Halagad Ventor

Halagad Ventor was born in 47 BBY to Ean and Zollet Ventor, archivists at the Royal Library of Alderaan. He spent his childhood on Alderaan. Despite possessing a strong connection to the Force, the Acquisition Division overlooked Ventor for Jedi training at a young age, a mistake attributed to Jedi Watchman Jorus C'baoth. Nevertheless, he harbored aspirations of becoming a scholar and immersed himself in the ancient texts of the Royal Library, learning about the history of the Jedi Knights and dreaming of joining their ranks. Inspired by C'baoth's handling of the dispute between House Organa and House Antilles, Ventor dedicated himself to mastering a diverse range of scholarly and martial skills. He was taken under the wing of a young Bail Organa, who would later become a Senator and Viceroy of Alderaan, and exposed to a wide array of intellectual pursuits during his adolescence.

Around 32 BBY, while visiting the Okonomo Retreat, Ventor joined Bail and Tia Organa on a hunt for manka cats, while his parents enjoyed a vacation at the Retreat. Although he successfully killed a manka, the celebration was abruptly ended when Organa shared the devastating news of what would become known as the Okonomo Tragedy. During a dinner at the Retreat, a madman had infiltrated the gathering and infected everyone present with a deadly hive virus that caused anthropophagitism in its victims. Distraught at the thought of his parents mindlessly devouring each other, Ventor isolated himself and began teaching himself the ways of the Jedi. Due to the challenges of self-instruction, Ventor never truly mastered any particular area of Jedi or non-Jedi study. He argued that Jedi should focus on all aspects of the Force, rather than specialize in just one discipline. However, these thoughts were likely born of inexperience. Seeking comfort from Tia Organa, the two engaged in a brief affair, and Organa became pregnant with their son Nial. Unable to bear the responsibility, Ventor abandoned the Organas and made his way to the Cularin system, where he was accepted into the experimental Jedi academy on Almas in 30 BBY. At seventeen standard years of age, Ventor was older than most Jedi of that era, but he trained diligently and learned a great deal during his time on the wild planet, facing such horrors as the Wyrd cultists, dreambeasts, Dark Lizards, and the K'kayeh dragon.

After a few short years at the Academy, Ventor began his search for a Jedi Master to guide him in the ways of the Jedi. He met with Jedi Masters Jerec, Ashka Boda, and Djinn Altis, but none of them would accept him as a Padawan, citing his lack of control over his mind, anger, fear, and greed. Discouraged, Ventor sought help from his old friend, now Senator Organa. Using his connections from the Alderaan Ascendancy Contention, Organa arranged a meeting with Jedi Knight Everen Ettene, who saw something of herself in the unorthodox Jedi-in-training. Agreeing to train him, she nurtured and disciplined him, loving him as a mother would love a child, and tried to control his strong personality. Despite Ettene's strict adherence to the Jedi Code, Ventor held onto his personal beliefs and never reached his full potential. As an unusual case in the post-Ruusan Jedi Order, Ventor struggled to fit in with his Jedi brethren. He quickly became a skilled warrior under Ettene's tutelage, but he failed to grasp the more subtle aspects of Jedi work, such as diplomacy and healing. In some cases, he was completely unaware of these powers.

In 27 BBY, Ventor and his master were assigned to investigate the disastrous Outbound Flight Project by the Galactic Senate. Their aggressive investigation into the project's failure brought them into conflict with Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, the flight's only survivors. After a tense encounter, Ventor eventually met with Padawan Skywalker, and the two became close. Ventor saw a kindred spirit in Skywalker, as they both had entered the Order later in life than most. In Ventor, Skywalker recognized qualities of his lost friends, Padawans Tru Veld and Ferus Olin. The two shared secrets, with Ventor revealing his affair with Organa and the birth of his son, while Skywalker confessed his love for Padmé Amidala of Naboo. During the Separatist Crisis, Ventor and Ettene were paired with Ludwin Katarkus and Danyawarra and dispatched by the Jedi High Council to the Virgillia system to initiate peace talks in the Virgillian Civil War. Upon arriving in the system in late 23 BBY, their transport was attacked by dissenters and destroyed. He, along with his master and the two other Jedi, were presumed dead back on Coruscant, and a Jedi funeral was held for them. Forgotten in the chaos of the outbreak of war, Ventor and Danyawarra were actually alive, hiding and hoping for rescue. Salvation came three weeks after the crash, when Senator Organa, along with Giles Durane and Jedi Ashka Boda, launched a rescue mission. After extracting the two Padawans, Boda escorted them back to the Coruscant Jedi Temple, where the master encouraged Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi to take on the older student and complete his training.

