Ood Bnar

"Curse you, Jedi! I don't care if you're a million years old!"

- Sedriss

Ood Bnar was a male Neti Jedi Master.

Early Life
Ood Bnar was a member of the Neti, a mysterious tree-like species with the ability to shape and change their bodies at will. The Neti's planet was origin was the subject of much debate, as they inhabited two arboreal planets, Myrkr in the Inner Rim Territories and Ryyk in the Mid Rim. Some scholars said that the Neti evolved from the trees on Myrkr, while others believed Ryyk to be their homeworld. Ood Bnar began life as a tiny seedling on the planet Ryyk, though he soon found himself orphaned and marooned on Myrkr. He lived on the planet for his youth, which, given Neti's long lifespans, could have lasted over a century. A Neti's true appearance was that of a tall tree, with bark-like skin and dark foliage covering their upper body, however they generally morphed themselves into humanoids. The more skilled a Neti was at shapeshifting, the smaller they could make themselves; Bnar was reasonably adept at morphing himself, though other Neti were known to have achieved a far smaller stature. Like all Neti, Ood Bnar was Force-sensitive, and several centuries before the Fall of the Sith Empire, he was found by the Jedi Order and began training as a Padawan.

Jedi Master
Ood excelled at his training, and was eventually promoted to the rank of Jedi Knight, before becoming a Jedi Master. Bnar became a revered Jedi Scholar, and took a particular interest in studying the dark side of the Force, though throughout his long career, Bnar was never seduced by the dark side. He possessed a rare ability in that he could completely sever himself from the subject of his studies; this strange capability allowed him to become one of the few Force-users to learn the workings of the Sith and the dark side without falling under its sway. Ood Bnar became a revered repository of Jedi lore after centuries of study, and the Jedi Order began to rely on this vast knowledge whenever they fought the dark side themselves. Bnar was a poor tactician himself, but he was able to inform his allies of their enemies' weaknesses and the best methods to exploit them, meaning he indirectly helped solve many a crisis during his tenure as a Jedi Master.

Bnar did take part in the Great Hyperspace War of 5,000 BBY, though one young Jedi Knight, named Odan-Urr, did. Bnar and Odan-Urr, both extremely long-lived individuals, became close friends, and often instructed young Jedi together. Like Bnar, Odan-Urr was a Jedi Scholar, and after the war he built a Great Jedi Library on the planet Ossus in remembrance of his late Master Ooroo.

Over time, the other Jedi encouraged Bnar to construct a Jedi holocron, so that his knowledge might be kept for ever more...

Some time before 4,000 BBY, Bnar took a young Human female named Shaela Nuur as his apprentice. He taught her several aspects of being a Jedi, including lightsaber construction. Nuur excelled at her studies, and Bnar became impressed at how quickly she was progressing. He knew she would never be seduced by the dark side of the Force, and decided to give her his sacred Solari crystal. He presented it to her in the gardens on Ossus after she had completed building her lightsaber, though Nuur was shocked, thinking herself unworthy to hold the powerful focusing crystal. Bnar, however, knew that she was worthy, and told her that she would go on to do great things. Her training eventually finished, leaving Ood student-less for the remainder of his time as a Jedi Master.

Conclave on Deneba
In 3,997 BBY, Ood Bnar was one of thousands of Jedi to attend a great convocation of the Jedi Order on the planet Deneba, called by Head Librarian Odan-Urr. Odan-Urr was growing worried with the recent attacks on the Republic by a dark side sect calling themselves the Krath, and the thus far ineptitude at dealing with them displayed by the Republic forces. The Krath were led by two siblings, named Satal and Aleema Keto&mdash;members of the Tetan aristocracy, they had traveled to Onderon, a planet known for its traditional allegiance to the dark side, and learned some basic dark side talents. The growing cult had already fought off a Republic/Jedi task force, largely thanks to Aleema's powers, and had then arrogantly declared war on the Jedi Knights. Odan-Urr called forward Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider, the two leaders of the botched Republic attack, who had formulated a plan of attack which they hoped would stamp out the Krath. However, Qel-Droma's idea was not received well by the congregation. The young Human planned to infiltrate the Krath by pretending he had gone over to the dark side, and from there he would destroy them from within. The other Jedi, both the youthful and the experienced, warned Qel-Droma against it, knowing he would truly fall to the dark side should he attempt his plan.

Meanwhile, the Krath were plotting against the Jedi on Deneba. A Tetan corsair lay hidden among the other vessels above Deneba, and released a barrage of life pods, each containing hundreds of freshly produced war droids, down onto the mountainous world. Simultaneously, the service droids assigned to aid the Jedi turned on them, and a full scale battle ensued. The droids were programmed to take out the most high-ranking and senior Jedi present, though Bnar was not harmed. The same could not be said of all the Jedi Masters. Arca Jeth was killed by a war droid in the presence of his Padawan, Ulic Qel-Droma. The Jedi eventually defeated the Krath droids with minimal injuries, though Qel-Droma, feeling responsible for his Master's death, decided to carry out his plan regardless of the Jedi's attempts to dissuade him.

