- "When they glow like that…"
"They're about to jump into hyperspace!" - ―Hera Syndulla and Sabine Wren
Purrgil were a semi-sentient species of massive whales that lived in deep space, traveling from star system to star system. Regular purrgils were only the size of a small starship, while members of a subspecies known as Purrgil Ultra were significantly larger. Purrgil had streamlined bodies with a smooth-looking bluish-purple skin, four large hind tentacles, and multiple fins. Their heads had a characteristic bulbous shape with one eye on each side. Living in groups consisting of up to dozens of individuals, they were able to fly through hyperspace by creating simu-tunnels. The natural ability of the purrgil inspired sentients to develop hyperdrive technology and wayfinders that were used for hyperspace navigation.
According to Hera Syndulla, leader of the Spectres rebel cell, most spacers considered purrgil to be pests due to their habit of approaching and flying into starships near their flight paths, and for ships crashing into their swarms during hyperspace travel. Numerous spacer deaths could be attributed to purrgil-related incidents, leading most spacers to fire upon them on sight. However, Jedi Padawan Ezra Bridger, another member of the Spectres, was able to establish a connection to the whales when he encountered a group of them together with the rest of his crew at a gas refinery. He later used that bond to ally with a group of purrgil against Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn's 7th Fleet during the liberation of the Outer Rim planet Lothal, ultimately removing the fleet from the planet by having the purrgil wrap their tentacles around Thrawn's starship and jump to hyperspace.
Biology and appearance[]
- "These creatures are a menace, a big, lumbering menace."
- ―Hera Syndulla talking about purrgil
The Purrgil King's skin turned brown when he was not provided with enough Clouzon-36.
While regular purrgil were only the size of a small starship,[7] members of a subspecies known as Purrgil Ultra[3] were significantly larger,[7] reaching half of the length of an Imperial-class Star Destroyer.[3] On average, they reached a height of 5.5 meters, or 18 feet, and a length of 30 meters, or 98 feet,[4] Purrgil had streamlined, torpedo-shaped bodies and bulbous heads with two cloudy, blue eyes placed on the sides of it.[5] They had four large hind tentacles, a single dorsal fin, two side fins, a ventral fin, and an anal fin all of which allowed them to move gracefully across the vacuum of space.[8] The skin of purrgil was smooth-looking, and a bluish-purple color with gray and yellow portions. Their large mouths were filled with egg-shaped teeth that were irregularly spaced and varied in size. Some specimens had slender, whisker-like organs underneath their mouth.[5] Purrgil Ultra had a larger amount of these whisker-like organs and more distinctive protrusions on top of their head.[7]
In order to breathe, purrgil needed to inhale stores of a specific green gas, Clouzon-36.[8] When they were not provided with enough of the gas, their skin turned to a gray to brownish color.[5] Once sufficiently provided with the Clouzon-36,[8] they metabolized it into hypermatter fuel and therefore were able to jump into hyperspace,[9] an alternate dimension that could only be entered by traveling at lightspeed or faster,[10] by creating simu-tunnels.[11] When they were about to jump into hyperspace, their tentacles started glowing.[7]
Behavior[]
- "The purrgil are dangerous. They wander into hyperspace lanes, crash into ships. I lost more than one friend that way."
"Well, maybe they don't realize they're putting people in danger. Maybe it's like Kanan says, you know. They just do what they do." - ―Hera Syndulla and Ezra Bridger
Purrgil lived in groups called flocks,[12] pods,[13] or swarms that could count up to dozens of individuals.[7] Such groups were led by a bigger specimen.[5] The leader of one of these groups was referred to as the Purrgil King.[14] As a semi-sentient species,[1] they showed a certain degree of intelligence but could unintentionally cause harm by crashing into starships, killing their occupants in the process.[5] When wounded, Purrgil staggered to their side.[15]
History[]
Early studies[]
- "When I was young, I was told amazing stories of creatures that lived in the stars, traveled between the worlds. Old pilots said it was the purrgil who inspired us to jump from system to system. But I don't believe it."
