Upekzar

Upekzar was the primary planet in the system bearing the same name, a star system situated in the Esstran sector of the Outer Rim Territories. In contrast to many of the generally barren Sith Worlds of the Stygian Caldera, Upekzar was a relatively small terrestrial world that supported a diverse array of verdant biomes. These ranged from dense rainforests to mountainous plains and oceans dotted with islands. The most prominent geographical feature of the planet was the Circle of Visions, a chain of volcanic islands and coastal sites arranged in a circular pattern. This extended across the planet's southern hemisphere, stretching from the south pole to the equatorial regions. These islands contained various networks of volcanic cave systems, which were originally formed by the flow of lava and subsequently abandoned as the magma receded during periods of volcanic dormancy.

Although described by Jedi Knight Natua Wan as a "pleasant planet," Upekzar contained several locations tainted by the dark side of the Force, serving as evidence of its history as a Sith colony. Due to the numerous Sith rituals performed along the Circle of Visions, certain sites where the dark side was strong exhibited unusual weather patterns and generated Sithspawn mutations in the planet's native life forms. Near Upekzar's largest city and its adjacent cave system, a large, dark gray storm cloud that extended for kilometers constantly loomed over the region, crackling with blue Force lightning and producing a strong, unpleasant, cold wind that radiated outward from the city.

The lava tubes and cave networks of the Circle of Visions became the habitat of the rhak-skuri, a diplura subspecies unique to Upekzar. These creatures secreted a pheromone known to induce nightmare-like hallucinations in certain humanoid species. The Sith settlers who later colonized Upekzar during the era of the Sith Empire structured their society around the rhak-skuri. They developed a series of Sith rituals and acolyte initiation ceremonies known as the Mysteries, which involved extended exposure to the rhak-skuri pheromones. The Sith limited their colonization efforts to five specific locations along the Circle of Visions that were associated with their Mysteries, leaving the vast majority of the planet's verdant landscape uninhabited.

As a subspecies of diplura, the original rhak-skuri were relatively small and generally harmless nonsentient creatures. While their pheromones could trigger terrifying hallucinations and nightmares in certain sentient species, the secretion itself was not harmful, and the rhak-skuri's mandibles were too small to penetrate the skin of Humans or Falleen. However, centuries of involvement in dark side rituals led to mutations in the rhak-skuri over time. By 44 ABY, the species had evolved into predators that were two meters tall and possessed a degree of sentience. They were capable of recognizing and communicating telepathically with Sith, as well as distinguishing between light-sided and dark-sided Force users.

As one of the Sith Worlds within the Stygian Caldera, Upekzar was initially colonized by the Sith species during the era of the Sith Empire. During their initial explorations of the planet, the early Sith settlers discovered the Circle of Visions, a circular chain of volcanic islands and coastal locations that stretched across the planet's southern hemisphere from the south pole to the equatorial regions. Deep within the Circle's volcanic cave systems and lava tubes, the Sith encountered colonies of rhak-skuri, a subspecies of diplura native to the planet and notable for secreting a pheromone that could cause nightmare-like hallucinations in certain humanoid species.

The Sith of Upekzar based their emerging society on the rhak-skuri, creating a series of rituals and acolyte initiation ceremonies called the Mysteries, which involved prolonged exposure to the rhak-skuri pheromones. The Sith confined themselves to five specific locations along the Circle of Visions, each associated with one of their five Mysteries, leaving most of the planet's lush environment uninhabited. While the Cold Rites were conducted near the planet's south pole and the Rites of Fire along the equator, the most important of the Mysteries, the High Rites, were performed in a temperate area of the planet. Because these rituals were restricted to the strongest Force users on Upekzar, the nearby city situated in the shadow of a dormant volcano was also home to the planet's most powerful Sith.

Although this settlement was eventually abandoned, the residual dark side energies introduced by centuries of Sith rituals persisted for millennia after its ruin. A dark gray cloud crackling with Force lightning and generating a foul, cold, heavy wind that swept outward from the city center constantly loomed over the region, extending across the city to the nearby dormant volcano approximately three kilometers away. Similarly, due to their use in the High Rites, the native rhak-skuri had mutated over centuries into predators that were two meters tall and had developed some degree of sentience. These creatures were capable of recognizing and communicating telepathically with Sith and distinguishing between light-sided and dark-sided Force users.

Although historically less significant compared to the other worlds of the Stygian Caldera, Upekzar gained galactic attention around 44 ABY. During the Jedi Order's search for the rogue Force entity Abeloth and the Sith Meditation Sphere known as Ship, Grand Master Luke Skywalker and a large Jedi strike team arrived on Upekzar in search of clues regarding Ship's location. While Skywalker and the majority of the Jedi force advanced on the ruined city that had once been home to Upekzar's most powerful Sith Force users, his son Ben Skywalker, former Sith Saber Vestara Khai, and Jedi Knight Natua Wan explored the nearby cave system, where the Sith had historically conducted their Mysteries' High Rites.

