Valenthyne Farfalla

Valenthyne Farfalla was the offspring of a prominent Jedi Lord, whose alliance with the Galactic Republic was secured by Jedi Master Pernicar. The young Force-sensitive Bothan hybrid followed his father's path, undergoing training in the ways of the Force within the Jedi Order. Furthermore, he inherited his father's lordship, obligating him to defend a specific region of space against the Sith Empire.

In 1010 BBY, Lord Hoth, a Jedi Master, departed from Coruscant and mobilized the forces of the Jedi Grand Council, calling upon all Jedi Lords and their respective followers to establish the Army of Light in order to confront the menace posed by Skere Kaan and his Brotherhood of Darkness. Farfalla, commanding a legion consisting of one hundred Jedi Knights and an additional two hundred loyal personnel, joined Hoth's Army aboard his elaborately designed battleship, the Fairwind, constructed with a wroshyr-wood hull. During the decade-long conflict, Lord Farfalla fought alongside the Jedi Kopecz before Kopecz defected to the Brotherhood.

His meticulously groomed appearance often led to underestimation of Lord Farfalla's military capabilities, particularly by Lord Hoth, with whom he frequently clashed due to their contrasting personalities. Despite his reputation among some, it was Farfalla who alerted General Kiel Charny to Githany's impending shift to the dark side of the Force, preventing the Jedi Knight's demise.

Farfalla was considered for the position of Supreme Chancellor; however, he declined the offer to participate in the Ruusan campaign. Consequently, Tarsus Valorum was appointed to the role, marking the first instance in 400 years of a non-Jedi serving as Supreme Chancellor.

When Hoth initiated his offensive on Ruusan, Farfalla was among the first Lords to pledge his support and actively participated in almost every battle on the planet. His prowess did not escape the attention of the Sith. As the campaign reached a standstill, Hoth recognized the necessity of assistance from Jedi who had not yet joined his cause. Farfalla posited that Hoth's abrasive demeanor had alienated them and believed that he could sway them through diplomacy and tact. In 1000 BBY, he volunteered to leave Ruusan to seek aid from Jedi across the galaxy and return with a force of three hundred Knights.

Farfalla's absence lasted several months, during which he led the three hundred Jedi against King Lahzar before directing his forces toward Ruusan. The Sith had established a blockade around the planet, preventing Farfalla from landing on its surface. In a stroke of luck for the Jedi, Darth Bane, acting without Lord Kaan's knowledge, commanded the Sith fleet to engage Farfalla's ships, creating an opportunity for Farfalla to breach the blockade and reach Ruusan. Once there, he once again saved Charny's life, steering his golden warship into battle to defeat the attacking Sith.

However, his arrival was not met with enthusiasm by Lord Hoth, who derisively labeled Farfalla a "mincing coward." The fact that Farfalla had arrived too late to save Hoth's close friend Pernicar only intensified the animosity between the two men. In a fit of anger, Farfalla retreated to his ship, vowing to withhold his assistance from Hoth, whom he perceived to have committed a grave insult. He also feared that Hoth's personal vendetta against Kaan and the death of Pernicar had driven the general toward the dark side of the Force. Nevertheless, when an image of Pernicar appeared to Hoth in a dream, urging him to reconcile with Farfalla, the Jedi sent a message through Farfalla's envoy, apologizing for his behavior. The two reached a truce and combined their forces to launch a final assault against Kaan, who had sought refuge in the hills and caves. Despite their suspicions of a trap, they chose to pursue him.

Farfalla spearheaded the advance group of Jedi at the Seventh Battle of Ruusan to engage the Sith forces, while Hoth followed closely behind, intending to proceed to the caves to capture Kaan. The battle concluded swiftly, with the majority of Sith surrendering to the Army of Light. During the battle, Farfalla apprehended the Dark Lord Kopecz, who revealed Kaan's plan to detonate a thought bomb – a destructive surge of Force energy capable of annihilating any army within its blast radius. Farfalla granted Kopecz's request to die by engaging him in a lightsaber duel, then hastened to inform Hoth. Hoth was already aware, having sensed it through the Force, but resolved to stop Kaan and took ninety-nine volunteers with him. He instructed Farfalla and his forces to evacuate the area, and if possible, leave Ruusan, hoping to provide them with a chance to escape certain death. While a traumatized soldier later informed Darovit that all the Jedi had perished, Farfalla was well beyond the blast range when Kaan detonated the thought bomb, thus surviving the Ruusan campaign. He rallied the surviving Jedi to defeat the remaining Sith forces, ultimately bringing an end to the thousand-year New Sith Wars.

Following the death of Lord Hoth, Farfalla assumed the role of the last commander of the Republic military prior to the Ruusan Reformation. He also regularly consulted with the Jedi High Council.

