Seyugi Dervish

The Seyugi Dervishes were a Force-sensitive order of assassins that originated on the sulfuric planet of Recopia, located in the Core Worlds. The Dervishes were founded several centuries before the Battle of Yavin by a Force-sensitive Seyugi leader named Karrh. The Dervishes used their abilities with the Force to enhance their unarmed combat skills, as well as locate their targets. The Dervishes sold their services as hired killers and terrorized the Core for several centuries. The Jedi Order recognized the threat the Dervishes posed and spent decades eliminating the Seyugi Dervishes' bases in the Core and Mid Rim. By the initiation of the Clone Wars in 22 BBY, the Jedi believed that the Dervishes were extinct. However, a few hundred of the remaining Seyugi Dervishes relocated to a hidden fortress in Recopia and froze themselves in carbonite, waiting for an opportunity to return to the galaxy.

History
The Seyugi Dervishes were formed from the extinct Seyugi culture on the sulfuric planet Recopia, which was located in the Core Worlds. The Seyugi were nomads that traveled in Recopia's atmosphere on huge repulsorlift barges. The rest of Recopia's population regarded the Seyugi as a culture of outlaws. Several hundred years prior to Battle of Yavin, a Force-sensitive Seyugi leader named Karrh gathered warriors that showed Force potential and began training them in stealth tactics; Karrh would also impart to the warriors his views on the Force. These warriors became the first Seyugi Dervishes and began eliminating various threats to Seyugi people. Eventually, the Dervishes spread throughout the Core, establishing bases on most of the Core planets and a few in the Mid Rim. They sold their services as assassins, albeit for an expensive price. The Dervishes specialized in killing nobles, heads of corporations, and other important figures.

Eventually, the Dervishes attracted the attention of the Jedi Order, who decided to end their threat. The Jedi's campaign against the Seyugi Dervishes went on for decades, and the Jedi managed to eliminate all the Dervishes' bases in the Mid Rim and the Core. However, a few hundred of the Dervishes retreated to a secret temple–fortress on Recopia and froze themselves in carbonite. The Mallif, religious monks who were descendants of the Seyugi people, would hijack HoloNet transmissions and broadcast their philosophies to the public. Most of the Mallif were unaware of the Dervishes' survival. However, some of the Mallif took care of the hibernating Dervishes and their hidden base, waiting until the opportunity was right to take the Dervishes out of their frozen state.

Several years later, the Dervishes were accidentally revived by one of the Mallif monks. One of the Dervishes, Razi Khan, killed the monk and tried to reach the island-chain city of Scapio in an effort to locate someone who could open the Seyugi vaults beneath the fortress. Khan kidnapped a slicer, but was caught, forcing the Seyugi Dervishes to go into hiding once again.

Philosophy, training, and techniques
The Force adepts that adhered to the Seyugi Dervish tradition usually ignored the Jedi Order's theories on the Force. The Dervishes viewed the Force as a way to master their bodies and hone them into weapons. While the Dervishes used the dark side of the Force and committed deeds that were evil, they did not follow many dark-sided practices. They abstained from random acts of violence and chaos and were motivated by avarice and personal gain, not power. They also possessed patience, which was often utilized during their training, and hid their emotions. Despite this, many Dervishes found themselves under the employment of other Dark Jedi. Seyugi Dervishes also spread rumors of their skills; this was done so that the mention of the organization would instill fear.

The Dervishes sought out infants to older younglings with Force potential for training in the Seyugi Dervishes' ways. The Dervishes trained recruits from this age group so that the recruit would become fanatical to the Seyugi Dervish tradition. When a recruit was located, the Dervishes would kidnap and send the child to one of their many bases to begin a life-long study of the Force tradition, as well as monastic studies. After a Seyugi Dervish was trained for fifteen years, the Dervish apprentice was sent on their first mission, with a Master who would monitor the apprentice's actions from afar. Should the apprentice fail, the Master would remove any trace of the incident. After a Dervish apprentice completed the necessary training, they were free to explore the galaxy, although the Dervish still received orders from their Masters through the Force and encrypted transmissions.

The Seyugi Dervishes were masters of unarmed combat. They were capable of sneaking into an armed fortress and murdering their targets discreetly and with incredible speed. The Dervishes were named such by the few survivors of their attacks, who described their confusing, whirling movements as a "beautiful dance of death." Dervishes rarely carried weapons, preferring to use their unarmed skills and the Force to complete their objectives. They did not typically carry much equipment unless an assignment called for it. The Dervishes wore red clothing and white masks not only to conceal themselves, but to capitalize on the fear that the outfits caused. Dervishes studied the anatomies of a variety of different species, so that they could locate a species' central nerve clusters and cause more damage to an individual. Most Dervishes usually opted to work alone, but would on occasion combine forces to complete a hazardous task. In rare instances, a Seyugi Dervish would hire mercenaries to assist them, including demolition experts and computer slicers. The mercenaries were usually unaware of who the Dervish was and would be murdered by the Dervish to keep the Dervishes' identity a secret.

Behind the scenes
The Seyugi Dervishes were first featured in the resource book Coruscant and the Core Worlds, released on January 3, 2003. The Seyugi Dervishes' background was expanded in the Jedi Academy Training Manual, released on May 19, 2009. Both resource books were published by Wizards of the Coast for the Star Wars Roleplaying Game.

Notes and references
Derviches Seyugi