Waru

A trans-dimensional being from a universe parallel to the galaxy's own, Waru was a being unmatched from any of the known species in the New Republic database as well as several others not. Waru was considered a healer by many, due to his ability to treat injuries utilizing his own body, and had a following, called the Cult of Waru, aboard Crseih Station. There, he resided in an arena containing the Altar of Waru where he would gather those who wished to be healed.

Some time before 14 ABY, Waru was sent from his own dimension due to the combined efforts of the star Crseih dying by way of crystallization and the research and sacrifices of Imperial Procurator of Justice and former apprentice of Darth Vader Hethrir, who was searching for the means to acquire complete mastery of the Force. Waru met with Hethrir, looking for a way to get home; in order to accomplish this, the being agreed to grant Hethrir with the entirety of the Force, in exchange for a powerful enough being to teleport him home. Hethrir began a quest to fulfill Waru's wishes, eventually coming upon and kidnapping the Solo children, of which he planned to sacrifice Anakin Solo in order to fulfill the bargain. This forced Leia Organa Solo, along with astromech droid R2-D2 and Wookiee Chewbacca, to pursue the kidnappers, meeting Hethrir's wife Rillao along the way.

Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and the protocol droid C-3PO, investigating a report sent by the mercenary agent Xaverri, one of Waru's confidants, and an old flame of Solo's, arrived at Crseih Station to look into Waru's actions. While Solo was originally skeptical and convinced of Waru's intents to harm, Skywalker became enamored at the golden being's actions, and began seeking a way to heal himself of the effects of the crystal star. Soon after, Hethrir arrived on the research station to present young Anakin, but was stopped by Tigris, the Dark Jedi's son. Waru, exhausted and lonely, demanded a sacrifice; Skywalker stepped in at this time and offered himself. Waru gladly accepted it, much to the shock and dismay of both Leia and Han Solo, who were present, and who both took pursuit into Waru's body. They rescued Skywalker and exited Waru; this angered the trans-dimensional golden being, who turned on his former ally Hethrir and consumed him. As Hethrir contained enough power, Waru was able to use him to escape back to his own home dimension, contracting and then disappearing into himself.

Physically, Waru was predominately blob-shaped, and consisted of several golden plates acting as shields around a layer of raw, permeable tissue. A thick, syrupy liquid, comparable to ichor, flowed freely from within Waru through the spaces between the covering plates. The inside of Waru was much larger than the outside revealed, allowing three adult Humans enough space to swim through, and was breathable by Humans.

Travel through dimensions
"My name is only Waru, though some call me 'teacher'. It is the only honorific I esteem."

- Waru

Waru lived in an alternate dimension&mdash;a parallel universe&mdash;to the one in which the galaxy existed. Though little was known of this dimension, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker hypothesized that Waru's original home adhered to the laws of what he coined the "anti-Force"&mdash;the polar opposite of the Force. Likewise, Waru's own history was largely a mystery.

At an unknown period of time prior to 14 ABY, Waru was transported from his unknown homeworld (and dimension) through the acts of the dying star Crseih, due to a rare process where this star crystallized. This caused a large enough disturbance in the Force to teleport a being, Waru in this case, between parallel universes. Waru's journey was also made possible by the sacrifices made and scientific research done by the Procurator of Justice, a Firrerreo named Hethrir trained by Darth Vader as an apprentice. After the journey, Waru somehow ended up upon Crseih Station, which was in close proximity to the crystal star.

Contact with Hethrir


"Something strange is happenning at Crseih Station. Something strange, and I don't know what it is."

- Luke Skywalker

Waru met with Lord Hethrir between his arrival at Crseih and 14 ABY. The two made a deal: Waru would reveal and teach everything that the Force contained, thus granting complete mastery of the Force to Hethrir. In exchange, Waru wished only for a way to escape back to his own dimension, which he hoped to accomplish by consuming a being with a large amount of Force-sensitivity present within. Hethrir believed it was possible for the trans-dimensional being to reveal the fullness of the Force, as he performed every act toward that goal, but it was unknown if Waru actually held the power, or was merely bluffing.

