Sylvar

During her formative years on the Cathar homeworld, Sylvar received guidance from Kharr, a Cathar holy man who would remain a significant figure in her life. Following her species' tradition of lifelong mating, Sylvar chose Crado as her partner, and they journeyed together to Dantooine to delve into the ways of the Force. The pair were instructed by Vodo-Siosk Baas, a Krevaaki master who previously trained Jedi such as Dace Diath, Qrrrl Toq, and Shoaneb Culu. During their training, Master Vodo also had Exar Kun, a Human, as another apprentice. Sylvar and Crado frequently sparred against Kun in lightsaber combat training, recognizing his exceptional skill. While Crado developed a submissive attitude towards Exar Kun after defeats, Sylvar proved more resistant to his dominance.

Following one training match where her mate lost, Sylvar was asked by their master to challenge the Human next. Eagerly accepting, Sylvar faced her rival. During their combat, Kun attempted to break Sylvar's will, as he had done with Crado, by taunting her and denigrating nonhumans. However, this tactic backfired, as the Cathar retaliated fiercely, slashing his face with her claws. Exar Kun would carry that scar for the rest of his life and never forget the one who inflicted it. Taken aback by the slash, the Human angrily threw Sylvar to the ground, then demanded she pick up her weapon and fight him like a Jedi. When Sylvar questioned Kun's motives as a Jedi, the man prepared to attack her, only for Master Vodo's staff to intercept his lightsaber. Exar Kun was disarmed.

Crado then tossed his own weapon to the Human, daring him to prove his claims about nonhumans. In the duel between Sylvar's master and fellow apprentice, the Krevaaki Jedi continued to use only his staff, hoping to teach Kun a lesson about strengths and weaknesses. However, Exar Kun refused to be defeated, and, using the Force to recall his lightsaber, he defeated Master Baas with an aggressive twin-weapon style of fighting. Exar Kun then left, declaring himself a Jedi Knight and embarking on a quest for long-forgotten Sith secrets.

While Exar Kun pursued Sith knowledge, another dark side cult was gaining power. The Krath, led by members of the Tetan elite who had traveled to Onderon and begun to experiment with Sith magic, had recently begun to attack the Galactic Republic and the Jedi. Master Vodo received word of a great meeting of the Jedi Order on the planet Deneba, which would address the growing problem and the Order's response. On the way to Deneba, Sylvar and her mate Crado shared intimate moments, during which he proposed marriage. He expressed his desire to return to Cathar, where they could use their Jedi knowledge to gain prominence. Sylvar avoided the proposal, telling Crado that while she was willing to bear his children, she would always be a Jedi. Meanwhile, Master Vodo had intense Force-visions of Kun falling to the dark side and tried to shield his former student with the light. Sensing Vodo's exertion, Sylvar rushed to her master's aid; Master Vodo warned Sylvar that Exar's fall was just the beginning of a storm that would engulf the galaxy.

The Jedi on Deneba were unaware that the Krath were plotting against them. The Jedi Masters' servant droids had been reprogrammed by the Krath to attack their owners at a signal, and a ship loaded with war droids was ready to be deployed. Master Vodo and his apprentices arrived as the attack began. Sylvar quickly joined the fight when she saw a Krath war droid trying to kidnap Vima, the daughter of Jedi Nomi Sunrider. Before Nomi could react, Sylvar swiftly beheaded the droid and introduced herself to Nomi, marking the beginning of a close friendship. The battle raged on, and the Jedi eventually prevailed, but with significant losses, including the legendary Arkanian Jedi Master, Arca Jeth.

After the disastrous Conclave on Deneba, Exar Kun returned from his journeys and went to Ossus, where many Jedi had gathered. Secretly studying Sith knowledge, the Human sought more Jedi to join his cause, as well as an ancient Sith holocron held by Master Odan-Urr. After killing Odan-Urr and taking the holocron, Kun falsely claimed that the Draethos had declared him a Jedi Master and then died of natural causes. Several young Jedi, believing in his vision of a new Jedi Order, joined him. Crado was among those who left with Exar Kun for Yavin 4.

