The Bestiary of Darth Caldoth was a book written by Darth Caldoth, a Dark Lord of the Sith. The title was a compendium of Sith warbeasts and their attributes. The Bestiary was eventually acquired by the Jedi Order and stored in the Jedi Archives of the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant. It later came into the possession of Jedi Master Lene Kostana, who secretly gave a fragment of the book to Jedi Initiates Dooku and Sifo-Dyas in the hope that it would trigger memories of a Force vision within the former.

Description[]

The Bestiary of Darth Caldoth was a compendium of Sith warbeasts and their attributes that was authored by the eponymous Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Caldoth. The book collected information on the silooth, tuk'ata, veergundark, krastenane, and other creatures.^[1]

History[]

Creation and Jedi acquisition[]

Darth Caldoth wrote the Bestiary^[1] by 1032 BBY.^[2] At some point before 88 BBY,^[3] the Jedi Order acquired the title. While in their possession, the book was stored within the Jedi Archives of the Jedi Temple on the planet Coruscant.^[1]

At some point after its acquisition by the Jedi Order, Jedi Master Lene Kostana acquired the title from the Archives. Later,^[1] in 88 BBY,^[3] Jedi Initiates Sifo-Dyas and Dooku broke into the Archive of Forbidden Artifacts, a Bogan Collection, a hidden vault of dark side artifacts inside the Jedi Archives. While inside, Dooku experienced a vision that he soon repressed.^[1]

Kostana wished to learn more about the vision, as she believed it might help better understand the Sith, whom she posited would soon return to the galaxy. Jedi Grand Master Yoda and the rest of the Jedi High Council disagreed with Kostana's theory and felt that Dooku's vision ought to remain buried in his subconscious.^[1]

Kostana's test[]

Several days later, Kostana defied the Council's decision and enacted a plan that she believed would trigger Dooku's memories of the Force vision. She snuck a fragment of the Bestiary into the articles of the Lothal Papyri, a series of agricultural treatises that Sifo-Dyas and Dooku were translating as punishment for breaking into the Bogan Collection. Kostana hoped that being in close contact with another dark side artifact would mimic the effects of the Bogan Collection and resurface Dooku's memories.^[1]

Sifo-Dyas found the fragment among the papers first and quickly showed it to Dooku. After reading the fragment, Dooku was alarmed and intended to report Kostana and turn the fragment in. However, Sifo-Dyas convinced him not to. Because of her actions, Dooku began to suspect that Kostana was secretly a Sith.^[1]

Later, Dooku confronted Kostana about the Bestiary on the contemplation balcony, a meditation spot^[1] on the Temple Spire of the Jedi Temple.^[4] The confrontation turned into a lightsaber duel but was swiftly resolved by Yoda. After Yoda's intervention, Kostana's plans were revealed and Dooku's incorrect suspicions about her allegiances were assuaged. Yoda demonstrated frustration with Kostana over her tactics and requested that she return the rest of the Bestiary to the Jedi Archives. Dooku later recounted the Bestiary incident to his sister Jenza via holo-letter.^[1] Around 23 BBY,^[5] Dooku gave data disks of his conversations with Jenza to his recently recruited Sith assassin—Asajj Ventress—for her investigation into Jenza's location, and she listened to the message mentioning the Bestiary and his duel with Kostana.^[1]

Behind the scenes[]

The Bestiary of Darth Caldoth first appeared in a flashback in Dooku: Jedi Lost, a 2019 audio drama by Cavan Scott.^[1]

Appearances[]

• Dooku: Jedi Lost (First appearance) (In flashback(s))
• Dooku: Jedi Lost script (In flashback(s))

Sources[]

• Star Wars The Dark Side Pocket Expert

Notes and references[]