To acquire energy inside the alien universe he had found himself in, Waru had to annihilate the Force he found within the universe with the anti-Force of his own universe. To fuel Waru's need to ingest beings for their energies, Hethrir trained and brought up Force-sensitive Humans and aliens, as well as harvesting those without Force potential. Hethrir would use these groups for two different purposes: those able to use the Force would comprise the Empire Reborn, which was set up to restore the Galactic Empire to its former status in the galaxy. In order to fully prepare these youths, he would take them to Waru for a purification ceremony, in which the new recruit would be offered to Waru. If the purification ritual failed, the young warrior would die, granting Waru the life force to continue living. Those without Force abilities would be fed to Waru to sustain him, until Hethrir could find one gifted enough in the Force he could sacrifice. Waru accepted this agreement between the two of them, and remained on Crseih Station as Hethrir conducted his search.

Cult of Waru
"Waru, help us! Waru, heal my child, heal my egg-sister, protect my hearth-friends from the curse laid upon them!"

- The throng of supplicants appeal to Waru

While stationed on Crseih Station, Waru successfully cured an unknown creature of an unknown ailment and word of his healing abilities quickly spread. Soon after, a cult had been formed around Waru and his powers, with its own internal hierarchy. Humans and aliens alike flooded to the Altar of Waru located in Waru's temple, where they would stand for hours, even days, with their sick and those in pain, hoping that Waru would select their respective groups. The large auditorium in which Waru held his followers was often packed beyond the recommended limits, even to the point of being dangerous. A selection would signify a call to the stage at which Waru would perform the ceremony of healing. Once selected, the company of beings would approach the altar, where a request would be made. Waru would then attempt to heal the creature.

In order to maintain the charade of his power and to keep those watching under his control, Waru would often sustain those who he treated. However, Waru's power could only go so far until draining his own life force. To keep his vitality, he would have to kill and consume the life force of a being searching for the complete opposite. Waru was able to pass this off as an accident, or lay the blame on the individual he had attempted to heal, claiming they were too weak or too far gone for him to work any cure. The families of the victims always accepted this when it happened, and mourned openly onsite, which Waru more often than not joined. This too was mainly an act to ensure Waru's credibility to the masses who believed in him.

Followers
Several individuals comprised a group of insiders, tasked with the responsibility to share the news of Waru. Among these numbers was a Ghostling, who would often solicit those who appeared lost or unoccupied. Others also roamed the streets of Crseih research station, posing as street merchants, information brokers, or merely passers-by.

Shortly before the arrival of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo, a Human female named Xaverri met with the enigmatic healer. Though she had attended almost all of his services, she hadn't personally met with Waru until 14 ABY. Over the course of several days, Xaverri befriended Waru, and Waru allowed her to join him alone after services. She did not buy into his display of power, however, and instead was looking for his true reason to exist in such a manner aboard the station.

A lost Jedi Knight?
"Is Waru your lost Jedi?''" "No, I don't think so&hellip; I don't know. I don't know what'' it is. I ought to be able to tell, to sense another Jedi Master. But I can't."

- Han Solo and Luke Skywalker discuss Waru after meeting him for the first time

Around 14 ABY, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker was looking for new students to train in his academy. Having learned of a possible Jedi presence aboard Crseih Station, he traveled, along with his friend and brother-in-law Han Solo and the 3PO-series protocol droid C-3PO, to the research station. This information was started by Xaverri in the form of a rumor delivered in several cryptic messages to Solo as a subtle way to enlist Skywalker's help in discovering Waru's mysteries. Previously, Solo and Xaverri had worked against the Empire through subterfuge. As they were also formerly involved romantically, Xaverri feared approaching Solo with the request without hiding her identity until Solo arrived.