Soon after, rumors spread that the Krath were being led by a Jedi in their attacks on the Republic. Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, determined to convince the Galactic Senate to allow the Jedi to investigate and address this threat, gathered a group of Jedi Knights to travel to the galactic capital of Coruscant. Sylvar joined her master's group, which included his former apprentices, the Jedi Shadows Dace Diath, Qrrrl Toq, and Shoaneb Culu, as well as Nomi Sunrider, the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta, and Cay Qel-Droma. Upon arriving on the ecumenopolis, the Jedi learned that the rumors were true. Ulic Qel-Droma, Cay's brother, had been seen leading the Krath forces. Ulic had gone to the Krath to infiltrate and stop them, but had been seduced by the dark side and joined them.

As the Jedi landed on Coruscant and headed for the Senate Hall, the Krath forces, led by Ulic Qel-Droma and bolstered by the armies of Mandalore the Indomitable, attacked the capital world. The Republic forces, under the command of Netus, defended strongly but struggled against the Mandalorians' Basilisk war mounts. The Jedi quickly joined the defense. Sylvar, fighting alongside Dace Diath, deflected attacks by the Basilisks, allowing Cay to activate an aerial defense cannon while Nomi Sunrider rushed Master Vodo and the Supreme Chancellor to safety.

The group boarded a landspeeder to the Republic military control center, where Master Vodo and the Chancellor could control the defense. However, Ulic Qel-Droma was also heading to the war room to crush the Coruscanti defense. A group of Mandalorians accosted the Jedi, delaying them long enough for Ulic to arrive. Before Master Vodo and his group reached them, Ulic's lover, the Krath sorceress Aleema Keto, betrayed him, leaving him behind as she and Mandalore retreated with their forces. Ulic Qel-Droma, the fallen Jedi Knight and betrayer of the Republic and the Jedi Order, faced the Jedi alone. Master Baas and the other Jedi quickly disarmed Ulic, using the Force to imprison him. Once he surrendered, the Jedi handed him over to Republic jurisdiction. The Chancellor promised the fallen Knight a trial and a death sentence for his crimes.

Sylvar was present on Coruscant for the trial, joined by Nomi Sunrider and Cay Qel-Droma, who had rushed to the capital aboard the Nebulon Ranger to speak for their former friend. Sylvar disagreed, believing Ulic had brought his fate upon himself. During the trial, Ulic spoke in the Senate Hall, denouncing the Republic's leadership and prophesying a coming Golden Age of the Sith. Sylvar was furious, while Cay rushed to help his brother. At that moment, Sylvar's old rival Exar Kun arrived with Mandalore to rescue his new apprentice, confirming that Qel-Droma was not only a fallen Jedi but a Dark Lord of the Sith.

As the Senate and the crowd were frozen by Exar Kun's Sith spells, Nomi begged Ulic to stop, and Sylvar attacked. Killing several of Kun's Massassi guards with her claws, the Cathar Jedi Knight demanded that Exar tell her what he had done with her mate Crado, who had always admired the Human. The Sith Master, remembering the scar from their duel, told Sylvar that her mate was becoming stronger and was on an errand for him. As Ulic Qel-Droma held the Jedi at bay, Exar Kun took control of the Chancellor, using him as a puppet to proclaim the superiority of the Sith. When Ulic told Cay to join him or die, Cay refused to confront his brother—but someone else did.

Master Vodo-Siosk Baas entered the Senate Hall, challenging Qel-Droma and Kun. He confronted his former apprentice, still trying to teach him a lesson. When Exar Kun asked Vodo to join his cause, the Jedi Master refused, and Kun drew his weapon. Master Vodo fought Kun, using his quarter staff, debating with the Sith as they dueled. Kun revealed his saberstaff, a nearly unprecedented weapon. Exar Kun struck down his older master—and Sylvar's—killing him. Sylvar immediately rushed to face the Human, only to be blown back by Kun's amplified Force powers. As the new Dark Lords of the Sith departed, a dejected Sylvar was comforted by Nomi and Cay.

