Welk

Information regarding Welk's early years remains limited. After his childhood, Welk entered the Shadow Academy. Under the tutelage of Brakiss, a fallen Jedi, and the Nightsister Tamith Kai, Welk was instructed in the ways of the dark side of the Force. Following the death of Kai's apprentice, Vilas, during his competition with Zekk for the title of Darkest Knight, Welk became the Nightsister's new favorite. When Tamith Kai was killed during the assault on the Jedi Praxeum, Welk considered Zekk, who later embraced the light, a traitor to the Shadow Academy.

Years later, as the Yuuzhan Vong War began, the extra-galactic race captured him alongside Sith Master Lomi Plo. Their mission had been to bring the self-proclaimed Dark Lady of the Sith, Lumiya, to Korriban. Plo later asserted that the Yuuzhan Vong abducted her and Welk from Dathomir. It's possible Welk was never Plo's apprentice, as Morto, a Togorian, held that role before disappearing during the mission.

The Yuuzhan Vong imprisoned Welk and the Sith Master. Due to their Force abilities, they were held on the Yuuzhan Vong worldship Baanu Rass, where they bred Force-hunting voxyn to eliminate the Jedi. Aboard the Baanu Rass, Welk and Plo were used as live targets for the creatures' training. Forced to evade the voxyn in scenarios designed by the Yuuzhan Vong Shapers, Lomi and Welk quickly became familiar with the worldship's cave systems and slave cities.

In 27 ABY, the Myrkr strike team of Jedi arrived on the Baanu Raas to destroy the cloned voxyn and their queen. Anakin Solo led the team, which rescued Welk and Lomi Plo from their Shaper captors. The Jedi had sensed a Force presence they believed belonged to another Jedi. Discovering the two Dark Jedi angered and disappointed them. However, because the Dark Jedi knew the worldship's layout and the Jedi felt they couldn't abandon them, Solo allowed Welk and Plo to join his team, provided they swore not to use the dark side. Zekk, however, urged Anakin to abandon Welk and his companion.

Welk later broke his promise by using Force Choke on a voxyn that threatened Solo, but he was forgiven after being warned not to repeat the offense. As matters deteriorated, Welk and Lomi Plo realized the Jedi lacked a means of escape and decided to pursue their own agenda. The strike team had acquired an old ship, the Tachyon Flier, intending to use it to transport the severely wounded Anakin Solo from the worldship after completing their mission. Welk and Lomi erased the strike team's memories of their presence and stunned Lowbacca, who guarded the ship. They escaped with the wounded and unconscious Jedi Raynar Thul aboard, leaving the strike team to face their fate.

Before long, the Tachyon Flier was detected. The patrolling Yuuzhan Vong vessels fired upon it, causing significant damage. The ship jumped blindly into hyperspace, heading towards the Unknown Regions. It crashed on the remote planet of Yoggoy, home to a hive of Killiks, insectoid beings thought to be extinct for millennia. Raynar Thul, who had regained consciousness, rescued Welk and Plo from the burning wreckage. The Jedi's actions saved Welk's life, but all three survivors suffered horrific burns. Welk lost an arm and a shoulder blade, and his face was severely disfigured. Fortunately, he retained his ability to speak and see.

After recovering, Welk collaborated with Lomi Plo, using his knowledge of the dark side, to create the Dark Nest. Raynar had become a Joiner with the insectoids, teaching the Killiks to heal the survivors and eventually becoming the ruler of Yoggoy, becoming UnuThul. Welk and Lomi had other plans, using their aggression, selfishness, malice, subterfuge, and will to survive to create a nest of Killiks hidden from Raynar and the rest of the species. Welk became the Night Herald of the Gorog, protecting Lomi Plo, who became the Unseen Queen of the Dark Nest.

Under their new leadership, the Killiks quickly drew attention. Influenced by Lomi, Raynar led the Killiks to the borders of the Chiss Ascendancy, provoking them to war. If the Killiks expanded across the galaxy, turning all species into Joiners, Lomi Plo would gain complete control through Raynar. However, Lomi's former masters on Korriban remained unaware of their survival and whereabouts. Lomi and Welk were acting independently in their quest to dominate the galaxy. Due to the rapid expansion of the mysterious alien species, the Galactic Alliance took a keen interest in the conflict erupting in the Unknown Regions. Luke Skywalker and his order began to suspect an insidious influence was manipulating events. Lomi Plo, through Raynar, persuaded Jedi such as Jaina Solo Fel, Zekk, Tesar Sebatyne, and Alema Rar, all former members of the Myrkr strike team, to aid them in the war against the Chiss. Skywalker was forced to intervene quickly to prevent another galactic war.

