Kaphiri Fellstar wore many hats. He was a rogue, a scoundrel, a scruffy nerf herder … wait, that was someone else. Actually, Kaphiri and Han had much in common. Both were handsome in different ways. Kaphiri’s look was more haunted, like a young Pacino with dark, sunken eyes.
Like Solo, Fellstar was a rogue and a scoundrel. He was also a lady charmer, a noble, a warrior, a failed wizard, a military adjutant and most importantly, Hali’s anchor. When the quest became too much for Hali, Kaphiri would talk him off the ledge.
Kaphiri and Hali met when the future Lord Warden came to the Fellstar villa for fostering as a child of five, along with his younger sister, Celle. The three of them grew up together and, becoming thick as thieves, and when Hali attended my alma mater, Kaphiri enrolled too. After college, they traveled the world together before entering military service. Then Kaphiri spent two and a half decades in the legions before retiring to care for his ailing father, Makalli, aka Baron Fellstar.
The Fellstars had been members of the God-Emperor’s court since the War of Shadows and owned a fancy villa in the Plaza, but they were second tier players at best in Hali’s time, when their wealth was better measured by reputation than coin. Kaphiri disliked the Tintammil’s antics and stayed as far away from the royal throne room as possible.
When Torval took the Pearl Throne, a century before the events in The Curse of Arvyl’s Folly, Kaphiri’s life changed forever. Torval married Hali’s sister, Celle, who held the key to Kaphiri’s heart. For political reasons they’d hid their love from everyone (except Celle’s chief handmaidens, it’s damn hard to keep a secret from your ladies in waiting), including Hali.
Losing Celle to Torval hit Kaphiri hard. To make the God-Emperor pay, he founded the Fins, a guild of fellow Mos Eisley minded entrepreneurs, to make like Robin Hood and be thorns in the imperial backside.
Then, Torval murdered Hali’s wife and child. Afterward, Hali begged Kaphiri to return to the legions and be his adjutant.
Kaphiri could not refuse his old friend. He renounced his baronial title, sold the villa to the Orvandals (an Endiron merchant house) and once again donned the yellow and blue of the legions. He also found a capable second to run Forlini & Sons, a side business started when Torval took the throne.
To read more, click here for the short story Stripes.
Once you’ve finished Stripes, this next story, Snake, will fill in some missing gaps. By the time you’ve finished both these stories, you’ll be a Kaphiri expert and know a thing or two about Tomello too.