The group went undercover as tourists, and as such were disguised to protect themselves from discovery. Once the three arrived, still unsure who they were looking for, Han Solo was approached by a female Ghostling follower of Waru. The Ghostling invited Solo to the next meeting at the Altar of Waru; however, the New Republic general refused, passing the cult off as phony. Later, though, once contact was established with Xaverri, the destination was proven to be Waru's cult. As they arrived, Skywalker noticed that all of the supplicants shared one characteristic: at least one of each group's members was suffering from some sort of sickness or ailment.

Waru continued his services, one of which Skywalker, Solo, C-3PO, and Xaverri attended, and healed those who approached. Calling out to Xaverri, whom Waru correctly identified was not alone, Waru asked the nature of the visit, as neither Skywalker nor Solo were sick or injured. Xaverri revealed that the two newcomers were there to learn the ways of Waru and become his followers. After the initial introductions, Waru asked about C-3PO, whose kind he had never encountered prior to this meeting, and Xaverri answered, calling the protocol droid "Purple-Three". Pleased, Waru allowed the three to remain with him as he conversed with Xaverri concerning several complicated texts. The two continued to speak until Waru broke off the discussion and performed a ritual with Xaverri that caused the latter to faint.

After this personal meeting, Waru began to accept members of the throng of devotees so that he could heal them. One such being was a Zeffliffl whom Waru healed. Solo expected Waru's service to be nothing more than an elaborate hoax and remained cynical even when no mention of monetary compensation was made. Soon after the first healing, Solo left with Xaverri and C-3PO, initially leaving Skywalker but then returning to retrieve the transfixed Jedi; Waru continued on with his healing rituals, eventually stopping to rest.

The Solo children kidnapped
"I will take the child to be purified."

- Hethrir, speaking of Anakin Solo, reveals his plan to sacrifice the young child to Waru

Meanwhile, on the planet of Munto Codru, Hethrir set in motion the kidnapping of the Solo children&mdash;twins, Jacen and Jaina, and their little brother Anakin, as he planned to sacrifice them to Waru in exchange for the ability to master the Force in its entirety. The plan was completely successfully, and the former Procurator of Justice held them aboard his worldcraft until they could arrive at Crseih Station. After learning of the kidnapping, the children's mother, Chief of State and former Princess of Alderaan Leia Organa Solo set out on a mission to track and retrieve the children, and confront whomever took them. She was joined by Chewbacca, the Wookiee co-pilot and friend of Han Solo, who had been injured in the kidnapping attack, and the astromech droid R2-D2. Along the way, the trio came upon a group of stranded starships, which, after some investigation, yielded knowledge of who the kidnapper was. They were also joined in the quest to track Hethrir's location by a new partner, a Firrerreo named Rillao.

Continued investigation


"Waru's a healer. No healer can succeed all the time. It's tragic, but people do die. Even young people.''" "''You didn't see what happened! Waru didn't fail. Waru planned what happened. Waru- Waru enjoyed it."

- Skywalker and Solo argue about Waru's intents

The next day, another healing session began as usual. Xaverri joined Waru when they began, and he chose people to heal. However, his own life force was ebbing, and he needed to consume another being before he would die himself. Spotting a subfamily of Ithorians who were caring for an especially weakened youth, Waru took the opportunity to keep the charade and called the family to the altar. The ceremony began normally and Waru encased the young Ithorian in the chrysalis formed by his ichor. The ceremony took a different path, as Waru suddenly cried out, signifying a problem with the healing process. As the cry was uttered, the entirety of the audience fell to the ground and covered their eyes, save for Solo, who had been watching the event unfold.

Instead of his typical motions with an intent to heal, Waru reversed the process, contracting his scales rather than expanding them, crushing the fragile youth. After a sigh emanating from Waru, the chrysalis exploded, leaving the Ithorian dead upon the altar before the being. Waru admonished the subfamily of Ithorians for not being quick enough in presenting the youth, as well as the ill youth for not being strong enough, and then requested to be left alone to rest. Though none of the other members of the audience, including the Ithorian family, seemed to pay any mind to the recent death, and instead continued to honor Waru, Solo was struck dumbfounded at his perception of Waru's actions.

