Akwin (Jedi Renaissance)

Akwin were a race of amphibious mammals from the ocean world of Lazerian IV in the of the galaxy. Notable for their six limbs and durabilty both on land and underwater, Akwin were pacifists who had established sprawling cities in the depths of their homeworld's oceans. Due to their xenophobia towards non-amphibious species, the Akwin themselves rarely ventured beyond their homeworld or even made contact with the Human colonists on Lazerian IV. Without direct representation in the Galactic Republic, the Akwin seldom involved themselves in politics and left the affairs of the galaxy to the Lazerians. The Jedi Order stepped up its recruitment efforts amid the aftermath of the Clone Wars, inducting several Akwin into the Order's ranks.

Biology and appearance
A race of amphibious mammals, Akwin were a sentient species thrived both on land and in the depths of the oceans. Evolved from savage sea creatures, the Akwin were capable of bipedal locomotion on land and were possessed of a bilateral symmetry, having a front and a back end, as well as an upside and downside. Their body comprised a head, neck, torso, six limbs, and a tail. The upper limbs located at the shoulders were called arms and ended in hands which had three fingers each. Akwin fingers had multiple points of articulation, and one of them was an opposable thumb that allowed for fine manipulation. The second pair of limbs, were situated farther down the torso and were used for steering themselves through water environments. These flippers did not have hands, and were not useful outside of steering them through the depths of the seas. The lower set of limbs at the hips, called legs, ended in webbed feet with two toes connected by a thin tissue useful for treading water. From their low back a tail with two fins pointed downward and away from the body. Atop their torso was a head, connected by a long, gilled neck. Their elongated skulls had a mouth towards the front, two eyes above that, and two blowholes side-by-side at the end of their long crest. A patch of cilia grew just above their brow, resembling the hair of other species. This cilia ranged from white-silver to green-blue or black and grew short without need of styling. The pair of eyes were golden and evolved to see in the low-light environment of the ocean; thus Akwin were prone to chronic pain when above water for two long in bright environments. This caused those abroad on other worlds to remain indoors during the daylight hours and emerge once the sun went down. Their hearing was acute and worked both above and below the water.

Akwin were omnivorous, subsisting on all sorts of sea creatures from mollusks to crustaceans and fish, as well as plant material. Akwin had two sexes: male and female, with the latter being distinguished by their overall smaller stature and ruddy red hue. Members of the Akwin species could not interbreed naturally with any other species. Despite overall physiological uniformity, Akwin varied greatly in appearance, and no two looked exactly alike. One of the diversity factors was height. Akwin averaged 1.6 meters in height, although males were usually taller and heavier than females. Akwin were sexually-reproduced animals, requiring the mating of an opposite sex couple to produce offspring. While developing in their mother's womb, the child gave her a distinctive "baby bump" accompanied by a significant weight gain. Being mammals, the Akwin females gave birth to live young, birthing only one child at a time. The delivery itself normally took place after eighteen months of pregnancy when a woman would be placed under constant surveilance by professional midwives who would attend her every need. It was an uncomfortable process that could take as many as ten hours; in some circumstances, women could die during childbirth. During their first months of existence, Akwin babies were usually fed with milk from their mother's mammary folds located near to their flippers along their chest. The period during which a young Akwin developed from a child into an adult was known as adolescence. According to the laws of Lazerian IV, the legal transition from childhood to adulthood was only attained after sixteen standard years of life. Akwin had an average lifespan of 70 standard years. Those who were keenly attuned to the Force could live up to 200. At any rate, individuals past the age of 80 were considered to have reached an age worthy of veneration. Natural signs of aging in Akwin included the dulling of their teeth, appearance of deep lines, wrinkles and dark blemishes on the skin. Old Akwin would experience a decline in many cognitive processes, frequently losing track of time, misidentifying people or places and, in extreme cases, momentarily forgetting about their own identity or state.

Government
A peaceful society, the Akwin had established individual city-states across the sea. These sprawling cities were governed by a king or queen as part of a constitutional monarchy. The monarch was both appointed and ruled by the constitution, entrusted to interpret laws and enforce them when necessary. Without a standing military, the Akwin relied on a citizens militia to defend their cities if the need arose. Equipped with net guns, Akwin could fire a metal mesh net that would shock a target with a small stun charge and entrap them in the net. Because the Lazerians believed the Akwin to be a mythical race, the Akwin government decreed that establishing contact with the Humans was best to be avoided, fearing that they weren't ready for the idea of sharing the planet with another advanced civilization.

Technology
Developing technology under the waves was made possible for the Akwin through their evolution of fingers. Without desires to drive them beyond their own world, the Akwin never moved beyond the atomic age. Instead, the Akwin had advanced their water-resistant technology sufficiently to allow higher-grade tech to work in wet environments. Equipped with high-speed aquatic craft and submersible ships, the Akwin controlled the seas of Lazerian IV an could move beneath the waves with ease. Communications technology was advanced beneath the sea, allowing the Akwin to monitor not only their own society but also the land-dwelling Lazerians. Mining and manufacturing efforts were also well established and environmental protocols had been in place for centuries by the time of the Clone Wars. Because the Lazerians were proud of their environment, the Akwin did not fear the colonists would pollute their seas, and thus both cultures remained separate.

Culture
A culturally rich people, the Akwin were pacifists and mirrored that kind nature in their art. Music was highly valued by the Akwin, as well as coral-sculpture, and theater. Massive coral installations spanned Akwin territory, with artificial reefs protecting the shores of the mainland. Valuing their history, the Akwin had both an oral and recorded history of their people, crafting ballads and dramatic interpretations for the public. Their language, Lazerian, consisted of both verbal and physical components, with an energetic sign-language which incorporated all six limbs, their heads, and their tails.

Viewing themselves as superior to other races that could not exist both below and above the ocean, the Akwin rarely visited with the Human settlers on their world. Because of this peaceful divide, the Lazerians knew little of the Akwin and many believed them to be mythical beasts from ancient history. Because of this failure to properly acknowledge them as being real, the Akwin believed the Lazerians to be simpletons, best left to the land and avoided.