Aar'aa (Jedi Renaissance)

"When the Aar'aa first arrived on Tython they seemed eager to begin constructing a new temple dedicated to the more predatory aspects of the Force. The Grand Council was troubled, naturally, by this predilection towards violence but we soon came to understand it. After being oppressed by the Hutts for so long their culture revolved around creating the best predator which could serve the Hutts' interests. To this end we have recently implemented new fighting techniques at Stav Kesh to draw their attention towards martial skills without violence. As more generations of Aar'aa populated Tython, perhaps they were make strong Warriors within the annals of history."

- Jedi Knight Horen Hote, writing about Aar'aa in the Jedi Order.

Aar'aa were a reptilian species from the world of in the  region of the galaxy. Long oppressed by the Hutt Empire, Aar'aa never had a presence in the Jedi Order, serving the Hutts as enforcers and security agents instead. After the overthrow of the Hutts during the Hutt Offensive, the Aar'aa took to themselves to establish their own government and did not seek help from the Jedi. Several Forceful Aar'aa were collected by the Kharah-khaśalah and delivered to Tython during the Golden Age of the Jedi.

Biology and appearance
At about two meters tall, the muscular Aar'aa were reptilian with long, thick tails which they could curl into a tight coil. Using this while walking amid the great trees of their homeworld, they employed their tail and clawed feet to hang upside down while hunting their prey. With short-limps, the Aar'aa could walk upright on two-legs or run on all fours. Covered in grey pebbly scales, the Aar'aa could change the color of their scales rapidly to blend in with their surroundings as well as to communicate their feelings through a complex combination of both spoken and visual language. Their tapered heads had a thin dorsal ridge and large faces with thick eye-ridges under which gleamed small, glowing eyes. Being endothermic creatures, they became sluggish in extremely cold temperatures. Their blood was reddish-orange in color.

Society and culture
A primitive tribal society, the Aar'aa evolved to serve as fighters and security personnel for the Hutts after their homeworld was enveloped and conquered by the Hutt Empire. Quick and powerful hunters, the Aar'aas' natural speed and ferocity made them a suitable choice to serve as enforcement agents for the greedy Empire. To this end, Aar'aa culture valued the strong and destroyed the weak. Both male and female members of the species were expected to compete in annual competitions which pitted tribe against tribe for the Hutts' pleasure, as well as a way to pick tribes to be sold off to private security contractors. The language of the Aar'aa consisted of hisses and growls in addition to a series of coloration changes on their scales. The Aar'aa did not keep family names and typically were known by a proper name followed by the name of their tribe.

History
Discovered during the Kymoodon Era by Hutt scouts, the Aar'aa were quickly conquered after welcome the Hutt delegation. Despite the ease in which the world was taken, the species was not weak. In fact they possessed a strong military force and weaponry not usually seen in primitive societies. Realizing that the Hutts were too great of an Empire to withstand, the Aar'aa submitted and offered their services in exchange for their freedom and dignity. Working for the Hutts ever after, their government threw support behind the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars and sent any provisions they received to the Hutt war chest. Despite their nominal independence, it wasn't until the Hutt Offensive that they were liberated from their forced employers.

Abyssin Jedi
Never serving the Jedi Order before the Clone Wars, the Aar'aa were reluctant to send members to the Order for fear of the Force in general. When a Tho Yor departed from Aar with a cargo of several dozen Forceful Aar'aa and brought them to Tython, the Order excepted them as their own and offered to train them their ways. At first reluctant to move away from their militant lifestyle, the Aar eventually adapted and a bright future was promised them with the Jedi.

Like all species which served in the Order, Aar'aa 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 Aar'aa to serve alongside the likenesses of hundred of other species. The kneeling Master, a male Aar'aa, 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 Aar'aa within the Order.