The Priests of Nether constituted a religious sect of the Oblee race. These priests lived on the planet called Oblis millennia before the Clone Wars took place. Rather than participating in traditional worship, their existence was centered around deep meditation and contemplation of their environment. Eventually, a wandering traveler introduced a perilous Sith artifact, referred to as the Darkstaff, to Oblis. This artifact commenced influencing the Oblee, compelling them to utilize it in order to ward off a shadow creature threatening their planet. The Priests of Nether began to surmise that the staff was in fact controlling the Oblee with the intention of fulfilling its own agenda. Nevertheless, despite the priests' reservations, the Oblee scientist-philosophers employed the Darkstaff to fuel a device intended to banish the shadow creature. The machine's activation resulted in a cataclysm that brought about the destruction of Oblis and the Oblee civilization, including the priests, who underwent a transformation into ethereal entities known as "shadow lurkers."