Ancient Order of Pessimists The Ancient Order of Pessimists was a religious group of hermits who followed a creed and lifestyle of pessimism who lived on Maryx Minor . Abal Karda sought sanctuary in their hermitage while on the run from Boba Fett and Darth Vader . Fett soon infiltrated the hermitage , killed Karda , and retrieved the box containing the severed , but living , head of Selestrine . Vader soon arrived and battled with Fett for the box . After obtaining the box , Vader returned to his " Imperial " - class Star Destroyer . Upon surviving the battle between Fett and Vader , the High Hermit experienced an epiphany and began to embrace optimism . However , Vader had the hermitage completely destroyed from orbit for the hermits ' having witnessed the events . Practices and beliefs . Members of the Ancient Order believed that the world was as bad as it could be . They were inclined to emphasize unfavorable conditions , aspects and possibilities in life , and to expect the worst possible outcome in every single situation . While thinking that only their demise could bring an end to their life of dreading , the Ancient Order ' s hermits did not seek to die . Indeed , they considered all unfortunate events that fell upon their heads to be a burden and had to be taken without protesting . Although normally pacifist , they sometimes resorted to violence when they needed to protect their lives from those who did not respect their ways . Whereas occasional fits of optimism were mildly tolerated , actively preaching in favor of absolute optimism was considered heresy and thought to bring more disasters upon the community . The brothers , who were all male Humans , wore a light gray habit with matching sandals . The community leader , known as the High Hermit , donned a distinctive headgear a frock with blue markings and a necklace . The everyday life at the hermitage was punctuated by the sound of a bell struck with a padded hammer . In the morning , the brothers of the Ancient Order used the casting ritual bones to predict the future . In accordance with their creed of pessimism , the collected omens were always grave — although sometimes worse than usual . When one of the brothers passed away , the others would hold a funeral procession and cast his corpse into a fiery lava pit . History . The Ancient Order of Pessimists was active as early as 3 BBY , in the years that led to the Galactic Civil War , although its name implied it had been founded a long time earlier . That year , the hermits granted asylum to Abal Karda , a colonel of the Galactic Empire who was hunted down by the bounty hunter named Boba Fett . Unbeknownst to the monks , the colonel held a casket that contained the live , talking head of Queen Selestrine of the Icarii , who kept prophecizing that he would meet his doom at Fett ' s hands . In a fit of rage , Karda killed one of the brothers , Mabob , whom he accused of snooping at his cell door . Ultimately , Fett located Karda ' s hideout , and the brothers of the Ancient Order got caught in the cross - fire between the two men . When it seemed the situation could not get any worse , the Supreme Commander of the Empire Darth Vader arrived at the hermitage and started battling Fett fore Selestrine ' s head . Once their combat was over , six brothers had died and several more had been injured . Because he had survived those dramatic events , the High Hermit had a revelation , and he tried to convert his brethern to a newfound optimism . However , the hermits had involuntarily sealed their fate by witnessing the battle between Fett and Vader . To ensure their silence upon what happened that day on Maryx Minor , the Supreme Commander had the hermitage obliterated through orbital bombardment . Despite the order ' s collapse , some of its teachings did survive and gain supporters . Moff Foga Brill , an Imperial Warlord and leader of the Constitutional Protectorate of Prakith , discovered the doctrines of the Order some time after its destruction and secretly became a devotee during his governorship of the hellish Deep Core world of Prakith . He would subsequently convert to the Church of the Dark Side on the recommendation of his friend , Grand Admiral Peccati Syn . Locations . The order ' s hermitage was located near a geyser field in the mountains of Maryx Minor , a volcanic planet located in the Outer Rim region of the galaxy . A few years after ther hermitage ' s destruction , the order had gained at least one supporter on Prakith .