Evens’ Elegy

Parluck “Evens” Swampstomper was born to Jaspar and Ellie Swampstomper on the
temperate jungle planet of Daborah in the Inner Fringe twenty-two years ago. His father
was ostensibly a lumberjack involved in the sparsely-populated planet’s dominate trade,
although truthfully Jaspar spent much of his time involved in games of chance. Ellie was
a housewife, and a rather meek soul disinclined to chastise Jaspar for his proclivities, but
certain to spend extra time with Parluck and Duecie, Parluck’s younger sister, to instill a
hardwork ethic. Ellie was more successful with Duecie, but the combination of both
parents’ influences together with Parluck’s outgoing and inquisitive nature led to a
confident and sometimes cocky youth.

Parluck was expected to grow up and become a lumberer like his father, but Daborah
was beginning to undergo some changes. Besides the extensive forests or rare woods,
Daborah was coming to be known for its beautiful vistas, and a concerted effort was
being made to attract tourists. In particular, one enterprising hotelier built and founded
the Inn of the Ascendent Solus, the planet’s premier resort and casino, located with banks
of windows to take advantage of a marvelous sunrise. The Inn was located only a few
kilometers from the Swampstomper residence. Jaspar tried to stay away, and was
considered too déclassé to really be part of the clientele, but clever young Parluck often
bluffed his way inside the luxorious resort, and finding the variety of species and beings
therein fascinating. He quickly resolved to be more than a lumberer and to see the
universe.

As Parluck began reaching out to new experiences, he naturally found himself in trouble
occasionally. Even his natural wit and charm couldn’t protect him all the time. His
father tried to keep a closer eye on Parluck, and this often led to young Parluck
accompanying Jaspar to the rougher gambling houses about town. Parluck, who had
taken to calling himself Evens, based on his assessment of the odds involved in whether
he could accomplish something rapidly took to the gambling world, showing an aptitude
for all manner of games. His father, who initially had thoughts of stopping these trips,
found that Parluck was a sort of lucky charm for himself; he won much more often when
his son was around. With this in mind, Jaspar took his son aside for a talk one day,
where he said it was obvious that Parluck was going to be around trouble and he had
best learn how to deal with it. Jaspar then began training his son in the ways of unarmed
combat he had learned from his days as a soldier before settling down to raise a family.
Jaspar stressed that it was best to avoid a fight, but if necessary, one should know what
to do to bring down your opponent. This lesson, Parluck took to heart, even to this day.

In time, Parluck himself began gambling on his own, sometimes beside his father,
sometimes by himself. He won enough to acquire some extra money, with which he found
it even easier to bluff his way into the Inn. Being able to pose as a wealthy lad, Evens
now found new and greater amounts of trouble in which to immerse himself. It was
during one of these escapades, being chased by security, that he miscalculated a jump
and ended up crashing into a distinguished looking man. Pausing only to stammer a
quick apology, Evens started to dash away, but was compelled to stop and face this man
by some unknown force. The older man dismissed the approaching security with a wave
and regarded Evens with a serious mien. Thus came about Evens’ introduction to Jedi
Master Harn Longstride.

In only a days’ short time, Master Harn made arrangements with Evens and his family to
take him offworld and train him in the ways of a Jedi. Nervous about such a great
departure from his life, Evens promised to return to visit when he could and to look after
his family from afar. His parents have missed him, and Deucie still writes regularly, and
Evens still plans to return when he can.

As a neophyte Jedi, Evens was tested and trained with several other lads, all under the
watchful auspices of Master Harn. Evens’ quick mind and superior physical
conditioning along with his outgoing personality assisted him in the difficult transition
from a backworlds’ logboy into big city life on a planet with a burgeoning population
and technology level. Evens still retains much of his fun-loving nature and backwoods
charm, which he sometimes overplays to his advantage. He is fond of quoting aphorisms
from his “pappy” and speaking in a backworlds dialect. Perhaps because of his age as a
trainee, he still retains a slightly rebellious attitude, in spite of disciplinary measures. He
has been labeled as wild and unsteady, although when it comes down to it, Evens
generally does the right thing.

It is with the goal of maturity that this young Padawan has been trusted with greater and
greater responsibilities away from the safe confines of the Jedi compound, in hopes that
he will express greater maturity and curb his rash behaviors. Thus Evens now once
again finds himself facing a wholly new experience, but this time as a Jedi.