Star Wars ABCs: M is for Marchion Ro

Star Wars ABCs is a fun 26-part series that partners Star Wars with your ABCs to introduce you to characters, droids, places, and creatures from every era of the franchise, including the newest venture into a galaxy far, far away — The High Republic.

M is for Marchion Ro

Disney

Marchion Ro was a humanoid male of an unknown species who held the title of Eye of the Nihil during the High Republic era. Ro wore a mask crafted from smoked transparisteel with a storm symbol etched onto it, and in the exact center of the mask was an “eye” that had a pattern of swirling lines. Among the Nihil, who all wore masks, Ro’s mask was unique in both its style and symbolism. The Eye of the Nihil wore a sleeveless white tunic and belt under a jacket and black pants, and following the Batle of Kur, Ro wore the famous heavy fur cloak of his father, Asgar Ro.

The Eye was the backbone of the Nihil marauders, and without Marchion Ro, the group would have been just another band of raiders in the Outer Rim territories. What made the Eye so special was his ability to provide the rest of the Nihil with Paths — secret routes through hyperspace that were impossible to route for conventional navigational systems. The Paths allowed the Nihil to appear anywhere, at any time, in places that should be impossible for any ship to venture.

Like all Nihil, the Eye was a walking weapon, ready for combat at a moment’s notice. He wore padded leather gloves that contained reinforced acceleration compensators and armor plating that allowed him to punch holes in durasteel walls without suffering even a hint of pain. On his belt hung the lightsaber of the captured Jedi Master Loden Greatstorm, and under his tunic Ro secured a three hand-long rod made of unknown metal and stone materials that had screaming faces carved into it and emanated a purple glow when touched. Vibro-stars were stored in hidden sheaths on his wrist that could be deployed instantly with the slightest flick of the wrist.

When the Great Disaster occurred around 232 BBY, it was thanks to the plans of Ro, who had purposefully deployed a Nihil ship to intercept the freighter known as the Legacy Run. The disaster resulted in the loss of hundreds of millions of lives, including nearly 100 members of the Jedi Order, and greatly disrupted the Republic’s expansion plans into the Outer Rim territories, the area of space in which the Nihil primarily operated.

Following the Great Disaster, Ro sent the three Nihil Tempest Runners — the leaders of the various Nihil factions — on missions around the galaxy to further wreak havoc and destabilize the Jedi and Republic’s efforts to solve the mystery of the cause behind the Great Disaster. After purposely sending one of his Tempest Runners to die in an ill-fated battle against the Jedi, Republic, and the forces of the planet Eriadu, the Eye fully exerted his will on the other two Tempest Runners and the rest of the Nihil, taking control of the marauder group. Ro told his followers that he had plans to expand their operations further into the galaxy than ever before, and defeat any attempts to stop them from the Republic and Jedi Order.

You can follow Marchion Ro on his nefarious adventures in the new High Republic publishing initiative, beginning with Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule.