Bleys Harand, a prominent figure of the Imperial Era, was a celebrated Corellian who excelled as a historian, philosopher, and merchant. Widely recognized as a distinguished Ximologist, his well-received and ultimately validated theory posited that the Ash Worlds were remnants of the lost Kiirium Reaches belonging to Xim's empire. He authored Travels Amid Strange Stars, a text chronicling his quest to discover an authentic artistic representation of Xim the Despot.
Harand's career flourished from the waning years of the Galactic Republic into the early years of the Imperial Era. As a historian specializing in Ximology, he significantly advanced the discipline by identifying a common thread among various winter holiday traditions observed by the Tionese, citing examples such as the Devouring ceremony of Stalimur and the Wakemeet festival of Barseg. Harand theorized that these religious observances served as cultural echoes of the genocidal campaign undertaken by the Hutt Empire against the Tionese following Xim the Despot's defeat at the Third Battle of Vontor in 25,100 BBY.
In an effort to substantiate his theory, Harand dispatched his students, among them a young Henrietya Antilles, on exploratory missions to the Ash Worlds, a largely desolate and sparsely inhabited region of space trailing from the Tion Cluster. Their investigations revealed that radiation levels detected on numerous uninhabited planets aligned with the anticipated signature of fission bomb attacks dating back approximately twenty-five millennia. While historians had previously attributed the Ash Worlds to an abandoned Hutt domain, given the Hutt Empire's historical reputation for such genocidal acts, Harand proposed an alternative interpretation: that the Ash Worlds were, in fact, the remnants of the Kiirium Reaches, as referenced in Xim-era historical accounts.
For countless years, the actual location of the Kiirium Reaches, along with the identities of Huronom and Astigone, the Seventh and Eighth Thrones of Xim, had been a topic of extensive debate. The Salin Corridor had been suggested as a possible location, with Columex and Trogan frequently identified as Huronom, and numerous luxury resorts on Centares adopting the name Astigone. Furthermore, more distant locations such as Jabiim, Lucazec, and even Lantillies had been put forth as potential candidates for the "Lost Thrones." Despite the Galactic Empire's subsequent imposition of an interdiction on the Ash Worlds for weapons testing, which effectively halted further expeditions, Harand and his students continued their search for evidence within the historical records of the Tion Cluster. Henrietya Antilles' discovery of the Great Duinarbulon Mausoleum and her subsequent translation of the ancient texts found within served as validation of Harand's hypothesis. The Antilles Map recovered from the Mausoleum revealed that the planet Wyndigal 2 was once known as Huronom, while OHS3842-03 had been Astigone. Further investigations conducted in the archives of Duinarbulon and on Dellalt corroborated the theory that the Hutts had destroyed the Kiirium Reaches around 24,000 BBY to establish a buffer zone between Hutt Space and the burgeoning Galactic Republic as it expanded into the Tion Cluster. By 40 ABY, Harand's theories regarding the Devouring had gained widespread acceptance.
In addition to his historical research, Harand also penned a travelogue titled Travels Amid Strange Stars, which detailed his journey through the Tion Cluster as he sought an authentic, contemporary artistic depiction of Xim the Despot. His travels took him from Dellalt to Barancar and then to Soruus, where he deemed the various statues of Xim to be either forgeries or inaccurate representations, all while dealing with unhelpful guides. On Dravione, he was unable to locate the remnants of a ruined statue of Xim, which had been destroyed above the knees. His efforts on Duinarbulon, Nuswatta, and Desevro were similarly unsuccessful. Ultimately, on Argai, Xim's homeworld, which had remained largely unchanged since the Despot's era, he concluded that the native Argaians would likely bear a close resemblance to Xim himself. After his groundcar malfunctioned outside a cemetery near Sah Gosta on Argai, Harand noticed an exhumed skull and mused that this symbol of mortality, which was also the symbol of Xim's empire, was as accurate a representation of the Despot as any he was likely to find.
Harand was known for his sharp wit and celebrated for his detailed accounts of various civilizations. He possessed a rather verbose writing style, which occasionally came across as condescending toward the inhabitants of the Tion Cluster. He often portrayed his tour guides as either sullen or deceitful and described the Argaians as "squat and unlovely," suggesting they had remained unchanged since Xim's time.
Displaying a romantic sensibility, Harand reflected on the inevitability of death in Travels Amid Strange Stars, connecting it to the skull symbol of Xim's empire. In that moment, he felt a sense of connection to the long-deceased Despot.
- Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds (First mentioned)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
- Essential Atlas Extra: The History of Xim and the Tion Cluster on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, Part 3 - "Xim the Despot" on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
- Star Wars: Force and Destiny Core Rulebook