Born A'lora Kituri on the planet Shili, A'lora Kituri al'Tor is nearly a typical Light-Sided Jedi of the Brotherhood. Raised within the Jedi Order, A'lora was taught how to harness the power of the Force. Her special talents as a Seer and Healer make her well aware of both the Unifying Force and the Living Force, as well as a major asset to the Brotherhood. Her longstanding light-sided alignment have caused her to remain neutral to all major conflicts until her discovery of House Odan-Urr through a vision that led her to Drodik Va'lence Al'tor, who later gave her advanced training in secret and presenting her with the family name of al'Tor. A'lora Kituri al'Tor currently resides with House Odan-Urr serving the Odanites as a Councilor.
Physical Appearance
As a Togruta, A'lora's appearance is largely near-human, with the exception of Lekku and Montrals, the Lekku not unlike that of a Twi'lek's. Purple, and patterned with splotches of darker violet, her Lekku take on a rare color for her species. Shorter than most Togruta, her Montrals are also a light purple color. Coupled with her reddish orange skin tone that is accented by white markings, A'lora Kituri appears as nearly any Togruta would. Of slightly less than average height and weight, A'lora is far more agile than she is strong physically, which gives her an edge in distancing herself from her opponent while she prefers to remain an extension of the Force. Preferring light, non-restrictive clothing, she usually wears something that is tight-fitting while engaging in an important or dangerous mission, and longer robes while studying in the library. A result of excruciating torture from Yuzhaan Vong amphistaves, her back is a patchwork of scarred flesh that crisscross in all directions.
Philosophies and Beliefs
A'lora tends to think often of the Living Force, but is not close-minded when it comes to the Unifying Force that supplies her with powerful visions. A Healer and Seer, A'lora tends to avoid combat situations where possible, but is also a tactican when the situation calls for it. Where a battle may arise, A'lora prefers to remain on the sidelines, bolstering her allies or using the Force to topple her opponents. While she does have experience in the arts of lightsaber combat, her knowledge is limited, and she will not strike an offensive blow unless the risks are minimized and there is no other alternative. However, while fighting a relentless opponent, such as a Dark Jedi that cannot be wavered from his path, she will do whatever is neccisary to stop the tide of darkness, and will call upon her most brutal lightsaber forms she might know. As a first resort, she will always attempt to guide one affiliated with the Dark Side of the Force to join the Light. She will not strike the final blow unless the need is dire, and the opponent refuses her offer.
Learned in the path of the Jedi Consular as a Healer, she will often seek to heal the injured or sick, and has a vast knowledge of plants and wildlife. As a result, she can often be found healing those who have been injured on the battlefield, tending to their wounds before the next battle. As a Seer, she has powerful abilities to see mere glimpses into the past or future, though these cannot be controlled, and will only rarely appear in long sessions of meditation. As a result, she will also be called upon to assist Jedi Sentinels who may be sent as investigators to uncover clues, wherever they may be buried.
Jedi Trials
Facing the Mirror, The Trial of Spirit
As a Togruta, A'lora Kituri was born on the planet Shili, where she was raised until she was discovered to be Force-sensitive. Upon the discovery of these powers, she was introduced to the New Jedi Order, where she was first brought to the Praxeum on Yavin 4. Under the tutelage of a Twi'lek Master by the name of Athenya she began to harness her powers as a Jedi Consular, skilled in the ways of meditation and healing. Patient and willing to learn, A'lora was a model student of the Academy, often drawing more attention from the Masters than she would have liked. This resulted in alienating her from her fellow students of the Force, who would often show signs of jealousy towards her. Because of this, A'lora had never felt a strong connection to any of her fellow students in the Academy. Instead, she preferred to seek solitude outside of the Praxeum's walls, where dangerous creatures lurked in the shadows, starving for the sweet taste of sentient flesh. As a Master of patience and meditation, A'lora began developing Force visions at an early age. Her first experience began in the solitude of an ancient cavern on Yavin 4, imbued by the Force in such a way that it mysteriously attracted predators of many kinds. Shortly after experiencing a Force vision of Felucia, she was attacked by a vicious Tuk'ata. The conflict lasted for twenty minutes before the beast was slain, and her Twi'lek Master, Athenya, arrived to find no trace of the best as her student lay weary and exhausted. After bringing her student in for medical attention, A'lora had revealed her vision of a far away planet and the beast, as it turned out, was nothing more than a spirit in the Force. Thus, A'lora had succeeded in the trial of spirit.