Tempting Skywalker


Though the two Solo twins, along with several other confiscated children, had been recovered on the worldship by Leia Organa Solo, Hethrir still possessed the young Anakin, who he felt was the key individual Waru needed to grant the former Procurator the entire knowledge of the Force. Hethrir and Anakin Solo, along with his finest Proctors, his son Tigris, and several children whom Hethrir planned on selling as slaves, traveled to Crseih Station to meet with Waru. The worldship continued its path to Crseih Station, Organa Solo and the children still onboard.

Once landed, Hethrir made his way for a meeting between himself and various contributing members to the Empire Reborn. Waru, meanwhile, was continuing his services in his altar. Han Solo approached the building soon after the service terminated, in time to see Waru conversing with Luke Skywalker&mdash;no longer disguised or traveling incognito&mdash;who felt that he was dying, due to the effects of the crystallizing star. Waru took pity on the Jedi, and offered to attempt to heal him; this offer, however, was nothing more than an attempt to take Skywalker's life force to replenish his own, and attempt to return to his home dimension. Solo interrupted the conversation before Skywalker could commit, against Waru's wishes, and dragged Skywalker towards the exit. Unbeknownst to either of them, both Hethrir's and Organa Solo's respective groups were making their way to Waru's arena.

Hethrir led the way for his group, preparing to offer the young Solo child to Waru, who continued resting on his stand. Solo, noticing Anakin among their group, broke from his path to the exit and instead headed to intercept Tigris, who was holding the boy. Organa Solo's group, now led by Rillao, also entered shortly thereafter, and met up with the panicked Solo. The entirety of them moved in on Hethrir's location, eventually leading to a confrontation.

Showdown on Crseih
"What have you brought me, my friend?''" "''What you required. I will give you a gift. And you will keep your promise to me. You will open me to the limits of the Force."

- Hethrir prepares to present Anakin Solo

While the trailing groups had not yet reached them, Hethrir brought the child to Waru, followed by his loyal guests. Pleased that the former Procurator of Justice had brought him such a gift, as Anakin Solo was the grandson of Darth Vader, Waru commended Hethrir, and allowed the ceremony to begin. Once the child had been placed on Waru's top, the extra-dimensional being began absorbing Anakin; he was stopped by Tigris, who ran from the stage and returned Anakin to his parents, who had arrived on the scene shortly after the service began. Waru roared a cry of desperation, angry due to the loss of the sacrifice. In the confusion caused by Tigris's actions, Luke Skywalker approached Waru. Initially, Waru rejected the Jedi's coming, as Waru was tired and would be unable to heal Skywalker's ailments; Hethrir changed Waru's mind once he revealed that Skywalker was more powerful, as he was the son of Vader. Surprising Skywalker's allies in attendance, Skywalker agreed, and offered himself to Waru; the gold being accepted the offering and consumed the Jedi Master into his body.

The battle within
Leia Organa Solo, dismayed at her brother's apparent suicidal sacrifice, ran toward and dove inside Waru's spherical being, which appeared larger inside than out. Once inside Waru, the former princess swam through the golden interior toward Skywalker. Waru attempted to stop her attempts by sending several sharp blades, much like those on his exterior; she thwarted his efforts and continued to close in on Skywalker. Solo also joined the fray, jumping inside Waru as well, while a skirmish between the enslaved children and their masters began around Waru's exterior. While the three swam inside his body, Waru's exterior continued to transform and pulsate.

Skywalker continued to drift closer to the whirlpool Waru's golden body contained. The two Solos both attempted to swim their way to Skywalker, eventually reaching each other and then Skywalker. Together, Solo and his wife attempted to pull Skywalker away from the enticing singularity inside Waru, who protested and attempted to sooth the two siblings into giving themselves to him. The two eventually gave into his demands, and fell into the whirlpool leading to the darkness within Waru, forcing Solo to follow. However, Organa Solo soon slowed and stopped, remembering her children and hearing their calls from the outside of Waru. Snapping out of the trance-like state caused by Waru's words, the former princess fought against her captor, and attempted to free Skywalker as well. Initially, Waru's bonds over Skywalker's will were too strong; when Organa Solo looked into Skywalker's eyes, she did not recognize the man he had become. After some more pleading, Skywalker too broke from Waru's command, and began working his way out of the being's insides.

