Novar (Human)

"Jedi Knights. Welcome. I am Novar, adviser to Queen Amanoa, ruler of Iziz."

- Novar

Novar was an Onderonian politician and Sith initiate in the years leading up to the Great Sith War. Born into one of the wealthiest families in the Onderonian capital city of Iziz, Novar quickly became a high-ranking member of the Onderonian government after graduating from Ov Taraba university. He mastered the tactics of Onderonian ministers, and eventually formulated a scheme to eliminate his superior, Tolo Kad. Novar framed Kad for failing to plan a dinner party that the Onderonian monarchs, King Ommin and Queen Amanoa, were to attend. His plan went off perfectly, prompting an enraged Ommin to destroy Tolo Kad with the dark side of the Force. Ommin's display of power fascinated the Force-sensitive Novar, who manipulated the King into training him to harness dark side, and Novar eventually became a minor Sith wizard. When Ommin and Amanoa formed a Sith cult worshiping the deceased Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon Nadd, Novar was given a high position in the cult's hierarchy.

In 4,000 BBY, a group of three Jedi Knights, consisting of brothers Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, and Twi'lek Tott Doneeta, arrived on Onderon on a mission to broker peace in the long-running Beast Wars between Iziz and the Beast riding outcasts. Novar welcomed the Jedi, bringing them before Queen Amanoa in the Iziz Royal Palace. However, a group of Beast Riders attacked the palace and absconded with Princess Galia. The Jedi were sent to retrieve her, but returned at the helm of a Beast Rider army, as they had discovered the presence of the dark side in the Onderonian monarchy. Novar fought in the ensuing battle, even shooting off one of Cay Qel-Droma's arms with his blaster. Nevertheless, the Beast Riders were victorious, and although Queen Amanoa was killed in the battle, Novar was able to escape. He eventually returned into the service of King Ommin. In 3,998 BBY, Novar and Ommin were visited by Satal and Aleema Keto, heirs to the throne of the Empress Teta system. The Ketos brought with them a Sith spellbook, which Ommin gave to Novar for translation. Soon afterward Ommin's subterranean lair was attacked by a team of Jedi, and Novar was killed in the skirmish.

Early life
Novar was born into one of the wealthiest families of the Onderonian capital city of Iziz. Before his twelfth season he had already gained acceptance in the court of King Ommin, ruler of Onderon. Novar spent more than twelve years studying diplomacy at the university of Ov Taraba, one of the most prominent and expensive institutions of learning on Onderon. Due more to his father's connections than his own accomplishments, Novar was appointed as the assistant to Tolo Kad, King Ommin's aide, after his graduation from Ov Taraba.

In the service of King Ommin
Now an official part of the Onderonian government, Novar learned much about the art of politics from his superior, Tolo Kad. While he was Kad's assistant he became a master in political methods, including espionage, the spreading of disinformation, and the holding of secret meetings. Novar also had the ability to mold himself into any role, a skill which allowed him to fool others into believing every word he spoke. He eventually gained the power to arrest and detain any who were at odds with him, and those who continually defied him soon found themselves banished from Iziz. Tolo Kad supported Novar's growth in this area, and often boasted that he taught his charge everything he knew. Over a period of several years Novar took on more and more of Tolo Kad's responsibilities, and every project he undertook was a great success. However, Kad took all the credit for Novar's exploits for himself.

In about 4,010 BBY, Novar devised a plan to rid himself of Tolo Kad. At the time, Kad had bragged about an upcoming state dinner that he claimed he had personally planned and arranged, although Novar was the one who had done all the work. Seeing his opportunity, Novar initiated the final stage in his plan. When the guests for the dinner arrived, they found the Iziz Royal Palace's grand ballroom in disarray; nothing had been prepared, and there were no attendants or guards on hand. Due to these circumstances, the dinner, which would have been attended by King Ommin and Queen Amanoa among others, was postponed. King Ommin, who by that time was frail and weak due to overexposure to the dark side of the Force, was infuriated. As a fascinated and horrified Novar watched, the angered Ommin destroyed Kad with a wave of dark side energy. Due to Kad's death, Novar was promoted to Minister of State and became King Ommin's aide. Novar's plan had succeeded, and he soon found himself gripped by another ambition; to learn to use the dark side.

Sith training
"King Adas, we are ready for your wisdom. Please instruct us in the ways of the Sith."

