History Asha was born upon the planet of Panatha to an Epicanthix mother and a Human father, Isaya Vaux and Khahur Seren. Her parents were noble aristocrats, highly revered within their society, her Father a Senator who frequented Coruscant. His ship was shot down on a return journey from the Republic Capital, and Khahur was presumed dead. Isaya moved from Panatha to get away from the grief and re-established a family on Cadinth in the busy space-port of Saskapeg. There she married a man named Alexisajando and had a second child: Phoenix. The second marriage did not work out, Jando walked out on Isaya and the girls, and soon they ended up the products of slavery. When Jando finally returned years later he brought with him chaos. A bounty hunter took him away, with Isaya first being shot dead, the girls remaining unfound.
A New Path
Having taken young Phoenix away from the destruction and into the wastelands of Cadinth, Asha began to rebuild a life for the two orphaned girls. Making a living by salvaging items from crash sites the girls never knew when their next meal would be, and Asha soon had to take to petty crime to keep her sister alive, stealing food here and there, but never anything serious. Their health quickly deteriorated, yet some how they hung on for a few years living this way. Their lives changed abruptly, however, when Jedi Masters Tyree Mahk and Levi Windrage found the girls in their 'home', which was in truth little more than a dressed up cave. They were attacked by Sith and Levi Windrage fell protecting Phoenix. Asha fixed up Levi's wounds while Tyree fended off the Sith, and both remarked upon the fact that Asha showed signs of a Consular in the making. The girls were then given an option; remain where they were, with the threat of the Sith hanging over them, or go with the Jedi and start a new life. Although wary Asha agreed to go with the Jedi to the Temple.
Shortly after their arrival at the Temple the two Jedi Master's took on the newly-found Initiates; Asha becoming the Padawan of Tyree Mahk. However, his teaching was absurdly unorthadox and Tyree would eventually take Asha away from the Temple to study privately away from the sight of others. Levi followed, with Phoenix at his heel, to put a stop to Tyree's methods which were becoming more and more 'grey' by the day, and it was then that the girls had their second Sith-encounter, this time with Darth Serpen. He took Phoenix, but was intercepted by Asha who he in turn attempted to take. Although managing it, he did not hold her for long yet he did enough to distract the Jedi from the other issue; Tyree's alignment. It would take another Jedi, a nomad who strayed from the ranks of the Order, to set things straight. Thrask Morn revealed the truth to Asha of the indoctrination she had been subject to, and took her away from Tyree. Under his brief tutelage Asha learnt the true Jedi-ethics and even went so far as to forge her first lightsaber under his watch, the blade green to symbolise her decision to follow the Consulars upon her return to the Temple.
Levi Windrage took her from Thrask back to the Temple shortly after where she was immediately inducted into a Force-lesson. Having already been exposed to the techniques in question Asha should have found the lesson easy, but she was unwilling to prove herself and wary to trust the Jedi for fear of further indoctrination. The instructor, Jedi Knight Carn Dista, noted it and under his scrutiny Asha did as she was bid, managing the exercises first time. Carn kept Asha on after the lesson had finished and had her spar with him. Untrained in the lightsaber forms Asha handled herself well, matching Carn blow for blow, although his use of trakata caught her off guard. Once finished, Carn announced to those present that he had found himself a new Padawan, braiding Asha's hair. Asha’s true training began then alongside fellow Padawan Borsk Ak'arr.
Training under Carn was hard work but Asha found it highly beneficial. Each lesson would begin with a jog swiftly followed by lightsaber combat and force training, then finished off with yet more running. While she ran Carn would explain the various theories and ethics she ought to know, and often to top the day off he would encourage strength training. As well as in-temple training, Carn encouraged a lot of off-world travels, frequenting maze-like ruins with Asha and collecting crystals for her lightsabers; under his mentoring she forged two, both green, and taught herself Jar'Kai. However, things would soon turn upside down as Order 66 was released; Asha witnessing it first hand when Fab Kresh exited the Council Chambers with the heads of the Councillors. She made it to the hidden enclave alive, and was later taken by the Mandalorians and made to train along side them. She would later find out that it was Emile Oryx who saved her that day.
This was when Tyree found her again. Unhappy with the fact that she was no longer his student, Tyree took Asha back to Tython with him and for six years he held her at Akar Kesh, occasionally taking her to the other Temples for various training. Asha was always reluctant, yet Tyree would often remark on the fact that he knew where Phoenix was, and that maybe she would be more willing. At the same time Tyree falsely told Asha that he was her father, even going so far as to forcing her to dye her hair. Her time with Tyree was, to Asha, torturous, yet she kept her peace of mind through constant meditation. For days she would sit in silence, meditating on the Jedi Mantra, and it would infuriate Tyree as it limited his chances at training her. When he did manage to train her Asha was again reluctant, his idea of using the Force for good clashing with Asha's. He taught her things she should not have known, Alchemy being one of these. Asha never used it again after the session and she slowly felt her trust in the Force diminishing. It was then that she was found by none other than Carn Dista.
