Yanibar

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Yanibar was a Wild Space planet with a harsh environment that included seasonal climate extremes. At some point by 3951 BBY, it was settled by a group of families and friends of Jedi. The colony was intended to be a temporary refuge to help those people hide from attacks by the Sith; however, the Jedi who arranged the colonization were all killed in combat and thus, Yanibar became forgotten. The colonists initially nearly succumbed to the planet's environmental challenges, but ultimately they survived due to the development of useful Force abilities among the population, and eventually the formation of the Zeison Sha tradition of Force-users, who acted as the colony's protectors and also developed an anti-Jedi philosophy.

Yanibar was rediscovered by fringe traders after the Battle of Ruusan of 1000 BBY, and the planet became an outpost on the border of the Outer Rim Territories and Wild Space. The Jedi launched an unsuccessful diplomatic mission to reconciliate with the Zeison Sha, but even after some of its members traveled offworld, the latter tradition remained resolutely independent from the Jedi and evaded the Galactic Empire's Jedi-hunting attentions.

Description

Yanibar was a planet^[2] located in the Yanibar system of Wild Space,^[1] close to the border with the Outer Rim Territories.^[2][4] It was a harsh world with dry, intensely hot climate in summer and frigid, wet winters, and the occurrence of violent storms was also possible. The planet's environment was so extreme and unpredictable that most would consider it uninhabitable. Yanibar's fauna included the voorcat, packs of which sometimes terrorized outlying regions on the world.^[2]

History

Survival of a colony

Yanibar, at the time an out-of-the-way world, was colonized by a group that consisted of families and friends of members of the Jedi tradition of Force-users, with the former fleeing wars between the Jedi and their ideological anti-thesis, the Sith. The plan behind the settlement, organized by the Jedi, was for the group, which constituted potential targets for attacks by the Sith, to set up a temporary home on the planet until the Jedi could retrieve them once it was safe^[2] due to the ongoing conflict having ended.^[3] However, the Jedi in question were all eventually killed in battle, leading to the colony on Yanibar becoming forgotten and isolated.^[2]

Initially, the colony struggled for survival, with thousands perishing^[2] and the settlement losing most of its population within just the first few years.^[3] As years passed, however, many of the colonists developed Force abilities that helped them adapt to the challenges posed by Yanibar's environment, leading to the emergence of the Zeison Sha tradition of Force-users. Over the subsequent centuries, the original reason behind the colonization of Yanibar was transformed into a myth of the local inhabitants. The Zeison Sha, who were not aware that the colony's original Jedi founders had been killed, began to view them as having abandoned the settlers. Over the span of generations, the Zeison Sha formulated a philosophy that rejected the Jedi as being uncaring and taking it upon themselves to serve as the protectors of Yanibar's community, which, over time, they helped to grow and prosper.^[2] The Zeison Sha had become known offworld^[6] by 3951 BBY.^[7]

Around 3637 BBY,^[8] an individual affiliated with one of the sides in the ongoing struggle between the Galactic Republic and the reconstituted Sith Empire sent a companion to Yanibar to carry out diplomatic ouvertures with the Zeison Sha, the support of which the galactic faction represented by the two individuals had long aimed to obtain.^[9]

End of isolation

After a few centuries, Yanibar's isolation lessened when it was discovered^[2] by a passing merchant following the Battle of Ruusan^[10] of 1000 BBY that ended the New Sith Wars and—as was generally believed at the time—saw the elimination of the Sith.^[11] The planet was then sometimes visited by other fringe traders,^[2] who were surprised to discover a comparatively thriving colony there,^[5] and the Zeison Sha eventually re-established contact with the Jedi Order.^[10] Yanibar subsequently came to serve as an outpost between known space and the Unknown Regions,^[2] essentially being the last civilized stop for those traveling into Wild Space.^[4] Visits by offworlders were not frequent but became more so over several decades.^[2]

