GARNER LONAN
Padawan Learner
Human
Gender: Male
Appearance: If the inquiry were posed to Garner, that he put to words his own physical appearance the poor boy might appear flustered, and begin fidgeting nervously with his azure sash. He would consider each word with care, before describing himself on the smaller side for an adolescent of thirteen standard years, yet with plenty of years to grow. Bearing a round, boyish face just beginning to sprout fuzz along his upper lip, and a head of golden hair. He would explain how he keeps this hair trimmed short, leaving only a small portion long enough for a learner’s braid tucked behind his left ear, in the customary fashion of a Jedi apprentice. He would pause here is his description, before continuing onto the less uncontrollable aspects of his being lest he appear boastful. Jedi shouldn’t brag, but he did take special care. All force sensitive Initiates, padawans and beyond at the Jedi Temple were expected to keep themselves clean, and well groomed, but Garner had always been particular about his appearance. Keeping his garments in proper order, in a manner befitting a Jedi master. He’d read before, that one should dress according to the station they desired, and he knew he required every advantage he could scrounge if he wished to continue as an apprentice, let alone becoming a full Jedi knight.
His self description concluded he would stare back upon the asker inquisitively with his wide green eyes, wondering if this was some sort of test. Anxiously awaiting whether his self-depiction was adequate, or if he’d forgotten anything important. A sharp observer, upon closer inspection would be able to note upon several inadequacies in the boy’s report; though at no fault to Garner. After all, the more subtle parts of one’s physical appearance can easily be overlooked on mere self-reflection. Such as the proud jut of his chin, or the steely determination in his stance, or even the perpetual curiosity in his eyes. They could even remark on how he shadowed his master Ange Gelegenheit, drinking in every word she spoke as if it were gospel, though rarely voicing his burning questions unless prompted. The boy tended to take everything a bit too seriously, presenting himself as the perfect picture of stern Jedi stoicism, making him easy prey to the more comedic attitude of his mentor, whether that be her gentle teasing, or practical jokes. She seemed particularly adept at breaking his rigid “perfect apprentice” persona, relaxing him in both mind and posture.
All this acknowledged most inquirers would simply accept Garner’s words as sufficient to their initial request, keeping their own deeper observations to themselves, unsaid.
Lightsaber/other personal effects: Garner’s Jedi weapon is of rudimentary design, but quite new having recently been fashioned and rarely utilized for anything besides customary training. The hilt is constructed from burnished bronze, and dark leather wrappings along the grip. The saber is brought together around an indigo crystal which projects a blade of brilliant royal blue. Like most Jedi, Garner is lacking in affects other than his lightsaber and the force, however he is not often seen without his nose stuck in some book or datapad. He just so happened to bring three of such items along during his most recent mission. He stores them in his cabin space, often perusing the written works in his limited free time. Whether they be treatises on the force, knowledge on practical skills, or merely a work of fiction that caught his interest, Garner has always been an adamant reader.
Personality: A general rule for Jedi taking on the responsibility of a new apprentice was to study their young charge and evaluate them closely. To deeply understand their student, how they thought and acted, and interacted with others. For Jedi Knight Ange Gelegenheit, she saw a great many things in her Padawan to be, Garner Lonan. She saw an inquisitive mind, ready to ask and yet hidden behind a veil of social hesitation. Trapped within a web of anxiety and a determination to never fail or appear inadequate. A great many Jedi Knights passed over initiate Garner for a potential padawan, perhaps sensing this unhealthy combination, and not wishing to embrace the challenge that it presented. Only further frustrating Garner during the Choosing, and only perpetuating the destructive cycle. She recognized an unwavering pride in his work and his appearance, perhaps to the point of vanity, but Ange knew she could direct that ego towards a healthy conduit. Fashioning the youth into a proper Jedi of humility and honor. Lastly, she spotted what all the other Jedi Knights had missed. They, having passed over Garner for other Initiates to train feared he simply did not have the power in the force to become a full knight of the order. Ange on the other hand saw a young mind, filled with all the necessary knowledge and determination, just waiting for someone to teach him.
Ange knew in accepting she would be stepping into a challenge. Garner’s tendencies to focus on never making an error left him little room to fail. At least in his mind. He had inadvertently set himself up for greater failure. He could not hope to match a Jedi master, and yet he strove to prove he could. Ange recalled from her own training years how destructive this mentality could be. After all, what was success but learning from a hundred failed attempts? To teach him acceptance of his shortcomings and allow himself to learn from them, she would first have to break his shell. To be the standard that let him shed his anxiety and fear of inadequacy and laugh. Not only at himself, but at world around him. Fortunately for Garner, Ange had tremendous experience on this front and was more than confident that she could instill a sense of humor into her serious-minded young padawan. Yes, tutoring Garner would be a significant task indeed, but one she could surmount, one step at a time.
