Zandor Rocker

"I think I'm seeing things!"

- Wicket W. Warrick

The Zandor Rockers were sentient rocks who lived on the forest moon of Endor. They lived across the Gorge of Fire in the barren land of Zandor from Happy Grove and the Ewok Bright Tree Village.

They usually sat on the ground, with their legs retracted, but could extend their legs to bring their body upward. Many Ewoks and other mammalian species of Endor considered them very exotic, as most species of Endor were animals, not rocks.

Biology and appearance
"We can tunnel right under the Gorge for you!"

- A Zandor Rocker

The Zandor Rockers stood less than one meter above the ground, shorter than many Endorian species. Their shape varied from individual to individual, but they were largely spherical. Other characteristics included the fact that they had a lightblue area on their head (possibly a form of moss).

Their was no distinction between the Rocker's body and head, which formed one unit, with two legs attached at the base. A Rocker's face consisted of a mouth and eyes, but lacked a nose. Zandor Rockers had no hands whatsoever, so they were accustomed to accomplishing most tasks with their feet. Their feet were extremely hard, and they could seriously injure other creatures, even Ogres, if they stomped on them with their feet.

Another great feat of the Zandor Rockers was their ability to tunnel through the ground very quickly. This proved extremely useful when Wicket W. Warrick and Teebo needed a way of transportation across the Gorge of Fire. The Zandor Rockers were able to tunnel under the gorge in less than a minute. The tunnel was small enough so that the Ogre could not fit inside it, much less travel all the way across it.

Several other mineral-based individuals lived on Endor, such as Mount Sorrow, the Black Cavern, and the Rock Wizard, but it is unknown whether the Zandor Rockers were related to, or interacted with, these individuals.

The Gantu incident
"When the Ogre destroyed our Sunnydews, our other plants died and our land became a desert!"

- A Zandor Rocker

Sometime before the Rebellion era, Zandor Rockers discovered Sunnydew flowers. They began farming the flowers, caring for them and extracting their Sunnydew nectar. The nectar was a glowing substance that could be used to heal injuries. However, an Ogre named Gantu also discovered the nectar.

Gantu began raiding their territory, plucking all the flowers and all their nectar. He left only one plant in the field, which, many years later, would be picked up by Wicket W. Warrick and would be used to save Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka from the deadly Nightshade thorn.

As all the Sunnydew plants became extinct, and the nectar became rare, all the plants that depended on it died. Zandor became a vast, barren desert with little life. Only the Zandor Rockers lived there. The Zandor Rockers never got their revenge on Gantu, as most of them never visited his cave.

Wicket and Teebo's arrival
"Some of that glowing nectar can save a friend of ours! Can you take us to it?"

- Wicket W. Warrick Once Ewok Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka of Bright Tree Village stepped on a poisonous Nightshade thorn, Ewok scouts Wicket W. Warrick and his friend Teebo set off to find Gantu the Ogre and steal some of his supply of Sunnydew nectar, which would be able to save Kneesaa.

After they barely survived the Gorge of Fire, they scouted across Zandor. After many hours of searching, they decided it would be best to turn back. During the trip home, they rested, and Teebo sat on one of the Zandor Rockers, believing it to be a simple rock. He threw small pebbles at other rocks to amuse himself. After a while, the Zandor Rockers were annoyed by the pebble-throwing and showed their faces and legs to the young Ewoks.

The Zandor Rockers introduced themselves and greeted the young scouts. The Zandor Rockers then asked if the Ewoks were a friend of Gantu, who immediatley replied in the negative. The Zandor Rockers recited the story of how Gantu raided their territory, taking all the Sunnydew flowers, leading to their degradation of their habitat. The Ewoks asked for the Zandor Rockers to take them to Gantu's cave, and the Zandor Rockers agreed, escorting them to the giant Ogre.

Second encounter with Gantu
"Come visit us again!"

- A Zandor Rocker

After they escorted the two Ewoks to the cave, they discovered the Ogre was not in it. The Ogre returned, however, almost instantly, and tried to kill Wicket and Teebo. One of the Zandor Rockers jumped onto Gantu's foot, making the large, tough Ogre scream in pain as he bounced on one foot.

After the Sunnydew nectar spilled all over Gantu, he needed it no more. The remains of the rest of the nectar spilled all over the floor of Gantu's cave, and the nectar began to produce more flowers. Zandor would soon become a dense forest of exotic plants once again. Wicket and Teebo, however, could not return home, as they did not have any nectar and they did not have a way to get across the Gorge of Fire.

The Zandor Rockers tunneled an escape route under the Gorge of Fire, allowing the two scouts to return to their home, Bright Tree Village. A plant inside Wicket's bag was found to be a Sunnydew flower, and the nectar inside the plant was able to cure Kneesaa from her illness.

Behind the scenes
The Zandor Rockers were created by Dave Manak, the writer of Marvel Ewoks 1.

Appearances

 * Ewoks 1: The Rainbow Bridge