Yarzion Vell

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Yarzion Vell was a Force-sensitive alien who served as a Jedi of the Jedi Order during the High Republic Era. Vell became the Padawan of Jedi Master Lulad, and a few months into his training, they traveled to Vell's homeworld on a mission. There, Vell followed the planet's tradition of being tattooed with the name of one's greatest teacher and received tattoos of Lulad's name. Lulad then had herself tattooed with Vell's name. In 232 BBY, Lulad was killed when the Nihil pirates destroyed the Starlight Beacon space station, and Jedi Master Kelnacca took over Vell's training. In 229 BBY, Vell and Kelnacca fought the Nihil on the astronomical object Vianax. Following the fighting, they made repairs in a settlement there, where a group of children spoke with Vell as he worked.

Around 228 BBY, while on on the Nihil-occupied planet Naboo, Vell and Kelnacca formed an alliance with the bounty hunters Lourna Dee, Quin Carree, and Tey Sirrek, after which the group worked together to break into Naboo's Royal Palace. After being affected by hallucinations caused by a device known as the Fear Engine, Vell and the others fought against members of the Nihil protecting the Child of the Storm Sister H'Tar. The pirates soon retreated after being called to a battle at the planet Eriadu. Vell and Kelnacca later also arrived at Eriadu alongside reinforcements from various factions, turning the battle against the Nihil and causing them to surrender.

In the final year of Vell's training, he and Kelnacca rescued the child Yesula and her father from a fire on the astronomical object Veek. After Vell learned that their droid Zeekay was still inside the burning building, Vell rescued the droid and was knighted by Kelnacca for his actions. Vell eventually took on his own Padawan, Ordea. Around 149 BBY, when Vell was dying, Ordea became concerned about who would complete their training, so Vell told them stories of his training under Kelnacca and Lulad. Vell died soon after Kelnacca arrived to see him, and during his funeral, Kelnacca agreed to complete Ordea's training.

Biography

The Force provides

Yarzion Vell was an alien Jedi of the Jedi Order who lived during the High Republic Era. As a Padawan, Vell trained under Jedi Master Lulad. A few months into his training, Vell and Lulad traveled to his home planet on a mission. While there, Vell made a spur-of-the-moment decision to follow his homeworld's tradition of being tattooed with the name of one's greatest teacher and had a skin-scribe tattoo his head with runes in his ancestors' language that spelled Lulad's name. Halfway through the procedure, Lulad walked in. Although Vell expected her to be angry or disappointed and to make him remove the tattoos, she instead had the skin-scribe tattoo her with Vell's name, explaining that a Jedi Master's greatest lessons came from those they taught.^[1]

In 230 BBY, the Nihil marauders attacked the Starlight Beacon space station,^[3] and Lulad was killed when it crashed into^[1] the planet^[3] Eiram.^[1] On Eiram, Vell found Jedi Master Elzar Mann, who asked how^[1] he^[3] could help and misremembered Vell's name as Yorzian. After correcting Mann, Vell told him that he was Lulad's apprentice, but struggled to speak about her death. Mann reassured him, but Vell wondered who would complete his training. Mann responded by telling him the Force would provide and introduced him to Jedi Master Kelnacca, who was on Eiram as part of the relief effort from^[1] the planet^[4] Coruscant. Vell thanked Kelnacca for taking on his training and promised not to let him or the Force down. In response, Kelnacca began walking away, and Vell ran after him.^[1]

In 229 BBY,^[5] Kelnaccca and Vell fought members of the Nihil on the astronomical object Vianax within the Nihil-controlled Occlusion Zone. During the fighting, Vell deflected blaster bolts with his lightsaber. Following the skirmish, Vell and Kelnacca helped make repairs in a settlement on Vianax. A group of children watched as they worked, and an Elomin child asked Vell if Kelnacca was Vell's teacher, which he confirmed. A human child asked Vell if Kelnacca ever spoke, to which Vell responded that he only did when necessary. The human wondered how Vell knew if Kelnacca liked him, and Vell told them that it was not like that for Jedi. The children then asked Vell about his tattoos, but Vell claimed that they did not mean anything and then avoided further questions by saying he needed to get back to work.^[1]

Nightmare on Naboo

Around 228 BBY,^[7] Vell and Kelnacca were on the planet Naboo, which was occupied by the Nihil, when they witnessed a confrontation between a group of the pirates and three members of^[8] the Tempest Breakers^[6] bounty hunters guild^[9]—Lourna Dee, Tey Sirrek, and Quin Carree. When Dee shot at a Gloovan Nihil, Vell leapt and deflected her shot with his lightsaber, then pushed the Gloovan into a wall instead. Kelnacca then mind tricked two other Nihil into stunning each other. The two Jedi lowered their hoods, and Vell introduced them both to the bounty hunters. Dee then commented that Mann believed there were still Jedi alive on Naboo, and Vell asked if she knew Mann, which she confirmed.^[8]

