 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
Azlin Rell is a major character in the epic space opera Star Wars metaseries Star Wars: The High Republic.
Azlin Rell was a Force-sensitive human member of the Jedi Order during the High Republic Era who became obsessed with destroying the threat of the Nameless, creatures that preyed on Force-sensitives. His quest led him to abandon the Jedi and fall to the dark side of the Force.
Roles[]
In Phase II: Quest of the Jedi, Azlin Rell appears as a supporting character in the 2022 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Path of Deceit, the overarching protagonist of the 2023 one-shot comic Star Wars: The High Republic: Quest of the Jedi, a supporting character in the 2023 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Path of Vengeance, and a major character in the 2021-2025 manga series Star Wars: The High Republic: The Edge of Balance.
In Phase I: Light of the Jedi, Rell appears a cameo character in the 2022 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Midnight Horizon.
In Phase III: Trials of the Jedi, Rell appears as a major antagonist in the 2023-2024 comic miniseries Star Wars: The High Republic: Shadows of Starlight, a minor character in the 2023 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: The Eye of Darkness and the 2024 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Defy the Storm, and a supporting character in the 2024 novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Tears of the Nameless.
Appearance[]
Azlin Rell was a human male with brown skin and an athletic physique who stood at five feet and seven inches tall. He had brown eyes and black hair which, as a young Jedi Knight, he had styled into a short taper cut. Over the following century, Rell's appearance changed drastically. His hair, which had grown to shoulder-length, was thinner than before with a widow's peak from where his hairline had receded. His eyeballs were completely missing, leaving only gaping pits remaining, and his fingernails were long. His skin had lost some of its complexion and had become very wrinkled, to the point that he was considered to look even older than he was. Despite his advanced age however, Rell's hair retained its natural black color and his physique was still strong.
Synopsis[]
Early Life[]
Azlin Rell was a Human male born during the High Republic Era, the period of time in which the democratic Galactic Republic that controlled much of the galaxy was at its zenith. He was Force-sensitive, meaning he was especially attuned to and had the potential to wield the power of the enigmatic universal energy field commonly called "the Force." As a result of his Force-sensitivity, Rell was taken from his family at a young age by the Jedi Order, an influential and benevolent religious organization based on the Republic capital planet of Coruscant whose membership was comprised entirely of Force users.
The Jedi were peacekeepers for the Republic, using their powers in service to the people of the galaxy. They wielded the light side, the aspect of the Force that required serenity and emotional detachment to make use of. As with most Jedi, Azlin Rell was raised in a crèche alongside other Jedi Initiates in the Jedi Grand Temple on Coruscant, a ecumenopolis world in the central Core Worlds region of the galaxy that served as the capital planet of the Republic and the base of its government. In order to become a full-fledged Jedi, Rell trained to control his emotions and hone his connection to the light side of the Force.
While still a youngling, Rell and the other children in his crèche were taken on a tour of the galaxy with the intention to giving them a broadened perspective of the worlds they would one day protect and serve. Among their destinations was Kashyyyk, a forest planet in the galaxy's Mid Rim Territories that was the homeworld of the long-lived Wookiee species. Kashyyyk was populated by ginormous trees called "wroshyr trees" that the Wookie people lived in and around. A peaceful people despite their large stature and physical power, the Wookiees lived symbiotically with the natural environment around them.
During their visit to Kashyyyk, the crèche stayed in a Wookiee village situated in the branches of a wroshyr tree. Among the younglings' supervisors were a crèche-keeper nurse Jedi Master named Yenlit Elio and a Wookiee Jedi named Arkoff. The young Rell marvelled at the beauty of Kashyyyk, but was also afraid of falling off the tree. Arkoff held the uneasy youngling's hand when he needed to cross a bridge in the village. At some point, Rell constructed a lightsaber. He later underwent the Jedi Initiate Trials and ascended to become a Jedi Padawan, learning directly under the mentorship of Arkoff.
