Darca Nyl Darca Nyl was a Human male mercenary who , after falling in love with a woman named Teril , retired and settled in the Outer Rim Territories . His wife died in childbirth , and Nyl devoted his life to raising his son Neas . However , Neas was killed one day in 32 BBY by the Dark Jedi Lycan , who escaped from a Jedi starfighter that crashed on Nyl ' s farm . Nyl was given a lightsaber from the Jedi who died in the crash while taking Lycan to the planet Coruscant for trial . Nyl buried his son and swore vengeance on Lycan . He burned his home and everything he had , beginning his hunt two days later . Nyl pursued the Dark Jedi for months across several worlds . On each , he was mistaken for a Jedi and drawn into the problems of locals , which he resolved . Finally , on Molavar , he confronted Lycan , drawing the Dark Jedi into a trap he had set . Nyl killed Lycan and was ready to die himself in the cave - in he caused , but , driven by visions of his dead family , he escaped . Inspired by the good he had done over the course of his quest for revenge , he decided to become a traveling do - gooder , aiding those who could not help themselves . Over time , Nyl joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic and helped to train its spies . After training accidents that resulted in death , Nyl was dismissed from the Rebellion and fell into a sullen , solitary existence . He was roused from it by the arrival of Rebel spy Wyl Tarson , who recruited him for a mission to Ahakista in 0 ABY . While Nyl was able to determine that Tarson was not actually working for the Rebellion , he was rejuvenated by the ability to battle the Galactic Empire . However , the mission went sour , and after escaping a lightsaber duel with Sardoth and Darth Vader , Nyl vowed vengeance on Tarson , who he was certain had betrayed the mission . Biography . Mercenary . As a young man , the Human Darca Nyl joined a mercenary corps in the Outer Rim Territories . He served for many years , jumping from cause to cause to support the highest bidder and , after many engagements , he had accumulated both respect as a seasoned veteran and a collection of battle wounds ; scars coated his face and back . With his hard - earned experience , Nyl did not experience battle stress and was notoriously calm before missions . At some point during his mercenary career , Nyl joined a crew which served the purpose of an air battalion . His men were equipped with jetpacks and dropped from transport vessels in the heat of battle to harass and disable enemy ships . Nyl had made friends with several men in his group , including D ' Lew and Garrett , who respected him for his nerves of steel and fearlessness in battle . Life as a mercenary was dangerous work , and on one disastrous mission Nyl ' s dropship was struck by enemy fire in the midst of a massive air battle . Nyl and Garrett were the only survivors . They abandoned the dying vessel and scoured the battlefield in hopes of joining up with another battalion . However , a stray laser bolt struck Garrett ' s jetpack and sent him plummeting . Diving desperately and ignoring Garrett ' s requests to leave him , Nyl was able to grab Garrett meters from the ground . The pointless deaths of the men that he had grown to like disillusioned him with the mercenary life . It was at that time , on a visit to a backwater cantina , that Nyl met a woman named Teril and was immediately smitten . Teril strengthened Nyl ' s doubts , and he decided to leave his old life behind . Hope and tragedy . Choosing a simpler style of life , Nyl and Teril married and relocated to the abandoned frontier . Buying a patch of land , the two began to build a new blissful life as farmers . After deciding to start a family , the couple were overjoyed when Teril became pregnant . However , the perfect life they had envisioned was not to be . Complications in the birth claimed Teril ' s life , though the infant boy , Neas , survived . The devastated Nyl buried his wife in a grove near their house and tried to hide his despair for the good of his son . He turned the house into a shrine , covered in holograms of Teril and Neas . Nyl continued to maintain his farm and taught his son to do the same , building a friendship with the boy as he matured into a young man . The two continued in that fashion until , one day around 32 BBY , a starship crashed unexpectedly near their land . Seeing the smoke rising from the crashed starship , Nyl ordered