View source for Force storm (wormhole)

{{Top|ffa|leg}}
{{Youmay|the [[hyperspace wormhole]]|[[Force Storm|other uses of the word]]}}
{{Update|{{InsiderCite|159|Death to the Dark Side!: The Making of Dark Empire &ndash; Part III}}}}
{{Force_power
|image=[[File:Battle_of_Pinnacle_Base.jpg]]
|name=Force storm
|alternate=*Energy storm<ref name="DE1">[[Dark Empire 1|''Dark Empire'' 1]]</ref>
*[[Galactic Emperor/Legends|Emperor's]] [[hyperspace wormhole]]<ref name="Handbook">''[[Star Wars Handbook 3: Dark Empire]]''</ref>
|alignment=[[Dark side of the Force/Legends|Dark side of the Force]]<ref name="Endnotes">[[Dark Empire endnotes|''Dark Empire'' endnotes]], part 6: ''The Full Power of the Dark Side''</ref>
|area=[[Force power/Legends#Control|Control]], [[Force power/Legends#Sense|Sense]], and [[Force power/Legends#Alter|Alter]]<ref name="DESB">''[[Dark Empire Sourcebook]]''</ref>
|purpose=Conjuring an enormously destructive vortex to destroy ships or planets and/or drawing a target from one place to another.<ref name="DESB">''[[Dark Empire Sourcebook]]''</ref>
|inventor=
|affiliation=*[[Galactic Empire/Legends|Galactic Empire]]<ref name="DE1" />
**Dark Side Adepts<ref name="SWE">''[[Star Wars Encyclopedia]]''</ref>
*[[Sith/Legends|Sith]]<ref name="EotJ">{{WizardsCite|url=default.asp?x=starwars/article/dodcampaign|text=Echoes of the Jedi|int=Echoes of the Jedi|archivedate=20100118064618}}</ref>}}
{{Quote|With this knowledge, I can unleash the dark side energies that swirl invisibly around us, even to shatter the fabric of space itself. In this way, I have created ''storms''.|Darth Sidious, in a recording from ''The Book of Anger''|audio=Force_storm-DE.ogg|<ref name="Audio">[[Dark Empire (audio)|''Dark Empire'' audio drama]]</ref>}}
'''Force storm''' was a volatile [[Dark side of the Force/Legends|dark side]] [[Force power/Legends|Force power]] capable of creating [[hyperspace wormhole]]s that were able to displace objects across vast distances and tear apart the surfaces of entire [[Planet/Legends|planets]]. Storms were incredibly difficult to control once unleashed and required mastery in many different [[The Force/Legends|Force]] disciplines.

A [[Sith artifact/Legends|Sith artifact]] called the [[Darkstaff]] was known to have created one of these storms during a [[Battle of Almas|critical battle]] in the [[New Sith Wars]]. The storm annihilated the [[Dark Lord of the Sith/Legends|Dark Lord]] [[Darth Rivan]]'s [[Sith battlelord|Battlelord]] [[Army/Legends|army]] and transported him not only through [[Realspace/Legends|space]], but forward in [[Time/Legends|time]] as well, to the [[Light and Darkness War]], where the [[Sith Lord/Legends|Sith Lord]] met his fate. [[Palpatine/Legends|Darth Sidious]] discovered the technique almost a thousand years later. He described it in ''[[The Book of Anger]]'', the first volume of his ''[[Dark Side Compendium]]''. He used the technique [[10 ABY/Legends|six years]] after his first [[Death/Legends|death]] at the [[Battle of Endor/Legends|Battle of Endor]] to capture the [[Jedi Knight/Legends|Jedi Knight]] [[Luke Skywalker/Legends|Luke Skywalker]] from [[Coruscant/Legends|Coruscant]]. Sidious's pride and confidence in the ability eventually proved fatal during the [[Battle of Pinnacle Base]] when his control of a storm [[Force harmony|was negated]] and was consumed by it.

