Alirya

Alyria was a female human member of the Path of the Open Hand cult who was out on the Galactic Frontier preaching the Path's teachings at the time of its violent end on the planet Dalna in 382 BBY. At some point between the Path's collapse and around 381 BBY, she was one of the few Path members tracked down by the Evereni pirate leader and former Path member Marda Ro. She was one of the few to accept Ro's offer to join her group and Ro took Alirya aboard her ship, the Gaze Electric to introduce her to a creature known as the Great Leveler. Alirya quickly rose to a position by Ro's side as her assistant.
Around 379 BBY, Alirya, Ro and two other beings in Ro's service observed the Leveler consume a Jedi, and Alirya later conversed with Ro in the Gaze throne hall. At some point no earlier than 379 BBY, Alirya was present when the Twi'lek raider Fori Nagor presented captured refugees to Ro. Later, Alirya and Ro were alone in the throne hall and debated on the future of the group Ro led, and what Ro's goals were. When Ro managed to track down the Evereni siblings Vika and Velya Faer during her hunt for others of her species, Alirya stood by Ro's side during the initial meeting and prepared food for the three Evereni.
Feeling that her position was threatened by the two Faers, Alirya attempted to murder Vika with a dagger during a feast thrown on the Gaze a few days later. Her attack was unsuccessful however, and she was killed by the Evereni woman instead. Alirya's death was avenged by Ro, who shot Vika with a blaster. Left without Alirya, Ro offered the human's former place by her side to Vika's brother, who hesitantly accepted. Later, Ro recounted her time with Alirya in messages she recorded for her descendants, which her great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to by 252 BBY.
==Biography==
===Early life and joining Marda Ro===
Born around 394 BBY, Alirya was a female human who became a member of the Path of the Open Hand cult at some point no later than 382 BBY.The High Republic: Quest for Planet X establishes that the Path of the Open Hand dissolved in the aftermath of the Night of Sorrow, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 382 BBY. Therefore, Alirya must have become a member of the Path at some point no later than 382 BBY. In her service to the Path she ventured out onto the Galactic Frontier to spread the cult's teachings and was therefore not present for the Night of Sorrow which took place on the Path's home planet DalnaStar Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia in 382 BBY and led to its dissolution. Oblivious to the Path's collapse, Alirya carried on with her mission.
She was among the few scattered Path members that were tracked down by an Evereni former member of the Path called Marda Ro in the aftermath of the Path's fall at some point no later than around 381 BBY."A Closed Fist Has No Claws" establishes that Marda Ro visited Dantooine around a year after taking possession of the Gaze Electric, an event that Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia dates to 382 BBY. Therefore, Ro's trip to Dantooine must have occurred around 381 BBY. Alirya was recruited by Marda Ro into ther group of pirates prior to her visit to Dantooine. Therefore, Ro must have recruited her no later than around 381 BBY Ro told Alirya a false story about how the Path ended in order to position herselfThe High Republic: Temptation of the Force at the center of Alirya's faith and desires. She then offered Alirya to either join her band of pirates—who would eventually become the Nihil—or cease with any Path activity. Alirya was one of the few who accepted Ro's offer, becoming the sixth member of the group.
After joining, Alirya was taken by Ro aboard her ship, the Gaze Electric. There, Ro introduced Alirya to a Force-consuming beast called the Great Leveler. She explained that they are now the caretakers of the Leveler, keeping it safe so that one day it can return and extinguish the abusers of the Force in the future. Ro also added that there was no religion to share or a story to tell the galaxy anymore, and that the only thing of importance was surviving. Alirya quickly became Ro's right hand and secretary, and unlike most other beings serving Ro did not go out and raid. She instead stayed on the Gaze Electric and focused on finding opportunities for the group and plotting the course.
