Talzin/Legends

"Such a generous offer, Count. But our loyalty is reserved for only each other. The only reason I am aiding in your search for a new assassin is because long ago, you chose to help me. After this matter is resolved, I hope our paths never cross again."

- Mother Talzin, to Count Dooku

Mother Talzin was the Dathomirian leader of the Nightsister clans of witches before and during the Clone Wars. The coven was located at a village on the planet Dathomir where they lived in seclusion. She was responsible for the unification of the Nightsister clans after the defeat of Mother Zalem in 31 BBY.

Not only did she look after the well-being of the Nightsisters, but she took a special interest in the Nightbrother and Sith Lord Darth Maul. She sent Savage Opress to find his lost brother and bring him back home to Dathomir, where she helped Maul become reborn.

Uniting the Nightsisters
A Dathomirian female, Talzin was a member of the Nightsisters prior to the Clone Wars. While birthing her first daughter, Talzin was struck with a fatal affliction, but was enlightened by the spirits of her culture and survived the incident. She subsequently became a shaman of the Nightsisters and eventually united the various Nightsister covens following the death of Mother Zalem in 31 BBY. Whereas previously, competing Nightsister covens had been ruled by a clan mother and a shaman, Talzin, holding both titles, was able to unite her warring people into a single coven, which thrived into the time of the Clone Wars. Talzin's coven also had a close relationship with a clan of Nightbrothers.

Mother Talzin was forced to take the infant Asajj Ventress from her mother and give her to the Siniteen criminal Hal'Sted as payment sometime prior to the Clone Wars in order to protect her clan. Sometime later Dooku helped Talzin out of some manner of predicament. It is unknown if he was a Jedi Master or a Sith Lord at this stage.

Talzin rarely traveled off-world, but when she learned that one of her witches, Kycina, had given up her infant, whom she dubbed Maul, Talzin took a small group of witches and headed for Orsis to find the Nightbrother. She was told by Meltch Krakko, a Mandalorian instructor from the Orsis Academy where to find him. After subduing Maul, she attempted to convince him to return to his home and face the Nightbrother challenges. Maul refused and said that he only answered to one Master, which Talzin thought was the Falleen headmaster, Trezza. After a brief firefight on an orbital station, Talzin was shot in the thigh, and her witches, along with Maul helped heal her until the Zabrak found Darth Sidious. Sidious told Talzin that the body of a fallen Nightsister was on board and that Maul belonged to him. Talzin and her witches boarded the ship and set off for Dathomir where Talzin was able to heal herself.

At some point during the Clone Wars, Talzin wrote a short chapter, entitled Wild Power, which explained the role of the Nightsisters and their usage of the dark side of the Force in the galaxy.

The attempt on Dooku's life
During the Clone Wars, a wounded Asajj Ventress landed on Dathomir to escape Dooku, who had betrayed her at the Battle of Sullust. Talzin stepped in and prevented the Nightsisters from killing Ventress, revealing that she was in fact one of them, later recounting how her clan had been forced to give up Ventress. After she and her sisters healed Ventress with a spell, she promised to help her in her quest of vengeance against the Count. She introduced her to the two most highly skilled Nightsister warriors, Naa'leth and Karis, both of whom would aid her in making Dooku pay for his betrayal. Using her magics, Talzin and the Sisters performed a spell to give the three the ability to be invisible to most, as well a special poison dart to Ventress to dull the Count's senses. She also handed them each Jedi lightsabers, saying that they should use them if Dooku were to engage them and to believe that they are Jedi mounting the attack. After Ventress's failed attempt, Talzin reassured her that she had proved Dooku was vulnerable, and there were other ways of exacting revenge against him. She contacted the Count, and offered him a new assassin to replace Ventress. Although somewhat suspicious at first, Dooku agreed. Dooku himself made a journey to Dathomir, with the ulterior motive of enlisting the Nightsisters in his Separatist movement, though Talzin quickly rejected the prospect, opting to remain neutral in the galactic conflict--as well as insisting that she was only aiding Dooku because of his help earlier. She promised him a male Zabrak Nightbrother (while enticing him with the revalation that the new assassin would be linked by blood to the late Sith warrior Darth Maul) and Dooku left the planet. Ventress met with Talzin shortly afterward, and the clan mother asked Ventress to travel to the Nightbrother village to choose the most powerful male warrior she could find, under the pretense of merely selecting a mate. Ventress soon returned with a Nightbrother in tow called Savage Opress, the brother of the Sith Darth Maul, (whom Talzin encountered years earlier). Talzin was quite impressed with Savage's physique, referring to him as "strong" as well as a "perfect male specimen". She cast a spell on Savage, causing him to fall unconscious. Talzin then led her sisters in a magic incantation and used it to enhance the abilities of Savage Opress, amplifying his rage, and his physical appearance, giving him a far more muscular bulk and lengthening his cranial horns--an additional spell, however, was set in place to ensure Savage would ultimately be loyal to Talzin. As a final test of Savage's strength and loyalty, the now-monstrous Zabrak was ordered to murder his younger brother Feral, which he did without remorse. Satisfied, Talzin presented Savage with an enchanted blade and afterward Talzin and two Nightsisters, Talia and Naa'leth, brought Opress to Dooku via a Separatist shuttle. The Count gladly accepted his new assassin, and Talzin returned to Dathomir.

Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi were brought into her village soon after, seeking information on Savage Opress (who had massacred two Jedi previously) from the Nightsisters. She initially denyed she had any knowledge of Savage's whereabouts and claimed the Nightsisters were an outcast society with no relations whatsoever to the male inhabitants of the planet. Obi-Wan rebuked her lie, stating it was a well-known fact that females were dominant on Dathomir and insisting that she disclose any information she had on Savage. Talzin relented, using her crystal ball to view Savage and informing the Jedi he was on Toydaria. After they left in earnest, Talzin met with Ventress and told her that the time to put her plot in motion had come--she would have to confront the Count herself with Savage's aid. While Ventress believed Opress needed more training, Talzin assured her that he was indeed ready and additionally, they could not keep him a secret forever. Later a battle-weary Savage returned, having broken away from his loyalty to Ventress and having escaped from both her and the Jedi. Talzin helped him to his feet and told him she would help him obtain the power he needed. She sent him on a quest to find his brother (Maul) who was hiding in exile in the Outer Rim Territories, with the aid of a special talisman.

Battle of Dathomir
When Ventress returned after Opress betrayed her, Talzin accepted her and made her an official Nightsister, although she neglected to inform Ventress that Opress had briefly returned. During their celebration, General Grievous, at the behest of Count Dooku, attacked Dathomir to destroy Talzin, Ventress, and the Nightsisters. During the battle, Talzin used her dark powers to destroy numerous battle droids, but retreated from the front lines early on, so as to ask Daka to raise the Army of the Dead, as well as inflict retribution upon Dooku for ordering the assault. Using a lock of Dooku's hair, Talzin fashioned a Voodoo doll in the Count's likeness, and used it in conjunction with her magic to torture Dooku to the point of near-death. However, Grievous, ordered by Dooku to destroy Talzin, attacked the inner sanctum of the village, where Talzin and Daka were performing their spells, killing the few guards present and murdering Old Daka. Before she could also be executed, Talzin teleported to safety, but with Daka dead, the undead army also perished, and the Nightsisters were virtually destroyed. In the wake of the massacre, Talzin appeared to Ventress, the only other survivor of Grievous' onslaught, telling her that, although the most recent chapter of Ventress' life had ended, and that she must seek a new path, her destiny would always be tied with that of the Nightsisters. With that, Talzin disappeared, leaving Ventress alone.

The return of Darth Maul
"Arise, Maul, reborn son of Dathomir."

- Talzin cures Darth Maul.

On his mission given to him by Talzin, Savage Opress found Maul living a seclusive life in a cave on Lotho Minor, and she awaited their return to Dathomir where Maul would receive treatment.

When Savage and Maul returned to Dathomir, Mother Talzin led them to her village, where she removed Maul's spider-like cybernetics and used magicks to create a brand-new pair of cybernetic legs, as well as restore Maul’s sanity and memories. When her work was done, she disappeared once again.

The Disappeared
In 20 BBY, Mother Talzin gained the allegiance of the Frangawl Cult on Bardotta, who worshiped her as "the Great Mother." Under her direction, they abducted Dagoyan Masters, draining the Living Force within them into a containment sphere. Talzin later rendezvoused with the cult, who had captured Queen Julia, on Zardossa Stix, she revealed her intention to use a ritual to drain the Living Force from the Queen and absorb it, making her more powerful than the Jedi and Sith combined. However, Jedi Master Mace Windu and Representative Jar Jar Binks were hot on their trail and arrived at the temple. Talzin engaged the Jedi with a lightsaber conjured from spirit ichor but her distraction allowed Binks to free Julia, disrupting the ceremony. The Gungan also accidentally destroyed the containment sphere, causing a massive explosion that killed all the cultists. Her plan in ruins, Talzin dissolved into mist and vanished.

Personality and traits
Mother Talzin claimed that the Nightsisters were loyal to nobody except each other, and she taught the other Nightsisters to only focus on themselves and their sisters. Talzin was quite maternal towards Asajj Ventress, even giving her a hug when she returned to Dathomir, showing that she really did consider herself a mother to the rest of the Nightsisters. She was not afraid of war, and comforted Ventress when the younger Nightsister blamed herself for bringing the Separatists to Dathomir, and also defended her fellow Nightsisters with her magic. However when Talzin realized that the Nightsisters were going to lose the battle, she fled.

Although she cared about her fellow Nightsisters, Talzin was also rather sadistic and seemed to enjoy torturing Count Dooku. She was also quite sexist, knowing that females were the dominant gender on Dathomir. She saw Savage Opress as little more than a tool, though she did help Savage find his long lost brother, Darth Maul.

Talzin's voice was both deep and eerie, backed up with an otherworldly echo. As a shaman, she acted as a conduit and a mouthpiece of the Spirits, channeling their dark and ancient energy through her gestures and her voice.

Powers and abilities
"I am not a natural Force wielder like the Jedi or Sith. I use dark magic to achieve power."

- Talzin

Mother Talzin was an extremely powerful witch and a master of dark magic. She often led the rest of the Nightsisters through incantations, such as when she transformed Savage Opress, and when she made Asajj Ventress into an official Nightsister, as well as when she was able to disguise Asajj Ventress and two other Nightsisters from Count Dooku's detection, transforming them into Ghostly versions of their true forms. She was also one of the few shaman capable of creating objects from spirit. Talzin was capable of using her powers to torture Count Dooku using a lock of Dooku's own hair even though the Count was on a completely different planet at the time. She was even capable of appearing in more than one place at a time, as shown when a ghostly vision of her appeared from within Dooku's chest, although Talzin's physical body was still on Dathomir. She also displayed the rare ability to teleport, transforming into smoke and vanishing when General Grievous had her cornered, as well as materializing and disappearing from wisps of green mist before Savage Opress after he returned to Dathomir.

In combat, Talzin was capable of creating a green protection bubble capable of blocking blaster fire. She was also able to launch Force lightning at the opponent whilst maintaining the shield at the same time. Unlike many other Force Lightning users, Mother Talzin's Force lightning was green. It was also very powerful, able to destroy a B-1 battle droid in one hit. She could also conjure fear-casting illusions. She was also able to create a lightsaber-like sword conjured from spirit ichor.

Though she never used telekinesis in combat, Talzin was a powerful user of telekinesis, able to lift many types of objects with ease as well as levitate herself, though the full extent of the latter is unknown. She could also incinerate or form objects with her magic, as she was able to melt the silver orb that contained Count Dooku's lock of hair, as well as create a drinking cup for Dooku when he visited her. She could even set things on fire simply by using her magics, as shown with the large pot that contained Count Dooku's Voodoo doll.

Although Talzin was extremely powerful, she asked one of the elder Nightsisters to use a resurrection spell, showing that she may not have mastered the ability to resurrect the dead.

Behind the scenes
"Well I remember auditioning for her and they said they wanted a Romanian witch type of voice."

- Barbara Goodson, about voicing Talzin

Mother Talzin is voiced by Barbara Goodson. When Goodson auditioned for the part, she was told that the creative staff of The Clone Wars wanted a "Romanian witch" type of voice. Because of that, Goodson's ensuing vocal performance was inspired by the late Russian actress Maria Ouspenskaya, who notably took part in various classic-era horror movies.

Talzin's look was based on the "Nightsister Sith witch," an unused piece of concept art from Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace for what would become Darth Maul.

Appearances

 * Darth Plagueis
 * Star Wars: The Wrath of Darth Maul
 * Restraint
 * End Game
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Death Sentence 1
 * The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 1
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 2
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 3
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 4
 * Star Wars: The Clone Wars: The Sith Hunters
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Death Sentence 1
 * The Clone Wars: Darth Maul: Shadow Conspiracy
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 1
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 2
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 3
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 4
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 3
 * Star Wars: Darth Maul—Son of Dathomir 4