Lok Tarkis

"Master Tarkis is the most principled Jedi I have ever met, staunchly opposed to the dark side of the Force in all its forms."

- Aaralyn Blackthorne

Lok Tarkis was a prominent member of the Guardians of the Force during the time of the rise of the Galactic Empire and subsequent events that transpired years after the Battle of Endor. He became a Jedi Master by the time of the Shadow War and was the Guardians' official Battlemaster. After the attack by Darth Trayus on Onderon, the Guardians received Aaralyn Blackthorne during a self-imposed exile, and Lok trained the fallen Jedi during her time of recovery and redemption. In addition to this new duty, he was also tasked as the Guardians' official emissary to the rest of the Jedi Order to reestablish relations.

History
Lok Tarkis was a steadfast defender of the Jedi Order and the Old Republic, but his idealism and staunch opposition to all forms of the dark side of the Force upset the Jedi Order's political position on the world. By the time of the Clone Wars he had become a full member of the Guardians of the Force, who recognized this fervor as an essential asset to their millennia-old war. He was often found on the front lines, fighting alongside his fellow Jedi, wherever the dark side was considered prominent. As a Guardian of the Force, he had been responsible for a slight boon of membership through the receiving of new recruits, both young and uninitiated Jedi to seasoned veterans in the ways of the Force, following Order 66. He disagreed with the Guardians' decision to withdraw their presence from the galaxy, and often times directly argued with its present leadership to return to their active mission, but eventually seceded to defeat in the matter.

He held the position of Battlemaster, a title reserved for the premier instructor of lightsaber combat among the Jedi, for the Guardians and was a senior member of the order.

In 18 ABY, Aaralyn Blackthorne came to Tython to receive teachings from the ghost of Obi-Wan Kenobi in how to repent from her recent fall to the dark side. The Guardians of the Force found her and took her in, whereupon Lok was assigned as her new master. She studied under the Zabrak for many months, learning how to control her dark side tendencies and be one with herself and her emotions, and even began picking up on some lightsaber combat training. Lok recognized the potential in Aaralyn, and wished for her to be ready for her future tasks, so also recruited her as a full member of the Guardians of the Force and taught her their ways far more formally than initially intended.

While Aaralyn's training was not considered complete, their hand was forced when she received a vision that drew her back to Ossus for her judgment. Lok requested the assignment as the Guardians of the Force's dignitary for the Jedi Order, to reestablish relations with them and assist in the upcoming war, and so took a healthy chunk of the organization with him to the planet with Aaralyn.

Personality and Traits
A hairless Zabrak male, Lok Tarkis had brown skin and green eyes, as well as the cranial horns typical of his species. As both a Battlemaster and a warrior for the Guardians of the Force, he wore armor under his standard Jedi robes. The Zabrak Jedi Master was held sacred to his own rigid belief system, which stipulated that the dark side of the Force needed to be confronted and defeated, no matter what form it may take. His unique, hardline approach to matters of the Force made him an unpopular figure in the upper echelons of the Jedi Order on Coruscant — a fact which did little to deter the principled Jedi. Lok's recruitment into the Guardians was believed to be the result of this uncooperative political spirit, but his stance against the dark side motivated him to choose the assignment for himself. Regardless of the reason, Lok's reputation as a determined crusader against the dark became a bit of an attraction to Aaralyn Blackthorne, who hoped to learn the Zabrak's philosophy through an apprenticeship.

Lok displayed considerable bravery and did not hesitate to enter a battle despite being outnumbered. He was a very stoic and calm figure, and did not break his composure, even when in heated combat. By the time of the Battle of Ossus, he had forged a close relationship with Aaralyn, and was immediately able to tell when something was troubling her. He became concerned for her well-being during the conflict, considering her enemy was her very own brother and only living direct relative.

Powers and Abilities
As a Jedi Master and Battlemaster of the Order's Guardians of the Force, Lok Tarkis was an exceptionally capable warrior whose proficiency in lightsaber combat was unmatched among his contemporaries. His telekinetic ability was significant enough that he was able to hurl large objects, such as pieces of starships, and repel opponents during combat, and his level of control enabled him to throw his lightsaber precisely and effectively. In combat, Lok used a green single-hilt lightsaber, and proved capable of handling a Sith Lord and his apprentice at the same time. Lok also demonstrated the use of a style of combat where he simultaneously used a double-bladed lightsaber and a single-hilt lightsaber. Aaralyn Blackthorne believed that Lok may have been a capable seer, and that a vision was what drew him to accompany her to Ossus.