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«You poor creature. There's nothing but hate in your life.»
«Nothing?! You call this nothing?! That is power! Power that will crush Logray and your precious forest and make Morag ruler for all time!
»
―Morag demonstrates her power to Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka[2]

Morag was a Tulgah sorceress who resided on the Forest Moon of Endor. The sworn enemy of the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village, she once stole from them a powerful artifact, the Sunstar-Shadowstone, believing that it would help her conquer the forest moon. During the theft, she was opposed by the Ewok Logray, and, amused by his antics, she brought the Ewok back to her fortress on Mount Thunderstone to act as her servant. However, this proved to be her undoing, as before she could use the artifact, the stone was broken in half by her Ewok servant. Logray escaped the witch's lair with the light half of the stone, the "Sunstar," and used the powers he had learned from watching Morag to protect Bright Tree Village. Morag held a personal grudge against the Ewok shaman, and constantly sought revenge, hoping to destroy the Ewoks and gain possession of the other half of the stone. With the dark side of the artifact, the Shadowstone, embedded in her magical staff, Morag menaced the Ewoks for nearly two hundred local years. Although Morag sometimes won minor victories over the Ewoks, Logray was able to keep his people from total destruction.

Around 3 ABY, Morag implemented a number of plots to destroy Bright Tree Village, enlisting the aid of local Phlogs for some and coercing the Duloks into helping with others. During this time, she was often foiled by the efforts of the Ewok Wicket Wystri Warrick and his friends, who kept Morag from any lasting success. However, she eventually found her chance to confront Logray by exploiting the carelessness of the young Ewok children. Kidnapping Wicket and his friends, Teebo, Latara, and Princess Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka, she ransomed the group in exchange for the Sunstar. In a confrontation at her lair, Morag overpowered the Ewok shaman, obtaining the Sunstar and finally reuniting the two broken halves. However, the resulting power surge collapsed her fortress, and activated the volcano within Mount Thunderstone. Only the power of the Sunstar saved Morag from death, instead transforming her into an imposing lava creature. As Morag attempted to finish off her old nemesis, Logray activated a geyser of water, freezing Morag into a statue of stone. With one final attempt to destroy the Ewoks, Morag lunged for Logray but collapsed into a pile of rubble.

Biography[]

Early life[]

«Take it and go! But remember, you must do me a favor, sometime.»
«Oh, yes, of course. Oh, mightiest of witches. Oh, Queen of the Night Spirit.
»
―Morag gives a potion of bug bite cure to Umwak[1]

Morag was born on the Forest Moon of Endor more than two centuries before the Battle of Yavin.[1] Like most Tulgah, Morag had a preoccupation with the pursuit of magic, attempting to increase her own powers. However, unlike others of her species, who used their knowledge to become great healers, Morag twisted her powers for evil,[3] hoping to conquer the forest moon. Using her dark arts, Morag enslaved many creatures to her will. Among her servants was an enormous winged creature, known as a mantigrue, who did her bidding.[4] Morag and her pets resided in a precariously located fortress on the peak of Mount Thunderstone, a dormant volcano. Morag's lair and the surrounding area were protected by Yuzzum guards, who rode rakazzak beasts across the devastated wasteland.[1]

Morag was a devotee of the Night Spirit, and as such, other species that professed fealty to the dark deity looked up to Morag, occasionally visiting her realm to ask for her aid. In particular, the Duloks would prostrate themselves before Morag, requesting local remedies for their ailments. Morag helped these creatures in order to secure favors for the future, but she generally looked down upon them as incompetent and foul, often lording her formidable powers over them. In this fashion, Morag became generally feared by the peoples of Endor, who tried to avoid her presence.[1]

Theft of the Sunstar[]

«Once there was a marvelous gem, called the Sunstar-Shadowstone. Within this gem lay great magical powers, for good and evil. So strong was the stone's magic that we Ewoks kept it safely hidden and never used it, lest the temptation of its great power would overwhelm us. But there was one who craved the stone, and would do anything to get it. Morag, the Tulgah witch.»
Chief Chirpa[2]
LograyMoragVision-SvS

Logray attacks Morag, splitting the Sunstar in half.

