Nameless control rods

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Nameless control rods

Parts of the completed rod were hidden away by theElders of the Path due to their use as a weapon, with the hope that the objects would never again resurface. However, one rod was owned byEye of the NihilMarchion Ro, who sought vengeance against theJedi Order over perceived wrongs done to his ancestors. Wanting the entire rod, Ro tracked down theElderTromak and attempted to force him to reveal its location. Tromak refused, but his former wardKrix Kamerat betrayed him and gave the information to Ro. With both halves of the rod in his possession, Ro retrieved a powerful member of the Nameless known as theGreat Leveler buried inthe Shrine on the planetRystan. He then reassembled the rod during anattack on theNihil base onGrizal, using it to test the beast against theJedi present. After the success of the Leveler, Ro traveled with a group of disciples to amysterious planet, where he used the rod to gather and capture many of the creatures in order to use them against the Jedi.

Description[]

TheRod of Seasons was made ofstone and metal, inscribed with screaming faces,fire, and chains.^[8] It held a removable irregularly-shaped purple gem on one end,^[12] framed by a crescent shaped sharp metal blade that could be used as a weapon.^[7] When the gem was placed in the end of the rod, the holder of the rod could command theNameless, aspecies which preyed uponForce users.^[12] Sections of the rod could be twisted to allow the owner to issue commands.^[11] When touched, the rod grew warm and glowed a sicklypurple.Jedi in the proximity of the rod sensed something they found disturbing.^[8] TheRod of Daybreak had a spherical purple gem at its end, with a larger crescent shaped blade framing the gem from below. The gem glowed while activated.^[13]

The Rod of Seasons and the Rod of Daybreak could be combined by twisting the ends of them together to form a larger rod known as theRod of Power. This rod could entirely control Nameless rather than just direct them, the species having no choice but to follow the commands of its holder.^[13] However, at least when multiple Nameless were attempting to be controlled, the species could slightly overcome the power of the Rod in their blood-lust. The Rod of Power could also channel the power of the Nameless and make it affect Force-sensitives, even when the Nameless were only somewhat nearby and not in the same room.^[7]

History[]

Origins[]

Over tenmillennia before228 BBY,^[4] three rods—theRod of Seasons,Rod of Ages, andRod of Daybreak—were created as a matched set ofForce artifacts^[1] by theTolemite people to control members of the species known as the Nameless, creatures which preyed upon Force users.^[3] TheJedi Tearsnecklace was also rumored to be part of the set.^[1]

Separated from the abundance ofthe Force on theirhomeworld, Nameless brought to theplanetTolis by the Tolemites were driven by hunger and desperation to feed on theLiving Force within the Tolemites. This in turn upset the balance of the Force, leading to ablight that ravaged Tolis and forced the remaining Tolemites to gather in acity. There, sixartisans usedwooden workbenches to craft the three rods for theThree Ancients, the Tolemites' leaders.^[3] Powerful relics calledEcho Stones that could enhance the presence and power of the Living Force^[14] were placed into each of the Rods, allowing them to control the Nameless. The Three Ancients then used the rods to lead the Nameless off of Tolis and back to theirhomeworld, allowing the remaining Tolemites to escape the destruction on Tolis.^[3]

The three rods were split up and sent to different places inthe galaxy:^[1] the Rod of Ages was placed in atemple on the planetVarovia by the Tolemites,^[6] and by382 BBY^[15] the Rod of Seasons came into the ownership of theHynestian royal family and the Rod of Daybreak wound up in amuseum on themoonJedha. The location of the Rod of Ages was unknown by that time.^[1]

The Path[]

Around thatyear,the Mother, the leader of thePath of the Open Hand, acult based on theplanetDalna, became interested in finding the rods. The Path believed thatthe Force needed to be "liberated" from those individuals who were capable of wielding it, and the Mother had set up a team, theChildren, who were tasked with stealing various artifacts. She contactedRadicaz Dobbs, asmuggler and treasure hunter who specialized inForce artifacts, with the hope of finding the Rod of Ages. Dobbs believed the rods were a myth, but agreed to help the Mother after falling under her sway, gifting her a "jewel" he had retrieved from aWild Spaceplanet which she was fascinated with due to its Force resonance.^[1]

