Bythen Forral was a starfighter ace and captain in the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars, serving aboard the Republic Navy's Vensenor, a Venator-class Star Destroyer. Following the establishment of the Republic's successor state, the Galactic Empire, Forral served as a commandant in the decommissioned Vensenor, which hosted the Vensenor Flight Academy. Although Forral was a commandant, he preferred to be addressed as captain, and often used the Imperial Academy's Corellian corvette Gallant for personal matters.
Although the cadets in the Vensenor Flight Academy struggled to learn unheard of regulations and military orientation, his graduates nevertheless received above average amounts of combat decorations. The academy, however, also produced far more defectors than any other academy. Although the Imperial Security Bureau had conducted investigations, they were unable to uncover evidence of wrongdoing, and so believed that Commandant Forral's emphasis on independent thinking was the root of the defections.
Proctor Gola Chall was actually responsible for the defections, as she served as a deep-cover rebel recruiting agent, having operated in the academy for years. During that time, she had become highly trusted by Forral. Like Chall, Forral was very interested in a particular cadet who was widely popular with other cadets and had the skills of a starfighter ace.
Bythen Forral was first mentioned in Dawn of Rebellion, a canon roleplaying supplementary sourcebook that is based on Star Wars Rebels and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. The book was released in 2018 and published by Fantasy Flight Games. It was authored by John Dunn, Tom Sorenson, Sterling Hershey, Jonathan Julius, Keith Ryan Kappel, Tim Huckelberry, Jason Marker, and James M. Spahn. The character had first appeared in the Star Wars Legends sourcebook, Scum and Villainy, released in 2008.
- Dawn of Rebellion