===Death of a Jedi===
Around 379 BBY, Alirya was aboard the Gaze when Ro returned to the ship aboard a shuttle with a heavily injured Jedi on the floor of the shuttle's hold. As instructed by her, Alirya and two other subordinates of Ro—Rox and Milan Stor—boarded the shuttle and stared at the Jedi's body. Seeing Ro covered in the Jedi's red blood, Alirya was shocked and inquired whether Ro was well, which Ro confirmed. Ro ordered them to take the Jedi's body and led them to the Gaze's medical observation room where the Leveler was kept behind a containment shield. Ro turned the shield off and observed as the Leveler turned the Jedi into a lifeless, stone-like husk, but Alirya looked away immediately.
Ro sent the leveler back to the medical observation room and then strode away towards the Gaze's throne hall. Alirya went after Ro and found her sitting on her throne, looking at a bloodied reflection of herself in a holo-mirror. She interrupted Ro, who screamed at her to get out. Ro then ignored her until Alirya called Ro "the Mother," a title belonging to the Path's former leader. Angered by the comparison, Ro reached out to claw off Alirya's face, only to discover that Alirya was kneeling halfway across the hall from her.
Alirya then informed Ro that Stor had set a course for the Gaze, however Ro wasn't focused on her anymore. She stayed silent and listened to voices of ghosts calling out her name until Alirya made her snap back to reality with an echoing scream. Walking over to Ro with teary eyes, she offered to take care of her, which Ro refused, commanding her to sit with her and Alirya then sat crouched in front of Ro's throne for some time. Eventually she left, and Ro tore down the banners decorating the hall to paint a large red sun on the wall.
===Further service to Ro===
At some point no earlier than 379 BBY,The segment of "A Closed Fist Has No Claws" depicting a Jedi's death onboard the Gaze Electric takes place around 379 BBY per the reasoning here. The raid in which the green-skinned man and other refugees were captured by Marda Ro's raiders occurs after the Jedi's death; therefore, it must have taken place no earlier than 379 BBY. the other beings who worked for Ro carried out a raid on a camp of refugees and—as the refugees had no valuable posessions to steal—took the refugees as their prize. Alirya was present when the Twi'lek Fori Nagor—one of the raiders—presented the refugees to Ro, who was angered by the act. She asked the captured refugees whether any of them were Force-sensitive and while she waited for an answer, Alirya walked over to kneel next to Ro.
Getting no answer, Ro threatened the refugees and a green-skinned man from among them confessed to being Force-sensitive. Ro announced to the other refugees that they could choose to either join her group or be dropped off at the next spaceport, and then threatened Nagor to never attempt anything like this again. Nagor took all refugees except the green-skinned man away, leaving only Ro, the man, and Alirya in the throne hall. Ro then commanded the man to follow her and took him to the Great Leveler.
At some point after the incident with refugees, Ro took the Gaze away from known systems and have her group lay low for some amount of time following the deaths of two members of Nagor's team in a firefight. At some point during that time, Alirya brought tea to the Evereni while she was sitting on her throne. Alirya questioned her about her goals, and the purpose of the group that she had assembled, which had significantly grown in size since Alirya joined. Ro was surprised by Alirya's questions, but explained that her plan for the group is to take whatever they want until they can do anything they wish and reminded Alirya that her personal goal is seeking other Evereni. She also added that the group is not the Path anymore, but something new and different.
===Meeting the Faers and death===
Later, Ro managed to catch up to the Evereni siblings Vika and Velya Faer, who stopped to refuel at a space dock near the gas giant Siquay. Ro invited the Faers aboard the Gaze and met them in the throne hall. After the raiders Esstrop and Kortanio escorted the pair into the hall, Alirya walked over to Ro and stopped next to her, right by her throne, where she remained during of the encounter. Ro offered the Faers to dine with her and Alirya prepared food for the three Evereni—thin cuts of meat and boiled grain with a rich souce and a chemical spice akin to Dalnan pepper—based on Ro's preferences.
While Ro and the Faers ate, Alirya brought them a clear liquor and gave Ro concerned glances. After eating, Vika and Ro sparred. Once they stopped fighting, Alirya rushed to Ro and pressed a cloth against a wound on Ro's arm that she had suffered while sparring. The Faers brought up their interest in having a drink, but Alirya didn't acknowledge the siblings and kept taking care of Ro, reluctantly stopping only once the Evereni instructed her to do so. While she was bringing the Evereni siblings the liquor they had requested, Vika called Alirya a pet and Ro corrected her that Alirya is as important as she makes herself, which made Alirya gaze at Ro.
