- Intent: Codify the lore behind a player-created Dathomiri Clan unique to SW Chaos.
- Image Credit: Image created by me.
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: The Talay Grimoire
- Organization Name: Mistwalker Clan
- Classification: Religious Cult
- Affiliation: Witches of Dathomir; Silver Jedi Concord
- Organization Symbol: Pictured above. The icon of the Mistwalker clan was a graphical depiction of the spirit ichor stylized around one the Dathomiri mystic symbols. The symbol was described as representing the Nightmother with arms raised, in communion with the spirits.
- Description: The Mistwalkers were a covern of Dathomiri Nightsisters and Nightbrothers who fled the massacre that took place on Dathomir during the Clone Wars. Originally settling on the planet Talay, the ex-patriots formed a unique cultural identity that evolved over centuries into the traditions and beliefs of the clan today. Without a complete copy of the Book of Shadows, their religious text was shaped by an oral tradition that became codified in their own version of the Book of Law, which is known as the Talay Grimoire. A close-knit community of families of varying relation to one another, it is rare for an outsider to join the cult. Instead, most members are born into the Clan and are introduced to its religious observances as part of their way of life.
- Headquarters: The Alaris Temple
- Domain: Alaris Prime
- Notable Assets: Shaol'mara (original Mistwalker village, abandoned in 859 ABY)
- Hierarchy:
- Allya (The All-Mother). An ideal or religious icon, rather than an actual person, at the top of the Mistwalker hierarchy is the author of the Book of Law and progenitor of the Witches of Dathomir. With the spirits, she is honored and venerated as the ideal Mother which all Sisters should strive to emulate.
- Gathzerion (The Nightmother). The author of the Book of Shadows, who, in traditional Nightsister religious belief, is said to have restored Allya's writings to their original form. Gathzerion is venerated as a saint and intercessory to the spirits.
- Shaol'maka (She/He Who Dwells In Darkness). Though analagous to the role of the Clan Mother, in function the Shaol'maka was closer to that of the Shaman of the Nightsisters. The Shaol'maka is the eldest of the shamans, and thus may be a male (though this is rare). The Mistwalkers do not style their leader as 'Mother' as they believe that there is only one Nightmother, who speaks and intercedes on their behalf, though it is the Shaol'maka who interprets for the spirits. The Shaol'maka is both the secular and religious leader of the commune.
- Shaman (Speaker for the Dead). The Force Sensitives of the Clan, titled such for their ability to perceive the spirits and to interpret for them. The Dathomiri being a matriarchial society, female (or Nightsister) shaman are more highly regarded than male (or Nightbrother) shaman, who are also referred to as Lesser Shaman.
- Nightsisters. The female members of the Clan, who serve as its hunters, providers, and (most importantly) its leaders. May or may refer to a Force Sensitive.
- Nightbrothers. The male members of the Clan, who are no longer regarded as slaves or mere labor, but do occupy a position as second-class citizens within the matriarchal socio-economic culture of the Dathomiri. They are the warriors and occupy the working class. May or may not refer to a Force Sensitive.
- Membership: Most members of the Mistwalker Clan are those of Dathomiri ancestry born into the human-Zabrak families that compose its multi-generational commune. Those who venture out into the larger galaxy and return may bring with them spouses who them marry into the family/clan, or children who are born or adopted into the family/clan. For the rare individual who joins their religious commune, a ritual baptism marked their acceptance into the Clan.
- Climate: The Mistwalker Clan is an ethnic commune of Dathomiri ex-patriots that is closely connected with both religious and cultural identities to the Witches of Dathomir. Actual observation or belief varies from person to person, with the significance being placed on the cultural identity of one being a Nightsister or Nightbrother.
- Reputation: Mixed. On a secular level, the gender bias exuded by the Mistwalkers clashed with many culture's beliefs in gender equality. Additionally, the rejection of the Force and belief in the spirits was often viewed as backwater shamanism by the Force Users of the greater galactic community.
