Andur Sunrider

Born circa 4020 BBY into a family with a strong Jedi heritage, Sunrider naturally envisioned a future where he would be knighted himself. Throughout Sunrider's youth, his grandfather, Jedi Master Jev Sunrider, served the Order as the Watchman for the Darada system, which was also the Sunrider family's home. Growing up under his grandfather's tutelage, Sunrider learned much about the life of a Jedi, especially the constant threat posed by followers of the dark side. Jev gifted his grandson with documents detailing the history of the Jedi and the Sith. Sunrider would also sometimes secretly delve into texts that Jev tried to keep hidden from his curious eyes. With all the knowledge he gained from his grandfather, Sunrider believed he was destined to join the Jedi Order.

The day before Andur Sunrider's twelfth birthday, his grandfather, along with three other Jedi Masters, departed from the Sunrider home on Darada to confront a dark presence that had taken hold on the nearby planet of Krayiss II. After months of silence from Jev, Sunrider became deeply depressed, fearing for his grandfather's well-being.

A year went by, and with still no news from Krayiss II, Sunrider continued to await his grandfather's return. One day, while tending to a small garden on his family's property, the glowing specter of Jev Sunrider materialized before him. Never having witnessed such an apparition, Andur Sunrider was understandably frightened and called out to his father for help. His grandfather's ghost calmed him, and his fear slowly subsided. The Force ghost informed him that he would play an unexpected but crucial role in the coming war. He also advised him to embrace the will of the Force and trust the path laid out for him. Before Sunrider could respond or question his grandfather's words, the ghost vanished, leaving him to contemplate their meaning. Nonetheless, Sunrider knew one thing for certain: Jev Sunrider had not survived his mission to Krayiss II. As a result, Sunrider developed a deep-seated desire to one day hunt down and destroy the dark forces that had killed his grandfather.

Following the advice of his grandfather's ghost, Sunrider resolved to dedicate himself further to studying Jedi history and anything related to the Jedi way. Six years passed, and while Sunrider's knowledge of the Jedi continued to grow, his life moved forward. He married a young woman named Nomi and began a new life with her; he purchased a Hoersch-Kessel scout ship from a Vultan dealer on Nak Shimor and renamed it the Lightside Explorer; and he acquired a 3DO series protocol droid whom he nicknamed Threedee. In 4001 BBY, he received an invitation from Jedi Master Chamma—an old friend of Jev Sunrider—to train as his apprentice on H'ratth. Believing that his time to join the Jedi had finally arrived, Sunrider packed his few belongings and, along with his wife, boarded the Lightside Explorer and journeyed to H'ratth.

Upon speaking with his new apprentice, Master Chamma determined that he would teach the young Sunrider about the nature of the Force. Due to circumstances beyond his control, Sunrider possessed a strong understanding of Jedi Order history but lacked even a basic grasp of using the Force or being a Jedi. Consequently, Chamma instructed his new apprentice to learn to sense and feel the currents of the Force and how to use it as a tool. Over the next two years, Chamma taught Sunrider various training techniques, building upon his existing knowledge of Force concentration and continuing to educate him on the vast history of the Jedi.

In 3999 BBY, shortly after the birth of Sunrider's daughter Vima, Chamma decided that he could no longer instruct Sunrider in the ways of the Force. His apprentice had absorbed and understood everything Chamma could teach him far more quickly than anticipated. Chamma realized that someone with Sunrider's potential deserved to be taught by a Jedi Master with a deeper understanding of the Force. Therefore, Chamma consulted with Master Thon, and the Tchuukthai Jedi agreed to take Sunrider as his apprentice. As a gift for Sunrider's new master, Chamma provided him with several Adegan crystals—considered the best crystals for lightsaber construction—to present to Thon. Initially, he resisted Chamma's decision for him to become an apprentice to another Jedi Master. He reasoned that, having learned all he could from Chamma, he was ready to join the ranks of the Jedi Order. However, Chamma realized that Sunrider still harbored a deep-seated desire to destroy the dark forces that had killed his grandfather. Chamma knew that until Sunrider could accept his grandfather's death and let go of his anger, he would not be ready for the Trials of Knighthood. Chamma communicated this to his apprentice and advised him that this selfish desire only confirmed Chamma's feelings that Sunrider required more training from a master with greater wisdom. Though he disagreed with Chamma's decision, Sunrider honored it and prepared his family for the journey to Ambria in the Stenness system.

