Eshun Vassari (actually spelled Esun but people kept putting an “h” in it and he’s too nice to correct anyone) was born in 19 BBY on Thyrsus. Thyrsus at the time was going through a religious and political crisis due to dissolution of the Sun Guard, the appearance of the Imperial Red Guard, the role of the Sith in Thyrsian religion (e.g. whether or not the Sith are the subject of the Son of Suns prophecy), and the evaluation of Emperor Palpatine and his influence on the Sun Guard. Most Thyrsians, like Esun’s mother, asserted loyalty to the Emperor and that the Red Guard, Imperial Royal Guard, and Shadow Guard were the worthy and legitimate successors of the Sun Guard. Thyrsian Orthodoxy led to the planet being a consistent source of enlistees to the Imperial Army and Stormtrooper Corps. However, some of Thyrsians, like Esun’s father, saw Palpatine's influence on the Sun Guard as detrimental and a likely cause for their dissolution. This vocal minority encouraged a return to Thyrsian tradition and sought the eventual revival of the original Sun Guard. Esun’s parents, Kelain and Ayo Onyiokan, both retired members of the Thyrsian military turned to armor and weaponsmiths, agreed to disagree in the early years of their marriage but after Esun’s birth, Ayo became much more radical in her belief, encouraging and then involving herself in violence sparked by Thyrsian Loyalists to the Empire against Thyrsian Revivalists. As communication broke down, Kelain began to think it necessary that his son be removed the powder keg Thyrsus was becoming and so while Ayo was away for a Loyalist demonstration, he paid bounty hunters to break into their home, abscond with Esun and put him up for adoption on one of the other Six Sisters (the planets under governance of Echani Command) and to keep secret which one Esun was on, even from Kelain. Kelain then anonymously put bounties out on each of the bounty hunters to have them silenced. The plan went swimmingly and young Esun was placed up for adoption on Eshan, designated as orphaned due to civil conflict. He was 3 years old.

Eshan and the other Echani worlds had been living in relative peace after the recognized independence of Thyrsus centuries prior. Since the Jedi Civil War, the Six Sisters maintained a quiet amiability with the Republic and the Jedi, remaining loyal to the Republic through the Clone Wars, but mostly keeping to themselves, rarely pledging more than crafted weaponry and personnel trainers. By the latter days of the Clone Wars, Echani Command had been keeping a light thumb on the pulse of “Thyrsian situation,” seeing it as a matter of safety as to whether or not the Thyrsian religiopolitical crisis would cause their cousins to lead a campaign against the Echani Command yet again, like they had in the Begali Uprising. Moreover, the Thyrsian culture’s gravitation towards the Sith and adapting their martial arts to become much more brutal and lethal was considered a shameful cultural perversion to most Echani. With the Declaration of a New Order and what visually looked like red-clad Sun Guard protecting the Emperor, the path forward for the Echani was quite clear. Officially, Echani Command pledged loyalty to the Galactic Empire. Functionally, The Echani became increasingly isolationist, steeling themselves for potential persecution and conflict from their Thyrsian kin. Many elder generals and officials in Echani command expected civil war soon both on the home front and galaxy-wide, especially after the creation of the Death Star. Many of the matriarchs were beginning to deduce that the Empire would not remain for long. So, as the Empire matured and the sparks of rebellion began, Echani Command quietly kept tabs on news of rebel cells cropping up across the galaxy and carefully watched the goings on in the Senate. The Echani also started involving themselves, albeit lightly in the “Thyrsian situation”, occasionally sending representatives and financial support to the small but persistent Thyrsian Revivalist Movement, pushing them towards open resistance against Imperial loyalists. The 5 Echani worlds began to become a haven for Thyrsian Revivalists and Thyrsian refugees. All the while Echani Command remained superficially cordial and compliant to the Empire and to Thyrsus. Upon the release of the Declaration of Rebellion in 2 BBY, Echani Command openly remained indifferent but quietly began dispatching small complements of weapons, armor, and credits to the Rebel Alliance, which escalated to the secret transfer of trainers and small detachments of armed personnel by 1 BBY. Until the threat of their Thyrsian cousins had been remedied, that was as much as Echani command would be willing to spare for some time.

Eshun had been in foster care for about a year before being adopted by an Echani Firedancer Circle specifically as the son of a traditionalist, esotericist, duelist and ritualist named Areya Vessari who doted on him heavily as she raised and trained him in the ways of the Firedancers. She hoped her newfound son would help the coven maintain and perpetuate an ancient tradition of fire based ritual practices tolerated by Orthodox Lunar Echani religion as a coexisting subculture. She taught him divination, trance work, even what she knew of the solar pike (the Thyrsian derivation of the Echani Firedancer ritual brand) and he took to it like a natural. However, when Areya or other coveners practiced rituals with Eshun, they noticed that the results were of a potency they’d rarely seen in other Firedancers. Sometimes when he was in a trance, his movement was faster than natural. Some of the visions he had in meditation were too specific and turned out far too accurate. Sometimes it was just the air about him that felt peculiar. As the years went on and Eshun would spar with other members of the Circle and other Echani, his abilities became more potent so Areya told him not to perform any of the more “flamboyant” rituals and techniques in public, partly to discourage him from arrogantly showing off, but mainly to keep him from drawing persecution upon himself.

