Xendor

Xendor, a Force-sensitive Human hailing from the Kashi Mer Dynasty, faced exile due to his exploration of the dark side of the Force and his practice of the Teräs Käsi martial art. Upon his departure, Xendor took with him a Kashi Mer talisman. Seeking refuge with the Jedi Order on Ossus, Xendor became a respected Jedi Knight. While on Ossus, Xendor increasingly criticized what he perceived as the Order's growing inflexibility towards other Force traditions and the study of the dark side. During this period, Xendor encountered Arden Lyn, a Steel Hand of Palawa, and began studying the philosophies of Palawa, eventually taking her as his lover.

Unable to suppress his discontent any longer, Xendor approached the High Council, requesting their authorization to establish a new Jedi academy far from Ossus, dedicated to the study of the dark side. Upon the Council's refusal, Xendor quietly severed ties with the Order and journeyed to the planet Lettow to found an academy that permitted the study of the dark side. Drawing inspiration from Force traditions such as the Dai Bendu, the Followers of Palawa, the Kashi Mer Guardians of Breath, the Baran Do, and the Chatos Academy, Xendor's academy initially attracted limited interest, but quickly grew into a substantial following. These acolytes named their group the Legions of Lettow, believing that they would one day need to defend their traditions from the Jedi High Council's wrath.

At some point in his life, Xendor journeyed to a dead planet where the Force was venerated as a trio of beings. He later recounted this tale to Arden Lyn, describing the Daughter, the embodiment of the light side, and the Son, the embodiment of the dark side. When Lyn inquired about the Father, he cryptically suggested that he might have been the Force itself. When asked what he had discovered, Xendor simply laughed and told her that there were many truths to the Force—the existence of the triad had no bearing on the truth of the Force, any more than the views of the Legions or the Jedi did.

Assuming the rank of general around 24,500 BBY, Xendor led the Legions of Lettow in open conflict against the Jedi Order. In what became known as the First Great Schism, Xendor launched a pre-emptive strike against the Jedi, taking the war directly to Ossus. During the battle, Xendor's forces were pushed back, forcing them to commit troops to multiple fronts as the Order drove the Legionnaires towards the galaxy's core. In an attempt to secure an alliance with the Galactic Republic against the Jedi Order, he accused the Jedi of attempting to undermine the Republic for their own purposes. However, the Republic ignored his pleas and branded him as a warlord. Campaigns were waged on Chandrila, Metellos, Brentaal IV and Coruscant until the Jedi leader, Grand Master Awdrysta Pina engaged Xendor directly in battle on Columus. Master Pina, known as the Green Blade, and his Jedi Knights managed to isolate Xendor's vanguard from the main body of his army through a strong Force meld. Overcoming formidable warriors such as Sethul Asaiage and Tun Bohoi, Pina eventually dueled Xendor and killed him in hand-to-hand combat, sending his spirit into Chaos. News of this event reached even Jedi Padawans on distant worlds, marking what some believed to be the immediate end of the war.

The Legions suffered defeat in the Battle of Columus on the same day that Xendor perished, with Danzigorro Potts, a Jedi Padawan, being the only survivor. Before succumbing to his own wounds sustained in the battle, Potts recorded a datacard that would gain renown and endure for millennia after the First Great Schism. In this recording, the Padawan pondered the reasons behind Xendor's ability to sway so many to his cause. Following Columus and Xendor's death, Arden Lyn assumed leadership of the defeated Legions of Lettow. In the aftermath of the schism, Awdrysta Pina pursued Lyn, ultimately forcing her to destroy her assailant using Xendor's Kashi Mer talisman. Before dying, Pina used the technique of morichro to halt Lyn's heart, causing the Follower of Palawa to fall into a deep and prolonged trance that preserved her.

The First Great Schism would be the first in a series of conflicts between the light and dark sides of the Force. Over the centuries, numerous wars arising from the dispute between these two schools of thought would be waged, resulting in immense loss of life. During the New Sith Wars initiated by Darth Ruin in 2000 BBY, a mysterious figure known only as the Dark Underlord rose to prominence. Speculation arose regarding his origins, with one theory suggesting that he was the resurrected spirit of Xendor. Jedi Master Murrtaggh eventually destroyed the Dark Underlord.

In 4 BBY, Imperial Inquisitors—Dark Jedi serving Emperor Palpatine, awakened Arden Lyn. Instead of being killed, Lyn was converted to Palpatine's cause and served him as one of the Emperor's Hands. In return, he promised to summon Xendor's spirit back from Chaos. Lyn soon realized that Palpatine had no intention of fulfilling his promise and participated in a coup against him led by Grand Admiral Demetrius Zaarin in 3 ABY. After that failed, she searched the galaxy for the Kashi Mer talisman that she had possessed in her earlier life, hoping to regain the influence she had enjoyed during the Schism. She also intended to resurrect Xendor herself with the power of the talisman. Palpatine killed Lyn sometime after the Battle of Endor.

During Palpatine's reign, smugglers such as Han Solo and Lando Calrissian frequently invoked Xendor's name in vain. The phrase "Minions of Xendor" became a common curse during this period, particularly with Solo. In 36 ABY, Xendor appeared in the writings of Voren Na'al, a historian from the New Republic, and four years later, in the writings of Tionne Solusar, a Jedi historian. Solusar's writings included the contents of Danzigorro Potts' data card, commonly known as the Columus Data Card. This card inspired at least three operas on Coruscant, but historian Ingo Wavlud denounced it as mere Jedi propaganda. Even at this point, Xendor's origins remained a mystery, at least to the New Jedi Order.

Xendor, a powerful and, according to Sith sources, courageous Human man, posed the first true challenge to the Jedi Order. His libertarian views, which emphasized the routine and, in the opinion of his followers, oppressive nature of the Jedi way, swayed legions of Jedi to his cause, including experienced Jedi Masters. Xendor had dark skin and dark hair.

Xendor was first mentioned in A. C. Crispin's The Paradise Snare, where the name was used repeatedly in various curses uttered by characters. The name was mentioned in much the same capacity in the two other books in that series, The Hutt Gambit and Rebel Dawn. Abel G. Peña greatly expanded on the character of Xendor in his article The Emperor's Pawns, which was published in Star Wars Gamer 5. Further, fleeting mentions were made by Daniel Wallace in The New Essential Chronology, as well as by Drew Karpyshyn in the article Heritage of the Sith, published in Star Wars Insider 88. Peña once again used the character briefly in Evil Never Dies: The Sith Dynasties, and Ryder Windham would, in 2007, expand upon the character once more in Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force. The 2012 reference book Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side provided a picture of Xendor.

In The Essential Guide to Warfare, Arden Lyn states that the Jedi and the Legionnaires did not wield lightsabers at the time, but Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side depicts Xendor and his followers wielding red-bladed lightsabers.