Welk was tasked with breeding assassin bugs on Jwlio, the Taat hive's homeworld, to eliminate the threat posed by the encroaching Jedi Masters. By this time, Welk had crafted a new crimson lightsaber, which he wielded with his remaining human arm. However, Saba Sebatyne, a Barabel Jedi Master, tracked him to an underground cave, interrupting his mission. There, the two engaged in a fierce duel. Welk surprised his opponent, who was unaware of his identity as a Sith apprentice or the Order's continued existence, by demonstrating his mastery of the dark side. Although he lost an eye and his Killik arm, he severely wounded the Jedi Master, who considered it one of the best 'hunts' of her life. The Dark Jedi used Force lightning and telekinesis to overpower his opponent, but fled the cave badly wounded, leaving his assassin bugs to finish off Sebatyne. However, his Killiks failed, and news of Welk's survival, constantly denied by UnuThul, was broadcast to the New Jedi Order.

The Dark Nest was tracked to the moon of Kr, where Lomi was orchestrating the First Battle of Qoribu. Luke and Mara Jade Skywalker infiltrated Kr. After defeating a large number of Gorog warriors and Alema Rar, now a Gorog Joiner and fallen Jedi, Welk entered the battle, supported by Plo. He fired his blaster at the Skywalkers, but Luke deflected the bolts and used the Force to remove the weapon from Welk's grasp. An explosion sent the Dark Jedi tumbling away, but Welk returned to the fight with his crimson lightsaber. Luke, wielding both his own blade and another taken from Alema, was momentarily surprised by the Force behind Welk's actions, but remained far more powerful. He used Welk's strength against him, pulling the Night Herald towards his lightsabers. Aided by Lomi Plo, Welk survived as she drained power from the blade, managing to wound Luke across his shin. Regretting his misjudgment and running out of time, Skywalker grabbed the Dark Jedi in a Force grip and began to strangle him. Welk was granted a reprieve and allowed to retrieve his blade for a final duel.

As the two warriors clashed, Lomi used the Force to disable Skywalker's remaining blade. However, the Jedi Master was too fast for Welk. Blocking the Dark Jedi's wrist and forcing the lightsaber up into Welk's stomach, Skywalker killed him by tearing the crimson blade through his ribcage. Welk died with a bloodcurdling scream.

Welk's corpse was presented to UnuThul to expose the Dark Nest's existence to the Colony. However, Raynar, still under Lomi Plo's influence, refused to accept the truth. Alema Rar later claimed that Welk had been BedaGorog, a female Gorog Night Herald.

Skywalker's Jedi never discovered that Welk and Lomi Plo were members of the new Sith Order, remaining unaware of the Sith's continued existence four years later. It was only Alema Rar, who encountered the new Sith Order on Korriban in 40 ABY, who learned that Welk and Plo had disappeared on a Sith mission.

Welk was often overshadowed by Lomi Plo. He rarely spoke, but before his mutilation and assimilation into the Killik race, he displayed a strong inclination towards anger and bitterness, as seen in his accusations against Zekk and his use of Force Choke to murder a voxyn. He was selfish, only helping the Jedi for his own benefit, and readily abandoned them on the Baanu Raas.

After the injuries he sustained in the Tachyon Flier crash, Welk seemed to become even more silent and brooding, never speaking during his duel with Sebatyne. He was completely immersed in the dark side, showing little concern for the Killiks, even those of the Gorog, with whom he lived. While not as manipulative as Lomi Plo, Welk's brutal nature suited his role as Night Herald. When confronted by the Jedi, Welk displayed anger and confidence, engaging the Skywalkers, likely confident that Plo would protect him.

Welk rarely demonstrated his Force powers on Myrkr, but he was able to easily strangle voxyn. He was skilled with a blaster and may have been able to pilot light freighters like the Tachyon Flier. Welk assisted Plo in stealing the starship, which involved erasing the minds of the entire Jedi strike team.

As a member of the new Sith Order, Welk's powers were already considerable before being enhanced by the Killik hive mind. He fought Jedi Master Sebatyne to a draw, demonstrating his lightsaber skills and using the Force extensively. However, his blade skills were no match for Luke Skywalker, and Lomi Plo greatly aided him during their duel on Kr. He was as skilled as a Force user trained in the Sith arts could be.

In The New Jedi Order: Star by Star, Anakin Solo estimates Welk's age to be two years older than his own, suggesting a birth date around 8.5 ABY.

Troy Denning created Welk and Lomi Plo in Star by Star. They reappeared as the main antagonists in his Dark Nest Trilogy, but their true allegiance to the New Sith Order was not revealed until Inferno, another novel by Denning.