Battle of Iziz

"I send word to the lords of all the wild realms&mdash;tell them that the final battle is at hand!"

- Modon Kira

The Battle of Iziz, fought in the year 4,000 BBY, was the culmination of a centuries-long planetary conflict known as the Beast Wars of Onderon. The battle began after three Jedi Knights arrived on Onderon to oversee an attempt at a peaceful existence between the people of Onderon's lone city Iziz, led by the Queen Amanoa, and the Beast Riders from the planet's wilderness. However, the Jedi's negotiations with Amanoa were suddenly halted when Beast Warrior Commandos raided the Iziz Royal Palace, during which time, Amanoa's daughter, Princess Galia was kidnapped. Upon orders from the Queen to retrieve the princess, the Jedi successfully located Galia at the Beast Rider's jungle citadel, Fortress Kira, and discovered that she was in the process of marrying Oron Kira, son of Beast-Lord Modon Kira.

Having convinced the Princess and Oron Kira present their marriage before Amanoa as a truce between them, the Jedi managed to convince Galia and Kira to return to Iziz with the intention of presenting their marriage to Amanoa as an amends between their peoples. The Queen outright rejected the proposal, and in a gesture that shocked them all, she revealed her true allegiance to the spirit of the ancient Sith Lord Freedon Nadd. Following Amanoa's revelation, Kira contacted his armies, which was the largest gathering of Beast Riders ever assembled, and ordered them to commence their attacks.

The battle was intense, with both sides seeing many casualties early on. The tide steadily turned in favor of the Beast Riders, who had managed to capture the city and surround the Royal Palace. However, Amanoa and the city-dwelling worshipers of Freedon Nadd employed the power of the dark side, a power for which the Beast Riders had no defense. Slowly, the direction of battle swayed, this time in favor of Amanoa and the city-dwellers. It was not until the arrival of Jedi Master Arca Jeth, who exercised his mastery of Jedi battle meditation against the Naddists, was victory delivered into the hands of the Beast Riders. During the battle Amanoa was killed, having been released from Freedon Nadd's influence and unable to withstand the potency of Jeth's light side power. With the death of her mother, Galia was able to assume the throne of Iziz, with Kira ruling at her side as King.

Civil unrest in the Onderon system
"The Onderonians have asked for help in ending their centuries-long state of war."

- Arca Jeth, Jedi Watchman of the Onderon system



In the year 4,000 BBY, Princess Galia of the planet Onderon was kidnapped by the outlaws from her planet's wilderness, known as the Beast Riders. Led by Beast-Lord Oron Kira, the Beast Riders assaulted the Royal Palace of Iziz, Onderon's only city, just as a trio of Jedi Knights arrived, having been dispatched on behalf of the Galactic Republic to mediate a peaceful end to the centuries-long civil war between Kira's people, and the city-dwellers. Specialized Beast Warrior Commandos managed to breach the throne room of the Palace and successfully abduct the Princess, who they spirited away with into the wilds of Onderon immediately after. Amanoa, both Galia's mother and Queen of Iziz, demanded in the name of the Republic that the Jedi visitors retrieve her daughter. Thus, Ulic Qel-Droma, his brother Cay, and the Twi'lek Jedi Tott Doneeta bid the Queen farewell, and immediately set out in search of Galia.

They eventually located the Princess, after their starship, the Nebulon Ranger, was shot down and crash-landed in the jungles of Onderon, where they encountered and tamed wild boma-beasts, who led them to the stronghold of the Beast Riders: Fortress Kira. Much to their surprise, the Jedi saw that Galia and Kira were engaged in a wedding ceremony, in the presence of nearly four hundred Beast Riders. The three boma-mounted Jedi immediately stormed the procession, with Ulic Qel-Droma snatching up Galia, in an attempt to fulfill his obligation to her mother. However, the Princess was unwilling to return to Iziz; she revealed that she was binding herself to Kira of her own accord. Astonished by the revelation, Qel-Droma and his companions were then invited to peacefully join the ceremony by Oron's father, Modon Kira, an offer which they accepted. The wedding continued, and Kira and Galia were pronounced man and wife.

During the reception, the Jedi learned that Amanoa was secretly a practitioner of Sith magic, and was under the thrall of the spirit of Freedon Nadd, an ancient and deceased Dark Lord of the Sith. Through her, the citizens of Iziz worshiped the memory of Nadd, and those who refused to submit themselves to his power were banished to the wilderness beyond the walls&mdash;left to be devoured by the wild beasts whose domain it was. These exiles managed to conquer the beasts, and amass themselves into a sizeable beast-riding army with which to eventually combat the dark-side power of Iziz. After spending years trading information and conspiring with the city's political underground, Modon felt as though that time had come. Ulic Qel-Droma managed to convince Galia and Kira to present their union as a truce before Amanoa, with hopes that she would concede. Modon Kira, however, was skeptical in the chance that diplomacy would prevail, and instead gathered the other Beast-Lords in preparation for war, in the event the Jedi peace mission was unsuccessful. Under his banner, thousands of Beast Riders rallied in the wilderness, united in the largest host ever gathered up to that point on Onderon for the final battle against the citizens of Iziz.

