Duel on Rhen Var The Duel on Rhen Var was a lightsaber battle that took place in the year 3986 BBY between the former Sith Lord Ulic Qel - Droma and the Cathar Jedi Knight Sylvar . After tracking the self - exiled Qel - Droma to the ice planet Rhen Var with the help of a spacer named Hoggon , Sylvar confronted him and was determined to make him pay for all the lives lost in the Great Sith War , of which Qel - Droma was a chief instigator during his tenure with Dark Lord Exar Kun ' s Sith Brotherhood some ten years prior . Qel - Droma — who , while on Rhen Var , had since completed the Jedi training of Vima Sunrider , daughter of his former lover , Nomi — answered the challenge of his accuser , and the two engaged in lightsaber combat . However , Qel - Droma quickly realized that Sylvar was allowing her anger to drive her dangerously close to accepting the dark side of the Force , like he had once done . Unwilling to be the instrument of Sylvar ' s downfall , Qel - Droma deactivated his weapon and refused to fight any longer ; Sylvar , a devout Jedi , was unable to attack an unarmed opponent , thus forcing her to disengage him and accept the truth of where her emotions had led her . Ulic Qel - Droma , the object of Sylvar ' s rage , was the same individual to redeem her and free her of the hatred she held on to for so long . Though Sylvar ' s inner peace was finally restored , it was immediately put to the test . Hoggon , who had been watching nearby , became embittered by the Cathar Jedi ' s sudden change of heart and mortally wounded Qel - Droma with a shot from his blaster pistol in an attempt to solidify a place for himself in the annals of galactic history . The spacer then promptly departed , after having been spared the wrath of Sylvar , whose recent redemption had kept her from killing him only moments before . Meanwhile , as Ulic Qel - Droma lay dying on a cliff , he declared Nomi ' s daughter Vima a fully vested Jedi . Then , much to their surprise , he faded into the Force , in the way of newly deceased Jedi Masters . Prelude . Ten years after the culmination of the Great Sith War , the galaxy remained in a prolonged state of recovery , a direct result of the devastation wrought by the chief instigator of the war — Dark Lord Exar Kun and his Sith Brotherhood . While the Sith were defeated and their Dark Lord ultimately destroyed on the jungle moon of Yavin 4 , Ulic Qel - Droma — Kun ' s protégé and co - conspirator of the conflict — survived , though at great personal cost . He had been rendered Force - blind by the Jedi Knight Nomi Sunrider . Furthermore , the fallen Jedi had never been held accountable for his role in the events , and was instead allowed to roam the galaxy a free man . Despite having renounced his position as a Sith Lord , Qel - Droma was still haunted by his transgressions and wished to retreat entirely from galactic notice in perpetual exile . Keeping his identity secret , he hired a fervent Jedi - enthusiastic spacer named Hoggon to take him somewhere far - removed where he could spend the rest of his days in solitude . After visiting several planets he deemed unsuitable for one reason or another , Qel - Droma finally settled for the ice world of Rhen Var . During that same time , a Jedi Convocation was called — the first one to be held since the gathering on the planet Deneba some ten years prior . It had been organized by Head of the Order Nomi Sunrider on the Exis mining station in the Teedio system . Of all those present , one of the most vocal was the female Cathar Jedi Sylvar , who had lost her mate , Crado , during the war . Though it was not his fault , Qel - Droma was held responsible by Sylvar for Crado ' s demise , as well as for the deaths of countless others who perished during Qel - Droma ' s time as a Sith . Outraged by the Republic ' s failure to bring Qel - Droma to justice , Sylvar ' s anger festered within her , and she became consumed with notions of exacting personal revenge against the former Knight . Several attempts were made by her comrade , Twi ' lek Jedi Tott Doneeta , to help Sylvar release her hate , but to no avail . The negativity of Sylvar ' s emotions was leading her perilously close to the dark side of the Force , and upon recognition of this , Doneeta left Sylvar to sort out her own issues . When she received word that the daughter of her close friend Nomi Sunrider was missing , however , Sylvar sidelined her quest for vengeance to go and assist her fellow Jedi Knight . Sylvar met with Sunrider on Exis Station , only to learn that her daughter , Vima , had willingly left Nomi to become the student of Qel - Droma . Outraged by what she perceived as Sunrider ' s weakness in character , Sylvar stalked off , only to be chanced upon by Hoggon , who himself had come to the station with intentions of reporting Qel - Droma ' s place of exile to the Jedi . He had been eavesdropping on the conversation between the