By: Jason Dietzel
The Seyugi Dervish was a sect of Force-sensitive assassins that used their connection to the Force to hone their hunting and fighting skills. They originally followed in the ancient nomadic traditions of the extinct Seyugi culture, living aboard large repulsorlift barges in the sky, but shifted into a Force organization when one of their leaders, Karrh, started teaching his fellow Force-sensitives how to use their powers.
Having started some time before the fall of the Sith in the Battle of Ruusan, the Seyugi Dervish became infamous throughout the Core and Mid Rim sectors for their stealth and assassination of high-profile targets. Their combat and stealth even received praise as an art form by Darth Bane in his Rule of Two book.
However, their infamy garnered the attention of the Jedi, whom started a campaign a few hundred years prior to the Clone Wars to wipe out the assassins. The Jedi were nearly successful, driving the Seyugi Dervish back to their secret headquarters on Recopia, when the Clone Wars broke out and the Jedi were forced to realign their focus onto other targets.
With their order exposed to the galaxy, the few remaining Seyugi Dervish hid and froze themselves in carbonite, their care entrusted to loyal, fanatical servants. However, one of their servants released them from their carbonite freeze a few years later, only leading to the group nearly being wiped out, again, and the remaining survivors going into hiding a second time.
The Seyugi Dervish eschewed the teachings of the Jedi by embracing the dark side and viewed the Force as a mechanism to master their bodies as weapons. Like most assassin sects, the Dervish did not engage in senseless evil, but instead were motived by personal profit rather than power. Likewise, given their profession, the Dervish became masters over their own emotions, remaining focused and patient.
One practice the Seyugi Dervish did hold over from the Jedi was the practice of taking children as adepts. The cultists did this to instill their fanatic beliefs into each generation. After spending fifteen years in training, adepts would become apprentices and train under a master. The master would observe their apprentice and if their pupil would fail at their mission, it would be the master’s role to intervene and cover up the student’s failure. Upon success of their final missions, apprentices would become full members and allowed to roam the galaxy seeking their own fortunes; however, the Dervish leadership could still contact these members for new contracts.
The assassins excelled at unarmed combat, choosing to infiltrate and complete their missions without weapons and with little equipment. They wore red suits and white masks to intimidate others and were expert biologists, so to best know the anatomy of their targets to make them easier to kill. They mainly worked alone, but on rare occasion they did work with other Dervish assassins or hired mercenaries. Most of these mercs ended up dead though, as a means to keep their identities a secret.
There are only two known Seyugi Dervishes, one being the founder Karrh, and the other, Razi Khan, whom assumedly took command of the assassins when they were thawed from carbonite. It is unknown whether the Seyugi Dervish survived the Clone Wars and subsequent Order 66, as their last reference came shortly before the war’s end.
The Seyugi Dervish can be found in the Star Wars Roleplaying Game by Wizards of the Coast, being highlighted in the game’s Coruscant and the Core Worlds supplement book, as well as other source books and encyclopedias.