Rhen Var/Legends

"This place reminds me of you, Ulic. Isolated&hellip; frozen&hellip; crumbling."

- Nomi Sunrider to Ulic Qel-Droma

Rhen Var was a planet situated near the Tion Cluster in the Outer Rim Territories and one of the former Thanium Worlds. It was the first planet in the Tobali system. Throughout the history of the Galactic Republic, Rhen Var was covered in ice, rendering it almost uninhabitable. Remains of an ancient civilization and old Jedi artifacts were found beneath the ice on the planet, remnants of a former population.

History
Rhen Var was once a fertile paradise filled with vegetation and wild life. Millions of years before the Clone Wars, an atmospheric cataclysm turned it into an icy hibernal surface. Since then, it had been a frigid world of frozen tundra and snowswept mountains.



After the Great Sith War in 3,986 BBY, former Jedi Ulic Qel-Droma sought refuge on Rhen Var, and there trained Vima Sunrider. He ultimately found peace in the snowy wastes, and was redeemed prior to his murder by Hoggon. During his stay he found a cave where the rare Solari crystal grew, of which was located near where he taught Vima Sunrider.

Prior to the Clone Wars, the Republic set up a small supply base and listening post on Rhen Var. At the start of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, the Confederacy of Independent Systems seized Rhen Var with an army so large that the Republic base had to evacuate the planet. Obi-Wan Kenobi informed the Jedi High Council about the seizure of the planet. The Separatists' motives in taking the world were unclear until Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker discovered Count Dooku uncovering the Force Harvester on Raxus Prime. The answers to its power would be located in the tomb of Ulic Qel-Droma on Rhen Var. After the liberation of Alaris Prime, the Republic retook Rhen Var in the Second Battle of Rhen Var. During the battle, Anakin learned from Qel-Droma's Force ghost how to defeat the Force Harvester which would power the Dark Reaper located on the ancient Sith world of Thule.

Later on around the time of the Battle of Yavin, a Rebel communications outpost would be discovered by Imperial forces. There, snowtroopers, officers, and jet troopers wiped out all of the rebels, secured the major landmarks, and established an outpost of their own.

Behind the scenes
When Ralph McQuarrie created conceptual art for the Ice Planet which became Hoth, he included illustrations of ruins emerging from the snow. While this did not become a part of the film, the concepts of the ruins of a lost civilization choked in snow and ice may have influenced the development of Rhen Var. Images reflecting this were reprinted in The Illustrated Star Wars Universe.

Appearances



 * Tales of the Jedi: Redemption
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars video game
 * Star Wars: Battlefront
 * Star Wars: Battlefront II

Notes and references
Rhen Var Rhen Var