Athnalu was a female Wookiee who lived in Kerritamba Village on the planet Kashyyyk during the Galactic Civil War. Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Athnalu came under the impression that a spell had been placed on her by members of the Sayormi, a mysterious species that lived in the nearby Dead Forest. Mentally unstable and in constant physical pain, Athnalu hired a passing spacer to find several objects that she thought would lift the curse. The spacer located five Sayormi voodoo dolls, shadevale eyes, mouf hair, and a Mysess blossom for Athnalu. Believing herself cured of the curse, Athnalu thanked the spacer and gave the traveler 2,200 credits and a ceremonial chair.
Athnalu after the Battle of Yavin
A female Wookiee, Athnalu lived in Kerritamba Village near the Kkowir Forest on the planet Kashyyyk during the Galactic Civil War. Shortly after the Battle of Yavin, Athnalu came under the belief that the Sayormi people—a mysterious species that lived in the Dead Forest of the Kkowir Forest—had placed a spell on her. She thought herself possessed and cursed by the Sayormi. Believing that her very soul was rotting away, Athnalu lived in constant pain and fear, which caused her to grow increasingly mentally unstable.
That same year, Athnalu was approached by a spacer who was visiting her village. Athnalu explained her situation and the curse she believed she was under and pleaded for the spacer to help her. The spacer accepted the Wookiee's request for assistance, and Athnalu tasked the traveler with collecting five voodoo dolls that she thought the Sayormi were using to possess her. By having the dolls, Athnalu hoped they would help her understand why the Sayormi had placed the curse on her. After the spacer had completed the task and returned to Athnalu, the Wookiee rewarded the being with 1,000 credits.
However, unsatisfied with the results from the dolls, Athnalu again asked the spacer for assistance. The spacer agreed, and Athnalu told the traveler to find three more items that she thought were needed to cure her: the eyes of a shadevale, snakes that lived in the nearby lakes and streams; hairs from a mouf, large, woolly creatures that wandered the forest; and finally a Mysess blossom, a flower that grew in the village. The spacer dutifully collected all she requested and brought them to Athnalu, which the Wookiee mixed together into a potion and consumed. Now satisfied that she was free of the curse's influence, she thanked the spacer and rewarded the being with another 1,200 credits and a special ceremonial chair from the village.
While thinking herself under the power of a Sayormi curse, Athnalu became crazed and unbalanced, believing her very soul was dying. She heard voices inside her head, which brought her a great deal of pain and suffering and caused her to whimper at times. When the spacer attempted to talk to her, Athnalu acted distant, often looking off into space or occasionally not responding to the being's questions.
Athnalu was desperate to find a cure for her supposed curse, at one point grabbing onto the spacer's shoulder and demanding that the traveler find her the five voodoo dolls, injuring the spacer in the process. Athnalu had light brown hair, purple eyes, and spoke the Shyriiwook language.
Athnalu made her first appearance in 2005's Rage of the Wookiees, an expansion pack for the MMORPG Star Wars Galaxies. In the game, Athnalu has a pair of quests the player can undertake, known as "A Possessed Soul" and "Athnalu's Cure." Although the player may choose to not take part in Athnalu's quests, this article assumes 100 percent game completion.
Athnalu later appeared on a card in the Star Wars Galaxies Trading Card Game expansion set Squadrons Over Corellia—released in 2008—which depicts the Wookiee and is also entitled "A Possessed Soul."