The animated anthology television program Star Wars: Tales of the Empire begins with its first episode, "The Path of Fear". This episode, which aired on May 4, 2024, was brought to life by director Nathaniel Villanueva and writer Amanda Rose Muñoz.
The episode commences with the Nightsisters of Dathomir in retreat, overwhelmed by a massive attack from the Separatist Droid Army during the Battle of Dathomir. Using her bowcaster, Morgan Elsbeth manages to destroy multiple B2-series super battle droid that are advancing. Selena, her mother, intervenes to save her from being killed by one of the super battle droids. As the Nightsisters prepare for their final stand in a clearing, they are ambushed by General Grievous, who uses one of his green lightsabers to impale a Nightsister from behind.
The Nightsisters aim their bowcasters at the cyborg, but they are quickly attacked by BX-series droid commandos. Selena orders her daughter to stay behind as she engages Grievous in combat, wielding two sickles enhanced with Magick. Despite her command of the Force, Selena is unable to defeat Grievous, who gains the advantage and damages her sickles with his lightsabers. During her desperate stand, she locks blades with Grievous, only to be stabbed in the torso by a third blade extending from Grievous's left arm. In her dying breath, Selena urges Elsbeth to flee. Grievous, laughing, then cuts Selena down with his three blades. He notices Morgan Elsbeth watching and yells at her to run before laughing again. He then commands his droid army to annihilate the remaining Nightsisters.
Elsbeth escapes into the forest, pursued by a trio of droid commandos. She manages to evade them by concealing herself in a tree. One of the droid commandos scans the trees and fires at Elsbeth, causing her to fall. She dodges the droid's blaster bolts and knocks the blaster from its grasp. The droid then attacks her with its Vibrosword, which she skillfully avoids. The droid commando grabs her by the neck, but Elsbeth manages to retrieve her dagger and stabs the droid through its head, disabling it. Elsbeth collapses to the ground and loses consciousness as Grievous's army completes its massacre.
The next day, members of the Mountain Clan rescue the unconscious Elsbeth. She awakens inside their cave dwelling and is greeted by the Mountain Clan Matron and a young girl named Nali, who informs her that she is now under the protection of their clan. Elsbeth notices that her black face paint is fading due to the diminishing Magick of the Nightsisters. The Matron leads her outside the cave, where she observes the Mountain Clan members and their cave dwellings.
Looking towards the horizon, Elsbeth sees smoke rising from the burning ruins of the Nightsister village. The Matron offers her a place to stay for as long as she needs. When the Matron touches her shoulder, Elsbeth pulls away. Overwhelmed with grief, she falls to her knees and looks over the cliff, a tear rolling down her left cheek.
Later on, Elsbeth is watching a burning log when she is haunted by memories of Grievous's massacre. While the other Mountain witches express fear that Grievous will attack them as well, the matron urges them not to succumb to fear. She invites Elsbeth to join a mountain witch named Nali for their hunt. As they navigate the rocky terrain, they crouch down as several Separatist HMP droid gunships fly overhead.
Although Nali believes they are safe in the mountains, Elsbeth is doubtful and argues that the Mountain Tribe's way of life will not be sufficient to protect her people. Elsbeth offers her assistance. Nali is hesitant, but Elsbeth asks her if she is willing to let her mother die knowing she could have done more to prevent it.
Later that night, Nali discusses with her mother, the matron, how they would defend themselves against the Separatist droids. The matron dismisses her concerns, stating that they must trust their path. After leaving the meeting, Nali finds Elsbeth walking with two other witches. They tell her that Elsbeth has found some weapons and convince her to come along. Elsbeth leads them into a munitions depot where they retrieve several weapons including tomahawks and scimitars, unaware that they are being watched by a probe droid.
The matron discovers that Nali and several adolescents are missing. After hearing movement above, Elsbeth and the Mountain witches rush to the surface only to encounter a droid gunship and several B1-series battle droids. The gunship deploys several super battle droids. Elsbeth and the younger witches fight back but find themselves outnumbered and outgunned. The Mountain matron arrives and summons a powerful sphere of light energy, which disables the battle droids. The droid gunship loses control, crashes and explodes.
Elsbeth helps the elderly matron to her feet. The matron tells Elsbeth not to assume that not wanting to fight means one is not capable of fighting. The matron attends to her wounded daughter Nali, who apologizes and says that their way is true. The other Mountain witch carries her wounded comrade. The matron says that Elsbeth has chosen her path and pities her for what is to come. They walk away, leaving Elsbeth behind alone.
Justin Bruce Lee, an artist, contributed storyboard work to the scene in "The Path of Fear" where Grievous—a character Lee was thrilled to work on—engaged in a duel with Selena. Lee later shared these storyboards alongside the final animation on social media. Greg Verreault, a Senior Animator, then created some of the CGI animation, later thanking Lee for his storyboards and sharing the reference materials he used during the CGI animation process. Verreault also expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to work on Grievous, noting the extensive effort that went into even a brief portion of the duel.