Battle of Iziz

"I'm thinking of calling on other Jedi for help. Master Thon is the watchman of the Stenness System. He may be able to send someone to help us with this dark side threat."

- Arca Jeth

The Battle of Iziz, fought in 4,000 BBY, was the culmination of a centuries-long planetary conflict known as the Beast Wars of Onderon. The battle began after Jedi Knights Ulic Qel-Droma, Cay Qel-Droma and Tott Doneeta arrived on Onderon to peacfully facilitate a mutual coexistance between the people of Onderon's lone city Iziz, and the Beast Riders from the planet's wilderness. Upon arriving in Iziz, the Jedi were quickly ushered into the presence of Queen Amanoa of Onderon, and presented her with an offer: should she and her people choose to embrace the jurisdiction of the Galactic Republic, the power of the Republic as well as the Jedi Order would be at their disposal. Their negotiations were suddenly halted when Beast Riders raided the Iziz Royal Palace, during which time, Amanoa's daughter, Princess Galia was kidnapped. The Queen ordered the Jedi diplomats to retrieve her daughter, sending them into the wilds of Onderon in pursuit of the Beast Riders.

The Jedi were successful in locating Galia and her captors, having tracked them to their jungle citadel, Fortress Kira, where they found Galia in the process of marrying Oron Kira, son of Beast-Lord Modon Kira. After halting the wedding and attempting to pluck the Princess from the Beast Riders' grasp, the Jedi were surprised to learn that she was willingly marrying Oron Kira. At the behest of Ulic Qel-Droma, Galia and Kira returned to Iziz with the intention of presenting their newly consecrated 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. Calling upon his power through the dark side of the Force, Amanoa attempted to waylay the Jedi, Galia, and Oron Kira, by smothering them in darkness while ordering her forces into battle against them. Kira contacted both his father Modon, as well as his personal secondary, Commander Gobee, advising them that the peace negotiations had failed, and to commence their respective attacks. What resulted was the largest host of Beast Riders ever assembled on Onderon in movement against Iziz, preparing to lay siege to the great walled city. Meanwhile, Galia sought to lead her companions from the peril they faced in the Palace.

The battle was intense, with both sides seeing many casualties early on. The tide was steadily turning in favor of the Beast Riders, who had managed to capture the city's northern wall and eliminate the perimeter defenses, allowing them to further advance into Iziz. Gobee took up position near the Palace, hoping to meet up with Oron Kira. When Kira arrived, the duo continued to lead the assault against the city, managing to capture a member of the Queen's entourage in the process. Identifying himself as the royal advisor Novar, the city-dweller mocked his oppressors, informing them that they would never win; Amanoa's ultimate weapon was the power of the dark side, a power for which they had no defense. On the heels of his words was a clap of thunder, followed by palpable waves of darkness that began to infect the Beast Riders with feelings of terror and madness. So intense was the darkness that the tide of battle rapidly changed in favor of Amana and the Naddists. It was not until the arrival of Jedi Master Arca Jeth, who employed his mastery of Jedi battle meditation to diminish the influence of the dark side, was victory delivered into the hands of the Beast Riders. Amanoa also perished, having been released from the throng of darkness, and unable to withstand the potency of Jeth's light. With the death of her mother, Galia was able to assume the throne of Iziz, with Oron Kira to rule at her side as King.

Civil unrest on Onderon
In 4,000 BBY, Princess Galia of the planet Onderon was kidnapped by the outlaws of 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 Beast Wars 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 sped off with into the wilds of Onderon. Amanoa, both Galia's mother and Queen of Iziz, demanded in the name of the Republic that the Jedi retrieve her daughter. Ulic Qel-Droma, his brother Cay Qel-Droma, 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. To their bewilderment, the Jedi saw that Galia and Oron Kira were engaged in a wedding ceremony, in the presence of nearly four hundred guest 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 Oron Kira of her own accord. Astonished by the revelation, Qel-Droma and his companions were then invited to join the ceremony in peace, by Oron's father, Modon Kira, an offer which they accepted. The wedding continued, and Oron and Galia were pronounced man and wife.

During the reception, the Jedi learned the truth behind the division between Onderon's civilizations. From Modon Kira, they 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 Amanoa, the citizens of Iziz worshipped the power of Nadd, and those who refused to submit themselves to the pall of the dark side were banished to the wilderness, left to be devoured by the wild beasts whose domain it was. As genereations passed, the 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 with the city's political underground. Modon felt as though that time had come. Remembering his mandate as a liaison of peace, Ulic Qel-Droma convinced Galia and Oron 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. He instead gathered the other Beast Lords in preparation for war, just in case the Jedi peace mission was unsuccessful. Under his banner, thousands of Beast Riders rallied in the wilderness, united 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 Oron Kira and several other Beast Riders mounted on flying beasts. Their approach was immediately met with turbolaser fire courtesy of Iziz' defense towers, followed by a comlink from the Queen's royal advisor Novar, who stated that the presence of Beast Riders prompted their attack. He called for a cease fire, however, when Galia was revealed to be in the company of the Jedi. Allowing the Nebulon Ranger and Beast Riders to touch down, Novar met them at the Royal spaceport, and quickly escorted Galia, Oron Kira, and the three Knights into Amanoa's throneroom. The Queen was less than pleased to learn that her daughter had willfully been carousing with the Beast Riders and had gone so far as to marry into their fold. Nevertheless, she did humor them by allowing the party to speak. Ulic Qel-Droma began by offering Onderon a place within the Galactic Republic, while Galia implored her mother to cast aside her dark-side worship, and embrace the light. If Amanoa were to ever be swayed, however, the window of opportunity closed as Oron Kira spoke next, offering the Queen an ultimatum: either recognize his and Galia's marriage as an end to their war, lest the armies of the Beast Lords and their steeds rise up in battle against her.

Infuriated by the demands set before her, Amanoa rebuked Galia and her companions, completely refusing to submit to their proposal. To their complete surprise, the Queen then called upon the spirit of Freedon Nadd, and literally summoned darkness; the supressive power of which rapidly and completely overtook the Palace. She further commanded her Royal Protectors to surround the party, eliminating their chances to escape. Overwhelmed by the sudden deterioration of events, the Jedi made short work of the Protectors, as they were led by Galia to safety in her father's old laboratory. Meanwhile, Oron Kira commed both his father, and Commander Gobee, advising them to commence their counterstrikes, as the peace mission had failed. As Kira completed his transmission, his arm was singed by enemy blaster fire, a painful realization that war was officially underway.

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

- Modon Kira



During the battle, Cay Qel-Droma spots The Queen and grabs her. Unfortunately, his hand was shot which caused him to loose his lightsaber and arm to be slashed off. Ulic pulled his brother out from the battlefield. Ulic then placed Cay in a local Ominin droid shop, Cay suddenly noticed there was a malfunctioned droid near by and decided to quickly replace it with the arm of an XT-6 service droid. Meanwhile, Sith sorceress and Queen of Onderon, Amanoa, stole away to the peace of Freedon Nadd's tomb far below the Iziz royal palace. From the tomb, Amanoa used her Sith magic to confound the Beast Riders and Jedi, instilling feelings of fear, terror and doubt in their minds. Even as the royal scribe Novar drew his blade to strike the Beast lord Oron Kira down, he was saved by the arrival of Arca Jeth.

Arca's arrival
However, in the skies above Iziz, Arca Jeth, the Jedi Master of Ulic, Cay, and Tott, used his own battle meditation to negate Amanoa's dark side influence, leading the Beast Riders one step to almost reaching to victory. As the Jedi Master exited his ship he was not pleased to see his three apprentices and explained to Ulic that the dark side is at work and he should have sensed it the minute he arrived on Onderon. Arca then led his students and Galia into the deepest sub-levels of the palace, arriving at the Tomb of Freedon Nadd, and used the light of the Force to vanquish Nadd's dark side taint.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: Ulic Qel-Droma and the Beast Wars of Onderon
 * Tales of the Jedi (audio)
 * 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)

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