Varnak

"I…I need somewhere to go. Snoke said maybe you would…"
"Snoke, huh? Yeah, okay. Come to Vanrak [sic] in the Mid Rim. We'll be there for a bit."

―Ben Solo and Ren^[1]

Varnak was a planet located in the galaxy's Mid Rim. The dark side warriors known as the Knights of Ren frequented the planet during the Imperial Era. The human Qi'ra, head of Crimson Dawn, visited the Knights there to recruit them to her cause. In 28 ABY, after escaping the destruction of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker's Jedi temple, former student Ben Solo contacted "Ren," leader of the Knights of Ren. Ren told Solo to meet him and the Knights on Varnak, as they would be there for some time. After a brief confrontation with several former students of Skywalker's, Solo traveled to Varnak, joining the Knights of Ren.

Description

Varnak was a backwater terrestrial planet^[4] located in the galaxy's Mid Rim. Its surface was covered in areas of brown liquid, with plant life surrounding the edges. Varnak had an atmosphere that was breathable to humans, among other species.^[3] The dark side organization known as the Knights of Ren frequented Varnak, which, as a remote world, was safe from the observation of the Sith, whom the Knights were wary of.^[4]

Varnak was populated with at least one settlement that included a cantina.^[4]

History

A dangerous meeting

"You want to live in a galaxy where you don't have to hide on backwater planets--always on the run, subsisting off scraps."

―Qi'ra recruits the Knights of Ren^[4]

At some point during the Imperial Era, the human Qi'ra, leader of the criminal syndicate known as Crimson Dawn, visited Varnak in search of the Knights of Ren. Having learned of their exploits from The Archivist,^[4] a former sava at the University of Bar'leth who had begun to work for Crimson Dawn^[5] as a scholar of the Force. The Archivist knew the Knights were on Varnak, and led Qi'ra to them, finding the Knights drinking in a cantina. It was there that Qi'ra recruited the Knights of Ren to work with Crimson Dawn, promising them the chance to take down the Sith and grow in power. The Knights agreed to take jobs for her, including a heist on the planet Mustafar that involved infiltrating Fortress Vader, the personal sanctum of the Sith Lord Darth Vader.^[4]

Jedi business

"Well, look who it is. Ben Solo. You took your time getting here. Lucky you caught us. We're leaving soon."

―Ren^[3]

After the destruction of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker's Jedi temple^[6] in 28 ABY,^[7] Ben Solo, one of Skywalker's students who had been involved in a confrontation with Skywalker shortly before the destruction, went in search of the Knights of Ren.^[6] The Knights intended to visit Varnak for some time, and instructed Solo to meet them there when he contacted them.^[1]

On Varnak, the Knights visited a cantina, where they were later met by Solo, who had been held up with a duel with several of Skywalker's former students on the planet Elphrona. Solo told Ren and the Knights about the events of the duel, in which Solo caused the death of Hennix, one of the students. Ren, who looked for a "good death" when recruiting new members into the Knights, was not entirely satisfied with Solo's story, but allowed him to join. The Knights returned to their starship, Night Buzzard, intending to depart Varnak.^[3]

Inhabitants

Individuals of a number of different species were present in a cantina on Varnak, including humans, Aqualish, Duros, Ovissians, Rodians,^[3] Duros, humans, and Twi'leks.^[4]

Locations

A structure was located on Varnak, housing a cantina and several landing pads where starships could be docked.^[3]

Behind the scenes

Varnak was first mentioned in the comic The Rise of Kylo Ren 2, written by Charles Soule and published by Marvel Comics^[1] on January 8, 2020,^[8] first appearing in the following issue, also written by Soule, illustrated by Will Sliney,^[3] and published on February 12, 2020.^[9] While its name is spelled "Vanrak" in its mention in The Rise of Kylo Ren 2,^[1] the third issue gives its name as "Varnak".^[3] As the third issue is the most recent source, this article currently uses the second given spelling.