Waymancy Storm

By the time 7811 BBY arrived, the Galactic Republic was actively engaged in settlement initiatives within the northern territories of the Rim. Consequently, civilian populations inhabited planets such as Barenth, Caursito, and Upper Brightday. These settlements were interconnected via hyperspace jump beacons like Sooncanoo Beacon, all situated within the Rim.

Concurrently, within the Waymancy Hollow region—named after the Waymancy system in the Inner Rim's—the Sisters of the Machinesmith had spent a millennium examining Republic technological designs leading up to that year. Employing the Sif-Alulan process, they implemented numerous enhancements to these designs, leading to the creation of highly efficient power generators. This, in turn, facilitated the construction of warships, including cruisers, with superior range and speed compared to those of the Republic. Furthermore, they developed laser and pulse-wave weapons—both starship-mounted and personal-scale—that had greater armor-piercing abilities and significantly higher firing rates than the Republic's arsenal.

In 7811 BBY, the Republic's initial interaction with Waymancy Hollow-affiliated warships resulted in the destruction of the Republic vessels by the enemy's intense fusillades of laser fire. The subsequent conflict, opposing the Republic and the Signatories of Waymancy, became known as the Waymancy Storm. It unfolded across star systems in the northern Rim, within the area later designated as the Northern Dependencies region of the Inner Rim and the Expansion Region.

The forces aligned with the Signatories of Waymancy included the armadas of the Wives of Tingrippa, the mercenary army of Whirl-Point-Six, a Neshtabine colony on Tantara, and at least one raider from Doshan and one thug from Muzara. According to Nagratha, the Republic's Supreme Chancellor, the Signatories' core beliefs encompassed fanaticism, territorial cleansing, and the "cold logic of machinery."

Despite the Republic armed forces outnumbering the Signatories' forces by a factor of one hundred, the latter's technologically superior military capabilities—including, as Nagratha described, "frightful killing machines"—provided a significant advantage, resulting in substantial losses for the Republic. The Republic struggled to counter the rapid-fire energy cannons employed by the Whirl-Point-Six mercenaries. The Wives of Tingrippa's fleets navigated between the Rim's beacons, daring the Republic to present any starship hull design that their weapons couldn't penetrate or any counterattack that their deflector shields could withstand.

During the Waymancy Storm, the Signatories of Waymancy targeted both Republic military forces and civilian settlers, devastating worlds in the northern Rim. As the war progressed, the Signatories' actions grew increasingly bloodier. The Republic's adversaries incinerated the lands of Upper Brightday's settlers, resulting in the deaths of ten million colonists. At Barenth, the Republic orchestrated a defense that facilitated the near-complete evacuation of the civilian population, although an entire Republic battle group and its personnel were lost. Furthermore, when the Republic's Fortieth Flotilla attempted to boost its vessels' shields at Sooncanoo Beacon, the effort failed, leaving the flotilla powerless in space, where the enemy subsequently massacred every crewmember.

According to Nagratha, the Republic prioritized the welfare of its remote settlements and the liberation of territories seized by the Signatories of Waymancy. Following a period of mourning for the losses in the northern Rim, the Republic experienced a surge of determination among its citizens to retaliate against the Signatories' actions. The Republic's military saw an increase in volunteer enlistments, and factories in the Expansion Region diligently produced armored galleons and crawler mechs for the war effort. The high morale of the Republic's soldiers was evident on the battlefield, as demonstrated by their refusal to abandon fortifications on Paig and a fleet element's actions during the Second Battle of Brightday.

Republic spies and codebreakers—including the Squill Sifters, which included Nagratha's mother—dedicated significant effort to deciphering intercepted enemy data. At some point, the Republic Navy also captured a supply of the Signatories' weapons and starship generators at Sif-Alula. Subsequently, technologists at a Republic shipyard on Axum attempted to reverse-engineer the technology, achieving scientific breakthroughs in the process.

Equipped with newly enhanced offensive and defensive capabilities, the Republic forces eventually shifted the war's momentum. At Immalia, the Republic cannonship Squintpipe, outfitted with an experimental deflector shield generator and energy skin, ended the Signatories' orbital bombardment and forced their warships to retreat. Republic agents, including Chief Sergeant Saens Sukko, scaled a magnetic cliff on Mittoblade, where Sukko played a pivotal role in destroying the enemy structure known as the Clowse Glowstack.

The Republic's rocket pack–equipped Rocket-Jumper Elite Advance Unit also fought with valor in the Waymancy Storm, solidifying their legendary status through their participation in the conflict. One notable action was the rout of the Tantara nest. Ultimately, the Republic forces launched a final offensive that resulted in the destruction of the Waymancy bridal seat, transforming it into a hyperspace sinkhole, and securing overall victory in the Waymancy Storm on what Nagratha described as a "solemn, glorious" day.

The Republic commemorated the victory in the Waymancy Storm annually for at least twenty-five years. During a commemorative service marking the 25th anniversary of Victory in the Waymancy Storm in 7786 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Nagratha delivered a speech that was broadcast to other Republic worlds. Nagratha acknowledged the critical role played by the veterans in attendance, as well as their fallen comrades, and thanked them for their service.

In the speech, the Supreme Chancellor provided a concise account of the conflict, emphasizing the threat posed to Republic citizens by the Signatories of Waymancy, whom Nagratha characterized as "tyrants absent of conscience" and a "force of evil" that inflicted "atrocities" upon the Republic. She also highlighted the challenges faced by the Republic in opposing them. The Republic's leader viewed the war as a "necessary" undertaking aimed at halting the Signatories' actions. Nagratha referenced the Rim colonies that were targeted during the Waymancy Storm but had since become thriving worlds and members of a Republic that was steadily expanding despite the former threat posed by the Signatories. The Supreme Chancellor further expressed her conviction that the victory in the war would be remembered long after the attendees of the service had passed away.

According to Nagratha, the technological disparity between the Republic and its enemy during the Waymancy Storm was greater than in any previous or subsequent conflict throughout the Republic's tens of millennia-long history. The Supreme Chancellor speculated that, while the Republic might not have been defeated without the technological advancements made on Axum, it would have suffered significantly higher casualties.

The Waymancy Storm triggered a significant wave of technological innovation. Following the Republic's victory, the Sif-Alulan process was reverse-engineered, and in the 7700s BBY, master crafter Lyns Skutroo introduced the squintpipe process for enhancing starship power generators. The resulting improvements in energy weaponry led to rapid-fire turbolasers temporarily surpassing available defense technologies, prompting tacticians to seek stronger hull armor and phase out larger capital ships in favor of overwhelming numbers of smaller gunships. However, further refinements of the squintpipe process in the 7500s BBY led to enhanced shielding technologies. Overall, the process spurred a golden age of warship construction across the galaxy and the eventual resurgence of capital ships in combat.

The Waymancy Storm was first introduced in a section of the 2009 Star Wars Roleplaying Game sourcebook Galaxy at War by Wizards of the Coast, authored by Daniel Wallace. An in-universe account of the Waymancy Storm was initially planned for inclusion in the 2012 reference book The Essential Guide to Warfare by Jason Fry and Paul R. Urquhart; however, the Wallace-authored section that would have mentioned the conflict was removed before the book's publication. This section was later released in 2014 as part of Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, a series of articles published on the StarWars.com Blog by Fry and Del Rey editor Erich Schoeneweiss featuring content omitted from the book.

• Galaxy at War (First mentioned)
• The Essential Guide to Warfare
• Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, Part 4: The Rise of the Republic on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
• Star Wars: The Essential Guide to Warfare Author's Cut, Part 12: Tales of the New Republic on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)

• Daniel Wallace's Geekosity — Endnotes for Galaxy at War on Blogspot (backup link)

• Jason Fry's Dorkery — EG to Warfare: Endnotes Pt. 3 on Tumblr (backup link)

• Jason Fry's Dorkery — EG to Warfare: Endnotes Pt. 6 on Tumblr (backup link)

• Jason Fry's Dorkery — EG to Warfare: Endnotes Pt. 7 on Tumblr (backup link)

• Related categories:

• Battles of the Waymancy Storm

• Battles of the Waymancy Storm