Before Sunrider departed, Chamma felt he needed to guide his apprentice toward what the Force had planned for him. Therefore, the evening before Sunrider was to leave for Ambria, Chamma requested that they meet at The Crag—a rock pinnacle overlooking H'ratth's forests—to meditate together. Sunrider arrived to find his Master waiting, and the two stood silently gazing out over the horizon. Soon, he experienced a vision that revealed his future. In his vision, he saw himself walking with Nomi and Vima through a vast black expanse toward an unknown destination. He held a glowing ball of light in his hands, using it to illuminate the way for his family. Suddenly, a lance of energy from the shadows struck him, embedding itself in his chest. As he lay on the ground, he watched Nomi and Vima huddle together, fearing for their safety. Knowing he was dying and wanting to protect his wife and daughter, Sunrider raised the globe of light he held to Nomi and told her to protect herself and Vima. Nomi took the ball of light from her dying husband and held it high above her head. As soon as it was above her, the ball exploded, covering both Nomi and Vima and causing them to shimmer in the vision. At that moment, the Force vision ended, and he returned to The Crag. He looked around and noticed that the H'ratth sun had long set and that Master Chamma was gone. Finally understanding his grandfather's warning from childhood and comprehending Chamma's decision for him, Sunrider committed himself to trusting completely in the Force. After explaining his vision to Master Chamma, Sunrider and his family departed the following morning for Ambria to continue his apprenticeship under Master Thon.

After leaving Master Chamma on H'ratth, Andur Sunrider and his family arrived at a hyperspace terminal near the Stenness system. After Sunrider docked the Lightside Explorer at the terminal for servicing, he, Nomi, Vima, and Threedee left the ship to explore their temporary surroundings. However, they were soon attacked by members of Bogga the Hutt's gang, who had overheard Sunrider discussing the Adegan crystals he was carrying with Nomi.

To lure Sunrider into an ambush, several criminals captured Threedee and used the protocol droid as a diversion. Sunrider confronted the thugs with Nomi and Vima nearby but was surprised when one of the criminals threw a gorm-worm at him. The gorm-worm's bite was highly venomous and effective, and Sunrider died moments after being bitten. Seeing her husband killed by the criminals, Nomi rushed to his side, but she and Vima faced death at the hands of the criminals if she did not hand over the Adegan crystals.

However, as the criminals prepared to attack Nomi, Sunrider appeared as a Force ghost to his panicked wife and told her not to cry but to pick up his lightsaber and protect their daughter from danger. Hesitantly, Nomi grabbed her husband's lightsaber from the ground and attacked the group of thugs, killing one named Quanto and another. The remaining criminals fled from Nomi's sudden attack and retreated to Bogga without the Adegan crystals to report their failure.

Immediately after the gang's retreat, Nomi felt immense guilt for killing the two beings. Sunrider again revealed his Force ghost to Nomi, advising her that their time together was over; she must now walk the path of a Jedi and protect their daughter. Sunrider continued by telling his wife that she must continue the journey to Ambria, where she was to find Master Thon and learn the ways of the Force as his apprentice. Though reluctant, Nomi agreed to follow her husband's advice and gathered Vima and A-3DO into the Lightside Explorer and departed for Ambria.

Jev Sunrider's prophecy regarding his grandson eventually came to pass, albeit in an unexpected way. Though not directly involved in the Great Sith War or the conflicts leading up to it, Andur Sunrider's murder spurred Nomi to become a Jedi and military leader. Nomi played a key role in ending both the Freedon Nadd Uprising and the Great Sith War against Exar Kun. Without Sunrider's acceptance of the lessons taught by his grandfather and Master Chamma, Nomi would never have become a Jedi or leader of the Jedi Order.

