Myyydril Caverns

"The Myyydril Caverns are a mystery to those not living within their cold, damp walls."

The Myyydril Caverns were a huge system of subterranean caves located northwest of the town of Kachirho on the Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk. It was populated by many dangerous beasts, but was also the home of an exiled tribe of Wookiees and several other refugees. The deepest parts of the caverns were the site where mad scientist Treun Lorn built the cyborg abomination N-K Necrosis from the remains of Separatist commander General Grievous.

In the years leading to the Battle of Yavin, a new dangerous species of creatures, called Urnsor'is by the local Wookiees, started to spread in the caverns and slowly decimated the Myyydril tribe. In 1 ABY several adventurers visited the caverns, helping the local Wookiees and Chief Kerritamba with important tasks. One of these adventurers succeeded in ending the Urnsor'is pest. Around the same time, a group of spacers ventured to the deepest parts of the caverns and killed N-K Necrosis and his NK-3 guards.

Inhabitants[]

Although the caverns were very dangerous, several groups of beings called them their home. The biggest and predominant group was the Myyydril tribe, a clan of friendly Wookiees. Outcast from the Kerritamba Village many years before the Galactic Civil War, they had found a new home in a large cave in this cavern system. Here they had found everything they needed to survive: fresh water in abundance, Uwari beetles that could be harvested for meat and hide, Luilris mushrooms that were a good source of food, and even Nak'tra crystals that could be used to craft energy weapons. During the time of the Galactic Civil War, several other beings had found a home in the Myyydril community, including the Twi'lek nurse Yraka Nes, smuggler "Shady" Pers and the mysterious Tulgah shaman Echrhin Isdan. They all lived in simple wooden huts in the Myyydril village, kept safe by numerous Wookiee guards.

Deeper down in the caverns lived a group of refugees under the lead of Ren'Salla. It is not known whom they were hiding from and how they survived down there. They were very reclusive and did not trust strangers.

An unknown number of adventurers visited the caverns over time. Remains of the most unfortunate ones among these adventurers were sometimes found in the stomachs of killed Uwari beetles and Urnsor'is.

Flora and fauna[]

"There are unspeakable creatures living in the Myyydril Caverns, living amongst radiated crystals and toxic mushrooms."

―Chief Kerritamba^[1]

Only a few plants prospered in this environment. In the upper, drier parts of the caverns the tall White Sinthis (which grew only in caves) sprouted from the sandy ground. Its most common companion was the parasitic Warl Cave Plant. The Myyydril used the nectar of the Warl Cave Plant to brew a strong alcoholic beverage called Warl Surprise.

In the caves beyond the mushroom gardens—surrounding the Myyydril village and beyond in the Deep Depth—only a few mushrooms species seemed to be able to thrive. Despite the existence of water and light from the Nak'tra crystals and Luilris mushrooms, no other plants could be found there, possibly due to the Urnsor'is infestation.

Animal life in the caverns was pretty scarce too. Only two animal species had been discovered to have lived in the caverns: the Uwari beetles and the Urnsor'is. The Myyydril raised and harvested domestic Uwari beetles for their meat, but also kept them as pets. They were kept in a huge cave, guarded by Myyydril herders, until they were big and old enough. Some Uwari beetles that escaped the herders lived in the upper levels of the caverns, where they sometimes fed on the Luilris Mushrooms grown by the Myyydril. To protect the mushrooms, the Myyydril tried to keep the population of wild Uwari beetles as low as possible. One exceptionally fierce Uwari beetle called Deathswarm lived in the upper parts of the caverns.

The Deep Depths were dominated by the other species, the fearsome Urnsor'is, until the infestation was eliminated by a spacer in 1.5 ABY.

Behind the scenes[]

The Myyydril Caverns were introduced in Rage of the Wookiees (2005), the second expansion of Sony Online Entertainment's massively multiplayer online role-playing game Star Wars Galaxies. They were designed by Janessa Johannsson, who also designed the surrounding Kkowir Forest area.^[2]

They were later mentioned in the article Unknown Soldier: The Story of General Grievous and its online supplement The Story of General Grievous: Lord of War by Abel G. Peña, which included the origins of N-K Necrosis and its defeat.

The caverns are an instance dungeon where several quest lines take place, including several quests for the inhabitants of the Myyydril village, one for Chief Kerritamba and the quest to destroy the boss enemy N-K Necrosis. At the time of its release the caverns were designed to be a quest area for high-level player groups, but after the maximum player level was raised with the release of the third expansion (Trials of Obi-Wan), most enemies were no longer a challenge for maximum-level players.

Concept artworks of the Myyydril Caverns and its inhabitants were published on the bonus DVD-ROM of Star Wars Galaxies: The Complete Online Adventures in 2006.