- "The text refers to this device as the Grim Rose"
- ―C-3PO
The Grim Rose was a dark artifact that could kill when given a sample of the target's genetic material. The Rose worked by scanning people across the galaxy who have been affected or influenced by the target, over time finding people who have a progressively stronger and stronger connection to the target until it finds the target themselves. Once the Rose finds the target, it kills target along with every person the Rose scanned on it's path to find the target.[1]
The Rose could not be turned off and was durable enough to deflect a lightsaber. The only way possible to stop the Rose from killing it's target and everyone along that target's path is by switching the target to a different person where it would begin a new path. If the Rose's target is killed by the Rose or is already dead, the Rose will turn off with it's objective completed.[1]
The Rose was briefly in the possession of the Rebellion who attempted to use the Rose to kill Emperor Palpatine, but stopped the Rose before it was able to, saving the lives of thousands of people scanned by the Rose.[1]
Description[]
The Grim Rose was a black cube inscribed with identical golden markings on each of it's sides, which included a large star-like pattern in the center, with circles of ancient writing on the edges of the sides surrounding the central star-like pattern. The writings contain the name of the Grim Rose and it's function.[1]
When the Grim Rose receives organic material it becomes activated, in which it begins to hover off the ground and changes it's form. The gold in the markings now become a glowing violet color and six glowing star-like shapes come out from each side of the Rose and hover a few inches away from the sides they originated from. The star-like pattering on the box itself change into circular discs that get progressively smaller in size as it gets closer to the center. The Rose also begins to emit a large amount of purple light.[1]
History[]
The Grim Rose contains writing along it's sides in a language described by C-3PO as "ancient", placing the origin of the Rose likely hundreds of years if not thousands in the past.[1]
Sometime in the High Republic Era, sometime after the Night of Sorrow but before the end of the Nihil conflict, while attempting to discover a way to kill the Nameless, fallen Jedi Azlin Rell investigated the Grim Rose, believing it could be used to end the beasts which haunted the Jedi. Rell managed to discover it's location, later visiting the Living Sea of Gazian. Rell's memory which was implanted into the Living Sea has no memory of Rell after his visit to the Sea, not knowing what happened to Rell and his research into the Rose after his visit.[1]
At some point prior to Galactic Civil War, the Rose was left on the planet Nariya. While the Rose was left on Nariya, the planet was pushed outside of it's gravitational orbit, pushing it further away from it's sun and freezing the planet, along with the Rose, under several kilometers of ice, leaving the Rose were it was left for centuries.[1]
Hundreds of years later during the Galactic Civil War, Luke Skywalker visiting the Living Sea of Gazian and asked for more help with his Jedi training. There he met the memory of Azlin Rell, who offered Luke the opportunity to end the Galactic Civil War through the Grim Rose, giving Skywalker the location of the Rose on Niraya. On Niraya, Skywalker freed the Rose from it's imprisonment under the ice through R2-D2, who sliced into a Mining droidnaught, opening up the ice and allowing Skywalker to take the Rose.[1]
On the Millennium Falcon, the Rose was placed on the ship's Dejarik table and afterwards Skywalker, along with Leia Organa, Lando Calrissian, Chewbacca, C-3PO, and R2-D2, gathered around the table to discover what the Rose was. C-3PO did not recognize the language the text on the Rose was written in, believing it to be ancient, but was able to decipher some pieces, explaining that the Rose could be used to kill anyone if their organic material is placed on the box. The group came to the same consensus to use the box to kill Emperor Palpatine.[1]
After Calrissian returned from a mission to Naboo to retrieve a sample of blood from Palpatine, the group debated whether or not to actually use the Rose. Organa began to call for the Rose to be researched more heavily before they decide to use it, when Chewbacca grabbed Palpatine's blood sample from the Dejarik table and poured it on top of the Rose. The Rose activated and began to search through the various people of the galaxy, which included a woman gardening on Naboo, a Stormtrooper, a chef, and several other people. Skywalker used the force to look into the Rose, viewing all of this. While Skywalker was viewing into the Rose, C-3PO began to read more into the text on the box, discovering that the Rose would kill all the people it searched while trying to find Palpatine.[1]
At this revelations, Calrissian debated leaving the Rose on, believing that however many people the Rose kills now will be less than the amount of people Palpatine would kill were he to remain as Emperor. Skywalker disagreed, turning on his lightsaber and striking it, attempting to destroy it. His lightsaber instead bounced off the Rose, which sent a wave of energy out, pushing the entire group backwards.[1]
Determined to turn off the Grim Rose despite this, the group flew to Gazian, where Skywalker once again returned to the Living Sea to speak with Rell in hopes of turning off the Rose. There he found once again the memory of Rell and discovered from him that the target of the Rose can be changed, and if that target happens to be dead, the Rose would turn off. Skywalker asked Rell for a corpse from the Living Sea, but was attacked by Rell instead. Skywalker managed to escape Rell and the dead of the Living Sea, returning to the Falcon with a corpse. Using the corpse, the Grim Rose was deactivated.[1]
Years later, Skywalker, now a Jedi Master and the leader of his new Jedi Order located on the planet Ossus, Skywalker told his nephew, Ben Solo, the story of the Rebellion's time with the Grim Rose. Skywalker believed that by telling the story to Solo, he would learn to not become evil to defeat evil.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The Grim Rose appeared in the 2024 comic Star Wars (2020) 50, written by Charles Soule.[1]
Appearances[]
- Star Wars (2020) 50 (First appearance) (In flashback(s))
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 Star Wars (2020) 50
- ↑ The flashbacks of Star Wars (2020) 50 take place approximately twenty-two years after Sheev Palpatine's ascension to Emperor, which Star Wars: Timelines dates to 19 BBY, meaning they must occur around 3 ABY.