his son inside . Grabbing a shovel and a blaster for protection , he made his way to the flaming wreckage . There , Nyl found a wounded man lying in the cockpit . Desperately he informed Nyl that he was a Jedi Knight who was transporting a dangerous Dark Jedi named Lycan to trial on the galactic capital planet Coruscant . Giving Nyl his lightsaber , he urged the farmer to subdue Lycan before it was too late . Realizing that Lycan was probably headed for his home , Nyl ignited the lightsaber and began a mad sprint back to his house but was horrified to discover that Lycan had made it there before him . Neas lay dead in the middle of the house . Quest for revenge . Nyl had nothing left but his sorrow and anger . Determined to take revenge , he buried his son , packed up all he needed , and burned down his house and the rest of his possessions , symbols of a life that no longer existed . He purchased a ship in town and began his pursuit of Lycan . Nyl ' s quest to find Lycan led him to an inhospitable , lightly colonized planet in the Outer Rim rich with ore . Shortly after leaving his ship , he witnessed a boy fleeing a pair of thugs and being caught by them . He drew his lightsaber to defend the boy , demanding they let him go . He crippled one enforcer when they would not release him and was taken to Samuel , the owner of the planet ' s mining facility and the thugs ' employer . Samuel mistook the lightsaber - wielding Nyl for a Jedi and revealed that the boy he had protected was accused of conspiring in the kidnapping of Samuel ' s daughter Leddar . The boy , however , maintained he had merely been playing with her at the time and ran because he was afraid of what Samuel would do . Samuel asked for Nyl to provide security while he turned Leddar ' s ransom over to her kidnapper . Nyl agreed , but only if Samuel told him where Lycan had gone . The mine owner claimed that Lycan had already left the planet a week earlier on the supply ship that had brought him there , but he would not reveal the destination until Nyl helped him get his daughter back . The pair had to wear massive protective suits to survive in the sand - scoured wastes outside the colony . When they reached the rendezvous , they were ambushed by Royce , the kidnapper . Nyl set his large mechanical suit on autopilot while he sneaked to where Royce was firing missiles at the pair . Drawing his lightsaber , he attempted to capture the kidnapper , but Royce armed a grenade that fell out of his hand , threatening Leddar , but Royce disarmed it when Nyl subdued him . Samuel entered and began firing on Royce , causing Nyl to force Samuel to disarm as well . Royce angrily claimed that he had helped Samuel find the ore on the world , and had been cheated out of his claim by Samuel . He wished no harm to Leddar , but only to force Samuel to repay him . Samuel urged him to finish off Royce , but disgusted with the depth of their feud and Samuel ' s callous attitude towards his daughter , seeming to value his revenge more , he rebuked both of them and urged them to concentrate on what mattered in life rather than on hatred . Tossing his blaster onto the ground , he told them to fight if that was what was so important to them . Samuel repented , leaving with Nyle and Leddar , but Royce attempted to kill Samuel with the blaster , which was broken . Shamed by his failure , he ran off into the wilderness to die . The route to Molavar . Samuel lived up to his end of the bargain , telling Nyl that the supply ship had gone on to Molavar . Nyl bought passage on a cargo ship to Molavar , but during the flight he was attacked by the crew in an attempt to rob him as they did all their passengers . Nyl fought them off , incapacitating them . However , the freighter lost control during the battle and Nyl had to do all he could to guide it to a crash landing on a nearby planet . Escaping the burning wreck , Nyl considered leaving the thieves to die , but after the episode with Leddar , Nyl had begun feeling that he had to live up to the lightsaber he carried , and adopted the Jedi persona . He risked his life to pull the crew to safety before the ship exploded . After two days of journeying across the seemingly uninhabited planet , Nyl finally stumbled upon a woman named Jaren being chased by a man on a speeder bike . Impulsively acting to protect the woman , he cut the speeder bike in two with his lightsaber , but let the pilot escape despite Jaren ' s objections . Jaren