As the years went on Eshun became a capable practitioner of the Firedancer tradition. During ritual duels he was often seen as a bit of an anomaly, in fact he’d had eyes on him ever since he’d arrived on Eshan. The Echani’s growing anxiety about their kinsmen on Thyrsus, further exacerbated by the maturation of the Empire led to many watching him and repeatedly testing him in combat to see if he harbored the same mindset of many of his kin. For those who knew their history of the Begali uprising and the development of the Sun Guard, it was all too easy to see a young Thyrsian boy and expect the same capacity for brutality, if not in his youth, then potentially as he grows. Eshun was well aware of the reputation, Areya and other members of the Circle had taught him as much in her usual tangents on history, and always tried to defy expectations by being as overtly kind and gentle as he could be, but no matter what, the shadow still hung over him. He learned early in life to put little stock in words, actions tend to be truer, louder, and clearer, as was the Echani way. The constant surveillance, and testing, and pushing only encouraged his silence. If speaking gave people more material to analyze and potentially fear, then he just wouldn’t. Thus keeping himself safe and others more comfortable. He’d pour more playfulness and joyful exuberance into his body language, especially in sparring, and while him being absolutely silent in public was a peculiarity to some, disarming smiles and kind eyes made it easier to look past.

In mid 1 BBY, when Echani Command started quietly supporting the Rebel Alliance with personnel, Areya received an invitation to join the next contingent of Echani trainers to help in hand to hand instruction for Specforce and Specops bootcamps, to which she agreed but only on condition that it be a six month trial contract and she be allowed to take her son with her to help her with teaching. For Eshun it was interesting to travel away from Eshan, and to meet a myriad of different peoples and species, but it was a marked adjustment to go from coven life on Eshan to life on base on Yavin 4. What made all the difference was the soldiers he befriended day after day. For the soldiers, it was a pleasant surprise for a seemingly silent 18 year old boy to be such a force when sparring but also such a lighthearted ray of sunshine. For Eshun, it was just nice to get to know new people with a completely clean slate and entirely different experiences. So many new people to learn through each sparring bout. That said, it was heartbreaking to see faces disappear week after week. It was hard to get to know people in training and then learn they died while away on assignment. It began to make him consider if training was really the most he could be doing. So many were giving their lives to dethrone the Empire, even his kin were fighting and dying to maintain it. His abilities helped far fewer from Eshan, but far more could be saved if he added his efforts to the cause. So when his mother, Areya decided to return to Eshan he opted to stay and enlist into the Rebel forces with her blessing, albeit with some reluctance to letting her son throw himself into certain danger.

Eshun would be just finishing basic training when the Death Star was destroyed, and would be just in time to help everyone pack and evacuate Tantiv Base and escape into space. From the fleet, Eshun would receive his first official assignment, and an unorthodox one at that. He’d be operating as security detail to assist a rebel droid specialist, a debutante, a droid assassin and a combat droid moonlighting as a pop idol with missions concerning espionage and sabotage.

Relationship- Mentor (AKA his mum)

Duties: Wetwork/Personnel

Obligation: Criminal/Bounty (+10 for 2500 credits)

At face value, Eshun appears stoic, cold and focused, due in no small part to his selective mutism developed from the trauma of being kidnapped and the subsequent heavy scrutiny he experienced as a child. To anyone who spends longer than a few moments in his presence, however, he was purely a kind, gentle, and empathetic young man. He sees the galaxy as if it were painted with magic and wonder and so he’s excited to experience it and defend it. He’s often seen chasing after bugs, sunbathing, playing in grass, sticking flowers in his hair, doodling, daydreaming, and dancing to imagined tunes. Despite the lack of spoken words, he’s known for a disarming smile and one of the only sounds he ever makes, a boyish giggle even at dire times. He can be known to be contemplative and thoughtful from time to time, though from the outside it must appear that he’s zoning out. He’s overall very invested in the rebel cause but more to a “people-first” perspective rather than pure ideology. The Empire is harmful to all and so it must be dismantled. On mission he’s focused and committed not only to the task but as well to safeguarding his companions. Eshun ultimately leads his life from the heart, and trusts it to steer him true.

Standing at 5’10” and weighing 156lbs, Eshun doesn’t strike one as overtly intimidating. Despite a leanly muscled figure, his youthful, “pretty” face and soft gaze only contribute to this unassuming appearance. He has jet black hair curled into mid back length dreadlocks, all gathered back and adorned with bands of red wrapped cloth and bone beads from animal vertebrae. His skin is a very deep dark sable brown (or ebony) and his eyes are similarly dark russet brown that look a kind of coppery auburn red depending on angle and lighting. He consistently wears black wrapped clothing under a metal and animal hide based armor embellished with panther and fox fur, and lunar, solar and fire motifs.