Witches of Dathomir

The Witches of Dathomir or Dathomirians are humans in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe that live on the outer rim planet Dathomir.

History

Creation

In 600 BBY, a Jedi named Allya falls to the Dark side and is exiled on the remote planet and penal colony of Dathomir. She organizes the inmates and, aided by her Force powers, leads a successful uprising against the guards. She tames the rancors and becomes ruler of the prison planet (classified in this way by the Jedi Order of the Old Republic). Allya, who has apparently repented from the Dark side, teaches her daughters (her direct descendants, and thus Force-sensitive) how to call on the Force by rituals and chanting.

Years later, all of the females in Dathomir continue practicing Allya's teachings, following a tome Allya penned called "The Book of the Law". The last rule in "The Book of Law" is "Never concede to evil". But certain spells, called "Night Spells," predispose their users to darkness.

Clans

After Allya's death, the Dathomiri witches divide into clans. Known clans include:: Dreaming River Clan, based near the Dreaming River. The Dreaming River Clan's leader was Astrinol Hja. In 12 ABY, the Imperials imprisoned the clan, but they were freed shortly afterwards by Kir Kanos led New Republic sympathizers.: Frenzied River Clan, based near the Frenzied River.: Singing Mountain Clan, based near the Singing Mountain. Augwynne Djo was the Singing Mountain Clan's leader.: Misty Falls Clan, based near the Misty Falls.: Red Hills Clan, based around the Red Hills on Dathomir.: Great Canyon Clan, based near the Great Canyon. It accepts males as equals, unheard of among the other clans. There is speculation that the clan may have been made by the Shadow Academy. (See Empire, below.)

The clans fight one another for rule of the planet. Their conflict inevitably turns a number of Force-witches to the Dark side. Such witches are exiled to the wilderness, where they congregate into a new clan, the "Nightsisters."

The Nightsisters

The Nightsisters focus on advancing their powers by (1) warping their environment to their whim, summoning storms, lightning; (2) strengthening their bodies so they can climb sheer rock walls; and (3) controlling others' minds. Their dark magic leaves physical traces in the form of ruptured blood vessels in or near their eyes. They often shroud themselves in capes to hide their disfigurement. Gethzerion--the first witch to learn to call the Force without singing, chanting or doing rituals--is their first leader.

One notable Nightsister is Charal, who around 3 ABY leaves her clan and her planet and joins King Terak, a Sanyassan Marauder who unsuccessfully attacks the Ewoks in an attempt to take over the Forest moon of Endor. Charol is turned into a bird by Terak as punishment for her failure.

Another infamous Nightsister is Silri. Not much is known about her besides that she likely has one of the strongest connections to the dark side of any Nightsister, being able to deceipher the sith artifact stolen by Tyber Zann - which was actually an ancient Map. She is a playable Character in .

Empire

The clans live undisturbed until 340 BBY, when Chu'unthor crash-lands on Dathomir. Gra'aton, Vulatan and Yoda leave Coruscant to save the stranded Jedi. Yoda negotiates a trade with Rell, exchanging Jedi teachings, in the form of a disk, for the prisoners.

The Empire starts construction of a large prison settlement on Dathomir in 0 BBY. After run-ins with the Nightsisters, Palpatine realizes what a formidable enemy they can be and withdraws from the planet, destroying all starships to prevent the Nightsisters' escape. He orders Zsinj to monitor the planet with his warships, vaporizing any vessels that attempt to land.

Eight years later, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Leia Organa, Luke Skywalker and Prince Isolder successfully land on Dathomir, the deed to which Han Solo has won in a game of sabacc. The Nightsisters, having seized the Imperial garrison, attempt to seize the "Millennium Falcon." Zsinj offers to trade a hyperspace-capable transport shuttle to the Nightsisters if they can capture Han Solo for him. In the resulting battle, the transport containing most of the Nightsisters (including Gethzerion) is blown up. Luke Skywalker retrieves the Jedi disks Yoda left and accepts several of the witches in his Jedi Praxeum.

It is some time before the Nightsisters are heard of again, this time aiding the Second Imperium in its attempts to train Darksiders.

Around 23 ABY, a new clan of Nightsisters is formed by Tamith Kai in the Great Canyon. This clan accepts males and treats them as equals instead of slaves. The best of the clan are sent to the Shadow Academy for more training. The fate of those left behind after the Shadow Academy falls is unknown.

Appearances

*"The Courtship of Princess Leia"
*""
*"Jedi Academy Trilogy"
*"New Jedi Order"
*"Young Jedi Knights"
*""
*"Star Wars Galaxies"
*"Invincible"Mentioned only

ee also

*Witch

References

*"", Jim and Ken Wheat, George Lucas, 1985, Lucasfilm Ltd.
*"The Courtship of Princess Leia", 1995. Dave Wolverton, ISBN 0-553-56937-6
*"The Shadow Academy", 1995. (ISBN 1-57297-025-1)
*"The Lost Ones", 1995. (ISBN 1-57297-052-9)
*"Lightsabers", 1996. (ISBN 1-57297-091-X)
*"Darkest Knight", 1996. (ISBN 1-57297-129-0)
*"Star By Star", 2002. Troy Denning, ISBN 0-09-941038-9 (Contains short story "Recovery")
*"The Essential guide to Characters (Star Wars)", 1st edition, 1995. Andy Mangels, ISBN 0-345-39535-2
*"The Dark Side sourcebook", Wizards of the Coast, 1st printing, 2001. Bill Slavicsek, J. D. Wiker, ISBN 0-7869-1849-7