Vildar Mac

Around 437 BBY, Vildar Mac, a Kiffar male, was born on the planet of Kiffex. A significant event in his youth involved an encounter on his home world of Kiffex with a Sorcerer of the Tund who was aligned with the Dark Side. He had no memory of his parents or his home. Despite being only four years old, he retained the memory of the fear he experienced as the Sorcerer murdered people in his village. Mac thought he would die at the attacker's hand, but he was saved when Larti, a Selkath Jedi Master, intervened and rescued him. Following the incident on Kiffex, Master Larti adopted Mac and began training him as their Padawan.

In the year 382 BBY, after experiencing a nightmare about Kiffex, Mac found himself on Jedha. He was greeted by the Padawan known as Matthea Cathley, or Matty, who informed him of a theft from the Shrine of Sarrav for which the Jedi had been asked to assist. Cathley also pointed out that the Jedi were not well-received on Jedha, a fact that Mac found consistently surprising. He remained silent as Cathley attempted to mediate a dispute between various Force-users. However, he was unsuccessful in his pursuit of the Sephi named Tey Sirrek after Sirrek stole from one of the citizens. Upon his return, he forcefully ended the argument, only to react with aggression towards one of the Sorcerers of Tund who resembled the Dark Side user from his childhood encounter. Cathley attempted to defuse the situation and led Mac toward the shrine.

Cathley detailed the theft for Mac, but his attention was focused on his own investigation. Upon spotting SK-0T, Sirrek's droid, he pursued it in order to locate Sirrek and accuse him of the crime. Mac dismissed Sirrek's claims about his Force abilities, such as Morichro, leading Sirrek to temporarily stop Mac's heart using a pheromone to facilitate his escape.

Despite appearing dead, Mac eventually regained consciousness, startling Cathley. He immediately began his pursuit of Sirrek. Using psychometry, Mac determined Sirrek's direction and saw a red door with a sunburst inside a diamond, which Cathley identified as the Enlightenment. Reluctantly, Cathley agreed to accompany Mac there. After navigating through a crowd of members of the Path of the Open Hand, Mac confronted one of them as they tried to warn the Jedi away. Cathley reiterated to Mac that this city was unlike others, and that the Jedi had to earn the respect of the people.

The Twinkle Sisters, who worked as bouncers for the bar, confronted Mac and Cathley, but Kradon Minst welcomed them. Mac eventually noticed Sirrek in the bar and attempted to attack him, accusing him of being a dark sider. Sirrek introduced himself, but Mac again accused him of murder. Sirrek defended himself and explained the pheromone. Mac tried to follow Sirrek but found that he'd already disappeared. Minst helped Mac follow Sirrek and eventually spotted that he'd stolen his lightsaber. Mac tried to recover it, but was fired at - Sirrek, however, saved his life by taking the blast with his armor. He told Mac and Cathley about his finding of the stolen statue, but they were surrounded by Guardians of the Whills before they could finish their discussion.

Mac activated his lightsaber defensively, but was assured that the Jedi were not the problem for the Guardians. Sirrek attempted to deceive them into leaving, but Mac prevented him. Mac spoke with the head Guardian about Sirrek, who explained Sirrek's history with them. They blamed Sirrek for the theft, but Mac had his doubts. Mac then sensed Sirrek, who was holding an explosive. He used the Force to push it out the window before it detonated.

Mac woke up to discover himself wrapped in Tragia leaves, intended to aid in his healing. Cathley explained that one of the Archivists had died in the explosion, but Mac had saved the other. Mac then noticed SK-0T recording him, but was unable to obtain any information from the droid. He voiced his doubts about whether Sirrek was actually responsible for the attack.

At the Convocation of the Force, Mac expressed these same concerns, but the other representatives dismissed them. He was shocked to learn that they were not being truthful with the people about what had occurred. The Jedi conferred before the arrival of Werth Plouth, the Herald of the Path of the Open Hand. Mac quietly observed the arguments among Plouth and the rest of the Convocation, before exiting to watch Plouth's speech. He did not want to act, but eventually ignited his lightsaber in self-defense before the mob turned into monsters.

Vildar Mac's first appearance was in the first issue of the 2022 comic series Star Wars: The High Republic, which was released as part of Phase II of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project. Cavan Scott wrote the issue, and Marvel Comics published it on October 12, 2022. Concept artwork of the character that would become Mac was initially presented in the announcement trailer for Star Wars: The High Republic, which was posted on the official Star Wars YouTube channel on February 4, 2020. Artist Phil Noto created the artwork for author Charles Soule's original pitch for the multimedia project, which was then titled "Project Luminous." Scott aimed to create a character for each person depicted in the painting, leading to the creation of Vildar Mac.

Mac's full name was first revealed at the Celebration Anaheim convention on its first day, May 26, 2022. At Celebration Europe the following year, Scott shared his thoughts on the then-ongoing comic issues featuring Mac and Sirrek. The author suggested that the latter part of the series would depict the two growing closer during their trials on Jedha, confirming to an interviewer that their relationship would develop their bromance with a hint of romance. This was later supported by the issues released after Scott's interview. Ultimately, the romantic aspect of their dynamic was explicitly shown in The High Republic (2023) 6, which included a kiss between Mac and Sirrek.