Abstalian

The Abstalians (//) were sentient natives of the planet Abstalia in the Romasi sector of the.

Biology and appearance
Abstalians were semi-. Though they possessed arms, legs, and heads attached to torsos, their short necks canted their heads forward from their bodies rather than up, leaving the tops of their crania roughly equal to their shoulders. Abstalians eyes on mostly-fixed stalks which projected a few centimeters out from their faces, and large ears on either sides of their heads. They had bulbous noses and tendrils hanging to either side of their mouths.

Abstalians were all shades of purple, though skin tones could vary from deep shades to lighter violets and lavenders. They had no hair, and their eyes were uniformly blue. They had four fingers on each hand and three toes on each foot.

Abstalians reached physical maturity at the age of fifteen, and could live up to sixty years normally, though Force-sensitive Abstalians sometimes lived longer. Female Abstalians carried children to term over seven standard months, almost always one at a time.

Society and culture
Abstalian society was largely tribal even after the arrival of the Golden Empire. Aside from overarching loyalty to the Empire as personified in Rin Sakaros, Abstalians were focused more on the bonds of family and their immediate neighbors rather than any concept of species unity. The exception was a quinquennial congregation of all Abstalian tribes, called simply "the Meet". Though the Meets continued after Abstalia joined the Empire, the attitude of general independence was slowly changing in later generations as the Abstalians became cognizant of worlds beyond their own.

The Abstalian Phoenix played a major role in Abstalian culture before the planet joined the Empire. In a rare element of species unity, all Abstalian tribes had agreed that any being who could slay the Phoenix would rule over all Abstalians for that being's lifetime. The Abstalians both revered the Phoenix's power (and some early cults worshipped it as a god) and dreaded its actual presence and predation.

The previously shamanistic Abstalians experienced serious culture shock after being introduced to modern technology and aliens with the arrival of the Golden Empire. Abstalians of subsequent generations were taught by Royal educator droids, which introduced them to galaxy-standard mathematics, physics, and natural sciences. Many older Abstalians felt important cultural traditions were being lost, while young Abstalians viewed their elders as clinging to the past in defiance of reality.

History
The Abstalians were not the first sentient occupants of Abstalia, and Royal xenobiologists debated what link, if any, the Abstalians had to their predecessors. The original sentients had been wiped out due to geological causes generally believed to relate to the eruption of one or more of Abstalia's many volcanoes. The Abstalians were believed to have evolved sentience after 10,000 BBY. The earliest cave paintings definitely attributable to their culture were dated to 5,000 BBY. The Abstalian Phoenix appeared in many of them.

The Abstalians lived in and around the fertile river beds and deltas on their homeworld, usually keeping far away from the deserts and steppe surrounding the planet's volcanoes. Mineral-rich water flowed through rivers which began in volcanic mountain ranges, and the waters nurtured towering and diverse forests and plants along their lengths. Though omnivorous, the Abstalians ate largely plant-based diets, keeping only some herds of livestock to supplement their diets.

Warfare among Abstalian tribes was usually for control of more resource-rich areas. Initial settlements had been nomadic, moving along fertile areas, but the Abstalians eventually formed small villages. By 2,200 BBY, the Abstalians had agreed that whoever could slay the Phoenix would rule their people, though by 87 ABY this had happened only twice. The concept of the Meet arose in roughly 1,300 BBY, and more tribes participated each time, until some tribes would send delegations on months-long journies across continents to attend.

In 87 ABY, the Abstalians had still not progressed beyond bow-and-arrow weapons technology and crude armor, though they had replaced huts with clay and stone buildings in some locations. In that year, Rin Sakaros arrived at the Meet with her apprentice Keltrayu, her brother Tariun, and a company of Massassi warriors. Using the Force to their language, Rin addressed the Abstalians and asked them to join her new Empire. Though much of what she discussed was beyond their comprehension, they clearly understood that she wanted their allegiance, and told her to slay the Phoenix in return for their submission.

Rin triumphed over the Phoenix and the Abstalians duly pledged themselves to her. This initially involved little beyond hosting a colony of Massassi, but as more and more worlds joined the Empire, Rin instituted interplanetary trade. Young Abstalians were raised with modern technology and knowledge, and many older Abstalians were frightened by the new machines and defensive weapons put on the world. The Iscali immigrated to Abstalia in small numbers to help the transition, and where older Abstalians were unsettled by the aliens, younger generations took them as a simple fact of life. Only the personal endorsement of Rin, "Slayer of the Mighty Firebird", kept uneasiness and discontent from becoming xenophobic war.

Many Abstalian youth bucked the warnings of their elders and ventured offworld, especially after the Great Liberation. Those who returned years or decades later generally helped hasten the pace of technological change. The population of Abstalians exploded, largely due to modern technology enabling them to extend their societies hundreds of kilometers from rivers with irrigation technology.

In the galaxy
Many Abstalians, even early in the Empire, volunteered to serve in the Royal Army, and in subsequent generations volunteered for the other branches of the Armada as well. In 128 ABY, the Force-sensitive Abstalian Ozkeot Vanil was born, and was quickly recruited into the Order of Keltrayu.