Carn noticed the difference in Asha almost immediately. Her trust had diminished entirely. Formerly a student of Niman, Asha began to refuse to use the Force and her training with Form Six was ended because of it. She spent little time with others, although she was still an avid learner with knowledge far beyond her years. She became restless, too, and frequently left the Temple, unable to handle being inside after years spent at the open-aired Temple of Balance. It was during this time that Asha met and befriended Uisce Kresh who often found Asha offworld and returned her to the Temple. Nothing would deter her from leaving, however, and most of the time no one knew. She clashed with many Sith during this time. She was flashburned by Darth Lexor and cornered by Salo Morak, still bearing the scars from both encounters today. Then she lost everything again.
Her sister, Phoenix, and her Master had disappeared from the radar entirely, and reluctantly the Jedi Council demoted Asha back to Initiate so that she might have chance of finding a new Master. She spent several months in deep personal study, still wary of the Force but at least able to use it for learning purposes, before someone stepped forwards to take Carn's place. Jedi Knight Raiden Nar took her on and she spent a long time learning under him. Each attempt made by Tyree to get to Asha was batted away by Raiden, and Carn who had returned several months into her new Padawanship, but eventually Tyree got to Asha again. With the weight of it all heavy upon her Asha turned to her subconscious thoughts and her sanity snapped. She took herself away from the Jedi to return to Tython, hidden away in the forests.
When Uisce found her she had no recollection of who she was. She stood there, trying to defend the trees, while Uisce tried to talk sense into her. Calling herself "Seren" as opposed to Asha, she would hear none of it, yet Uisce eventually won her over by mentioning the Archives and the vast amounts of trees. Asha eventually recovered her sanity and Raiden took her back under his wing. Formerly Asha Vaux, she gave herself a new surname, that of her Father, and thus became Asha Seren. During this time Jedi Knight Shomi Allon began training her in Niman, while she continued her own training in Jar'Kai. However, Asha was soon seeing less and less of her Master until he was not seen around the Temple at all. Her learning again stunted the Council returned her back to Initiate status. A few days after Jedi Knight Peritus Vis took on the eager student, spotting her keen interest in the way of the Sentinels and tutoring her in all that she still needed to know. He taught her how to be a Jedi again, and reconnected her with the Force. It became her ally once again.
She continued her studies into healing, seeking to become a medic despite the fact she wished to follow the Sentinels upon ascension to Knighthood, and was taught by Rancid Olcron and Trinity Dependus to do just that. At this time Peritus also took on a second Padawan, Borrun Straife, and Asha assisted her Master in his learning. She forged two lightsabers under Peritus' tutelage, both with yellow crystals to show her as a Sentinel-in-training. Murmurs soon spiralled throughout the Order, and it was not long before Asha was taken before the Council and began her Trials of Knighthood under the watch of Jedi Knight Linth Draygar.
The Path of Light
Asha passed her trials and immediately began mentoring a young Initiate named Gareth Yalthik who had formerly been Trinity Dependus' Padawan, yet she had passed into the Force hours after Asha was Knighted. Her formal missions began and she was inducted into the Jedi Sentinels, and within a few hours she and her former Master Peritus Vis left for a patrol on Naboo. There she came across a young girl named Cora, playing in one of the various lakes with some fish. Picking up on her force sensitivity, Asha spoke to Cora and learnt that she was not being looked after by anyone save for the fish. Asha returned several times, befriending the child and eventually convincing her to come with her back to the Temple where she was inducted amongst their ranks. Within a short amount of time Asha took Gareth for her Padawan after he took the Initiate trials, having been told to do so by the Council due to her obvious connection with the boy.
Asha then began her first mission to investigate into the Mandalorians after an attack on the then secret Odstin Empire. Having ties to the Mandalorians through her father, Amelia Taher was drawn into the investigation and managed to speak directly with Alicia Drey who was surprisingly willing to inform Amelia what had been going on. This led to the revelation that the dar’manda, a group of extremist exiled Mandalorians, were growing significantly and the current Mand’alor was infact formerly leading them. They unintentionally stumbled across information on the Black Sun Syndicate with the realisation that they had returned. During their investigations the Senator building of the Republic Capital Courscant was bombed, with suspects pointing to the Syndicate. Asha was tasked alongside fellow Knight Ray Markel to investigate and, alongside close-friend and mentor Thrask Morn Asha managed to uncover the truth; the Black Sun had returned. Feigning false wishes to join them after meeting with a recruit Asha left for Hutta, although it seemed like she had been led on a false trail. It would be her further investigations into the Mandalorians, whom she had learnt sought to seize control of the Republic and any who stood in their way, which would reconnect her with the path, running into the Black Sun recruit who she had met on Coruscant.