The Jedi and Tempest Breakers determined their objectives aligned, and the Jedi agreed to help find Sister H'Tar—one of^[8] the Jedi-hunting^[10] Children of the Storm experimented on by Nihil scientist Baron Boolan—in exchange for assistance in liberating Naboo. Later, the group entered Naboo's Royal Palace to search for H'Tar. Within the palace, Carree and Dee noted feelings of jumpiness and overwhelming fear. Vell compared their feelings to those caused by the presence of the Nihil's Force-consuming Nameless creatures, but Kelnacca and Dee both disagreed with Vell's conclusion, with the latter stating that the Nameless would only affect the Jedi.^[8]

H'Tar, who was nearby, utilized a device known as the Fear Engine to cause the group to see hallucinations of their fears. Vell saw Dee as a Nameless attempting to kill his master, reminding him of Lulad's death, while Dee saw Vell as her past self. The two fought, and after Dee kicked Vell to the ground, she raised her arm to punch him, only to be stopped by Kelnacca. Vell and Dee realized they had actually been fighting each other, and Vell told Dee what he had seen her as.^[6]

Turning the tide

Sirrek then spotted H'Tar, and the Jedi and bounty hunters fought against several Nihil members defending her. The Nihil soon retreated after receiving a broadcast calling them to a battle on^[6] the planet^[4] Eriadu. As they did, Jedi Master Keeve Trennis fired on the palace from her Jedi Vector, burying some of the pirates under debris. Vell examined the body of one Nihil, noting that those who had not fled had been crushed, and Dee discovered the Nihil broadcast. After Dee informed Trennis of the message and suggested the battle on Eriadu could be a turning point in the Nihil conflict, the Jedi Master asked them to stay on Naboo to aid with the relief effort, which Kelnacca agreed to, though Dee refused.^[6]

After helping insurgents on Naboo,^[12] Vell and Kelnacca later arrived at Eriadu alongside reinforcements from the Galactic Republic, the Mon Cal fleet, the Togruta, and the Hutts. When Kelnacca contacted the Longbeam cruiser Gios, Trennis asked if Vell was with him. Vell responded to inform her that he was present and then told her of the forces they had brought. With the arrival of the reinforcements, the battle turned against the Nihil, who surrendered soon after.^[11] Four months later,^[13] around 227 BBY,^[14] Vell attended a celebration at the Beacon, a sanctuary on the planet Dalna for those displaced during the Nihil conflict.^[13]

Rescue on Veek

In 227 BBY,^[5] Vell looked at a hologram of Lulad while in the Jedi Archives in Coruscant's Jedi Temple. When Kelnacca approached him, Vell began to turn off the hologram, but Kelnacca stopped him and pointed at Lulad's tattoos, which he had noticed were similar to Vell's. Vell then explained the meaning of his tattoos and how he had gotten them to Kelnacca. Kelnacca said nothing in response to what Vell told him, although Vell knew he did not have to.^[1]

In the final year of Vell's training, he and Kelnacca were on the Outer Rim astronomical object Veek, where they rescued the child Yesula and her father from a fire. As Kelnacca and Vell held back the flames, Vell ordered them to leave. Once they safely escaped, Kelnacca told Vell to leave as well. Although Vell was concerned about his master, he left, and Kelnacca soon followed him. Outside, Yesula cried out that her droid Zeekay was still inside their home. When Vell asked who Zeekay was, Yesula's father informed him that he was old and barely functioning, and so did not matter. However, Yesula said that Zeekay had holos of her deceased mother in his databank, and that losing Zeekay would be like losing her mother again. Upon hearing this, Vell returned to the burning building and rescued Zeekay, then returned him to Yesula.^[1]

After Yesula's father thanked him, Vell apologized to Kelnacca for rescuing the droid, but said he did so because of what Yesula had said about her mother. However, Kelnacca responded by igniting his lightsaber and cutting Vell's Padawan braid, knighting him. Kelnacca then asked Vell to apply a tattoo of his name on his head, following the tradition of Vell's homeworld. Vell complied with Kelnacca's request, tattooing his own name on Kelnacca's head while in another structure on Veek as Yesula watched.^[1]