==Description==
{{Quote|&hellip;A storm&mdash;but not caused by anything natural.|Luke Skywalker|audio=Force_storm3-DE.ogg|<ref name="Audio" />}}
One of the most powerful known [[Force power/Legends|Force abilities]] in existence, Force storm was capable of violently destroying the fabric of the [[space-time continuum]] by opening dimension-altering rifts in the universe.<ref name="DESB" /><ref name="LukeDB">{{DB|character|lukeskywalker|Skywalker, Luke|archivedate=20110807050620}}</ref><ref name="TEC">[[The Essential Chronology (real-world book)|''The Essential Chronology'']]</ref> The power allowed a [[Force-sensitive/Legends|Force-user]] to generate unique [[hyperspace wormhole]]s, violent blue vortices of [[Force energy]] known as [[The Force/Legends|Force]] storms, anywhere from less than one hundred [[Imperial standard meter|meters]] to over one [[Kilometer/Legends|kilometer]] in diameter.<ref name="DESB" /><ref name="EGC">''[[The Essential Guide to Characters]]''</ref> Force storms could devastate the surfaces of entire [[Planet/Legends|planets]] and consume whole [[Fleet/Legends|fleets]] of [[Starship/Legends|starships]].<ref name="DESB" /> Storms could also safely transport living beings across [[The galaxy/Legends|the galaxy]] in a short span of [[Time/Legends|time]]<ref name="DE1" /> and, if used in conjunction with certain [[Sith artifact/Legends|Sith artifacts]], could [[Time travel/Legends|send]] a being forward in time.<ref name="EotJ" />

The creation of a Force storm required the user to concentrate an almost palpable degree of anger and hatred into a tangible manifestation of [[Dark side of the Force/Legends|dark side]] power. There was considerable danger involved in the generation of a Force storm; those who could not control what they had unleashed were often themselves consumed and destroyed. If the person generating the storm was [[Death/Legends|killed]], the storm dissipated.<ref name="DESB" /> Storms could also be conjured across great distances. [[Palpatine/Legends|Darth Sidious]] was able to send one storm over thousands of [[Light-year/Legends|light-years]] from [[Byss/Legends|Byss]] to [[Coruscant/Legends|Coruscant]].<ref name="DE1" /><ref name="Distance">Distance between Byss and Coruscant roughly based on maps from ''[[The Essential Atlas]]''. One grid square represents 5,000 light years. Byss and Coruscant were shown to be almost two squares apart.</ref> Before being able to successfully create and control Force storms, a potential user had to be extremely proficient in the ways of the Force, including [[instinctive astrogation]].<ref name="DESB" />

==Applications==
{{Quote|What is it?''"<br />"''Some kind of ''wormhole'', opening up in space. It's ''huge''! Fifty times the size of our ship! Energy readings are off the scale!''"<br />"''This is the ''Antares Six'' calling the ''Millennium Falcon''. Our scanners just picked up a gigantic hyperspace wormhole. An energy storm of undetermined magnitude is&mdash;|Syub Snunb and a crew member aboard the ''Antares Six''|audio=Force_storm2-DE.ogg|<ref name="Audio" />}}
The earliest known usage of the Force storm technique was sometime during the first hundred years of the [[New Sith Wars]]. During a pivotal [[Battle of Almas|battle]] on [[Almas]], the reigning [[Dark Lord of the Sith/Legends|Dark Lord of the Sith]], [[Darth Rivan]], obtained possession of a malevolent and semi-[[Sentience/Legends|sentient]] [[Sith/Legends|Sith]] artifact known as the [[Darkstaff]]. Leeching Rivan's Force energy, the Darkstaff conjured a violent Force storm that demolished the [[Sith Lord/Legends|Sith Lord's]] [[Sith battlelord|Battlelord]] [[Army/Legends|army]]. Rivan, caught in the eye of the storm, was transported through time and [[Realspace/Legends|space]] to a battle during the [[Light and Darkness War]] between the [[Army of Light/Legends|Army of Light]] and the [[Brotherhood of Darkness/Legends|Brotherhood of Darkness]], over one thousand years later. Bereft of the Force, Rivan was easily slain by a Force-sensitive warrior.<ref name="EotJ" /> Around this time, the [[Jedi High Council/Legends|Jedi Council]] classified Force storm as a dark side technique due to its potential for abuse, though technically Jedi were permitted to use this power. The power also received a mention in the [[Jedi training/Legends|Jedi training]] manual [[The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force|''The Jedi Path'']]. In one particular copy of the book, Luke Skywalker made a note that the ability had the power to "kill planets".<ref name="TJP">[[The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force (real-life book)|''The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force'']]</ref>