Return home
"You did not keep your promise, Hethrir. You did not give me the child. You did not give me the Jedi. I owe you nothing. I am hungry, Hethrir, I am hungry and lonely and dying, and I want to return home."

- Waru laments, shortly before taking Hethrir into his body and collapsing into himself.

Dismayed at the loss of his way home, Waru cried out once again, lamenting that Hethrir denied him the way back to his dimension by bringing several people powerful enough to accomplish the travel yet losing all opportunities. Blaming Hethrir personally, Waru quickly expanded one last time, engulfing a surprised Hethrir. At the moment Waru captured Hethrir in his self, a void in the Force was created in the near vicinity, noted by those sensitive to the Force in the area. Also occurring at this time was the ripping of the space-time continuum, allowing Waru to escape back to his own dimension. Tigris, desperate to keep his father even after Rillao's revelations that he was a traitor to the boy, attempted to follow the former Procurator of Justice into Waru. Initially restrained by his mother and Xaverri, the boy broke their holds and flung himself at Waru's body, which collected him before quickly rebounding him from Waru's surface, which began to contract. Eventually, Waru contracted so much that he collapsed on himself, imploding, and disappeared. There were conflicting reports on his eventual demise: a certain work stated that he died there, Hethrir with him, but another, later report, claimed Waru returned to his home dimension using Hethrir's own Force affinity.

Personality and traits
"I have waited a long time. I am tired. I am lonely."

- Waru's lamentations

Waru was a largely mysterious being, partially due to the unknowns surrounding his home and his species. As such, his actions and motives were often hard to understand by those around him. Most, if not all, of these actions were centered around a desire to return to his own dimension. While outside his own universe, Waru was in a constant state of loneliness, which reverberated through his actions. When presented with such an opportunity to return home by former Procurator of Justice and Dark Jedi Hethrir, Waru was incredibly willing to comply, even with the knowledge of Hethrir's motives.

In the eye of those who worshiped him as a deity, Waru was known as a beneficent healer as well as an all-knowing being. During the several healing services Waru performed to maintain his position aboard Crseih Station, those healed would praise the golden creature; surprisingly to Han Solo, Waru never asked for anything in return. In private with confidants such as Xaverri, Waru expressed that, while he enjoyed healing those who came to them, doing so was detrimental to his own existence. In the event that Waru had to kill one of his patients to recover his own vitality, he took satisfaction in doing so. In order to protect his image, Waru often would shift the blame to the one who died or to those who brought him; his followers would accept this admonishing and understood it to be merely an accident or lack of belief.

The Cult of Waru, and the being himself, welcomed all forms of sentience into their halls. In a deviation from standard practices of a given religion, even droids, often ignored as a form of sentience, were allowed to attend and participate. Waru spoke in an odd dialect, which consisted of words such as "thee", "thou", and "thy". He chose to only speak this way at certain times, an example as such included talking with his personal confidants. When Waru addressed a crowd or newcomers to his cult, he spoke Galactic Basic Standard instead.

Physical appearance
"Hethrir's scientists breached the walls between dimensions and brought into existence a massive slab of meat covered with shining golden scales. Though this entity, Waru, lacked discernible sensory organs, it was highly intelligent and could communicate in a deep resonating voice."

- Voren Na'al's writings, describing Waru

Waru's appearance was considered very strange in the galaxy; indeed, while attempting to match Waru's species to a list of known species in the galaxy, C-3PO stated that Waru matched no known grouping, and was in fact unique. Externally, Waru appeared to be a large, blob-like object covered in golden scales which he used to allow entry into his being. They could also be forcibly moved aside by external forces. Ichor poured from the spaces between each covering plate, which was described as similar to the ooze leaking from the core of the main asteroid in the cluster of asteroids known as the Smuggler's Run. Waru would use this ichor to encapsulate his patient, within which the healing would take place. Waru possessed no external forms of expression, as he contained no face, but spoke in a deep, booming voice. It was believed that the being contacted others telepathically, due to his lack of mouth or other device for speaking, as well as the very specialized method of communicating to individuals without those nearby hearing.

