Vu Lumi

Basic Information

Name: Vu Lumi

Career: Consular

Specialization: Ascetic

Background: Comfortable with tech (beginnings), One with the Force (attitude towards the Force), Wandering diplomat (reason for adventure)

Emotional Strength: Discipline

Emotional Weakness: Sophism

Motivation: Growth (Force Connection)

Species: Umbaran

Age: 24

Player: Dan H.

Stats: SWSheets - Vu Lumi

Background

Vu Lumi was born to an Umbaran family of darkside Force users. Her mother, Mae Lumi, was a semi-notorious priestess who led a cult on Umbara. Although Vu's mother aspired to train her Force-sensitive daughter as an heir, Mae was killed when Vu was relatively young, slain by a Jedi sent to investigate concerning developments in Umbaran politics related to Mae's cult. Meanwhile, a separate member of the same Jedi contingent had "liberated" Vu from the cult's hideout, unaware that Vu was Mae's daughter. By the time the Jedi realized the connection, Vu was in their custody. Although they considered her lineage problematic, the Jedi were ultimately unwilling to risk the cult raising Vu to follow in her mother's footsteps. Reluctantly, they took Vu with them to the Jedi temple, where she joined a group of younglings effectively being raised by the Order. Vu eventually became a Padawan learner assigned to the mentorship of celebrated negotiator Lam Nkai. Although they frequently disagree, Vu begrudgingly respects her teacher's diplomatic talent and his ability to engage with her occasionally-unorthodox perspectives.

In keeping with her commitment to asceticism (see below), Vu eschews material possessions and lives as simply as possible. She tries to eat plainly, although she will broaden her palate if simple staple foods are not available or decorum demands it. However, she does strictly avoid alcohol and other mind-altering substances, believing them counter-productive to an authentic connection with the Force. Vu is quick-witted and has a dry sense of humor, one of her few self-permitted indulgences. This can be surprising given her stoic demeanor, but Vu sometimes finds levity to be emotionally centering.

Somewhere deep down, Vu is haunted by her heritage. Her mother's cult began as a group of Forcer-users trying to better their station in the cutthroat world of Umbaran politics, and the trauma of her childhood likely informs her skepticism of Jedi engaging in politics. Vu's horror at her mother's actions also likely fuels her belief that the dark side represents a moral evil (in contrast to a "greyer" interpretation, which is that the dark side is simply a different way of using the Force, drawing on one's emotions).

Appearance

Vu is an Umbaran woman with a small frame and athletic build. Like many members of her species, she has white irises and pale, nearly white skin with a slight blue tint. She ascribes to the Umbaran custom of shaving her head, although she has considered letting her hair grow out to avoid being mistaken for her mother. She is almost always wearing worn, oversized Jedi robes that roughly resemble the shadow cloaks traditionally worn by Umbarans. She dislikes bright light and frequently keeps the hood of her robes raised. Vu wears an artificial Padawan braid made from Silka beads around her head. She bears a stylized circular scar on her right shoulder blade, the result of a brand forced on her by her mother's cult. As the logo is known (at least to those in the region) to be associated with her mother's cult, Vu generally keeps it covered.  

Beliefs

Vu's journey with the Force is closer to its beginning than its end, but a few core tenets of her personal philosophy have crystallized:

• The Force defines - or is defined by - an objective notion of "good" and "evil". The physical decay of darkside wielders is proof of this.
• The ultimate goal of a Jedi is communion with the light side of the Force. The highest good a Jedi can render is to be a living example of walking the path of light.
• Communion with the light side is best achieved through compassionate acts of service, not isolated study.
• Possessions make it difficult for a Jedi to walk the thin line between compassion and attachments. Ideas - ambitions, fixations - are also possessions, just as likely to inappropriately ground a Jedi as a bank account or a paramour.
• The great personal power wielded by Jedi makes their official involvement in politics intrinsically authoritarian.

More detailed beliefs

From the core beliefs above, some more nuanced (and flexible) principles emerge that are nevertheless significant enough to govern how Vu comports herself.

On the role of Jedi

Vu believes a Jedi's proper place is "present, but apart" - that the ideal Jedi is a wandering diplomat who can always be found at the center of a community in need, but never so fully a part of it as to create attachment and rarely encountering another Jedi (outside of a Padawan learner). Vu further believes that Jedi, politics, and ambition don't mix: While she acknowledges the value of the Padawan system to carry on Jedi traditions and even a central governing body (the Council), she feels the Order is too deeply ingrained with the Republic, possibly distracting Jedi away from their core cause (connecting with the Force) and even steering the Republic in directions that are not productive. That the Jedi killed her mother and effectively conscripted her into service is not lost on Vu - she does not believe the Order to be infallible even as she strives the embody the Jedi Code.

On the Force

Vu wonders if any notions of "self" are intrinsically aligned against a deeper connection to the Force, crowding a soul that could otherwise be an empty vessel for the Living Force. This belief underscores her decision to approach the Jedi path as an ascetic. Without possessions to define her, Vu can better "become nobody", as the enlightened Jedi she admires have done. As Vu, somewhere beneath her grit and oversized robes, is in fact a real person with hopes, dreams, likes, dislikes, and fears, "becoming nobody" is a naturally a continual struggle - one Vu considers noble and worthwhile.

Vu is skeptical of Force philosophers and anyone she perceives to be approaching the Force too academically. Vu thinks of the Force as relatively inscrutable and privately believes that too much logical analysis can project a scholar's bias onto the will of the Force.

Powers & Abilities

As an Ascetic and skeptic, Vu prizes self-sufficiency and strives to be well-rounded, training in most of the abilities necessary for a Jedi to succeed on the frontier. Against that backdrop, Vu's deep meditations on the connection between mind and soul (along with her species - Umbarans are rumored to have latent telepathic abilities) have given her a particular aptitude for telepathic Force powers. In addition to being able to read and influence the thoughts of those around her Vu is also able to exert control over their mental/emotional energy levels. Vu uses this power to gain an advantage in combat by manipulating the strain experienced by friend and foe alike.

Although Vu avoids combat when possible, she is a skilled Niman disciple and bolsters her relatively simple bladework with tightly-integrated Force usage. The style suits her pragmatic, defensive approach to combat, allowing her additional time to drive a peaceful resolution to a situation.

Lightsaber color

Blue

Stories about Vu

• Star Wars: The High Republic - A Star Wars RPG game set in the High Republic Era
• A Rainy Day - Lam Nkai and Vu Lumi travel to a space station in the Mid Rim to secure a long-lost holocron