Grael

During the Galactic Empire's dominion, Grael was an Ewok who lived on the Forest Moon of Endor. His name was a common one among Ewoks, since Grael was an Ewok deity, thought to be the wind that carried the scent of smoke to Ewoks, warning them of fires on their native moon. Grael the Ewok was a member of Tribe Panshee, and dwelled in Tribe Panshee village, constructed high in the trees to provide shelter from the predators that roamed the forest floor. As a highly regarded warrior, he commanded many tribal hunts into the depths of Endor's forests, encountering dangerous creatures; he was typically successful, and those under his command rarely lost their lives during his regular expeditions. Before long, he had crafted a personalized spear for himself and rose to become one of the leading males of his tribe; he entered into marriage and became the father of a child named Ponto.

Despite the fact that few Ewoks survived such expeditions, Grael frequently embarked on solo hunts lasting for days. He believed his abilities were equal to at least five Panshee warriors; unlike the vast majority of his comrades, he possessed a cunning and intelligence that was not typical of the simple Ewoks. Yet, these were not his only gifts; he was blessed with a dormant Force-sensitivity, which granted him glimpses into the future and the ability to easily locate his prey. He was ignorant of the Force, and believed that the Tree Spirits of Ewok legends were his guides. Consequently, he was deeply religious, attending every ceremony and ritual conducted by Shaman Rakra and his associates, and strictly adhering to the ways of the Tree Spirits. He was also a gifted musician, frequently performing after a successful hunt. He always carried a flute with him. Despite his position among his peers and clan, Grael had never encountered a member of another sentient species until well into his adult years, remaining utterly oblivious to the wider galaxy.

Grael ventured out on a solo hunt around 4 ABY, his objective being to capture a Yootak, one of Endor's deadliest predators, to bring back to his village. After traveling for two days, he caught the scent of a Yootak and pursued it for some time. When that proved unsuccessful, he chose to set a trap for the predator, capturing a gunlabird, one of the Yootak's preferred prey, and securing it to a snare trap in the middle of a small clearing. Grael took cover in a nearby bush, awaiting the arrival of his prey. He eventually sensed the creature approaching through the Force, but it was cautious, slow, and he suspected that it had detected the trap. However, before it came into his line of sight, another creature entered the clearing from the opposite side: it was twice the height of the Ewok, had smooth skin, and was holding a small black stick. This was Captain Junas Turner, a Human, wielding a blaster, though Grael had never before seen Humans or blasters, and was unaware of the capabilities of either.

Moments later, the Yootak arrived, attacking Turner; Grael, hoping to capitalize on the creature's distraction, charged at it with his spear, but the powerful Yootak sent Turner sprawling towards him. In an attempt to avoid colliding with the Human, Grael unintentionally ensnared himself in his own trap. He and his prey clashed, but Turner killed the Yootak by firing his blaster at its chest. Unfamiliar with such advanced technology, Grael assumed that his weapon had delivered the killing blow. He freed himself, and he and Turner attempted to communicate, but they only managed to exchange names—Grael spoke only Ewokese, and Turner Basic. Grael began to contemplate killing and eating Turner, but decided that a "talking animal" might be an omen sent by the Ewok deities, and he decided to take him to Shaman Rakra at the village for examination. If he wasn't an omen, Grael thought, at least the village could sample his flavor.

He easily convinced Turner to follow him towards Tribe Panshee village, offering him water and rations along the way. They traveled until dusk; Grael slept in his hammock high in the tree branches, while Turner—who was afraid of heights—chose to sleep in his tent. They continued their journey in the morning, but things soon took a turn for the worse: the duo were ambushed by what Grael perceived as shiny, white talking creatures, who were, in reality, Imperial stormtroopers. Turner surrendered his weapon, and the Imperials bound the two travelers and took them to their camp. Grael was shocked by the absence of trees and vegetation in the area, before realizing that the trees had been felled by "black creatures with long arms"—massive machines that tore down the trees en masse. He was appalled that they were cutting down trees without first performing the required Ritual of the Children, but his attempts to break free were unsuccessful.

Grael and Turner were placed on a starship—which the Ewok warrior mistakenly believed to be a flying hut—and taken to a prison facility in the Balis-Baurgh system. There, he was introduced to a golden protocol droid, fluent in Ewokese. Grael identified himself to the droid, attempting to explain that his capture was a mistake, and asked the droid to resolve the situation. The protocol droid informed him that he was an enemy of Tribe Empire and was being imprisoned; if he complied with requests, he would not be harmed. He was separated from Turner and escorted to his cell. From there, he could see through a grated window into a large chamber beyond, where a 4XB Programmer Droid was giving instructions to L2 Base Labor Droids and K5 Enforcer Droids. Grael watched with interest as the Programmer Droid used short musical tunes to instruct the others, before eventually succumbing to fatigue and falling asleep in his cell.