The Childrenstole the Rod of Seasons fromHynestia Prime shortly thereafter, drawing the attention of theJedi, who were asked by theHynestian queen to retrieve it. Jedi MasterZallah Macri and her Padawan,Kevmo Zink, came to Dalna toinvestigate after singling the Path of the Open Hand out as potential thieves. The two eventually tracked the Rod of Seasons to its hiding place inthe Mother's listening room, alongside other stolen artifacts. However, the Mother and other members of the Path discovered them, and to stop the intruders, the Mother revealed the jewel was truly anegg, hatching thebeing inside and unleashing it upon the Jedi. A Nameless, the creature named the Leveler quickly overwhelmed and killed Macri and Zink.^[1]

Yana Ro, the leader of the Children, reacquired the Rod of Seasons during the chaos of the incident. As theCouncil of Elders celebrated the Leveler as a gift from the Force, the creature was drawn to the rod in Yana's possession. TheEvereni woman quickly realized the Leveler was attracted to the artifact, but other members of the cult, includingthe Herald, believed it was drawn to Yana herself. Yana was named the Champion of the cult, becoming a rival to the Mother's power. Desiring revenge upon the Mother for herbetrayal of her and her team, Yana kept the Rod of Seasons and hid it under her clothing, maintaining the ruse.^[1]

AfterJedi KnightAzlin Rell discovered the remains of Macri and Zink, he decided to investigate their deaths by looking into the artifact they had been searching for on Dalna, the Rod of Seasons. He searched theJedi Archives onCoruscant for information about the adventures of Master Barnabus Vim, believing that the Echo Stone and its pieces he had once discovered and hid might give them answers about the Rod. After going through the records about Vim's story and the Echo Stones, Rell was convinced that the stones were the key.^[14]

Meanwhile, after helping to start theBattle of Jedha, partially due to Yana's use of the Rod of Seasons to send the Leveler into a crowd,^[16] the Herald used the event to raid several locations in Jedha'sHoly City alongside the Children to find the Rod of Daybreak, which the Mother was in pursuit of. After theFinal Protector statue was felled in the battle, the Herald and the Children found the Rod of Daybreak in avault that was hidden beneath it.^[7] He then united the Rod of Seasons and the Rod of Daybreak to form theRod of Power, which allowed its user to completely and utterly control the Nameless. However, he and the Children were attacked byJedi MasterVildar Mac and formerGuardian of the WhillsTey Sirrek,^[13] who successfully took the Rod of Daybreak and captured the Herald. Yana escaped and took the Rod of Seasons back to the Mother, before eventually returning to Jedha to retrieve the Rod of Daybreak with the help of the Path's contact in theTemple of the Kyber, delivering it to the Mother. She also freed the Herald from his imprisonment.^[7]

When Marda Ro established herself as a leader of the Path and created thePath of the Closed Fist, Marda ordered her to give her the Rod of Power. The Mother eventually did, and Marda used it to hatch many Nameless eggs that the Path hadcollected from their homeworld, Planet X. Marda used the Rod to send the Nameless after the Jedi, killing many of them in a battle that became known as theNight of Sorrow. The Mother took back the Rod, and when she was approached by Jedi during the battle, used it to channel the power of the Nameless to weaken the Jedi even though there were no Nameless in the room. When the Mother was somewhat taken down, Marda took the Rod of Power from her and started to use it to control the Nameless again. When Marda realized that the creatures were killing all Force-sensitives indiscriminately, including members of the Path, and when Yana helped her realize that things had gone before, they eventually allowed bombs in the compound to go off, killing all of the Nameless except for the Leveler and flooding the caves. In the explosion, Marda lost track of the Rod of Daybreak, and was left only in possession of the Rod of Seasons.^[7]

