‘Ahsoka’: What Is Peridea? Ancient Nightsister Homeworld Explained

The early portion of the ‘Ahsoka’ series already allowed us to learn that the starmap that Morgan Elsbeth wanted to get her hands on revealed the location of the Pathway to Peridea. Of course, it was also mentioned that this place was located in an entirely different galaxy, as a powerful ship and the right hyperspace coordinates were required to get there. Episode 6 finally allowed us to see this new galaxy, which revealed the planet called Peridea. But what exactly is Peridea?

Peridea is the planet that used to be the homeworld of the Dathmiri or the Nightsisters of Dathomir before they traveled to the known galaxy and settled on Dathomir. It is also the planet where the Purrgil travel to whenever they are at the end of their lifespan so that they could die there.

One of the things that we saw about Peridea is that this planet is dark and eerie, which was why Shin Hati wasn’t exactly sure about her master’s goals while they were in that world. Of course, there’s a good reason why the Nightsisters left that planet and why the Purrgil used it as their resting place. Now, let’s look at what we know about Peridea.

The Nightsisters originated from Peridea

When we first found out that Morgan Elsbeth was a Nightsister of Dathomir, one of the things that we found out that this group of witches has been around for a very long time because they were able to build ancient ruins in different places around the galaxy.

One such ruin was found in Arcana, which housed a ruined temple that contained the starmap that led to an entirely different galaxy. And Seatos itself housed a henge that revealed the coordinates of the Pathway to Peridea.

It became clear that the Nightsisters created all of this. But the thing is that the starmap and the henge on Seatos all pointed to the possibility that the Nightsisters had traveled to another galaxy in the past or were aware of what it took to get to another galaxy. After all, they wouldn’t have a starmap to another galaxy if they didn’t know how to get there. Another theory pointed to the possibility that the Nightsisters were actually from a different galaxy.

Episode 6 of ‘Ahsoka’ answered this when the planet called Peridea was finally revealed. As soon as Morgan Elsbeth and her Imperial remnants dropped out of hyperspace, she quickly pointed out that they were now outside of Peridea, the ancient homeworld of the Dathmiri, or the Nightsisters of Dathomir. In that regard, it was clear that the Nightsisters were not native to the known galaxy and were actually from an entirely different galaxy.

This explains the fact that the Nightsisters wield the Force in an entirely different way. We know that different people all over the universe of Star Wars have their own way of using the Force, as the Chiss, who come from the Unknown Regions of the galaxy, were unfamiliar with the Jedi and the way that they used the Force because the Force was an entirely different concept that they used for navigation instead. Meanwhile, the Nightsisters use the power of the Force in something they call Magick, which is an application of the Force.

Considering that the Nightsisters don’t use the Force in the same manner as the Jedi or the Sith, it became clear that their knowledge of the Force originated from a different galaxy. And the fact that they come from Peridea answers the question as to why they use the Force differently.

It’s a Purrgil graveyard

On top of the fact that the planet Peridea was the Nightsisters’ homeworld, Baylan Skoll was quick to point out that it had another identity. He was familiar with Peridea because this was a fairytale told to the Jedi younglings of the Jedi Temple. In fact, Huyang was the one who told Ahsoka these fairytales when she was still young. But Baylan also knew that Peridea was where the space whales went to die.

We know that the Purrgil are the space whales that are capable of traveling through hyperspace at will. But we also know that they were aware of the existence of the Pathway to Peridea, a secret hyperspace route they use to get to Peridea. However, there is a darker reason why they travel to Peridea as they go there at the end of their lifespan so that they could die.

In the real world, it isn’t uncommon for animals to migrate to another place when they know that they are about to die. The same thing applies to the Purrgil, who go to Peridea so that they could die there. As such, Baylan called Peridea a graveyard for the space whales.

From afar, Peridea appears to have a ring around it. Most of the rings around a planet are made out of space debris or asteroids. But in the case of Peridea, the ring was made out of the bones of the Purrgil, as this was made clear when the Eye of Sion got closer and closer to the planet.

The Nightsisters used the Purrgil to travel to the known galaxy

Morgan Elsbeth also added to the story of the Purrgil and the Nightsisters when she said that her people were the first ones to harness the power of the space whales so that they could travel to an entirely different galaxy. In that regard, it was clear that the Nightsisters may have used the Purrgil or studied them to reach the known galaxy, where they settled on Dathomir. But there is a darker reason why the Nightsisters may have left Peridea. 

In episode 6, three Nightsister survivors in the form of the Great Mothers greeted Elsbeth and her people and assisted Grand Admiral Thrawn the entire time. But the Great Mothers were also looking to leave the planet. It is possible that these three were the only Nightsisters living on Peridea at that time.

Then, as the episode went on, Shin Hati told her master that she had doubts about the power they were looking for while on that planet. That’s because she sensed something foul on Peridea. She also knew there was a good reason why the Great Mothers wanted to leave the planet.

In that regard, there must be something dark and mysterious about Peridea that is yet to be revealed in the series. After all, the Nightsisters wouldn’t have tried to leave this world if there wasn’t something wrong with it. And this is probably the reason why the Great Mothers were looking to leave the planet together with Thrawn.

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