At some point, Morag came into contact with the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village. The Ewoks were in possession of an incredibly powerful artifact known as the Sunstar-Shadowstone. Knowing the impressive capabilities behind the stone, the Ewoks hid the artifact, never using it. However, even with their precautions, Morag sought out the Sunstar-Shadowstone, using her mantigrue to attack the village. After grabbing the stone, Morag left the village on top her winged beast. Although seemingly unopposed in her theft, one Ewok, Logray, stepped forth to oppose her. As the mantigrue flew from the village, Logray grabbed onto its tail, which brought him back to Morag's sanctuary. Morag was amused by Logray's antics and decided to spare him.[4]

Back at her lair, Morag forced Logray into servitude, making him clean her fortress among other menial tasks. Unknown to Morag, Logray spent his time observing and learning from her. After mastering her magic, Logray was able to turn it against Morag, hitting her with a large blast of energy. The attack broke the Sunstar-Shadowstone into two pieces. Logray snatched up the Sunstar and escaped from the mountain stronghold back to Bright Tree Village. Morag was infuriated over this turn of events; without the other half of the stone, the artifact's power was significantly weakened. However, Morag still retained possession of the Shadowstone, which she attached to her staff. This conflict led to an obsessive grudge, with Morag continually trying to get revenge on Logray by threatening his village, hoping to reacquire the other half of the stone.[4]

Sunberry tree plot[]

«Once, in the distant past, Morag sent the mantigrue to devour our sunberry trees. Without the trees' special berries, many Ewoks fell sick. Oh, it was a time of misery.»
―Logray[4]

One of Morag's attempts to threaten the village revolved around the removal of the village's sunberry trees. The sunberries that were produced by these trees were an important part of the Ewoks' diet, helping them overcome ailments. Morag sent her mantigrue to destroy the sunberry trees, depriving the village of the important fruit. Without the trees, many of the Ewoks became ill until they were able to replant new trees. In order to prevent Morag from using the same plot once more, Logray devised a method to hide the trees from the mantigrue by covering them in shadowroot soap, which made the trees invisible. To warn future generations of the mantigrue's attack and the effect it had had on the village, the Ewoks recorded the first destruction of the sunberry trees in a scroll kept within Logray's hut, within the village.[4]

At some point around this time, Morag came into contact with the Sanyassan Marauders. The Sanyassans' General Yavid negotiated with Morag to ensure that she would not attack their territory. Morag possessed the power to destroy the Marauders if she saw fit, and the meeting proved important for the Sanyassans' continued presence on the forest moon.[5]

The Eye of the Kreegon[]

«At last! And you have the eye! And now the fate of the Ewoks rests in my hands alone!»
―Morag[6]
Morag3

Morag commands the Kreegon.

In another attempt to destroy the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village, Morag hoped to reanimate a Kreegon, a beast that had been killed by the father of Chief Chirpa, the contemporary ruler of the village. Morag gathered the skeleton of the Kreegon and brought it back to her lair. However, in order to reanimate the corpse, Morag required the eye of the beast. Chirpa's father had brought the eye to the village as a trophy, and so Morag formulated a plan to steal the artifact. To distract the Ewoks from the theft, Morag conjured a storm with her staff. With strong winds and lightning forming above the village, Morag sent two of her servants to infiltrate the Ewoks' community and find the eye. As a further effort to distract the Ewoks, Morag sent a vision of her face above the village. Through the conjured image, Morag conversed with Chirpa and Logray, taunting them over their impending doom. Logray prepared to banish the image from the village, but before he could, Morag's face disappeared, confident that her thieves had completed their job. Upon Morag's disappearance, the Ewoks discovered the theft. Surmising Morag's plan, Chirpa mounted a bordok and made his way toward the Tulgah witch's lair.[6]

