INFO: The Slith were a sentient serpentine species native to the moon Yavin 13. They were a nomadic species, living in patriarchal tribes of up to fifteen individuals. They had little civilization and no permanent structures. The Slith were venomous, preferring to paralyze their prey before eating them live. They communicated with each other via a rudimentary language consisting of noises produced by rubbing their scales on the ground. Slith had little contact with the wider galaxy, remaining largely undiscovered until the reign of the Galactic Empire. During the Yuuzhan Vong War, their moon was wiped of all life, leading to their extinction.
RACE: Slith
HEIGHT: 3 to 5 Meters Tall
SKIN: Variable, however one feature is the same on all the Slith and thats their eyelids are a Translucent Milky-White.
DISTINCTION: Serpentine form
LANGUAGE: Slithese
HOMEWORLD:Yavin 13 was one of the three habitable moons of Yavin Prime, it had a hot and arid climate, and was mainly covered in deserts, rocky plains and cacti forests. However, the moon also had grassy plains and much of its southern hemisphere was covered by open, shallow seas which spread what little moisture there was on the moon into the atmosphere.
Yavin 13's surface also resembled Byss cheese from space. Yavin 13's two sentient species were the rodentlike Gerbs and the serpentine Slith species.
Yavin 13 had no planetary government and was instead governed by separate tribes. Due to its remote location in the Outer Rim, Yavin 13 had no allegiance to any galactic government though it was occasionally visited by treasure hunters including the Rodian Suz Tanwa, who became a famed xenoarchaeologist in the New Republic era.
The Slith had a nomadic hunter-gatherer society and were mainly concentrated on the moon's rocky regions while the Gerbs lived in tiny communities in underground warrens and farmed the moon's grasslands. The two separate species were able to live in peace and often left each other alone. Both species also knew nothing or little about offworld affairs and technology since none had left Yavin 13.
Following the capture of the Jedi Praxeum on Yavin 4 by the Peace Brigade and the Yuuzhan Vong in 26 ABY, the Yuuzhan Vong presumably conquered Yavin 13. The fate of the native species is unknown though they may have been enslaved or killed as on many other worlds conquered by the extragalactic invaders.
BIOLOGY AND APPEARANCE:The Slith were a limbless serpentine species, growing up to a maximum of five meters. They were covered in jagged scales, and were often patterned in stripes or spots. They had milky-white translucent eyelids, through which they were able to see; this adaption protected their eyes from sand frequently whipped up by strong winds on their desert moon. Slith were also equipped with venomous fangs with which to hunt prey. Their venom paralyzed their victims, enabling the Slith hunters to return live spoils to their tribe; Slith preferred to consume their prey live. Slith locomotion involved skimming over sand using a twisting action. Alternatively, the Slith could move sideways (known as sidewinding), and in this manner could attain greater speeds. This was particularly useful while hunting, allowing for intense bursts of speed to catch prey. It worked equally well to avoid hazards. While lacking limbs, Slith were able to manipulate items using their coils and mouths, picking up rocks and spears. Slith also had forked tongues.
The Slith were nocturnal creatures, hunting for small lizards and other reptiles during the cool nights. During the hot day, they sought refuge in the shade of giant cacti or other convenient locations. The moon was known to reach temperatures as high as fifteen Galactic Standard degrees, so in the hotter summer months, Slith also burrowed deep into sand. This protected them from the worst of the heat while retaining heat for the nights, which could drop to near freezing.
CULTURE AND HISTORY:The Slith were a nomadic species, creating no permanent dwellings on their homeworld of Yavin 13. An alpha male led a small tribe of Slith, of no more than eight to fifteen individuals. In addition to the alpha male, tribes consisted of a "lieutenant" male, several mating females with their young, and a couple of juvenile males. When these males came of age, they were exiled from the tribe to form a new family or wander alone. These tribes followed a patriarchal model, with the male responsible for guarding the community's traditions while the females did most of the actual work hunting. Juvenile males were also assigned to protect the young during these hunts. Among the females a Slith known as the First Mate had authority.
