“I’m sorry to have to interrupt our lovely reader,” Janzikek started, “but really now!I almost forgot Hextrophon brought the Ewoks into this! What’s next, The Truthbehind the Gungans’ Sacred Place? Na’al, this is fodder for a holovid. Do you reallybelieve anyone’s going to be swayed by this?”
Na’al motioned to someone in the audience. “Perhaps our resident journalist canshed some light on the veracity of Hextrophon’s incendiary statements.”
【资料图】
Janzikek rolled his eyes as an attractive woman with wavy blonde, shoulder-lengthhair stood up. Cindel Towani wore a simple but pretty round-neck, embellished, tan androse blouse with a mauve belt. She looked to be in her mid-thirties but was probablyolder. She smiled, all too aware of the consternation and disdain on the faces of theHistorical Council members, which made her only gladder to spot the encouragementfrom her supporters, a subtle nod from Professor Hoole, a beaming grin from his wife,and a sly wink from Leia.
Cindel Towani had earned her reputation as a rigorous and honest journalist. Thatfact would not help her today. While many saw the fields as related, to many historians,journalists dealt in ephemera at best and sensationalist fabrication at worst, both ofwhich were considered the antithesis of the years of meticulous fact-finding that scientists engaged in, and star systems away from the salacious fact-inventing techniquesemployed by the mainstream newsfeed reporters. Cindel had been around long enoughto know that historians weren’t above skewing facts or conveniently overlooking piecesof evidence that didn’t fit their theories. Besides, even they had to admit that Cindel wasnot that kind of journalist. She had established her reputation the hard way by turningdown the mainstream, trans-galactic, corporate-controlled press for her own newsgridservice, The Life Monitor, which, as far as independent media went, earned her few sparecredits but gave her a good name amongst those who paid attention to such things.Arhul Hextrophon had started his career as an independent journalist as well, ensuringthat the two got along splendidly the few times they’d met up. It was in honor of himthat she’d agreed to appear today.
But she had another mark against her. She was the author of a book series on Ewoklegends, of which at least two holofilms and some children’s animated holodramas hadbeen based. That wasn’t going to be winning any prestige points with the more orthodoxmembers, which, in a council of historians, numbered nearly all of them.70”As most of youare aware, I’m not here in the capacity of a journalist today.” Cindel hoped this preamble would assuage confidentiality concerns. “Until the Council grants permission—if itdoes—everything said here will remain in the strictest confidence, and I’ve signed a waiver to that effect. I was invited here as a specialist on Endor myths and legends,having spent a good deal of time amongst the indigenous peoples.”
She could see Leia smiling warmly in her seat. The women met in the months following the Yevethan conflict and spent several pleasant hours in a tapcaf recounting theirrespective time on Endor and the mutual friendship they shared with the Ewoks ofBright Tree Village. Leia had been one of the few people with whom she could openlydiscuss her childhood, a painful past that included the murder of her parents andbrother at the hands of Sanyassan Marauders, a tragedy that left Cindel orphaned at theage of five, until she serendipitously stumbled upon the gentle Teek and his companion,Noa Briqualon, the man who would become her guardian and to whom she’d dedicatedher first award-winning biographical piece.
Cindel had only recently come back from Endor after visiting with Wicket, who’daccompanied her to the Soul Trees where her parents had been buried…
“And what exactly is your expert assessment thus far?” Janzikek cut into her reverie.Cindel gave him a wry smile. Stodgy historians would hardly rank at the top of her listof adversaries, and this one had unsheathed his claws too early.
“Much of Hextrophon’s journal involves people and places far removed from myspecific area of knowledge, but several points ring true for me. The Wizards of the NightSpirit, for example, are central to the legends of many tribes, including the Ewoks andtheir Dulok adversaries. Even the Yuzzum’s oral tales contain accounts of these beings.They are believed to be evil creatures that arrived from another realm through a portalcalled the Endor Gate. Anecdotal accounts from not a few passing spacers regard it as awormhole. More recent legends mention the return of the Wizards and their expulsionby a gem of power…”
“Excuse me,” Janzikek interrupted. “Miss Towani, is it? Are you the same CindelTowani who wrote the Chronicles of Endor some years back—the same books which wereadapted into an animated holoseries?”
