Elecia Zeveron, also referred to as "The Mother," was a female human hailing from the Core Worlds. She served as the spiritual figurehead for the Path of the Open Hand cult circa 382 BBY. Notably, she was the sister of Oliviah Zeveron, a Jedi Knight.
Having arrived at the Path's headquarters situated on the planet Dalna as a refugee, Zeveron's influence grew within the religious group after she became a member. This rise was fueled by her Force visions, which prompted Path members to consider her a prophet. Quickly, she superseded Werth Plouth, previously known as the Herald, as the cult's leader. Subsequently, she initiated an expansion of the group's activities. Zeveron championed the Path's already existing conviction that the Force needed to be "freed" from those who could wield it, particularly the Jedi Order, toward which the Mother harbored a strong aversion. To that end, Zeveron established the Children, whose mission was to "liberate" Force artifacts from various worlds and deliver them to her. Furthermore, she actively sought out wealthy patrons for the cult and commenced construction of the Gaze Electric, a starship intended to function as the Path's mobile base of operations, enabling them to disseminate their beliefs across the galaxy.
Elecia Zeveron was a human [woman](/article/gender], possessing a minor degree of Force-sensitivity, and was the sister of Oliviah. During their [youth](/article/youngling], the Jedi Order discovered them. Oliviah was taken for training, but Elecia was rejected due to her weaker connection to the Force. This rejection fostered a deep-seated resentment in Elecia towards both the Jedi and her sister, a feeling that persisted throughout her life.
After departing the Core Worlds, Zeveron eventually took charge of a crew of thieves. Around 396 BBY, they devised and executed a heist at Reena University on Reena during the Queen's Bloom Festival. During this event, Zeveron encountered a young student named Axel Greylark for the first time, who would later become a valuable asset.
Zeveron, posing as a refugee from the Core Worlds, eventually arrived on the Outer Rim world of Dalna amidst a wave of migrants as the Galactic Republic expanded into the [Galactic Frontier](/article/galactic_frontier]. Many of these new colonists faced hardships, as communication was slow and unreliable, and many were forced to flee conflicts like the Forever War between Eiram and E'ronoh. On Dalna, a missionary group known as the Path of the Open Hand welcomed and aided such refugees. The Path was a cult that practiced living harmoniously with the Force, including the principle of exchanging gifts. Their philosophy also advocated complete abstinence from using the Force, believing it could have significant consequences elsewhere.
Elecia joined the Path and falsely proclaimed herself a prophet, claiming to receive visions from the Force that validated the Path's beliefs. The Path's members, convinced she was sent by the Force, quickly elevated Elecia to the position of spiritual leader, bestowing upon her the title of "Mother." Despite the existing leadership structure of the Path, which included a Council of Elders and a Nautolan named Werth Plouth who served as "Herald," the newly appointed Mother superseded them in the hierarchy, becoming the cult's de facto leader. With her newfound authority, she expanded the Path's ideology, shifting its focus from passive missionary work to a more active role. Elecia preached that the goal should not merely be to avoid interacting with the Force, as practiced by groups like the Jedi Order, but to actively "free" the Force in all ways. She believed that only this "freedom" would bring true balance to the Force.
To achieve this objective, the Mother established a new faction within the Path: the Children. This group consisted of Werth's daughter Kor Plouth, a human named Cincey, a Mikkian thief named Treze, and Plouth's girlfriend Yana Ro, one of the cult's two Evereni members. Officially, the Children were tasked with proselytizing and spreading the Path's beliefs to other planets along the Frontier. However, their secret mission was to steal artifacts imbued with the Force and return them to the Path's compound on Dalna. These artifacts were then either destroyed or stored to prevent their use, in accordance with the group's doctrine of freeing the Force.
The Mother also played a crucial role in attracting donors to the Path, securing generous benefactors who funded various enterprises. It is also possible she used the Path to cover smuggling efforts. These illegal operations also contributed to the Path's financial resources. One such project was the construction of a massive, hyperspace-capable starship called the Gaze Electric. This ship would enable the Path to become mobile, allowing them to expand their influence beyond Dalna.
In 382 BBY, Zeveron enlisted the help of smuggler Radicaz Dobbs to locate components of a set of three rods, Force artifacts that held particular significance for her plans. She also accepted from Dobbs a jewel-like egg he had discovered on a Wild Space planet, sensing its great potential.
The Path became the subject of a Jedi investigation after the Children stole the Rod of Seasons artifact from Hynestia Prime. Jedi Master Zallah Macri and Padawan Kevmo Zink introduced themselves to the cult while investigating them as potential suspects. Zink, in particular, developed a mutual attraction with Marda Ro, Yana's cousin and the other Evereni member of the Path, who was a devoted and obsessive follower of the Mother.
After initially avoiding the Jedi visitors, the Mother confronted the duo after they broke into the Path compound to recover stolen Force artifacts. She hatched the egg, revealing a bizarre and unsettling creature she named the Leveler, which overwhelmed and killed Macri and Zink. Zeveron used this event to further incite fanaticism within the Path, claiming the Leveler was a gift from the Force, before leading the cult to flee Dalna aboard the Gaze Electric. Through the Mother's manipulations and the related events, Marda became fanatically devoted to the Path's mission. Meanwhile, Yana had turned against the Mother after she orchestrated the deaths of the Children during the ambush on Thelj. Although Marda did not believe her cousin, Yana plotted the Mother's downfall with the Herald, who sought to regain control of the Path. Yana managed to escape the Mother's wrath when she happened to be holding the Rod of Seasons near the Leveler, causing it to follow her and inadvertently assuming the role of its guide, forcing Zeveron to keep her alive.
Following the Night of Sorrow and Elecia's confrontation with her sister Oliviah, Marda turned against the Mother, realizing that she had never truly received visions from the Force and had hypocritically used the Force to manipulate and influence others. Although Elecia offered to create a new version of the Path with Marda by her side, Marda declared that she would free the Force from manipulation, which Elecia initially thought referred to the Jedi. However, Marda then turned the Leveler on Elecia, transforming the leader of the Path into a husk.
Elecia Zeveron's Force visions led the Path of the Open Hand to revere her as a prophet, viewing the visions as a gift. Zeveron also possessed an unusually compelling presence, which particularly affected the smuggler Radicaz Dobbs. After meeting the Mother, Dobbs quickly became devoted to her service, despite initially intending to deceive her, and experienced deprivation when he was not in her presence. Zeveron possessed a latent and skillful ability to use a type of mind trick, enabling her to assert her will and inspire affection and obedience in others.
The Mother wore silver robes similar in style to those worn by other members of the Path of the Open Hand, but made from finer materials. She carried Zallah Macri's lightsaber and the Rod of Power.
Elecia Zeveron made her debut appearance in the 2022 young-adult novel The High Republic: Path of Deceit, co-authored by Tessa Gratton and Justina Ireland as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project. She was first mentioned in an episode of The High Republic Show announcing media from Phase II of the project, and her first name was revealed in an excerpt from Path of Deceit published on StarWars.com. Zeveron's full name was revealed in a Characters of Star Wars: The High Republic video dedicated to her.