As General Kenobi's second apprentice, Ventor achieved the rank of Commander in the Grand Army of the Republic and fought alongside Kenobi's first Padawan, Anakin Skywalker. Maintaining a strong friendship with Kenobi's other student, the two Padawans were allowed to undergo the Jedi ritual known as the Concordance of Fealty, in which they each entrusted their lightsaber to the other. Having received a Medallion of Honor from Supreme Chancellor Palpatine for his efforts on Virgillia 7, Ventor wore full clone trooper armor during the early stages of the war, only removing the helmet during missions. Accompanying his master to the planet Marat V, Ventor and Skywalker were tasked by Jedi Master Mace Windu with arresting Master Geneticist and madman Zeta Magnus. Magnus had orchestrated a one-man takeover of the planet, persuading the Outland Clans to his cause and declaring himself Magister of Skye, while simultaneously unleashing a plague on the other S'kytri who refused to submit to his rule. Upon arriving on the planet, the Jedi were led to the City of the Winged People by Patriarch Klarymére, where they were brought before the Supreme Council of the Highland Clans. While Kenobi tried to convince the Council of their good intentions by recounting the Order's Prophecy of the Chosen One, Ventor used his skills in telekinesis to levitate Skywalker through the air and out the window high above the mountain vistas in order to gain their trust.

Demonstrating his skill in the Force and his competence with a lightsaber, Ventor fought his way through Oskan blood eaters in the depths of the legendary labyrinths of the Entyrmion as the Jedi journeyed to the slopes of the Canaitith Mountain, where Magnus had built his citadel. During the fighting, Skywalker joked that losing his Padawan braid was the only way Ventor would ever be promoted to knighthood. Upon entering the building, the Jedi were tricked by their clones and imprisoned in Magnus' laboratory. The Jedi awoke to the horrifying sight of clones being developed from their DNA; clones of Kenobi and Skywalker were already growing in vats, and Magnus planned to begin the process with Ventor's recently acquired genetic material. When Kharys arrived and freed them, Ventor fled the chamber and followed Magnus to the citadel's hangar, where he confronted the Arkanian mutant as the droid Blue-Tark began to power up Magnus' starship, the Skyriver Invader. When Magnus attacked, Ventor lost control of his lightsaber, and the mutant managed to pin the Jedi Padawan down, biting off several fingers from Ventor's sword hand. Ventor lost consciousness as the monster began consuming him, but he was saved when Blue-Tark ignited the Invader's engines and incinerated Magnus in the ionic fire erupting from the ship as it took off. Lunging into Magnus, Ventor cleaved his opponent in half, killing him. Regaining his composure, Ventor returned to the laboratory, where his fellow Jedi continued their fight with the traitorous clone troopers. Noticing the Class-D detonator in the clone's hand, Ventor used the Force to detonate it, wiping the clones, part of the lab, and the cloned child versions of Skywalker and Kenobi from existence. As the Jedi regrouped outside the citadel, Kenobi noticed that Ventor's eyes were bloodshot, recognizing it as a sign of drawing upon the dark side of the Force. Exhausted from the battle, Ventor succumbed to his frustration as Skywalker turned against him, and the pair argued before Ventor tossed the lightsaber he was using back to its rightful owner and telekinetically grabbed his own lightsaber from Skywalker's belt, igniting it. In retaliation, Skywalker ignited his own and Kenobi's lightsabers to block Ventor's attack. Before the situation escalated too far, Kenobi used the Force to slam Skywalker to the ground and demanded that the two Padawans hand over their lightsabers. Ventor disengaged and turned over his weapon to the General before storming off to the nearest Republic gunship.