The plates on Waru's outside protected a layer of raw flesh. The interior of Waru was much larger than the exterior showed; there was ample enough room for three adult Humans spaced far apart. The ichor that leaked outside was the main component present within Waru. It was itself intriguing due to its nature; its consistency was somewhere between a solid and a liquid and could be breathed, albeit with effort, by Humans as if it was regular air containing oxygen. Floating within this ichor were sharpened scales which matched those outside in size and appearance; Waru could control these to attempt to injure or kill intruders. These could be broken when enough force was applied, and they would shatter and melt into the ichor. In a manner much like Waru's outside, no organs responsible for life were obvious. Deep within the extra-dimensional being's innards, a whirlpool leading to a dark center, compared by at least one person to appear like a black hole. This whirlpool was rumored to lead to Waru's own world and universe.

Powers and abilities
Described as a being outside the realm of the Force, and indeed as a sort of "anti-Force", Waru was able to heal those who he was willing to. This power came at great cost to Waru, though, whose life force would empty as he healed others. Because of this, the being would eventually need to kill one of his patients to replenish his own strength. Doing so only temporarily fed Waru, and towards the end of his stationing on Crseih, he would have to kill more often in order to keep himself strong.

Waru also claimed to possess the power to grant one who utilized the Force mastery over it; Hethrir, fueled by his desire to possess power, made a pact with the golden being. Hethrir would provide Waru with Force-sensitive children, whom Waru would consume in attempt to create enough power to open a portal to his own world. If he succeeded, Hethrir would be granted the entire knowledge of the Force; whether Waru was able to accomplish this, or if he was merely bluffing in order to get back to his own dimension, was unknown to all but him. Until the kidnapping of the Solo children, all attempts were met with failure. It wasn't until Waru consumed Hethrir that the extra-dimesnional being's mission was deemed a success.

Behind the scenes
The character of Waru was created by Vonda N. McIntyre for her novel, The Crystal Star, where he was allied with members of the Empire Reborn. He was referenced in Kristine Kathryn Rusch's book, The New Rebellion, and the children's novel Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur, written by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta; both of these books used Waru in a largely referential manner. Waru has also appeared in several sourcebooks, where the events surrounding the showdown on Crseih Station were recorded. Strangely, in all three novels featuring Waru as well as The Essential Guide to Characters, The Essential Chronology, The New Essential Chronology, he is referred to as merely "Waru" in the masculine pronoun, However, in the Star Wars Encyclopedia and Star Wars: Behind the Magic, Waru is instead referred to as "the Waru" in the neutral pronoun.

Because The Crystal Star has often been recognized among fans of Star Wars as "the worst Star Wars novel ever", Waru has become something of a cult icon and has garnered a following among fans, much like K'Kruhk's "Freakin' Sweet" Hat or the status of Kyle Katarn. In this vein, TheForce.Net forumite "GrandAdmiralJello" created a satirical fanclub centered around Waru. This was noted by Abel G. Peña, whose only comment was "These guys are insane."

Peña has also written a couple of blogs about Waru and The Crystal Star. In the first, Peña reviewed The Crystal Star, making notes on several aspects, including Waru himself, who he described as "a golden trans-dimensional being with anti-Force capabilities" (clarifying the statement by the addendum "take a moment to try understanding what that means or exactly entails") and as "an excellent concept that was badly realized." In his later blog, focused solely on Waru, Peña describes Waru further, initially focusing on Waru's effect on a simple forum debate. At the end of his blog entry, Peña posts several poems penned in a TheForce.Net thread based on the extra-dimensional being.

Appearances

 * The Crystal Star
 * The New Rebellion
 * Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur