Character Bio - Jedi Knight Ayliah
(artwork by silvergryphon)
Trigger Warning: Implied Child Abuse
Born within the Ryloth system, but not on the planet itself, Ayliah was the daughter of a Twi’lek female slave. She spent the first three years of her life in the brothel where her mother was a slave, and in that time her telepathic abilities began to manifest themselves. As such, while she was still far too young to understand any of what was happening to her, she learned enough about what happened in the brothel to know what her future held. When she was still only two years old (she thinks, she is uncertain as to her exact age), her mother died suddenly. Within a year, Ayliah was about to be sold to someone else after becoming a “burden” on the owner of the brothel.
That was when she was discovered as a potential Jedi by a Master and Padawan who were on field assignment. These proved to be Master Rinar and Padawan Naroko Chiston (both silvergryphon’s OCs). They realized what Ayliah’s potential was, and took her with them back to Coruscant. There, Ayliah spent the next several years in the creche with other younglings, learning how to control her Jedi abilities.
She was approximately seven years old when Anakin Skywalker came to the Temple, and immediately decided that he needed somebody to have his back. They would not see one another often before Ayliah became a Padawan herself, but they developed a deep friendship starting at the time of Anakin’s arrival.
When she was twelve, Ayliah was taken as Naroko Chiston’s padawan and began training as a healer. It soon became clear that her skills were not in healing traumas of the body, but of the mind. As such she began to study the brain chemistries of various species, and learning psychiatric methods to help future patients.
Her friendship with Anakin continued at this time, as they both had a great deal in common. They were both former slaves who had been separated from their mothers, and they were both very angry about the continuation of slavery within the Republic. While Anakin’s anger was more insidious and volatile, Ayliah’s was more productive. She was raised by her Master to see Anger not as something to be feared, but a tool that can be used for good or ill. Ayliah was always someone who wanted to change the galaxy, but she knew there were limits to what the Jedi could do, even if she didn’t like it.
Ayliah was about seventeen when the Clone Wars began. She served as a support commander alongside her Master, going from hospital to hospital and helping civilians, clones and Jedi alike. While she served with her Master, they took on a squad of five female clones called Distaff Squad (created with silvergryphon).
Ayliah was almost twenty when Order 66 was given. After Fives discovered the true purpose of the inhibitor chips, Naroko and Ayliah had become suspicious and removed the chips from the Distaff Squad. As such, the squad didn’t turn against their Jedi, but rather helped them to escape the clones who turned on them.
For the next twenty years, Ayliah traveled either with Naroko or alone, trying to keep out of the Inquisitors and their paths. Occasionally, she would run into Boba Fett. She developed a respectful and almost sibling-like relationship with Boba, even gaining her own armor at one point after helping him. Eventually, Ayliah joined the Rebellion as a spy--much like Ahsoka, though Ayliah never became a Fulcrum agent--as well as a healer. She was with the Rebellion when Luke Skywalker joined. She had known Leia was Anakin and Padme’s child, but she had never known where exactly Luke was. As soon as she saw the farmboy from Tattooine, she knew who his father was, and she reached out to him.
She took over training Luke in the ways of the Jedi after the deaths of Obi-Wan and Yoda, helping him to learn the finer details of the Code and the other aspects of being a Jedi. When she learned of Vader being Luke and Leia’s father, she was incensed. But she also never acted on her anger against Vader. This was the one thing that always set her apart from Anakin; she didn’t let her anger and fear control her, even if it was a close call sometimes.
By the time of Din Djarin finding Grogu, Ayliah about 48, and she is aiding Luke Skywalker in re-establishing the Jedi Order, but she is also still a bit of a nomad after spending nearly three decades on the run.