Together Asha, under the alias ‘Cery’, and so-called Zack made their way to the Syndicate base on Metellos. On their journey there Zack had grown fond of Asha under the pretence of a young girl, but even his initial protective nature would not halt him when the leadership ordered them to fight to the death for the only remaining place in the Syndicate. Luckily Asha was not killed, although it was made to look as though she was, and she managed to gather the information she had been seeking. Unluckily for her, however, the Syndicate were taking no chances and they threw her body into the incinerator. She took severe burns to the body and by the time she was dropped off at the Temple by an unknown source, having been rescued just in time, she was beyond recognition.
She was ordered to take a leave of absence from any upcoming missions by the Council, but her investigations into both the bombing and the information she had learnt during it regarding it was deemed of high value to the Council. She took the offered time to further in her studies. When she returned to active service she began to work towards protecting the Republic from the oncoming threat of the Mandalorians, drawing in aid from those who would give her time enough to listen, and managed to forge a small link between the Republic and the M’haeli Empire. Impressed with her initiative and her progress with her cause, Asha was given the role of a Diplomat for the Order directly from the High Council itself.
During this time Asha was given a mission alongside her Padawan to investigate rumoured kidnappings on Tatooine. Together she and Gareth learnt that the Tusken Raiders had been taking children to sell as slaves in order to pay off debts owed to the Hutts. She spoke with the Chieftain of the tribe responsible and through vigorous negotiations managed to have the children released unharmed. Unwilling to let it happen again, Asha informed the Chieftain of a nearby crash-site, rumoured to hold a cache of valuables, and even marked down the location of others. They returned to the Temple to inform the Council of their success. There she was given the responsibility of being the Watchman of Tatooine, charged with its protection.
During one of her frequent patrols of Tatooine, Asha stumbled back across the Tusken Raider camp to hear chanting in the distance. Approaching what at first she thought to be an odd ceremony, Asha found Salo Morak sat upon a raised throne high above the Tusken who stood in a circle around him and a large bonfire. It took her a moment to realise that they were worshipping him, as one might do a deity. At his side, and scattered throughout the encirclement, were alchemical creatures created by Salo, ones she had come into contact with many times before. Salo spotted her from across the bonfire and rose from the throne. All turned to face her, and she felt a heavy hand at her back where one of the alchemical beasts stood. “My, you’ve grown” he remarked, as the creatures pressed her closer to the fire.
Asha told Salo that he was to release the Tusken from his enthrallment, to which he merely laughed and informed her that he had not forced this on them. They had welcomed him, or so he said, and now they worshiped him. As though to prove a point he ordered forwards the former chieftain of the Tusken and told him to kill himself. He went to do so without hesitation and would have succeeded had Asha not gotten to him first. She removed the weapon from him, and heard Salo tutting behind her. The alchemical beasts fell in tow behind Salo, but Asha’s focus was on the group. She managed to get through to the chieftain and instructed him to evacuate the area, while Salo crept closer. When the Tusken were leaving she finally turned to face her old rival. She did the typical Jedi-thing of informing him to leave Tatooine, and the Tusken, but of course both of them knew that wasn’t going to happen.
A long battle ensued out in the sand dunes of Tatooine, Asha up against a horde of opponents due to the alchemical beasts, but luckily she soon found herself with aid from another. Emile Oryx turned up with a handful of Mandalorians and was able to distract the creatures long enough for Asha to demobilise them. By this time Salo had fled, but Asha was quick on his heels. She lost him at one point when he seemed to just... Disappear, no tracks, no trace of him, nothing. She continued on for a short while, before she finally realised where he was. She headed to the disused hangar bay, as even Salo needed transport to get off the planet, and found him there.
She locked a tracking device onto the hull of his ship without him realising, yet he did pick up on her presence there. Yet again the pair fought, and Salo blew up his own ship in the process to make more of a struggle for Asha. In the end she was exhausted, where Salo was not, yet she managed to disarm him and sink him to his knees. Somehow she managed to bypass his flurry of force-attacks while Emile once again came to her aid and distracted him long enough for Asha to knock him unconscious with the hilt of her lightsaber. She arrested him and dragged him back to her ship for interrogation. Thrask appeared shortly after, having been onboard her ship, yet while she spoke with him Salo, safely locked away in the cell of her ship, managed to slip from his body, leaving just an empty shell in place. However, he did not return to Tatooine for a long time afterwards, knowing he’d find only a hindrance if he were to do so.