Here it came. “Yes, I am.” She paused to let the muttering and laughter die down.Janzikek remained silent, but his self-satisfied grin could not have been more obvious.“The Endor series I wrote was based on actual experiences of the Ewoks, some of whichwere told to me personally by the current tribe leaders—Chiefs Wicket and KneesaaWarrick. The holoseries was aimed at children and, although based on my material, tooksome minor liberties with it, mainly to keep it mild for its target audience.”
“So, you were unhappy with the series?” Janzikek asked slyly. “It was reviewed as,and I quote, ‘overly cute and bland,” he read from his datapad, “a toxic anodyne ofjejune mediocrity…’”
“I had nothing to do with the production, and while I would have done things differently, tonally and aesthetically, I’m not unhappy with it. It’s not like the Bustero series.The Ewoks series remained surprisingly close to the events described in my books.”
“I see.” Janzikek proceeded in that coy manner that was starting to grate on hernerves. “If I recall correctly, these were tales you’d composed some time before or afterthe Battle of Endor… there’s some confusion in regard to the dates… In any case, it wasat a time when not only were you a child, but your sources were woklings themselves.”
“Quite a bit older than woklings, but, yes, they were young when I first heard someof the stories. I didn’t begin writing them down until years later after Noa, my lateguardian, encouraged me to do so. I made several trips back to Endor to confirm theirtextual accuracy and to record additional tales for the books.”
“Tales indeed!” Hanapen brusquely interjected. “Tales which claim that most of theraces on the Endor moon are indigenous to it—in direct contradiction to more scientificsources that indicate the majority of races there are the result of crash landings.”
“With respect to the scientists,” Cindel rejoined, “the conclusions they drew weremade in contradiction to the direct testimony of the world’s own inhabitants.”
“Which they rightly disregarded!” Hanapen snorted. “The inhabitants are primitives.Or do you believe their fables and superstitions outweigh science?”
Cindel laughed. “Those primitives helped overthrow the Empire. They also have awritten language, something your scientists denied and for which I’ve furnished hardevidence. Not only could the Ewoks read and write, but other races could as well.Additionally, there is my own eye-witness account and that of Noa’s, observations madeduring the time we lived there and when I returned for my investigations… So there iscorroboration for much of their testimony.”
“Anecdotally, at least,” Janzikek assured the audience. “Oh, I’ve examined your work.Rather… fantastic, isn’t it all?” Janzikek kept his tone light, but it was clearly derisive.
“I recall in particular a pantheon of season deities that were said to have personallyinteracted with the Ewoks. I believe they referred to themselves as the ‘Flower Queen,’‘Leaf Queen,’ ‘Sun King,’ and ‘Snow King.’ Quite charming, really! And while we’re onsuch a droll subject, I’d be remiss if I failed to mention your accounts of… let’s see here,a crying mountain, talking cave, sapient rocks, gossiping trees, and other equallycharming eccentricities.”
The room erupted in laughter! Clearly, Janzikek had known beforehand that Cindelwould be providing corroborative evidence to back up Hextrophon’s account and wasprepared for what he thought would be an easy victory.
Cindel nodded in deference to his oratory skills. Bullies were always the same,whether twenty-meter-tall Goraxes or two-meter-high academics. When the laughterdied down, she continued. “I understand how some of this might seem silly and superstitious to outsiders, but it’s all relative, isn’t it? After all, Professor Janzikek, you’re atalking lizard. To many Human and non-saurian races who haven’t yet joined the galacticcommunity, you’d be regarded as an outrageous myth. Some insular Duros communities didn’t even believe Humans existed for a time. In my experience, most legends havea solid basis in fact, as anyone who’s ever spent time on Endor can testify. MountSorrow—what you call ‘the crying mountain,’ for instance—is a very large B’rknaa whowas lonely after he’d ‘broken up’ with the one called the Black Cavern. Turns out it wasjust a grave misunderstanding and they moved back together. If you’d read about theZandor Rockers you’d likely say they were ridiculous and impossible, but I can pointyou to Master Baobab and his account of the similar Mudmen. I can give you prosaicexplanations for all of it if that will make you feel better, but the fact remains that thereare genuinely fantastic things on Endor and throughout the universe that are beyondlimited, naturalistic rationalizations.”
“I concur!” announced Professor Pollo Tipn, interrupting the chatter that Cindel hadgarnered with that speech. A Devaronian, Tipn was a former student of Voren Na’alwho’d established himself as an exceptional researcher in the intervening years. “TheEmperor was keenly invested in the ancient races. He posted a picket around Rafa V,kept cloaked ships in orbit around Korriban, bombed Osseria, stored exotic technologywithin Mount Tantiss, sent Thrawn into the Unknown Regions, and attempted to havethe Oswaft wiped out. But there is more, a corresponding account to the Ewok legends.Miss Towani, have you ever heard of the Kathol Outback?”
