Tau (individual)

"I am called Xesh, Force Hound of the Rakata. You are meat."

- Xesh to Sek'nos Rath on Tython.

Xesh was a Force-sensitive slave of the Infinite Empire. Hailing from a world conquered by the dark side of the force-wielding Rakata of the Infinite Empire, the young boy who would come to be known as Xesh was selected from among his brood mates and placed in a machine which amplified his innate dark side energy in order to power the Rakata's numerous war machines. Immersed in the dark side for a long time, the boy eventually came to the attention of the Rakata Predor, Tul'kar who decided to train Xesh as a Force Hound, being trained as both a master of tracking as well as combat, wielding a purple Rakata Forcesaber.

After discovering the lush, tropical planet of Tatooine for his master to subjugate, Xesh was assigned to track a force-sensitive planet rumored to reside within the Deep Core of the galaxy. However, upon arrival in the system, which happened to be Tython, the home of the Je'daii Order, Tul'kar's ship was damaged. In the ensuing chaos, Xesh himself killed Tul'kar and his entourage in a bid for his own survival. Fleeing in an escape pod and landing on Tython's surface, Xesh was confronted by three Je'daii journeyers: Shae Koda, Sek'nos Rath, and Tasha Ryo. Outnumbered and fleeing into the Abyss of Ruh, Xesh eventually became enamored with the display of compassion by Shae Koda and opted to assist the Jedi in fighting off several beasts of the Abyss, but he was subsequently arrested by the Je'daii Order and exiled to the moon of Bogan, where he would, in theory, renounce his use of the dark side of the force in the name of self-balance.

After two months in isolation on Bogan, Xesh became acquainted with Daegen Lok, a Je'Daii exiled from the Order due to his extreme vision of the future; namely, a one-eyed being wielding a "sword of fire" who would lead the forces of darkness against the Order. Believing Xesh to be that being due to his use of the forcesaber (which was confiscated by the Je'Daii), Lok saw Xesh as an ally in his plans against the Je'daii, and the two escaped Bogan in a downed starfighter of the Despot Wars revived by Xesh's skill in machine manipulation. In order to build new forcesabers, Xesh and Lok traveled to the crystalline planet Krev, where their ship crashlanded.

Childhood and training
A male Human slave of the Infinite Empire, the young boy was exposed during his early chilhood to the cruelty and sadicism of his Rakatan masters. Detected as Force-sensitive, the human child became known as Xesh, when the Rakata attributed to him and tattooed on him the Aurebesh letter Xesh. The boy was put into a brood of force-sensitive children of various species tatooed like him, where only the strong and the most violent survived. So one day, he was attacked by Yirt, a brute who had become the leader of the other slaves through his imposing stature, but Trill, another brood mate, defended him and defeated Yirt driven by a feeling in the Force. As they grew, the relationship between Xesh and Trill became stronger, with the girl becoming his protector and confidant, so they made a blood oath, swearing to protect each other and never kill one another.

But one day, Xesh and his brood mates were ripped by their masters and encased into the machines that fed the ships of the Rakatas with Force energies. It was in one of this tomblike shell that Xesh learned for the first time to use his fear and his anger as a tool of power. Sensing his innate talent and his strong potential, the Predor Tul'kar freed Xesh from the machines and began to train the Human as a Force Hound, cutting the ties of Xesh from his Brood. After some years of training, Xesh, now a teenager and a skilled warrior, again met Trill, who also was selected for Force Hound training and fought her in a duel to the death organized for the amusement of their master. After the defeat of the female hound, Tul'kar handed a Forcesaber to Xesh and ordered him to finish Trill but the young warrior proposed to the predor to sen her as a gift to his superior, the Predor Skal'nas. He convinced his master that sending Trill to his rival was a disguised gesture of insolence as while sending a powerful warrior to his master he kept the most powerful for himself. Tul'kar accepted, but Trill perceived the suggestion of Xesh not as a mean to save her life, but as a betrayal and an abandonment.

Tul'kar's Hound
"I am as I was made. Born to be a Force Hound. Fated to serve my masters."

- Xesh to Tasha Ryo.