Salo would not forget Asha, however, and in a last ditch attempt to remove her from his plans he sent his Apprentice, Raven, after her. Stealing away with Gareth the young Apprentice lured Asha to the furthest reaches of the galaxy. While Gareth was, in fact, released, Asha and Raven fought and only through deception was Raven able to defeat Asha, burying her under a pre-determined landslide that she had set up before Asha had gotten there. She was locked in stuncuffs and sold to the locals as a slave, remaining unconscious for several days. When she came around she was on a slave-ship that was on its way to Korriban. Once it landed, however, Asha found herself face to face with another Sith; Malkar Sho’shen. He killed everyone, slaver and slave, save for Asha.
Asha was surprised to find the girl who had sold her, Raven, by Malkar’s side. The cuffs were removed, as Asha appeared in too weak a state to do much, yet at the first opportunity she had she fled. Raven was sent after her and found her in the desert planes. The Apprentice beat her until she was hanging on to life, and would have killed her had she not recalled Malkar’s instructions. She was dragged into an ancient and ruined academy upon Korriban where Malkar awaited. He attempted to pry knowledge on Salo Morak from her. It seemed half of the galaxy were after Salo, including those who should have been the closest thing to an ally Sith could have, yet Asha’s lips remained sealed.
In the end Malkar would be assisted by the Sith Lord Eos who brought to the ruined academy a young Padawan – Cora. Eos gave Malkar Cora, and he used her against Asha. Although going against one of her tenets Asha told Malkar that if he let her go she would tell him all he wanted to hear about Salo; however, what she did not tell him was that what he wanted to hear was not the truth. With Cora rescued by other Jedi who arrived moments later, Asha was taken into space and held captive by Malkar who claimed that it was only until her wounds were healed and the information delivered. She fed him the lies as easily as the truth, but still he didn’t let her go. In the end it would be Thrask who found her, tracking her to the edge of the galaxy and bringing her back to the temple where she was again ordered to rest.
During this time Carn Dista passed into the Force, and to begin with Asha managed to control her grief. However, a letter and a lightsaber were handed to Asha by Kyra Proga, a Republic Agent who had been with Carn when he fell, which caused the grief to intensify. Thrask Morn, whom Asha had reunited herself with, brought Asha back to peace, yet his efforts were not helped by Jedi Padawan Tracyn Ordo who would become so insistent that Asha return his feelings that he forced all manner of intense emotions upon her through use of a Force Bond. The only way that Thrask could deal with the chaos this caused was by severing Asha's memories of what had happened, who in turn Flashburned herself so she was unable to remember Tracyn at all. Asha resumed her duties, training her Padawan and proceeding with the missions placed before her. She established a training academy on Talus alongside Eli Lorr and several others which would in turn serve as a base for the Jedi Coalition through the help of which the Republic was properly restored after a short reign of darkness.
Tracyn would return time and time again, and would eventually win Asha over; yet it wouldn't last, and eventually she stopped it entirely. She took a reign on her emotions and continued her service as a Jedi Knight, refusing to let things such as emotions to get in her way. Asha was given the position of Warden by former Master and Jedi Watchman Raiden Nar and was instated as the Head of the House of Balance due to fellow Sentinels Sain Bren and Archalan Shien who both voted her in. Asha developed a close bond with Sain Bren but it was never anything more than a professional and friendly relationship, although others often wrongly speculated otherwise.
During this time Asha's first Padawan, Gareth, passed his Trials of Knighthood. Asha began spending more and more time within the medical bay, attending to patients, and during this time Jedi Master Baerick Straife took up her medical training, beginning with triage and first aid. Due to her work with the younger members of the Jedi Order, Asha was given a place upon the Council of Reassignment alongside Grand Master Arumus and not long after the Sentinels came together to instate her as their Watchman, leaving Sain Bren as the Warden.
She rebuilt the academy on Talus to its former glory, creating an archive of knowledge alongside Sain Bren and Wolf Ank’hu, and awaited confirmation from the High Council for the Academy to get underway. She already had her small-Council in mind, taking on four Councillors instantly ready for when it began: Sain Bren for Sentinel studies, Khala Carios for Guardian studies, Gareth Yalthik for Consular studies and Linth Draygar for Medical studies. When the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic personally came to the Temple to ask for the Jedi's aid in the oncoming war, rounding up Generals from among the Guardians, he specifically sought out Asha, seeking her to be his Supreme Commander for as long as the war with the Mandalorians and Sith continued.
Asha was elevated to the Leadership spot of the Council of Reassignment, working hard to aid all new entrants into the Order, however the Council soon decided that they would merge the Councils into one, forming the Council of First Knowledge. Asha was again given a seat and shortly after the Leadership spot. However, she soon had a change of heart over her duties within the Jedi and gave up both her Council spot and her leadership of the Sentinels. She left her subgroup in favour of the Consulars where she established the House of Knowledge and led it before passing the duty along to Padawan Eva Shalluat once it had been fully set up. |