- Novar addresses Adas's holocron

Determined to learn to command the dark side, Novar manipulated King Ommin until the king agreed to take him as a dark side apprentice. However, Ommin's health degraded ever more over the ensuing two years, and Novar was forced to look elsewhere for training. To Novar's surprise, Queen Amanoa, also a dark side adept, continued his dark side training. With Amanoa's training, Novar's power grew, and he eventually rose to become a minor dark side wizard. Eventually, Amanoa and Ommin formed a Sith cult that worshiped the fallen Dark Lord of the Sith Freedon Nadd. Novar was given a high position in the Naddist cult, and was entrusted with the task of selecting other candidates to join their new Sith society, instructing them in the basic principles and philosophies of the dark side. The most promising students continued on to the next stage of training, learning from the holocron of Adas, an ancient Sith king who used his knowledge of the dark side to subjugate his homeworld of Korriban more than 24,000 years previous. Once Amanoa learned all the knowledge that Adas's holocron had to offer, she gave the holocron to Novar to train the best of his students.

At some point, Novar brought the first group of his worthy students to the holocron of Adas, located deep within the undercity of Iziz. Novar approached the holocron, declaring that he had brought the initiates to learn the ways of the dark side; upon hearing this, the image of Adas appeared. Novar told Adas that the initiates were ready to learn the secrets of the dark side, but Adas was unconvinced that they were worthy and referred to them as weak. Novar insisted that the students were the best of their ranks, and that they had earned the right to learn the Sith ways. Adas, after a lengthy deliberation, complied, although he promised to take out his rage on Novar if any of the neophytes failed him. Although Novar was uneasy about the arrangement, he accepted the responsibility.

The Battle of Iziz
"Some of the Riders have found a weakness in the perimeter, Your Highness. They're approaching the citadel!"

- Novar warns Amanoa of the Beast Rider's advance

In 4,000 BBY, a group of three Jedi&mdash;Human brothers Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, along with the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta&mdash;arrived on Onderon on a mission from their Jedi Master, Arca Jeth. The three Jedi Knights were sent to help broker peace in the long-running Beast Wars between the civilization of Iziz and the Beast Riders, a group of outcasts from Iziz who used the native fauna of Onderon as flying mounts. When their ship, the Nebulon Ranger entered Onderon's atmosphere, it was attacked by a group of Beast Riders. Novar contacted the crew of the Ranger on the ship's comm unit, granting them permission to land, and ordered Iziz's defensive batteries to destroy the Beast Riders. The Jedi landed safely, and Novar, along with a number of guards, welcomed the Jedi to Iziz on behalf of Queen Amanoa. However, Novar called for the guards to arrest Doneeta when he was introduced, as there was a strict ban on non-Human species from entering Iziz. The Qel-Dromas promptly drew their lightsabers, forcing Novar to order Doneeta released; besides, Amanoa had ordered the three Jedi to her throne room at once. Novar brought the Jedi before Queen Amanoa, and the Queen introduced the Knights to her daughter, Princess Galia. However, Novar was forced to interrupt the meeting, as a group of Beast Riders had found a weakness in Iziz's defenses and had commenced an assault on the citadel. At that moment, a team of Beast Riders burst through the windows into the Royal Palace, and although Novar was able to escape to safety, Galia was kidnapped by the Beast Riders.

Amanoa subsequently sent the three Jedi to retrieve Princess Galia, only for the Jedi to find out about the dark side corruption of the monarchy, and the Jedi and Beast Riders formed a plan to end the war. The Jedi would fly ahead to the city of Iziz with Galia to try and broker peace; however, if they failed to reach an agreement with Amanoa, the Beast Riders would attack Iziz. Novar saw the Nebulon Ranger flying toward the city, with the Beast Riders nearby, and ordered the defensive batteries to fire on the ship, saying that the Jedi were flying in the company of Iziz's enemies. However, when the Jedi mentioned that Galia was with them, Novar ordered the defense towers to cease firing, and allowed them to land. The Jedi went to the Royal Palace, but Amanoa refused the peace offering and lashed out at the Jedi with the dark side, prompting the Beast Riders and the Jedi to attack. Novar was the first to bring the news of the Beast Rider army's advance toward the city, and although he offered to take Amanoa to safety, the Queen refused. A large number of guards stood in between of the Jedi and Queen Amanoa, but the Jedi mowed down the defenders. As the Jedi Knights advanced further into the Palace, Novar drew his blaster and fired at Cay Qel-Droma. The shot found its mark, blasting off Qel-Droma's arm. Laughing, Novar fled the Iziz Royal Palace, and came across Beast Rider leader Oron Kira, who was watching the assault unfold. At that moment, Queen Amanoa released all of her dark power, bringing Kira to his knees. Novar boasted that the Beast Riders had no chance of victory, and unsheathed a dagger, intending to end Kira's life. However, Arca Jeth suddenly arrived on Onderon in his ship, the SunGem, and used his battle meditation Force power to turn the tide of the confrontation. Empowered by Jeth's battle meditation, Kira caught Novar's blade arm as he launched his attack, and repelled the Naddist's attempt to kill him. Kira rose, and beat Novar badly. The Beast Riders, bolstered by Jeth's arrival, conquered Iziz, and Amanoa was killed.

