let him steal a ship, the Rimrider, to escape the flagship, knowing that the dark side or death itself would surely consume him. Vader then hunted down and slew all that he could find of Ventor's blacklisted Jedi Knights. At least one Jedi on Ventor's blacklist, Qu Rahn, escaped Vader's hunt.

Exile on Trinta
The dark side nexus of the swamp planet Trinta called to Halagad, and the fallen Jedi decided to take residence there. Bathing in the nexus, his body could not appropriately handle the dark side's power, and so he became deformed and withered, losing all his teeth, weakening his bones, and weathering his face by many years worth. Fearing retribution from Vader's Imperial forces, Ventor used the dark side of the Force to create illusions of beasts and other creatures, and maintained them all over the planet, in order to ward off any inquisitive souls.

For approximately 20 years, Trinta and Ventor would go untouched, until a team from the Alliance to Restore the Republic crash-landed on the planet. They were on the run from Taloron bounty hunter Crutag, and sought refuge in Trinta's thick swamps. In their flight, they came across one of Ventor's old campsites, and discovered his abandoned Medallion of Honor. Displeased by the events that had transpired, Ventor used the Force to commandeer the ships of both the Rebels and Crutag, stranding both parties in the swamps. However, he had not thought his plan through to conclusion, as he would not be able to scare them off-planet. Instead, he created illusions of the extinct natives of Trinta, the Dradan, and a rancor to scare the foreigners off. This gambit failed, although Ventor realized that the Rebels might be the key to his redemption from the dark side. However, the fallen Jedi was still fearful of the chance that Vader might find him, so he remained hidden.

Redemption
"And I... I am free at last. You have brought the Light to Trinta and defeated all the the demons of darkness I sent against you, and borne the news that not all my weakness, not all Vader's evil, could eradicate the Jedi from the galaxy."

- Halagad Ventor

When the Rebels eventually found Ventor, he launched his plan for redemption. He feigned an attempt at converting the Rebels to the dark side, in the hopes that they would kill him and free him from his tortured existence. Instead, the Rebels showed Ventor his Medallion of Honor, reminding him of his service during the Clone Wars; the good deeds he had done, the lives he had saved. The Rebels also informed him that not all Jedi had fallen victim to Vader's blade during the Great Jedi Purge, and that some of them still lived on. Filled with hope, Ventor escaped the grasp of the Dark Side, and in the process, escaped his worldly existence. Ventor ascended to the higher plane, becoming a Force ghost. His spirit thanked the Rebels, before vanishing.

Years later, following the death of Palpatine and Vader, Qu Rahn, fought a quick but deadly battle on the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Vengeance against Inquisitor Jerec's Seven Dark Jedi. Though he was able to mortally wound one of them, he was overcome by Jerec's Force Destruction. Before Jerec delivered the final blow with his lightsaber, Rahn saw the spirits of Anakin Skywalker and Halagad Ventor, and he understood that no one was beyond redemption.

Personality and traits
"Your mind is like the winds of Tatooine, flying in every direction at once. The essence of the Jedi's art is control&mdash;control of the body, control of the mind, control of anger, fear, and greed. You must learn to reign in all your passions, even the passion for knowledge, or you will destroy yourself."

- Unknown Jedi Master

Due to his self-taught nature, Halagad Ventor was always out to prove something. Due to the fact that he was passed over for training at an early age, it is probable that he sought to show the Order wrong. However, with a lack of guidance, Ventor did not cover the Force as a Jedi should, and so, in terms of standardized Jedi training, his skills were flawed. Lord Vader described Ventor as a "loud man", who craved accolades and recognition. This was reflected in the fact that Ventor was decorated in the Clone Wars with the Medallion of Honor, an award rarely bestowed.

Ventor's insistence on his ways caused him to be knocked back by the Order on several occasions, but it also allowed him to eventually be accepted, despite his unorthodox nature. This nature made him a prime target for Lord Vader in the early stages of the Great Jedi Purge, since Ventor was known to be unstable and "difficult". Ventor's flaws plagued him on Trinta as well, but he was not so far gone that he did not realize the error of his ways.

Behind the scenes
"So what does it feel like to be a Star Wars character? Well, shit, man, do you even need to ask?"

- Abel G. Peña src

Halagad Ventor was created by Jim Bambra, and first appeared in the West End Games Roleplaying Game supplement Domain of Evil. Ventor's story would go untouched for over a decade, until Pablo Hidalgo and Paul Ens wrote him into the Web series, "HoloNet News," where Ventor's master was finally named. This reappearance in canon was probably due to author Abel G. Peña, who, on the internet would use the alias of "Halagad_Ventor," or "Halagad." Peña's interest in the character was reflected in his own work, The Dark Forces Saga, and also in the fact that artist Joe Corroney used him as a basis for his rendering of Ventor in HoloNet News. The name "Halagad" is an anagram of "Galahad," one of the most famous of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.

Appearances

 * Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241
 * Domain of Evil
 * Domain of Evil