Eventually, after the Zeison Sha learned of the conflicts against the Sith being over, some members of the tradition ventured offworld. However, many returned to their homeworld with indignant accounts of the Jedi practice of taking in Force-sensitive individuals^[2]—including the children of some of the Zeison Sha themselves^[10]—for Jedi training at a young age. The Zeison Sha anti-Jedi philosophy was thus further strengthened, and later Zeison Sha interstellar travelers avoided the Jedi.^[2] For many years, the Jedi planned and prepared a diplomatic mission to Yanibar to convince the Zeison Sha to ally with them, and eventually Krevaaki Jedi Master Bodo Baas led the effort. The Zeison Sha reluctantly welcomed the visitors, though only on the condition that the Jedi would not attempt to meet any of their children without adult Zeison Sha being present, and allowed them to observe a Zeison Sha training session. Overall, however, Bodo Baas considered the mission a failure, and in 580 BBY, he recorded an account of the visit in the Tedryn Holocron.^[5]

After the establishment of the Galactic Empire^[2] in 19 BBY,^[11] the Zeison Sha traveling offworld avoided forces of the Imperial Jedi-hunting^[2] Sith Lord Darth Vader,^[11] with members of Yanibar's Force-using tradition on the planet likewise escaping the purge of the Jedi.^[10] Even by the time of the existence of the New Republic, the Zeison Sha were putting in effort to avoid contact with the Jedi, and, during^[3] the invasion of the galaxy by the extragalactic Yuuzhan Vong species between 25 ABY and 29 ABY,^[11] members of Yanibar's protector organization hoped the invaders would not discover their homeworld.^[3] Jedi historian Tionne Solusar recorded Yanibar's history in her 40 ABY compendium Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force. Solusar's work, however,^[5] erroneously^[6][7][8][9] claimed that the settlement of Yanibar that led to the formation of the Zeison Sha only occurred around two thousand years before the establishment of the Empire, and that the discovery of the colony by fringe traders already took place "a few centuries" after its establishment.^[5]

Inhabitants

Yanibar was originally settled by a mixed group of beings which, during the early period of the colony's existence, numbered at least several thousands of people and among whom there was a significant presence of individuals sensitive to the Force. From them, the Zeison Sha tradition of Force-users eventually emerged, members of which served as the protectors of the settlement.^[2] Over the span of mere decades,^[3] with the influx of offworlders, Yanibar's small colony developed into a city with a sizeable population.^[2] Originally,^[5] however, the planetary community remained relatively obscure in the wider galaxy. The species makeup of^[2] the original^[5] Yanibar population included Duros, Humans, Rodians, Twi'leks, and others, with the diversity of that community increasing after some of the colonists left the planet and revealed its existence to the wider galactic community.^[2]

Locations

Yanibar hosted a city^[2] and the Tho Yorla Spaceport, the latter of which was frequented by crazy and desperate spacers and explorers.^[4] The Zeison Sha also maintained on the planet the temple known as the Sha Kalan.^[3]

Behind the scenes

Yanibar was first mentioned in Hero's Guide, a 2003 Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game sourcebook written by J.D. Wiker and Rodney Thompson.^[2] The 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas placed the Yanibar system, and thereby Yanibar itself, in grid square R-19.^[1]

Hero's Guide states that Yanibar's colonization that led to the formation of the Zeison Sha took place "nearly two millennia before the rise of the Empire."^[2] Although this general chronological placement was later corroborated by the 2007 reference book Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force,^[5] 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia,^[10] and the 2009 Star Wars Roleplaying Game sourcebook Jedi Academy Training Manual,^[3] it was also contradicted by the existence of the Zeison Sha by the time of the events of both the 2004 Obsidian Entertainment video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords^[6] and Shadow of Revan,^[9] a 2014 expansion for BioWare's 2011 video game Star Wars: The Old Republic,^[12] which take place in 3951 BBY^[7] and around 3637 BBY, respectively,^[8] or closer to four millennia before the rise of the Galactic Empire.^[11] In addition, The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia's entry for Yanibar claims the planet was only the "likely" point of origin of the Zeison Sha,^[13] in contrast to the other Star Wars sources discussing the relationship between the sect and the planet^[2][3][5]—including the entry for the Zeison Sha in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia itself.^[10]

Appearances

• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (Mentioned only)
• Star Wars: The Old Republic: Shadow of Revan (Mentioned only)

Sources

• Hero's Guide (First mentioned)
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords: Prima Official Game Guide
• Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• Jedi Academy Training Manual
• Star Wars: Force and Destiny Core Rulebook

Notes and references