- "Will you wield this blade to defend Pijal, to protect it from its enemies, to preserve its independence?"
"Yes, I will." - ―The Skykeeper and Princess Fanry, while the latter held the ceremonial sword aloft
A ceremonial sword was used in the coronation ceremonies of the Pijali monarchy on the Inner Rim planet Pijal. During her coronation in 40 BBY, the Pijali Princess Fanry accepted the sacred weapon from her Skykeeper religious leader and swore vows to protect Pijal's independence. The princess then used the ceremonial sword to stab the Skykeeper and violently complete her ascension to the throne as an absolute monarch. Afterward, Fanry took the weapon with her as she fled the Pijali palace's Celestial Chalice temple and wore it at her side while commanding her flagship, the Righteous.
Description[]
By the time of the Republic Era, the Pijali monarchy of the Inner Rim planet Pijal utilized a sharp-edged ceremonial sword as part of its sacred coronation ceremonies.[1]
History[]
Several millennia prior to the Galactic Republic's reign, Pijali settlers arrived on Pijal and established the Pijali monarchy. Eventually, they developed several religious traditions upheld by their monarchy, including using a sacred ceremonial sword during the crowning of Pijal's monarchs. After the ascending royal and the world's Skykeeper religious leader entered the Pijali palace's Celestial Chalice temple, the latter would give the weapon to their future monarch for them to hold upright and swear vows of loyalty to Pijal.[1]
When Qui-Gon Jinn saw Fanry's hologram, he noticed her wearing the ceremonial sword.
In 40 BBY,[2] while in the Celestial Chalice for her coronation, the Pijali Princess Fanry was presented with the ceremonial sword by her Skykeeper. After striding confidently toward the temple's center dais, she pledged to wield the blade in Pijal's defense and to protect its independence. However, to the horror of many of the coronation's spectators, Fanry then swiftly stabbed her Skykeeper with the blade, badly injuring him. The Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi moved to protect the bleeding religious leader from her, putting himself between the sword-wielding queen and the wounded Pijali.[1]
Having completed the necessary vows to ascend Pijal's throne, the nascent queen angrily decried democracy and took her selected crown from the palace's court jeweler, placing it on her own head to complete her seizure of absolute power in the Pijal system. When Fanry's attempt to have her royal guard captain Deren execute Kenobi and the Czerka Corporation Sector Supervisor Meritt Col proved unsuccessful, she and her enslaved attendant Cady fled the Celestial Chalice in a royal guard dropship, taking the ceremonial sword with her. Fanry boarded her flagship, the Righteous, and wore the weapon at her side as she began commanding the vessel's crew. When Kenobi's Master—Qui-Gon Jinn—initiated a hologram call with Fanry not long after, he noticed she still carried the ceremonial sword with her.[1]
Behind the scenes[]
The Pijali ceremonial sword appeared in Master & Apprentice, a 2019 novel written by Claudia Gray.[1]
Appearances[]
- Master & Apprentice (and audiobook) (First appearance)