After using the Rod of Seasons and the Leveler, who had been secretly Force-sensitive and hypocritally using the Force the entire time, she and Yana parted ways and Marda took the Rod, the Leveler, and the Path's flagship theGaze Electric, founding what would eventually become theNihil. Yana meanwhile, left Dalna with former Children memberShea Ganandra andOpari Plouth, the ill mother of Yana's late girlfriend,Kor Plouth. Yana left with the Rod of Daybreak, which she secretly had been in possession of after the explosion.^[7]

The Eye[]

Eventually, the members of theElders of the Path^[17] came into possession of the Rod of Seasons. Recognizing the danger of the weapon,^[18] they separated it into two pieces and hid each piece on a differentplanet. One half was hidden in acave in theKharvashark Ruins onVrant Tarnum in theStygmarn system.^[10] The Leveler, meanwhile, was frozen in ice insidethe Shrine onRystan, where it was revered for generations by a group of adherents.^[11] The locations of the halves were kept secret to all but a select few, in the hope that the rod would never again see the light of day.^[19]

However, one half of the rod was eventually removed from its hiding place,^[19] coming into the possession ofMarchion Ro,^[8] whosefamily was connected to the hiding place of the Leveler.^[11] Ro held a grudge against the Jedi for something that had befallen his ancestors, and he believed the rod was almost as fully to blame as theJedi Order. Ro had become the so-calledEye of theNihilpirates,^[8] a group that had sprung from Marda^[7] and were regarded by the Elders of the Path as a sickness that had grown from their ranks.^[18] Ro intended to use the Nihil as one instrument of his revenge,^[8] as well as hoping to control the Great Leveler through the rod.^[11]

In232 BBY,^[20] Ro engineered theGreat Hyperspace Disaster, which disruptedhyperspace travel across theOuter Rim Territories. In the aftermath,Jedi MasterLoden Greatstorm was captured by NihilTempest RunnerLourna Dee and herforces during araid on theplanetElphrona. TheTwi'lek Jedi was imprisoned aboard Ro'sflagship, theGaze Electric. When Ro visited his prisoner, he showed Greatstorm the artifact, leading the Jedi Master to narrow his eyes at what he sensed from it before the pirate leader stated that he did not fear the Jedi coming for him.^[8]

DuringEmergence that threatened theTrymant system in the aftermath, a group of Nihil led by Ro came toTrymant IV to collect ElderTromak,^[17] who was one of the only people who knew where the rod's other half was hidden.^[10] As the piratesclashed with Jedi who had arrived to assist Trymant's residents, JediGrand MasterYoda boarded Ro'sSpider Cruiser in an attempt to rescueKrix Kamerat, a young member of Tromak's sect who had been hustled onto thestarship as theGran's assistant. However, Kamerat, who was in mental turmoil over discovering that his friendZeen Mrala wasForce-sensitive — something strictly forbidden by the sect — refused to be rescued. While Yoda was sneaking off the ship, he came across a crate containing the rod and opened it. He was concerned by the object, but left it behind as he escaped the vessel.^[9] Upon his return to theStarlight Beacon, Yoda told other Jedi of the strange object on the Nihil ship and that it was imperative they find out what it was.^[10]

Due to how sacred the knowledge was, Tromak refused to share the location of the other half of the rod with Ro, who subsequently forced him and Kamerat to participate in a dangerous gladiatorial match in the arena onboard theGaze Electric. Fearing that he would bekilled, Tromak confided the information to Kamerat, asking him to keep it secret. However, Kamerat betrayed Tromak after Ro found aholoprojector he had been given by Yoda which turned out to contain ahoming beacon, claiming that the device belonged to theGran Elder.^[10] Tromak managed to escape theNihil on the junkmoonQuantxi, taking with him abogaranth^[19] which Ro had ordered him fed to.^[10]

While escaping, Tromak encountered Yoda and two other Jedi Masters,Torban Buck andKantam Sy, who were searching for thepirates and theirPadawans, who had ventured to the moon in search of Mrala, who was chasing after Kamerat. Despite his dislike for Jedi, Tromak offered to lead them to the camp as they had a common enemy. In private, he asked Yoda to help him retrieve the relic on Vrant Tarnum, as he wished to keep it out of the Nihil's hands. Yoda recognized the relic as being connected to the artifact he had seen on theSquall Spider, and Tromak was horrified that it was already in the Nihil's hands. The Elder persuaded Yoda to help him, asking him to leave hiscomlink behind, by mentioning a previous encounter the two had had onDalna. As the other Jedidealt with the pirate forces, Tromak and Yoda slipped away, with the other Jedi not knowing where he had gone.^[19]