An Eventful Journey, The Trial of Flesh
Several years later, her Master had brought together a meeting of the Jedi Council to discuss a matter of inportance. For hours, the Council had convened before deciding that A'lora was to accompany her Master to Felucia, where she would further develop her skills as a Jedi Consular. Chartering a shuttle entitled "Ruby's Fortune" for the lush planet, the two Jedi travelled within a refugee convoy destined for the planet Felucia. However, before they could reach their desination, their shuttle was siezed by the Peace Brigade, a group of mercenaries intent on collecting prisoners to please their Yuzhaan Vong masters. It was thus that her and her Master attempted to disguise themselves as refugees, abondoning their lightsabers and Jedi robes in favor of clothing fit for simple refugees. Disgused as a Togruta diplomat and an exotic Twi'lek dancer, they agreed to be captured alongside the commonfolk of the Ruby's Fortune.
Their imprisonment within the cargo bay of the Peace Brigade's cruiser had been a turning point for the young Togruta as she wittnessed firsthand the pain and suffering inflicted on the innocent. Anguished screams reveribrating from the far side of the bulkhead had been a sound the Togruta found impossible to adjust to, despite her Master's wisdom. For days, they waited within the neglected cruiser under the watchful gaze of a pair of Yuzhaan Vong warriors, who had seemed completely disgusted by the fact they were station aboard one of the Peace Brigade's 'abominations.' Each passing day, they would a handful of refugees for their own enjoyment, scarring their backs with coiled amphistaves and implanting others with large, protruding spikes. Against the warnings of her Master, A'lora had began healing the injured until the agonizing grip of a hand on her lekku forced her away from one of her patients, where she stared into the dreadful gaze of a Yuzhaan Vong warrior. "Do you think I can be fooled, Jeedai?" the hideous face snarled, dragging her away by her lekku in such a way that she thought she might pass out from the pain.
Ear-splitting screams echoed into the bulkhead as she was taken into an adjoining room to "Please the gods." Her Master grew increasingly worried by the day, as her apprentice remained subject to the Vong's questioning for greulling days, and had not been seen amongst the refugees during that dreadful time. Seeking an opening to rescuse her faithful apprentice, Athenya meditated each day to give her student the strength she needed to survive the horiffic injuries sustained under the constant lashings of amphistaves. Eventually, an opening was presented in the way of an unguarded cargo bay; The Yuzhaan Vong had retired to their own quarters for the day to recieve an important message on their villips. A master of Force techniques, her Master raced for the room in which A'lora was detained, hoping that her beloved apprentice was still alive. The will to live slowly leaving her scarred body, A'lora's fading vision caught a glimpse as her Master hurled a ball of Force energy at her torturer, stunning him momentarily as Athenya siezed his amphistaff in time to decapitate him with the razor-sharp living blade.
Pouring all of her strength into the weakened, ravaged body of her apprentice, Athenya closed those wounds that were still open with a crusty scab, just enough that she might send her student into a healing trance long enough to sustain her vital signs until help arrived. Not hours later, the cruiser found itself in space occupied by the Imperial Remnant, where help arrived in the form of a Star Destroyer. Like the powerful thunderstorms of Kamino, the powerful turbolasers of the Star Destroyer ravaged the engines of the cruiser, enough to immobilize the ship and allow for the boarding of the cruiser by Imperial forces. Gathering the refugees into the expansive Star Destroyer, the Imperials has promised to help all of those who needed medical attention. Medical crews raced back and forth with their droids in tow. When they reached a worried Athenya, she revealed the identities of both her and her apprentice. Within a few weeks, A'lora was recovered enough to be able to stand, although painfully.