However, Ood was determined not to see the Jedi fall to the dark side, and once again attempted to persuade him against carrying out his plan. In the Great Jedi Library on Ossus, Bnar and his old friend Odan-Urr met with Qel-Droma, and his fellow Jedi Knight Nomi Sunrider. The ancient Neti gave Qel-Droma a century old book, authored by the great Empress Teta, which he hoped would prove useful during Ulic's time in the Teta system. Bnar knew Ulic would not be swayed, but he introduced him to Odan-Urr regardless. Using the Sith holocron he had recovered over a thousand years beforehand, Odan-Urr demonstrated to him what happened to a young Jedi who tried something similar to what Ulic proposed&mdash;he fell to the dark side and murdered his Master. Qel-Droma was horrified at the thought of it, though he was still determined to carry out his plan, thinking he would become a hero, while the wise Masters knew he would become nothing of the sort. Ood and his friend bade the two Jedi Knights goodbye, wishing the Force to be with them.

Great Sith War
Qel-Droma's efforts ultimately failed. He became seduced by Aleema Keto and her dark magic, and turned on his fellow Jedi. A team of Jedi Knights, including the likes of Nomi Sunrider, Ulic's brother Cay, Qrrrl Toq and Dace Diath, among others, had decided to travel to the Teta system to attempt to bring Ulic back to the light. Bnar was one of several Jedi Masters who spoke to the team shortly prior to their departure. Thon told them that Ulic might teach himself a lesson through his own foolish actions, but Bnar disagreed. He told them that one who had turned to the dark side, such as Aleema Keto, could make a Jedi feel angry, and that rage clouded one's judgement, and prevented the use of common sense. The Jedi Knights departed, though they soon returned, their mission a failure; Ulic had refused to join them, telling them his true allegiance. Another naive young Jedi, a Human named Exar Kun, had also fallen to the dark side. The Sith spirit of Marka Ragnos proclaimed Kun the Dark Lord of the Sith, with Qel-Droma acting as his Sith apprentice. Along with the armies of Mandalore the Indomitable and the Krath, Kun waged war on the Republic. The first major casualty of the war was Odan-Urr, who was slaughtered by Kun on Ossus after the Dark Lord learned of his Sith holocron. With his long time friend dead, Ood Bnar became the new Head Librarian and Keeper of the Antiquities at the Great Jedi Library.

Kun had secretly recruited several young Jedi and turned them to the dark side without the Order knowing. He had his acolytes kill their Jedi Masters, while he would take his former Master Vodo Siosk-Baas himself. Baas was killed by Kun on Coruscant, while Kun's dark Jedi succeeded in killing off their Masters, save for Oss Wilum and Crado, who had been unable to defeat Master Thon on Ambria. Along with Nomi Sunrider and Sylvar, Thon traveled to Ossus to assess the damage caused. They met with Ood in a chamber off the Great Jedi Library, and were joined by a group of several Jedi Shadows, who had been among the first to discover the bodies of the slaughtered Masters. The Jedi were discussing Ulic's fall, and the eight Jedi Masters who had perished, when a young Twi'lek Jedi Knight named Tott Doneeta rushed in with news that the nearby space station known as Kemplex IX located in the Cron Cluster of the Auril Sector, was being attacked by the Sith.

The Jedi discussed what to do, with Thon advising caution; the station was unimportant by itself, and Kun had no reason to target it. He suspected it was a trap, though three of the Jedi Shadows&mdash;Qrrrl Toq, Shoaneb Culu and Dace Diath&mdash;would engage the Sith fleet and attempt to rescue those on the space station, while the others would remain on Ossus to ensure Kun could not launch a surprise assault. Thon guessed Kun's strategy correctly; the attack on Kemplex was nothing more than a ruse, though one which would have devastating effects for Ossus. Qel-Droma and Kun had ceased to require the services of Aleema Keto and Crado, and the two acolytes were beginning to get in the way of the two Sith's operations. Kun sent them on a suicide mission to the Cron Cluster, intending for the Republic and Jedi to make chase. They did, and when Aleema was within reach of one of the Cluster's stars, she used her Sith magic to rip the core of the star, destroyed the Jedi and Republic forces sent after them. However, the shockwave proved far more powerful than Keto had anticipated, and it killed her and Crado, as well as unleashing a shockwave that would devastate Ossus in very little time.

While the other Jedi rushed to save as much of Odan-Urr's vast collection of scrolls as they possibly could, Bnar went to a private alcove in the Jedi archives, where he hid several ancient lightsabers in a concealed hole under the tiled floor. As he packed them away, Exar Kun entered, accompanied by several hulking Massassi warriors. Kun was trying to scavenge any artifacts left behind by the Jedi before they were lost for evermore, though Ood was determined to stop the Sith Lord. Kun arrogantly thanked the Neti Master for saving him the artifacts for him; they would be put to great use during the golden age of the Sith, said Kun. Ood did not waver, and ignited one of the ancient sabers, ready to face Kun.

