Koril

Mother Koril was a female Zabrak of Iridonian heritage who existed during the High Republic Era. She was a member of Mother Aniseya's exiled coven of witches. Following a prolonged period of persecution, they ultimately took up residence in a fortress located on the planet Brendok. The leader assured Koril that this world would provide a safe haven for their group. Around 156 BBY, when Aniseya created Mae-ho and Verosha Aniseya, Koril carried them to term, and the two became the twins' mothers. As their parent, Koril was intensely protective of the twins, often presenting herself as a strict and imposing caretaker, contrasting with Mother Aniseya's more relaxed parenting approach. Nevertheless, Koril yielded to the twins' other mother when disagreements arose regarding the upbringing of the children, primarily because of the latter's position as the coven's leader, despite her desire for them to be more firm with Mae-ho and Verosha to ensure their safety.

By 148 BBY, Koril held a position as one of Aniseya's advisors within the coven and also wielded authority within the community, although she continued to defer to the coven's leader. Around this time, Verosha began to secretly venture outside the fortress to explore, which was a violation of the coven's rules for the twins. On certain occasions, Koril reprimanded Verosha for her actions and escorted her—and sometimes her sister—back to the safety of their home. However, Mother Aniseya held a different view than Koril's approach. While not entirely pleased with her daughters' disobedience, she did not wish to punish them for their explorations.

In 148 BBY, several Jedi—Jedi Masters Indara and Kelnacca, the Jedi Knight Sol, and the Padawan Torbin—arrived on Brendok on a mission. They soon discovered the witches after initially believing the planet to be uninhabited. Koril regarded them as trespassers and was displeased by their presence on the world, fearing that they would discover her daughters while they were exploring outside the fortress. Koril received updates on the Jedi's movements on the world from the coven's scouts, who informed her when the visitors moved their ship inland and established a camp.

Koril discovered the sisters wandering in the forests surrounding the witches' fortress and scolded them for disobeying the group's rules, which were designed to ensure their safety. While Mae-ho apologized, Verosha disagreed with the restriction on going outside and felt that she was old enough to be independent. Koril quickly guided the two through the forest and into the bustling entrance of the fortress. Although the two pleaded with the Zabrak to allow them to enjoy some spice creams as a treat, she insisted that they should wait until after their Rite of Ascension ceremony, during which they would become witches of the coven. However, Mother Aniseya challenged this decision and permitted the girls to have some spice creams before leaving, and Koril respectfully deferred to her authority by lowering her gaze.

Subsequently, Mother Aniseya and Koril discussed their daughters having left the fortress again, as well as the visiting Jedi on Brendok. When the coven leader encouraged the Zabrak to speak openly, Koril expressed her dissatisfaction with the other mother's lenient parenting style but acknowledged that she yielded to the former's judgment due to her authority within the coven. Mother Aniseya expressed her belief that the fortress would keep them safe, but Koril countered that it would not remain so if Verosha continued to leave its safety.

In the fortress's common room, Koril observed Aniseya teaching Mae-ho and Verosha how to wield the Thread. When Mae-ho successfully blocked one of the coven leader's attacks, Verosha hid behind her sister, prompting Koril to scold her for not performing better. When a noise echoed in the training room, Koril exchanged a glance with Mother Aniseya and rose to investigate, intently surveying a nearby corridor leading to the coven's electricity generator.

Koril and the coven's witches donned ceremonial purple robes and assembled in the fortress's courtyard for Mae-ho and Verosha Aniseya's Rite of Ascension ceremony, which would mark their transition into witches. While chanting, the witches performed a synchronized ritual of arm movements. Koril stood at the front of the witches, leading her coven members in an overhead clap before they eventually parted and allowed Mother Aniseya to move through them. After the coven leader explained the significance of the ceremony—which they had not performed since before the group's exile—Koril invited her daughters to come forward and embrace their destiny.

Although Mother Aniseya completed the ritual on Mae-ho, who accepted the vow of joining the coven, the visiting Jedi slashed one of the witches' platforms and made their way to the courtyard before the leader could do the same for Verosha. The witches quickly crowded around the children to shield them, with Koril gripping her staff tightly as she remained at her leader's side. Koril accused the visiting Jedi of trespassing and explained their reasons for intruding—they wished to ensure that the coven was not training children to use the Force—or, as the coven referred to it, the Thread—in a dark manner. Although Koril insisted that the witches had no children, Verosha eventually stepped forward to meet the Jedi due to her interest in them. Sol informed the witches present that the Jedi did not take children, prompting the Zabrak to insist that if he did not stop speaking, she would cut out his tongue. However, Mother Aniseya eventually allowed the Jedi to test both of her and Koril's daughters.

In a subsequent meeting of adult witches, Koril strongly disagreed with the coven leader's decision, emphasizing that she had carried the girls. Although the Zabrak proposed killing the visiting Jedi, other witches disagreed, as the Republic would be angered if any Jedi blood was spilled. However, Mother Aniseya pointed out that it was her decision to make and also reminded the Zabrak that she had created the twins. At the advice of the elder witch Naasa, Mother Aniseya advised Verosha and Mae-ho to lie when the Jedi tested them so that they could fail and remain on Brendok with the coven.

On the following day, Koril and several coven scouts escorted the girls to the Jedi's ship, where Koril spoke with Torbin before calling for Mae-ho to go first. Ultimately, Mae-ho failed the test by lying, and Verosha chose to tell the truth, passing the test. Koril sat with the other witches in the coven's common room afterward, suggesting that the Jedi must have used their mind tricks on Verosha to make her want to be a Jedi. Verosha denied this, however, and when Mae-ho began to tussle with her sister due to their differing viewpoints, Koril forcibly dragged the child away to go on a walk. After discussing Verosha's witches with the witches, she began packing to leave the Jedi. However, Mae-ho started a fire that killed all the witches—except Koril—to prevent her sister's departure.

