Seekers' Shadehouse

The Seekers' Shadehouse was a scholars' retreat located on the Ardok Ranch on the Chiss Ascendancy planet of Ool that was one of the facilities of the Seekers program—an initiative to train and prepare young Chiss girls with abilities known as Third Sight to become sky-walker navigators. In addition to training the girls for their duties in the sky-walker corps, the Seekers program and its facilities removed all memories of the girls' birth families so that they would not leave their service due to homesickness. In 18 BBY, when Caregiver Mitth'ali'astov, core name "Thalias," a former sky-walker herself, visited the Ardok Ranch, she suspected she might have been trained at the Seekers' Shadehouse when starting her own career as a sky-walker.
==Description==
Located on the Chiss Ascendancy planet of Ool, the Seekers' Shadehouse served as a training facility for the Seekers program—an initiative that sought to train and prepare young Chiss girls with abilities known as Third Sight to join the sky-walker corps and become sky-walker navigators for the Ascendancy's Expansionary Defense Fleet. Along with training the girls for their service, the Seekers Shadehouse also wiped the memories of the girls' birth families and early lives so they would not be stressed and homesick, causing them to leave the program. The Shadehouse was situated on Ool's Ardok Ranch, which served as an accessory to the facility. As the facility and its purpose was not known to the public, it was absent from all guidebooks and location listings.
==History==
Before 18 BBY,Star Wars: Timelines places the main events of Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil in 18 BBY. As the Seekers' Shadhouse was founded prior to the novel's events, it must have been before 18 BBY. the Seekers' Shadehouse was founded on the planet Ool. By that year, the Ardok Ranch had come into the ownership of Cohbo'rik'ardok, core name "Borika," and her husband, Bomarmo. Borika worked closely with the Shadehouse as one of its researchers. In 18 BBY, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet caregiver Mitth'ali'astov "Thalias" journeyed to Ool looking for the Seekers' Shadehouse after its location had been given to her on a data cylinder compiled by Mitth family Syndic Mitth'ras'safis "Thrass." She arrived at the Ardok Ranch and met with Borika, and informed her about Che'ri—the sky-walker she was tasked with taking care of—and her interactions with an alien known as the Magys who was able to extend the young girl's Third Sight. Borika stated that she would ask the Shadehouse to look into it but made no promises as to a concrete answer. She also added that Thalias' best option was to request an official reassignment to Ool, but Thalias deemed that impossible, as the Ascendancy was on the verge of civil war.
As both women were former sky-walkers, they eventually began talking about the training process employed by the Seekers program. During their discussion, Thalias began to gaze around the house, prompting her host to ask her if she remembered the house, as if she was indeed trained at the Seekers' Shadehouse, then she had definitely spent time in the room they occupied. Thalias questioned what part of the training had caused them to lose their early memories, and Borika replied that it was not the training that did so. After initially refusing to elaborate, she soon revealed that the Shadehouse wiped the girls' memories so they would not be homesick and eventually leave the program. Thalias then informed Borika that the latter was the sister of Senior Captain Mitth'raw'nuruodo "Thrawn" of the Chiss heavy cruiser Springhawk—the warship Thalias and Che'ri served aboard.
Shortly after, Thalias received a call from the Springhawk first officer, Mid Captain Ufsa'mak'ro "Samakro," who asked her to return to the planet Csilla immediately, and Borika dropped her guest off at the Ibbian Spaceport. Some weeks later, Thalias returned to Ool, accompanied by Che'ri. As the immediate threat of civil war in the Ascendancy had been resolved, she was able to bring the girl to Ool so the Seekers' Shadehouse could learn more about her interactions with the Magys.
==Behind the scenes==
The Seekers' Shadehouse appeared in the 2021 novel Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil, the final installment of Timothy Zahn's Star Wars: The Ascendancy Trilogy.
==Appearances==
*Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil 
==Notes and references==
Category:Ool locations
Category:Seekers program facilities
Category:Structures