Death

Vell eventually took on his Padawan, Ordea.^[1] Around 149 BBY,^[2] Vell was dying of old age^[15] while he was at a Jedi temple on the planet Tozil. Ordea was anxious about their master's condition and was concerned about who would complete their training after Vell died. Vell recognized their feelings and told them about the similar experience he had had after Lulad's death. Vell told Ordea about how Kelnacca had taken him on as a Padawan, his time on Vianax, and about how he explained the meaning of his tattoos to Kelnacca. Ordea was shocked by the tradition of Vell's homeworld, and Vell told them about the mission to his home planet in which he received his tattoos. After telling Ordea about when he was knighted on Veek, he started to tell her about Kelnacca's request to be tattooed with his name, but before he finished his explanation, Kelnacca arrived on Tozil to see Vell. Vell smiled upon seeing his old master and then died after acknowledging his arrival.^[1]

Kelnacca then carried Vell's body outside, and he and Ordea burned it and held a funeral. During the funeral, Ordea noticed Kelnacca's tattoos of Vell's name and realized what he had asked of Vell. Ordea then began to ask Kelnacca if he would finish their training, saying that Vell had said they had as little as six months left. Partway through their request, they stopped and apologized, saying it was not appropriate to ask when Kelnacca had come to pay his respects. However, Kelnacca agreed take on Ordea as his Padawan and complete their training.^[1] Around 148 BBY,^[2] Ordea successfully finished their training under Kelnacca.^[15]

Personality and traits

Vell was a member of a humanoid alien species and had red eyes, red skin, and long black hair. When he became older, his hair became white and he had darker patches on his skin. Vell had black tattoos on his head that spelled Lulad's name, which he chose to receive after making a spur-of-the-moment decision. Vell was worried about Lulad's reaction to them, and as a Padawan, he tried to avoid speaking about his tattoos.^[1] Vell chose to stop a Nihil from being shot by Lourna Dee, instead pushing them into a wall.^[8] He showed concern for Kelnacca while they were in a burning building, and was willing to reenter it to save Zeekay and his holos of Yesula's mother. Although Kelnacca rarely spoke to Vell, he understood it was not necessary for him to do so.^[1]

Powers and abilities

As a Jedi, Vell was Force-sensitive. He was capable of deflecting blaster bolts with his lightsaber and holding back fire with the Force.^[1] On Naboo, he used the Force to push a Gloovan Nihil.^[8]

Equipment

Vell wielded a yellow-bladed lightsaber. As a Padawan, Vell wore brown boots, white wrappings on his wrists, and a Padawan braid in his hair. On his home planet, Vell wore a light shirt and a blue cloth around his waist. On Eiram, Vell wore white and gold Jedi apparel with black boots. On Veek and Vianax, he wore brown robes with white pants,^[1] and on Naboo he wore brown robes with brown pants.^[8] During the celebration on Dalna, Vell wore white robes.^[13] On Tozil, he wore tan robes.^[8]

Behind the scenes

Yarzion Vell first appeared in the one-shot comic The Acolyte - Kelnacca 1, which was written by Cavan Scott, illustrated by Marika Cresta, and published by Marvel Comics^[1] on September 4, 2024.^[17] Prior to the comic's release, Kelnacca's tattoos of Vell's name were first depicted in a trailer for the live-action series Star Wars: The Acolyte shown exclusively at Celebration Europe^[18] during the Lucasfilm Studio Showcase on April 7, 2023.^[19] However, the tattoos were not established to spell Vell's name until the release of the comic, in which he was identified for the first time.^[1] Vell was first pictured in a video uploaded to the official Star Wars YouTube channel on July 25, 2024.^[20]

Vell also appeared in the^[8] 2025^[21] comic series Star Wars: The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi, written by Scott and published as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project's^[8] Phase III.^[21] In an interview, Scott said that he was happy to be able to bring back Vell for the series, which he jumped straight to scripting after writing The Acolyte - Kelnacca 1.^[16]

Appearances

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• The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi 1
• The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi 2
• The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi 3 (Indirect mention only)
• The High Republic – Fear of the Jedi 5
• The High Republic – The Finale 1
• The Acolyte - Kelnacca 1 (First appearance) (First identified as Yarzion Vell)
• Star Wars: The Acolyte — "Choice" (Mentioned only) (In Kelnacca's tattoos)
• Star Wars: The Acolyte — "Destiny" (Mentioned only) (In Kelnacca's tattoos)
• Star Wars: The Acolyte — "Revenge / Justice" (Mentioned only) (In Kelnacca's tattoos)
• Star Wars: The Acolyte — "Day" (Mentioned only) (In Kelnacca's tattoos)
• Star Wars: The Acolyte — "Night" (Mentioned only) (In Kelnacca's tattoos)

Sources

Notes and references