Eventually, Rell passed the Jedi Trials and was anointed as a fully-fledged Jedi Knight.
After receiving his knighthood, Rell began a tour of the Galactic Frontier in the Outer Rim Territories of the galaxy. He was accompanied in his journeys by C-9, an astromech droid. Two months into the tour, they stopped on the Relik moons where C-9 acquired a new manipulator arm crafted out of a strange alloy that made it more sensitive to electromagnetic fields. At some point, Rell and C-9 kept flying creatures known as "Night-Lethers" away from tall buildings on the planet of Alderaan in the Core Worlds section of the galaxy. They did so by using a comm beacon to create an artificial signal that would lead the creatures elsewhere.
Grass Sharks of Tiikae[]
In the year 382 BBY, Azlin Rell travelled to Tiikae, a small desert planet, to assist the local population in stopping the migration path of a large herd of non-sentient creatures known as "Grass Sharks" from destroying a trade outpost. He quickly found himself unable to complete the task by himself, and so he sent out a short-range distress call in the hopes that any nearby Jedi would come to support him. Two Jedi, stoic Master Zallah Macri and her adventurous Padawan Kevmo Zink, were staying on the nearby ocean moon of Amloch when they heard Rell's signal. Macri and Zink soon arrived, and Rell began putting a plan together.
Rell gave Macri and Zink the task of diverting the Grass Shark herd while he evacuated the trade outpost and worked on a solution to the ongoing problem with C-9. While his fellow Jedi rode skimboards and used their lightsabers to herd the Grass Sharks for a few hours, Rell deduced that the grass sharks likely chose their migratory path by following the magnetic fields of the planet. Rell realized that by modifying a comm beacon like he had for the Night-Lether flocks on Alderaan, he could trick the Grass Sharks into following a new magnetic field. As he had hoped the Grass Sharks followed the new signal, averting their collision course with the trade outpost.
With the crisis averted, Rell flew his shuttle to the fields of Tiikae to pick up Zink, whose skimboard had been destroyed. They headed back to the nearby port, where they convened with Macri an hour later for dinner at a local tavern. Macri announced that she and Zink would have to leave after the meal, as they had been assigned a new mission. A Force artefact known as the "Rod of Seasons" had been stolen five days prior from a nearby planet called Hynestia, and the Hynestians had requested Jedi assistance in the investigation. Rell was invited to join them by Zink, though he declined because he still had to conclude his business on Tiikae.
Dark Tidings on Dalna[]
A few days later, Azlin Rell finished the repairs necessary on Tiikae and began travelling to the Jedi outpost on the Mid Rim desert moon Jedha to report on his recent actions. While en route, he received an urgent message from Xo Lahru, one of the Grand Masters of the Jedi Order. Lahru informed Rell that Macri and Zink's investigation into the theft of the Rod of Seasons had taken them to the small agricultural planet Dalna in the Outer Rim, where they had been reported as missing by a local sheriff. Considering Rell's proximity to Dalna, Lahru wanted him to investigate the worrisome disappearance.
En route, Rell researched Dalna and discovered that a Force cult called the Path of the Open Hand was based on the planet. The Path believed that those that manipulated the Force, namely Force-sensitives such as the Jedi, were upsetting the natural balance of the universe. Rell theorized that his Jedi comrades could've come into conflict with the Path. Upon reaching Dalna he began his investigation in Ferdan, the settlement where Zink and Macri had been staying. Rell broke into Macri and Zink's shuttle, which had been lying vacant for days, but found no useful information on its databank.
He questioned the town's sheriff, named Jinx Pickwick, who had reported the disappearance. Pickwick was concerned about the two Jedi, but was reluctant to get further involved. Rell then visited a local boarding house where Macri and Zink had been staying. The owner of the house was quick to blame the Path of the Open Hand for the disappearance, which convinced Rell to investigate the cult's compound. Pickwick informed Rell that two days prior to his arrival, all of the members of the Path had boarded a large starship and left Dalna. Nevertheless, Rell and C-9 made the journey to the abandoned compound.
