Davin Fel

Baron Soontir Fel and Syal Antilles Fel welcomed Davin Fel into the world on Coruscant relatively early in their marriage. Soontir Fel was a well-known and highly skilled Imperial fighter pilot, while Syal was an Imperial actress known as Wynssa Starflare. Shortly after Davin's birth, Syal, along with his younger brother Chak, relocated to Soontir's baronial estate on Corellia to reside with Soontir's family. They were present in 4 ABY when Soontir disappeared during the Battle of Brentaal IV; fearing retaliation from Soontir's adversary, Director of Imperial Intelligence Ysanne Isard, Syal fled with her children.

After months of hiding, Syal reunited with Soontir, who had switched his allegiance to the New Republic after being captured. They remained in seclusion, and Davin's existence was seemingly a secret, as even Syal's brother, Wedge Antilles, appeared unaware of the children. Soon after, Isard successfully captured Soontir and handed him over to Grand Admiral Mitth'raw'nuruodo, also known as Thrawn by his core name. Thrawn persuaded Soontir to assist him in stabilizing the numerous dangers present in the Unknown Regions. Soontir then became a general in the Empire of the Hand, which Thrawn established to bring order to the Unknown Regions. A few months later, Syal and the children joined him at the Empire of the Hand's headquarters on Nirauan, their relocation orchestrated by Thrawn.

Davin was brought up in the Unknown Regions, where he and Chak were later joined by two younger brothers—Jagged and Cem, with Cem kept hidden from everyone outside the family as a shadow child to protect the family line—and two younger sisters—Cherith and Wynssa. When Thrawn went back to the well-known parts of space to lead the Empire, Admiral Voss Parck was put in charge of the Empire of the Hand, with Soontir serving as a high-ranking officer. The Empire of the Hand stayed a secret, fighting against the different threats in the Unknown Regions. It included not only Thrawn's Imperial forces but also members of Thrawn's species who disagreed with the Chiss Ascendancy's ban on preemptive strikes.

Growing up in the grim, duty-focused Chiss culture, Davin was raised by his father. Chiss children matured quickly, and Davin started his career early as a result. Soontir used his Chiss subordinate Kres'ten'tarthi to get Davin into a Chiss military academy, where Davin's presence guaranteed his father's loyalty to the Chiss. He trained on the Nssis-class clawcraft, the Empire of the Hand's preferred fighter. Although Davin graduated, his Chiss instructors thought he was too reckless, undisciplined, and eager to act heroically instead of blindly following orders, which the Chiss valued. His younger brother Jagged, who looked up to him, entered the academy after Davin had graduated, and he received similar criticism and comparisons to his older brother.

Davin continued his military career as a pilot in the Empire of the Hand, alongside his brother Chak, fighting against the dangers of the Unknown Regions. He died in battle at the age of twenty during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion, but his family remembered him fondly. His father, who was his military superior, felt the weight of Davin's death deeply, and Jagged was saddened by the loss of his hero.

Davin had a tendency to be rash, often taking swift and dangerous actions to rescue others, going against the wishes of his instructors. They frequently scolded him for this trait. Within Chiss society, there was minimal tolerance for individuals who disregarded directives or deviated from established battle strategies due to what they perceived as misguided acts of heroism.

Davin Fel's existence was initially hinted at in The New Jedi Order: Dark Tide II: Ruin, penned by Michael A. Stackpole, when Jagged Fel mentioned that both his older brother and younger sister had perished in combat. Subsequently, Elaine Cunningham's Red Sky, Blue Flame confirmed that Jagged's older brother was named Davin; The New Jedi Order: Dark Journey, also by Cunningham, verified that Davin was indeed the sibling who had died. The only other time Davin was mentioned in any story was in Dark Nest I: The Joiner King. He has never actually been shown in any story, only mentioned.

In both The Official Star Wars Fact File 122 and The Official Star Wars Fact File 140, it is incorrectly stated that Fel died during the Battle of Ithor. However, that battle occurred after his death, as clearly stated in the source that introduced him, Dark Tide II: Ruin.

The Official Star Wars Fact File 122 stated that Soontir Fel had multiple children before his defection; given the established ages, these children could only be Chak and Davin. While that issue of The Official Star Wars Fact File contained many errors about the Fel family, this piece of information doesn't conflict with any canon and has been added to this article. Therefore, Davin Fel must have lived during Soontir Fel's time in the New Republic, but he was never mentioned, even though Soontir constantly worried about his wife, and no one in the New Republic seemed to know about any Fel children, only Syal, suggesting that Davin's existence was a secret.

In Red Sky, Blue Flame, Jagged Fel is called Soontir Fel's last living son, which means Davin Fel would have had to be dead at that point. This is contradicted by Chak Fel's appearance in Survivor's Quest, and by The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, which says that Davin Fel was twenty when he died; he couldn't have been born before 1 ABY and would have been no older than eighteen in 19 ABY.