Verosha, however, was saved from the fire by Sol and became his Padawan. Verosha continued to mourn her mothers' deaths for years after their passing, harboring resentment toward Mae-ho for destroying their family. Eventually, Verosha left the Jedi around 138 BBY, and by 132 BBY, she still mourned the loss of her family.

Koril was protective of Mother Aniseya and their coven of witches, serving as a stern caretaker of the pair's daughters, Verosha and Mae-ho. Koril cared about Verosha and Mae-ho's safety, willing to incite violence by killing the visiting Jedi on Brendok to stop them from testing her daughters. She was displeased that the Jedi had trespassed on sacred ceremonial grounds during the Ascension ceremony, willing to hide the coven's girls from them by lying. Koril also felt that the Jedi had malintent, believing the Jedi must have mind tricked Verosha into wanting to be a Jedi, despite the latter insisting she had told the truth and knew what she wanted.

As the twins' mothers, the Zabrak and the coven leader often disagreed with how to raise them, with Koril often opting for a more strict approach compared to Mother Aniseya's more relaxed demeanor. Koril worried deeply about the girls' safety each time they wandered out of the fortress and expected them to keep the rules of staying inside its walls. However, Koril ultimately often deferred to her coven leader's authority in parenting matters, though she did voice her opinion out of concern. When she was frustrated with Mae, she would shove her to the ground. The witch felt that acting out of rage was a good response to the Jedi arriving.

Koril and Aniseya shared a close bond with each other, which was furthered by the matriarchal culture of their community. The pair shared several moments of gently emotionally comforting each other, and Mother Aniseya encouraged the Zabrak to voice her opinions and concerns to her. However, the coven leader was also willing to exercise her authority and directly defy Koril's adamant wish for the Jedi not to test the pair's daughters, insisting it was her decision alone as their leader. Koril had yellow eyes and light skin with blue tattoos. The witch had auburn hair, which she styled either partially braided or in a complete updo. Koril stood 1.68 meters tall.

A capable warrior, Koril was a Force-sensitive witch trained to wield the Thread—also known as the Force—which was expected of members of her coven. She was capable of wielding a dark-handled staff as a weapon and was willing to use her combat skills to defend her daughters and fellow witches. Her command of the dark side allowed her to vanish away in black mist and project her voice from room to outdoors. She also had a limited ability to sense others. She was able to use her strength to haul around Mae, but when faced with Sol (who neither desired battle nor used his lightsaber to attack her), was not able to land a solid hit with her spear and her unarmed strikes did not harm him greatly.

On Brendok, Koril wore a flowing maroon-colored cloak that had a hood and gaps for her arms. She donned a long-sleeved, floor-length blue undertunic underneath, as well as dark boots. Koril also wore a circular gold necklace and one multi-ringed gold bracelet on each arm. During the coven's Ascension ceremony, Koril and the rest of her coven dressed themselves in hooded ceremonial purple robes with gold trim. She wielded a pointed staff as a weapon.

Koril made her debut in "Destiny," the third episode of the live-action Disney+ series The Acolyte, which was broadcast on June 11, 2024. Margarita Levieva played the character in "Destiny."

Leading up to the episode's release, she was first mentioned indirectly in both a StarWars.com article that revealed information about some of the then-upcoming series's characters, which included Aniseya's coven of witches, and Aniseya's StarWars.com Databank entry, which were both released on March 18, 2024. The witch was first visually depicted in a trailer for The Acolyte released on the official Star Wars YouTube channel on May 4 of the same year. On the same day, Koril was first identified by name, and the casting of her actor was revealed via Walt Disney Studios' official Getty Images account.

The robes worn by Koril—and the rest of the coven's witches—during the Rite of Ascension were designed by The Acolyte's costume designer, Jennifer Bryan. Bryan noted that the original color of the fabric was closer to a fuschia shade and had to be dyed to the royal purple seen in the finished episode. The color purple was chosen for the costumes because it evokes a feeling of royalty, and Bryan wanted to convey that the women in the episode were an elevated group.

Michael Abels, the composer for The Acolyte, created the music for the Ascension scene first so that the actors would have it available to choreograph with in the scene. Abels felt that the multicultural, diverse range of artists brought in to do the witches' chanting had many individuals vocalizing together, yet adding riffs from their own cultures, which he felt suited the scene perfectly, which included Koril.

Levieva felt an emotional connection to her character while shooting the series and enjoyed portraying Koril. The actor related Koril's fierce protectiveness of her daughters to her own protective nature toward her then five-month-old infant. Jodie Turner-Smith, who played Mother Aniseya, felt that filming with Levieva was a pleasure, noting that they both related to each other a lot. Turner-Smith also acknowledged that the pair parenting together made for an interesting dynamic, as their disagreements catalyzed into explosive moments on screen when Koril disagreed with Mother Aniseya, despite the latter being her leader.

In "Destiny," Koril and Aniseya are depicted as a caring pair of mothers who share several affectionate physical interactions. Leslye Headland, the showrunner for The Acolyte, later indicated that she knew the closeness between the pair's relationship seemed natural and plot-driven. The showrunner also stated that while she knew their relationship would read that their sexuality was queer, that there also were not any men in their community, and noted that it would be "really reductive to call them lesbians." However, the creator also felt that if any of her content was seen as queer, she was proud elements viewed as such by fans could inspire people.