He received breakfast in the morning, but the foul bread he was given did little to satisfy his appetite. He noticed one of the Labor Droids bring a large chunk of meat to another cell with dismay, longing for some proper food himself. Later that day, an Enforcer Droid took him to the exercise chamber, where he saw a variety of alien species, none of which he had ever encountered before. Grael spotted Turner across the chamber and waved to him; however, in doing so, he accidentally touched a large creature's tentacle, which sparked a fight between the creature and another, tusked being. Grael seized the opportunity to sneak over to Turner, who was with two other Humans, Becker and Lon. Turner welcomed Grael and allowed him to listen in on their conversations in an attempt to learn Basic when he wasn't completing tasks assigned by the droids.

Grael's routine continued for many days, until he could communicate with his Human friends in passable Basic. Turner explained to him that the three of them were members of Tribe Rebellion, who opposed Tribe Empire and sought to prevent them from committing what they considered heinous crimes. He also informed Grael that he had discovered that the Empire was constructing the second Death Star on Endor, and wished to return to the Rebel fleet at Sullust to warn them. Grael sympathized with the Rebellion and hoped to persuade his tribe to assist in the struggle against the Empire.

Despite having been stripped of his weapons, Grael still had his flute, and over time, he began to imitate the tunes used by the Programmer Droid to assign tasks to the other droids. When he was confident that he had replicated the tune to command the droids to bring the meat to the one cell that was allowed it, he attempted to get the droid to bring the meat to him, but his initial attempt failed. He tried again in the morning, however, ambushing the droid in the corridor on the way to the exercise chamber. The droid didn't react, and he believed he had outsmarted it; halfway through his meal, however, one of the security droids aimed a blaster at him. He offered his food to the droid, but it refused and stated that he was out of bounds; the appropriate punishment was execution.

Fortunately for Grael, he managed to play the correct tune just in time, deactivating the droid. From his cell, Turner saw an astromech droid enter the chamber and realized that a ship must have docked with the prison complex. Grael was able to free Turner by ordering the droid to open the door to his cell with his flute, but he didn't know the correct tunes for Becker and Lon's cells. Turner, realizing that there wouldn't be time to learn the correct notes, decided to try to escape and return to Balis-Baurgh later with help from the Rebellion. They made their way towards the ship, but were pursued by security droids and stormtroopers. Grael eventually used his flute to order the droid pilot to take off, and they escaped, bound for the Rebel fleet at Sullust.

They arrived at Sullust to find the Rebel fleet gone; they tracked it to Endor, where a major battle had just concluded, with the Alliance victorious against the Empire, thanks to the Ewoks. Grael and Turner participated in the celebrations that followed, before the Ewok warrior returned to his village to tell his family and tribe about his adventures. He recounted his story to Ponto countless times, but eventually, they had to part ways. Turner and Grael organized a commando mission to Balis-Baurgh to rescue the remaining Rebels. They succeeded, and Grael continued to serve the New Republic with Turner on numerous occasions. He never forgot his family, however, and often returned home to tell his son his tale yet again.

Grael was a skilled and respected hunter, renowned for his cunning and intelligence. He could confront creatures far larger than himself without suffering serious harm, and he considered his abilities to be equal to or better than those of five lesser Ewok warriors. Like many Ewoks, he was also very curious and inquisitive, as well as religious: he attributed all good fortune to the Ewok gods and regarded the Humans he encountered in the forest as omens. He deeply cared for his family, including his son and wife, and felt remorse when leaving them, although his primary concern was his stomach. His initial impulse upon encountering Junas Turner was to assess his taste, and he later risked his life on Balis-Baurgh for a thick slice of juicy meat.

Living in such a primitive and isolated society, Grael had virtually no knowledge of the outside universe, and he believed that things like blasters and droids were all part of nature. However, he was a quick learner, mastering Basic and the droid melodies in just a few days. He was also naïve, believing that his capture might have been a simple mistake. Grael possessed a mild Force-sensitivity, allowing him to sense other life forms often before seeing them. However, his abilities were untrained and unfocused, and no one fully understood them—least of all Grael himself.

Paul Balsamo created Grael's character, who appeared in the short story Escape from Balis-Baurgh, which was published in the Star Wars Adventure Journal 1 and later online in the Hyperspace section of StarWars.com. The story is lighthearted, written from the perspective of Grael, an Ewok who had never encountered advanced technology or other sentient species in his life. Wizards of the Coast's Galactic Campaign Guide later established that "Grael" is an Ewok deity and a common name for the species, and the character was briefly mentioned in the Balis-Baurgh system's entry in The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia, though he did not receive an entry of his own.