Back at her stronghold, Morag waited for her thieves, hoping for their quick return. When her servants returned with the eye, Morag hurried to the depths of her lair, where she had stashed the skeleton. Upon placing the eye within the Kreegon's lifeless corpse, the beast reformed, even regaining its flesh. Using her staff, Morag exerted her control over the Kreegon, bringing it outside of her fortress, ready to send it on a mission to destroy Bright Tree Village. However, upon her departure from the mountain, she witnessed Chirpa leading his bordok toward her home. Amused by Chirpa's tactics, Morag appeared behind the Ewok chief, taunting him for coming to her abode. Although Chirpa dismissed her threats, Morag summoned the Kreegon, ready to do battle with the Ewok warrior. Chirpa's bordok fled from the scene, but Chirpa readied his spear to kill the beast and thus emulate his father. However, upon throwing his weapon, the spear bounced harmlessly off the Kreegon. Morag laughed loudly at the Chief's attempt, claiming that the Kreegon could not be harmed while she was controlling it. As Chirpa prepared to meet death, Morag stopped the Kreegon from finishing off the Ewok. Despite the Ewok's claims that he would never ask for mercy from the likes of her, Morag laughed at the Chief, claiming that she would not finish him off until the Kreegon had destroyed his village. Using her powers, Morag conjured up several vines to detain Chirpa, and she then sent her beast to rampage through the forest. Morag returned to her lair momentarily, but upon leaving her prisoner, the Ewoks Wicket Wystri Warrick and Kneesaa a Jari Kintaka arrived and cut the Chief free. Morag laughed off the escape, knowing that her beast was still invincible and that Chirpa's freedom would make no difference to her overall plan.[6]

Morag4

The skeleton of the Kreegon falls upon Morag.

However, Morag's confidence proved to be premature. Chirpa and his charges led the Kreegon away from the village and toward the nearby Molten Sulfur Pits. Chirpa sent the creature plunging into the fiery sulfur, but its invincibility held true, and the Kreegon emerged from the pits covered in molten sulfur but still alive. Knowing that only Morag's powers could defeat the Kreegon, the Ewoks led the beast back to the Tulgah witch's lair. Chirpa confronted Morag, claiming that they had been able to destroy the Kreegon, taunting her into action. Morag did not believe the Ewok leader, but she responded to the insults, pointing her staff at the Ewoks. As Morag fired a blast from her staff at the group, they quickly dodged out of the way. However, the Kreegon had been slowly approaching the Ewoks at the same time. Although the blast missed Morag's enemies, it hit the Kreegon full in the face. Morag's magic destroyed the Kreegon's eye, transforming her beast back into its original skeletal form. Morag yelled her frustration while the skeleton of the Kreegon collapsed upon the Tulgah witch, pinning her to the floor of her fortress. With Morag temporarily trapped, the Ewoks left Mount Thunderstone, laughing over the defeat of their adversary.[6]

Kidnap of Bright Tree Village[]

"Look to the forest below, Ewok!"
"A glowing thorn bush?!"
"Spawned by my magic, with each passing moment it grows stronger, drawing every ounce of moisture from the ground around it!"
"B-but without water…"
"Ha-ha, yes! Without water…the entire forest will soon be dead!"
―Morag and Chirpa, on the creation of the thorn monster[7]

Morag soon freed herself from the Kreegon's skeleton, and she quickly prepared for another plot against the Ewoks. While residing in her fortress, Morag used her stone mirror to gaze out on the Ewoks; she spied Logray relaxing in a hot spring. Knowing that the old shaman had put down his guard, since he had neglected to bring his staff of power into the pool with him, Morag used her powers to freeze the water, trapping him. With Logray out of the way, Morag gathered one of her beasts and made her way toward Bright Tree Village.[7]

Morag5

Morag chases Wicket and Kneesaa with her Thorn Monster.

Unopposed, Morag strolled directly into the village alongside her beast. She quickly froze with her staff the Ewoks that tried to flee, preventing any sort of retreat. Confronting Chief Chirpa last, Morag conjured an image of Logray trapped away from the village, exclaiming that without their shaman, the Ewoks would now become her servants at her mountain fortress. However, Chirpa refused, stating that even her powers would not be enough to take them away from their forest. Convinced by Chirpa's confidence, Morag decided that if she could not take the Ewoks out of the forest, then she would take the forest away from the Ewoks. Using her staff, the Tulgah witch spawned a glowing thorn bush on the forest floor. As the bush rapidly grew, Morag claimed that the plant would quickly draw up all the moisture in the forest, depriving the environment of its much-needed water supply. To Morag's amusement, Chirpa accurately surmised the situation: without water, the forest would soon be dead.[7]

Wile Morag's plant rapidly grew, two of the Ewoks, Wicket and Kneesaa, decided to escape the imprisoned village and rescue Logray. Although Morag's pet beast attempted to stop them, they were able to incapacitate the creature by pouring honey on it. Furious that her minion had failed to stop the Ewoks from escaping the village, Morag commanded her beast to pursue them, lest she turn him into a grub toad. Although the creature hastened to obey, the two Ewok children defeated the creature yet again. The Ewoks then made their way to Logray's position. Still trapped in the pool, Logray told the Ewoks to take his staff back to the village and place it at the plant's base in order to destroy it. When the Ewoks returned to their village, Morag became infuriated that another one of her plans was in danger of falling apart. To prevent the destruction of her plant, Morag used her powers to fly above the glowing bush, transforming it from a simple plant into an anthropomorphic beast. Since the plant was now mobile, it could easily evade the staff's power, rendering Logray's plan to destroy the creature useless.[7]

Morag6

The Thorn Monster absorbs too much water, to Morag's horror.

