Hydian Way/Legends

"Mandalore. Turn right off the Hydian Way. You can't miss it."

- Boba Fett

The Hydian Way was a super-hyperroute that began at the Corporate Sector on one side of the galaxy and continued through the core to the other side, past Eriadu. It was the only route that passed through the entire galaxy. The Hydian Way was blazed around 3700 BBY, by famed Brentaal IV native Freia Kallea, and helped open up much of the galaxy beyond the region known as The Slice, fundamentally altering the scale of galactic civilization. The route was named in honor of Duros scout, and later Kallea's colleague, Banu Hydia.

Astrography
Beginning at the Outer Rim world of Bonadan, the Hydian Way led past Bandomeer and Taris to Bogden in the Inner Rim. Just after intersection with the Perlemian Trade Route at Brentaal, one of the Core Worlds, the Corellian Run was connected near Caamas. The Hydian Way then went by Alderaan and Rendili, to cross the Corellian Run again, this time at Inner Rim world Denon. It continued near Derra IV in the Expansion Region and Malastare in the Mid Rim, crossing Rimma Trade Route at Eriadu, and ended in the Outer Rim, close to Polis Massa and Subterrel.

History
In 3705 BBY, Freia Kallea made the first pushes into space with her scoutship, Hope, funded with the help of her secret lover Sival Brentioch. She accepted the commission that was described "as far as Farana", creating a path through the Crombach Nebula, as well as discovering a reliable route between the worlds of Serenno and Telos IV, finishing the next year in 3704 BBY. Her actions forced Neimoidian scouts Thoax and Farge Osaax to hire Duros Banu Hydia to eliminate her, but he refused, instead discussing her plans to expand rimward south of Denon. Hydia's warnings about the treacherous Tyus Cluster and the dangerous Itani Nebula were ignored, however, she continued to make news across the galaxy by charting an extension of the new route from Denon to Demos Four from 3703 BBY to 3702 BBY.

Upon reaching Malastare, Kallea was arrested by thugs of Thoax and Farge and was subsequently freed by Hydia. She later returned to Malastare determined to complete her route, however, her scoutship was crippled by the Neimoidians, forcing her to crash land on the nearby world of Nuvar. With Kallea out of the way, the Neimoidians charted the Seswenna Expansion for themselves, from 3701 BBY to 3699 BBY, reaching the Rimma Trade Route south of Eriadu. Kallea remained on Nuvar for six standard years until she was finally located by Hydia in 3694 BBY. After returning to civilization, she reengaged in scouting to finish her work, requesting that Hydia join her on the last leg of their journey, to which he accepted. Kallea and Hydia pushed through the dust clouds of the Tosste system and came across the hub of Terminus. There would be one last push that would finalize their route, the Hydian Spur, with a trap set up on the world of treasure-rich planet of Imynusoph to capture the Neimoidians. After a battle with the Neimoidians' henchmen, the opposition was arrested by the local Imyni; however, Hydia became mortally wounded and died. In his honor, Freia Kallea named her route the Hydian Way.

Existing hyperspace routes that were sown together by Kallea into the Hydian Way included the Morellian Trail, the Spurs of Celanon, the Sprizen End Run, the Mandalorian Road, the Corsin Run, the Brentaal–Denon Route, and the Dustig Trace. The Dustig Trace was absorbed into the Hydian Way in 3693 BBY, bolstering Malastare into a trading hub. Some historians argued that her discovery was merely an extension of what had already been established, but many scouts continued to admire her accomplishments.

In 3661 BBY (7 BTC), Mandalorian cruisers seized control of the Hydian Way and set up a blockade, choking the Republic and placing it in an economic crisis. A Mirialan named Hylo Visz saw this as an opportunity for profit and gathered together several smugglers for an assault on the Mandalorians. She commanded a fleet of ships to stop one parsec outside of the blockade, and while the Mandalorians were distracted, her fleet jumped out of hyperspace to attack. Initially they were outnumbered but the Republic caught word of the assault and sent reinforcements. This extra push by the Republic was enough to break up the Mandalorian blockade, effectively freeing the galaxy from starvation and civil war. Visz was considered a hero of the Republic, but was nowhere to be seen upon her medal ceremony.

Over the centuries, Eriadu Way, originally a separate hyperlane, eventually became considered part of the Hydian Way. In addition, as the galaxy rotated, some sections of the original Hydian Way had shifted.

Twenty-two hundred years after the charting of the Hydian Way, the events that created it were documented in the Brentaalan opera The Kallea Cycle.

Cardan-class space stations were present at the crossroads between the Perlemian Trade Route and the Hydian Way.

Behind the scenes
Freia Kallea's discovery of the Hydian Way originally took place around 3000 BBY, as established in sources such as Imperial Double-Cross, but was later retconned to take place before the events of Star Wars: The Old Republic.