- ―Hera Syndulla
A swarm of purrgil ready to jump into hyperspace
Several millennia before the Cold War[16] between the New Republic and the First Order[17] that started in 29 ABY,[18] the purrgil's ability to travel through hyperspace inspired sentients to find their own way of entering that alternate dimension. After studying purrgil, sentient beings invented the hyperdrive.[19] Some of the first commercial vessels to offer hyperdrive travel,[20] the MPO-1400 Purgill-class star cruisers manufactured by the Corellian Engineering Corporation,[21] were not only inspired[22] by the whales[2] but also named after them. Some passengers of one of the star cruisers, the Halcyon, which was operated by Chandrila Star Line, reported sightings of purrgil from aboard the ship.[22]
According to Peko-Peko Munzati, who was rumored to have studied the species for months, the first hyperspace scouts used to follow purrgil.[23] Their knowledge about purrgil and the gas Clouzon-36 helped scientists find out that coaxium fuel could form at places subject to intense interstellar energy[24] and therefore helped them locate natural reservoirs of the expensive starship fuel,[9] such as those on the Mid Rim planet Kessel or in the[24] Mid Rim's[25] Redhurne system.[24] Studies of purrgil brains and carcasses also inspired both the Jedi and the Sith to create wayfinders, ancient devices used to navigate challenging stretches of space.[26]
Although few people actually witnessed their special ability to attain lightspeed, the purrgil became legendary for smugglers and pilots across the galaxy.[8] However, due to their habit of unwittingly crashing into starships,[5] the legendary whales[2] came to be regarded as threatening creatures, being called "a big, lumbering menace" by the Twi'lek Hera Syndulla.[5] Many purrgil were thus killed, with spacers puncturing them with hook-lashes to get rid of the potential threat. After they had bled to death, they were brought up on deck.[27] Around 90 BBY,[28] Jedi youngling Dooku and his sister Jenza attended a celebration on the planet Serenno, where Jenza won a stuffed purrgil toy.[29] During the Clone Wars, clone commando Tech of Clone Force 99, an experimental squad, acquired a recording of purrgil as part of his collection of various creature sounds.[30]
Age of the Empire[]
- "Whatever happens next happens to both of us."
"That's the idea." - ―Grand Admiral Thrawn and Ezra Bridger before being pulled into hyperspace by purrgil
Ahhav firing on a group of purrgil
After Han Solo, a male smuggler[31] from the Core Worlds planet[32] Corellia had successfully flown the Kessel Run, a dangerous hyperspace route, in just a little bit more than twelve parsecs[31] in 10 BBY,[33] Peko-Peko Munzati claimed in the journal of the Corellian human bartender Tivoche Bilure that the route Solo took was inspired by an ancient purrgil migration trail.[23] In 9 BBY,[34] while talking to his adopted daughter Leia on a balcony, Alderaanian Senator Bail Organa said that when he was her age, he wished to chase purrgil.[35]
In 3 BBY,[36] the Mining Guild was running a gas refinery where they refined Clouzon-36 fuel. The refinery's operations prevented a group of purrgil from accessing the gas they needed to breathe, leading to conflicts between them and the Guild, including the Mining Guild firing on the creatures.[5] At one point, the Mining Guild pilot Ahhav encountered a group of purrgil in a TIE/mg Mining Guild starfighter and fired upon them in vengeance after having survived a previous encounter.[37] That same year,[36] the Spectres, a rebel cell led by Hera Syndulla[13] which crewed the modified VCX-100 light freighter Ghost,[38]encountered a purrgil swarm on a mission to steal fuel from the Mining Guild. At first, Syndulla wanted to fire on the creatures but the Jedi Ezra Bridger and Kanan Jarrus stopped her from doing so, ultimately convincing her to follow the purrgil, which calmed[5] the whales.[2] Following the creatures, soon the Spectres arrived at the Mining Guild's gas refinery.[5]
Ezra Bridger rides a purrgil to fight the Mining Guild at a gas refinery.
Bridger wanted to explore the connection between the purrgil and the gas deeper but was cut off by Hera, who told him to focus on their mission. After having fought their way through some of the Mining Guild's guards, Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian member of the Spectres, was about to use explosives to ignite the volatile Clouzon-36 gas when she was stopped by Bridger in order to save the purrgil. That forced the crew to alter their plan and after the guards of the gas refinery had discovered them, the refinery boss Yushyn, ordered his guards to defend the fuel. Bridger was knocked off his gun emplacement by a laser blast from the guards and fell into the gas-covered crater below the asteroid.[5]
However, Bridger was saved by a purrgil known as the Purrgil King[5] and saw a vision in the Purrgil's eye.[39] The Purrgil King also saved Jedi from asphyxiation by finding his helmet, which he had lost during the fall. Staring into the creature's eye, Bridger was able to create a bond with the creature through the Force. Meanwhile, Yushyn had ordered his guards to launch two of the Mining Guild's TIE fighters, but Bridger's connection with the purrgil enabled him to team up[5] with the whales[2] in the Spectres' fight against the Mining Guild. The purrgil helped the rebels by destroying one of the TIE fighters and dragging Yushyn into a crater, ultimately enabling them to steal the needed fuel. After the mission, the Spectres witnessed the purrgil's ability to jump through hyperspace firsthand and followed their newly gained allies through hyperspace.[5] By 2 BBY,[40] Sabine Wren had a painting of a purrgil on the wall of her cabin aboard the Ghost.[41]
The Ghost leads a fleet of purrgil and Purrgil Ultra against the Imperial Seventh Fleet.
