Merili Merili was a Human female from the planet Dathomir who served as a dark side Prophetess during the time of the Galactic Empire . Initially found among the Nightsisters by the Supreme Prophet Kadann , Merili was presented to Emperor Palpatine and inducted into the ancient cult of the Prophets of the Dark Side . Due to a number of factors in her training under Prophet Cronal , she was known by Kadann and Palpatine to have been completely insane , and both manipulated Merili throughout her life to serve their various desires . Eventually , she became one of only two Emperor ' s Eye s and was later trained in the Dark Force religion by the Dark Jedi Sariss . Following her induction into the Prophets of the Dark Side , Palpatine took advantage of Merili ' s insanity and used her to control the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk . Under her command , Kashyyyk was virtually pacified , and the Wookiees kept in line through her use of the Force and dark side beasts . During her time on the jungle planet , Merili came to think of the world as her own " kingdom , " thus further demonstrating her insanity to her masters . As guardian of Kashyyyk , Merili assisted the scientists Nycolai Kinesworthy and the mad Treun Lorn in the development of the N - K Project . Merili would eventually lead the two men to a secret storehouse on the planet Utapau where they obtained the body of the late General Grievous to act as the host for the N - K Project . Biography . Early life . Born on the planet of 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 most others she then became a member of the Nightsisters . At an unknown time , the Supreme Prophet Kadann visited the planet and was impressed with Merili ' s strong connection to the dark side of the Force — however , he was disturbed by what he could sense to be unbridled madness in her . Nevertheless , when she asked him if she could become a Prophet he accepted her for training , and took her with him back to the Empire . During her training , Merili was tutored by another Prophet , Cronal , becoming what he considered to be his greatest student . He taught Merili how to use Darksight , a way to see and manipulate the future . Excited by this new ability , she began to alter and add to Cronal ' s teaching . In an effort to increase her own powers over the future , Merili delved into Aing - Tii flow - walking , Dathomirian Heartshadow , and began her own personal experiments in manipulating the space - time continuum through the dark side . Although her efforts resulted in a greater mastery of the future than her teacher , she was driven supertemporally insane . Joining the Empire . Eventually , Merili and Kadaan traveled the distance back to the heart of Imperial space . Once there , Kadann introduced her to the Emperor , who she won over with her raw power and her utterly dark nature , which the two of them shared . Palpatine , like Kadann , only wanted to use her considerable power , though he too recognized the madness within her . To this end , he assigned her to oversee the Imperial occupation of the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk , where Palpatine hoped Merili ' s insanity would not interfere with his own plans of galactic control . It was during this time , however , that Palpatine discovered a special gift which Merili possessed ; 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 certain occasions , manipulate it . Palpatine recognized the dangers that this power posed for Merili ' s sanity , but nevertheless selected her to become one of his two Emperor ' s Eye s . Rule of Kashyyyk . Assigned a complement of five Star Destroyers and nine Imperial garrisons under her direct command , she held Kashyyyk and its star system in an iron grip . Using her Force powers and the formidable Force Wraith s she called forth from the dark side , Merili kept the native Wookiees in line . Another tactic of hers was to use threats against the weak and young which she had carried out often in her madness , thus letting the Wookiees know she would not tolerate resistance . In addition , she had three adult rancors from her home planet who served as her guards and constant companions . Though her powers did not match that of fellow Prophets Jedgar or Kadann , many people who knew of her believed her to be the most dangerous of the Prophets due to her unrestrained insanity . Her speech and mannerisms reflected this : at one moment she would be completely calm , speaking with a measured voice , while the next she would be shrieking , quite animated , and acting very wild . Due to these characteristics , Merili was able to keep the Wookiees of Kashyyyk in line , and was known to use her insanity to further this end . During her tenure on the planet she was known to have watched over Nycolai Kinesworthy while he was creating advanced combat droid technologies in the Myyydril Caverns . It was Merili that led Kinesworthy and Treun Lorn to the Emperor ' s secret storehouse on the planet Utapau . There , they retrieved the dead body of General Grievous , and used it in the construction of N - K Necrosis , as part of the N - K Project . Church of the Dark Side . Sometime before the Battle of Endor , which would witness the fall of the Empire , Merili was trained further in the ways of the Dark Force religion by fellow Prophetess Sariss . Under the guidance of Sariss , Merili joined the secretive Church of the Dark Side , which was under the guidance of former Prophet Cronal . The role of the Church was ultimately to sow dissension amongst the various rival Imperial Remnant warlords , thus preventing any one ruler from sitting on the Imperial throne . Eventually , Merili became the spiritual adviser of Grand Admiral Peccati Syn , who had grown up a follower of the Sacred Way , a religion which the Empire had declared illegal . Having strong roots in religion , Syn was a fanatic devotee to the Church of the Dark Side , and thus Merili was able to manipulate the Grand Admiral . Due to her manipulation of Syn , Merili was able to achieve the Church ' s secretive ends and neutralize him as a threat to the throne . However , Merili herself also perished onboard Syn ' s flagship in combat with Admiral Ackbar over Kashyyyk . Personality and traits . Due to her seduction by the dark side , and the use of special powers she possessed , Merili had turned completely insane . Her insanity allowed her to brutally subjugate the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk , and keep its fierce inhabitants in line . Nonetheless , it was because of her special ability of being able to influence future events that Merili ' s mind had begun to come apart under the stresses of temporal ambiguity , thus making her hold on reality tenuous at the best of times . Though she was not as powerful in the Force as other Prophets of the Dark Side , Merili was believed by many to have been the most dangerous of the Force - users among the group . Nonetheless , Merili had a limited scope regarding her own ambitions and was comfortable with the control she enjoyed over Kashyyyk — what she referred to as " her kingdom . " It was this decision on her part which spared the rest of the galaxy from witnessing her insanity at large , an insanity which could have easily grown out of control due to her ambition . Merili had long , wild black hair and startling amber eyes . 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 . Powers and abilities . Having been raised among the Nightsisters of Dathomir , Merili was known to have had a very strong connection to the dark side of the Force . She was believed by many to be purely evil , sharing this common ground with Palpatine who was delighted to have her powers at his disposal . In battle she preferred relying on her Force Wraiths and the mind - controlled Wookiees for physical combat , though she would resort to fighting by herself if she was in immediate danger . Merili was one of only two female Prophets of the Dark Side , sometimes referred to as Prophetesses , 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 headquarters station " Scardia " . Among her many dark side powers , Merili was adept at being able to gaze into the future — a power shared with her fellow Prophets of the Dark Side . However , the difference with Merili was that she was able to project a part of her mind into the future as well , and exist there while viewing its events . These powers were due to her having studied Darksight with Lord Cronal , and adding to his teachings with studies into Aing - Tii flow - walking and Dathomirian Heartshadow . Due to this uncanny ability , not only was she able to perceive events in the future , but on certain occasions she was able to actually influence them , similar to what a Jedi Master could achieve with battle meditation . Owing to her special power , Merili was recruited to serve as one of the Emperor ' s Eyes , a special level of Dark Side Adept loyal only to Palpatine . 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 " " article in " Star Wars Insider 66 " , though he later corrected it in both " The Dark Forces Saga " and " " where she was once again named Merili . The character was again referenced by Peña in an article on the Star Wars Blog , " " . 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 .