A spice lord denoted a person holding significant power within the spice trade. It was once a widespread rumor that a spice lord inhabited the ruins located on the Moddell sector planet Sarafur. More specifically, the spice lords of Sevarcos II were the most respected and influential clan lords of the Sevari people, entrusted with vast territories by their community. Their purpose was to engage in spice trading and generate interstellar profits for the clans they represented. The spice lords ultimately determined the market price of spice, while also overseeing production, negotiating trade deals, and designating areas for spice mining and extraction.
Their behavior was somewhat peculiar, rarely seen even by their own people, and generally asserted loyalty to no one except themselves - not even the Galactic Empire, which held control over the majority of spice trading and extraction during the era of the Galactic Civil War.
Numerous spice lords would openly contract the Empire to extract spice on their territories, utilizing prisoners from the Imperial penal colony on the planet, while others disregarded the Empire, conducting their own spice mining and trading operations, exhibiting minimal interest in galactic politics and power dynamics.
During the Galactic Civil War period, the three most recognized and influential spice lords were:
- Xerxes Quintas of the Southern Deserts
- Trevael of the Northern Frontier
- Cassius Nolath Rha of the Equatorial Belt
The Festival of the High Winds served as an annual gathering for the spice lords, providing a venue for participation in various ceremonies, rituals, and discussions pertaining to the spice trade, while the Sevari youths engaged in wind rider racing competitions.
During the time of the Bordal Contagion in 214 BBY, the Tamarin sector was integrated into the Galactic Republic. Despite this, the authority of the Republic had diminished beyond Kabal, leading the sector into a state of anarchy. Its Republic senator was a spice lord originating from Sevarcos II, and his Sector Fleet was solely tasked with safeguarding spice haulers.