Morag commanded her thorn monster to chase Wicket and Kneesaa as they fled through the forest. With each step of the creature, it absorbed more and more of the forest's water supply, slowly depriving the area of moisture. However, as the Ewoks made their escape, they devised a plan to destroy the creature. Remembering advice from Logray that giving a plant too much water could drown it, Wicket and Kneesaa made their way into a nearby lake. Although Morag initially believed that leading her monster into the lake would only allow her monster to become larger and stronger, she was soon proven wrong. The thorn monster began to swell considerably, expanding to an unstable size. To Morag's horror, the beast exploded violently, throwing Morag into the lake. The moisture released into the air upon the beast's destruction triggered a rain storm, which began to restore the water-deprived forest. Morag quickly fled the scene, humiliated and drenched with water, yelling that the only thing she hated more than Ewoks was water.[7]

Evil encounters[]

«Ha, ha! I am so evil!»
―Morag after painting over wokling artworks[8]

Two of Morag's plots against the Ewoks revolved around their beloved sunberries and their artwork, respectively. In the first, Morag infiltrated the Ewoks' sunberry-tree forest and tried to poison the berries with a potion, thus depriving the Bright Tree Village Ewoks of a staple food and starving them. The plot involved having her pet mantigrue pour the substance over the trees. Nevertheless, Logray made an antidote, which the Ewok tribe sprayed it over the berries. Morag thus attempted to spread the potion again herself. Nevertheless, she found that Logray had included in his antidote ingredient that irritated Morag's sinuses and kept her from breathing. Her plot foiled, she fled.[9]

On a later occasion, Morag discovered Bright Tree Village's children painting pictures on a cave wall for their Youth Pictorial Exposition. She sneaked into the cave and painted over the artwork with a potion that erased the paintings, an act she found to represent utmost evil. However, Logray used his own magic to restore the works to their former state. He and the Ewoks booby trapped the area with adhesive, which trappged Morag when she returned to the scene of her plot. Logray and Wicket W. Warrick found her the next day.[8] but she escaped their custody.[4]

The Wistie plot[]

«No escape, little flutter-glow. There's a great thirst in the forest, almost as great as Morag's thirst for vengeance. And you, our Wistie queen, are my newest servant in my battle with Logray and his cursed Ewoks.»
―Morag kidnaps Queen Izrina[1]

Sometime later, Morag formulated another plot to destroy the Ewoks and their home. With the forests of Endor experiencing a severe drought, Morag planned to set the forest ablaze, destroying the Ewoks' valued Soul Trees and the Ewoks themselves. In order to do this, Morag sent her Yuzzum servants on rakazzak beasts to capture several of the local Wisties, also known as the firefolk. Although the Yuzzum were unable to capture a Wistie, they stirred up the population enough that Morag was able to personally capture the Wistie queen, Izrina. Morag and her minions made their way back to her lair, intent on transforming the Wistie Queen into her instrument for destroying the forests. However, midway through the procedure, her Yuzzum guards brought in in the Dulok shaman Umwak, who wished to procure a bug bite cure from the Tulgah witch. Irritated by the Dulok's intrusion, Morag nonetheless allowed the shaman to witness her plan, transforming Queen Izrina into a literal carrier of fire, a curse that would pass from Wistie to Wistie, causing them to carry the fire into the dried-up foliage of the forest.[1]

Morag7

Morag releases the cursed Izrina, the Wistie queen.

