Novar (Human)

Novar's origins trace back to one of the most affluent families residing in the Onderonian capital city of Iziz. Even before reaching the age of twelve, he had secured acceptance within the court of King Ommin, the sovereign of Onderon. For more than a decade, Novar dedicated himself to the study of diplomacy at the esteemed university of Ov Taraba, a renowned and costly educational institution on Onderon. More so because of his father's influential connections, rather than his own achievements, Novar was appointed as an assistant to Tolo Kad, King Ommin's aide, after his graduation from Ov Taraba.

Having officially become a member of the Onderonian government, Novar gained considerable knowledge about the art of politics from his superior, Tolo Kad. During his tenure as Kad's assistant, he became highly skilled in political tactics, including espionage, the dissemination of disinformation, and the organization of clandestine meetings. Novar also possessed the ability to adapt seamlessly to any role, a skill that enabled him to deceive others into believing his every word. He eventually acquired the authority to arrest and detain anyone who opposed him, and those who persistently defied him soon found themselves banished from Iziz. Tolo Kad actively supported Novar's development in this area, often boasting that he had imparted all his knowledge to his protégé. Over the course of several years, Novar gradually assumed more and more of Tolo Kad's responsibilities, and each project he undertook proved to be a resounding success. However, Kad consistently claimed all the credit for Novar's accomplishments.

Eventually, Novar conceived a plan to eliminate Tolo Kad. At that time, Kad had boasted about an upcoming state dinner that he claimed to have personally planned and arranged, despite Novar being the one who had carried out all the work. Recognizing his opportunity, Novar initiated the final phase of his scheme. Upon the arrival of the dinner guests, they discovered the grand ballroom of the Iziz Royal Palace in a state of disarray; no preparations had been made, and there were no attendants or guards present. Consequently, the dinner, which was to be attended by King Ommin and Queen Amanoa, among others, was postponed. King Ommin, who had become frail and weakened due to prolonged exposure to the dark side of the Force, was enraged. As Novar watched with a mixture of fascination and horror, the angered Ommin obliterated Kad with a surge of dark side energy. As a result of Kad's death, Novar was promoted to Minister of State and became King Ommin's aide. Novar's plan had been successful, and he soon found himself consumed by another ambition: to learn how to wield the dark side.

Driven by his determination to master the dark side, Novar manipulated King Ommin until the king agreed to accept him as a dark side apprentice. However, Ommin's health continued to deteriorate over the following two years, forcing Novar to seek training elsewhere. To Novar's surprise, Queen Amanoa, who was also skilled in the dark side, continued his dark side instruction. Under Amanoa's tutelage, Novar's power grew, and he eventually achieved the rank of a minor dark side wizard. Eventually, Amanoa and Ommin established a Sith cult that worshiped the deceased Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon Nadd. Novar was granted a prominent position within the Naddist cult and was entrusted with the task of selecting new candidates to join their Sith society, instructing them in the fundamental principles and philosophies of the dark side. The most promising students progressed to the next stage of training, learning from the holocron of Adas, an ancient Sith king who had utilized his knowledge of the dark side to subjugate his homeworld of Korriban more than 24,000 years prior. Once Amanoa had acquired all the knowledge that the Holocron of King Adas had to offer, she entrusted the holocron to Novar to train the most exceptional of his students.

At some point, Novar led the first group of his worthy students to the holocron of Adas, which was located deep within the undercity of Iziz. Novar approached the holocron, announcing that he had brought the initiates to learn the ways of the dark side; upon hearing this, the image of Adas materialized. Novar informed Adas that the initiates were prepared to learn the secrets of the dark side, but Adas remained unconvinced of their worthiness, referring to them as weak. Novar insisted that the students were the best of their ranks and that they had earned the right to learn the Sith ways. After a lengthy deliberation, Adas complied, although he threatened to unleash his rage upon Novar if any of the neophytes failed him. Despite his unease about the arrangement, Novar accepted the responsibility.

In 4000 BBY, a group of three Jedi—Human brothers Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, along with the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta—arrived on Onderon on a mission from their Jedi Master, Arca Jeth. The three Jedi Knights were sent to help broker peace in the long-standing Beast Wars between the civilization of Iziz and the Beast Riders, a group of outcasts from Iziz who used the native fauna of Onderon as flying mounts. When their ship, the Nebulon Ranger entered Onderon's atmosphere, it was attacked by a group of Beast Riders. Novar contacted the crew of the Ranger on the ship's comm unit, granting them permission to land, and ordered Iziz's defensive batteries to destroy the Beast Riders. The Jedi landed safely, and Novar, along with a number of guards, welcomed the Jedi to Iziz on behalf of Queen Amanoa. However, Novar called for the guards to arrest Doneeta when he was introduced, as there was a strict ban on non-Human species from entering Iziz. The Qel-Dromas promptly drew their lightsabers, forcing Novar to order Doneeta released; besides, Amanoa had ordered the three Jedi to her throne room at once. Novar brought the Jedi before Amanoa, and the Queen introduced the Knights to her daughter, Princess Galia. However, Novar was forced to interrupt the meeting, as a group of Beast Riders had found a weakness in Iziz's defenses and had commenced an assault on the citadel. At that moment, a team of Beast Riders burst through the windows into the Royal Palace, and although Novar was able to escape to safety, Galia was kidnapped by the Beast Riders.