View of the Force: The Force is a Book. A great and ancient tome more like, filled from page to page in power, adventure, sorrow, love, and regret. One must simply blow away the dust and turn the page to find their answers.
Backstory: For Garner his story always began at the Jedi Temple, amongst the members of his Initiate Clan. He knew he came from a colonial planet called Farstine, but like most force sensitives discovered by the Jedi order he was taken well before any proper memories could be made. He could not recall the mother who birthed him, or the father who named him and such inquiries were discouraged for future padawans. Thus, Garner never made a greater effort to discover these answers, and only vague feelings of his life prior to the temple remain. His time in the creche was not an unhappy one. Much of the younglings early lives were spent in studies, necessary for a Jedi to operate as a galactic peacekeepers. Culture, history, languages, mathematics, and so on all came to Garner easily. Although he lagged somewhat behind the other Initiates in his force abilities and saber skills, he managed to keep pace through raw determination, and his nimble intellect. Garner fantasized himself to one day be a powerful, respected Jedi and dedicated himself to that image, putting in the extra effort to become an apprentice to a respected Jedi master. However, as the years passed, and the time of Choosing drew closer the gap between those few initiate clan members who might be chosen, and those who would be sent on to the Service Corps grew ever larger.
Most Initiates lacked what it took to become a Jedi, only a few would ever become padawans and even less would succeed at knighthood. An ever-present possibility, which seemed more likely to be reality by the day. Despite Garner’s best efforts he could not lift multiple objects like Da’shan, or wield a lightsaber with Sadina’s grace, and one by one the Jedi looking to take on apprentices passed him by for more talented students. Knowledge and practical skills only took one so far amongst the Jedi, and the force remained the key factor, and Garner’s bane. It is not an easy thing for the boy to admit, but he shed many frustrated tears in the study halls and his dormitory, pouring over documents and books and datapads, struggling to find the secret to unblock his pathway into the force. He could not accept failure, again and again without a sense of hopelessness setting in. He simply went through the motions, struggling to attune his senses to little avail. The number of Initiates in his clan dwindled, most accepting their fate and going on to join the Service Corps or reconnect with their families, with a precious few being selected as padawan learners. Until at last, Garner was alone, the final one not chosen, and yet refusing to be sent off and never to become a Jedi.
Of course, he could not remain in the creche forever. His chances were dwindling, and soon the decision would be made for him. On the eve of that ultimatum a lone Jedi Knight, by the name of Ange Gelegenheit offered to evaluate him, and Garner accepted the invitation with trepid resignation. He had failed a dozen times, what chance did he truly have at success? Nevertheless he threw his all into the challenge, gritting his teeth against the disappointment he was sure to face. Ange was a young Jedi, having only passed the trials several years prior and was seeking her first student. A challenge, she had not anticipated to be so difficult. Ange had always been good at seeing potential, whether that be a droid she was tinkering on, or one of the Initiates during evaluation, and she despised turning away so many bright young persons who lacked true force ability. The weight of denial grew heavy upon her mind, for every initiate she refused. As such she had been watching young Garner for some time, unwilling to evaluate him for fear of having to refuse him as well. She was ever observant to when others faltered or gave in the boy only seemed to double his efforts. Those others lacked a clear vision of the force. In Garner on the other hand, she saw his strength, but the tragedy was that he could not. Or at least not yet. She felt his growing frustration, the bitter chalice of defeat from which he drank and knew she could not let such possibilities go to waste. In unusual fashion she knelt beside the boy and asked of his studies, listening to his clear descriptions of what he desired to do, and all the knowledge he had ascertained from his reading. He spoke of the stories, and how the great Jedi would reach for the force and see it clearly, and that when he looked he saw only shadows. Then Ange knew, and she smiled. With gentle teasing, some rather un-jedi-like jokes, and careful misdirection she broke the mask of seriousness and composure Garner wore, leading him to a cleared and relaxed body and mind. She then asked Garner to close his eyes, and to focus on the force, and read it like one of his stories. And for Garner, that was when it all clicked.
At long last, through sweat and tears and a little bit of help Garner succeeded. He completed his evaluation and joined the ranks of Padawans, although slightly behind his peers. He would travel with his master to Ilum to construct his own lightsaber, and begin his long and arduous journey to becoming a full Jedi Knight! Ange would remain a constant presence at his side, through their first simplistic missions as a Jedi team, reminding him that Jedi were did not always have to be so stoic, and stern. That he could, and should laugh and smile on occasion. Her encouragement and patience led Garner to believe he might truly have a chance at becoming a Jedi knight. That was, until the unthinkable occurred less than six months later. When Ange Gelegenheit perished in a horrific crash upon the planet Bunum, leaving her barely initiated padawan lost, without a master once again.
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