Using Umwak to carry the newly transformed Wistie Queen, Morag made her way to the top of her mountain and released Izrina. Just as she had planned, the Wistie passed on the fire-bringing ability to her subjects. The literal firefolk created a massive forest fire that threatened to destroy the Ewoks. From her lair, Morag witnessed the destruction and worked to oppose any efforts to quench the flames. When the Ewoks banded together to bring water from a river, Morag led her Yuzzum servants in damming the river so that the Ewoks would be unable to use its water supply. However, even without the water, the Ewoks were able to employ a magic foam created by Logray that not only doused the flames but also removed the curse from the tainted Wisties. Just as it seemed that Morag's plan would be defeated, the Tulgah witch conjured a strong wind, which forced several of the still-infected Wisties down onto the Ewoks, destroying the catapult that they were using in conjunction with the magic foam. However, even Morag's best efforts could not stop the effectiveness of the magic foam, and several of the Ewoks, including Wicket, Kneesaa, Paploo, and Teebo, used their hang gliders to stop the worst of the fires. Morag was infuriated over the failure of another of her plans, and as she came to terms with her failure, she was attacked by the Wisties, who had now been cleansed of her curse. The firefolk dropped a sack of magic foam upon the Tulgah witch to repay Morag for the dark magic she had performed upon them. Covered in the sticky foam, Morag had been defeated once again.[1]

Attack of the mantigrue[]

«Sleep well, my pet. You have a big day ahead of you. One the Ewoks will not soon forget!»
―Morag[4]

A short time later, Morag decided to repeat a previous scheme by sending out her mantigrue to rob the Ewoks of their sunberry trees once again. After sending her beast out on a passing run, the mantigrue returned to Morag's lair with two sunberry trees, filled with fruit that was ripe for the picking. Morag knew that the trees would soon be harvested by the Ewoks, and so any attack on the plants would need to be done soon. Deciding to wait for the following morning to send her pet out on a new mission, Morag let the mantigrue sleep within the confines of her mountain. However, this delay allowed the Ewoks to coat their sunberry trees in shadowroot soap, making the plants invisible. When the mantigrue awoke and arrived at the Ewoks' village, it was unable to locate any of the invisible sunberry trees. Foiled by the Ewoks' efforts, the mantigrue returned to its mistress, having failed in its mission.[4]

A Phlog rampage[]

«What a glorious sight! I shall cherish this moment for centuries!»
―Morag[10]
Morag8

Morag hypnotizes the Phlog child with her staff.

In her next attempt to destroy Logray and the Ewoks, Morag decided to manipulate the local Phlogs, large creatures that resided on the forest moon. After finding a Phlog family made up of Zut, Dobah, and their sons, Hoom and Nahkee, Morag had her Yuzzum servants kidnap the youngest child, Nahkee. Using the power of her staff, Morag hypnotized the child, allowing the Yuzzum and their rakazzak beasts to carry the young Phlog away in a net. Before the Phlogs had noticed the theft of their child, Morag planted several Ewok hoods and weapons near the area. When the Phlogs went searching for Nahkee, they discovered the Ewok evidence, and just as Morag had planned, they surmised that the Ewoks had stolen their young son. As the Phlogs made their way toward Bright Tree Village to enact revenge on those whom they thought were responsible, Morag headed for the Dulok Swamp to find a place to hide the kidnapped Phlog.[10]

After arriving at the Dulok village, Morag implored the Dulok King Gorneesh to watch after Nahkee. Gorneesh was hesitant to watch after such a large child, believing that babysitting was much too demeaning a task for the King of all Duloks. However, Morag insisted, and after threatening Gorneesh with the powers of her staff, the Dulok agreed to do her bidding. After passing the Phlog off on the Duloks, Morag made her way to Bright Tree Village to witness the rampage of the Phlog family. The Ewoks had prepared armaments to deal with the large creatures, but their defenses proved useless. However, just as one of the Phlogs was about to knock down one of the main support trees of the village, the Ewok children Wicket, Kneesaa, Teebo, and Latara arrived with the young Nahkee in tow. Upon seeing their child, the Phlog family immediately broke off their attack. The Duloks, who had accidentally allowed the Phlog to escape, confronted the Ewoks, intent on reclaiming their captive. The action signified to the Phlogs that the Duloks were to blame for keeping their child from them, and they attacked, driving the Duloks all the way back to their swamp. Morag was infuriated by the Dulok King's incompetence, and she tracked down Gorneesh and his shaman Umwak to punish them. Gorneesh attempted to explain how the Phlog child had escaped, but Morag would hear none of it, and she attacked them with her staff, driving them from the forest.[10]

Kidnap of the Ewok children[]

Wicket: "Let us go!"
Morag: "No little ones. I need you to lure old Logray to me."
Teebo: "Master Logray? Oh, no!"
Morag: "Soon he will come looking for his foolish apprentice, and I'll be waiting!"
―Morag reveals her plan[2]
MoragIllusion-SvS

Morag takes on a magical disguise to kidnap Wicket and his friends.

