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Onderon
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One of eightplanets in theJaprael system,Onderon had a temperate climate, and was once home to a primitiverace ofHumanoids.
Description[]
Onderon with its largest moonDxun andSuthre in the background, as seen from space
Onderon had fourmoons.Dxun, the primary moon, once orbited very close to the planet, allowing some animals to fly between the planet and the moon. The other three moons wereDagri,Evas, andSuthre.
The native Humans of Onderon struggled against the beasts, eventually gathering new technologies and building a huge walled city,Iziz, to protect themselves. Like the people of many other fringe worlds, the Onderonians had a distrust ofnon-Humans.
History[]
Early history[]
- "The people of Onderon are a warriors. Early in their history they built Iziz to protect them from the beasts that swarmed on their world. No matter how far they've progressed, they're fundamentally still warriors standing watch on their battlements. They don't like outsiders and their inability to take ideas from other cultures gives them a fundamental disadvantage in warfare."
- ―MandaloreCanderous Ordo[18]
A colony ship brought the first humans to Onderon sometime between 5200 and 4600 BBY. Owing to the brutal fauna of the world, the earliest encampments were hastily expanded into what would become the only city on the planet,Iziz.[4] The early Onderonians were described as having been peaceful before the arrival of the beasts of Dxun, but they soon learned to hunt and kill the animals. Eventually, most of the planet's inhabitants took refuge in Iziz, and the city expanded as the center of Onderon's civilization. Technology progressed, and the city's population grew to number in the millions. It also spanned thousands of square miles. Great walls and defenses kept the savage wilderness at bay.[10]
The Beast Wars and the Naddist Uprising[]
Funeral procession forQueenAmanoa, a follower of theSith LordFreedon Nadd
In4400 BBY,Freedon Naddconquered the planet and established adark-side theocracy. These cultists were known asNaddists. Naddist tyrants includedWarb Null andKing Ommin. The Naddists sent Iziz's criminal element (opponents of the Naddists) out into the wilderness without any protection from the animals, expecting them to perish. However, these outcasts soon learned to survive and even defend themselves, and eventually formed a second civilization, theBeast Riders. Relations between the two groups were hostile, and they remained at war with each other for many years. TheBeast Wars lasted until4000 BBY, with the final battles serving as the opening salvos of theGreat Sith War.[19]
In4002 BBY,[20] Onderon first made contact with theGalactic Republic. The Republic asked theJedi to watch over the world.Jedi MasterArca Jeth was selected asWatchman. He assigned hisPadawansUlic Qel-Droma,Cay Qel-Droma, andTott Doneeta to the planet in a test capacity.[10] The Beast Wars finally ended with the death of Naddist QueenAmanoa. Amanoa's daughter,Galia, marriedOron Kira, son ofModon Kira, the leader of the outcasts.[9]
In3998 BBY, two years after theFirst Battle of Onderon,[19] theFreedon Nadd Uprising occurred. The Naddists tried to overthrow Galia,[10] but were foiled by the Jedi and the Republic. Ommin[9] andSith disciple Warb Null were slain,[10] but so was JediKith Kark.[9]
In more ancient times, the sociopolitical situation between the Onderonian beast-riders and the people of Iziz was far different from the present day. Formerly untamed and coarse, many of the wilderness Beast Lords prospered during the several decades since the end of the Great Sith War, thanks to off-world trade going back two generations (marked by Oron Kira's marriage to the Iziz royal house, uniting the bloodlines).
The Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War[]
In3996 BBY,[21] at the end of theGreat Sith War, theMandalorians attempted to invade Onderon, but they failed,[22] and they settled on the planet's moon, Dxun.[18] During theGreat Hunt, the Jedicleansed the world ofterentateks.
Onderon was the site of two battles during theMandalorian Wars. Onderon went almost entirely unaffected by theJedi Civil War. It was almost as ifRevan did not want to attack it. Further, it long remained the only world in the Republic still capable of seeding ecosystems into other dead worlds—Onderon's wildlife being some of the most aggressive inthe known galaxy, particularly its wingeddrexl creatures flown by the Beast Lords there. Merely placing such creatures on target worlds guaranteed their habitation for years to come.
The Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War threatened the peace of Onderon, so a new Onderonian hero emerged, bringing the victories against theMandalorians and the Sith:GeneralVaklu, the leader of the Onderon army.