told him she was a negotiator from a village sent to mediate with an enemy village , and had come under attack on her diplomatic mission . With her was her brother , Ament , a hulking but slow man serving as her bodyguard . While camping for the night , Jaren told him that the planet had telepathic qualities and that individuals could see images in the flames of their campfire . Nyl tried it , seeing an image of Neas . Upset , he stalked away from the campsite . The next day , as they traveled , Ament told Nyl that the two were alike , broken inside and guilty . When Nyl asked what Ament was guilty of , the other man left . When night came and he had not returned , Nyl left to look for him . Instead , he found and was attacked by a large beast . He killed it , but heard Jaren screaming from the camp . He rushed back and found Ament beating another of the creatures to death with a stone . Shocked at Ament ' s unbridled fury and inability to stop attacking the creature even after it was clearly dead , Nyl connected it with Ament ' s assumption of guilt when Nyl saw a face in the fire . After Jaren fell asleep , he made Ament look into the fire , and found a sea of faces looking back . Ament was a killer . The next day , Nyl found the searchers from the village who had been pursuing them and turned Jaren and Ament over . Though simpleminded and usually peaceful , Ament was actually a mass murderer , prone to bouts of uncontrollable rage , and Jaren had helped him escape from prison . The villagers took them prisoner , and Nyl was able to get passage to Molavar . Tracking Lycan . On Molavar at last , Nyl learned that Lycan had killed several people in a local casino and stolen a ship . Joining a convoy led by a Molavaran named Tooth , he finally found the abandoned ship in the middle of the Molavaran desert four days later . Spotting Lycan ' s tracks in the dust , Nyl began to pursue Lycan once more , though he knew he did not have enough food and supplies to last for the time it would take to catch up to him in the harsh wilderness . After three days of tracking Lycan through the desert , Nyl came upon the heavily mined homestead of an elderly couple named Byrom and Ensa . A former mercenary himself , Byrom took him in , and told him that Lycan had attacked and nearly killed Ensa at their farm before heading for the mountains . It was for that reason they had set up the mines . When Byrom went outside to deal with a gang of Molavarans led by Sleeth demanding protection money , Nyl intervened , challenging Sleeth and demanding the return of the money . When Sleeth ' s men opened fire , Nyl was able to deflect it while Byrom triggered the mines , killing all but Sleeth , who angrily fled . Byrom , however , rounded on Nyl , telling him that Sleeth was merely an enforcer for his mother , Magon , who had a much larger criminal enterprise that would retaliate by killing both the farmers . Profoundly chastened , Nyl apologized for rushing into the situation . He wished to help them defend their home , but knew that if he waited , Lycan would escape his reach . Conflicted , he decided to push on after Lycan , a decision Byron and Ensa accepted . The next morning , Nyl left immediately . However , as he traveled , he could not overcome his guilt at leaving the two farmers . His desire to do good overwhelming his thirst for vengeance , he tracked down Tooth ' s caravan instead , convincing the large band to defend the pair in exchange for the right to start a farm on the outskirts of their land . When Magon arrived with her forces , Tooth ' s people turned them away . Nyl , however , was another week behind Lycan . Showdown . Luckily for Nyl , Lycan did not seem to have a final destination and was walking around in circles through the Molavaran mountains . After days of tracking Lycan , Nyl caught up with him and was able to line up a long - distance pistol shot at Lycan . He realized that would be unlikely to defeat the Dark Jedi , and instead hatched a plan in which he seeded an underground cave with mines , Nyl laid a trap . He was prepared to lead Lycan into the cave and sacrifice his own life to destroy the powerful killer . The plan did not go as expected . When the Dark Jedi found him napping , Nyl ran , but Lycan used the Force to easily shatter two of Nyl ' s ribs . Sprinting back to the cave , Nyl was hotly pursued by Lycan . Aided by the Force , Lycan quickly caught up with Nyl and battered him with rock s thrown