Elders of the Path

For other uses, see Elders.

The Elders of the Path was a religious group which existed during the High Republic Era that was a descendant of the Path of the Open Hand.^[3] Divided into multiple communes, members were either elders or acolytes within the group.^[2] They were lead by the Council of Elders.^[1] One Elder, Barbatash,^[4] had been an Elder of the Path of the Open Hand but abandoned it as it disintegrated with the emergence of the Path of the Closed Fist and Night of Sorrow.^[5] Another Open Hand member, the Gran Tromak, had been one of the cult's Littles^[6] before growing into an Elder of the Elders of the Path.^[2]

The Elders preached that the Force was like "fire" and that it should not be sensed by any living being, instead believing it should be appreciated from a distance. Relationships between elders and acolytes were considered far more important than those between parents and children. The Force-sensitive Zeen Mrala and her parents were members of the group, as was Mrala's best friend^[2] Krix Kamerat.^[7] The commune Mrala and Krix were part of moved around from planet to planet until Mrala was ten years old, at which point it settled on Trymant IV for what seemed a permanent basis. The Eye of the Nihil, Marchion Ro, captured Tromak to help him find a half to a Nameless control rod,^[2] which the order had hidden years prior after realizing its danger. After the Trymant IV disaster, the Path's resources were in decline.^[4]