Ventor eventually earned the rank of Knight and was promoted to General himself, ending his collaboration with Kenobi. As the war reached its final months, the Confederacy of Independent Systems launched Operation Durge's Lance, affecting worlds from the Outer Rim to the Core. General Ventor, along with several other Jedi Knights, including Sha Koon, were dispatched to the Outer Rim planet Bal'demnic to halt the CIS advance. Intercepted CIS transmissions revealed that the Commerce Guild was planning to mine cortosis from the planet. Cortosis, known for its resistance to lightsabers, was a valuable asset in anti-Jedi warfare and had been used by Wat Tambor early in the war, making Bal'demnic a high priority for Jedi Master Mace Windu. What Ventor and Koon's forces found on the island planet was remarkable. The Kon'me natives had rebelled against the Commerce Guild's tyranny and launched their own revolution against the droid armies. The Kon'me used weapons smuggled in by war profiteers, allowing them to fight on equal terms with the droids. Unfortunately for Ventor and Koon, this also meant they could fight on equal terms with the Republic. Soon after Ventor's Republic forces landed on Bal'demnic, the Kon'me began firing on them, treating all outsiders as enemies. Unwilling to retaliate against the natives, Ventor and Koon were forced to retreat. However, the Confederacy forces were also driven away, making the mission at least partially successful. Ventor ordered a small portion of his fleet to remain in Bal'demnic's orbit to prevent further CIS intrusions.

Ventor managed to avoid Galactic Emperor Palpatine's agents during Order 66 and the subsequent destruction of the Jedi Order. He followed the example of many other survivors and attempted to flee the new Galactic Empire. The next day, Ventor's image, along with those of other Jedi such as Kai Justiss and Koffi Arana, was displayed on HoloNet News, all labeled as dangerous fugitives.

To combat the rising number of Jedi deaths caused by a lack of coordination, Ventor collaborated with Jedi Master Ashka Boda to establish a network of survivors from the destruction of Almas Academy. Before he could leave for the Outer Rim Territories, he was captured by stormtroopers. Inquisitor Valin Draco, with the assistance of Imperial Intelligence officers, extensively tortured Ventor aboard Vader's flagship (likely the Star Destroyer Exactor), but Ventor revealed nothing.

Vader personally interrogated Ventor with the help of an interrogation droid and gradually broke down the man's mental defenses. As Ventor succumbed to the dark side, he revealed the names and locations of all the Jedi in his secret network of Order 66 survivors. Satisfied with this information, Vader allowed him to steal a ship, the Rimrider, to escape the flagship, knowing that the dark side or death would inevitably consume him. Vader did not pursue Ventor, knowing that he had already fallen to the dark side of the Force. After that, Vader hunted down and killed as many Jedi from Ventor's network as he could find. At least one Jedi on Ventor's blacklist, Jedi Master Qu Rahn, managed to escape Vader's hunt.

The dark side nexus of the swamp planet Trinta called to Halagad, and the fallen Jedi decided to take residence there. Immersing himself in the nexus, his body couldn't properly handle the dark side's power, causing him to become deformed and withered, losing all his teeth, weakening his bones, and aging his face prematurely, a characteristic shared by many Sith who were not yet accustomed to the dark side. Fearing retribution from Vader's Imperial forces, Ventor used the dark side of the Force to create illusions of beasts and other creatures, maintaining them across the planet to deter any curious individuals.

For approximately 20 years, Trinta and Ventor remained undisturbed until a team from the Alliance to Restore the Republic crash-landed on the planet. Fleeing from the Taloron bounty hunter Crutag and his cronies Slizzik and Slimego, the Rebels sought refuge in Trinta's dense swamps. There, they stumbled upon one of Ventor's old campsites and discovered his abandoned Medallion of Honor. Displeased by these events, Ventor used the Force to commandeer the ships of both the Rebels and Crutag, stranding both parties in the swamps. However, he hadn't fully thought through his plan, as he couldn't scare them off-planet. Instead, he created illusions of the extinct Dradan species and a rancor to intimidate the foreigners. This tactic failed, but Ventor realized that the Rebels might be the key to his redemption from the dark side. However, the fallen Jedi still feared Vader might find him, so he remained hidden.

When the Rebels eventually found Ventor, he initiated his plan for redemption. He pretended to try to convert the Rebels to the dark side, hoping they would kill him and end his tormented existence. Instead, the Rebels showed Ventor his Medallion of Honor, reminding him of his service during the Clone Wars: the good deeds he had done and the lives he had saved. The Rebels also informed him that not all Jedi had fallen victim to Vader's blade during the Great Jedi Purge and that some of them still lived on, like Rahm Kota and Obi Wan Kenobi. Filled with hope for the first time in years, Ventor finally broke free from the grip of the dark side and, in the process, escaped his worldly existence. Ventor ascended to a higher plane, passing away as a redeemed man and becoming a Force ghost. His spirit thanked the Rebels before vanishing. The rebels then escaped from Trinta with their ships intact, leaving the bounty hunters stranded there for some time.