Confronting the Queen


With Galia accompanying them onboard the Nebulon Ranger, the Jedi returned to the walled city, under escort of Kira and several other Beast Riders mounted on flying beasts. After being initially attacked by Iziz's defense towers, they were allowed to land in the city after it was revealed that Galia was with them. Novar met them at the Royal spaceport, and quickly escorted Galia, Kira, and the three Knights into Amanoa's throneroom. The Queen was less than pleased to learn that her daughter had married into the Beast Rider’s fold. Nevertheless, she did entertain them, as the Jedi again offered her a place within the Galactic Republic, while Galia implored her mother to embrace the light. If Amanoa were to be swayed, however, the opportunity vanished as Kira offered her an ultimatum: recognize his and Galia's marriage as an end to their war, or the Beast Riders would rise up in battle against her.

Amanoa rebuked Galia and her companions, solidly refusing to submit to their proposal. The Queen then called upon the spirit of Freedon Nadd, and literally summoned darkness; the oppressive power of which rapidly and completely overtook the throneroom and the Palace. She further commanded her Royal Protector bodyguards to surround the party, and eliminate their chance to escape. The Jedi were able to make short work of the Protectors, before being led commed both his father and Commander Gobee, advising them to commence their counterstrikes, as the Jedi peace negotiations had failed. Kira completed his transmission just as his arm was singed by enemy blaster fire, a painful realization that the final battle for Iziz was officially underway.

Iziz under siege
"Wait a minute&hellip;that's my comlink. This is Gobee!" "Gobee, this is Oron Kira. We're under attack. The Jedi mission has failed, and we're under fire. Launch your counterstrike!"

- Commander Gobee, receiving attack orders from Oron Kira



Outside the walls of Iziz, both Gobee and Modon Kira received orders from Oron to begin the counterstrike. As Kira attempted to make his own departure from the Palace, Gobee led his wings of Beast Riders in an aerial assault on both the north and eastern walls of Iziz, while, Modon’s forces advanced in boma-mounted ground formation Immediately their forward press was met with turbolaser and ion cannon resistance, but Iziz's wall defenses were soon overwhelmed by the superior strength in Beast Rider numbers, as the sky had grown dark with the beating wings of their warbeasts.

At some point during battle, Gobee touched his beast down and continued to lead the siege from the ground, managing to overtake the ramparts of the northern wall. In a coordinated attack, Gobee and his ground troops then scaled the defense towers as his flying squads rained heavy blaster fire from above. The Commander and his troops successfully captured the towers, and killed the Naddist Wave gunners who manned them. With the northern wall secured, the Beast Riders entered the city and managed to overrun the soldiers in the streets of Iziz. However, the Royal Palace itself remained impregnable, and at its feet did the Beast Riders took their heaviest losses. Gobee nonetheless held his position near the citadel, which was from where Kira's last transmission had originated. When one of his soldiers informed him of the severe casualties being dealt to the Beast Riders by the palace resistance, Gobee commed Flight leader Kurt, who was leading strafing runs against the eastern wall, commanding him to redirect his efforts and suppress the enemy fire blazing from the palace roof. Gobee was shortly thereafter met by Kira, whom he apprised of their current progress in battle. The two Beast Riders then resumed command of their forces, and took the battle directly to the city-dwellers, eventually subduing the city from all sides, and converging on the Royal Palace.

A more powerful weapon
"Computer, identify disturbance." "Wave force. Energy type unknown. Anomolous power surges detected."

- Sensor tower computer, reporting its analysis of Amanoa's darkness spell to Oron Kira

Inside the Palace, the Jedi were pinned down under heavy blaster fire themselves, courtesy of Amanoa's Royal guardsmen. Recognizing the threat she presented with her dark side powers, Cay Qel-Droma seized the Queen, and demanded that she cease the palpable darkness she had summoned against them. His orders fell upon deaf ears as he was attacked from behind by one of the Royal Protectors, causing the lightsaber in his grasp to careen into the leg of an adjacent Royal guard. Before Qel-Droma could retrieve his sword, another Royal Protector attacked him and severed the downed Jedi's left arm. Amanoa used the distraction to steal away into the depths of the Palace, all the while invoking the spirit of Freedon Nadd to further bolster the might of her armies.



Ulic Qel-Droma became aware of his brother's peril, and fought back intense enemy fire to rescue him. They then retreated to the abandoned laboratory of Galia's father, Cay slung over Ulic's shoulder. As his wound was dressed with medical appropriations by the elder Qel-Droma, Cay spotted a dilapidated XT-6 service droid, and proceeded to calibrate the droid arm as a prosthetic replacement for himself. Ulic also advised him Galia had been taken to the Nebulon Ranger by Tott Doneeta, and that Kira had escaped the Palace to join his Beast Riders in battle. They both questioned, however, the disappearance of Amanoa, and not knowing her current whereabouts troubled them deeply.

