Kazak

Kazak was First Elder of the Ewok Council of Elders and an advisor to Chief Chirpa. He was light-gray/blue fur skinned and wore a brown hood. He was also one of the many Ewoks that aided the Rebel Alliance in the Battle of Endor.
His name originated in Ewok Mythology, in which Kazak was a nature spirit who rewards Ewoks with magic weapons if they defeat him at his complicated games.
==Biography==
===Space pirates invade===
Kazak was an Ewok male member of the Bright Tree Village tribe on the Forest Moon of Endor. He was the Head Elder for Bright Tree Village's Council of Elders, acting as an advisor to Chief Chirpa. In 3 ABY, dates the events of the Ewoks comic series, which include the events of Ewoks 2, to three years after the events of Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, which corresponds to 3 ABY according to The New Essential Chronology. at the birthday party of Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka—daughter of Chirpa—Kazak was present when Chirpa declared that Kintaka would be next in line for leader of the Ewoks. Kazak was apalled by the chief's statement, reminding him of the tradition of male Ewok leaders. He tried to prove his point that a womna leader would be unfit to serve by tossing a spear at Kintaka, who was barely able to catch it. The medicine man Logray countered by implying that the council was frightened of the prospect of a female leader, but Kazak shot him down, remdinding him to stick to his magic and nothing else. Chirpa then insisted that Kintaka's birthright was to lead; Kazak allowed for the chief to protest the council's feelings, but he maintained that it would be the elders who chose the next leader—not Chirpa.
Later that day, the village was invaded by a group of Zorbian space pirates from the planet Zorbia II. The council, which had been preparing to leave the birthday party, learned of this when the Ewok scout Wicket Warrick burst in with the news, informing everyone of the pirates' ill intent. Chirpa called everyone to arms, but he made his daughter stay behind. Kintaka accused him of siding with Kazak and the elders, but her father simply deferred the conversation to later. However, the Ewok warriors ran into a trap, becoming captured by the Zorbians, who tied them all up in a net and brought them back to the village, where they intended to steal the precious gemwood tree. Kintaka, among the few Ewoks left, had devised a plan for defeating the pirates; she and her Ewok friends used items from around the village to fight the Zorbians and drive them away.
After the battle, when Chirpa told his daughter how proud he was of her, Kazak concurred, offering an apology for his earlier comments. On behalf of the council, he proclaimed that Kintaka was already on her way to becoming a strong leader, and he presented her with a ruling staff. Kintaka accepted the honor and vowed to continue to prove herself worthy. Sometime later, Kazak presented Kintaka, Warrick, and their friend Teebo with special stone blades to cut the Ewoks' sacred wood, which they considered an honor. The young Ewoks then departed via hang gliders to gather the wood.Ewoks (1985) 3
===A test of courage===
Later that year, Kazak was present to officiate a test of courage for Wicket Warrick. The young Ewok was to swing on a vine as part of the test, but the rope was cut by the Dulok prince Boogutt, causing him to fall and destroy the Ewoks' special sun crystal. This greatly angered Kazak; the elder felt that Warrick had been carelss and was thus unworthy of being a warrior, everyone all involved was unaware of the Duloks' intervention. Afterward, Warrick and Teebo overheard Kazak and Chirpa discussing the events; Chirpa thought that Kazak had been overly harsh, but the elder defended his position, reminding him of the hundred years that the crystal had been an important symbol for the Ewoks. Despite Chirpa pointing out that it was just a symbol and nothing more, Kazak scoffed and opined that the Ewok warriors of old who had retrieved the crystal from the Black Cavern were truly courageous.Ewoks (1985) 13
Kazak's rant inspired Warrick to prove himself by obtaining a new sun crystal from the Black Cavern. He ran off to do so, with Boogutt following, also trying to get the crystal—in his case, for his father, King Gorneesh. Teebo learned of this and informed the elders, who gathered a party to chase after Warrick and prevent him from risking his life. After narrowly escaping being trapped inside the cave forever, and saving Boogutt's life in the process, the Ewok party arrived at the cavern's entrance, though the sun crystal was destroyed. Warrick was devastated at losing two sun crystals in a single day, Kazak surprised him by implying that perhaps the symbol no longer mattered; it was courage that defined an Ewok, and Warrick's would be long-remembered. He then presented the young scout with a shard of the broken crystal for his Belt of Honor, leaving him speechless. The Ewoks then all returned to Bright Tree Village.
===Imperials on Endor===
weeks before the Battle of EndorGalaxy Guide 5: Return of the Jedi in 4 ABY,The New Essential Chronology dates the events of to 4 ABY. the Galactic Empire sent a scouting party to Endor and eventually brought numerous troops and vehicles. Kazak was part of a hunting party that investigated a trap that had been set. However, instead of a creature being caught in the net, it was a group of Rebels from the Rebel Alliance. The group included the protocol droid C-3PO, who the Ewoks bowed down to, thinking him to be a deity. The Ewoks brought their captives and new deity back to Bright Tree Village, where they nearly sacrificed the live Rebels before C-3PO told them not to.
The next day, the Ewoks accompanied the Rebels in trying to disable the Endor shield generator bunker so that the Alliance Fleet could destroy the Empire's second Death Star battle station. Kazak assisted by studying the local Imperial patrols, devising strategies to attack the opposing forces.
==Behind the scenes==
Kazak was created for the second issue of the Ewoks comic series, which was written by David Manak, illustrated by Warren Kremer, and published by Marvel Comics on April 2, 1985. The 1999 expansion to Decipher's Star Wars Customizable Card Game retconned Kazak as having been one of the Ewoks in the 1983 original trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi.
==Appearances==
*Ewoks (1985) 2 
*Ewoks (1985) 3
*Ewoks (1985) 13
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==Sources==
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*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
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==Notes and references==
Category:Bright Tree tribe
Category:Ewoks
Category:Males