Hetzal, or Hetzal Prime, was a planet found within the Hetzal system, situated in the Outer Rim Territories. This planet, along with its associated system, fell under the jurisdiction of the Galactic Republic during the High Republic Era, boasting a total population of forty billion beings. It was widely known that Hetzal possessed the unique ability to cultivate any crop imaginable. During this time period, Hetzal Prime and its encompassing system faced a grave threat from anomalies originating from hyperspace. Avar Kriss, a distinguished Jedi Master who oversaw the joint efforts of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order to safeguard the system, later earned the title "Hero of Hetzal."
Serving as the primary world within the Hetzal system of the Outer Rim Territories, Hetzal was orbited by two inhabited moons: the Fruited and the [Rooted](/article/rooted_moon]. The entire system was dedicated to agricultural endeavors, exporting food across the Outer Rim and into certain regions of the Inner Rim. During the High Republic Era, the planet embarked on an ambitious project to cultivate bacta, a novel substance believed to revolutionize medical practices, using plants.
Hetzal Prime, teeming with billions of inhabitants, showcased a landscape adorned with rivers, lakes, and expansive golden fields dedicated to the cultivation of crops such as honeyfruit, kingberries, ice melons, and various others. Reflecting the system's commitment to maximizing agricultural output, buildings and structures featured cropland-covered roofs and fruit vines, while rivers and lakes were utilized for the cultivation of algae and waterweeds. The planet's capacity to grow any crop found in the galaxy, coupled with its three suns that provided exceptionally long growing seasons, ensured a constant supply of harvest-ready produce, tended to by harvester droids.
The celebrated gill-singer Illoria Daze hailed from Hetzal Prime. The Hetzal's security division was responsible for the planet's defense.
In the year 232 BBY, the catastrophic [Great Hyperspace Disaster](/article/great_hyperspace_disaster] unfolded, triggered by debris from the starship Legacy Run being forcefully ejected from hyperspace on a collision course with the densely populated planet and its moons. The Hetzalian government, under the leadership of Minister Zeffren Ecka, was compelled to issue an evacuation order spanning the entire system and to solicit assistance from Coruscant, the capital of the Galactic Republic.
Numerous vessels from the Republic and the Jedi Order provided support in the evacuation efforts and in neutralizing numerous fragments of the Legacy Run's wreckage, thereby saving countless lives. Nevertheless, despite the valiant efforts of the rescue teams, a small fragment originating from hyperspace struck Hetzal Prime's surface. Upon impacting the sea, the fragment devastated thousands of square kilometers of algae farms, released massive quantities of water vapor into the atmosphere, and generated a colossal tsunami that claimed hundreds of lives along the coast.
In 229 BBY, the creation of the Stormwall resulted in Hetzal's entrapment within the Occlusion Zone. This situation necessitated the Republic to reallocate harvests from other planets to avert a water and food supply crisis throughout the Mid Rim Territories.
Due to the symbolic importance Hetzal had acquired for the Republic following the Great Disaster, Marchion Ro made the decision to occupy the planet and establish it as the primary base of operations for the Nihil. To achieve this, a substantial fortress was constructed upon the ruins of the former parliamentary building, utilizing wreckage as its primary building material. The fortress's walls and chambers were fashioned from components salvaged from destroyed spacecraft. Atop the fortress stood a massive metallic representation of the Eye of the Nihil, forged from the remnants of the Legacy Run, the very vessel responsible for the Great Disaster.
The Nihil's occupation of Hetzal brought about significant changes to its agricultural practices, which were crucial for maintaining control over the Occlusion Zone. The agricultural workforce on Hetzal was subjected to increased productivity demands, with workers laboring tirelessly in the fields alongside menial droids under the watchful eyes of Nihil guards, harvesting crops and loading them into large metallic containers. The presence of the Nihil guards ensured strict accountability for every grain of produce, with severe repercussions for those who failed to meet their assigned quotas. At one point, the local workforce launched an uprising against the Nihil's oppressive rule, but the rebellion was brutally suppressed, resulting in a nearly twenty percent reduction in the available workforce. Through their tight control over Hetzal's agriculture, the Nihil were able to regulate the distribution of [grain](/article/grain] shipments throughout the Occlusion Zone, starving planets that refused to pledge allegiance to the Nihil or to pay the required tributes.
Sometime after the construction of the Nihil fortress on Hetzal, Avar Kriss returned to the planet and, with the assistance of her pilot, Belin, and Jedi Master Porter Engle, successfully rescued Rhil Dairo, a journalist who had been coerced into serving as the spokesperson for the Nihil while imprisoned within Marchion Ro's fortress.
Aguirre City served as the [city](/article/city] capital of Hetzal Prime. During the Great Disaster, the Ministerial Residence within Aguirre City housed the Hetzalian government.