First Encounter, Trial of Skill
File:AloraOne.png Felucia was a wonderous planet to behold. So rich with life in many varieties, the very landscape had seemed to speak to the young Consular. It was nearly overwhelming to behold as they stepped out from the shuttle into a cool, humid, fetid landscape of huge fungal forests. All around her, she could feel the presence of various lifeforms, all with their own, separate intentions. A nearby Sarlacc waited for the inevitable prey curious enough to wander near its gaping mouth, while a Felucian bird wandered overhead, watching the new arrivals with beady, black eyes. Waiting in the canopy, a Felucian Ripper awaited its next meal, as the bird disappeared within the canopy. The Living Force was everywhere, as the fungal growths beneath her feet seemed to pulsate colors ranging from blue to purple. As the sun passed overhead, the very jungle seemed to be constructed of glass of varying hues.
As the Jedi waited alone in the solitude she preferred, she let her eyes snap shut. Clearing her mind, she opened herself up to the Force, gaing a reading on her surroundings and the whereabouts of her Master, who had disappeared into the dense fungal forests in search of interesting specimens for further study. As all thoughts of concern for her Master vanished, the now older Togruta began sensing the world around her, just as she had done upon first exploring the planet. "So, you have finally arrived?" A voice echoed through the forest, before an unfamiliar face appeared within her vision. Appearing near-dead, yet charasmatic at the same time, the Nagai outstretched a finger in the direction that lay in front of her, towards the darkest regions of the jungle. Her eyes snapping back open, the vision disappeared as the Togruta found herself hovering several feet from the ground. Landing with an uncomfortable 'thud,' the familiar figure of her Master raced over, dropping the rare specimens she had gathered to check on her apprentice.
Relaying what she had seen to her Master, she knew that this one task was something she must accomplish alone. Finding herself before the darkened jungle and armed with her newly-constructed lightsaber, the Togruta let the golden glow of her blade light the path. Again, the voice returned, but not in the form of some vision. Sensing a presence behind her, she snapped around to find her lightsaber matched with the cerulean blaze of another, before she conjured up the Force to blast the Nagai away. "Good. It seems you are powerful in the Force, after all." Drodik chuckled, "Again!" The fight had continued like that for several hours, the Nagai always striking from the shadows, while the Togruta was content to let the strange Jedi wear himself out. Finally, growing frustrated with the Nagai, A'lora deactivated her lightsaber as she reached out with the Force. Not a moment too soon, the snap-hiss of the Nagai's blade announced his presence behind her. Taking the time to move out of the way, A'lora used the Force to alter her enviroment, entangling the Nagai in a patchwork of thorny vines. Dispite the small trickle of blood leaking from his legs, the Al'tor only smiled.
"Enough." He said, as the vines suddenly disappeared, "You have proven your abilites more than enough. There is a war brewing elsewhere, and I fear only those of the Light can stop it. Will you join us?" He asked. Before she could reply, the Nagai was gone. A datapad lay where he had once been with a place and coordinates on the screen. New Tython. Leaving the jungle behind with the datapad in hand, she returned to a concerned Athenya, who advised meditation until the Force provided an answer. For years, she would meditate under her Master's guidance, focusing on the teachings of the Living Force, and yet mindful of the Unifying Force. It was clear that the answers would be shared with her, in time.
