Pah-wraith
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| Soul Wraiths | |
|---|---|
| Home world | Bajoran Wormhole |
| Legislature | {{{Legislature}}} |
| Base of operations | Bajoran Fire Caves |
| Affiliation | None |
In the fictional Star Trek universe, Pah Wraiths (also spelled Pagh Wraiths, Bajoran for Soul Wraiths) are malevolent non-corporeal beings. They are the ancient enemies of the Bajoran Prophets and Bajoran religious texts state that the Pah-wraiths once resided in the Celestial Temple (the Bajoran Wormhole) alongside the Prophets but they were expelled and banished to the Fire Caves on Bajor where they were imprisoned. According to these religious texts, the Pah Wraiths were "false Prophets". Whereas the Prophets are analgous to angels or even gods, the Pah Wraiths are analgous to demons.
The Pah Wraiths are one of several antagonist forces in the Deep Space Nine series. Like the Prophets, they are able to induce visions in corporeal beings, appearing as familiar figures to the person having the vision. The Pah Wraiths long for revenge against the Prophets who cast them out of the Celestial Temple, even going so far as to possess the bodies of corporeal beings to further their goals. Keiko O'Brien, wife of Deep Space Nine's Chief of Operations Miles O'Brien, was briefly possessed by a Pah Wraith in a near successful attempt to destroy the Prophets (episode: "The Assignment").
In the episode "The Reckoning", the Emissary (Benjamin Sisko) released a Pah Wraith and a Prophet from an ancient artifact. These beings fought on the Gates to the Celestial Temple (the space station Deep Space Nine). In the fight, a Prophet possessed the (willing) body of Kira Nerys while the Pah Wraith possessed the (unwilling) body of Jake Sisko.
In "Tears of the Prophets", Gul Dukat unleashed a Pah Wraith from an ancient relic which possessed his body. While possessed, Dukat proceeded to kill Jadzia Dax and use the Orb of Contemplation on Deep Space Nine to enable the Pah Wraith to re-enter the wormhole and seal the entrance. However, when Sisko found the Orb of the Emissary some months later (in "Shadows and Symbols"), the wormhole reopened and the Pah Wraith was again cast out.
Despite this, the cult of the Pah Wraiths became more popular on Bajor as an alternative religion to that of the Prophets, after many Bajorans felt that the Prophets had abandoned them due to the closure of the wormhole. For a time, Dukat even formed his own Pah Wraith cult on the abandoned space station Empok Nor, with himself as leader.
In the series finale, "What You Leave Behind", Dukat and Winn Adami attempt to free the Pah Wraiths from their prison by deciphering an ancient text written in the Book of the Kosst Amojan which acts as a key. Winn, who had abandoned her faith in the Prophets after she had a vision from the Pah Wraiths, ultimately opts to try to kill Dukat, but he survives after being repossessed by a Pah Wraith and he kills her instead. Eventually, Sisko and the Prophets defeat Dukat and the Pah Wraiths and re-imprison them in the fire caves forever by destroying the ancient book that freed them, therefore never allowing them to threaten the galaxy again.
External links [edit]
- Pah-wraith at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)