After the Senate Hall debacle, Sylvar accompanied Nomi Sunrider and her daughter Vima to Ambria, where Nomi's first master, the Tchuukthai known as Thon, resided. Sylvar and Nomi hoped to find respite from the war and additional training from Thon. However, Exar Kun wanted the Jedi Master dead as part of his plan to kill the aging Masters and make way for his new order. Thon's former student Oss Wilum, now possessed by Sith spirits and obedient to the Dark Lord, was sent to dispatch the Tchuukthai, accompanied by Crado.

The pair summoned hssiss, dark side monsters, from Lake Natth, and directed them to Thon's house. As they approached, Crado saw that the Master was not alone: Nomi and Vima Sunrider were there, along with Sylvar. Without hesitation, Crado ordered that all present must die for the Sith cause, betraying the woman he had loved. As the hssiss attacked the Jedi, Sylvar and Nomi struggled to defend themselves and Vima. Master Thon threw himself at the beasts, tearing at them with teeth and claws. Meanwhile, Nomi used her skills at battle meditation to disorient the creatures, allowing Thon and Sylvar to finish them off. After the Tchuukthai Master disarmed Oss Wilum, Crado approached Sylvar, assuming she wouldn't strike him. However, Sylvar viciously slashed his face, declaring him a traitor and murderer for helping Exar Kun, who had killed their master. Crado fled Ambria, his treachery exposed.

Exar Kun's next plan was more ambitious: he would lure Republic and Jedi forces with a false attack on Kemplex Nine, and then implode one of the stars of the Cron Cluster to destroy his enemies. Crado, unaware that his mission would be a suicide, joined Aleema Keto in commanding the Sith forces. The mission succeeded, and the Republic and Jedi pursuing the Sith were destroyed, along with the Sith ships and their commanders. Crado and Aleema were dead. The manipulated star went supernova, sending a shock wave toward the Jedi library world of Ossus.

Master Thon and the Jedi on Ambria rushed to help evacuate Ossus, along with most of the Jedi Order. As the shock wave neared, Exar Kun arrived with Ulic Qel-Droma, hoping to plunder the world. As Kun raided the archives, he was confronted by Sylvar, seeking to avenge Crado and Vodo-Siosk Baas.

The Cathar Jedi condemned Exar Kun for corrupting Crado and murdering Vodo-Siosk Baas. After vowing to kill him with her lightsaber, Sylvar attacked. Slaughtering many Massassi, she rushed to face Kun, but was stopped by the red-skinned warriors. Critically injured, Sylvar couldn't prevent the Sith Lord from leaving. Ulic Qel-Droma, realizing his error after killing his brother Cay, was captured. Nomi Sunrider used a newfound ability to permanently cut the fallen Jedi off from the Force.

Ulic Qel-Droma helped the Jedi by leading their fleet to Yavin 4, where they hoped to confront Exar Kun. However, Kun escaped again, using dangerous Sith alchemy to drain the life-force of the Massassi and transcend his physical existence. His living body perished along with most of the life on Yavin 4, but his spirit sought escape. Nomi Sunrider, realizing Kun's plan, used the Force to bind him to the planet, preventing him from escaping into the galaxy. The Sith War ended, having taken a considerable toll on the Republic.

After the Sith War, Sylvar became famous on her homeworld for her Jedi exploits. The Cathar people created tree art for her and Crado. A decade after the war, the Jedi Order, led by Nomi Sunrider, was called to a massive convocation to discuss their future. Sylvar, escorted by two male Cathar, arrived on Exis Station as the meeting began, intending to address a major issue.

Nomi Sunrider recounted the Sith War and gave a message of hope. However, Vima, bored and displeased with her mother, stole an ion mining ship and risked being caught in magnetic storms. Nomi, Thon, and Sylvar stopped the meeting, worried for her. Tott Doneeta rescued Vima.

Sylvar then spoke, condemning Ulic Qel-Droma, the last Sith survivor, and pointing out that a war criminal walked free. Sylvar insisted on vengeance, noting that she had been bound to Crado when he was corrupted by the Sith. Tott Doneeta sensed her anger and asked her to come to Ryloth to help him with his Jedi duties.