Hidden Truths, Trial of Insight
Throughout her remaining years of meditation, she helped her Twi'lek Master as they travelled through Feluica together, studying the lanscape's variety of lifeforms and fungal plants, mastering her techniques of healing and medicine. On one particular day where she had been in deep meditation, her Master had brought back hundreds of deadly samples of various plants. Waking her apprentice from meditation, she laid out eash of the samples in rows, explaining that there was one sample chosen that hadn't been deadly. In order to pass the Trial of Insight, A'lora was to find the correct sample, and determine if it was indeed deadly or not. Carefully, she set about examining each individual sample, taking many hours to examine each one. The plants themselves came in many varieties, fungal, spores, tubular, native, non-native. Each one had their risks, if she was not careful, she might risk an infection from the spores, or risk handing a toxic fungal sample. Day and night she worked on solving the mystery, with no solution. Her Master returned one evening to discover her apprentice, along with a large pile of dangerous samples beside her, but none of the samples had her apprentice considered safe.
"There isn't one here I would deem safe, Master." She explained, illustrating her analysis of each one. By the time she got to the last of the samples, her Master could only chuckle. It had nearly been enough to draw a strain of anger from her apprentice, if she hadn't been so weary. "The answers might not always be where you suspect." Athenya hinted, returning to her duties. Meditating upon these words, A'lora sought to examine her surrounding through the Force for anything she may have missed, then she found it. Resting beneath her feet, a single blade of grass whipped around in the wind. Plucking it from the ground, she presented the finding to her Master. "Congratulations, my padawan. You have just succeeded in passing the Trial of Insight. Let it be known that you managed to find the hidden truth among deceit."
Knighthood, Trial of Courage
A'lora's training on Felucia completed, the pair's return to Yavin 4 was far less eventful than their previous experience. Brought before the Council, A'lora explained her encounter with the Nagai on Felucia, and the events prior regarding her visions. The Council talked among themselves for many hours, before they turned once again to the Padawan, having reached a decision. "We do not take these decisions lightly, A'lora. Therefore, having passed the majority of your Trials, you have faced overwhelming odds and excellence. Because of the nature of your visions, it is clear to us that the wise path would be for you to follow them. It is with our deepest regret that you will not likely wander within our halls again. Yet, this path you must undertake alone, it will test your courage and all of the skills you have learned. Therefore, cast your title of Padawan aside, and rise a Jedi Knight of the Order."
With that, A'lora knelt, her Padawan necklace severed from her neck as she said her final farewell. A shuttle was already waiting as she departed to an unknown planet that would guide her to the mysterious man from her encounter. A war was brewing, and it would take all that she had to stop the darkness of the Brotherhood from achieving its goal.
Master, and the Student
Her days as a mere Padawan long gone, A'lora settled on Felucia for a time, intent on learning how to survive in such environments. Taking on a student from the Order, a promising young Falleen named Kayelia, she set out to teach her apprentice as her master once had. For three years, she lived among the fungal forests, using her knowledge of herbs and medicines to survive the dangerous planet. Her apprentice had grown strong in the Force, but often lacked the same Jedi ideals. Kayelia often lacked empathy for those creatures around her, the taste for adventure clouded her judgement. Despite her master's warnings, the Falleen would venture into the darkest regions of Felucia alone, being stalked by creatures that would have attacked, if they had not feared the young woman's power, and the power that lurked within the darkest regions of the forest.
The Falleen had descovered the mysterious source of power within Felucia's depths - a wealth of knowledge so connected with the Dark Side of the Force that none would venture there - other than the occasional predator so twisted by the site's power. A'lora suspected her apprentice's discovery, and set out to find her, venturing into the forests for weeks until coming across an ancient vessel, half buried under Felucia's fungal forest floor, with the only entrance to the ruined ship being a hangar bay that had been opened, long ago. Her apprentice lurked inside, so driven by the site's overwhelming power that she attacked her former master in a panic for what might become of her, if she were to be brought before the Order.
The battle was interrupted by a monstrosity - a wild rancor mutated by the Dark Side's influence. Upon the creature's arrival, A'lora had been knocked unconsicous by the beast's massive swipe while her apprentice had managed to tame the beast, riding off into Felucia's depths.