[[File:ForceStormCoruscant2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Luke Skywalker stands before one of Darth Sidious's storms.]]
Almost a thousand years later, Darth Sidious was able to develop the technique himself, which he described in the first volume of his [[Dark Side Compendium|compendium]] of dark side lore, ''[[The Book of Anger]]''. In [[10 ABY/Legends|10 ABY]], a [[Cloning/Legends|reborn]] Sidious sent Force storms out to numerous [[Star system/Legends|star systems]] throughout the galaxy after unifying the various feuding [[Galactic Empire/Legends|Imperial]] factions formed after the [[Battle of Endor/Legends|Battle of Endor]].<ref name="Audio" /> One such storm was sent to Coruscant to retrieve the [[Jedi Knight/Legends|Jedi Knight]] [[Luke Skywalker/Legends|Luke Skywalker]] during a [[Second Battle of Coruscant|crucial battle]] in the [[Imperial Civil War]].<ref name="DE1" /> The [[Millennium Falcon/Legends|''Millennium Falcon'']] and her [[Captain/Legends|captain]], [[Han Solo/Legends|Han Solo]], encountered the storm in Coruscant's upper [[Atmosphere/Legends|atmosphere]], but Solo wrote it off as simply a magnetic storm.<ref name="Audio" />

A short time later, the [[New Republic/Legends|New Republic]] [[EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate/Legends|EF76 Nebulon-B escort frigate]] ''[[Antares Six]]'' had a close brush with the storm above Coruscant. A crew member aboard the ''Antares Six'' notified Captain [[Syub Snunb]] that he detected a [[Hyperspace/Legends|hyperspace]] wormhole fifty times the size of their ship opening up close to them. The ''Antares Six'' attempted to avoid the incoming storm, but the energy interference from the storm prevented the ship's systems from responding. The storm passed right by the ''Antares Six'' and headed toward the ruins of Coruscant's [[Galactic City|Imperial City]],<ref name="Audio" /> indiscriminately destroying any New Republic and Imperial vessels in its path.<ref name="Handbook" />

Sensing a [[Disturbance in the Force/Legends|disturbance in the Force]], Skywalker was able to detect the storm, as well as the malevolent force behind it, as it dropped out of hyperspace. The [[Jedi/Legends|Jedi]] insisted that his allies on the planet abandon him and allow him to face the storm alone. Skywalker and his [[Astromech droid/Legends|astromech droid]], [[R2-D2/Legends|R2-D2]], watched as the storm came for them, tearing apart the surface of Coruscant<ref name="DE1" /> and destroying or damaging much of the [[Imperial Palace/Legends|Imperial Palace]] in the process.<ref name="Tyrant's Test">''[[Tyrant's Test]]''</ref> The two were safely carried off by the storm<ref name="DE1" /> and deposited in an [[Lictor-class dungeon ship|Imperial dungeon ship]], from which they were transported to Palpatine's [[fortress world]] Byss.<ref name="DE2">[[Dark Empire 2|''Dark Empire'' 2]]</ref> [[16 ABY/Legends|Six years later]], Coruscant had still not recovered from the devastation caused by this storm.<ref name="BtS">''[[Before the Storm]]''</ref>