“I have,” Cindel replied. “My search for galactic parallels to the situation on Endorled me first to visit the Sagar Tree of the Trobbits, from which the nuts and fruit of thesurrounding area, when consumed, result in demonstrable increases in intelligence andstrength. I then traveled to Spira, Kro Var, Ravaath, and the Kathol Outback.”
“Incredible place!” Tipn declared. “For those of you who don’t know, the history ofthe Kathol sector and what it contained were kept classified for years due to the threatposed by the Imperial Remnant. Following the Pellaeon-Gavrisom Treaty twenty years ago, the records were made public. That’s when my colleague, Charon Thanas, and Ibegan to investigate the fascinating similarities.”
“Tipn,” interrupted Graf-Well, “this isn’t the time for one of your lectures!”
“I’ll be brief! It’s relevant to the proceedings.” Tipn looked over at Na’al and Eliss,who nodded his bulbous head in assent. “During what’s referred to as the Third GreatSchism, several Jedi of the Old Republic tracked a Sith Lord called Darth Arrid to theKathol Sector, where he’d taken the region’s governing body captive. They were anextraordinary and ancient race called by their offspring ‘The Precursors.’ They calledthemselves the Kathol, which is also the name of their planet and system, and claimed tobe descendants of an even greater supernatural race, a group Hextrophon identifies asthe Celestials. I’ve traced the ancient root of this word, Cthol, and I believe it means ‘theDwellers Below,’ though it could also be translated as ‘the Hidden People,’ the reasonsfor which are obscure but should remind us of the Kwa. The Kathol possessed amazingpowers of organic technology and could bio-engineer living creatures, such as thepreviously referenced Charr Ontee. As Hextrophon writes in his manuscript, severalPrecursor races are known to have had this rare capability.
“They were a gentle species, not warriors,” Tipn continued, “for which reason theJedi were called in to fight on their behalf—and fight they did, in spite of Arrid’s possession of their leader, Halbret, before being repelled.”5
“In fairness, Professor…” interjected Jedi Knight and Historian Veste Gesdol, “I don’tknow how gentle the the Kathol were.” Gesdol had years ago apprenticed under JediMaster Tionne Solusar, who was also present. “Much of what we know about the Katholcomes from the Jedi’s account and New Republic scientists. I would urge caution beforedeclaring them benevolent. Suffice it to say that there are troubling discrepancies…”
“Indeed, and I look forward to discussing those with you,” Tipn acknowledged.“Based on what we know, one of the planet’s unique Hyperspace Launch Gates wasseverely damaged. This was an enormous construct that could wipe out the Katholentirely, just as Arrid’s people had done in the Vultar System when they activated theCosmic Turbine. To forestall such a catastrophe, the Kathol had many years earlierfashioned a technological safehouse, a receptacle known as the Lifewell, into which theycould transfer their life-forces—or spirits, if you will. The Lifewell would keep themalive for a time as energy-beings. If this device sounds similar to Ssi-ruuvi entechmenttechnology, that’s because it essentially is, though the use to which each was put couldnot have been more different. Anyway, their records indicate that they first used thisLifewell over thirty thousand years ago to hide from a coming adversary and left behinda guardian to protect the Lifewell and release them when the threat had passed. Butsomething went wrong. Their guardian, later called the DarkStryder, chose to take overKathol by using their secrets to bio-engineer his own species! Trapped in the Lifewell forso long, the Kathols’ life-energies began to alter until they became inextricably linked with the Force, amplifying and warping it, causing a strange and mystical energy field topermeate the system so that even those not sensitive to the Force could tap into it. Thenatives called it Ta-Ree—spirit energy.”
“Dr. Tipn,” interjected Janzikek, “this is all very fascinating, and while I would love todiscuss Kathol legend with you at any other time, how is this pertinent to the Ewok fables?”
“Patience, my saurian friend, I was just getting to that. The moon of Endor is awashin a similar energy field—a veritable ‘Ta-Ree’ of Endor. It’s found in their trees, rivers,and stones; it explains the abilities displayed by the Ewok shamans and Dulok oracles.In fact, the Ewok name for Endor is Tana, or ‘Ta-Na,’ which in the language of theFirstborn that Hextrophon uncovered translates to ‘Enchanted Land.’ It may alsoindicate that beings akin to the Kathol and analogous to the Ewok spirit-gods oncegoverned the Endor system!”