The Faers stayed aboard the Gaze for the next few days and went out with Ro's marauders on a raid. When they returned, a feast was thrown in the throne hall to celebrate that everyone returned safely. Ro ate away from the others on her throne, but Vika Faer came over to sit with her. While the two talked, Alirya approached Faer from behind and stabber her with a dagger. She then backed up with the dagger in her hand and the Evereni swiftly turned around and grabbed Alirya by her neck and wrist. While Alirya kicked her in defense, Faer rose to her full height and lifted the human off the floor. She snapped Alirya's wrist and dug her claws into her neck, making Alirya cry out in pain. The Evereni then dropped her dead body onto the throne hall's floor
===Legacy===
Ro was shocked by Alirya's death. In response she took a blaster from a compartment hidden in her throne and shot Faer in retaliation, claiming Alirya was hers. Ro recalled what she had said about Alirya being as important as she makes herself, and realized that it was what motivated her to attempt murdering Faer. Losing the person who was always by her side, Ro then offered the position to Velya Faer. While enraged and somewhat distrustful after Ro killed his sister, Faer accepted the offer and claimed Alirya's former position by Ro's side. Soon after, Alirya's body and that of her killer were both cleaned away. Later, Ro extensively talked about Alirya in messages she recorded for her descendants and stressed the importance of passing on her name. By 252 BBY,"The Lie" chapter in The High Republic: Eye of the Storm 1, which includes Shalla Ro's death, features Asgar Ro's ascension to Eye of the Nihil, an event dated to 252 BBY by Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia. As The High Republic: Temptation of the Force establishes she introduced Marchion Ro to Marda Ro's journal, he must have listened to it by that year. during his youth, Ro's great-great-grandson Marchion Ro had listened to her journal, including the entries where Alirya was mentioned.
==Personality and traits==
Alirya was completely devoted to Ro and saw her similarly to the Mother, the Path's leader, even referring to her as "the Mother" once. She believed in Ro and wanted nothing more than to care for her, becoming concerned when she saw Ro wounded or unwell. Alirya was desperate to stay at Ro's site, turning to murder when she perceived Vika and Velya Faer as threatening her position.
Despite being young, Alirya wanted responsibility. Her request was indulged by Ro, who saw herself in Alirya and gave her what she herself never had. Alirya often became frustrated when Ro wanted to go in a different direction that the one Alirya had planned just to follow leads on other Evereni, but ultimately obeyed Ro despite her frustration.
Even though she abandoned the Path in favor of joining Ro and her pirates, Alirya struggled letting go of the Path. Even years later, she felt that Ro and the raiders were lost, as the Evereni didn't speak of the Force or the Path anymore. The human girl was thin and had hair of a red-brown shade similar to dried human blood. She had cut the hair during her time serving Ro and arranged it into spikes. She had small, blunt teeth that—like her nails—would struggle cutting through flesh. Alirya's touch was cold, and, by the time she recorded the message for her descendants, Ro missed it.
==Skills and abilities==
Alirya was skilled in plotting courses and had experience with star maps and strategizing. She knew how to cook.
==Equipment==
While attempting to kill Vika Faer, Alirya wielded a dagger.
==Behind the scenes==
Alirya appeared in a flashback in the short story "A Closed Fist Has No Claws," written by Tessa Gratton and published in the 2023 young-adult anthology The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life as a part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project. In an interview, Gratton discussed that she wanted the scene in which Alirya and Vika Faer died to feel like a climatic moment of the story. He also added that they wanted it to be brutal, and was glad when notes on the first submitted draft of the story asked if the scene could be made more violent.
==Appearances==
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==Notes and references==
Category:Females
Category:Humans
Category:Individuals with she/her pronouns
Category:Members of Marda Ro's pirate group
Category:Path of the Open Hand members