During his time as the servant of the Predor Tul'kar, Xesh successfully accomplished many missions for his rakata master, being viewed as the best of the Force-hounds by the Rakatas. Among his successes could be noted, the submission of Sriluur and of its indigenous population, the Weequay, and his victory in a duel to the death against Isk, one of Skal'nas' Force Hounds, in the Arena of Byss.

In 25,793 BBY, Xesh found the planet of Tatooine for his Rakatan master, Tul'kar. Soon after the planet conquest, his master was summoned by the Predor Skal'nas. Skal'nas wanted Xesh to confirm if what Trill, his Force Hound, said was true, namely that there was a world strong in the Force in the Deep Core area, but couldn't be reached. Xesh insulted Trill by saying that she was incapable of navigating the Deep Core. Trill attacked him, but lost the short fight. Xesh was about to kill her with his Forcesaber when Skal'nas intervened and demanded Xesh to answer if he could find the planet or not. He stated he would find it for his masters.



Arrival on Tython
He would arrive on the world, which was Tython, twelve years after the Despot War. It was at this point that Xesh encountered the Je'daii Journeyers Sek'nos Rath, Tasha Ryo and Shae Koda for the first time. He engaged them but lost his Forcesaber to Je'daii. Demanded the return of his weapon, threatening to throw Sek'nos into acid. Shae reacted and ignited Xesh's Forcesaber to attack him. Having underestimated his opponents, Xesh fled. Once he was far away from the Je'daii, he succumbed to the concussion he suffered in the crash and fell unconscious. When he woke up, he found himself cocooned by spiders and managed to use Force lightning to free himself. With the Force as his only weapon, Xesh defended himself against the wild creatures that attacked him. Soon enough, he is attacked by a saarl. Before it could devour him, the three Je'daii intervened. Xesh then took to a higher ground. As Shae struggled to activate the Forcesaber, Xesh demanded it'd be returned to him. At Sek'nos urging, she complied. But instead of aiding the Je'daii, Xesh chose to watch, expecting them to abandon each other to the beast. To his surprise, none of them did. Xesh then spontaneously aided Shae against the saarl, ultimately killing it.

The Je'daii Master soon arrived, having determined that Xesh was the cause of the storm threatening Tython and demanded that he surrender. Xesh then turned on the Je'daii, only to be struck by lightning channeled by Master Quan-Jang. In anger, Shae grabbed Xesh's Forcesaber, blaming him for the apparent death of her Master. Xesh willingly resigned himself to death and encouraged her to eat his heart. Shae relented, stating that it wasn't the Je'daii way. Xesh remarked that they were odd beings and passed out.

Exile on Bogan
Upon regaining consciousness, Xesh found himself being tended to by a Selkath Healer named Calleh. Xesh asked to be killed to which the Healer declined.

Tasha visited Xesh in his prison cell, requesting permission to look into his mind. The Twi'lek bore witness to Xesh's memories of the Infinite Empire and his upbringing. Shae then stepped in to inquire why he came back to help them. The Force Hound confessed that something within himself believed that their light should not be extinguished.

Ultimately, the Je'daii chose to exile Xesh to the moon of Bogan, to which they banished all those who had touched the dark side of the Force. Shae, Seknos and Tasha protested the decision, pointing out that Xesh didn't willingly choose the dark path, but the Council's decision remained final, and the Council stated that Xesh would have to meditate on the light side if he was to finally find balance within himself and the Force.

Personality and traits
Xesh had a purple tattoo on the face representing the letter Xesh of the Aurebesh alphabet.

Powers and abilities
Xesh was incredibly powerful and skilled, stated to be the greatest of the Force Hounds. Tul'kar prided his greatest weapon and would fight to keep him. Xesh had a rival in fellow Force Hound Trill, the servant of Skal'nas, and stated that she could not do the same as him. When she attacked, he proceeded to beat her unarmed and pulled out his Forcesaber for the killing blow. Xesh was also proficient in casting Force lightning and was also able to reflect it, repelling Sek'nos Rath's ball of lighning. He also defeated an armed and talented Force Hound opponent only using telekinesis. When Tasha Ryo lifted him in the air using the Force, he was able to turn the table by pushing Ryo backwards, making her collide with a rock.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi: Force Storm
 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 6: The Prisoner of Bogan, Part 1