Mission to Dathomir (Cal Kestis)

During his research into the Zeffonian species, Jedi Master Eno Cordova and his droid companion BD-1 traveled to Dathomir to investigate the eponymous tomb of the Zeffo Sage Kujet. Cordova's attempt to unlock the tomb's secrets was thwarted by an ominous presence, leading him to abandon his search. BD-1 documented this encounter, among other explorations with Cordova.

In 20 BBY, following her betrayal by her master, Count Dooku, Asajj Ventress sought refuge on her home planet, Dathomir. There, she rejoined the Nightsisters, a coven of witches led by Mother Talzin, and sought vengeance against Dooku. After numerous failed assassination attempts by the Nightsisters, Dooku dispatched General Grievous of the Confederacy of Independent Systems to Dathomir with orders to annihilate them. The ensuing conflict resulted in widespread casualties, with only a handful of Nightsisters surviving.

Upon landing on Dathomir, Kestis and BD-1 were confronted by Merrin, a surviving Nightsister, who demanded their immediate departure. When they refused, she unleashed the Nightbrothers upon them. After evading this threat, Kestis encountered a human Wanderer, who identified himself as a student of Zeffo ruins. The Wanderer cautioned Kestis against approaching the ruins, warning of the corrupting power within the Tomb.

Despite the warning, Kestis pressed on, only to be halted by a Nightbrother's rock attack, forcing a retreat. He then encountered Merrin again, who unleashed a series of deceased Nightsisters upon him.

Cal and BD-1 continued their journey toward the Tomb of Kujet, nearly reaching it before being ambushed by Nightbrothers. This ambush led the Padawan and droid into the treacherous Dathomirian swamps, where they battled Nightbrothers and Nightsister Zombies dispatched by Merrin. In a dark cave, Kestis and BD-1 discovered climbing claws on a Nightbrother corpse. Before Kestis could claim the claws, they were attacked by a monstrous chirodactyl known as the Gorgara. Cal successfully fended off the Gorgara long enough to secure the claws, adding them to his gear and enabling him and BD to scale a cliffside. Once at the cliff's summit, the Gorgara attacked again, leading to a battle in which the Jedi and droid rode the creature through the air until it crashed and perished.

Having defeated the Gorgara, Kestis and BD-1 finally arrived at Kujet's tomb. There, Kestis experienced a flashback to Jaro Tapal, his master, sacrificing himself aboard the Albedo Brave when clone troopers betrayed the two Jedi at the start of the Great Jedi Purge. Jaro's spectral form attacked Cal, destroying the lightsaber Tapal had given him. Demoralized, Kestis retreated to the Mantis. En route, he encountered the Wanderer, who revealed himself to be Taron Malicos, a former Jedi Master. Malicos, having succumbed to the Dark side of the Force within the Tomb of Kujet, attempted to sway Cal to the Dark Side. Merrin intervened, unleashing a horde of undead Nightsisters to destroy both Malicos and Kestis.

Kestis narrowly escaped this encounter, prompting Cere Junda to advise him to construct his own lightsaber. As lightsabers require kyber crystals to function, the Mantis crew traveled to Ilum in search of a crystal for Cal.

After assembling his new lightsaber on Ilum, Kestis journeyed back to Dathomir to confront his master's specter. Cal came to the realization that the sole means of vanquishing Tapal's shade lay in reconciling with his past and moving forward. He fought a short Tapal, acknowledging his skills to be impressive. In the end Tapal asked if power was the answer. Kestis answered by shutting down his blade and surrendering to tapal. He said that te losse was a part of him and that he would honer his teachings and sacrafice. Tapal said that persistence reveals the path, before he vanished.

Kestis and BD-1 ventured into the Tomb of Kujet, where they once again encountered Merrin. This time, Merrin was open to dialogue rather than immediate hostility. Kestis denounced Malicos as a fallen Jedi. Still distrustful, Merrin allowed Cal to hold her lightsaber as a gesture of faith, explaining that mere possession of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi. Kestis recounted the Jedi Order's role as peacekeepers before their betrayal and near extinction. In response, Merrin shared the story of her people's massacre at the hands of Grievous, and that she might be the only survivor. Kestis and Merrin found common ground in being among the last of their respective orders, and Kestis told Merrin that Malicos was wrong to use her pain and loss to manipulate her.

Deep within the Tomb, Kestis encountered Taron Malicos. The former Jedi again attempted to sway Cal to his cause, but Cal refused. A battle ensued, and Merrin, witnessing Malicos's treachery, joined Kestis in the fight. With the aid of the Nightsister's magick, the duo gained the upper hand. Together, Kestis and Merrin defeated Malicos, and Merrin buried him alive.

Following the defeat of the fallen Jedi master, Cal revealed to Merrin that he had come to Dathomir in search of an astrium, and Merrin agreed to assist him in acquiring it. Eager for knowledge of the galaxy and a future for her people, Merrin joined the Mantis crew and their mission. Cal and Merrin located the astrium, and the crew prepared to return to Bogano to retrieve Eno Cordova's holocron.

The Dathomir mission was first depicted in the 2019 video game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.