Kennan Taanzer was a male Human Jedi Initiate within the Jedi Order during the time of the Clone Wars. Escaping the initial destruction of the Order during the early days of the Galactic Empire, Taanzer was taken under the care of Jedi Master K'Kruhk and Padawan Chase Piru as they fled the wrath of the Empire. After finding refuge on the planet of Arkinnea, Taanzer survived the formative years of the Empire and grew into a young man under the tutelage of K'Kruhk, Piru, and Zao.
Kennan Taanzer and his fellow Initiates
A Force-sensitive Human born to a family on Nadiem during the Clone Wars, Taanzer's father was killed during an attack on his homeworld by the Confederacy of Independent Systems After the family home was destroyed, Taanzer's mother, Crys Taanzer, attempted to flee with her son to the Galactic Republic's evacuation ships. Realizing that the probability of getting onto a ship was slim due to overcrowding, Taanzer's mother appealed to a visiting Jedi healer. The Ho'Din Jedi treated the boy's injuries and was impressed by how calm he was, which caused him to have his Padawan test Taanzer's blood, which revealed his Force-sensitivity. The Jedi offered to designate young Taanzer for priority evacuation, if his mother agreed to give him over to the Order, assuring her that her son would reach safety at the Coruscant Jedi Temple within two days. She agreed, and Taanzer was shipped off to begin training in the ways of the Force. His mother, Crys Taanzer, would later regret her decision after Order 66, believing that she had guaranteed her son's death.
Although his mother thought him to be dead at the Coruscant Temple, Taanzer had actually been transferred from Coruscant sometime before the end of the war. Assigned to the Soaring Hawkbat Clan upon joining the Order, Taanzer and his fellow Initiates joined their minder Jedi Master Du Mahn at the Jedi chapter house on Bogden 3, awaiting a transport back to the Temple which had been delayed due to the battle there. When Masters K'Kruhk and Sian Jeisel arrived with their clone troopers, Mahn ordered the Initiates to assist her Padawan Chase Piru in preparing a feast for the war-weary Jedi and their soldiers. In the hours after dining, the clone troopers received Contingency Order 66 from Coruscant which called for the execution of all Jedi. Opening fire within the training facility, several of Taanzer's unarmed peers were killed as their masters defended them, but K'Kruhk and Piru ultimately escaped with nine Initiates to parts unknown. Two months afterwards, Taanzer was living with the group of younglings in exile under the tutelage of K'Kruhk on an unnamed moon.
Taanzer was present when the pirate Lumbra and his men came to the youngling's camp. When they noticed that their damaged ship had a piece that they needed, Lumbra proceeded to take it. As he approached the ship, Taanzer's peer Seddwia jumped at him saying that it was their ship and to leave it alone. Lumbra grabbed Seddwia by the arm and pulled her away, starting a conflict. Chase Piru jumped to her rescue, but was shot and believed dead. When Lumbra realized they were Jedi Initiates, they were chained up and on their way to be turned into the Galactic Empire. It was only the timely intervention of K'Kruhk and Piru that saved Taanzer's life and that of the other children at the expense of Lumbra and his men. Meanwhile, halfway across the galaxy, Taanzer's mother fell victim to the Rakghoul plague, ensuring that she would never know that her son was alive.
Following the attack on their camp, K'Kruhk ordered that the Jedi move from their unknown world to find more information about what had happened to the Order and the Republic. With Taanzer and the other younglings in tow, K'Kruhk piloted the group to the refuge camps on Arkinnea where they were promised a place in the resettled areas in the north. On their first night in the camps, the younglings were visited by Jedi Master Zao, who warned K'Kruhk that the group would have to flee immediately due to some unseen horror which awaited those who stayed.