Not long after Skywalker's capture, Sidious accompanied a taskforce, led by his [[Flagship/Legends|flagship]] [[Eclipse (Eclipse-class)|''Eclipse'']], to the [[Pinnacle Base|New Republic headquarters]] on the [[Da Soocha V|Pinnacle Moon]] in an attempt to capture Skywalker's sister, [[Leia Organa Solo]], who had stolen a [[Tedryn Holocron|Jedi Holocron]] from him. After Sidious was [[Battle of Pinnacle Base|defeated]] by Skywalker in a [[Lightsaber duel/Legends|duel]], he poured his rage into the creation of another Force storm,<ref name="DE6">[[Dark Empire 6|''Dark Empire'' 6]]</ref> one far more powerful than the one he used to capture Skywalker from Coruscant.<ref name="TEC" /> The storm headed toward Pinnacle Base and began obliterating the New Republic fleet,<ref name="DE6" /> destroying twelve ships within moments.<ref name="Audio" /> Skywalker and Organa Solo countered Sidious by catching him off guard and [[Sever Force/Legends|cutting him off]] from the dark side with a [[Force harmony|wave of light side energy]]. Severed from his hatred and rage, Sidious lost control of the storm and was ultimately consumed by it. After devouring the ''Eclipse'' and the Dark Lord with it, the storm dissipated within moments.<ref name="DE6" />

==Users==
{{Quote|Now, you will experience my ''full'' potency. I ''live'' as energy. ''I am the dark side!''<nowiki></nowiki>|Darth Sidious|audio=IAMTHEDARKSIDE-DE.ogg|<ref name="Audio" />}}
[[File:ForceStormEclipse2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Sidious is consumed by his own storm.]]
Few beings were known to possess the knowledge and skills needed to create Force storms. The Darkstaff had the ability to create a storm with the power to transport an object forward in time, provided that it had access to a vast reservoir of Force energy from which to draw.<ref name="EotJ" /> In ''The Book of Anger'', Darth Sidious claimed that he could create these storms from sheer acts of will, although he confessed that he could not completely control them. Years after writing the [[Book/Legends|text]], he boasted that he could finally control his Force storms completely,<ref name="Endnotes" /> but in the end, his overconfidence proved fatal.<ref name="DE6" /> Skywalker later found a [[Hologram/Legends|recording]] of ''The Book of Anger'' buried beneath the rubble of the [[Imperial Palace/Legends|Imperial Palace]] and pondered Sidious's meaning behind the creation of "storms."<ref name="Audio" />

Practitioners of the [[Light side of the Force/Legends|light side of the Force]], such as Jedi, also had the ability to conjure Force storms if they banded together,<ref name="SWE" /> but in doing so were at an extremely high risk of being corrupted by the dark side.<ref name="DESB" /> When deciding where to establish his [[Jedi Praxeum]], Luke Skywalker was concerned that one of his students could inadvertently create a Force storm while experimenting with the Force, and so he chose the remote [[Moon/Legends|moon]] [[Yavin 4/Legends|Yavin 4]] to reduce the number of potential casualties.<ref name="Jedi Search">''[[Jedi Search]]''</ref><ref name="JASB">''[[The Jedi Academy Sourcebook]]''</ref>

==Behind the scenes==
Force storm was created for the [[1991]]&ndash;[[1992]] [[Star Wars comic books|comic book]] series ''[[Star Wars: Dark Empire]]'', written by [[Tom Veitch]] and illustrated by [[Cam Kennedy]], in which it appeared in the [[Dark Empire 1|first]] and [[Dark Empire 6|sixth issues]]. The Force power was given an expansion in [[Michael Allen Horne]]'s ''[[Dark Empire Sourcebook]]'' and was featured in the [[Dark Empire (audio)|audio adaptation]] of ''Dark Empire''. It also received its own entry in [[Dark Horse Comics|Dark Horse's]] [[Star Wars Handbook 3: Dark Empire|''Dark Empire'' handbook]]. It was later referenced in the ''[[Dawn of Defiance]]'' adventure ''[[Echoes of the Jedi]]'', wherein it was connected with the fall of Darth Rivan.

