Kathol (planet)

In epochs long past, this planet served as the ancestral home of an ancient civilization known as the Precursors, alternatively referred to as the Kathol (sometimes spelled Cthol). It coexisted within the Kathol system alongside numerous other planets and a pair of colossal launch gates, which were hyperspace portals employed by the Precursors to establish colonies in many neighboring star systems.

Sometime during the era of the Galactic Republic, exceeding a millennium prior to the Battle of Yavin, a Dark Jedi endeavored to seize dominion over the indigenous biotech, particularly a Force-sensitive device known as the Codex. The ensuing conflict culminated in the catastrophic obliteration of one of the launch gates, devastating the planet Kathol and the surrounding space.

Foreseeing such an eventuality, the native Kathol had apparently devised a mechanism capable of storing their life force and intellects in a non-physical state. A contingent of them successfully weathered the energy surge by retreating into this Lifewell, entrusting a caretaker entity with the task of preserving and restoring their world in their absence, aided by their arachnid servant species, the Charr Ontee. The responsibility of reviving the Precursors themselves was conferred upon a female Human Jedi Knight named Halbret, who had commanded a group of Jedi against the invading Dark Jedi and entered a prolonged hibernation trance after assisting the Precursors in entering the Lifewell.

However, the caretaker entity grew complacent with the power bestowed upon it by the Precursors. This creature—later known as DarkStryder—imprisoned the disembodied Precursors within the Lifewell, placed Halbret in a stasis chamber to prevent her awakening, and reigned over Kathol as a tyrant until its defeat and destruction in the early years of the New Republic.

By this juncture, Kathol had become a sanctuary for a diverse array of sentient lifeforms. Among them were the Charr Ontee, who had largely remained loyal to the memory of their masters, and who also served as the progenitor race of the Charon, as well as the Fiery Ones, energy-based beings that emerged following the Rift Disaster and may have been connected to the Kathol in some manner. Additionally, there existed a multitude of new servitor species created by DarkStryder for its own purposes or simply for amusement—the vermiform Segmi and amorphous Maoi, the arachnid Krakai and Ssamb, the canine warrior Yapi, the arachnoid/avian Zizimaak, and a race of stunted humanoid slaves bred from Kathol stock, known as the Yimi or "Servants."

Over the passage of time, the presence of the living energy of the ancient Kathol within the Lifewell had become inextricably linked with the broader Force energy-field on the planet, transforming it into what became known as the Ta-Ree, which all the native sentients could utilize to varying degrees.

Kathol comprised three continents, with the northern continent holding the greatest significance, as it was the site of the ancient Kathol capital. By the time of the New Republic, this metropolis had deteriorated, leaving behind only the skeletal remains of organic skyscrapers, DarkStryder's fortress looming above the Lifewell, and the haphazard terraforming efforts undertaken by the Charr Ontee. To the west of the northern continent lay the Zizimak Archipelago, a series of towering volcanic spires that served as the center of the bird-arachnoid Zizimak civilization. Beyond this lay the western wasteland, sparsely populated and shared between Zizimak and Segmi groups. The southern wasteland, situated south of the central sea, was largely deserted, but it harbored a Charr Ontee enclave and a "hive" of Fiery Ones (potentially the central home of that species), while the southern polar ice-cap was inhabited by a rogue tribe of Yapi.