Eventually, Sunrider's daughter, Vima, grew into adolescence and sought Jedi training from her mother. By this time, however, Nomi was Head of the Order, and the political demands of her life strained her relationship with her daughter. Feeling abandoned by her mother, Vima ran away to the frozen tundra world of Rhen Var to find the fallen Jedi Knight Ulic Qel-Droma. The exiled Jedi reluctantly took Vima as his apprentice and taught her what he could about the Jedi ways. During their lessons, he taught her how to use her mind to control her lightsaber. To practice this technique, Ulic had Vima help him create a large monument in the likenesses of Arca Jeth and Sunrider. Ulic used his physical abilities with a lightsaber to work on his rendition of Master Jeth, while Vima practiced her new ability in creating her monument of her deceased father.

When Nomi arrived on Rhen Var to confront Ulic about training her daughter, Vima showed her mother the ice sculpture, and Nomi wept at seeing the enormous image of her long-dead husband.

Though Andur Sunrider's life was relatively brief, he experienced much during it. As a young man in his late teens, he met and fell in love with Nomi, whom he would eventually marry.

Over the years, his love for his wife and daughter played a significant role in his life. As a result of his love for his wife, he had an intense Force vision that foretold his death and the role his love would play afterward. His murder by criminals fulfilled the Force vision Sunrider had, and as in his vision, he reappeared to his wife as a Force ghost to tell her to pick up his lightsaber and defend herself and their daughter. Even in death, Sunrider did his best to protect Nomi and Vima.

During his early life and into his Jedi training, Sunrider was a diligent and dedicated student of Jedi Order history. From his time as a young boy hearing stories from his grandfather to his official training under Master Chamma, Sunrider always strived to learn everything he could about a particular topic. He not only wanted to learn it but also to comprehend and understand what he was reading. His dedication played a part in Chamma inviting Sunrider to become his Jedi apprentice.

Throughout his training, Sunrider took great pride in his accomplishments, especially excelling as Master Chamma's apprentice. However, his pride became dangerous when he believed that Chamma's decision for Sunrider to train further under Thon was a mistake. He believed he had learned everything he needed to become a Jedi Knight, allowing his pride to control him. Chamma, however, knew that Sunrider had to come to terms with his grandfather's death before he would be ready for knighthood.

By the time Sunrider was murdered, he had only completed a portion of his Jedi training because Chamma lacked the wisdom to teach such a promising young Jedi. As a result, Thon agreed to finish Sunrider's training, particularly in the greater, deeper applications of the Force and lightsaber combat. Thus, most of Sunrider's powers and abilities did not have the opportunity to fully develop under Chamma's tutelage. However, his knowledge of Jedi lore and history was extensive, so much so that when he began training under Master Chamma, Chamma recognized his existing knowledge and chose to build upon it.

As with any Jedi training, Sunrider received instruction in lightsaber combat. Nonetheless, any skills he might have had with the lightsaber could not be developed due to his murder by criminals. He did attempt to protect his wife and daughter using his lightsaber, but to no avail.

Following his murder, Sunrider could appear to his wife as a Force ghost, an ability typically only accomplished by a fully trained Jedi Master. It is doubtful that Nomi, with her special destiny to become the head of the Jedi Order, would have begun studying the Jedi way without Sunrider's Force ghost's insistence. His posthumous appearance pushed Nomi onto the Jedi path, where she could use her battle meditation in the Great Sith War, fulfilling Jev Sunrider's prophecy.

During the creation of the comic series Tales of the Jedi, Dark Horse Comics introduced several new characters with the last name "Sunrider." However, due to a legal issue surrounding the name "Sunrider," future use of the name was discontinued. As a result, Lucasfilm was seemingly allowed continued use of their characters as long as the last name "Sunrider" was not used in any publications. However, there have been instances where the last name has been used, notably in roleplaying sourcebooks and guidebooks like The Essential Guide to Characters and The New Essential Chronology.

Sunrider was designed by artist Janine Johnston, who drew Tales of the Jedi 3, Sunrider's first appearance. Johnston, who also designed Nomi Sunrider, envisioned the pair as resembling "Earth warriors."