through the Force . Lycan used the Force to grab Nyl ' s lightsaber , but Nyl told Lycan what he suspected : that the head injury Lycan sustained in the crash had given him amnesia . He did not know who he was or what he was doing . At Lycan ' s order , Nyl revealed what he knew of Lycan ' s past and why he pursued him . Glad to have his identity back , Lycan prepared to execute the wounded Darca Nyl . It was at that moment that Nyl activated the mines . He was prepared to die in the crumbling cave , but a vision of his wife and son in the chaos urged him to live . As a large stone fell from the ceiling and crushed Lycan , Nyl realized that his life could have meaning beyond revenge . With his last ounce of strength , Nyl rushed from the swiftly collapsing cave , taking one of Lycan ' s lightsabers with him . Rebellion . In his travels , he had found the satisfaction that came from helping the less - fortunate . He had found something to live for . To honor his dead family , Darca Nyl decided to start a life of aiding the helpless , and returned to Byrom and Ensa ' s farm a rejuvenated man before setting out on a career of do - gooding . Around a decade after Nyl ' s killing of Lycan , the Clone Wars broke out , during which Nyl maintained a low profile . They were followed three years later by the formation of the Galactic Empire from the Galactic Republic . Nyl eventually decided to oppose the autocratic government , joining the Rebel Alliance . Living in an Action series freighter on a remote , rainy jungle world , Nyl put his considerable skills as a mercenary to use training spies for the Rebellion . Rumors leaked out that he had killed a Dark Jedi , and he was known as a formidable individual . During that time , he made the acquaintance of Wyl Tarson , a Rebel spy and possibly one of Nyl ' s trainees . Nyl came to greatly distrust Tarson , considering him a double - crosser . Eventually , some of Nyl ' s students were killed during training , and the Alliance declined to continue its use of Nyl ' s services . Abandoned , he remained living in the freighter all alone , carving a vast array of statues of Teril and Neas to occupy his lonely hermitage . Return to action . In 0 ABY , Nyl ' s home was entered by Tarson , Laynara , and Baco Par . Nyl , by now a grizzled old veteran , attacked the intruders , but was stopped when Laynara turned on the light and threatened to destroy his racks of carvings if he did not hear them out . Recognizing Tarson in the light , Nyl gave him a chance to speak . Tarson told him that he had been assigned to a mission on Ahakista , and asked the old commando to aid him and the other team members . Nyl declined , completely mistrusting Tarson . After Laynara appealed to his love for Teril and his desire to do something with his life , however , he agreed to come along . However , he remained deeply suspicious of Tarson , and made a point to tell him that he would be watching the younger man for any signs of betrayal . As their ship approached Ahakista , they were surprised to find a large Imperial fleet in orbit . Only at the last minute was Tarson able to broadcast the signal that cleared the group to land safely . They put down at the Daystar Casino , where they were greeted by Sardoth , the owner . Sardoth explained that there was great local unrest on the world , which the Empire was attempting to suppress . After setting in , Nyl was summoned to speak with Sardoth in his office . The casino proprietor showed Nyl a vast collection of lightsabers . He had noticed that Nyl carried Lycan ' s lightsaber and wished to inquire if he was a Jedi ; Nyl replied that he was not , and declined Sardoth ' s offer to buy his lightsaber . The next day , Sardoth escorted the group to a meeting with the Ahakistan resistance and a suborned Imperial Intelligence officer , Captain Rasha Bex . Sardoth revealed their full mission : they were to strike at the Hub , an Imperial Navy computer center . Sardoth could lead them through an underground tunnel network to an entrance to the Hub , but they required the aid of the resistance , led by Dunlan , to breach the energy field guarding that entrance . He would not give it , but Tarson came up with an alternate plan , relying on Bex to disable the energy field . They immediately began to implement it . Nyl , Tarson , Par , Laynara , and Sardoth entered the tunnel system , with Tarson and Nyl dealing with the stormtrooper sentries . While the others