Zalem Zalem was the Clan Mother of one of the many Nightsister clans on the planet Dathomir . She succeeded in rallying the warring covens , styling herself as the Queen of the Nightsisters . She conceived a daughter , Ros Lai , with an enslaved Jedi Knight , and used her mate ' s powers to augment her own connection to the dark side of the Force . When she became strong enough to dispense with him , Zalem murdered her husband and started to rear her daughter as a witch . The child , however , appeared to be deformed , which prompted Zalem to reject her . At some point , the self - styled queen discovered the Star Chamber on Dathomir , and she sought to unlock its secrets and gain access to the Infinity Gate . The effect of Zalem ' s meddling with that ancient technology resulted in the destruction of the planet Ova . That incident attracted the attention of the Jedi High Council , who sent the Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos to Dathomir . While Vos was unable to stop Queen Zalem by himself , Ros Lai wished to avenge the death of her father , and she ended up killing her mother . Biography . Early life . Zalem was born on the planet Dathomir within a community of Nightsisters , a society of female darksiders . From childhood onwards , she learned to master the spells of her elders in hopes of becoming a mighty witch . When she was young , Zalem somehow seduced a Jedi Knight . When she became strong enough in the Force , she murdered her mate , as it was customary for witches to get rid of their " maleling s " after mating . She then set out to bring up their daughter Ros Lai as a Nightsister on her own . But the child appeared deformed , and Zalem rejected her , allowing other witches to constantly bully and torture her . At some point , Zalem brought together many warring covens of Nightsisters under her banner , and she appointed herself as " Queen of Dathomir " . She had become the leader of all Nightsisters , a position the founding Mother Gethzerion once held until the Nightsisters broke into separate covens and would regain years later . The Infinity Gates . In 31 BBY , Zalem hatched a plot to reopen the ancient Infinity Gate which lay under the Dathomiri surface . Her plan was complicated when Jedi Knight Quinlan Vos arrived on the planet , investigating the disappearance of the planet Ova . Shortly after Zalem finally gained access to the Gate , she sent a shockwave to destroy the planet Coruscant . However , before the shockwave could hit , Vos and her daughter Ros Lai arrived . Zalem died at the hands of her ambitious daughter , and Vos was able to turn the shockwave in on itself , destroying the Gate forever . Legacy . After Zalem ' s death , her murderer was expected to take her role as Clan Mother , but Ros Lai never got the opportunity , as she was foiled and taken away on Coruscant by Quinlan Vos . The Queen of Dathomir ' s plans for galactic domination had failed , and the Sisters once again split into several competing covens . Eventually , the shaman Talzin was appointed to the leader of the Nightsisters . She succeeded in reuniting the battling Nightsisters clans and stopped the infighting . Under her guidance , the Sisters would have a chance to explore the galaxy as Force - sensitive assassins and mercenaries — which might be considered a fulfillment of Zalem ' s desire to free the Nightsisters from their prison planet . Personality and traits . Zalem rejected any form of ethics , considering morality acted as a brake on supreme power . The plight of the malelings and of the Kwi didn ' t seem to count at all , even if Zalem would sometimes promote certain servants into one of her " personal bodyguards " . In her view , there was no justice , and the Jedi , these worshipers of the Light , were completely hopeless and misguided . When the Queen discovered that Ros Lai had been hiding her true powers for all these years , she thought her daughter was ' deliciously cunning ' . Indeed , the Queen didn ' t expect any less from the holder of her lineage , and she truly admired Ros Lai ' s immersion in the dark side . Powers and abilities . Zalem was a powerful Nightsister , enough to become Queen of the competing covens .