In the catacombs below the palace, Amanoa was calling down the full power of the dark side in the tomb of Freedon Nadd. Planetside, the spell caused darkness blacken the skies of Onderon, while thunder clapped and wind howled with voices of despair, which literally stifled the Jedi's ability to use the Force. Even as victory had once been in the grasp of the Beast Riders, the tide was now slowly turning in favor of the worshipers of Freedon Nadd. Managing to retake the northern wall, the armies of Iziz were further supported by Amanoa’s spell, which augmented their strength while sapping the Beast Riders' will to fight. Also at that moment, the Naddists' armored companies arrived, whose artillery bombardment was enough to completely drive the already retreating Beast Riders from Iziz. In just a few short moments, the city once again belonged to the city-dwellers. Having taken up command in a sensor tower along the wall of Iziz, Kira was surprised when Commander Gobee appeared, with Novar as a prisoner-of-war. However, the darksider openly mocked the Beast Riders with their impending defeat as Amanoa’s spell began to affect them both. WithKira and Gobee suffering from the darkness, Novar prepared to kill them, when the unexpected arrival of an off-world starship and the being onboard reversed the ebb and flow of battle yet again.

Influence of a Jedi Master
"Every soldier knows that war is more than arms and armor, every warrior carries an image of impending victory in his heart. When the image shatters, to be replaced by defeat, he is beaten. But sometimes a warrior receives assistance from an unexpected source, an in-rush of light, blasting away his fear and despair, releasing new inner strength! Yes, a war is much more than arms and armor. Half of every conflict is the will to win. We are Jedi. We must recognize that the will to win, and the power of war, are given sometimes by the dark side. And sometimes, as dawn throws back the night, victory is given&hellip;to the light!"

- Arca Jeth, while implementing Jedi battle meditation



In the skies above Iziz, Arkanian Jedi Master Arca Jeth began to reaffirm the Beast Riders' resolve from his starship, through use of an ancient Jedi Force technique known as battle meditation. Amanoa's darkness receded from the atmosphere of Onderon as quickly as it had appeared, in the face of his light-side assault. Almost instantly the Beast Riders' courage was restored, and they fought with a renewed zeal to swiftly defeat the worshipers of Freedon Nadd, who were conversely suffering from the demoralizing effects of Jeth's meditation. In the sensor tower above the city streets, Amanoa's advisor Novar was also beaten, having been overcome by the physical prowess of Kira.

Upon landing his ship, Jeth was greeted by all three of his apprentices, who could sense the disdain emanating from their Master. Jeth had sent his apprentices to Onderon in his stead only three days prior, but felt that his intervention was required since things had fallen out of his students' control. After the battle, Jeth focused on the next order of business: locating Queen Amanoa, and the source of her dark side power. Accompanied by Princess Galia, Tott Doneeta, Cay and Ulic Qel-Droma, Jeth descended into the lower levels under the Palace, intent on confronting the sorceress-Queen Amanoa.

Aftermath
"All of your ancestors belonged to the dark side, Galia. But that is over. The shadow has been broken. Let go of the past. You are free!"

- Arca Jeth

Led by the Force, Jeth and his companions followed a previously-untraveled path, until they came upon Queen Amanoa, who was kneeling at the feet of the sarcophagus of Freedon Nadd and chanting his name in reverence. However, Jeth's superior strength was enough to drive the influence of Freedon Nadd from the catacombs, and Amanoa also died, as the power that supported her was gone. Jeth then threw back the massive lid of Nadd's coffin to reveal the skeletal remains of the deceased Sith Master, still brimming with potent dark side energies. Removing his ancient lightsaber from the tomb, Jeth proclaimed Nadd's power broken, and declared Galia finally free of its power.

With the centuries-long war between the peoples of Onderon finally over, the marriage of Kira and Galia was made official under Republic law, and the institution of peace could begin through their union. Also, to ensure the complete purge of Nadd's influence on the planet, Arca Jeth ordered the erection of a new tomb on Onderon's closest moon called Dxun, constructed of lightsaber-resistant Mandalorian iron. Nadd's remains were to be housed there, as well as Amanoa's, to be left under the protection of the moon's natural fauna. After their formal union, the new King and Queen oversaw the procession of Amanoa and Nadd, in the presence of their Jedi allies, whose assistance in the battle of Iziz helped unify the warring peoples of Onderon under one banner.

Behind the scenes
The Battle of Iziz was written and conceived by author Tom Veitch for the Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi series, in the storyarc of Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon. The battle also appeared in the audio rendition of that same comic. Veitch used this event to introduce his character of Freedon Nadd, who was the story's underlying protagonist. It was here that Veitch laid a substantial foundation for Nadd, which he would later expand on in the subsequent Freedon Nadd Uprising, and Dark Lords of the Sith storyarcs. Veitch also used this battle to end the life of Amanoa, another of the many characters he created for the TOTJ series.

There are two conflicting stories with regards to the loss of Cay Qel-Droma's arm. In the comic version, Qel-Droma's arm is severed by a Royal Protector with a bladed weapon. However, in the audio drama, his arm is blasted off by Novar, who runs off in laughter afterwards.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon
 * Tales of the Jedi audio drama
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith audio drama

Notes and references
Schlacht von Onderon (4000 VSY) Batalla de Onderon (Guerras de las Bestias)