Force storm should not be confused with other Force powers of the same name, such as the [[Force storm (weather)|weather phenomenon]] created by the [[Dathomir/Legends|Dathomiri]] [[Nightsisters/Legends|Nightsisters]] in ''[[The Courtship of Princess Leia]]'',<ref name="CoPL">''[[The Courtship of Princess Leia]]''</ref> or a certain [[Force lightning/Legends#Force Storm|variation of Force lightning]] introduced in ''[[Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]]''.<ref name="KotOR">''[[Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic]]''</ref> Additionally, the power that the Jedi [[Dorsk 81]] uses to push [[Gilad Pellaeon/Legends|Gilad Pellaeon's]] [[Fleet/Legends|fleet]] of [[Star Destroyer/Legends|Star Destroyers]] out of the [[Yavin system/Legends|Yavin system]] in the novel [[Darksaber (novel)|''Darksaber'']] is erroneously referred to as a Force storm in ''[[Star Wars: Behind the Magic]]''.<ref name="BtM">''[[Star Wars: Behind the Magic]]'', under "Pellaeon, Gilad"</ref>

Although the audio drama identifies the magnetic storm Solo encounters in Coruscant's upper atmosphere as the Force storm sent by Darth Sidious to capture Skywalker, this Force storm did not actually drop out of hyperspace until some time later, when it brushed past the ''Antares Six''.<ref name="Audio" /> ''[[The Official Star Wars Fact File 125]]'' states that Skywalker and Organa Solo released a "storm of light-side energy" that destroyed the ''Eclipse'', despite the fact that all other sources indicate that they simply forced Sidious to lose control of his own storm.<ref name="FF125">Non-Canon Ref</ref>

[[Ewoks 6|Issue 6]] of the [[Ewoks (Marvel)|''Ewoks'']] comic book series features an [[Ice Demon]] named [[Stagorr]] who uses a wind tunneling spell to summon the young [[Ewok/Legends|Ewok]] warrior [[Wicket Wystri Warrick/Legends|Wicket Wystri Warrick]] to his [[Ice Mountain]] [[Prison/Legends|prison]]. This spell shares several similarities to the Force storm power, including the ability to transport a being from one place to another in a short span of time. However, Stagorr required the power of the [[Staff of Logray]] to perform this ability and the storms created by this spell only had the ability to transport beings within an atmosphere.<ref name="Ewoks">[[Ewoks 6|''Ewoks'' 6]]</ref>

In a 2016 interview, Tom Veitch stated that "The [[Galactic Emperor/Legends|Emperor]] can't create Force Storms at will. They are in fact a phenomenon that occurs rarely, when the minds of two great Force users meet and struggle with each other at a distance."<ref>{{Cite_web|url=https://www.starwarsunderworld.com/2016/08/interview-with-dark-empire-writer-tom.html|title=Interview with ''Dark Empire'' Writer Tom Veitch|work=Staér Wars Underworld|archivedate=20200613234534}}</ref>

