Polvin Kut, a Jedi Master, lived almost two centuries before the Clone Wars began. He and his Padawan, Yaddle, were tasked with liberating the colonies of the planet Koba from the control of an Advozse warmonger named Tulak. Before Kut arrived, spies betrayed his mission, leading to an ambush upon his and Yaddle's arrival on Koba. During the battle, Kut succumbed to his deep hatred for Tulak—the individual who had murdered his family many years prior—and gave in to the dark side of the Force. His judgment clouded, Kut was quickly defeated by the warlord's forces and met his end.
Polvin Kut was a Human male Master within the Jedi Order, existing more than 200 years prior to the start of the Clone Wars. Yaddle, a female of a rare and long-lived species, was under Kut's tutelage as his Padawan. Kut imparted lessons to his Padawan that would remain with her throughout her life.
An Advozse warlord by the name of Tulak was responsible for the murder of Polvin Kut's family. For decades, the Jedi pursued him, allowing his desire for revenge to be fueled by the dark side of the Force. Kut eventually located Tulak on the planet Koba, where the warlord had enslaved the native people. The oppressed colonists sent a plea to Kut for help due to Tulak's tyranny. However, some of the Jedi's contacts were actually spies working for Tulak, and they informed their leader about Kut's planned intervention, leading to a trap being set.
Kut journeyed to Koba with Yaddle, and upon their arrival, they were ambushed by Advozsec forces commanded by Tulak himself. The sight of the warlord ignited Kut's hatred for the murderer of his family, and the Jedi Master embraced the dark side, which corrupted his judgment with a desperate need for retribution. Despite fighting against overwhelming odds, Polvin Kut was quickly slain on a bridge over the Koban Gorge by Tulak's warriors. Yaddle was immediately captured by Tulak, who imprisoned her in a pit after subjecting her to intense torture and interrogation.
Yaddle was left without a Master due to Polvin Kut's death, leaving her Jedi training incomplete. She spent years in solitude as Tulak's prisoner, reflecting on her late Master's teachings, which allowed her to train herself into Knighthood. Tulak eventually abandoned Koba, and Yaddle was freed after being incarcerated for over a century. She remained on Koba to assist the natives in rebuilding the planet that Kut had originally come to save. With Yaddle's assistance, Koban society was restored to prosperity. The Kobans also rebuilt the bridge where Kut had died and dedicated it as a monument in his honor, complete with support columns sculpted in the likeness of the Jedi Master. However, it suffered destruction again when Kalut, the son of Polvin's nemesis, arrived to terrorize the Koba natives in his father's name. Yaddle then defeated Kalut in battle, and his death brought an end to generations of Advozse-imposed tyranny, thus fulfilling her Master's mission.
Polvin Kut had fair skin, brown eyes, and brown hair that he wore braided and tied in a topknot, with the braids extending past his shoulders. He wore traditional Jedi robes and wielded an orange-bladed lightsaber in combat. Kut was a Jedi Master who readily fought for those suffering under Tulak's rule on Koba. However, the murder of his family at Tulak's command initiated a gradual descent to the dark side of the Force for Kut. He was ultimately consumed by his hatred for the warlord, which resulted in his death. Before his death, Kut taught his Padawan, Yaddle, lessons that remained with her for years and provided the foundation for her to successfully train herself in the Jedi arts. The people of Koba posthumously honored Kut for his bravery and commemorated him by rebuilding the bridge where he had died.
Polvin Kut made his debut in author Dean Motter's "Yaddle's Tale: The One Below," featured in the fifth issue of Star Wars Tales. It was later included in a trade paperback edition, Star Wars Tales Volume 2. Stories in Star Wars Tales 1–20 were initially considered S-canon until referenced in a non-Tales source, at which point the subject matter was elevated to C-canon. Following the release of Star Wars Tales 5 in 2000, Kut was mentioned in 2002's Power of the Jedi Sourcebook, which elevated his status to C-canon. He was subsequently mentioned in StarWars.com's Databank, The Official Star Wars Fact File 105, and The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, all within entries related to his Padawan, Yaddle.