Amanoa subsequently dispatched the three Jedi to retrieve Princess Galia, only for the Jedi to uncover the dark side corruption within the monarchy. Consequently, the Jedi and Beast Riders devised a plan to end the war. The Jedi would fly ahead to the city of Iziz with Galia to attempt to broker peace; however, if they failed to reach an agreement with Amanoa, the Beast Riders would launch an attack on Iziz. Novar observed the Nebulon Ranger flying toward the city, accompanied by the Beast Riders, and ordered the defensive batteries to fire on the ship, stating that the Jedi were flying in the company of Iziz's enemies. However, upon learning that Galia was with them, Novar commanded the defense towers to cease firing, and allowed them to land. The Jedi proceeded to the Royal Palace, but Amanoa rejected the peace offering and unleashed the dark side upon the Jedi, prompting the Beast Riders and the Jedi to attack. Novar was the first to deliver the news of the Beast Rider army's approach toward the city, and although he offered to escort Amanoa to safety, the Queen refused. A large contingent of guards stood between the Jedi and Amanoa, but the Jedi swiftly eliminated the defenders. As the Jedi Knights advanced further into the Palace, Novar drew his blaster and fired at Cay Qel-Droma. The shot struck its target, severing Qel-Droma's arm. Laughing, Novar fled the Iziz Royal Palace and encountered Beast Rider leader Oron Kira, who was observing the unfolding assault. At that moment, Amanoa released all of her dark power, causing Kira to collapse to his knees. Novar boasted that the Beast Riders had no chance of victory and unsheathed a dagger, intending to end Kira's life. However, Arca Jeth suddenly arrived on Onderon aboard his ship, the SunGem, and utilized his battle meditation Force power to shift the tide of the confrontation. Empowered by Jeth's battle meditation, Kira seized Novar's blade arm as he launched his attack and thwarted the Naddist's attempt to kill him. Kira rose and severely beat Novar. The Beast Riders, emboldened by Jeth's arrival, conquered Iziz, and Amanoa was killed.

Novar escaped the carnage of the battle and returned to the service of King Ommin, who by that time was confined to a metal apparatus that stabilized his softened bones. Over the next two years, Novar altered his appearance, transitioning from clean-shaven to sporting a long, gray beard. In 3998 BBY, Satal and Aleema Keto, the heirs to the throne of the Empress Teta system, paid a visit to King Ommin and Novar. The Ketos had pilfered a Sith spellbook from the Galactic Museum on Coruscant and were informed that King Ommin could assist them in deciphering the meaning of the artifact. Ommin gifted a Sith amulet to Satal Keto, enabling him to read the Sith, and offered to grant the Ketos the talisman if they allowed him to make a copy of the book. The Ketos agreed, and Ommin entrusted Novar with the task of copying the book. However, shortly thereafter, Ommin's subterranean lair was attacked by a group of seven Jedi: Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, Tott Doneeta, Nomi Sunrider, the Vultan Oss Wilum, Dace Diath, and the Miraluka Shoaneb Culu. Novar was killed in the battle, along with King Ommin, although the Ketos managed to escape with the artifacts.

Novar was a scheming and manipulative individual, adept at deception. He was proficient in the ways of Onderonian ministers and had no qualms about executing schemes such as orchestrating the death of his superior, Tolo Kad. He also manipulated King Ommin into teaching him the ways of the Sith. Novar harbored a profound fascination with the ways of the Sith, stemming from witnessing Tolo Kad's death at the hands of King Ommin, and eventually persuaded the King to train him. He was fiercely loyal to the Onderonian monarchy, dedicating much of his life to serving either King Ommin or Queen Amanoa. He also harbored a deep-seated animosity toward the Beast Riders, referring to them as his "mortal enemies." Novar was a speciesist, immediately denouncing and ordering guards to arrest the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta upon their initial encounter. In the two years between the Battle of Iziz and his death, Novar grew a full beard and mustache and slimmed down considerably.

Novar possessed exceptional skills in the ways of Onderonian ministers, ranging from espionage to secret meetings and the dissemination of false information. He had the ability to seamlessly adapt to any role, enabling him to deceive others into believing his every word. Novar was Force-sensitive and received training in the dark side of the Force from King Ommin and later Queen Amanoa. He had the ability to utilize the dark side power known as bolt of hatred. In combat, Novar wielded a pulse-wave blaster and a dagger when engaged in combat with Oron Kira.

Novar made his debut in Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon, the inaugural story arc of the Tales of the Jedi comic book series, penned by Tom Veitch and released in 1993. Novar's appearance was limited to the arc's first issue, where he was illustrated by Chris Gossett. He subsequently appeared in the second issue of 1994's Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising, where he was illustrated by Tony Akins. Novar was also featured in the Tales of the Jedi audio adaptation, where he was voiced by Peter Newman. Further details about Novar, including much of his backstory, were provided in George R. Strayton's 1996 reference book Tales of the Jedi Companion. In the audio adaptation of Tales of the Jedi, Novar is responsible for Cay Qel-Droma's arm being severed when he shoots him with a blaster. However, in the comic version, Qel-Droma's arm is severed by a palace guard's blade. For the purposes of this article, the events of the audio version are considered canon.