Merili

"Do you like my Wookiees? They make such wonderful slaves!"

- Merili

Merili was a Prophetess of the Dark Side found on the planet Dathomir by Supreme Prophet Kadann. She became one of the only two Emperor's Eyes and was later trained in the Dark Force religion by Sariss.

Biography
Born on Dathomir, Merili was trained by the Witches of Dathomir from birth as was the custom for all Force-sensitive females on the planet, though unlike some others she then became a Nightsister. When Kadann visited the planet he was impressed with her connection to the Dark Side though he was disturbed by her madness. Nevertheless, when she asked him to become a Prophet he accepted her and took her back to the Empire. He introduced her to the Emperor, who she won over with her raw power and her utterly evil nature, which the two of them shared. Palpatine, like Kadann, only wanted to use her power, though he recognized the madness within her. To this end, he assigned her to the planet Kashyyyk where she would not interfere with his own plans. "Someone must keep the Wookiees in line, and who better to rule over them than you?" he asked her.

It was during this time, however, that Palpatine discovered that Merili had a special gift; though she could see the future as any other Prophet could, her mind also somehow existed there causing her not only to be able to see the future but also, on the rare occasion, manipulate it much like a Jedi Master who used battle meditation. It was perhaps because of this that she was so insane, the stresses of temporal ambiguity making her hold on reality tenuous at the best of times. Due to this special gift, Palpatine selected her to become one of his only two Emperor's Eyes.

Assigned a compliment of five Star Destroyers and nine Imperial garrisons under her direct command, she held Kashyyyk and its star system in her iron grip. Her powers and the horrific Force wraiths she called forth from the Dark Side helped keep the native Wookiees in line, along with threats she made against the weak and young which she had carried out often enough in her madness to let the Wookiees know she meant business. In addition, she had three adult Rancors from her home planet who served as her guards and constant companions.

She was quite content to rule over her little "kingdom" on Kashyyyk rather than getting involved in galactic politics. Her power did not match that of fellow Prophets Jedgar or Kadann, though many people believed her to be the most dangerous of the Prophets due to her insanity. Her speech and mannerisms reflected this; at one moment she would be completely calm with a measured voice, while the next she was shrieking, animated, and wild. Her desire to stay on Kashyyyk was the only thing which protected the Galaxy from her terrible powers and insane ambition. During her tenure on the planet she was known to have watched over Nycolai Kinesworthy while he was creating advance combat droid technologies in the Myyydril Caverns. In fact, it was Merili that led him to the Emperor's secret storehouse on the planet Utapau to retrieve the dead body of General Grievous to be used in the construction of N-K Necrosis.

Before the Battle of Endor, she was trained in the Dark Force religion by fellow Prophetess Sariss, and later followed her mentor in joining Blackhole's Church of the Dark Side after Palpatine's death. She became the spiritual advisor of Grand Admiral Peccati Syn. Syn had grown up a follower of the Sacred Way, which the Empire had declared illegal upon the conquest of his homeworld. Being preinclined to religion, Syn was a fanatic devotee to the Church of the Dark Side, and thus Merili was able to manipulate him to achieving the ends of her master Agent Blackhole, himself loyal to the hidden Clone Emperor. Merili died aboard Syn's flagship, Fi, when it was destroyed by Admiral Ackbar over Kashyyyk.

Appearance
Merili had long, wild hair the color of the darkest night and startling amber eyes which would be the first thing you would notice about her. Rather than wearing the proper star robes of the Prophets of the Dark Side, Merili chose instead to wear the traditional reptile-scale armor of the Witches of Dathomir covered entirely in an ordinary robe, which made her look both unarmored and weaponless. Her weapons included a poison-coated dagger which she hid in a sheath on the upper portion of her right arm, as well as her walking staff which was a disguised power weapon and could be activated by pressing a stud with her thumb.

Personality
Merili was completely insane, and had a very strong connection to the Dark Side of the Force. She was utterly evil, sharing this common ground with Palpatine. In battle she preferred relying on her Force wraiths and controlled Wookiees to physical combat, though she would resort to it if her life was in immediate danger. Merili was one of the only two female Prophets of the Dark Side, sometimes referred to as Prophetess's, though she did not openly associate herself with them, neither wearing their star robes or visiting the first Church of the Dark Side on Coruscant or the headquarter station Scardia.

Behind the scenes
Merili was originally created for an article in Polyhedron 103, where she was named Merili. Abel G. Peña later reused the character and seemingly misspelled her name as Merilli for the "Who's Who: Imperial Grand Admirals" article in Star Wars Insider 66, though he later corrected it in both The Dark Forces Saga and The Story of General Grievous II: Lord of War where she was once again named Merili.

When asked on the StarWars.com message boards whether or not the backstory in the early Polyhedron should be considered canon, Peña stated that it should be so unless a future source contradicts it.