Velya Faer

Velya Faer was a male Evereni born by around 397 BBY, who lived during the High Republic Era. At some point no earlier than 379 BBY, Velya and his twin sister Vika stopped at a space dock orbiting the gas giant Siquay to refuel their ship and were tracked down by the Evereni pirate leader Marda Ro who searched for others of her species. Ro sent the Faer siblings an invitation, and they were taken to the throne hall of Ro's starship, the Gaze Electric, by her raiders Esstrop and Kortanio.

Ro greeted Vika and Velya and asked them to join her for food. The siblings stayed aboard the Gaze for several days. During a feast, Ro's assistant Alirya attempted to kill Faer's sister but perished at Vika's hand during the attempt, which caused Ro to shoot Vika with a blaster. Faer was shaken by his sister's death, but ultimately accepted Ro's offer to take Alirya's former spot by her side and joined her. Ro later mentioned Faer in recordings she made for her descendants, which her great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to by 252 BBY.

Biography

Early life

Velya Faer was a male Evereni who lived during the High Republic Era.^[2] Born by around 397 BBY,^[1] he grew up alongside his twin sister Vika.^[2] By a point no earlier than 379 BBY,^[3] the two had a ship and Faer had met Evereni named Rad and Espri.^[2]

Meeting Marda Ro

At some point no earlier than 379 BBY,^[3] Faer and his sister stopped at a space dock orbiting the gas giant Siquay in order to refuel. They remained at the dock for some time, giving Marda Ro—the Evereni^[2] founder of a group of pirates who would eventually become the Nihil^[4]—time to catch up to them.^[2] She^[5] sent three ships under her command to surround the Faers, who received an invitation from her. Vika and Velya hesitated for a while, but ultimately accepted the offer and Ro's raiders Esstrop and Kortanio escorted them to the throne hall of Ro's ship, the Gaze Electric. Ro greeted them and during the subsequent interaction Vika introduced herself and Faer.^[2]

The Faers then joined her for food—prepared by Ro's assistant Alirya—and told her about their family and other Evereni, as Ro had grown up in isolation from the Evereni's culture. While Velya ate and talked with his sister and Ro, Alirya brought liquor for the three of them, but none drank it. Once they finished eating, Ro offered them to spar and Faer offered to mediate the fight as Vika wanted to go first.^[2]

He watched the two Evereni women fight for a while, but eventually stepped in and stopped the fight. Alirya immediately started attending to a cut on Ro's arm that she'd suffered during the fight, and ignored requests by Vika and her brother to bring them the liquor from earlier until Ro instructed her to leave her alone. While Alirya went to get the liquor, Vika commented that she was a sweet pet, and Ro corrected her that Alirya is a valuable person and as important as she makes herself.^[2]

Vika Faer's death

Faer and Vika stayed on the Gaze for the next few days, and while his sister wandered around the ship Faer bounced back and forth between her and Ro. When Ro's marauders went out to raid, Faer and Vika accompanied them and returned with generous bounty. The Faers—like Ro's raiders—made offerings to Ro and teased both her and each other. Ro teased the twins back, saying that it was the price of staying on the Gaze. After everyone returned safely from the raid, a feast in which everyone on board participated was thrown in the throne hall in honor of the occasion and Faer ate at the table closest to Ro's throne.^[2]

During the celebration Vika walked over to Ro and while the Evereni women chatted, Alirya sneaked up on Vika from behind and stabbed her with a dagger. Vika survived the attack and retaliated by digging her claws into Alirya's neck, killing her. Faer rushed to his sister and inspected her wound, while Ro took out a blaster from a hidden compartment in her throne and shot Vika. Faer immediately turned to Ro, who aimed the blaster at him. She explained to Faer that Alirya tried to kill Vika because she felt her position was threatened by her and offered Faer the place that has been left vacant with Alirya's death. Faer was unsure, but ultimately Ro convinced him to take the place by her side. She offered him her hand and Faer took it, grasping her wrist. The two Evereni dug their claws into each other's wrist and stood in the throne hall, letting their blood slowly drip onto the floor.^[2]

By Ro's side and legacy

Later Ro and Faer were left alone in the throne hall, bodies and raiders all gone. Curious about how Evereni treat their dead, Ro asked Faer, who explained that they remember the name, as the body is worthless. They sat at a table and drank tea, discussing how many Evereni they had met, with Faer confessing he had met six Evereni other than Ro. She mentioned an Evereni she had met who refused to tell her his name. Ro recalled that he told her Evereni only meet in death and Faer explained that they also meet in the Rystan system, after which Ro finished her tea and studied Faer's face. He told Ro that she is different from any Evereni he had met, and compared her gathering people to her to a ginntho creature at the center of a web.^[2]

Later, Ro recounter how she met Faer and his sister in messages she recorded for her descendants.^[2] By 252 BBY,^[6] during his youth, Ro's great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to her journal, including the entries where Velya Faer was mentioned.^[5] In 228 BBY,^[7] while listening to the journal again, Ro remembered that the journal's contents chronicled his great-great-grandmother's hunt for Evereni, including Faer.^[5]

Personality and traits

Faer bore a strong resemblance to his twin sister Vika. The two had a similar face and sleek and predatory gait. He deeply cared about his sister, being worried when she was stabbed and furious when Ro shot her. Despite this, once she was dead, Faer considered Vika's body worthless in accordance with Evereni culture, in which the dead were honored by remembering their name. He found combat fun, feeling exhilarated while watching his sister fight Ro. Faer was considered beautiful Ro and—according to Vika—he also considered Ro beautiful. Faer had black eyes, short dark eyelashes, and cold skin.^[2]

Equipment

Faer wore complementary gray and red clothes and had soft-soled boots that allowed him to walk quietly. He and his sister owned a ship.^[2]

Behind the scenes

Velya Faer appeared in a flashback in the short story "A Closed Fist Has No Claws," written by Tessa Gratton and published in the 2023 young-adult anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life as a part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project.^[2] In an interview, Gratton mentioned that^[4] she^[8] knew he needed the story to include an Evereni who rejects Marda Ro and one who embraces her,^[4] the former of which ended up being Isren, while the latter one ended up being Faer.^[2] They added that she also realized that Ro needs to have children, which was another factor that played a role in inclusion of Faer in the story.^[4]

Gratton's initial plan was to only have Ro meet two Evereni, but he realized while building the story that it would be more dynamic to include a pair of Evereni similar to Ro herself and her^[4] cousin^[2] Yana Ro. This led Gratton to create Faer's sister Vika, which they described as a complicated process. Gratton also revealed that she thinks that due to the pain she carries with her, Ro interprets her experiences with other Evereni she's met^[4]—such as Faer^[2]—painfully, taking the wrong lesson from them instead of interpreting them in a beautiful way.^[4]

Appearances

• "A Closed Fist Has No Claws" — The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life (and audiobook) (First appearance) (In flashback(s))

Notes and references