The population began to sympathize with Vaklu and his ideology, and it caused an important admiration and support for the general. The military sector was also close to Vaklu's ideas. One of the high-ranking officers,ColonelTobin, was the general's right hand and a great ally.
The Onderon Civil War[]
Main article:Onderon Civil War
- "We fought many soldiers during the Mandalorian Wars. The Onderonians were certainly brave—but they were disorganized and stupid."
- ―MandaloreCanderous Ordo[18]
TheSky Ramp in Iziz
During the years following the Great Sith War and the Jedi Civil War, a good number of the beast-riders became "socialized," influenced by the ways of the city. Others simply fell to common thuggery, living within the walls, yet unwilling to abide by the laws of civilization.
When Vaklu had enough power, he expressed his disagreement with the alliance thatQueenTalia—who was his cousin—made with the Galactic Republic. He defended that these ties would drag Onderon to war, and also put forward the sale of their natural resources to the worlds devastated for the war. Talia believed in equality, and a peaceful resolution to the problem, whereas Vaklu preferred using the military to resolve matters.
Then, the separatists peacefully blockaded his own planet to avoid any contact with the Republic. However, they attacked thefreighterEbon Hawk, which was trapped in the blockade, testifying that the "capital-class Republic vessel" had attacked Onderon first. He labeled the Queen as ineffective against the Republic declaration of war, so the society and the military sector started a rebellion.
General Vaklu allied himself withDarth Nihilus and his Sith forces. The deal laid to in giving military assistance to the Onderon separatists to overthrow Queen Talia, while Vaklu let the Sith visit Freedon Nadd's tomb on Dxun.
Eventually, Vaklu's dark-side ally gave the order for him to start a revolution, aiming to seize power from Queen Talia, and thus began the Onderon Civil War. When the war was drawing to a close, it looked like Vaklu might overthrow the Queen. However,Meetra Surik arrived, and the tide began to turn back in favor of Queen Talia and her supporters. Surik commanded royalist supporters and overran the many Sith and Vaklu-loyal units holding Iziz and the palace. Surik, demonstrating her great command of the Force, broke through the rear of the Sith ranks by defeating Sith forces on the Sky Ramp to the palace. Upon reaching the palace, the royalist supporters and Vaklu-loyal forces engaged each other within the throne room.
Surik swayed the battle in favor of Talia's forces and Vaklu was defeated, surrounded by Talia and many of her followers.[18] Vaklu was swiftly taken into custody,[23] and Talia began the rebuilding of Onderon.
Later history[]
- "Onderon shall remain in the Republic, and the world shall prosper, though its people shall, over time, lose their customs in the ocean of the Republic and become the people of Onderon no longer."
- ―Darth Traya's prophecy on the future of Onderon[18]
In later centuries, overhunting and an outbreak of mange led to a decline in wildlife, finally reducing the dangers of Onderon. Flat plains were developed around the city of Iziz, and were considered quite safe, though offworlders were warned not to venture beyond the treeline. In addition, theUnifras religion erected a string of shrines, which attracted off-world pilgrims.[4]During the time of therevolt against theEternal Empire, Onderon's newly elected government abandoned the previous administration's efforts to build a self-sufficient biodome beneath theplanet's surface.[24]
Around3627 BBY, Onderon was under a political crisis with KingRegalun Petryph retreating from Iziz to his secludedRoyal Hunting Lodge to avoid the opposition of hisnoble council. TheSith Empire used this to convince King Petryph to launch anattack on the capital, hoping to use Petryph's attack as a distraction to destroy the Republicfleet in orbit.