The Path compound was a modest community made up of simple huts, though, as local intel had suggested, there was also a network of fortified tunnels hidden underground. The Force felt weak inside the compound, which unnerved Rell. He decided to explore the dark tunnels, wherein he detected an unusual sensation in the Force which unsettled him further. Rell's fears were affirmed when he found crumbling chalky stone with Jedi robes wrapped around it in a chamber. Rell realized that the crumbling chalk was the remains of Kevmo Zink, who had somehow been turned to stone via a form of calcification.
Though horrified, he decided to explore further in the hopes of finding Macri. It didn't take Rell long to find her in a nearby room, laying on the floor in the same state as her Padawan. He sensed that there was also an adjacent secret room where Force artefacts had been stored prior to the Path's departure, indicating to Rell that the cultists had been responsible for the theft of the Rod of Seasons. He also noted that both Macri and Zink's lightsabers were missing. Azlin Rell was deeply disturbed because he sensed that in their final moments, his Jedi comrades had both felt fear on a level utterly foreign to Jedi.
Following the Path[]
Rell subsequently recovered what he could of Zink and Macri's remains and left the planet. Even after leaving Dalna's surface, the fear imprinted on the two fallen Jedi stayed with Rell. He headed to a nearby Jedi outpost on the desert planet Elphrona, which was marshalled by Arkoff's old friend Rinn. Rell informed Rinn about everything he had discovered on Dalna. The two Jedi then travelled to the Jedi Grand Temple on Coruscant to report Rell's findings directly to the Jedi High Council. The High Council decided to take Rell's report seriously and sent teams of Jedi to further investigate what he'd found.
Afterwards, Rell visited the Kyber Arch, a structure located in one of the temple's meditation chambers, alongside a Jedi archivist named Vin. The Kyber Arch was constructed out of the kyber crystals of fallen Jedi, though sadly, as Vin pointed out, Rell had been unable to retrieve the lightsaber crystals belonging to Macri and Zink. Rell continued to contemplate on Dalna and decided that, while other Jedi pursued their own investigations, his best course of action would be to look into the history of the Rod of Seasons, the stolen Force artifact that Macri and Zink had been investigating at the time of their deaths.
Heading to the Jedi Archives, Rell began searching through historical records. His search eventually led him to a mission report left by Jedi Master Barnabas Vim, who had lived roughly one hundred years prior. Together with his Padawan Vix Fonnick, Vim had been sent to investigate a Force artefact on the ocean planet Angcord. The artefact in question, called an "Echo Stone," was a purple gem similar in appearance to a gem affixed onto the Rod of Seasons. The Echo Stone amplified an individual's connection to the Force and functioned as a conduit for both the light and dark sides of the Force.
The Grim Rose and the Living Sea[]
Azlin Rell's search for a method to vanquish the Nameless eventually led him to learn of a dark artefact called the "Grim Rose." The Rose was a box that, when inserted with the genetic material of a target, would kill said target. The Rose worked by scanning people across the galaxy who had been influenced by the target in some way in the past, over time finding people who have a progressively stronger and stronger connection to the target until it found the target themselves. Once the Rose found the target, it would kill the target along with every person the Rose scanned on it's path to find the target.
As such, though an affective method of killing a target, usage of the Grim Rose came at a great cost. Rell believed the Rose could be an excellent method of killing Nameless. He searched for the Rose and eventually learned that it was located on the Inner Rim frozen planet Niraya. After discovering the device's location, he visited the Mid Rim fungal planet Gazian which was covered by a Living Sea of mushrooms. Those who submerged themselves in the fungi had an imprint of their current consciousness conserved in the sea, and could commune with the conserved minds of past visitors.
