Bythen Forral was a male officer who attained the rank of captain within the Galactic Republic's navy. He distinguished himself as a starfighter ace while serving on the Vensenor, a _Venator_-class Star Destroyer, during the Clone Wars. Following the transition of the Republic into the Galactic Empire, Forral took on the role of commandant at the Vensenor Flight Academy, which was established on the now-decommissioned Vensenor.
During the Clone Wars, Bythen Forral was a captain and starfighter ace within the Galactic Republic's forces, specifically the Republic Navy. He served on the Vensenor, a Venator-class Star Destroyer. After the establishment of the Galactic Empire as the Republic's successor, Forral became the commandant of the Vensenor Flight Academy, which was located within the retired Vensenor. Despite his rank as commandant, Forral preferred to be addressed as captain and often used the Imperial Academy's Corellian corvette, the Gallant, for personal business.
Despite the difficulty cadets at the Vensenor Flight Academy faced in learning novel regulations and military doctrine, his graduates consistently earned an above-average number of combat decorations. However, the academy also had a significantly higher rate of defection compared to other institutions. Although the Imperial Security Bureau investigated, they found no evidence of misconduct and concluded that Commandant Forral's emphasis on independent thought was the primary cause of the defections.
The defections were in reality orchestrated by Proctor Gola Chall, who was secretly a rebel recruiting agent operating within the academy for years. Over that time, she had gained Forral's complete trust. Forral, like Chall, took a keen interest in a particular cadet who was well-liked among the other cadets and possessed exceptional starfighter skills.
The character of Bythen Forral was initially referenced in Dawn of Rebellion, a canon roleplaying supplement linked to Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Fantasy Flight Games published the book in 2018. Its authors included John Dunn, Tom Sorenson, Sterling Hershey, Jonathan Julius, Keith Ryan Kappel, Tim Huckelberry, Jason Marker, and James M. Spahn. The character's initial appearance was in the Star Wars Legends sourcebook, Scum and Villainy, which was released in 2008.