In 0 BBY,[42] during the liberation[7] of the Outer Rim planet[43] Lothal from the Galactic Empire's control, the rebel pilot Mart Mattin, the former Clone Commander Wolffe, and the Devaronian crime lord Cikatro Vizago sent a signal on Frequency Zero from the Ghost to call upon a group of purrgil[7] and Purrgil Ultra.[3] Upon their arrival, the creatures were led by the Ghost and completely wiped out Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn's 7th Fleet blockade of Lothal. The Purrgil Ultra also damaged the three Star Destroyers hovering in the planet's lower atmosphere above Capital City, including the Chimaera, Thrawn's flagship. Ezra Bridger then used the Force to control three Purrgil Ultra, which then wrapped their tentacles around the Chimaera, trapping Thrawn in a cold embrace, and jumped to hyperspace, ultimately removing the Imperial threat from Lothal.[7]
After the Empire[]
- "Used to hear stories about purrgil. Living creatures that roam hyperspace."
- ―Nath Tensent
By 5 ABY,[45] Sabine Wren had a purrgil painted on her shoulder plate.[46] Purrgil were also often mentioned in journals or referenced by pilots, for example by Paige Tico[47] and Nath Tensent.[44] At some point, an artist encountered a group of purrgil. He later drew one of them in his journal and commented that he was surprised by their sudden appearance around his ship.[6] Sometime after 34 ABY,[48] the document with the artist's drawing and comment was restored and published by the Graf Archive, a vast depository of documents and other materials of public or historical importance.[6]
Behind the scenes[]
- "I began to think that what if the first hyperspace travel wasn't technological, but that it was, you know, nature. And that there were creatures that people could witness that would jump to hyperspace."
- ―Dave Filoni on coming up with the idea of purrgil
Purrgil concept art for "The Call" by JP Balmet
Purrgil first appeared in "The Call,"[5] the fifteenth episode of the second season of the animated television series Star Wars Rebels[50] which aired on February 10, 2016.[51] In the script of that episode, the leader of the involved group of purrgil was referred to as the "Purrgil King."[14] Purrgil concept art for this episode was drawn by JP Balmet,[52] a concept designer and illustrator working in Los Angeles.[53] The correct plural form of purrgil is "purrgil," despite the fact that Syndulla says "purrgils" in the episode.[54] In the Rebels Recon, a series of behind-the-scenes YouTube videos, episode of The Call,[49] Dave Filoni, an animation producer involved in various Star Wars projects,[55][56] said that he came up with the idea of purrgil when thinking about the concept that the first hyperspace travel was not technological but instead made by creatures.[49]
In the same video, Pablo Hidalgo, a creative executive and author currently working for Lucasfilm within the Lucasfilm Story Group,[57] also stated that purrgil added a degree of extra ancient mythology to Star Wars.[49] In an interview with StarWars.com, he as well compared vessels hunting Purrgil with ancient seafaring whaling days on our planet.[58] The 2020 concept art book The Art of Star Wars Rebels described purrgil as biological splices of whales and squids that could swim lazily through the vacuum of space that had the ability to jump into hyperspace and cross lightyears in a moment. The book also states that purrgil had gone through some remarkable evolutionary adaptions.[59] In The Clone Wars animated series episode "On the Wings of Keeradaks"[30] released on March 6, 2020,[60] purrgil are misspelled as "purgill."[30] Purrgil can also be seen flying next to the Black One,[61] a T-70 X-wing starfighter belonging to Resistance pilot Poe Dameron,[62] in the side mission "Poe to the Rescue" of the 2016 non-canon video game LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[61]
Appearances[]
- Dooku: Jedi Lost (Mentioned only)
- Dooku: Jedi Lost script (Mentioned only)
Star Wars: The Clone Wars – "On the Wings of Keeradaks" (Mentioned on translation visor) (as purgill)- Obi-Wan Kenobi – "Part I" (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "The Call" (First appearance)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Trials of the Darksaber" (Art only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Zero Hour" (Indirect mention only)
- Star Wars Rebels – "Family Reunion – and Farewell"
- Alphabet Squadron (Mentioned only)
- Alphabet Squadron audiobook (Mentioned only)
- Star Wars: Squadrons (Appears in hologram) (DLC)
- Aftermath: Life Debt (Mentioned only)
- Aftermath: Life Debt audiobook (Mentioned only)
- Poe Dameron: Free Fall (Mentioned only)
- Poe Dameron: Free Fall audiobook (Mentioned only)
Non-canon appearances[]
- LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
- LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga (Mentioned only)
Sources[]
Notes and references[]
External links[]
- Star Wars Rebels (@starwarsrebels) on Facebook: Purrgil and the hyperspace (February 11, 2016) (screenshot)
- Bucket's List Extra: 9 Fun Facts from "Hunt on Celsor 3" on StarWars.com (backup link)