“That’s beyond conjectural,” Janzikek countered. “But let’s back up a bit. Are you trying to tell us that you and Miss Towani believe there are veritable Ewok deities controlling the seasons on the Endor moon? Because, if so, I think you have a career alongsideyour Human friend in the holovid industry!”
After the laughter died down, Cindel responded: “What is a deity? It is a being, ofteneternal, with powers superior to what is common and beyond our natural understanding. The Ewoks are a technologically simple culture. To them, any strange or powerfulbeing might be seen as a god or demon—even a droid. But what of the Kathol? They wereso highly advanced that to them we would be the primitives. And yet, they believed thattheir forebears were demigods. It’s easy to mock the former, but trillions of intelligent,technologically-advanced sapients accept the basic premise.”
“If I may,” Charon Thanas stood up and began speaking without waiting to beproperly acknowledged. The lack of protocol was an innocent mistake, but the handsome, russet haired man of fifty-three caused no few to bristle and mutter about himbeing too used to getting his way. “Professor Tipn will support the fact that Dathomir isdemonstrably flooded with a similar field of amplified Force energy that the nativeWitches call ‘spirit ichor.’ They maintain that it’s the channeled essence of their spiritgods seeping into their world from a gateway on the spirit plane; they’ve even beenknown to shape it into energy blades, much like those summoned by the Yapi shamansof Kathol, and distill the bestial Ur-spirits of their shape-shifting deities into talismans,which may be what allowed the Witch-Queen of Endor to transform into a raven. Butthere is more!”
“I’m sure there is, Mr. Thanas,” Senior Professor Eliss corrected, “but next time,please wait for an acknowledgement from one of us before launching into a speech.”
“My apologies, Professor Eliss, please excuse my enthusiasm.”
“It is excused… this time. Carry on.”
“Even before the Emperor had it turned into a resort world, Spira was home to theHypelo, Ronzo, and a Sephi offshoot called Guaro, as well as Humans and near-Humans.Many of these have since relocated to Pellastrallas, but of those still found on Spira, theyspeak quite cogently of semi-physical spirits as well as a type of disembodied spiritual energy. When two of their largest cities went to war, the Ancients sacrificed their bodies tobecome pure life-force in order to serve as the protectors of the planet. There is much morethat needs to be studied, and perhaps with the aid of Miss Towani we can draw firmerconclusions. Given all of these similarities and more, it would seem unwise to dismissHextrophon’s writings over the placement of Endor’s legends in a historical context.”
Although Cindel and others gestured assent, Thanas’ speech was not well met. Hewas a controversial figure, and as several began to object to his presence, Professor Tipnprojected his voice above the crowd, “We should also be careful not to confuse theSeason Deities—said to currently live on Endor—with the ancient spirit-gods of Ewoklegend. In my estimation, the Season Deities sound more akin to the guardians severalvanished races left behind, living constructs whose existence we cannot deny.”
“Their existence is not the question here,” rebuked Janzikek, “but that doesn’t meantheir origins are what the myths—including Hextrophon’s—say.”
“Perhaps, but the number of analogous situations is too much to be discounted asmere coincidence!” returned Tipn. “What caused the Kathol to build the Lifewell in thefirst place all those ages ago? And what of these others? What would drive advancedraces to such a response?”
“Individual planetary cataclysms during an unstable geological epoch,” declaredGraf-Well, “not supernatural enemies! That period of time in the universe happened tobe one in which several worlds were in need of evacuation. I see no reason to stringthem together into some grand, mythological arc!”
“No reason except their own accounts,” challenged Tamaab Moolis, the Ithorian Director of the Institute for Sentient Studies. “Professor Hextrophon’s theories aptlyexplain what is an otherwise astounding pattern of evidence which we should take intoconsideration as a possibility, if nothing else.”
“With all due respect,” Hanapen balked, “we’re not in a Wokling nursery now. Ifyou’re expecting us to swallow any of this, you’ve come to the wrong building…”
“And with all due respect to your position, Abric,” interrupted Eliss, waving a threatening tentacle, “there is no need to be boorish! Now, I would like to ask Miss Towani aquestion—and I don’t want any further interruptions. If Endor legend is to be accepted ashaving any basis in historicity, a measure of consistency must be established. You andTipn support Hextrophon’s assertions of parallels between the situations on Endor,Kathol, and other worlds. Even so, there is one point you’re overlooking: Endor hasrevealed no trace of organic technology. There is no Lifewell, energy blades, or talismansinto which the original Endorians might have gone. How do you explain this?”
