Yuvar Xal Yuvar Xal was a male Human Sith Master in the Sith Tribe from the planet Kesh . By 43 . 5 ABY , he had taken on the Keshiri Ahri Raas as his apprentice . That year , Xal was one of the many Sith who felt Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker ' s presence in the Force after the Jedi touched an Aing - Tii relic , the Codex . Xal later argued against sending a single strike team after Skywalker , believing the Sith would need a stronger force to bring him down . Nevertheless , Xal and Raas were chosen for the strike force sent to track the Meditation Sphere Ship and kill Skywalker . Xal served as Lady Olaris Rhea ' s executive officer for the mission . Xal grew dissatisfied with Rhea ' s leadership , however , and began to plot a coup against her . Meanwhile , the team tracked Ship to a planet in the Maw where they met Abeloth , a powerful woman who decided to assist the Sith in their survival . Xal ordered Raas to use Rhea ' s apprentice , Vestara Khai , to gather information that may assist his coup , and was preparing to initiate it when Ship suddenly returned to the Sith . The team was then transported to Sinkhole Station , where they were to ambush Luke Skywalker and his son , Ben . During the battle , Xal gave Raas orders to betray and kill Khai , but the apprentice failed to do so . Khai then threw her shikkar at Xal , killing him . Biography . Early life . Yuvar Xal was a male Human Force - sensitive from the remote Wild Space planet of Kesh . He was a member of the Lost Tribe of Sith , descendants of a group of Sith who had been stranded on the planet in 5000 BBY when their starship , the " Omen " , was knocked off - course during a hyperspace jump while attempting to deliver a shipment of Lignan crystal s to Sith Lord Naga Sadow during the Great Hyperspace War . Yuvar Xal trained with the Tribe in the dark side of the Force and learned the ways of the Sith . He completed his apprenticeship and eventually rose to the rank of Sith Master . In 41 ABY , Ship , a Sith Meditation Sphere , arrived on the planet to contact the Tribe and assist in the training of their apprentices . Ship informed the Tribe of the near - extinction of the Sith and urged them to conquer the weakened galaxy . With the help of the Meditation Sphere , the Tribe began to form a new armada . Sometime after Ship ' s arrival on Kesh , Yuvar Xal took on the Keshiri Ahri Raas as his apprentice . The Tribe ' s armada numbered over two dozen ships strong by 43 . 5 ABY , when exiled Jedi Grand Master Luke Skywalker touched an Aing - Tii relic , the Codex , which magnified his presence and called his name out through the Force to members of the Tribe . In response to this occurrence , a meeting was called by the Circle of Lords , the Tribe ' s ruling council , in the Circle Chambers in Tahv , the capital city of Kesh . Grand Lord Darish Vol and Lady Olaris Rhea revealed that they had handpicked a strike team to hunt down Skywalker . Xal spoke out against this action , believing that one small team would not be enough to defeat the Jedi Master , whom he believed would have a large force of ships with him . Rhea , however , held that one or two vessels would better be able to gather information unnoticed than a full fleet , and Xal grudgingly accepted her reasoning . Shortly after , Ship abruptly left Kesh , and it was decided that the strike team would follow Ship and return it to Kesh before hunting down Skywalker . Strike team . Xal and was assigned to the strike force on the starship " Eternal Crusader " as Rhea ' s executive officer . When the Sith landed on the planet in the Maw to which Ship had led them , Xal was taken along with Rhea as part of the searh party , while a Sith Saber , Baad Walusari , was left in command of the " Eternal Crusader " . On the planet , the Sith met a powerful being named Abeloth , who was in control of the whole world . Abeloth agreed to help the Sith and keep them safe from the planet ' s deadly plants and animals , however , at the same time she secretly was preventing Ship from returning to them . While the Sith remained on the planet , tensions began running high , and Xal began to plan for a coup to take over leadership of the team from Rhea . Xal ordered Raas to become closer to Rhea ' s apprentice , Vestara Khai , in hopes of gleaning something valuable to assist in the coup . Before their plans could be carried out , however , Abeloth discovered the presence of Skywalker and his son , Jedi Knight Ben Skywalker , at Sinkhole Station , a space station in the Maw , and allowed Ship to return to the Tribe . The Sith then left the planet to ambush the Skywalkers . When they arrived at the station , Xal was set up with Raas , Khai , and Walusari to ambush the Skywalkers with grenades , but Xal had given Raas orders to betray his friend and throw her explosives back at her . When the Jedi arrived on the scene after escaping from the first ambush set up by the Sith , Khai launched her grenades at them , and Raas quickly threw her grenades back at her while Xal turned Walusari ' s grenades back on him . Rhea , however , had foreseen the betrayal , and had provided Walusari and Khai with a pair of fake grenades to throw first . Meanwhile , Raas ' stun grenade s appeared to incapacitate one of the Skywalkers , and while Xal moved toward the Jedi , Khai threw her shikkar at him . The glass blade drove ten centimeters into Xal ' s body and the Sith Master cried out in surprise and pain as he died . Raas , distracted by his master ' s yell , was quickly killed by the supposedly stunned Skywalker . Personality and traits . Yuvar Xal was rather outspoken and openly expressed his views on a subject matter , even when they differed from that of the Circle of Lords . After his observation was dismissed by Rhea , Xal was upset , but he accepted her decision . Later , however , as part of the strike team , Xal became dissatisfied with Rhea ' s leadership , and prepared to betray her . He included his apprentice in his plans , using him to get close to Khai , Raas ' best friend and Rhea ' s apprentice , in hopes of finding out information that could prove useful to his rebellion . He finally initiated the coup during the battle with the Skywalkers , but it had been foreseen by Rhea and was unsuccessful , resulting in Xal ' s death at Khai ' s hands . Powers and abilities . Xal was trained in the dark side of the Force and the ways of the Sith . He completed his apprenticeship and eventually rose to the prestigious rank of Sith Master , taking on the Tyro Ahri Raas as his apprentice . He was an influential member of the Tribe , and felt free to speak out during the meeting in Tahv after Skywalker ' s presence was revealed to the Sith — an act which someone of lesser power would not have been allowed to do . Behind the scenes . Yuvar Xal was created by author Christie Golden for her debut " Star Wars " novel , " " , released June 23 , 2009 as the second installment in the nine - part " " series .