went ahead , Nyl confessed to Tarson that he knew the other was not working for the Rebellion — Tarson was , in fact , working for the crime lord Raze . While he was glad to be involved in the fight against the Empire again , he would remain watchful of Tarson . When Tarson was attacked by one of the creatures that lived in the tunnels , Nyl rushed to save him , though Laynara shot the beast first . When the group reached the entrance , they found the energy field still active . While the others waited for Bex to bring it down , Nyl decided to scout and see if there might be another way around . Sardoth followed him into the tunnels , away from the others , and confronted him , revealing that he had once been Lycan ' s apprentice and was a Dark Jedi himself . He attacked , and the two engaged in a lightsaber duel , with Nyl taking a wound to the shoulder . However , sensing Sardoth ' s use of the Force , Darth Vader himself appeared in the tunnels , determined to cut down the other Force - user . While he concentrated on Sardoth , Nyl was able to land a glancing blow to Vader ' s helmet . Vader Force - pushed him away , and Nyl watched the Dark Lord of the Sith kill Sardoth before he fled into the tunnels . He escaped into a pipe system and , seeing Par dead , decided that Tarson had indeed betrayed the group , and vowed vengeance . Personality and traits . Darca Nyl had brown hair , green eyes , and fair skin . Nyl was a talented mercenary with a longstanding career . In combat , he was known for his nerves of steel and cared little for his own safety . However , Nyl was known for looking out for his friends and companions and went to great lengths to make sure that he maintained a net of safety around them . He had difficulty dealing with loss and the death of a large group of squadmates eventually led him to leave his life of continual fighting . He was unable to maintain a life of peace , however . First the death of his wife , and then his son , poisoned his pastoral content . When Nyl ' s son Neas , the only loved one he had left , was killed by the Dark Jedi Lycan , it threw him into a fit of rage , and he devoted his life to seeking revenge . Although he was driven by vengeance and an intense hatred of Lycan , Nyl did have tender moments on his quest and showed that he valued the respected the concepts of family , justice , and loyalty . He also refused to kill unless absolutely necessary . Without his family , Nyl felt that his only purpose left in life was killing Lycan . After that , he was ready to die and face punishment for the wrong he had done as a mercenary . After finally defeating Lycan , however , Nyl realized that his life was worth living even without his family or the drive to avenge them . He found a new purpose in helping those who could not help themselves . Though he could not undo his own suffering , he could prevent others from suffering in the same way . In taking up a lightsaber , he had fallen into the role of a Jedi , and he decided to live up to that image . Nyl joined the Rebellion as an expression of his ideals , but after training accidents , the Rebellion rejected him . Stung , Nyl withdrew into a life of solitude and bitterness , kept company only by his carvings of his lost family . It took an appeal to Teril ' s love of him to get him to join the mission to Ahakista , but when he did he felt rejuvenated by his involvement in fighting the Empire once more , standing up for his ideals . Throughout his pursuit of Lycan , Nyl exhibited a tendency to make impulsive snap - judgments of situations and rush in , often making the situation worse . In his dealings with Samuel ' s men , Jaren , and Magon ' s bandits , Nyl intervened on behalf of those he perceived to be threatened , but his lack of familiarity with the circumstances meant that he often acted against the interests of those he later decided to help . He was skilled with both a blaster rifle and pistol , and he could also wield a lightsaber with little difficulty . Despite not being Force - sensitive , Nyl became skilled enough to deflect blaster shots , demonstrating extraordinarily quick reflexes . Behind the scenes . Darca Nyl was created by writer Rob Williams and artist Brandon Badeaux and debuted in the " Star Wars Tales " story " Nomad " . Nyl subsequently reappeared in " " , also written by Williams but illustrated by Michel Lacombe . Nyl was mistakenly identified as a fallen Jedi in Ament ' s Databank entry .