Sun King

"Totally mega cool!"

- Sun King

The Sun King was a powerful entity who ruled the summer season of the forest moon of Endor. He could only bring about summer with the season scepter, although the power was not exclusive to him. He was the brother of the Flower Queen, the Leaf Queen, and the Snow King. During the Imperial era, his brother, the Snow King, entered into an affair with Odra, Duchess of Sleet, and placed a large portion of the forest moon under perpetual winter.

To avert the crisis, the Sun King sat in on a cabal with his sisters, and enlisted the help of the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village. Thanks to the efforts of Wicket W. Warrick and friends, Odra was defeated, and summer restored. The Sun King himself had a cavalier attitude towards life, and despite his lofty political position, he had no grasp of formality. He also surrounded himself with courtiers, whom he would refer to as "dudes."

Rise to power
A Force-sensitive, the Sun King was, with his siblings, initially a prominent figure on the forest moon of Endor. At some stage either during or before the Imperial era, the Sun King and his siblings came across the season scepter, a Force-imbued relic that allowed the user to control the moon's seasons. The device was also a potent weapon. The Sun King was given jurisdiction over the season of summer on Endor, while his siblings gained the same power over winter, autumn and spring. He set up residence in a palace in the lands near Bright Tree Village. It was not a substantial structure, but it featured a large pool, and he was able to host both parties and seasons from there. His palace was also the home of the season scepter itself. From there, he set himself up as a local god.

The Odra crisis
"Okay, like, there I was, just hangin' out with some of the dudes[...] We're like sittin' there just diggin' the sunshine...like how great it was to be out there baking, y'know? When, like, all of the sudden, ZINGO! Instant deep freeze! "Whoa, dudes! Oh no! Hey!" The Iceheads were like, gone. History. And it's been snowing ever since!"

- Sun King

During the Imperial era, the Snow King was seduced by Odra, the Duchess of Sleet. After entering into a tumultuous affair with the Duchess, the Snow King seceded from his alliance with his siblings, and went independent. His heart was frozen my Odra, and so his siblings were unable to talk with him cordially. Tensions between the two factions were heightened when the Snow King's Ice Heads, under the direction of the Duchess, infiltrated the Sun Palace, and stole the season scepter. The Sun King, who was in a conference with a loyalist group of furry dudes, did not initially notice the theft, and when he did, he had his cocktail frozen by the infiltrators. Frightened, he hid under his deck chaid, and so the Ice Head Commandos were able to escape with a minimum of fuss. Distraught, the Sun King summoned his sisters to the Sun Palace. Events took a shocking turn when the Snow King used the scepter to initiate a perpetual winter over a large portion of the Forest Moon. The situation dire, the Sun King and his sisters had to turn to other options.

The Leaf Queen used the Sunstar to contact Shaman Logray of Bright Tree Village. However, the elderly Ewok was absent, and the communiqué was received by Wicket W. Warrick. Warrick was unable to locate Logray, and so, took up the task himself. Accompanied by the Princess of Bright Tree Village, Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka, Logray's apprentice, Teebo, and actress Latara, Warrick flew to the Sun Palace by way of flying leaf. However, their flight did not go to plan. Odra dispatched Ice Heads to assassinate Warrick and his entourage en route to the Sun Palace. An altercation took place in the snow-swept fields, and whilst Warrick, Latara, and Teebo were able to escape, the Princess was apprehended.

Skirmish at the Snow Palace
"Now, my brother the Sun King can have the season scepter back."

- Snow King

The Leaf Queen, seeking to end the crisis, dispatched Warrick et alii to the Snow King's seat of power, the Snow Palace. The Sun King agreed with the judgment of sending children into a heavily fortified palace, and so the Ewoks were sent on their way. They were able to disguise themselves as Royal Guards and infiltrate the palace, although they were eventually ratted out by the Duchess. Thanks to the efforts of Warrick, however, the tables were turned&mdash;the Ice Head Royal Guard were defeated, Odra stricken and shrunk, and the Snow King thawed back to his original state.

The Sun King, with his sisters, arrived after the battle, and publicly took back the scepter. His brother denied having any knowledge of his actions, and so pleaded ignorance. The Sun King did not publicly forgive the Snow King for attempted genocide, but he did at least act amicably towards him. With Chief Chirpa of Bright Tree Village in attendance, the Sun King was reinstated as the King of Summer, although the season was in fact restored by the Snow King.

Personality and traits
"Bummer!"

- Sun King

The Sun King was an extremely laid-back entity, often shirking his duties in favor of lazing on the Endor beaches with his "dudes." He had a fondness for using the word "dude," and would even use it when describing a member of the opposite sex. He was also inexperienced in the way of politics, relying on his sisters to handle times of crisis.

He was the direct antithesis of his sister, the Flower Queen. She was often fussing about affairs of state and her appearance, whilst he could not care less. The Sun King was also inexperienced in the way of child care, as he sent several children into potential combat zones during the Odra crisis.

Powers and abilities
There are a number of possibilities as to the nature of an entity such as the Sun King. Gods that had a physical existence did not exist, and the only true magic was the Force. Whether or not the Sun King was a manifestation of the Force, a being deformed by use of the Force, or a complete and utter fraud is yet to be determined, however, there are a number of arguments for each possibility.

Force manifestation
The Sun King and his siblings were physically unique. They did not correlate to any known species, and, though they were related, bore no physical resemblance to each other. Since they were regarded as gods by the people of the Forest Moon, it is possible that they were in fact non corporeal manifestations. However, this theory is contradicted by the fact that they were seen by all, which would be impossible, unless all those who saw them were, in fact, Force-sensitive themselves.

Deformed sentient
The most likely possibility, the Sun King may well have been a Force-sensitive humanoid who, along with his siblings, discovered the scepter and used it to influence the seasons on Endor. It is known that concentrated use of the Force could lead to deformation, and so, this is what may have caused the four siblings drastically altered appearances. Also, having previously been a normal sentient may explain the Sun King's use of lay people's mannerisms.

Fraud
Without the scepter, the Sun King displayed no power. In fact, he almost developed a complex of anxiety when not in possession of the scepter. This may well mean that the scepter was the only thing that granted him power, and he was, thus, a fraud. However, the idea of a Force-imbued artifact such as the season scepter conflicts with this, as it could only be used by someone who was Force-sensitive. The scepter itself may well have been a simple technological device, but this is unlikely.

Behind the scenes

 * The Sun King first appeared in Raymond Jafelice's "The Season Scepter," an episode of the Star Wars: Ewoks television series. He was created by Bob Carrau.
 * In Daniel Wallace's unpublished article, Castaways of Endor, an indirect mention was made with the line "What of the shamanism and earth-magic that has turned local kingpins into weather-controlling warlocks?"
 * Prior to Sun King's creation, The Beatles performed a song titled "Sun King".
 * Years following the airing of Sun King's appearance on Ewoks, The Cult released a different song, that was also titled Sun King.