- Curios: Some common cultural icons frequently carried by Mistwalkers include:
- The Talay Grimoire (The Book of Shadows in Mistwalker religious and cultural belief)
- Zhaboka and the Zabrak martial art known as K'thri
- The practice of Dathomir Magic and/or possession of Magic Talismans
- Duskblades or Nightsister Daggers
- Energy Bows
- Clothing made of Dathomiri spider-silk, Whuffa leather, or Rancor hide
- Talay Krayt Dragons, tamed Rancors, or other familiars
- Rules: Those of the Mistwalker Clan abide by Allyan philosophy on the expectations of conduct, with an emphasis on the religious philosophy of the Witches of Dathomir. Predominantly, this includes a rejection of the Force and belief in the spirit realm for those who kept the faith of their forebears. For others, identity as a Mistwalker was more of a cultural or familial identity than a religious one, those there was a secular understanding of the tenants of the Book of Law even for those households that were not religious.
- Goals:
- To maintain balance and harmony with the spirits
- To safeguard the culture and traditions of Dathomir. To that end, the Mistwalkers are all taught the Dathomiri language as their first tongue and it is the primary language spoken in the commune. Education in Galactic Basic is taught later as a second language.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Mistwalker Clan has its roots in the Clone Wars. During the last days of the Old Republic, the planet Dathomir was subject to a number of assaults committed by the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The increasing acts of aggression and hostility triggered several departures from among the Nightbrothers and Nightsisters, who struggled to maintain their simple and ritualistic lifestyle among the wider galaxy. When the Nightsister Clan was nearly eradicated by the Confederates, the news prompted many of the wandering ex-patriots to seek shadowports in which to maintain a low profile for themselves.
A coven of Dathomiri ex-patriots arrived on Talay shortly after the Declaration of a New Order, originally at the shadowport of the City of Talay though the commune eventually took root in an isolated area of the planet. Over the next several generations, the culture and traditions of the Nightsisters and Nightbrothers began to evolve toward what would become recognizable as the Mistwalker Clan. This was greatly aided by the Gulag Plague, as during this time the village was at its cultural height -- this due to the fact that during this time the village retained the majority of its young adults, many of whom to that point would leave the village in search of job prospects in the City of Talay or off world. Instead, Shaol'mara achieved a cultural renaissance during this era, emerging out of the Four Hundred Years Darkness not as Dathomiri ex-patriots, but as their own, unique cultural identity as Talay practitioners of Dathomiri magic.
No longer were they Nightsisters or Nightbrothers, they were the Mistwalkers.
By 851 ABY, Talay and the Mistwalker village was under the control of the Confederacy. Despite this, the village and its people continued to subsist as they had for centuries as the Mistwalker Clan. Viewed as primitive, the people of Shaol'mara are largely dismissive of modern technology in favor of traditional methods of hunting and farming. Datapads, comlinks, and other modern technologies are sparsely visible in the community, though the majority of the tools in use are far more ancient. This continued until 859 ABY, the Confederacy of Independent Systems began construction on a military base on the planet Talay. The military project included the imposition of a shield gate over the planet Talay, which caused concern for some denizens of the planet. Those anxieties seemed to become realized when, later that same year, an armed group identifying itself as the Vegemite Jedi Enclave led an assault on the shield gate. Guided by visions that another attack would be coming, the Shaol'maka led the Mistwalker Clan in an evacuation of the village and planet, in the same manner as their forebears had fled from the devastation on Dathomir generations before. That vision would prove truth, as the Agents of Chaos led an assault on the shield gate and the base on the planet below.
The Mistwalkers requested asylum from the Silver Jedi and were allowed to settle in the former Jedi Academy located on Alaris Prime, which has since become the new home for their religious commune and way of life. The traditionalists worry that such close exposure to the Jedi will corrupt their youth away from the teachings of Allya, while the progressives among the clan choose to believe that the spirits may be bringing them closer to Allya's origins as a Jedi Knight. Regardless of whichever interpretation one might choose to embrace, the will of the Shaol'maka brought them to Alaris Prime and it is the will of the Shaol'maka that they remain among the Jedi.
What comes of the Mistwalkers remains to be seen, but such change is what birthed their culture.
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