Sembla was an Outer Rim Territories planet located in the Sertar sector. An isolated world, it featured warm oceans and shallow seas as well as archipelagos of volcanic islands. It was the homeworld of the nomadic, low-technology reptomammal species known as the Vurks, and it also hosted ancient underwater ruins thought to be of non-Vurk origin.

Sembla was a part of the empire of the Tionese conqueror Xim, with the Tionese enslaving the Vurks. Millennia later, during the then-ongoing struggle between the Galactic Republic and the reconstituted Sith Empire, one of the opposing factions convinced the Vurks of Sembla to let it harvest the planet's rare corals and crystals in exchange for gifting the natives simple tools and textiles. Sembla remained outside the borders of the Republic during the Clone Wars and escaped galactic attention afterward, with neither the New Republic nor the Galactic Alliance extending to it membership invitations.

Description[]

Sembla was a terrestrial planet^[3] located in the Sembla system. It was situated in the Mahrusha sector, a subsector of the Sertar sector^[1] within the Trans-Hydian portion of^[2] the Outer Rim Territories.^[1] Between 25,126 BBY and 25,096 BBY, the planet was linked via a hyperlane to the Janodral Mizar and Yutusk systems;^[4] however, by the time of the Swarm War^[7] of 36 ABY,^[8] Sembla was an isolated world that lay off the majority of trade routes.^[7]

Circled by four moons and possessing standard gravity, Sembla completed one orbit every 274 local days, each of which was thirty-two standard hours long. The climate on Sembla was temperate, and its surface featured oceans and shallow, warm seas as well as archipelagos of rocky volcanic islands, the latter of which had points of high elevation above the sea level.^[3] By the time of the Swarm War, the volcanic ridges dividing Sembla's seas were still slowly forming continents.^[7]

The warmest of Sembla's oceans were home to vast gardens of coral as well as^[3] an abundance of^[6] growths of^[3] rare^[6] and valuable crystals.^[3] By approximately 3643 BBY,^[9] some of Sembla's enormous coral reefs had remained undisturbed for centuries, and a species of Semblan eel resided there.^[5]

History[]

On the Republic's periphery[]

Between 25,126 BBY and 25,116 BBY, the empire of the Tionese conqueror Xim expanded to include Sembla,^[4] with the Tionese considering^[10] the native^[3] Vurk species "worthy" and enslaving it.^[10] Sembla was located in an area of space the Galactic Republic explored between 25,000 BBY and 20,000 BBY.^[4]

This section of the article assumes 100% game completion of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Any alternate stories may be noted in the "Behind the scenes" section. The events in this section may or may not have been confirmed as canon within the Star Wars Legends continuity.

Around 3643 BBY,^[9] an individual affiliated with one of the sides in the then-ongoing struggle between the Republic and the reconstituted Sith Empire traveled to Sembla in order to study the planet's coral reefs. They spent several pleasant hours exploring the formations in a submersible and discovered a new species of eel hiding there.^[5] Around the same year,^[9] an individual likewise affiliated with either the Republic or the Sith Empire also voyaged to Sembla. There, the individual spoke with the native Vurks and successfully convinced them to let their government harvest the planet's rare corals and crystals in exchange for tributes of simple tools and textiles.^[6]

End of the Republic[]

During the Clone Wars, Sembla was situated outside the borders of the Republic;^[4] however, by 19 BBY,^[11] the Vurk Sweitt Concorkill nevertheless served as a Republic senator.^[12] Sembla changed little between the disestablishment of the Republic in 19 BBY and the rise of the Galactic Alliance decades later, and it did not receive much galactic attention.^[7]

The planet escaped the attention of the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong during their invasion of the galaxy that began in 25 ABY, and neither the New Republic nor its successor, the Galactic Alliance, extended a membership invitation to Sembla due to the low number of its native Vurks off-planet. At some point no earlier than 36 ABY, Sembla was described in a guide to various species of the galaxy that was based on the research notes of sentientologist Mammon Hoole.^[7]

Inhabitants[]

Main article: Vurk

Sembla was the homeworld of the sentient Vurk species, which constituted one hundred percent of the planet's population. Amphibious^[3] reptomammals^[7] who spoke the Semblan language, the Vurks had a society organized into nomadic tribes with no overarching government. Large Vurk family units frequently migrated en masse across Sembla's surface, easily transitioning between the depths of the planet's seas and the heights of its islands.^[3] The Vurk society did not feature heavy industry, and the species did not develop space travel on its own,^[7] with the Vurks not finding practical use even for their homeworld's native corals and crystals.^[6] Although galactic survey teams originally considered the Vurks to be primitive,^[3] a view that eventually spread to the rest of the galaxy, the species was in fact highly intelligent and had a well-developed philosophical tradition^[7] that valued personal integrity, individual freedom, and honesty.^[3]

The population of the Sembla system around 25 ABY numbered between five hundred million and one billion.^[4] Sembla's exports to the wider galaxy included foodstuffs and water, while technology was imported on the planet from off-world. Miners from off-planet also frequently targeted Sembla's coral and crystal deposits. Vurks who left Sembla commonly became scouts or soldiers, with Vurks of aristocratic origins sometimes becoming diplomats.^[3] Coleman Trebor, a Vurk who served as a Jedi Master of the Jedi Order at the time of the beginning of the Clone Wars^[13] in 22 BBY,^[8] hailed from Sembla.^[13]

Locations[]

Due to the nomadic nature of Sembla's native Vurks, there were few permanent settlements on the planet, and by the time of the Swarm War the species did not have any memories of ever having had such settlements. However, ancient underwater ruins that did not appear to have been made by the Vurks had been found along Sembla's equator.^[3]

Behind the scenes[]

Sembla was first mentioned in Coleman Trebor's entry of the StarWars.com Databank, which was published by June 27, 2002.^[13] The planet was given its first visual depiction through an illustration made by Ian Fullwood and included in the 2006 reference book The New Essential Guide to Alien Species by Ann Margaret Lewis and Helen Keier.^[7]

The 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas placed the Sembla system, and therefore the planet itself, in grid square S-5.^[4] Sembla was mentioned in two Crew Skill missions of Star Wars: The Old Republic, a 2011 video game developed by BioWare.^[5][6] One of the missions was initially only available to Sith Empire–aligned players, but both this restriction^[6] and the information regarding both missions' outcome were later removed from the game.^[5][6]

Appearances[]

• Star Wars: The Old Republic (Mentioned only)

Sources[]

• "Who's Who in the Jedi Order" — Star Wars Insider 62
• Star Wars Chronicles: The Prequels
• The New Essential Guide to Alien Species (First pictured)
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
• The Clone Wars Campaign Guide
• The Essential Atlas
• Essential Atlas Extra: The History of Xim and the Tion Cluster on StarWars.com (article) (backup link)
• Star Wars: Mysteries of the Jedi
• Trebor, Coleman in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link) (First mentioned)
• Drawing from the Past: How Prehistoric Creatures Influence Star Wars Designs on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
• Star Wars: Edge of the Empire Core Rulebook
• Star Wars: Age of Rebellion Core Rulebook
• Star Wars: Force and Destiny Core Rulebook

Notes and references[]