Beast in the Mouth of the Mountain

The Beast in the Mouth of the Mountain was the Ewok name for an immense, cave-dwelling, predatory arachnid with six eyes, six legs, and a number of tentacular appendages protruding from its face. One specimen inhabited a large, cavernous enclosure within a mountain on the forest moon of Endor in 19 BBY. This arachnoid behemoth was responsible for the destruction of a number of B1-Series battle droids and the disappearance of a clone scouting squad, having fed on the corpses of the latter. 
During the ensuing investigation, Jedi General and Master Aayla Secura, mystified by the vanished troopers, came into contact with a local Ewok tribe who had encountered the being. The Ewok chief recalled to Secura the events which had befallen her missing squad, including the appearance of the Beast, and petitioned the Jedi to slay the creature. Escorted by Ewoks to the base of the arachnid's mountain, Secura climbed its cliffside and discovered the creature's lair, carpeted by the skeletal remnants of her clones and other creatures. The Beast emerged and attempted to ambush Secura, dismembering her battle droid companion in the process. However, the Jedi Master succeeded in outmaneuvering the Beast by leaping into the air and slicing overhead stalactites, which fell and fatally impaled the creature. Secura departed, her victory celebrated in the Ewok tribal art.
==Biology and appearance==
The Beast in the Mouth of the Mountain was an arachnoid creature of tremendous size and mass. The creature was composed of a segmented body, divided between an abdominal segment and a head segment, joined by a neck. Its abdomen was shaped like a flattened dome and consisted of a dark green, scaly underbelly with a lighter-colored, ridged exoskeleton on its back. Two spinnerets or other such protrusions were affixed to its rear. For locomotion, the entity maintained six legs, which were each divided into three segments and terminated in four claws.
The head of the creature was largely cylindrical, dotted with off-color markings, and capped by horn-like protrusions at its upper extremity. The creature possessed six eyes of reddish or orange coloration. A cavity marked the head's lower extremity, from which a number of tentacle-like appendages were suspended. The creature was impervious to blaster fire and possessed pink-colored blood.
==Behavior==
Dwelling on the forest moon of Endor, the Beast in the Mouth of the Mountain was a carnivorous predator feared by the local Ewoks, who were aware of its existence. While it primarily inhabited a cave hollowed out of a mountain, the Beast was known to depart its lair and feast on smaller organisms, including clone troopers, the organic foot-soldiers of the Galactic Republic. However, the creature was unable or unwilling to ingest the abiotic components of droids. When attacking, the creature thrust its clawed legs at its victim in a striking motion. Upon the death of its prey, the Beast extracted the corpse from any coverings, such as clone armor, and returned to its lair for feeding. A variety of organisms fell victim to this strategy, including sizable craniates, as evinced by the diverse skeletal remains found at the floor of its lair.
==History==
===Life on Endor===
By 19 BBY,Secura dates the mission just before her involvement in the Battle of Felucia. According to the 501st Journal in the video game Star Wars: Battlefront II, Secura landed on Felucia after the arrival of the 501st Legion, which itself landed on Felucia following their involvement in the Battle of Mygeeto and the Battle of Coruscant. The Journal records that their Mygeeto mission occurred in the "waning months of the Clone Wars," which thereby places it within a few months of 19 BBY 16:5, according to Republic HoloNet News Special Inaugural Edition 16:5:241. The Coruscant mission took place in 19 BBY 16:5:20, according to The Essential Atlas. Therefore, Secura landed on Felucia very near the terminus of the Clone Wars. The Journal entry does note that the 501st had been met with "month after month" of suffering on Felucia, indicating that they may have been present on the planet for some time; however, the game indicates that Secura herself did not rendezvous with the 501st until after their Coruscant mission, which the Atlas pinpoints to 16:5:20. Further, the concluding monologue implies that Order 66 was imminent. Therefore, Secura landed on Felucia after 19 BY 16:5:20, and Secura's immediately preceding mission to Endor could not have occurred much earlier. the Beast in the Mouth of the Mountain occupied a spacious cave on Endor, encased by a mountain and countless stalactites and stalagmites. The Beast was known to the native Ewoks, who identified the massive arthropod's lair and gave the inhabitant its only known appellation.
Around 19 BBY, two warring galactic powers—the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems—each dispatched troops to the forested world. Specifically, a squad of Republic operatives were sent to gather reconnaissance information on a small Separatist outpost that had been constructed on the moon. After the clones' arrival, the Beast arose from its lair and came upon the opposing forces, indiscriminately decimating both battalions and leaving but one battle droid survivor. The gargantuan arachnid then retrieved the clones, abandoning most of their armor and the disfigured droids, and returned to its lair to feed.
===Death===
The Grand Army of the Republic responded to the disappearance of its scout squad with an investigatory mission led by Jedi General Aayla Secura and herStar Wars (1998) 42 327th Star Corps. identifies Commander Bly as the clone commander who accompanied Secura. His company and his numerical clone designation are identified in . When she landed on the moon with Clone marshal commander CC-5052, or "Bly," the team discovered the deserted Separatist base surrounded by scattered droid parts and fragmented clone armor. Secura ventured into the forest for additional information, where she encountered the lone, somewhat eccentric, battle droid survivor. However, she was unable to confer with the droid before she was incapacitated by local Ewoks, who abducted the Jedi and carried her to their village. There the Ewok chief explained the Beast's oppressive predatory nature to Secura, aided by the battle droid's translation of their native tongue, and commissioned her to slay the reclusive hexapod.
Secura implicitly agreed and was escorted by the Ewoks to the Beast's mountain, where she climbed a cliffside to an opening in its rocky face. There she discovered the Beast's refuge, the cavernous floor barely visible underneath heaps of assorted bones, ribcages, skulls, and clone armor. The Beast soon revealed itself to Secura and began to jab at her ferociously with its clawed legs. One such thrust disposed of Secura's battle droid companion; the Jedi reacted by slashing through its facial appendages with her lightsaber. The Beast landed a final thrust at Secura, which propelled her some distance. The Jedi recovered and leapt above the creature, slicing through overhead stalactites. The sharp-edged rock formations dropped onto the creature and impaled it through the abdomen, ending the Beast in the Mouth of the Mountain.
As Secura left, the Ewok chief memorialized the encounter with a mural depicting the Beast's death at the hands of the Jedi Master.
==Behind the scenes==
The Beast in the Mouth of the Mountain appears in What Goes Up..., a story from Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures Volume 5, the fifth volume of the titular graphic novel series. The story was written by the Fillbach Brothers, lettered by Michael David Thomas, and illustrated by Lee Evandon. It was published by Dark Horse Comics on April 26, 2006.
==Appearances==
* 
==Sources==
*The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
==Notes and references==
Category:Arachnids
Category:Carnivorous creatures
Category:Creatures of Endor
Category:Named creatures
Category:Predatory creatures