However, Kamerat, whom Ro had taken a liking to, told him where the other half of the relic was located. As a result, when Yoda and Tromak arrived at Vrant Tarnum, their starship was shot down bydrones left in orbit for security. Finding the artifact in the ruins, Ro declared it the "missing piece" and planned to set up a Nihil outpost there, placing Kamerat in charge.^[19]

Trying to find Yoda, Master Sy and their PadawanLula Talisola later accompanied Mrala back to Trymant IV for answers about why the Nihil had wanted Tromak. Meeting with ElderBarbatash, they were informed of the artifact's status as a weapon and that it could changethe galaxy forever.^[18] Ro travelled to Rystan to retrieve the Leveler, bringing along the Force-sensitivenavigatorUdi Dis to test the effects the creature would have. He brought the creature onto theGaze Electric, whereDoctorKisma Uttersond implanted acamera into the creature's back so Ro could watch what it did.^[11]

Ro reassembled the rod when the Jediattacked theNihil base onGrizal. This action woke the Leveler, which Ro commanded to attack Greatstorm, who had recently escaped captivity, and his PadawanBell Zettifar. The apprentice was overwhelmed by the Leveler's power, being reduced to curling up into a ball, and Greatstorm was killed by petrification. MasterElzar Mann also crashed hisJedi Vector from the sensation, recognizing the Leveler's power as something he had experienced in a long-agoForce vision. However, none of the Jedi knew what they were dealing with, particularly as Yoda's whereabouts were still unknown.^[11]

In the aftermath of the battle, theNihil cell now led by Kamerat sustained serious losses^[21] during anincursion byGalactic Republicforces led by Jedi MasterEmerick Caphtor, who sought to investigate the Kharvashark Ruins.^[22] Facing Ro's displeasure, Kamerat expressed interest in using the artifact to destroy the Jedi. Ro told Kamerat that he needed to prove himself to regain the Eye's favor, so Kamerat planned toattack the planetTakodana, which had aJedi temple.^[21]

Behind the scenes[]

One of the control rods first appeared in the2021 novelThe High Republic: Light of the Jedi, written byCharles Soule, which launched theStar Wars: The High Republic multimedia project.^[8] Subsequent media, particularly theStar Wars: The High Republic Adventures comic series byDaniel José Older^[19] andCavan Scott's novelThe High Republic: The Rising Storm, revealed the object's purpose and some of its history.^[11]The High Republic: Path of Deceit byTessa Gratton andJustina Ireland revealed more information, including that there were multiple rods and that they each had specific names.^[1]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

• Star Wars: The High Republic Show:The High Republic at New York Comic Con, Phase II Begins Now, and More! on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(Posted on StarWars.com)
• Characters ofStar Wars: The High Republic:The Path of the Open Hand on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(Posted on StarWars.com)
• Characters ofStar Wars: The High Republic:The Mother on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(Posted on StarWars.com)
• Star Wars: The High Republic Show:Phase II Exclusive Reveals, a Visit to Dark Horse Comics, and More! on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(Posted on StarWars.com)
• Star Wars: The High Republic Show:High Republic Phase II Deep Dive, Star Wars Celebration, and More! on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(Posted on StarWars.com)
• Star Wars: Timelines(Indirect mention only)
• NYCC 2023: 13 Highlights from the Lucasfilm Publishing Panel onStarWars.com(backup link)
• Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia
• Star Wars Encyclopedia: The Comprehensive Guide to the Star Wars Galaxy(First identified as Nameless control rods)
• Star Wars Celebration - DAY 1 Replay on the officialStar WarsYouTube channel(backup link)(livestream no longer available)
• The Art of Star Wars: The High Republic: Volume II
• "Star Wars: The High Republic: Phase III Companion" —Star Wars Insider 234(Picture only)

Notes and references[]