Morag's next plan for the Ewoks' destruction also involved kidnapping. While out in the Endor woods, Morag spied the Ewok children Teebo, Wicket, Kneesaa, and Latara playing. Teebo, who had just recently become Logray's apprentice, was showing his friends all that he had learned. As one of his tricks went sour, the Ewok children decided to make their way back to their treetop village. However, Morag had created an illusion that disguised herself as a benevolent furred wizard. From inside a nearby cave, Morag sang out to the Ewoks, drawing them inside. In her transformed state, Morag claimed that she simply wanted to show them a bit of magic, much the same as the feats that Teebo had performed. However, when the Ewoks drew nearer, Morag revealed her true form, capturing them with help from her Yuzzum guards.[2]

After bringing her Ewok captives back to her fortress, Morag contacted Logray through the use of his crystal image spinner. To Logray's horror, Morag revealed her plot: in exchange for the Ewok children's safety, Logray would bring the Sunstar to her lair and return it to its previous owner. Logray, hesitant to give Morag the power that she so desperately wanted, but also concerned for his fellow Ewoks, decided to meet Morag in a final, decisive conflict. Meanwhile, back at her mountain retreat, Morag forced the Ewok children into hard labor, cleaning her fortress. The young Ewoks pleaded with Morag to release them, but she refused to listen, forcing them to work harder. Just as Morag began to believe that Logray would not appear to face her, the Shadowstone on her staff began to glow brightly, signaling the close proximity of the Sunstar. Knowing that Logray had finally come, Morag had her Yuzzum guards collect the Ewok children, bringing them to the entrance to her mountain stronghold. Although the Ewoks believed that Morag had decided to relent and allow them to leave, Morag quickly corrected them—she had only released them so that they could watch her destroy Logray.[2]

Showdown[]

"Where are you, old Logray? Surely these woklings have some value to you. Huh? The Sunstar is near. Logray has come. Assemble the young ones!"
"I knew she was afraid of master Logray. She's setting us free."
"Yes, free to watch your shaman destroyed."
―Morag and Wicket[2]
LograyMoltenMorag-SvS

After gaining control of both the Sunstar and the Shadowstone, Morag became more powerful than ever.

When Logray entered the lair, he saw that the Ewok children were unharmed and commanded that Morag release them immediately. Reluctant to give up her bartering chip so easily, Morag demanded that Logray turn over the Sunstar first. Kneesaa cried out to the shaman, warning him that Morag would not honor their deal. Morag threatened the Ewok child to keep quiet, but the action only made Logray more hesitant to deal with the Tulgah witch. Morag had run out of patience, and she used her powers to cause a vine to grow out of Logray's staff that quickly tied up the old Ewok. Although bound by Morag's magic, Logray still had the Sunstar, and he used it to free himself. Furious that the Sunstar was still not in her possession, Morag ordered her Yuzzum guards and her two-headed pet to attack. Unfortunately for Morag, due to the interference of the Ewok children, Logray was able to fight off the attack, driving Morag's servants away.[2]

However, Morag refused to admit defeat, and she slammed her staff to the ground, causing an earthquake. Logray lost control of the Sunstar due to the strong vibrations, and it fell to the dirt in front of Morag. The Tulgah witch quickly detached the Shadowstone from her staff and reunited the two broken halves of the powerful artifact. Morag then returned the Sunstar-Shadowstone to her staff, preparing to take the fight to her old nemesis. At the same time, the tremors that Morag had created began to activate the long dormant volcano. The earthquake that Morag had produced threatened to destroy the entire mountain, and both the Ewoks and Morag's Yuzzum servants fled to avoid being crushed by falling debris. Morag, with the stone still in her possession, remained, and as the molten lava began to rise up into her lair, Morag was enveloped by the molten rock. The Ewoks who were able to barely escape believed that their foe was finally finished.[2]

Final battle[]

«Look at me now, Logray. Feel my power!»
―Morag[2]
MoragStone-SvS

The death of Morag.

