Abyssin (Jedi Renaissance)

"Very few Abyssin have found their way into our ranks, with only one member currently holding the rank of Knight; although he is currently missing in action after violating express orders of the High Council. Their innate ability to regenerate their bodies is a skill highly valued and understudied by our scientists; hopefully we will have a greater chance of understanding their nature."

- Jedi Knight Horen Hote, writing about Abyssin in the Jedi Order.

Abyssin were a primitive humanoid species from the world of in the  region of the galaxy. Evolving on a planet of searing hot landscapes and an irregular solar orbit, they were distrustful of offworlders and avoided the Galactic Republic. Enslaved by the Sith Empire on an off throughout history, the Abyssin seldom joined the ranks of the Jedi Order before the end of the Clone Wars. When the Exploration Corps helped incorporate the planet into the Republic, the Abyssin agreed to send their Forceful children to the Order for training.

Biology and appearance
At about two meters tall, the hulking Abyssin had long limbs and a single large eye that dominated their greenish-tan foreheads. Typically well-muscled, the Abyssin had a slightly hunched appearance. A distinctive trait of the Abyssin was their ability to heal quickly and regenerate any body part, which some believe contributed to an especially violent racial culture. Their fast regeneration is believed to have been an adaptation to prevent fluid loss from bleeding. Abyssin body cells were replaced every 80 hours and organs which typically were paired in other species appeared singularly in the Abyssin body. Because of their regenerative abilities, Abyssin could live up to 300 standard years.

History and culture
A primitive tribal society, the Abyssins of Byss were known as violent and brutish and their planet was avoided by most beings in the civilized galaxy. On the arid planet of Byss, unstable resources did not allow for mass population growth or for the stabilization of a central government, economy or trade system. Existing simply in nomadic tribes, the Abyssin could and did interact peacefully with one another group through trading only if both groups had plentiful water and food supplies. Otherwise, they began a Blooding, a brawl which ended only when one tribe's warriors were all killed, captured, or incapacitated. Warriors who survived a Blooding were usually allowed to join the winning tribe once they finished regeneration. This tradition led to some violent incidents when spacers tried to trade with Abyssin tribes with scarce water resources, especially since the Abyssins assumed the alien traders could regenerate as quickly as they did. Elderly Abyssin lost these regenerative abilities, and either voluntarily exiled themselves to die in the desert or were ritually killed by their tribe. The Abyssin language consisted of grunts and growls while they used hieroglyphs to communicate in written form. Abyssins did not keep family names and typically were known only by a single name.

History
Discovered during the Kymoodon Era by Arconan scouts hailing from the Galactic Republic, the Abyssin were greatly distrustful of the explorers when they attempted to create a dialogue with them. Rebuffing all attempts to establish relations with the Arcona, the Abyssin finally relented and the Arcona shared their desert survival techniques in order to establish trust and respect. While the Abyssin had no desire to leave their homeworld, the travelers who had heard of the planet of strong, vicious warriors flocked to acquire slaves. Rarely impacting the galactic political or economic climate, the Abyssin have fought on the side of the Republic and its opponents throughout the course of history.

Abyssin Jedi
Several millennium after the Sith Empire's destruction, an Abyssin had been trained in the ways of the Force and achieved the rank of Jedi Master. Master Quarmall was active during the Clone Wars and considered a radical by the High Council due to his decision to take on the training of an entire clan of Initiates as his Padawans.

Like all species which served in the Order, Abyssins were represented in the Grand Temple on Ossus. Within the main entrance of the Temple, known as the Hall of Meditating Masters, a larger-than-life bronzium statue was erected in dedication to all Abyssins to serve alongside the likenesses of hundred of other species. The kneeling Master, a male Abyssin, was not made to represent any particular Jedi but was an alter for reflection of members of the species who practiced the Jedi arts. In the Sword of the Jedi tower, the lightsabers of all Jedi were placed in memory of fallen warriors and scholars alike. The Edifice of Heroes stood ready to memorialize any future Abyssins within the Order.