Tott's clan, the Doneetas, had recently built a new subterranean city after being driven from their previous home by the R'lyek clan. The Doneetas' fortifications were incomplete, and the R'lyeks had attacked again, killing many of Tott's kinsmen. When Sylvar and Tott Doneeta landed, they learned of the attack.

Tott Doneeta left to speak with both clan leaders, hoping to end the feud. He sent Sylvar to the fortifications to help his people. Sylvar found that she didn't want to help with the defenses. She urged the Twi'leks to use their tools as weapons and avenge themselves on the R'lyeks, attacking their women and children.

As the Doneetas agreed with Sylvar, Tott returned, speaking against bloodshed and announcing that a resolution had been reached. The clan leaders had decided to sacrifice themselves in the Bright Lands to ensure peace. A new head clan would be chosen to lead the joined tribes. Sylvar was displeased and asked Tott to take her to her homeworld.

Sylvar's return to Cathar was met with a celebratory reception, which she found unwelcome. After reuniting with Kharr, her former instructor, she and Tott participated in a parade where cheering Cathar lined the streets. However, Sylvar's purpose in returning to her home planet was not to receive praise, but to find tranquility and isolation. During a starlit meeting with Kharr, the Cathar Jedi determined that embarking on a blood hunt was necessary to rid herself of her consuming anger. She requested Tott's presence on this purification endeavor.

Venturing into the vast Veldt plains, the two Jedi searched for the breeding grounds of the kiltik, large insectoid creatures known for periodically devastating significant portions of the planet. Cathar warriors traditionally undertook blood hunts for two reasons: to purify themselves of their primal instincts and to manage the population of these destructive creatures. Upon reaching a kiltik nest, Sylvar and Tott Doneeta entered, activating their lightsabers as they sensed the approaching insects. After swiftly dispatching the colony's guards, the Jedi reached the central chamber and encountered the enormous queen, accompanied by her equally large protectors. Sylvar nearly succumbed to her rage, declaring her intent to kill all the kiltik present, and proceeded to do so. As she relentlessly struck the lifeless bodies, Tott implored her to cease. He cautioned her against the path he believed she was treading—a path fueled by anger, a path leading to the dark side.

Later, while hunting alone on the Veldt, Sylvar still struggled to quell the burning rage within her. Stalking prey could not eliminate her emotions, only her instincts. Before long, Sylvar sensed someone tracking her. Confronting—and threatening—the intruder, she discovered that it was a scout bearing a message. Vima Sunrider, Nomi's daughter, had disappeared. Sylvar promptly left Cathar, heading to Exis Station to assist her longtime friend.

Upon arriving at Exis Station, Sylvar sought out Nomi, who informed the Cathar that Vima had gone to train under Ulic Qel-Droma. The former Sith Lord was living in self-imposed exile on the desolate, frozen planet of Rhen Var. Sylvar was enraged; she was furious with Nomi for allowing this to occur and deeply troubled that Vima had gone to Ulic. The spacer known as Hoggon, who had transported both Ulic and Vima to Rhen Var, approached Sylvar and offered to guide her to them. Sylvar accepted his offer to travel to the icy planet aboard his ship.

The duo arrived on Rhen Var shortly after Nomi Sunrider, who had come to retrieve Vima. Hoggon, aiming to surprise Ulic, approached from a different direction than his previous visit. The spacer offered to provide cover with his blaster pistol if Sylvar needed assistance, but she refused. When the Cathar Jedi encountered Qel-Droma in the citadel, the former Sith Lord was alone. She declared that she had come to bring him to justice, igniting her lightsaber. Ulic ignited his own weapon, and they engaged in combat, Ulic defending himself despite being unable to draw upon the Force.

Their battle was punctuated by arguments: Sylvar demanding that Ulic atone for his transgressions, Ulic attempting to dissuade Sylvar from her righteous anger. The Cathar informed the former Jedi that one of them must perish, that he must do more than simply defend himself. Yet, he retreated and refused to attack, and the two eventually reached a cliff edge—Ulic was cornered. Qel-Droma refused to continue fighting and deactivated his lightsaber. Sylvar raised her blade to strike him down—but hesitated. After dedicating so much time to preparing to kill him, Ulic Qel-Droma had ultimately freed Sylvar from her anger.