“There is, actually,” Cindel said confidently. “There was the aforementioned SunstarShadowstone. That’s gone, but there’s the Tree of Light, the Father Tree, and the SoulTrees. I’ve examined these firsthand; they’re imbued with extraordinary power. Forkilometers around you can see how their properties have seeped into the rivers, mountains, and other natural elements of the world. It’s why the tribes were able to procure somany mystical items from the elements around them. What I’m trying to say is that the original inhabitants are still on Endor, albeit in altered form, diminished, possibly evenmindless like the Toka had been before they re-emerged as the Sharu…”
This prompted a skeptical harrumph from the famed Alliance holodocumentarian,Wolam Tser. “We spent over a month there after the Battle of Endor. Why didn’t any ofus ever report any strange phenomena or unusual sentient beings?”
“Several did,” Leia answered without a moment’s hesitation. “Those who left campfor any extended period often came back with what you might call tall tales, but theyweren’t. Luke and I witnessed a number of inexplicable things on Endor. It’s not like therainforests of Borleias, Wolam, beautiful as those are.”
“Well, no one told me,” he replied, sounding slightly miffed.
“On my orders,” Leia replied, “and out of respect for the Ewoks who had freely offered up their homes for us and who wouldn’t have appreciated hundreds of scientistsoverrunning their villages. I asked all Alliance personnel on Endor to keep whateverphenomena they witnessed to themselves. Wolam, it was your job to report the facts,and it wasn’t my intent to undermine that, but some facts are best concealed for aseason, and that was one of them. I hope you understand our discretion.”
To his credit, Tser nodded and let the matter drop. He liked the Ewoks as much asanyone and understood that no one wanted their home invaded.
“Had I not been given permission, I’d not have written them down,” Cindel added.
“Since we’re on the subject,” interjected Corellia Antilles, fascinated by the proceedings, “I’d like to hear exactly what Hextrophon had to say on the matter. Perhaps MissSeldona can continue from the section where he talks about Endor?”
Although a few groans were uttered, Hari Seldona conceded, keyed in the query toaccess the appropriate section, and began to read:
MANUSCRIPT READING IV
The Indur did not engage in violence. These original inhabitants of the Endormoon would not now abandon the teachings of the Celestials, but neither would theyallow their pristine world, which they called Tana the Lesser, home to an abundanceof life for which they held great love, to become victim to the predations of evildoers.
The Indur were among the few Firstborn who had not fallen prey to the Architects’designs. Instead, they employed their gifts wisely to avert the ravages of the wars. Butas a Precursor race, their world was a target. And so there was much they’d giventhought to in preparation for what had to be done, and all of them, down to the lastchild, were willing to make the necessary sacrifice.
To ensure the stability of their planet in the face of the kinds of attacks that haddevastated so many worlds, the Indur ensured that Lesser Tana itself would be selfsustaining and unaffected by extra-luminary forces. Prior to the start of the Empyrean Wars, they’d constructed powerful, organic engines that were sunk deep into theheart of their satellite. In the event of an attempt to override these, a backup sourcehad been fashioned that worked in accordance with their primary solar body, Ibleam,and the Endor gas giant, Tana the Greater, which would supersede the engines and correct problems. This source was guarded by four powerful beings that the Indur bioengineered to protect and ensure additional overlap. It is for these reasons that therewas no ‘Endor Holocaust,’ as some had feared following the Death Star’s destruction.
Referred to as the Monitors by the Indur, the four would later be called SeasonDeities by the various races, such as the Ewoks (for whom the Leaf Queen served ascustodian over their lands), and each Monitor was given their respective attendant.
But they hadn’t stopped there. All the creatures that inhabited Lesser Tana neededprotection, and the Indur did not believe that some lives were of greater worth thanothers, an ideology they were about to lay their own lives in defense of. Determiningthat the best way to ensure the survival of everyone would be a veritable web ofguardians selected from the peoples, animals, and plant-life—they fashioned bymeans of the intricate Tanaic art of Yeb Nug—those who were ever after known asthe Protectors of Endor. On one continent alone, four primary guardians werebrought forth and given innate abilities: the Duloks to guard the swamps; the Yuzzum to oversee the mountain chains and valleys; the Gharial to protect the grasslands and plains; and the Ewoks to guard the forests. The first three did not thinkmuch of the short, furry Ewoks, but they would see their worth in the days to come.