During their explorations, the latter group encountered numerous remnants of the Sith presence in the caves, ranging from caverns filled with Sith lightsabers where initiates disarmed themselves before performing the High Rites, to the decaying skeletons of deceased acolytes. The residual power of the dark side was also evident in the mutated rhak-skuri the group encountered deeper in the caves. By incapacitating Skywalker with their pheromones, the creatures attempted to feed on the young Jedi, ignoring Khai's attempts to distract them. Realizing that the telepathic rhak-skuri had developed a way to identify their Sith masters and distinguish between lightsiders and darksiders, Khai instead injured Wan and sacrificed the elder Jedi Knight to the Sithspawn, saving Skywalker's life in the process.

In the ruined city, Skywalker and the main Jedi team made their way through the abandoned streets to the city center, where an underground hangar that had once housed a Sith Meditation Sphere was buried beneath a public square. Inadvertently triggering a trap set by Abeloth that bound the dark side energies of Upekzar within the reanimated corpse of Tola Annax, the Jedi were forced to flee from the resulting Force bomb that reduced the city to dust. Ben Skywalker and Vestara Khai were also forced to escape the nearby cave system, as Abeloth's trap had also caused the previously dormant volcano to erupt.

For much of its recorded history, Upekzar was primarily inhabited by the ancient Sith, a red-skinned, Force-sensitive species with a natural inclination toward the dark side, originating from the nearby world of Korriban in the Stygian Caldera. During the era of their Sith Empire, Sith colonists from other Sith Worlds discovered and converged on Upekzar, establishing settlements at five distinct locations along its Circle of Visions. Their settlements, at least one of which was a sizable city, were located near volcanic cave systems inhabited by the native dipluran subspecies known as the rhak-skuri, which translates from the Sith language as "dream singers."

However, the Sith of Upekzar differed significantly from mainstream Sith in several aspects. Unlike many of their fellow dark siders, they did not see themselves as conquerors, nor did they prioritize martial pursuits. Instead, they focused on the metaphysical, utilizing the hallucinogenic properties of the rhak-skuri pheromones to develop their Mysteries. The architecture of their main city, which lacked the aesthetics of a fortress, also reflected their non-martial focus. Although a functional curtain wall surrounded the entire city, its exterior was extensively decorated with elaborate paintings of red-eyed Sithspawn and murals of Sith sparring and meditating. The city was accessible from the outside world through an unassuming durasteel portcullis, and its buildings were designed simply to protect and shelter their inhabitants from the elements, rather than to inspire awe or intimidate onlookers.

One of Upekzar's most notable geographical features, the Circle of Visions, was the name given to a circular arrangement of volcanic islands and coastal locations that spanned Upekzar's southern hemisphere from its south pole to the equator. Many of the sites that comprised the Circle of Visions contained subterranean volcanic cave systems initially formed by lava flow and subsequently abandoned as the magma receded during periods of volcanic dormancy. Many of these caves were inhabited by colonies of rhak-skuri, a subspecies of diplura that produced a pheromone known to cause nightmare-like hallucinations in certain Humanoid species. Five of these locations along the Circle of Visions became home to Sith settlements during the era of the Sith Empire, each built around a cave system in which the Sith conducted one of their five initiation Mysteries.

One of the larger and more important cave systems along the Circle of Visions was the network in which the ancient Sith performed their Mysteries' High Rites. Unlike the Cold Rites, the Rites of Fire, and the other Mysteries of the Sith, the High Rites were only observed and conducted by Upekzar's most powerful Sith Force users, many of whom resided in the nearby city. In addition to its natural caverns, the cave system contained a collection of artificially expanded rooms where initiates would disarm and prepare themselves before their ritualistic journeys. By 44 ABY, the caves' colony of rhak-skuri had mutated into predators that were two meters tall and possessed some degree of sentience. They were capable of recognizing and communicating telepathically with Sith and distinguishing between light-sided and dark-sided Force users.

One of the planet's most significant cities was constructed approximately three kilometers from the cave system where Upekzar's most powerful Sith conducted their Mysteries' High Rites. Situated in the shadow of the caves' dormant volcano, the city was unique for its architectural style that combined functionality and decoration. Unlike many traditional Sith structures, the city was not built as a fortress designed to impose and intimidate its observers. Instead, while its outer curtain wall served a functional purpose in protecting the city, its exterior was extensively decorated with elaborate paintings of red-eyed Sithspawn and murals of Sith sparring and meditating. Similarly, its buildings were designed simply to protect and shelter their inhabitants from the elements, and its portcullis gate was a simple contraption designed solely to permit entry into the city premises.

Upekzar made its only appearance in Legends canon in Fate of the Jedi: Ascension, a 2011 novel written by Christie Golden. While Ascension referred to the planet as a "Sith world" associated with the ancient Sith, the Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion later confirmed its status as one of the titular Sith Worlds of the Stygian Caldera by including it in the Esstran sector and grid coordinate R-5.