Vildar Mac

Vildar Mac was a Kiffar male born around 437 BBY on the planet Kiffex. He was deeply affected by an encounter with a Dark Side-aligned Sorcerer of the Tund on his home planet of Kiffex. He did not remember his parents, nor did he remember his home. Though only four, he remembered the fear he had felt as the Sorcerer killed people in his village. While Mac believed he would die at the hands of the assailant, he was spared when the Selkath Jedi Master Larti intervened and rescued him. After the incident on Kiffex, Master Larti took in Mac and trained him as their Padawan.

In 382 BBY, Mac arrived on Jedha after having had one of his nightmares about Kiffex. He was met by Padawan Matthea Cathley, known to everyone as Matty, who explained to him that there had been a theft from the Shrine of Sarrav that the Jedi had been asked for help with. Cathley also noted that Jedi were not very welcome on Jedha, a fact that continued to surprise Mac. He stayed silent as Cathley trying to break up an argument between various Force-users. However, he unsuccessfully chased the Sephi known as Tey Sirrek after the latter stole from one of the citizens. He returned and forcefully broke up the argument, only to react with hostility towards one of the Sorcerers of Tund who resembled the Dark Side user he'd encountered when he was young. Cathley tried to smooth things over and guided Mac towards the shrine.

Cathley explained the theft to Mac, but he did not listen much as he tried to investigate. Spotting SK-0T, Sirrek's droid, he chased it to find Sirrek and accused him of being the thief. Mac did not believe Sirrek when he boasted about his Force abilities such as Morichro, so Sirrek stopped his heart with a pheromone to allow himself time to escape.

Though seemingly dead, Mac eventually revived, startling Cathley. Immediately, he set off in pursuit of Sirrek. Mac used psychometry to ascertain Sirrek's direction and saw a red door with a sunburst inside a diamond, which Cathley identified as the Enlightenment. Reluctantly, Cathley agreed to take Mac there. Passing through a crowd of members of the Path of the Open Hand, Mac eventually confronted one of them as they tried to warn off the Jedi. Cathley once again told Mac that this city is different from other places, and that the Jedi had to earn respect.

Mac and Cathley were confronted by the Twinkle Sisters, the bouncers for the bar, but then was welcomed by Kradon Minst. Mac eventually spotted Sirrek in the bar, and tried to attack him saying that Sirrek was a dark sider. Sirrek introduced himself but once again, Mac accused him of the murder. Sirrek defended himself and explained the pheromone. Mac tried to follow Sirrek but found that he'd already disappeared. Minst helped Mac follow Sirrek and eventually spotted that he'd stolen his lightsaber. Mac tried to recover it, but was fired at - Sirrek, however, saved his life by taking the blast with his armor. He told Mac and Cathley about his finding of the stolen statue, but they were surrounded by Guardians of the Whills before they could finish their discussion.

Mac ignited his lightsaber in defense but was reassured that the Jedi were not the problem for the Guardians. Sirrek began to try and trick them into leaving, but Mac didn't let him. Mac discussed Sirrek with the head Guardian, who explained Sirrek's history with them. They blamed Sirrek for the theft but Mac had doubts. Mac then sensed Sirrek, who was holding an explosive. He used the Force to push it out the window before it detonated.

Mac awoke to find himself wrapped in Tragia leaves, intended to help heal him. Cathley explained that one of the Archivists died in the blast, but that Mac had saved the other. Mac then noticed SK-0T recording him, but couldn't extract any information from the droid. He expressed doubts over whether Sirrek had actually been the perpetrator of the attack.

At the Convocation of the Force, Mac expressed these same concerns but was brushed off by the other representatives. He was stunned to hear that they were not telling the people the truth about what happened. The Jedi conferred before the arrival of Werth Plouth, the Herald of the Path of the Open Hand. Mac quietly observed the arguments among Plouth and the rest of the Convocation, before exiting to watch Plouth's speech. He did not want to act, but eventually ignored his lightsaber in self-defense before the mob turned into monsters.

Vildar Mac first appeared in the first issue of the 2022 comic series Star Wars: The High Republic published as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project's Phase II. The issue was written by Cavan Scott, and published by Marvel Comics on October 12, 2022. Concept artwork of the character that became Mac was first shown in the announcement trailer for Star Wars: The High Republic, which was posted on the official Star Wars YouTube channel on February 4, 2020. The artwork was completed by artist Phil Noto for author Charles Soule's original pitch for the multimedia project, then titled "Project Luminous." Scott sought to create a character for each individual pictured in the painting and created Vildar Mac as a result.

Mac was first identified by his full name at the Celebration Anaheim convention during the event's first day, May 26, 2022. At Celebration Europe the following year, Scott expressed his thoughts on the then-ongoing comic issues Mac and Sirrek featured in. The author indicated that the latter half of the series would show the two growing closer together during their trials on Jedha, confirming for an interviewer that their relationship would further their bromance with a bit of romance. This aspect was later evidenced by the issues released after Scott's interview. In the end, the romantic side to their dynamic was outright depicted in The High Republic (2023) 6, which featured a kiss between Mac and Sirrek.