two women and offered Sylvar passage to Qel - Droma ' s location with hopes that , in doing so , he would bear witness to a climactic battle between two famed Jedi Knights . With retribution in mind , Sylvar accepted his offer and allowed Hoggon to take her to Rhen Var . The duel . The Cathar Jedi ' s arrival on Rhen Var was preceded by Master Sunrider , who herself had come to the ice world to collect her wayward child . While she briefly united with her daughter and Qel - Droma , who had recently completed Vima ' s Jedi training , Hoggon ' s ship touched down toward the rear of the fortress in which Qel - Droma had chosen to spend the rest of his days . Hoggon offered to assist Sylvar with taking Qel - Droma down but was sharply refused , as she immediately exited and set out for her quarry . Lightsaber in hand , Sylvar found Qel - Droma alone in the fortress and issued her challenge , naming him a Republic war criminal and blaming him for Crado ' s destruction . Qel - Droma , however , was reluctant to fight her and refused to accept responsibility for the decisions made by Sylvar ' s mate . He believed that Sylvar ' s self - proclaimed role as an administrator of justice was only a " façade " she used to mask her own guilt at failing to save Crado . Nevertheless , he ignited his yellow - bladed lightsaber in his defense , moments before the Cathar Jedi attacked him in a fit of rage . Sylvar unleashed her hatred as she rained down blows upon Qel - Droma . He blocked each attack without retaliating , unwilling to fight and reciprocate the aggression that she demonstrated . When the opportunity presented itself , Qel - Droma disengaged from Sylvar and ran while also attempting to talk her into abandoning her convoluted need to avenge her losses . Sylvar was unmoved by his words and gave chase , eventually catching her foe on a steep cliff wall , where she initiated combat with him yet again . Qel - Droma , who was determined to make Sylvar realize the error of her hatred , allowed the Cathar Jedi to release her negative emotions with each blow as she steadily drove him backward . When he had finally been pushed to the edge of the precipice , Qel - Droma deactivated his lightsaber and refused to fight Sylvar any longer . Unable to strike an unarmed and unwilling opponent , Sylvar too retracted her energy blade and cursed Qel - Droma for the irony of him — the reason for her anger — being also the instrument of her redemption . Aftermath . Sensing the struggle between Sylvar and Qel - Droma through the Force , Nomi and Vima Sunrider rushed to the scene of combat and arrived to find Sylvar finally at peace with Qel - Droma , as well as with herself . Hoggon , who had been watching the contest nearby , was disappointed with Sylvar for her inability to strike down her adversary . Before he could be stopped , the spacer shot Qel - Droma at point - blank range through the chest with his personal blaster pistol . Believing himself to be a hero for having just killed the man that so many considered a war criminal , Hoggon reveled in the enormity of his act and planned to boast about it to all whom he knew . He was quickly seized by Sylvar , however , who held him in contempt for his ignorance and would have surely killed him had her own repentance not taken place mere moments before . Confused , Hoggon then scurried away from the Jedi and left them on Rhen Var , wondering why his action was not met with gratitude . Meanwhile , as Nomi cradled the dying Ulic Qel - Droma on the edge of his fortress of solitude , Qel - Droma asked forgiveness of his former love , while also christening her daughter a full - fledged Knight of the Republic . He then died , and to the surprise of those present , his body faded into the Force , as was only the way of Jedi Masters . Behind the scenes . The Duel on Rhen Var was the final scene in the fifth installment of " " story arc , simply titled " " . The duel depicts the second time in which one of the bystanding characters — Nomi Sunrider — witnesses the death of a lover or former lover , the first being the murder of her husband Andur thirteen " in - universe " years prior . Coincidentally , Sunrider ' s daughter Vima also bore witness to the same two events . The scene , as with the entire " Redemption " story line , was the culmination of months of close collaboration between writer Kevin J . Anderson and artist Christian Gossett , who worked hand - in - hand with the intention of producing a very emotional climax to the entire " Tales of the Jedi " series . In an interview with Gossett , the artist remarked how the death of Ulic Qel - Droma , the first professionally drawn character of his " Star Wars " career , was especially important to him . Knowing that Qel - Droma ' s death was scheduled to occur in " Redemption " , Gossett was invited to Kevin J . Anderson ' s home , where they spent much time laying out each scene frame - by - frame .