==Appearances==
*{{WizardsCite|url=default.asp?x=starwars/livingforce/lf20070201LastStand|text=Living Force: Last Stand|int=Living Force: Last Stand|archivedate=20091016011748}} {{Mo}}
*{{WizardsCite|url=default.asp?x=starwars/article/dodcampaign|text=Echoes of the Jedi|int=Echoes of the Jedi|archivedate=20100118064618}} {{Mo}}
*[[Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope|''Star Wars'': Episode IV ''A New Hope'']] ''<small>(First mentioned)</small> <small>(Indirect mention only)</small>''
*[[Dark Empire 1|''Dark Empire'' 1]] {{1st}}
*[[Dark Empire 2|''Dark Empire'' 2]] {{Mo}}
*[[Dark Empire 6|''Dark Empire'' 6]] {{1stID|Force storm}}
*[[Dark Empire (audio)|''Dark Empire'' audio drama]]
*[[Lightsider (story)|''Lightsider'']] {{Nc}} {{C|Unpublished}} {{Mo}}
*[[Dark Empire II 1|''Dark Empire II'' 1]] {{C|Indirectly mentioned in [[opening crawl]]}}
*''[[Jedi Search]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Before the Storm]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Tyrant's Test]]'' {{Mo}}

==Sources==
*[[Dark Empire endnotes|''Dark Empire'' endnotes]] {{C|Part 6: ''The Full Power of the Dark Side''}}
*''[[Dark Empire Sourcebook]]''
*''[[A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Second Edition, Revised and Expanded]]''
*{{Topps|set=1994 Topps Star Wars Galaxy Series 2|cardname=As Luke Fights}}
*''[[The Essential Guide to Characters]]'' {{C|Under ''Luke Skywalker''}}
*''[[The Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels]]'' {{C|Under ''Eclipse Star Destroyer''}}
*''[[The Jedi Academy Sourcebook]]''
*''[[Tales of the Jedi Companion]]''
*''[[Star Wars Gamemaster Screen, Revised]]'' {{ID|Create Force Storms}}
*''[[The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons]]'' {{C|Under ''Da Soocha V''}}
*''[[Star Wars Encyclopedia]]''
*{{InQuestCite|50|Star Wars Episode VII: Rise of the New Republic}} {{C|Non-[[canon]]ical source}}
*[[The Essential Chronology (real-world book)|''The Essential Chronology'']] {{C|Under ''The Resurrection of Emperor Palpatine''}}
*''[[Star Wars Handbook 3: Dark Empire]]''
*''[[A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded]]''
*''[[The New Essential Guide to Characters]]'' {{C|Under ''Emperor Palpatine''}}
*''[[The New Essential Guide to Vehicles and Vessels]]'' {{C|Under ''Eclipse Star Destroyer''}}
*{{FFCite|125|ECL2, ''Eclipse-Class Super Star Destroyer''}}
*''[[The New Essential Chronology]]'' {{C|Under ''The Resurrection of Emperor Palpatine''}}
*''[[Star Wars: The Comics Companion]]'' {{C|Under ''Dark Empire''}}
*[[Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force (real-life book)|''Jedi vs. Sith: The Essential Guide to the Force'']] {{C|Under ''The Book of Anger''}}
*''[[The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia]]''
*''[[The Essential Atlas]]'' {{C|Under ''The Dark Empire''}}
*[[The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force (real-life book)|''The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force'']]
*{{DB|character|palpatine|Palpatine|archivedate=20110524172359}}
*{{DB|character|lukeskywalker|Skywalker, Luke|archivedate=20110807050620}}
*{{InsiderCite|130|A Certain Point of View (Star Wars Insider)|Family Tradition}}
*''[[Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side]]''
*''[[Star Wars: The Ultimate Visual Guide: Updated and Expanded]]''
*{{InsiderCite|159|Death to the Dark Side!: The Making of Dark Empire &ndash; Part III}}

==Notes and references==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{SWArchive|url=eu/lit/comics/f20000405/index.html|text=The ''Dark Empire'' Saga|archivedate=20050205061849}}
*{{Hyperspace|url=hyperspace/member/sourcearchive/news20080114.html|text=''The Full Power of the Dark Side''}}

{{Interlang
|de=Macht-Sturm
|pl=Burza Mocy (nawałnica)
|ru=Шторм Силы (пространственно-временной)
}}

[[Category:Alter powers|Storm]]
[[Category:Control powers|Storm]]
[[Category:Dark side powers|Storm]]
[[Category:Sense powers|Storm]]