However, at that precise moment, the former Jedi and Dark Lord of the Sith was struck in the chest by a blaster shot. Hoggon, seeking fame and recognition as the one who killed the notorious war criminal, had fatally shot Ulic Qel-Droma on Rhen Var. Nomi Sunrider and Vima rushed to their fallen friend, and Sylvar turned to confront Hoggon. Instead of punishing the spacer for stealing a kill she felt entitled to, Sylvar told him that he would be dead if it weren't for Ulic. The man Hoggon had just killed had saved his life, and Sylvar was finally released from her inner turmoil and rage. Ulic vanished, in the manner of a Jedi Master; although he could no longer access the Force, his connection to it remained strong.

Sylvar harbored significant reservations about Exar Kun from the outset, contrasting sharply with her mate Crado's admiration for the Human. Her dedication to the Jedi was also stronger than Crado's, as she did not desire to abandon her Jedi training and return to Cathar with her mate.

Sylvar displayed less compassion for Ulic Qel-Droma than her friends Nomi Sunrider and Ulic's brother Cay when Ulic was on trial in the Senate Hall. Upon Master Vodo's death, Sylvar was consumed by anger and attacked with ferocity, only to be defeated when Exar Kun cast her aside using his superior Force abilities. When she discovered that Crado was aiding Kun in his schemes, the Cathar Jedi did not waver but turned against her own mate, denouncing him as a traitor. In a subsequent confrontation with Exar Kun on Ossus, Sylvar was less forgiving than before, fighting until Kun's Massassi guards inflicted injuries that prevented her from continuing.

A decade after the Great Sith War, Sylvar still harbored considerable bitterness and anger regarding the events that had transpired. She found a new target for her rage: the surviving Sith Lord, Ulic Qel-Droma. She was consumed by a desire to see Ulic brought to justice, and became consumed with anger and rage. Sylvar began to approach the dark side, treading a dangerous path. Attempts to divert herself from this compulsion, including Jedi duties with Tott Doneeta on Ryloth and a blood hunt on her home planet of Cathar, proved less effective than she had hoped. Only when she faced an unwilling opponent—Ulic Qel-Droma himself—did Sylvar finally recognize the error of her recent actions.

Sylvar demonstrated exceptional lightsaber proficiency from an early age. Throughout her Jedi training and the Sith War, she wielded a yellow lightsaber; later, in the events leading up to Ulic Qel-Droma's death, she switched to a lightsaber with a magenta blade.

Sylvar was capable of holding her own against most lesser adversaries, including Krath war droids, Exar Kun's Massassi warriors, and the hssiss creatures she encountered on Ambria. Although Ulic Qel-Droma could parry Sylvar during their duel on Rhen Var despite his inability to access the Force, his remarkable lightsaber skill indicated that Sylvar was a formidable opponent.

Furthermore, Sylvar possessed proficiency in deflection, as demonstrated when she fought alongside Dace Diath in defending her Master and the Supreme Chancellor from heavily armed Basilisk war droids. Sylvar even employed the hilt of her lightsaber as a bludgeon when subduing Oss Wilum on Ambria.

When her lightsaber proved insufficient, and sometimes even when it did, Sylvar utilized her razor-sharp claws to inflict severe injuries on her opponents. Slashes against both Exar Kun and Crado left deep facial scars that they carried until their deaths. Numerous Massassi fell victim to her swipes, even while she wielded her lightsaber in her other hand.

As a Cathar huntress, Sylvar possessed considerable skill in tracking prey, which she displayed during her blood hunt. She also exhibited exceptional stealth abilities. When approached by the scout bearing news about Vima Sunrider, Sylvar managed to evade and ambush the tracker, whom she perceived as a potential threat.

The character of Sylvar was conceived by writer Kevin J. Anderson and made her debut in Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 1 from the comic book series Tales of the Jedi. Sylvar continued to appear in subsequent issues throughout the series' run. She is briefly referenced in the video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, where the player can discover a robe purportedly belonging to Sylvar.