Praven

"Accepting a sworn enemy into one's ranks without fear... that is strength."

- Praven

Lord Praven was a Sith Pureblood Male Sith Lord of the resurgent Sith Empire during the Cold War. An apprentice of Darth Angral, Praven trained Angral's son Tarnis as his own apprentice until Tarnis was killed by an unknown Jedi Knight on Coruscant.

Under Angral's orders, Praven traveled to Tatooine and seized control of the Republic's Shock Drum superweapon project. When Angral's enemy arrived on the planet, Praven chose to face the Jedi honorably in a duel atop the Esus Mesa. After the Knight defeated the Sith Lord in combat, they were able to convince Praven to turn his back on the dark side and embrace the light, causing the Sith to defect and become a Jedi. Praven would later meet the same Knight again on Corellia, where the former Sith was assigned as a Jedi.

Early life
A Sith Pureblood male, Praven was trained in the ways of the Force since he was a child. Born in the territory of the Sith Empire, Praven eventually came to the attention of Darth Angral, who took him on as an apprentice.

During the Sacking of Coruscant at the end of the Great Galactic War with the Republic, Lord Praven killed Jedi Master Usma–one of the Jedi’s most famous duelists–in an epic battle. But he spared Usma's Padawan, telling her to seek him out once she had finished her training so they could face each other as equals. When she tracked him down years later, he honored his promise, sending her to the same fate as her Master.

Angral's crusade
At some point before the Cold War, Praven took on his master's son Tarnis as an apprentice. When Tarnis prepared to activate the Planet Prison superweapon on Coruscant in the ruins of the Jedi Temple, he contacted his father, his master, and Angral's other two apprentices Nefarid and Sadic. The four Sith watched as Tarnis faced and was subsequently killed by an unknown Jedi Knight, for whom Angral declared undying hatred for killing his son.

As part of his master's revenge-driven crusade against the Republic, Praven was sent to the planet Tatooine in the Outer Rim to take control of the Republic superweapon project known as the Shock Drum. When he arrived at the project's research facility, he destroyed the droid forces that opposed him, but allowed the living beings there to live. According to the project's seismologist Hare'en, Praven seemed affronted at the thought of killing them, as she and the Jawas who owned the droids had done nothing to him and their deaths would be meaningless.

Praven followed the trail of the prototype to the testing facility, an abandoned mining complex in the Dune Sea. While there, he was confronted by Jedi Master Bela Kiwiiks, the former master of the Jedi Knight's own Padawan Kira Carsen. Praven defeated the Togruta and, under orders from his master, left the Jedi near death next to the Shock Drum and activated it.

However, Praven did not agree with his master's drive for revenge, and believed that he should face the Jedi with courage and honor. As such, he disobeyed Angral and not destroy the deactivation codes, contacting the Knight when they arrived on the planet in search of Master Kiwiiks and the Shock Drum. When the Knight attempted to locate the weapon with the help of Hare'en, the Sith interrupted the Jedi's communication and asked them to come to the Esus Mesa in the mountains between the Jundland Wastes and the Dune Sea. If the Knight defeated Praven, he would give them the new deactivation codes, while if the Jedi lost, then Praven's master would have his revenge.

The confrontation


"I sense your power. Now I understand why Tarnis was no match for you. His death was my failure.  I should've trained him better."

- Praven to the Knight

Coming face-to-face with the Knight and their Padawan Kira for the first time, Praven sensed his opponent's strength in the Force and realized how Tarnis easily fell. He then engaged the Knight in a duel, but was bested. Praven honored his end of the deal and gave them the deactivation codes, but to his surprise, the Knight showed mercy. By showing the similarities between Praven's values and those of the Jedi Order, the Knight was able to convince the Sith Lord to come to the light side.

As he was injured and unable to aid the Knight, Praven told his new ally to hurry and destroy the Shock Drum before leaving Tatooine and joining the Jedi Order.

Redemption
"I have cast aside the trappings of my Sith past, and been reborn as a Jedi Padawan. I have I cannot undo the horrors I unleashed on the innocent, but going forward, I swear to devote myself to halting the spread of darkness."

- Praven in his message

The Order embraced Praven with open arms, as the Jedi Knight would later encounter Praven on Corellia. The former Sith was aiding the Republic's forces against the Empire in the battle for control of the planet.

Battle for Corellia
"I hoped we'd meet again. You changed my live on Tatooine, and I never had the chance to say thank you. The Empire sent these droids to crush Corellia's resistance. When I learned of the attack, I came to save these people. It's a strange thing, saving lives instead of taking them. But it feels right. I'm stronger than I've ever been." "You've come a long way since the last time I saw you, Lord Praven." "Just Praven. That title doesn't hold meaning for me, anymore."

- Praven, after saving the Hero of Tython.

When Praven encountered the Knight again, who was now known as the Hero of Tython, he saved the Jedi from an ambush by a trio of Imperial droids with a toss of his lightsaber. He remarked how strange it was to save lives instead of taking them, but stated that it felt right. Praven then joined the Jedi in saving Corellia from the Sith Emperor's madness.

Personality and traits
A male Sith Pureblood, Praven was fiercely loyal to the Empire and an ardent believer in the dark side's values of strength and power. Praven was surprisingly calm and collected in his speech and actions. However, Praven followed a strict code of personal honor, and unlike many other Sith, he eschewed random acts of cruelty and sadism. Despite this, he was sworn to destroy the Jedi and considered them his mortal enemies. This was due to his belief that the Jedi still sought vengeance for the Sith invasion in the Great Hyperspace War.

Darth Angral's drive for revenge, and his master's callous disregard for innocent life and honor in pursuit of his enemy, caused Praven to become disillusioned with many of the dark side's teachings. When the Knight showed him that their ideals were very similar, and that the Jedi were willing to believe that anyone could be redeemed, Praven willingly converted to the light side. He believed that accepting one's enemy as an ally was the Jedi Order's "true strength", and that the Sith had abandoned the principles of honor and integrity.

Powers and abilities
Praven was very strong in the dark side of the Force, and later the light side as well. As a Sith Lord, Praven wielded a single red-bladed lightsaber, and he was skilled in the use of Force lightning and Force blasts. A well-taught duelist, Praven was nonetheless defeated by the same Jedi Knight who killed his apprentice Tarnis. On Corellia, he was able to take out three Imperial war droids with a single toss of his lightsaber, signifying that Praven had a good deal of experience with the tactic.

Behind the scenes
Praven was created for Star Wars: The Old Republic, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game released by BioWare on December 20, 2011. He appears throughout the Jedi Knight storyline, primarily as the first boss of the planet Tatooine.

He first appears as a hologram in the ruins of the Jedi Temple with Angral and Angral's other apprentices Nefarid and Sadic, in the mission "Race to the Ruins". He then appears in the Tatooine mission "Desert Duel", where he asks the Jedi Knight to face him in combat on the Esus Mesa. The player can choose to either spare Praven and turn him to the light side, or kill him after defeating him for dark side points. If the player convinces Praven to join the Jedi, they encounter him again on Corellia.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic