Ashla (moon)

"Observing the world around them, they saw two moons in the one sky&mdash;light Ashla and dark Bogan&mdash;and they understood the dual aspects to the Force, light and dark."

- Ketu, on Tythans

Ashla was one of the two moons of the planet of Tython. Observing both Ashla and Bogan, the other natural satellite, the first settlers of Tython recognized the light and the dark aspects of the Force. Later, both moons were colonized by non-Force-sensitive Tythans who built stone cities there and subsequently settled the rest of the Tython system. By the year 25,793 BBY, Ashla had been abandoned by the settlers and was used as a place of exile by the Je'daii Order for its members who had veered too much to the light side of the Force. Those Je'daii would contemplate the darkness of the moon of Bogan, while the Je'daii sent to Bogan for straying too far to the dark side meditated on Ashla in return. One of the Je'daii exiles on Ashla was the Human Rori Fenn, who spent some time on the moon and then was allowed to return to Tython.

Description
Along with Bogan, Ashla comprised the pair of moons of Tython&mdash;the fifth planet of the Tython system that was located in the Deep Core region of the galaxy, at galactic coordinates L-10. From orbit, Ashla appeared to be mostly light-gray in color, with several regions of the surface being blue-colored. The moon had an atmosphere with clouds that appeared white from space.

History
"The Tythans who were not Je'daii left Tython, going first to the moons, Ashla and Bogan, and from there outward&mdash;to populate the other worlds in the system."

- Ketu

When the first settlers of Tython observed Ashla and Bogan, they developed the notions of the light and the dark side of the Force&mdash;which they also called Ashla and Bogan, respectively&mdash;and understood the necessity for a balance between those two Force aspects. These beliefs gave rise to a legend of the Je'daii Order which stated that the two moons were birthed by Tython from its fiery core in order to remind of the perpetual struggle between dark and light to all those who sought balance. In the second millennium following the settlement of Tython, the non-Force-sensitive Tythans colonized the moons, building stone cities there, and later settled the rest of the worlds in the star system. By the year 25,793 BBY, Ashla had been abandoned by the settlers and was used as a place where the Je'daii would send those members of the Order who had strayed too far to the light side of the Force. Those exiled Je'daii would meditate on the moon of Bogan in order to re-achieve balance between the two aspects of the Force, while, conversely, the Je'daii who had veered too much to the dark side were sent to Bogan and contemplated the moon of Ashla. One of the Je'daii exiles on Ashla was the Human female Rori Fenn who spent some time on the moon and was subsequently allowed to return to Tython.

Locations
The first settlers of Ashla built cities on the moon, using stone as a building material. The ruins of those cities were used millennia later by the Je'daii who were exiled to the moon.

Behind the scenes
The moon Ashla was first depicted in Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 0, a preview issue of the Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi series of comic books. The issue was published on February 1, 2012 and was written by John Ostrander and penciled by Jan Duursema. Ashla made its first in-universe appearance in the first issue of the series, published on February 15 of the same year. The moon later appeared in the second, the third, the fifth, the sixth and the seventh issue of the comics. Ashla was mentioned in the 2012 reference book Star Wars: The Old Republic Encyclopedia, as well. In Star Wars: The Old Republic&mdash;a 2011 massively multiplayer online roleplaying game developed by BioWare&mdash;a single moon of Tython appeared in a cutscene depicting the player-controlled Jedi Padawan's approach to the planet, however the moon remains to be identified as either Ashla or Bogan.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 1: Force Storm, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 2: Force Storm, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 3: Force Storm, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 5: Force Storm, Part 5
 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 6: The Prisoner of Bogan, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi 7: The Prisoner of Bogan, Part 2
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic