Warning! This article contains SPOILERS for the Ahsoka finale.

Summary

• Star Wars introduces the Mortis gods, powerful beings who control the Force, and they are set to play a major role in the future of the franchise.
• The Mortis gods, including the Father, the Daughter, and the Son, maintain the balance of the Force and have the ability to shape-shift and control its flow.
• The Mortis gods are integral to the symbolism and storyline of Star Wars, representing the balance between the light side and the dark side of the Force. Baylan's discovery of their statues suggests he may have found a way to harness the power of the Force itself.

Star Wars has introduced three powerful beings, the Mortis gods, who look increasing important after Ahsoka. The true nature and origin of the Force has always been a mystery in Star Wars, but it is clearly tied to mysterious beings known as the Mortis gods - beings venerated on Peridea, a planet situated in a distant galaxy. These seem to be tied to the mysterious agenda of dark Jedi Baylan Skoll, suggesting they will be extremely important going forward.

Previously, Mortis was thought to be a mystical realm that was separate from the Star Wars universe, much like the World Between Worlds. Nevertheless, depictions of the Mortis gods have been found scattered throughout the galaxy, such as the mural at the Jedi Temple on Lothal. However, Baylan’s discovery of the Mortis god statues suggests Mortis may physically reside on Peridea. It’s no understatement to say that the Mortis gods are some of the most important and allegorical characters in all of Star Wars. And if Baylan has found where they once dwelled, he may have stumbled across the power to harness the Force itself.

Who Are The Mortis Gods

The three Mortis gods were introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars as immensely powerful beings, known as "Force-wielders." The Father, the Daughter, and the Son served to guide the Force along its path in the galaxy. While these beings had a physical presence on Mortis, they also had the ability to shape-shift at will. According to one of them, their purpose was to guard “the power,” meaning the Force itself. The realm of Mortis acted as a conduit through which all the Force in Star Wars flowed, and the Mortis gods were the ones who controlled that flow while ensuring the duality between the dark side and the light side remained.

The Mortis gods were venerated throughout the galaxy as legendary. In Star Wars Rebels, Ezra Bridger found a mural of the Mortis gods on the Jedi Temple of Lothal that led to the entrance of the World Between Worlds; there are also inscriptions of the Mortis gods in some of the sacred Jedi texts used by Rey in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. Although the Jedi Order clearly once knew of the Mortis gods, belief in their existence appears to have waned. Even the Father said that few still know of the Mortis gods’ existence. According to him, their unique ability to manipulate the Force compelled them to abandon the temporal world.

The Father Represents The Balance Of The Force

In The Clone Wars, the Father is portrayed as an aged man who maintains the balance of the Force by keeping his children in check. It’s likely he’s been performing this duty for several thousands of years, given the ancient depictions of him on Lothal and Peridea. He believed the realm of Mortis was the only place he could fully control his children and prevent them from tearing the fabric of the universe apart. However, the Mortis arc also revealed that the Father was dying, and that he was losing his grip on the ability to control his children.

The Father was the most powerful Mortis god, and the children derived their power and immortally from him. Mortis acted as both a sanctuary and a prison for the three Force-wielders. While the Father was tempered enough to keep the balance, the Daughter and the Son were too far aligned to either side of the Force to be trusted on their own. In other words, though they desired to flee Mortis and exert their power over the galaxy in full, the Father kept them both shackled out of love. In his eyes, the dark and the light must wax and wane equally. If one side gained too much power, then the balance of life was thrown out of sorts.

The Daughter Represents The Light Side Of The Force

The Daughter of the Father represented the light side of the Force, and the side that the Jedi tended to favor. She had the ability to transform into an enormous griffin. She was the day, and enjoyed giving life to Mortis by causing plants to bloom in the sun. Unlike her brother, who desired more and more power, the Daughter took her role as the light side in somberness. She believed and trusted her Father’s decision in keeping her and her brother captive, and she only exercised her power when her brother challenged her. In her own words, she constantly wishes to do what is selfless.

Interestingly, the Daughter’s statue that Baylan finds on Peridea has been decapitated. As the light side of the Force, her absence symbolizes the state of the light side during Ahsoka's place in the Star Wars timeline. In The Clone Wars, the Daughter sacrifices herself to save the Father, and then transfers her remaining life into Ahsoka Tano. In many ways, her death represents Order 66 and the fall of the Jedi Order. Just as she died, so too the Jedi were killed. Meanwhile, the Son was left to gain power on Mortis alone, much like how Palpatine was able to rule the galaxy for a time.

The Son Represents The Dark Side Of The Force

As the representation of the dark side of the Force, the Son (voiced by Sam Witwer) continually seeks to usurp the Father and take his place as the most powerful Mortis god. There was a part of him that loved his sister, but it may have been solely because she gave his own power meaning. The Son was adept at shapeshifting into many different forms, his favorite being a giant bat. However, he also took on the guise of Shmi Skywalker, Anakin’s mother, in order to tempt him to the dark side. The Son also transformed into a small goblin in order to taunt Ahsoka and infect her with the dark side.

While the Daughter was selfless, the Son was selfish. Like the Sith who derived their power from him, he delighted in decay, darkness, and the power hatred and malice gave him. After the Daughter died, Mortis became a realm of darkness and despair. The plants she’d grown withered due to the Son’s power. In a last-ditch effort to escape Mortis, the Son revealed Anakin’s future as Darth Vader to him, though these memories were later removed by the Father. Nevertheless, the Son’s victory over the Daughter represented the Empire and the dark side taking over.

Everything Star Wars Has Revealed About Mortis, Homeworld Of The Mortis Gods

Very little has been revealed about where the realm of Mortis was located in the galaxy. Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Ahsoka were transported there by an octahedral monument floating near the Chrelythium system. While there, Obi-Wan said that his scanners couldn’t place where they were in the known galaxy. Ahsoka seemed to think the planet was barely larger than an asteroid. Nevertheless, Baylan Skoll may have proven that Mortis actually physically reside on Peridea. If this is the case, then Baylan is close to discovering the location of the conduit of the Force. Mortis itself amplifies Force-sensitivity, meaning Baylan could take his place as a Force-wielder or even harness the flow of the Force itself.

There are several notable locations on Mortis. The Well of the Dark Side was a fiery chasm that led deep beneath the planet’s surface, and was the place where all the dark side in the galaxy flowed through. Elsewhere, the Altar of Mortis housed the Dagger of Mortis, a weapon more dangerous than any lightsaber given its ability to kill Mortis gods. However, the majority of the action in the Mortis arc takes place in the Mortis monastery, which may be the same structure Baylan sees in the distance on Peridea.

How The Mortis Gods Connect To The Chosen One & The Balance Of The Force

The entire Mortis arc in The Clone Wars was precipitated by the Father to determine whether Anakin was truly the Chosen One. Given his failing health, the Father believed Anakin could remain on Mortis as his successor, though Anakin ultimately rejected this offer. Even with their mystical power, the Mortis gods still held the prophecy of the Chosen One in reverence. The Father says that it was foretold Anakin would remain on Mortis and continue to keep the balance. Nevertheless, Anakin's refusal ultimately led to the destruction of Mortis and the end of the Mortis gods.

The Mortis arc was intensely symbolic, making it hard to place in the Star Wars timeline. Though Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka were transported there during the Clone Wars, the days they spent with the Mortis gods did not occur in real time. Upon their return to the temporal galaxy, Captain Rex says that they only lost with them for a few moments. In other words, the realm of Mortis may not be bound by time, which would explain how the Father has been able to keep the balance between his children for thousands of years.

What Star Wars Episodes Does Mortis Appear In?

The Mortis arc takes place in Star Wars: The Clone Wars season 3, episodes 15, 16, and 17. In “Overlords,” Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan first arrive at the strange realm of Mortis. Anakin also proved his ability to subdue both the Son and the Daughter simultaneously, solidifying his role as the Chosen One who can control the Force. However, in “Altar of Mortis,” the Daughter was killed while attempting to save the Father from the Son, nullifying Anakin’s need to remain and keep the balance. In “Ghosts of Mortis,” the Father chose to sacrifice himself in order to take away the Son’s power and immortality, allowing Anakin to deal the final blow.

While Mortis itself does not appear, a depiction of the Mortis gods also appears in Star Wars Rebels season 4, episodes 12 and 13. In “Wolves and a Door,” Ezra Bridger and Sabine Wren discover a hidden mural of the Father, the Son, and the Daughter deep under the Jedi Temple on Lothal. By using the Force, Ezra was able to activate a gateway leading to the World Between Worlds, which may be intrinsically linked to the power of the Mortis gods. In “A World Between Worlds,” Ezra managed to save Ahsoka using time travel, though the mural and the Temple ultimately collapse in on themselves at the end.

The Mortis Gods In Star Wars Legends - & Abeloth

In the brief years between The Clone Wars’ release and Disney’s eventual takeover, Aaron Allston further expounded on the mystery of the Mortis gods in his Fate of the Jedi series. Now a part of Star Wars Legends, Allston introduced an ancient being known as Abeloth, who was the primary antagonist of his works. Originally a mortal woman who stumbled across the three Mortis gods, she eventually took her place as the absent Mother in their family. Unlike the Father, who merely contained his children, Abeloth was able to get them to cooperate. However, as a mortal, Abeloth eventually grew old and longed to be immortal.

Though they are now a part of Legends, Abeloth drank from Font of Power and swam in the Pool of Knowledge. And while these acts granted her immortality, they also twisted her into a terrifyingly powerful entity of the dark side. The rest of the Mortis gods, fearing her power, had her imprisoned. However, their deaths in The Clone Wars ultimately freed Abeloth to wreak havoc on the galaxy. Furthermore, it’s possible that Lucasfilm's Dave Filoni means to bring Abeloth to canon; she could be the entity drawing Baylan to Mortis.

The Mortis Gods In Ahsoka & Baylan's Future Star Wars Setup

If Abeloth is not calling to Baylan, then it may be that the Mortis gods are not as dead as The Clone Wars led the audience to believe. Since the Mortis gods are heavily tied to the Force itself, its possible they persist even after their physical forms perished. The Father even tells Anakin that their physicality was merely a reflection of the surrounding energy. If the Mortis gods still exist within the Force, it could be that they’re calling to Baylan to come to Mortis and take their place as the keepers of the power.

Regardless of whether it’s the Mortis gods or Abeloth who call to Baylan, Dave Filoni faces a difficult decision in wrapping up Baylan’s Mortis plot line. With the unfortunate ing of Ray Stevenson, Baylan’s character remains stuck atop the statue of the Father. His goal of reaching Mortis is in sight, yet he can no longer reach it. Regardless of how Filoni handles the loss, he’s managed to use the Mortis gods to tie together almost every Star Wars project he’s worked on, from The Clone Wars, to Rebels, and now Ahsoka.

All episodes of Ahsoka now streaming on Disney+.