The Slith developed a grammatically simple language known as Slithese, the sounds of which were produced by rubbing their rough scales over the ground. A number of simple signals could be produced, which conveyed different meanings. The language could be learned by non-Slith also; a number of Gerb learned this skill as a self-defense mechanism. Slith lacked vocal chords, and so were unable to speak Basic, and while they were able to produce some vocal noises, the unavoidable consequence of moisture evaporation discouraged this developing into an actual language.
The Slith had a number of complex communal ceremonies, which provided confirmation to offworlders of their intelligence. These included praying for the spirits of dead ancestors and to desert gods worshiped by the Slith. This task was carried out by female shamans.
The Slith were still many centuries from developing industrialization at the time of the Galactic Civil War. They had little contact with the wider galaxy, and negligible contact with the Gerb, the other indigenous species to Yavin 13; however, on occasion the two did cooperate. On such occasions, twilight lizards proved to be valuable commodities to trade with the Slith. The small reptiles were an excellent source of water and nourishment. Yavin 13 had long been thought to be devoid of intelligent life, until an Imperial scouting expedition discovered both the Slith and the Gerb. At this time, there were approximately nineteen million Slith on the moon.
The Rebel Alliance also had some contact with the Slith, sending some negotiators to the moon to open relations with both species; however, the expedition was sidetracked when the Fernandin Scouting Expedition, which was also on the moon at the time, accidentally introduced a plague that threatened to wipe out the Gerb. When the plague threatened to transfer to Humans, the Imperial presence in the system considered bombarding the moon to prevent further spread. Preventing this massacre of the native lifeforms became the Rebels' priority over and against contact with the Slith.
A tribe of Slith also came into contact with the renowned treasure hunter Suz Tanwa. The Rodian was searching an old family heirloom left by her ancestor Suvam Tan. Traveling to Yavin 13 in her ship, the Reeko, she located the burial site of an ancient pod left by her ancestor as a clue. However, in the site she began to dig, four Slith were resting. They quickly surrounded her, one finally wrapping her in his coils and delivering her to the mouth of a nearby Gerb burrow. The Gerb were able to retrieve the pod from within their burrow without Tanwa digging through their roof.
The Slith continued to live on the moon into the time of the New Republic, and their existence was known to the Jedi students on the neighboring moon of Yavin 4 in 22 ABY. However, this peaceful existence was brought to an end during the Yuuzhan Vong invasion. As part of their efforts to crush the New Jedi Order, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded and conquered the Yavin system. In addition to razing the Jedi temple on Yavin 4, they wiped Yavin 13 and Yavin 8 clean of life—causing the extinction of the Slith.
IN THE GALAXY:While the Slith were largely unknown to the galaxy until discovered by Imperial scouts, one Slith is known to have left the moon far earlier: during the Great Sith War, a red Slith known as Sssiii was part of the Galactic Circus. While possessing only limited intelligence, the Slith entertained by playing chess against spectators. Sssiii was present with the Galactic Circus when they toured the planet Tatooine.
One notable Slith during the Galactic Civil War was Dresk Kist. Both shaman and First Mate of her tribe, Kist also excelled as a hunter. She frequently went on solo hunts while the rest of her tribe slept. It was on one such excursion that Kist encountered a Rebel scout team that was exploring the moon for a suitable location for a base of operations.
APPEARANCES:Junior Jedi Knights: Lyric's World (Mentioned only)
Star Wars Legacy 31: Vector, Part 12 (Mentioned only)
SOURCES:Galaxy Guide 2: Yavin and Bespin, First Edition (First mentioned)
Galaxy Guide 2: Yavin and Bespin, Second Edition
Alien Encounters
"Le facteur X" – Casus Belli 115 (Ambiguously canonical source)
Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds
Yavin: The Big Red One on Wizards.com (article)
The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia (Under Yavin 13)
I would like to thank Wookieepedia for this info.