Sabotage on Travyx Prime[]
| “ | This act was a gift, to everyone who touches the Force. Jedi, Sith, all of us. You do not see what the Nameless are, Yoda. Not like I do. But that is good. It is why I can act in ways you and the other Jedi will not permit yourselves. I will save us all. I can see what you cannot. | „ |
| ~ Azlin Rell after committing mass murder on Travyx Prime to ensure a path to the Nameless would remain hidden. |
In 229 BBY, six months after the battle on Corellia, Rell accompanied Yoda and a Republic task force aboard a patrol cruiser called "Galliance" as they travelled to Travyx Prime to meet the descendants of the Leffbruks and learn a path to Planet X from them. Rell privately plotted to destroy the descendants and the compass they had in their possession, thereby cutting off a potential route to reach the Nameless. As Rell and Yoda walked towards a shuttle which they would use to head to the surface of Travyx Prime, Rell covertly used the Force to take control of the mind of a member of the Galliance's crew.
During his and Yoda's descent to the planet aboard the shuttle, Rell used the crew member under his control to remotely crash the Galliance into the city where the Leffbruk descendants lived. In one fell swoop Rell had killed the Leffbruk descendants and destroyed the compass to Planet X, though at the cost of numerous innocent lives. Yoda quickly realized it was Rell who had caused the crash. The former Jedi explained his motive behind the sabotage. He told Yoda that his actions were a gift to all Force users, and that, although Jedi like Yoda couldn't recognize it, his sins were a necessary evil.
Prisoner of the Jedi[]
| “ | I wish only to help bring an end to the threat that now stalks the Jedi Order, much as it once did before. I have made choices in my life that led me down a different path...but it does not mean that I do not wish to protect the Order and its place in the galaxy. Master Yoda is right. The Nameless present the biggest threat to the Jedi that has ever existed. And not just the Jedi, but all those who wield the Force. They are a fundamental challenge to our very existence. They consume the very essence of us. Compared with that, the Nihil are just another bunch of marauders grown too big for their boots. | „ |
| ~ Rell expressing his goals and the seriousness of the Nameless threat. |
Following his actions on Travyx Prime, Rell was returned to Coruscant and kept under strict observation in the temple's detention center. Eventually however, in 228 BBY, Yoda deemed it necessary to call upon the fallen Jedi's aid once more when efforts to counteract the Nameless continued to fail. He brought Rell before the Jedi High Council, who were appalled to see him once again. Yoda advocated for the necessity of Rell's expertise, and the fallen Jedi himself reaffirmed to the Council the magnitude of the threat that the Nameless posed to the Order.
Jedi Master Elzar Mann, who had been addressing the Council prior to Yoda and Rell's arrival, turned to leave during the discussion. Rell sensed a kindred spirit in Mann, who he knew by reputation to be a maverick and ambitious Jedi, and said as such to the Jedi Master before he left. The council ultimately decided to acquiesce to Yoda's request. From the confines of his cell, Rell began working with a scholarly young Jedi Knight named Reath Silas who was spearheading the Jedi's research of the Nameless threat. Rell shared many stories of the Nameless with Silas, all while keeping certain information to himself.
Mission to Banchii[]
| “ | Arkoff... it's my turn. I was in the darkness for a long time. But... I won't make the same mistake again. I see the way. I see you, Arkoff. | „ |
| ~ Rell reembracing the light side to defeat a Nameless. |
Azlin Rell and Yoda discussing the Banchii mission.
In 228 BBY, Yoda visited Rell in his cell accompanied by Silas. Yoda proposed a new mission for Rell situated on Banchii, the planet where Rell had underwent his recovery after the Night of Sorrow a century prior. Rell's journal, which was of great interest to the Nihil, was still stored on the world. Roughly three years prior, the Nihil had orchestrated an attack on Banchii by Drengir, a sentient carnivorous plant species aligned with the dark side. A victim of the Drengir attack, who had been turned into wood by the plants, had recently emerged from his grave and been seen sighted by the Jedi stationed there.