Second Battle of Onderon and death
"Here, Novar&hellip; have a scribe copy this at once.''" "I'll do it myself'', Lord Ommin."

- King Ommin gives the Sith spellbook to Novar

Novar escaped the carnage of the battle and returned into the service of King Ommin, who by that time was confined to a metal apparatus that stabilized his softened bones. Over the next two years, Novar changed his appearance, going from clean-shaven to growing a long, gray beard. In 3,998 BBY, King Ommin and Novar were visited by Satal and Aleema Keto, the heirs to the throne of the Empress Teta system. The Ketos had stolen a Sith spellbook from the Galactic Museum on Coruscant, and were told that King Ommin could help them uncover the meaning of the artifact. Ommin gave a Sith amulet to Satal Keto, which allowed him to read the Sith language, and offered to give the Ketos the talisman if they let him make a copy of the book. The Ketos obliged, and Ommin gave Novar the book to copy. However, soon afterward Ommin's subterranean lair was attacked by a group of seven Jedi; Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma, Tott Doneeta, Nomi Sunrider, the Vultan Oss Wilum, Dace Diath, and the Miraluka Shoaneb Culu. Novar was killed in the battle, along with King Ommin, although the Ketos managed to escape with the artifacts.

Personality and traits
"Be careful! If you are truly Jedi, mortal threats on your part will cause severe political repercussions!"

- Novar, to the Qel-Droma brothers

Novar was a conniving man, skilled in manipulation and scheming. He was proficient in the ways of Onderonian ministers, and had no problem in carrying out schemes such as orchestrating the death of his superior, Tolo Kad. He also manipulated King Ommin into teaching him the ways of the Sith. Novar was extremely fascinated in the ways of the Sith due to witnessing Tolo Kad's death at the hands of King Ommin, and eventually convinced the King to train him. He was strictly loyal to the Onderonian monarchy, spending much of his life in the service of either King Ommin or Queen Amanoa. He also carried a deep-seated hatred toward the Beast Riders, calling them his "mortal enemies". Novar was a speciesist, immediately crying out and ordering guards to arrest the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta the moment they met. Over the two years between the Battle of Iziz and his death, Novar grew a full beard and mustache, and slimmed down considerably.

Powers and abilities
"We have the dark side power of Freedon Nadd on our side. Your Beast Riders mean nothing."

- Novar, to Oron Kira during the Battle of Iziz

Novar was extremely skilled in the ways of Onderonian ministers, from espionage to secret meetings to the spreading of false information. He had the ability to mold himself into any role, allowing him to fool others into believing every word he spoke. Novar was a Force-sensitive, and was trained in the dark side of the Force by King Ommin and later Queen Amanoa. He had the ability to use the dark side power known as bolt of hatred. In battle, Novar wielded a pulse-wave blaster, and wielded a dagger when in combat with Oron Kira.

Behind the scenes
Novar first appeared in Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon, the first story arc of the Tales of the Jedi comic book series, written by Tom Veitch and released in 1993. Novar only appeared in the arc's first issue, where he was illustrated by Christian Gossett. He later appeared in the second issue of 1994's Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising, where he was illustrated by Tony Akins. Novar was also featured in the Tales of the Jedi audio adaptation, where he was voiced by Peter Newman. Further information on Novar, including much of his backstory, was given in George R. Strayton's 1996 reference book Tales of the Jedi Companion. Novar was also mentioned in 1998's Star Wars Encyclopedia, the third edition of A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, and in 2008 Novar was given an entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia. In the audio adaptation of Tales of the Jedi, Novar causes the loss of Cay Qel-Droma's arm by shooting him with a blaster. However, in the comic version, Qel-Droma's arm is cut off by a palace guard's blade. For the purposes of this article, the events of the audio version are treated as canon.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi 1: Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon, Part 1
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising 2: Initiates of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi audio adaptation

Notes and references
Novar