Equipped with the Sunstar-Shadowstone, Morag was more powerful than ever, and the lava that she had fallen into became her new form. Now with the appearance of a large molten beast with the stone sitting on her forehead, Morag erupted from her destroyed fortress ready to face Logray. The Ewok shaman attempted to ward off Morag with his staff, but her powers proved too great. A great blast of energy knocked Logray's staff from his hand, leaving Morag's old nemesis helpless. However, Logray's apprentice, Teebo, rushed forward to help, throwing the staff back to his master. Logray grabbed the staff and thrust it into the area before Morag, chanting several incantations after placing the object in the ground. Morag was unimpressed with Logray's final attempt to save himself, and she prepared to finish off the Ewok shaman. However, Logray did have a plan, and before Morag could strike, he removed his staff from the turf, producing a cold gusher of water. The liquid reacted violently with Morag's new lava form, and she began to harden.[2]

Morag attempted to stop this process, but the water had soon transformed her into a motionless pillar of rock. As the Ewok children rushed forward to congratulate Logray, Morag made one last effort to destroy her enemy. With one final push, Morag was able to turn her stone body at Logray. However, the gesture resulted in the witch's undoing; her entire body was destroyed, collapsing into a pile of rubble. The debris covered Logray's body, burying him in the last vestiges of her existence. The Ewok children initially believed that their old shaman had been killed in the assault, but just as they had given up hope, Logray used his powers to lift himself out of the rubble safe from harm.[2]

Legacy[]

«Morag's life force returned to the forest, where it became in the end, a thing of beauty.»
―Logray[2]
MoragTree-SvS

A tree grew from Morag's life-force upon her death.

Upon Morag's death, a large tree grew out of the rubble of her destroyed body. Logray reclaimed the Sunstar-Shadowstone, bringing it back to his hut in Bright Tree Village. For future generations, Logray recounted the story of Morag's defeat as an object lesson for how the most beautiful things could arise from the death of evil. Logray congratulated the Ewok children for their help, making sure to include their role when he told the story about Morag.[2] After Morag's defeat, several other individuals would accost the village in pursuit of the reformed Sunstar, including the Stranger,[11] Odra,[12] Jadru,[13] and Raygar.[14]

Personality and traits[]

«Well done, my old friend. Help save your people again, you did. Soon it'll be just you and I, Logray, and then it'll be just I!»
―Morag[1]

Morag was a cruel being that desired power above all else. Even to those that served her, she had nothing but disdain, never hiding her contempt for those that interrupted her plans. However, this attitude caused Morag to be somewhat overconfident, and it was this disdain for others that caused her to overlook the young Logray when he was brought to her fortress. The Tulgah witch was oblivious to the Ewok as he slowly learned how to wield her powers and then turned them against her. This attack caused her to lose control of the Sunstar-Shadowstone, and she vowed revenge.[4] However, in her long quest for vengeance, Morag began to see Logray as her equal, and she hoped for one day when the two might meet each other in a final epic conflict.[1]

Like others of her species, Morag had an extensive knowledge of magic as well as medicine. Although other members of the Tulgah race used these talents to become great healers, Morag used her knowledge for alternative ends and the pursuit of power.[3] As with others of her race, Morag had a troll-like appearance, including a face reminiscent of a mandrill.[15][3] She had a shriveled and stooped body,[3] and Morag was quite old, over two hundred Endor years of age at the time of her death.[2]

Although quite powerful and feared by the locals on Endor, Morag was not the most successful adversary. Although occasionally able to inflict pain upon the Ewoks, such as when her mantigrue destroyed the sunberry trees, Morag's plots were usually foiled.[4] However, the Tulgah witch was incredibly persistent, cooking up new schemes for nearly two hundred local years after her defeat at the hands of Logray.[2] As a result, Morag had a variety of creatures serving under her during her campaign against the Ewoks. While her best known servants were the mantigrue and her Yuzzum guards that protected the entrance to her lair on rakazzak beasts, several other small beasts resided in Morag's mountain fortress and would answer to her commands.[6][7][4][2]

Powers and abilities[]

Morag projection

Morag had the power to create large illusions far from her location.