Farfalla took charge of the rescue operations from the Fairwind, dispatching teams such as those aboard Star-Wake to Ruusan. Subsequently, Farfalla met with Supreme Chancellor Tarsus Valorum on Coruscant, where they both agreed to the Ruusan Reformations. After the meeting, Farfalla placed Johun Othone in charge of Valorum's security detail and knighted the young Padawan, whom he had taken as his own after Hoth's death.

For a decade, Farfalla continued to oversee various operations of the Jedi Order. Despite initially dismissing rumors of a surviving Sith Lord from Ruusan over a decade prior, Farfalla eventually became convinced of the Sith Lord's existence when Darovit came forward with information. However, before Darovit could communicate with them, the disguised Darth Zannah took her cousin with her to Tython to avoid being exposed and captured by the Jedi.

Farfalla, Othone, Raskta Lsu, Worror Dowmat, and Sarro Xaj pursued the Loranda aboard the Justice Crusader, arriving on Tython and engaging in a duel with Darth Bane and Darth Zannah. Initially, thanks to Worror's battle meditation, the Jedi held the advantage. However, after Worror lost his concentration, the Sith Lords easily gained control of the battle.

Farfalla met his end after Bane disarmed him and subsequently decapitated him. Farfalla's lightsaber was claimed as a trophy of victory.

Following Farfalla's death on Tython, the Jedi High Council, alerted to Darth Bane's existence by Caleb of Ambria, dispatched a team of Jedi—led by Master Tho'natu and including Master Obba—to eliminate him. Outside of Caleb's home on Ambria, the Jedi discovered the healer's mutilated corpse, and inside they found the lightsaber hilts of the slain Jedi. Tho'natu announced their presence, and they were immediately attacked by a deranged Darovit wielding Farfalla's lightsaber, whom they mistook for the injured Bane. After slaying him, they concluded that the Sith were extinct and returned the lightsaber hilts and the decimated corpse of Caleb to the Temple.

Upon returning to the Temple, the Jedi created a memorial to Caleb and the Jedi who had been killed by the Sith Lord. All five Jedi's lightsaber hilts were embedded in a large white stone block in the gardens surrounding the base of the Tower of First Knowledge. Beneath each hilt was a depiction of its wielder, along with their name.

An asteroid belt within the Ruusan system was named Farfalla's Diamonds in his honor.

Valenthyne Farfalla placed great importance on appearance and conduct. He favored elegant attire, gold, and precious gemstones, spoke with a heroic flair, and adopted aristocratic and flamboyant mannerisms. Some, including Lord Hoth, viewed him as frivolous or attention-seeking due to this, while others found Farfalla to be witty and charming. Farfalla possessed a natural talent for persuasion, surpassing even other Jedi in this regard. Farfalla himself believed he was simply demonstrating refined taste. Valenthyne possessed a strong sense of honor, as evidenced by his formation of a Jedi task force to eliminate Darth Bane without informing the council, in order to fulfill his promise to Hoth.

Valenthyne Farfalla was a Jedi Master with a diverse range of skills. He served as a general during the Sith war, leading three hundred soldiers and later assuming command of the entire Army of Light after Hoth's death. During the fighting on Ruusan, he wielded a blue-bladed lightsaber. In the years following the war, Farfalla wielded a gold-bladed saber. In combat, he adopted a graceful and defensive posture against his adversaries. His fighting style was described as elegant and clean, traits reminiscent of the Makashi style of dueling. Farfalla's skill with a lightsaber was inferior to that of his Jedi Weapons Master, Raskta Lsu, a fact highlighted when she considered him an impediment during their duel against Darth Bane. His abilities also proved insufficient to overcome Bane's, who disarmed the Jedi Master twice in combat.

Farfalla preferred to use the Force to defend himself and his allies. His proficiency allowed him to create Force barriers, which he employed to aid his fellow Masters on Tython. When empowered by Worror's battle meditation, Farfalla felt swifter and more potent.

In Star Wars: Jedi vs. Sith, Farfalla is depicted in a panel succumbing to the effects of the "thought bomb." The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia states, "both [the Brotherhood of Darkness and the Army of Light] were wiped out by Lord Kaan's thought bomb," suggesting that Farfalla also perished at that time. However, in Drew Karpyshyn's novel Darth Bane: Path of Destruction, Farfalla, along with hundreds of Jedi in the Army of Light, survives the "thought bomb's" effects by fleeing the surface of Ruusan.

When questioned about Farfalla's species in the StarWars.com Message Boards, Leland Chee did not provide a definitive answer but implied that "all pointy-eared species are either Sephi or closely related to Sephi."

Valenthyne Farfalla was featured in artwork by Wayne Lo titled "Unused Jedi Temple mosaic" for the second season of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars television series. It was included in the production journal of Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Complete Season Two. The concept art also depicted Lord Hoth and the death of Pernicar. Sections of the mosaic, including Farfalla's leg, can be observed in a room in "Lightsaber Lost," the eleventh episode of the series' second season.