Mandalore the Avenger's attention would be brought to the world when discovering the whereabouts of the Mandalorian deserters known as theAsh'ad. Their leaderMirli Lok had made an agreement with King Regalun Petryph that in exchange of being allowed to hunt the beasts of his world, they would give tribute of their quarries and bring offworld creatures to him for time to time, thus members of the Ash'ad were seen in theRoyal Hunting Lodge. Shae would have her people set up in the city ofIziz and eventually give task to have the Ash'ad hunted down and their armor retrieved from their bodies.[25]
In1000 BBY,Darth Bane rode to Onderon from Dxun upon adrexl to rendezvous withDarth Zannah after theSeventh Battle of Ruusan.[19]
Clone Wars[]
Onderon during the Clone Wars
During theClone Wars, Onderon joined theConfederacy of Independent Systems. It was represented in theSeparatist Parliament bySenatorMina Bonteri, and later her son,Lux Bonteri.[16]
At the onset of the war,KingRamsis Dendup was overthrown by one ofCountDooku's supporters,Sanjay Rash,[26] due to theTreaty of Iziz.[27] To that end, arebellion was formed to restore Dendup's rule and to rid Onderon of theSeparatist Droid Army. JediAnakin Skywalker,Obi-Wan Kenobi, andAhsoka Tano, along withCaptainRex, answered a call for help from Onderonian rebelsSaw Gerrera andLux Bonteri, who joined the rebellion to defeat the CIS. The Jedi trained the rebels at their base camp set up in the jungles of Onderon, which was soon located by the Droid Army viaprobe droids. However, the rebels survived and defeated the droids.[13] They continued their acts of defiance to Sanjay's rule throughout the city of Iziz.[12][14]
Yolahn Square, site of the Unifar Temple, the king's residence
King Dendup was eventually rescued,[14] and the rebels retreated to the highlands to prevent so many casualties in Iziz. With the newdroid gunships, the rebels were forced to pull back, but they defeated the entire droid army and the gunships with rocket launchers, courtesy of Weequay pirateHondo Ohnaka and his band. With their losses, the droids retreated by order of Dooku toAgamar, who also ordered thesuper tactical droid generalKalani to kill Sanjay Rash. Though victorious, the rebels lost their leader,Steela Gerrera, during the conflict. After the battle, Dendup's reign as king was restored, and he chose Lux to represent Onderon in theGalactic Senate.[28]
Galactic Civil War[]
EmperorPalpatine, disguised as a pilgrim, entersKira Fortress on Onderon in11 ABY.
During theGalactic Civil War, Onderon was the site of the most importantImperialmilitary ordnance center in the sector, near Iziz. TheRebel Alliancedestroyed it in2 ABY. This battle was one of the first direct military confrontations between Rebel and Imperial forces in the war. The destruction of the ordnance center crippled Imperial abilities to resupply its forces in the region.[29]
During the rebornEmperorPalpatine's insurrection,Han Solo andLeia Organa Solo hid their three young children on Onderon. The planet was also where the Emperor met hisfinal death, at the cost of the lives ofRayf Ysanna andEmpatojayos Brand. While hisflagship engagedNew Republic forces in orbit, the Emperor disguised himself and his bodyguards as pilgrims and tracked down the Solos toKira Fortress, outside of Iziz. Here, Palpatine was killed by Han Solo and attempted to possessAnakin Solo, but in the skirmish, a dying Brand caught his spirit and dragged the Emperor down to theNetherworld of the Force with himself.[30][19]
Onderon Military[]
During the Old Republic era, theOnderonian military consisted of both theOnderonian navy and Ground Forces (seeOnderon Soldier). The palace of Iziz was guarded byPaladins.
Behind the scenes[]
Onderon inThe Essential Atlas
In the video gameStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, ifGeneralVaklu prevails with the backing ofMeetra Surik in theOnderon Civil War,Kreia specifies that "Vaklu will have a short reign, but Onderon's independence will persist." She also states that by leaving theRepublic forever, Onderon will preserve its traditions, customs, lore and identity—just as Vaklu and many of his supporters had hoped to do.
The galaxy map fromStar Wars Insider #65 incorrectly contains two Onderons. One is located in the correct spot in theInner Rim, while the other was mistakenly placed in theColonies.Leland Chee has confirmed that the Inner Rim location is correct.[31]
This places Onderon nearAmbria, andStar Wars Gamer 1 even claims that Onderon, like Ambria, is in theStenness Node. This placement defies the originalTales of the Jedi comics, which stated Onderon was on "the other side of the galaxy" from the Stenness Node.
Appearances[]
Non-canon appearances[]
- "The Betrayal of Darth Revan"(Mentioned only)(Unlicensed)
Sources[]
Non-canon sources[]
Notes and references[]
External links[]
- Emily Henderson (@emily_hen) onArtStation:Onderon Wilderness(backup link)
- Mauricio Sotolongo (@maurici0o) onArtStation:Star Wars: The Old Republic- Onslaught - Onderon Jungle(backup link)
- Garrett Brown (@sunbaked_creative) onArtStation:Star Wars: The Old Republic - Onslaught: Onderon(backup link)
- Related categories:
- Culture of Onderon
- Related Categories:
- Culture of Onderon