Vasha

Vasha was a desert planet located in the Outer Rim Territories' Moddell sector. It was the homeworld of the insectoid Vashan species, which governed itself through a system theocratic castes and members of which were prized as workers across the Moddell sector. After it experienced a series of religious wars that ended when contact was established with the Galactic Republic, Vasha came to be dominated by the Ayrou species from the planet Maya Kovel, with Ayrou administrators overseeing deep-delving mines from which Vashan miners retrieved valuable ores and minerals.

At some point by 3 ABY, miners in the mine known as The Abyss discovered the valuable statue known as the Ayrou Tessent. When a group of treasure hunters subsequently visited The Abyss in order to retrieve the artifact, the Vashan theocrat Dochi At-Rial instead fled with the Tessent for a Vashan holy site situated on the Qina system moon of the same name.

Description

Vasha was a terrestrial planet^[3] located in the Vasha system. It lay within the Inner Moddell systems area of^[2] the Moddell sector,^[1] one of the subsectors making up the Inner Zuma Region^[2] within the Outer Rim Territories' Zuma sector.^[1] The hyperlane known as the Annaj-Houche Run connected Vasha and the rest of the Vasha system to the Maya Kovel system as well as Houche system^[2] in the Sugai sector,^[5] while another hyperspace route linked it to the Vex system.^[2]

Vasha's local year lasted 402 local days, each of which was twenty-two standard hours long. Its gravity was 110% standard, and it had a breathable Type I atmosphere and a hot climate. Desert dominated the planet's surface,^[3] although its terrain also included lonely, craggy mountains. The ore veins situated close to rocky Vasha's core held vast wealth. The planet's depths were home to apilid worms, meter-long predators with mandibles that bore through solid rock and metal. Prior to their discovery in the mine known as The Abyss, apilid worms had not been previously encountered by the inhabitants of Vasha.^[4]

History

By the time the Inner Zuma Region saw its first visits by Galactic Republic settlers, Vasha's native Vashans, who were divided into rival theocratical castes, were engaged in a series of religious wars. Once contact was established with the Republic, the wars ended, but Vasha eventually became a virtual satrapy of the Ayrou species from the planet Maya Kovel.^[3] At some point, the Vashan Liberation Force, a group of approximately twenty Vashans intent on organizing a revolt against the Ayrou, was formed on Sarafur,^[4] a world in the Kuna's Tail system.^[3]

At some point by 3 ABY,^[6] Vashan miners in the mine known as The Abyss discovered the Ayrou Tessent, a chalcedony idol that was one of the two Tessent artifacts and that, according to a legend, held encoded coordinates for a treasure vault the Ur-Chapterhouse of the Ayrou il Madri religious tradition of Maya Kovel had hidden in one of the Kuna systems. Eventually, a group of treasure hunters visited The Abyss after learning about the find through rumors and obtaining a hint as to the visual appearance of Dochi At-Rial, a Vashan caste theocrat who had the Tessent in his possession. In The Abyss, the group confronted both At-Rial and the Vashan swordsman Poina Tuc-shol—who, due to religious reasons, was wary of any non-Vashans obtaining the Tessent and had thus shadowed the treasure hunters throughout their stay on the planet—but the former managed to flee with the Tessent for the Vashan holy site of Inicus Mont on the moon Qina^[4] in the Qina system.^[2]

Inhabitants

Main article: Vashan

Vasha was the homeworld of the Vashans, a species of powerful and tireless sentient^[3] insectoids^[4] who spoke the Vashan language. Although the Vashans were prized as workers across the Moddell sector, they were also loathed for their odd habits involving their six antestomaches^[3] as well as their unusual religious practices.^[4]

By the time of the Yuuzhan Vong War, Vasha was home to one billion Vashans as well as two hundred thousand Ayrou. The Vashans, whose society was organized into theocratic castes, had access to space-level technology. Each year, around two million highest-ranking members of all Vashan castes went on a pilgrimage to the moon Qina,^[3] transported between Vasha and Qina by multiple freighters that arrived on the moon every hour.^[4]

Locations

Vasha featured ore mines^[3] that reached nearly into the very core of the planet, where the Vashan religion stated that the realm of the Rot-Maggot, the Vashan god of decay, lay. The mining facilities were controlled by Ayrou administrators based out of^[4] a patchwork of spaceports—two stellar-class and ten standard-class—on Vasha's surface.^[3] Railing-less repulsorlift platforms took miners from the planet's surface into its deepest mine, which was known locally as The Abyss and was at one point lost.^[4]

Vasha's primary spaceport, Tatarrar, was located near The Abyss, and it contained both drinking-dens as well as honeycomb-shaped dormitories, which were situated outside the spaceport and where Vashan miners slept. In addition, traditional Vashan combat schools were hidden in the planet's mountains.^[4]

Behind the scenes

Vasha first appeared in the roleplaying adventure "Race for the Tessent," which was published for use with Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game in the ninth issue of the Star Wars Gamer magazine^[4] on February 22, 2002.^[7] The 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas placed Vasha in grid square H-16.^[2]

Instead of featuring a set plot, "Race for the Tessent" presents several settings in the Moddell sector, Vasha being one of them, that the player characters may visit during their search for one of the two artifacts known as the Tessents. For each of the settings, the adventure also suggests possible circumstances for a Tessent being hidden there. This article assumes that as much of the non-contradictory information presented in the adventure as possible is canonical with respect to the Star Wars Legends continuity. Therefore, it is assumed that the Ayrou Tessent was hidden on Vasha and that the player characters visit The Abyss, where they confront both Dochi At-Rial and Poina Tuc-shol. At-Rial is assumed to have then fled to Qina with the Tessent.^[4]

"Race for the Tessent" suggests that, instead of descending into The Abyss, the player characters may alternately explore the Vashan dormitories outside the Tatarrar spaceport, where At-Rial has possibly placed the Tessent in his sleeping cell. If the player characters attempt to confront At-Rial anywhere else but in The Abyss, the theocrat immediately escapes to Qina with the artifact. On the other hand, if they are successful in retrieving—either through intimidation or a bribe—the Tessent during the confrontation in The Abyss, At-Rial attempts to have Tuc-shol try and gain the idol back. If the player characters arrive after one of their rival parties has already acquired the Tessent on Vasha, the planet descends into complete chaos as the Vashans, who view their discovery of the Tessent as a sign of divine favor, channel their outrage into a revolt targeting their Ayrou overseers and any other non-Vashans present. Finally, if the player characters don't visit Vasha at all, they can still be drawn to Qina by rumors that Vashan miners have uncovered the idol and shuttled it to the moon for safekeeping it at Inicus Mont.^[4]

Appearances

• "Race for the Tessent" — Star Wars Gamer 9 (First appearance)

Sources

• "Endor and the Moddell Sector" — Star Wars Gamer 9
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (Mentioned in multiple entries, but without own entry)
• The Essential Atlas

Notes and references