Arkoff, who was stationed on Banchii, had requested an investigation into the matter. Yoda theorized that there could be a connection between the Drengir, the Nameless, and the Blight. Although reluctant, Rell eventually agreed to participate in the mission. Given his actions on Travyx Prime, Yoda and Silas accompanied the fallen Jedi. Upon reaching Banchii, they were greeted by Arkoff and the head of the Banchii Jedi temple, a young human woman named Lily Tora-Asi who was also a former pupil of Arkoff's. Since the initial report, the other victims of the Drengir had emerged from their grave.
Rell had no hope for the empathy offered by his old master Arkoff.
The victims remained stationary and exhibited no hostility. Aside from the initial victim, who had uttered the word "run" during the first sighting, none of them had spoken. Rell sensed fear emanating off of the victims and suggested dissecting them to uncover their secrets, though Tora-Asi protested on moral grounds. Arkoff pulled Rell aside and defended Tora-Asi's empathy. Rell struggled to speak to and accept the kindness of his old master, as the fear he still clung to made it so that he pictured the nightmarish version of Arkoff he had seen while under the effect of the Nameless.
Arkoff tried to convince Rell to return to the light side, though the fallen Jedi believed himself too far gone. However, the empathy that Arkoff showered him with allowed Rell to inch closer to the light side and see his master as he truly was once more. When Rell and Arkoff returned to the group, Tora-Asi communed with the victims via the Force. A Drengir burst from the ground in response, which Rell immediately prepared to fight. However, the Drengir had no hostile intentions and had instead reanimated the victims as a way of better communicating with the Jedi.
Rell using the light side to defeat a Nameless, saving himself and Arkoff.
The Drengir had sensed the coming of the Blight, and hoped that the Jedi could help it leave Banchii before the affliction arose on the planet. Nihil ships appeared suddenly overhead, carrying Nameless aboard. As the Jedi and Drengir resolved to face the Nihil together, Tora-Asi asked the fallen Jedi to take a pair of Jedi younglings to safety. Though surprised by the trust placed in him, Rell agreed. As he fled through the forest with the younglings, a small Nameless confronted them. Yoda arrived and, upon Rell's request, continued escorting the two younglings to safety.
Determined to face his fear, the fallen Jedi opted to stay behind to buy the others time to escape. He used the Force in an attempt to hold the creature back and was nearly overwhelmed when Arkoff came to rescue him. Encouraged by his master's presence, Rell resolved to cast away the darkness. The former Jedi embraced the light side once more and used a powerful Force blast to disintegrate the creature. Elsewhere, the other Jedi were able to drive off the Nameless and defeat the Nihil, forcing the raiders to retreat from the planet.
Legacy[]
Around 3 to 4 ABY, centuries after the Nihil conflict, a young Jedi Knight named Luke Skywalker visited the Living Sea on Gazian and communed with the version of Azlin Rell's consciousness that was imprinted there.
Quotes[]
| “ | I wish only to help bring an end to the threat that now stalks the Jedi Order, much as it once did before. I have made choices in my life that led me down a different path...but it does not mean that I do not wish to protect the Order and its place in the galaxy. Master Yoda is right. The Nameless present the biggest threat to the Jedi that has ever existed. And not just the Jedi, but all those who wield the Force. They are a fundamental challenge to our very existence. They consume the very essence of us. Compared with that, the Nihil are just another bunch of marauders grown too big for their boots. | „ |
| ~ Rell expressing his goals and the seriousness of the Nameless threat. |
| “ | You have to understand fear or they'll take you so easily. Understand what you're afraid of and...make friends with it. | „ |
| ~ Rell advising Jedi Knight Reath Silas. |
| “ | Arkoff... it's my turn. I was in the darkness for a long time. But... I won't make the same mistake again. I see the way. I see you, Arkoff. | „ |
| ~ Rell reembracing the light side to defeat a Nameless. |
Powers & Abilities[]
Powers[]
- Force Manipulation: "The Force" was a popular name applied to a mysterious field of energy that pervaded the entire cosmos and everything that existed within it. The Living Force was the aspect of the Force that existed within all life in the universe. Microscopic organisms called "midi-chlorians," that also existed in all living beings, functioned as a connector between the Living Force lifeforms and the Cosmic Force: the greater aspect of the Force that encompassed all space. Lifeforms born with a high amount of midi-chlorians were capable of perceiving the Force, which was usually undetectable, and even manipulating it to perform supernatural feats. Such individuals were known as "Force-sensitives" or "Force users." Manipulation of the Force typically required extensive training, and there were two principle mental paths that allowed for its use: the light and dark sides of the Force. The light side placed emphasis on selflessness, serenity, and spiritual detachment, and the dark side placed emphasis on selfishness, greed, and passion. Though easier to use, the dark side was usually spiritually corrupting. Azlin Rell was a Force-sensitive who, as a Jedi, was trained in the use of the light side of the Force. However, he eventually fell to the dark side following his encounter with the Nameless. After having lived for over a century and a half, Rell was an exceptionally powerful Force user heavily steeped in the dark side.
