Sariss

"Out of all the Dark Jedi I have met, Sariss is the one I can say... I fear. Powerful, strong in both the physical and mental arenas of the Force, she is a master, a perfectionist, quiet and reserved. This makes her a very dangerous foe."

- Qu Rahn as a Force ghost, to Kyle Katarn

Sariss was one of seven Dark Jedi attempting to reclaim the Valley of the Jedi some time after the Galactic Empire's defeat at the Battle of Endor.

Biography
Sariss did not know that she was the daughter of Lord Cronal, one of the Prophets of the Dark Side who raised her in the ways of the dark side on Dromund Kaas. There Sariss first met her later master, Jerec.

"Prophetess" was the alter ego assumed by Sariss on Tatooine, where, working in cooperation with local governor Tour Aryon, she posed as a local fortune teller as cover for her true job as a spy for the Secret Order of the Empire. Shortly before the Battle of Yavin, she one day had to quickly make room on a Mos Eisley street for a group of stormtroopers rushing to Docking Bay 94 in a vain attempt to prevent the escape of R2-D2, at the time holder of data tapes containing the stolen plans of the first Death Star.



During the rebellion on Tatooine that followed the Battle of Endor, Sariss abandoned her post on Tatooine to become a Dark Jedi apprenticed to Jerec, although outwardly she claimed devotion to the Galactic Empire's Church of the Dark Side. In her role as a disciple of the quasi-religion, she seduced a wealthy Epicanthix mineral baron on Panatha, to whom she became engaged. She then seduced his son, Yun, whom she taught her "faith." She convinced Yun to kill his own father. She then gave the baron's wealth to Jerec and also gave Jerec Yun as an apprentice.

She was killed in a duel with Kyle Katarn, after having killed Yun who, out of sympathy with unconscious Kyle betrayed her, blocking her strike when she attempted to kill Kyle; Sariss instinctively killed him. Enraged with the loss of Yun, she was determined to destroy the self-trained Jedi. Having the upper hand through most of the duel, she made the mistake of underestimating Kyle, who killed her using a counter-attacking technique known as the Flowing Water Cut.

Powers and abilities
Sariss was quiet and reserved, but a formidable opponent in combat and deemed the most skilled lightsaber fighter of the seven Dark Jedi, relying almost exclusively on her fencing skills instead of using additional Force powers. She was known to be an expert practitioner of Juyo (Form VII). This could be witnessed in her linear and focused attack style.

Behind the scenes

 * Sariss was played by Valerie Wildman.
 * In the non-canonical ending of Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, where Kyle chooses the dark side, he kills Yun instead of Sariss, and she later appears as Emperor Katarn's aide.
 * William C. Dietz and Dave Dorman, in their novella Dark Forces: Jedi Knight, add a further dimension to the relationship between Sariss and Yun. They reveal that she considered Yun a very good and talented student, and also that he was the closest thing to a friend she ever had. In the novella, Yun's block superficially injures her in the arm.
 * The figure of the 'Prophetess' was initially only an uncredited extra appearing for a second in A New Hope. Afterwards, that figure's backstory was evolved for the Star Wars Customizable Card Game where she was introduced as the Prophetess. Later it was retconned that the Prophetess was Sariss. Abel G. Peña is credited for this "maneuver".

Appearances

 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * The Star Wars Holiday Special
 * Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
 * Dark Forces: Jedi Knight