Leaf Queen

"I'm the Leaf Queen, ruler of the fall season."

―The Leaf Queen introduces herself to Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka^[1]

The Leaf Queen was a powerful being and sorceress who ruled the autumn season of the forest moon of Endor. She could only bring about autumn with the Season Scepter, a powerful artifact that was shared among the other rulers of the Endorian seasons. These other rulers, the Flower Queen, the Sun King, and the Snow King, were the Leaf Queen's siblings, and together they controlled the weather year round. The Leaf Queen was worshiped as a deity for her control of the fall season.

The Leaf Queen had familiar relations with the native Ewoks, and she came into contact with Bright Tree Village on several occasions. She was also an accomplished horticulturist and had even cultivated a magical plant that granted wishes. During the Odra crisis, the Leaf Queen organized her other siblings in an alliance to combat the Snow King and his paramour Odra, who had confiscated the Season Scepter.

Biography[]

Endorian deity[]

Endor FFGRebellion — Endor, where the Leaf Queen came into power.

At some point prior to the Battle of Yavin, the Force-sensitive^[2] Leaf Queen came to power on the forest moon of Endor, ruling over the fall season.^[1] At this same time, her other siblings, the Flower Queen, the Sun King, and the Snow King, came to rule over the spring, summer, and winter seasons, respectively. The power to rule the seasons came through the use of the Season Scepter, a magical artifact that controlled the weather in the right hands. The four siblings would pass the artifact to each other as the seasons changed, effectively helping the change in the weather.^[3]

The group's power over the seasons resulted in their being worshiped as gods on Endor. An accomplished horticulturist in her own right, even a special plant that the Leaf Queen cultivated came to be an idol to young Ewoks seeking guidance.^[4] Although seen as a deity by the native species, the Leaf Queen was not above associating with them, and she had several friendly acquaintances among the Ewok people, especially those from Bright Tree Village. One of the denizens of this village, the old Ewok Shaman Logray, was a good friend of the Leaf Queen and her siblings, and they took his advice on occasion.^[3]

Tasking the princess[]

"Would you do me a great favor and take care of this special plant?"

―The Leaf Queen communicates with Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka^[1]

In one of the incidents in which she chose to associate with the Ewoks, the Leaf Queen found the young Ewok Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka trying to develop her gardening skills. As the future ruler of the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village, Kneesaa would be tasked with protecting and preserving the Soul Trees. However, the young princess was a poor gardener, and her plants consistently died. Likely as a test for Kneesaa, the Leaf Queen turned one of her valuable wish plants over to the Ewok princess. Telling Kneesaa that she would return in three days, the Leaf Queen asked that she show the plant lots of love, and would therefore have no trouble taking care of the plant. Although the young Ewok voiced her doubts over her adequacy for the task, the Leaf Queen insisted that Kneesaa do her this favor and then vanished before she could object further.^[1]

LeafQueenAdmonishing-TWP — The Leaf Queen admonishes the Ewoks.

As the three days passed, Kneesaa did not let the plant out of her sight and looked after it just as the Leaf Queen had asked of her. On the third day, Kneesaa inadvertently discovered that the plant would grant any wish that was requested of it when she absentmindedly wished for something to clean her fur after she had become covered in mud. The plant responded by unfolding a colorful brush from one of its blossoms. However, Kneesaa's friends, Wicket W. Warrick, Latara, and Teebo, became so enamored of the plant's abilities that they stole it from Kneesaa and began to make wishes of the plant indiscriminately. Tasked with so many wishes, the plant began to slowly wilt, and by the time that Kneesaa had retrieved the plant from her friends, the wish plant was on the verge of death.^[1]

Immediately after, the Leaf Queen returned to the village to request the return of her plant. Realizing that they were to blame for the plant's dire state, Kneesaa's friends covered for her, telling the Leaf Queen that the plant was sleeping and that she should return later. The Leaf Queen was puzzled by the reluctance to return the plant but decided to take the Ewoks at their word. However, before she departed, the Leaf Queen warned the Ewoks that the last person who had harmed one of her plants had suffered greatly at her hands, and to prove it, she destroyed a nearby bag of leaves with her powers. The Ewoks were panicked by the gesture, and after the Leaf Queen had departed, they tried everything they could to heal the plant, even trying to find a replacement for the withered shrub.^[1]

However, all their efforts were ineffective, and by the time the Leaf Queen had returned, the Ewoks had proved unsuccessful in reviving the plant. Afraid of what the Leaf Queen would do to her, but knowing that she had to face her punishment, Kneesaa went to confront the Leaf Queen and take responsibility. Before she did so, however, Kneesaa apologized to the plant, crying over its withered form. The tears that ended up spilling on the plant were the symbol of love that the plant had been lacking, and as the tears absorbed into the soil surrounding the plant, it magically revived. When the Leaf Queen entered the hut in which the plant was being kept, she found the wish plant as healthy as she had left it. Although the Ewoks were surprised at the development, the Leaf Queen reminded Kneesaa that the plant only needed her love. As the group watched, the wish plant produced three small seeds that the Leaf Queen gave to Kneesaa, telling her that she should plant them before the snows came. Before departing the village, the Leaf Queen told the princess that she would make a fine protector of the Soul Trees one day, confirming that the whole ordeal had likely been a test to see whether Kneesaa was fit to rule in the future.^[1]

Sibling rivalry[]

"Something must have happened to the Season Scepter! We must contact the Leaf Queen!"

―Logray^[3]

LeafQueenSunstar-TSS — The Leaf Queen appears in the Sunstar.