- Electricity Generation: Certain practitioners well versed in the dark side of the Force, Azlin Rell included, were capable of using Force lightning, a Force power considered one of the ultimate physical manifestations attainable through the use of the Force which consisted of the user generating and projecting bolts of electricity out of their fingertips.
- Extrasensory Perception: The fundamental nature of the Force was that it was an energy field that encompassed the whole universe and dwelt in all matter. Those with a strong enough connection to the Force could detect its presence around them. By feeling the Force within individuals and objects, Force users could discern their placement in the environment. Doing so allowed them to navigate their surroundings without having to rely on their natural senses. Azlin Rell, who was blind, navigated using the Force. In most situations, he was just as aware of his surroundings as someone with a sense of sight.
- Empathy
- Longevity: Because the Force was intrinsically connected to life itself, it was possible for powerful Force users to manipulate life in certain ways. The manipulation of life for one's own selfish goals was seen as an unnatural ability that perverted nature and as such it was frowned upon by factions such as the Jedi and usually considered a power of the dark side. Azlin Rell, having no qualms with performing taboo abilities, used the Force to extend his lifespan far beyond its natural conclusion in pursuit of his goal. Though humans usually lived for a century at best, Rell was still in fairly good condition at almost two centuries old.
- Mind Control: Because the Force dwelt in all living things, it was possible for trained Force-sensitives to manipulate the mind of other lifeforms in certain ways. A sinister application of mind manipulation was mind control, a power that could be accessed through the use of the dark side of the Force. Mind control consisted of a Force user wielding the Force to completely dominate an unguarded mind, forcing the victim to perform whatever action the user desired. Azlin Rell demonstrated the power to control the minds of others. He was able to maintain mind control of an individual for an extended period of time and over a great distance.
- Telekinesis: Because the Force existed in all matter, Force-sensitives were able to use their connection to the Force to telekinetically manipulate their surroundings without making physical contact with them. The amount of mass that could be moved, as well as how precisely an object could be manipulated telekinetically, depended on the strength and skill of the user. Azlin Rell demonstrated impressive telekinetic abilities. He was able to use the Force to easily disarm and push back a Jedi, who would've had natural defences against Force telekinesis. He was able to emit enough telekinetic force to produce a burst of energy that decimated everything around him, including concrete and metal.
Abilities[]
- Deception
- Expert Duellist
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- In the novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Defy the Storm, Azlin Rell was described as being taller than Jedi Knight Reath Silas. However, according to the reference book Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopaedia, Silas was an inch taller than Rell.
- In the novel Star Wars: The High Republic: Temptation of the Force, Rell was erroneously referenced as holding the rank of Jedi Master prior to his fall to the dark side.
[]
 Villains
| ||
|
Path of the Open Hand Nihil Bedlam Raiders Tenoo Pirate Gang Sith and Dark Side Force-Users | ||