Morgukai

"Yes! To kill your enemy with your blade as they face you! This is true Morgukai way!"

- Bok

The Morgukai were one of several secret societies formed in the history of the Nikto people of Kintan.

Organization and philosophy
"The Nikto's Morgukai warriors are among the deadliest in the galaxy. They train to kill Force users and can take a normal man down as easy as breathing."

- Zenzo.



This cult was known to be amongst the lesser known secret societies in the Nikto civilization. They were members of a secretive cult of Nikto warriors that were united in their ritual combat techniques as well as a strong suspicion of Force users. They were noted for being renowned Jedi killers though they did not favor the Sith either. Morgukai were always male and consisted of the Kajain'sa'Nikto species.

Members of the Morgukai were able to overlook issues such as good and evil so long as their own sense of honor remained intact. The disciplines and weaponry of the Morgukai made them even a threat to seasoned Jedi. Beyond their incredible abilities in combat, the cult's philosophical teachings remained largely a mystery. These Nikto warriors did not speak of their beliefs to outsiders even under the threat of death. Furthermore, according to their edicts, the only way to leave the order was by surrendering their armor to a brother-in-arms and stepping onto the Burning Moon Range. The most unspeakable crime for any Morgukai was leaving the membership of the brotherhood.

History
"The death cult of the Morgukai is here. Honor-bound warriors from the Nikto homeworld. I ran into them once... a long time ago."

- Tythan Phomm.



During the Cold War era, the Sith Empire were known to have frequently courted the Morgukai cult, but were unsuccessful on each occasion. This was because the cult held a strong sense of honor and were aware of the fact that the Empire considered the Nikto to be a lesser species. What's more, many Morgukai viewed the Sith just as unfavorably as they viewed Jedi. In this era, Cathar settlers on Taris were known to have traded land and wealth to the Morgukai for their aid against the Sith Empire's presence on the planet. Their feared reputation and skills led them to bring about devastating casualties amongst the Imperial Military, which forced the Empire to bring in the aid of Mandalorian mercenaries to combat the threat. One of these Mandalorians tasked a Sith official with eliminating the Morgukai and claiming their cortosis staffs as trophies. Tythan Phomm discovered that the cult had also taken root on Nar Shaddaa, where they were recruiting Nikto to train for attacks on Republic targets. A Republic official was tasked with traveling to the Morgukai temple and confronting the cult and its chieftain.

During the final years of the Galactic Republic, the order was thought to have been long extinct. Indeed, by the Separatist Crisis, the Morgukai were on the verge of extinction. At the time, almost nothing was known about the secretive Kajain'sa'Nikto fighters' history. Even the Jedi Archives contained only a few scraps of legend about the cult. Sometime before the Clone Wars, a Devaronian, Vilmarh Grahrk, recruited a pair of Morgukai warriors, Tsyr and his son, Bok, to help him in a plot against Clan Secura. Their plot failed at the intervention of the Jedi Order, and Tsyr was killed by Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos and Bok lost his hand to Vos's Padawan, Aayla Secura. After this incident, it was wondered by some in the Jedi Order whether the rare cortosis weapons used by the Morgukai were commonly built by the cult or whether Tsyr and his son had specifically fashioned them in order to fight Jedi.

During the Clone Wars, the Confederacy of Independent Systems offered Bok the chance to resurrect his order. They cloned him, creating hundreds of new Morgukai on Saleucami, intending to create their own clone army to use against the Republic. Their existence was discovered by Jedi Master Tholme, who informed the Republic, causing Saleucami to be blockaded. For five months, the Republic fought against the Morgukai legions. By the siege's end, all of the clones, including their progenitor, were killed.

Shortly after the rise of the New Order, the Galactic Empire officially declared the Morgukai to be an outlaw religion. In time, the group went into recession and virtually disappeared with the last known&mdash;albeit former&mdash;Morgukai, Ma'kis'shaalas, when the fugitive Jedi was killed by Darth Vader during the Conclave on Kessel. Despite their grave losses, it was believed that the Morgukai still pursued honor and combat in the galaxy, but did so in secret. By the Legacy Era, a single Morgukai served as part of the pirate Rav's crew and went with him to Zeltros during a meeting to enlist Cade Skywalker's help. During the meeting, however, Skywalker insulted the Morgukai, who went into a rage and attacked Cade only to be pushed into a waterfall.

Training and Equipment
"Morgukai are a Nikto cult&mdash;Jedi hunters trained to resist the Force."

- Ambassador Averdon.

Training amongst their ranks made use of a master-student relationship that was used to train new initiates into their order. Members often trained their own sons to follow them in a system that was similar to the relationship held between a Jedi Master and their Padawan. Their training led to them being capable warriors that were sometimes a match for even the fabled Jedi Knights. Their order bore some similarity to that of the Jedi. Fathers took their sons as apprentices, training them in the deadly arts. An example of this is the master-student bond between the Nikto Tsyr and Bok. Also, Morgukai initiates were required to build their own cortosis staffs as a test of their devotion to the order.

They were known to possess mysterious weapons and armor that even Jedi Knights were known to fear. Some amongst them wielded such weaponry and armor that was constructed out of cortosis ore which was a substance able to deflect or dissolve a lightsaber blade. These cortosis weapons were built to withstand the blow of any lightsaber. They were crafted out of cortosis fiber that was a material which was resistant to lightsaber blades. These Morgukai cortosis spears resembled lightsabers in reverse. They were a meter-long shaft that were laced with lightsaber-resistant cortosis ore with a small spear-tip at one end which was created in a similar manner as the way a lightsaber blade was generated. The cortosis-weave armor worn by the Morgukai marked them as being Kajain'sa'Nikto warrior elite.

Mental exercises were taught to its members that allowed them to strength their resistance to Jedi mind tricks and manipulations that allowed them to fight their sworn foes.

Behind the scenes

 * In the comic Rite of Passage, the Morgukai Tsyr and Bok are depicted as having four-fingered hands, but all their Clone Wars appearances show them with the more humanoid five-fingered hands.
 * The Morgukai refer to the Jedi as Jeedai. This, along with their alien appearance, full-body armor, and lightsaber-resistant staff weapons, also likens them to the Yuuzhan Vong.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic
 * Star Wars: Republic: Rite of Passage
 * Star Wars: Republic: Show of Force
 * Star Wars: Republic: Trackdown
 * Star Wars: Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Evasive Action: Reversal of Fortune
 * Star Wars: Purge
 * Star Wars Legacy 43: Monster, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 43: Monster, Part 1