Auxiliary races were commissioned as well, of which there were many, consistingof the Dagan, Gorph, Quork, Jotnar, Bobog, Persta, and Fftssfft.6 Each bore differentfunctions so that in their own ways they would ensure that no evil, whether great orsmall, would long thrive on Endor.
Yet, to augment so many so quickly, the Indur had to drain their inner reserves.The Indur knew they would not truly die and were not unduly attached to theirphysical forms. They would live on, albeit on a different plane of existence, in theheart of the world itself. As to their augmented races, they would neither be perfectnor immortal, but they would live long lives, provided they remained in harmonywith one another and the Great Spirit.
With the aid of their Tanaic gifts, the Ruling Council, in the capital city of Indurla, pooled the collective life-force of their people into two of the oldest andstrongest trees, which had roots that reached down deep into their world. The firstwas known as the Father Tree. The second was known as the Tree of Light, and sopowerful were their emanations that they frightened even the Xothians, and Hershoon the Destroyer would not approach within miles of them. The magic of the treesspread into the surrounding forests of Endor, creating additional unusual lifeformsthat strengthened the tapestry. The Ewoks refer to the woods collectively as ForestFather and younglings can sometimes hear the Soul Trees speak to them, providingguidance and direction.
In the anticipated outcome of this forfeiture, the Indur people diminished and became “Fire Sprites,” known better as the Firefolk or Wisties, an ancient word thatmeant “wise ones.” To the eyes of those fortunate enough to see these delicate beings,they appeared akin to Agee fairies, Luciole of Tarnar, Fāta of Andowyne, and FieryOnes of Kathol.
Lesser Tana also received help from outsiders, including a family of Xaczhick(whom the Ewoks knew as the Grudakk) who volunteered to serve as Guardians of theFather Tree. There came a tribe of Force-sensitive Sprites (whom the Ewoks calledLucksprites) who burrowed through the deep tunnels to offset the dark magic thatcould foul the natural ecosystems. Later came the Canidans who’d been forced toescape their war-torn planet devastated by the insectoid Nimp from Illathurion. And asthe years passed, several of those who’d survived crash landings or wanted to relocateto the ambrosial moon, such as the Shelled Sauvax, offered their services.
But it was an Ewok, with the aid of the Protectors and Season Deities, who tookthe Shadowstone from the Queen of the Night Spirit and brought it to the RulingCouncil yet dwelling in Indurla for safekeeping. Soon enough, they would do theirpart. With the Wisties gathered and the aid of those spirits that now dwelt within theGreat Trees, the Ruling Council poured their life-forces into the artifact, transmutingit in such a way as to temper its grim influence by means of their benevolence….
“Thank you, Hari,” Cindel said appreciatively when she’d completed the section. “Asyou can see, the similarities are startling and too similar to be dismissed as coincidence.”
“So, it would appear,” conceded Janzikek, “unless, of course, Hextrophon simplyhappened upon your books or their adaptations and appropriated them for his owngrand legend.” Satisfied that this concluded the argument, Janzikek sat down. Cindel,having said what she came there to say, took her seat as well. But she noted with somegratitude that fewer seemed as convinced by his conclusions as they were before.
“If that is so, Janzikek,” Tem Eliss interjected, “it only verifies what Hextrophon’ssupporters have been saying all along: that as historian, he didn’t ‘invent’ a mythology,but rather revealed the origin behind the myths, a creation-record lost to time.”
“That, my former professor, has yet to be proven!” retorted Janzikek amiably with amischievous grin. “But if you’re all so confident, very well. Let us hear the rest!”
Unlike many, Janzikek had read the manuscript and knew what lay ahead. Indeed,the contest was only getting started.
5 Arrid was manipulated by, and served as the mouthpiece of the ghost of, Dark Lady Darth Vax, hismother.
6 Also Munyips, Titterbugs, Ketes, Tambles, Fleebogs, Mimphs, Mudgubs, Tromes, Lamicae (whoresembled flying flowers, for which they were sometimes called “Flower People”), Treconiculs, whichwere called Trecons or “Tumble Bunnies,” and numerous others. The Ffssfft were called “DandelionWarriors” by the Ewoks. The Dagan were called “Gill-Men” or “Underwater Dwellers.”