Years later, following the collapse of the Galactic Empire and the deaths of Palpatine and Vader, Jedi Master Qu Rahn, the last survivor of Halagad's network and one of the few Jedi who aided the Rebel Alliance, fought a brief but deadly battle on the bridge of the Super Star Destroyer Vengeance against Inquisitor Jerec and the Seven Dark Jedi. Although he managed to cut Maw in half at the waist, he was overcome by Jerec. Before receiving the final blow, Rahn saw the spirits of Anakin Skywalker and Halagad Ventor, understanding that no one was beyond redemption.

Halagad Ventor, being self-taught, constantly felt the need to validate himself. It's likely that he aimed to prove the Order wrong, owing to his rejection from early training. However, lacking proper guidance, Ventor's understanding of the Force deviated from standard Jedi teachings, resulting in deficiencies in his skills when compared to standardized Jedi training. Lord Vader characterized Ventor as a "boisterous individual" who yearned for praise and acknowledgement. This desire was evident in his receipt of the Medallion of Honor during the Clone Wars, a rare distinction.

Ventor's steadfast adherence to his own methods led to repeated rejections from the Order, yet it ultimately paved the way for his acceptance, despite his unconventional approach. This distinctiveness made him a prime target for Lord Vader early in the Great Jedi Purge, as Ventor was known for being volatile and "difficult". Ventor's shortcomings also manifested on Trinta, but he retained enough awareness to recognize his errors.

Jim Bambra and Allen Nunis initially conceived Halagad Ventor, who debuted as the main villain in the West End Games Roleplaying Game supplement titled Domain of Evil. Within this adventure, the player characters, acting as Rebel scouts, face Ventor as a Dark Jedi and endure his fury, achieving victory only by redeeming Ventor and guiding him back to the light.

Domain of Evil originally portrayed Ventor as the Jedi who betrayed all but Obi-Wan and Yoda among the survivors of the Great Jedi Purge, but this role in the Jedi's demise was significantly lessened as the character remained untouched for many years. Expanded Universe content, particularly those centered around the Prequel trilogy, revealed that numerous other Jedi survived the Purge, while many others perished seemingly without Ventor's involvement or his information.

Pablo Hidalgo and Paul Ens resurrected the character more than a decade later in an online HoloNet News story, during a mission set amidst the Separatist Crisis. Halagad's reported death in the article sparked confusion among fans, until Pablo Hidalgo later clarified that the report was a deliberate misdirection. Pablo intended the article to sow seeds of doubt regarding the veracity of any news source, governmental or private, that claimed a Jedi's death.

Author Abel G. Peña – known online as "Halagad_Ventor," or "Halagad" – always maintained a strong fascination with the character, so much so that artist Joe Corroney used Peña as inspiration for his illustration of Ventor in Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241. Peña's interest in the character is also reflected in his own works: The Dark Forces Saga, Aliens in the Empire, and Echoes of the Jedi.

Domain of Evil indicates Ventor served under Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Clone Wars. Arthur Papadam, writer for What's The Story?, featured Ventor in his Databank entry for Bal'demnic, marking the initial detailed account of Ventor's specific participation in the Clone Wars.

Author Abel G. Peña had long expressed his ambition to involve Ventor in Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker's mission on Skye, an event mentioned in Star Wars Annual (1977) 1. Peña finally accomplished this goal in Part 2 of the online supplement Aliens in the Empire. Ventor's presence in this battle served a dual purpose: to depict Ventor serving under Kenobi as stated in Domain of Evil, and to create a retcon correcting an inconsistency caused by a pre–Empire Strikes Back source that portrayed Anakin Skywalker and the father of Luke Skywalker as separate individuals at the same location simultaneously.

In Echoes of the Jedi, Abel G. Peña clarified that the information Ventor divulged to Darth Vader pertained only to the Jedi survivors of Almas Academy's destruction, rather than all survivors of the entire Purge. This retcon allows the narrative established in Domain on Evil to retain some degree of accuracy, while also explaining why Ventor's coerced betrayal of the Jedi was largely disregarded by other Star Wars sources.

Justin Chung, an artist and friend of Abel G. Peña, depicted Halagad Ventor on a sketch card featured in the 2009 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Series 4 trading card set.

It seems Halagad's name is a reference to "Galahad," a prominent member of King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table.