A brief time following the incident with the wish plant, one of the Leaf Queen's siblings, the Snow King, entered into a romantic relationship with a Frost Sprite known as Odra. Odra used her influence over the Snow King to freeze his heart and recruit him into a plan to steal the Sunstar, a powerful artifact that amplified the owner's power, allowing them to perform magical feats. Under Odra's direction, the Snow King sent his Icehead servants to steal the Season Scepter from the current holder, the Sun King. The staff was easily seized by the Iceheads, who took advantage of the Sun King's less than vigilant attitude. With the staff now in the Snow King's clutches, the Season Scepter was used to change the weather to an unbearable cold, threatening to freeze the entire moon in perpetual winter.^[3]

With all life on Endor threatened by the Snow King's actions, the Leaf Queen and her other siblings allied together in an attempt to stop their brother and his paramour. The Leaf Queen took control of the situation, placing herself as the head of the alliance, and took steps to remedy the situation. Using unknown methods, the Leaf Queen attempted to contact Shaman Logray through the Sunstar that resided in his hut. The Sunstar created a projection of the Leaf Queen inside the hut, requesting that the Ewok shaman come quickly to the Sun King's palace. However, the message was received not by Logray, but by the same Ewok children that had met the Leaf Queen during the incident with the wish plant. The Leaf Queen had sent a flying leaf to Logray's hut to transport him back to the palace right away. However, since the young Ewoks could not find Logray, but still understanding the urgency of the situation, they took it upon themselves to answer the Leaf Queen's call. The four Ewoks jumped onto the flying leaf and set out to meet with the Leaf Queen.^[3]

A plan of attack[]

"I must contact Logray before every single creature on Endor is frozen!"

―Leaf Queen^[3]

Back at the Sun King's palace, the three siblings waited patiently for Logray's arrival. The snows and cold weather had become increasingly worse, and without the Sunstar and Logray's help, the Leaf Queen feared that they would be unable to unfreeze the Snow King's heart and save Endor. The three siblings were delighted when the Ewoks finally arrived but were disappointed to hear that the Ewok children had not brought Logray or the Sunstar with them. It also turned out that Kneesaa had been abducted during the Ewoks' flight to the palace. Kneesaa's friends were eager to rescue her, but the Leaf Queen pointed out that without the Sunstar, the only thing that would be able to melt the Snow King's heart would be the Season Scepter.^[3]

FlowerChirpaLeaf-TSS — The Leaf Queen arrives at the Snow Palace with Chief Chirpa to congratulate the Ewoks.

While the Leaf Queen tried once again to contact Logray, the Ewok children left the Sun King's palace to mount a rescue of Kneesaa from the Snow Palace. The young Ewoks were eventually able to successfully mount an attack at the Snow King's abode, rescuing Kneesaa, defeating Odra, and melting the Snow King's frozen heart. At the same time, the Leaf Queen was eventually able to contact Logray and Chief Chirpa, the leader of Bright Tree Village. The three siblings and the two Ewok leaders advanced on the Snow Palace only to find the snows suddenly receded. With the Snow King's heart unfrozen, he used the Season Scepter to return the weather back to the summer season. The Leaf Queen and her entourage entered the Snow Palace to find the situation resolved and their brother back to normal. After thanking the Ewok children, the Leaf Queen and her siblings returned to their normal routine, controlling the seasons on Endor.^[3]

Personality and traits[]

"Do you know what happened to the last person who harmed one of my plants?"

―Leaf Queen^[1]

The Leaf Queen was a matriarchal figure, and she looked after her other siblings as well as the local Ewoks with an affection borne of motherly instinct. This attitude led to the Leaf Queen being worshiped as a source for requests of an intangible nature by the native Ewoks.^[4] However, the Leaf Queen was known to raise her temper when things infuriated her, even resorting to threats when things did not go to her liking.^[1] Of her fellow siblings, the Leaf Queen appeared to hold the most influence, making the decisions for her siblings when they were together. Although the Leaf Queen appeared foremost among her brothers and sister, she did not appear to feel disdain or resentment towards them, treating them as equals. This humility also extended to the local species on the forest moon, and she was even known to ask the advice of certain Ewoks at times.^[3]

Powers and abilities[]

"What am I gonna do? I'm gonna be turned into a pile of leaves!"

―Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka^[1]

LeafQueenPower-TWP — The Leaf Queen demonstrates her powers.

The Leaf Queen was a powerful Force-sensitive^[2] being and, unlike her brothers, the Snow King and the Sun King, she could perform several feats without the use of the Season Scepter. The Leaf Queen carried a small shaft of wood that seemed to be connected in some way to these abilities. Pointing the wooden wand would yield powers ranging from a flash of brilliant flame^[1] to a holographic image representing past events.^[3] It is unknown how integral this device was to performing these magical acts, as the Leaf Queen had it on her person at all times.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The Leaf Queen first appeared in the second episode of the second season of Ewoks, The Wish Plant, written by Bob Carrau. After this appearance, the Leaf Queen appeared in the thirteenth episode of the Ewoks television show, also written by Carrau, The Season Scepter. The Leaf Queen went unreferenced until a minor mention in the Leektar Databank entry written by Arthur Papadam and Andrew Gilbertson for the What's The Story? contest. The entry also referenced the Leaf Queen's wish plants to which Leektar had wished for greater status among his tribe.^[4] In Daniel Wallace's 2008 Hyperspace article, Castaways of Endor, an indirect mention of the Leaf Queen was made with the line "What of the shamanism and earth-magic that has turned local kingpins into weather-controlling warlocks?"^[2]