By Brian Borq
Welcome back fellow Star Wars Expanded Universe fans! How has the month of October been treating you all? Today we are going to dive back into the more disturbing parts of the Expanded Universe. Instead of the creatures and species we encountered in Part I, today our focus is going to be on a few individuals who were all dreadful in their own ways.
For our first disturbing denizen, we need to journey to the planet Ithor in the time of the Old Republlic, roughly the year 439 BBY. It is here we find Ithorian botanists hard at work.
These botanists seem to be looking at two species in particular, the bafforr tree and the Vesuvague tree. You recognize the latter as danagerous, after all it is carnivorous. But it is safely behind some sturdy transparisteel.
Suddenly you notice the scientists appear to be working to combine these two plants into one species. A curious idea, but curiosity can be a dangerous thing. And it was in this case, when the creature known as Spore was born into the galaxy from these experiments.
Spore was extremely dangerous as it had the capability to absorb minds of those surrounding it, adding to its own intelligence and allowing it to grow more and more dangerous with every victim. At its peak, Spore was capable of controlling several thousand victims at a time. Species almost hardly mattered as it was capable of feeding on nearly everything!
This creature was so powerful that it was sensed in The Force by Emperor Palpatine who would later send the Dark Jedi Jerec to attempt to capture it.
Personally I would want nothing to do with something powerful enough to grab his attention!
Our next entity is found on the planet Voss, a planet added into the Expanded Universe by the online game, Star Wars: The Old Republic. (Some spoilers for this game follow, so read this section at your own peril!)
The red, yellows and oranges of Voss’s vegetation surround you as you journey on a pilgrimage alongside the native Voss. You look off into the distance, noticing a odd lack of color to the vegetation in that direction. You ask your Voss friend about it and they explain that it is an area known as The Nightmare lands. They further explain that those who venture into the nightmare lands are often never seen again, and those who are have often been driven completely insane.
What he doesn’t tell you is that there is a malignant dark side entity behind the strange occurrence. It is known as Sel-Makor.
Sel-Makor was a terrifying being. It had power that rivaled even the Sith Emperor’s, a being who himself is widely considered to be among the most powerful characters in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. In fact, it took the intervention of the Emperor’s Wrath to save the Sith Emperor in his struggle against Sel-Makor. Sel-Makor had attacked the Sith Emperor as it did all other creatures that ventured too near, via the mind. It would dominate, undermine the will and entice beings into doing its bidding. Sometimes it granted boons to those who sided with it, like the Gormak King who was granted the ability to have visions. A powerful dark side entity, Sel-Makor would eventually meet its end at the hands of the Hero of Tython. Both the story of the Emperor’s Wrath and the Hero of Tython can be experienced in Star Wars: The Old Republic, so check it out! Just remember to be careful if you ever find yourself venturing into the Nightmare Lands….
Speaking of powerful Force entities, I would be completely remiss if I did not mention what could be the most powerful and most terrifying to ever be seen in the galaxy. Our final entry for today’s article is one not to be missed as she is so powerful that putting her in check took the combined powers of Jedi Grandmaster Luke Skywalker, Ben Skywalker and a cadre of Sith Lords!
I am of course ending this article by talking a bit about Aboloth.
Rather than put you in a scenario where you encounter her, I shall instead simply explain why she needed to be here.
Aboloth was, quite frankly, one of the most terrifying beings to come from the books of the Expanded Universe. By the time she was on the scene, it seemed as though nothing could challenge the powers of Luke Skywalker. He was just shy of being a divine being as far as power goes. But along came Calista, er, no, wait. That’s not Calista! That wide toothy grin is simply too out of place! How could we miss that! And what is all this about Jedi Knights going insane and attacking friends and family? Are things so bad that the Jedi and Sith have to team up?! Wait, Sith? The answer to all of this, of course, was all centered in the enigma that was Aboloth. She was a very real existential threat to the Jedi Order (and Sith Order!), the Galactic Alliance and all beings of the galaxy, one we should all be thankful was ended. (She was ended, right? …Right?) If you have not had the chance to read the Fate of the Jedi series, I highly recommend giving it a read!
That will do it for this two part series, but if you like what you have read here, I do have ideas for additional entries in this series! Let us know what you would find to be quite terrifying to run into in that galaxy far, far away in the comments below!
Until we speak again, may The Force be with you!