Morag was a powerful sorceress, usually employing her staff for the majority of her feats. Morag was incredibly proficient in telekinesis and could levitate with almost no difficulty. During the attack of the Thorn Monster, Morag flew through the trees, commanding her plant beast to chase the Ewoks.[7] During her transformation into a lava monster in her final fight with Logray, she became even more powerful, using her abilities to pull Logray's staff from his grip and throw it aside.[2] Additionally, Morag was able to use her staff for a variety of other abilities. In her attempt to turn the Phlogs against Bright Tree Village, she hypnotized the baby Phlog Nahkee, keeping him from escaping her grasp. During the same event, Morag used her staff to chase her Dulok allies with energy attacks, driving them back to their swamp for their failures during that scheme.[10] Morag would use this energy attack several other times during her career, chasing the Dulok shaman Umwak off her land,[1] as well as threatening the Ewok children during her last battle with Logray.[2]

Morag also had the ability to create large and widespread illusions. During her scheme to revive the Kreegon, Morag conjured a massive image of her face over Bright Tree Village to taunt her enemies and allow her agents time to retrieve the Kreegon's crystal eye while the Ewoks were distracted by her presence.[6] In the same fashion, Morag manipulated her appearance to deceive her opponents, creating an illusion that she was young and friendly as opposed to decrepit and sinister. Morag also projected her appearance into Logray's crystal image spinner, which she used to set up her final showdown with Logray by revealing through the device that she had kidnapped the Ewok children.[2]

Morag had a noted proficiency when working with plants. She could manipulate the foliage on the forest moon to work for her. During the rejuvenation of the Kreegon, Morag summoned vines from the ground to restrain Chief Chirpa, making him her prisoner.[6] Morag would use this same power right before her death when she captured Logray in the same manner.[2] Her grandest feat regarding manipulating plant life was her creation and transformation of a mutated thorn bush, which began to remove all the water from the forest floor. Morag eventually manipulated the plant to give it a humanoid shape so that it could chase the Ewoks across the forest moon. However, for all her skill with plants, Morag failed to realize that too much water could kill a plant, which resulted in the death of her thorn monster.[7]

Behind the scenes[]

"To our way of thinking, it just seemed natural that if you had Morag as an evil witch, Logray might be her good opposite. And it seemed interesting that they would have both fought over a magic stone that had good and bad properties in it and got split. And because it looked like the Yin and Yang symbol, it drove the point home."
Ewoks associate producer and story editor Paul Dini in 1988[16]

Morag first appeared in the opening episode of the Ewoks television show, "The Cries of the Trees," written by Paul Dini. She appeared in three following episodes, serving as the main antagonist in each one. Her death in "Sunstar vs. Shadowstone" was Morag's last appearance in the series, but she made two further appearances in the Marvel Ewoks comic line. Her appearances in the comics, set before her death in the television show, served to illustrate further attempts that Morag had made in trying to destroy the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village. Morag was voiced by Jackie Burroughs throughout her television appearances.[17] The character also appeared in two installments of the MyComyc series of comic books, which were published in 1986 in Spanish by Editorial Gepsa. The short stories incorrectly use masculine pronouns to refer to the witch. When the comic strips resurfaced in 2013, Dark Horse Comics editor Rich Handley and Lucasfilm Ltd. were unable to determine whether they had been officially licensed or were unauthorized.[18] Nevertheless, Star Wars writer Abel G. Peña translated the strips for release on the StarWars.com website. He corrected the original script to refer to Morag as a female.[9]

The Star Wars Encyclopedia describes Morag as having the face of a mandrill, perhaps indicating that Morag was designed with this type of monkey involved. Morag is a common Gaelic name, meaning "The Great One."[19]

Morag's powers in Star Wars: Ewoks are usually explained as a type of magic, and the presence of the Force is not explicitly mentioned in the cartoon. However, explanations of Ewok magic in reference works, such as the Databank entry for Charal, refer to these magical powers as projections of the Force. The Hyperspace article Castaways of Endor clarified that all the ritualistic magic shown in Star Wars: Ewoks is, in fact, performed through the use of the Force. Since Morag uses her magic for dark purposes, described as "black magic" in the Star Wars Encyclopedia, this article implies that she wields the dark side of the Force. According to Leland Chee's definition of a Dark Jedi—"anyone who practices the dark side of the Force whether or not they were a former Jedi"—Morag falls into this category.[20]

An action figure of Morag was planned for the Star Wars: Ewoks toy line, but the figure never got past the prototype phase. As such, the figure was never released commercially.[21]

Appearances[]

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Sources[]

MoragSWG

Cut depiction of Morag from Star Wars Galaxies

Notes and references[]

External links[]

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