Velya Faer

During the High Republic Era, Velya Faer, a male Evereni, was born around 397 BBY. He spent his formative years alongside his twin sister, Vika. By 379 BBY at the latest, the pair possessed a ship, and Faer had become acquainted with two Evereni individuals named Rad and Espri.

At the earliest in 379 BBY, Faer and his sister made a pit stop at a space dock orbiting the gas giant Siquay to refuel. Their extended stay at the dock provided Marda Ro, the Evereni who established a pirate group that would later evolve into the Nihil, with the opportunity to locate them. She dispatched three ships under her command to encircle the Faers, who then received an invitation from her. After some hesitation, Vika and Velya accepted the offer, and Ro's raiders, Esstrop and Kortanio, escorted them to the throne hall aboard Ro's vessel, the Gaze Electric. Ro welcomed them, and during their subsequent conversation, Vika and Faer introduced themselves.

Subsequently, the Faers joined her for a meal, prepared by Ro's assistant, Alirya, during which they shared details about their family and other Evereni. Ro had been raised in isolation from Evereni culture. As Velya ate and conversed with his sister and Ro, Alirya offered them liquor, which they all declined. After the meal, Ro suggested a sparring match, and Faer volunteered to supervise the fight, as Vika was eager to begin.

He observed the two Evereni women fighting for a period, but eventually intervened to halt the match. Alirya immediately began tending to a cut on Ro's arm that she had sustained during the fight, disregarding requests from 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 remarked that she was a sweet pet, and Ro corrected her that Alirya is a valuable person and as important as she makes herself.

Over the following days, Faer and Vika remained on the Gaze. While his sister explored the ship, Faer divided his time between her and Ro. When Ro's marauders embarked on raids, Faer and Vika accompanied them, returning with substantial spoils. The Faers, along with Ro's raiders, presented offerings to Ro and playfully teased her and each other. Ro reciprocated with teasing remarks, stating that it was the price of staying on the Gaze. Following everyone's safe return from the raid, a feast was held in the throne hall, involving everyone on board, to commemorate the occasion. Faer dined at the table nearest to Ro's throne.

During the celebration, Vika approached Ro, and while the Evereni women conversed, Alirya stealthily approached Vika from behind and stabbed her with a dagger. Vika survived the attack and retaliated by digging her claws into Alirya's neck, resulting in her death. Faer rushed to his sister's side to examine her wound, while Ro retrieved a blaster from a concealed compartment in her throne and shot Vika. Faer immediately turned to Ro, who aimed the blaster at him. She explained to Faer that Alirya attempted 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. After some hesitation, Faer accepted Ro's offer 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.

Subsequently, Ro and Faer were left alone in the throne hall, with the bodies and raiders having departed. Curious about Evereni customs regarding the deceased, Ro inquired with 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.

Later, Ro recounted her encounter with Faer and his sister in messages she recorded for her descendants. By 252 BBY, during his youth, Ro's great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to her journal, including the entries where Velya Faer was mentioned. In 228 BBY, while listening to the journal again, Ro remembered that the journal's contents chronicled his great-great-grandmother's hunt for Evereni, including Faer.

Faer bore a striking resemblance to his twin sister, Vika. They shared similar facial features and a sleek, predatory gait. He held deep affection for his sister, expressing concern when she was stabbed and fury when Ro shot her. Despite this, upon her death, Faer considered Vika's body worthless, aligning with Evereni culture, which honored the deceased by remembering their name. He derived enjoyment from combat, feeling exhilarated while watching his sister battle 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.

Faer typically wore gray and red clothing that complemented each other, along with soft-soled boots that enabled him to move silently. He and his sister jointly owned a ship.

Velya Faer made an appearance in a flashback within the short story "A Closed Fist Has No Claws," penned by Tessa Gratton and featured in the 2023 young-adult anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia initiative. In an interview, Gratton mentioned that she knew he needed the story to include an Evereni who rejects Marda Ro and one who embraces her, the former of which ended up being Isren, while the latter one ended up being Faer. 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.

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 cousin 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—such as Faer—painfully, taking the wrong lesson from them instead of interpreting them in a beautiful way.