However, Kun had two large advantages over the old Neti Master: he had a unique double bladed lightsaber, and his skills with it were far better than Ood's basic dueling abilities. However, the Neti held Kun off for several minutes, managed to evade his blows. Eventually, one of Exar Kun's Massassi stepped in, forcefully knocking the saber from Ood's branch like hands. On his knees and defenseless, Bnar knew he would not overcome the dark lord of the Sith, yet he was determined to keep the sabers out of the man's hands. Using his Neti abilities, he metamorphosed into his true, tree-like state, standing to protect a trove of sacred lightsabers from Kun. The Sith lord left, knowing that even without the ligthsabers, he was victorious.

Bnar was unable to move, though he could still talk and relate to other beings. Kun left, and fled to Yavin 4, while Qel-Droma was cut off from the Force by Nomi Sunrider after killing his own brother. Thon and the others had managed to save some of the scrolls and documents Odan-Urr had kept in his library, though they remarked that even if they had had a year to pack away the scrolls, they would still have had to have left some behind. Before he left, Thon went to visit Ood Bnar, his old friend. The Tchuukthai Master could not fathom Bnar's actions, they he accepted them, and was saddened to lost his friend in such a way. Ood told him not be concerned; this was his life-cycle, and that he may even survive the cataclysm of Ossus. Thon wished him well, and the two said goodbye, never to see each other again.

Reawakening
The shockwave hit Ossus soon after Thon's departure, though as he had foreseen, Bnar managed to survive the devastation. Ossus, however, was ruined, and the intense radiation meant that the Jedi were unable to re-build their Libraries and training centers there. Ood was not the only survivor&mdash;a group of Jedi unable to evacuate had found refuge in great caverns under the Eocho Mountains, where they lived until they had forgotten their origins. They eventually became the tribal Ysanna. Ood was never discovered by the Jedi, and over time his friends perished. Thon saw out the rest of his days on Ambria, while Shaela Nuur was killed during the Great Hunt shortly after the war. Ood eventually entered a century long slumber, living through many eras of the galaxy, including the Great Jedi Purge in 19 BBY, where virtually every member of the Order was wiped out. He was not forgotten, however; Bodo Baas, a descendant of Ood's friend Vodo, spoke of the Neti Master in his holocron, which would eventually fall into the hands of Luke Skywalker, a young Human from Tatooine who sought to rebuild the Jedi Order in 10 ABY.

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Ood Bnar was a member of the Jedi Council in 3,997 BBY. One of the Masters who tried to dissuade Ulic Qel-Droma from joining the Krath Sith sect, he was a member of the Conclave on Deneba. At the time of the Great Sith War, he lived on the Jedi scholar world of Ossus.

Bnar survived the apocalyptic catastrophe, when the library world was battered by the intense radiation of a stellar nova in a nearby system. Up to that day he had been a vaunted scholar of the order with a unique insight into the nature of Sith teachings, and had created a number of holocrons that were to be used by other Jedi Masters, among them Master Vodo-Siosk Baas.

Bnar was only a thousand years old&mdash;young by Neti standards&mdash;when he recorded his prophecies in his holocron. This holocron would be used by Nomi Sunrider in 4,000 BBY. He instructed several Jedi, like Shaela Nuur, who would eventually inherit his Solari crystal. Though not much of a fighter by nature, he was unwilling to yield to the plundering Sith forces, led by Exar Kun, who invaded the planet in its death throes. Unable to defeat Kun in lightsaber combat, he instead chose to metamorphose, reforming into a massive tree that stood to protect a trove of sacred lightsabers from Kun. By doing so, he was able to survive the onslaught of energy, although he lost his mobility in the process.

Last battle
Millennia later, Ood Bnar was inadvertently discovered by Luke Skywalker when the Jedi Master visited the ruined planet during the Emperor's second resurgence. The venerable, tree-like shape of the Jedi Master was firmly rooted into the ground over the deposit of lightsabers that he still protected. Alas, he could not share his wisdom with the New Jedi Order, as he died defending the small group of Jedi from Dark-Side Military Executor Sedriss, the second-in-command of the resurrected Emperor Palpatine. Sedriss, with a native hostage, had approached the meditating Master, thinking him a dead tree. The ancient Jedi Master awoke, tried to free the girl, and grappled him. In the ensuing battle of the Force, Bnar called upon the living energy of the ravaged planet to help him, while Sedriss's anger called down dark energy from the broken skies. In the end, Bnar sacrificed his life to defeat the executor, and they both perished. However, he left a descendant behind.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
 * Shadows and Light
 * Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Rebel Dawn
 * Dark Empire II