Cylertian

Cylertians (pronounced sy-‘ler-shun] were omnivorous, highly intelligent humanoid beings that hailed from the planet Cylertia. The features that most set the Cylertians apart were their four arms and four long horns.  Cylertians had a vast learning capacity, and thus had the ability to speak a myriad of different languages, including Basic, Huttese, their own native Cylerti, and even complex languages such as Sullustese and Shyriiwook.  This made them excellent interpreters for those who, for some reason, did not possess a protocol droid.  They were also very proficient mechanics, conversant with droid building, ship maintenance, weapon construction, and many other technological skills.  Female Cylertians were among those regarded as the most beautiful beings in the galaxy, much like Twi’leks, but were not often used as slaves because of their independent and intellectual frame of mind.

=Biology=

Appearance
Cylertians sported large, slender eyes that were colored neon green and light-blue, near-reptilian skin blotched with large, darker-blue spots that were shaped with rounded, curvy designs, resembling microscopic organisms. They possessed two pairs of arms—one pair located in their normal, humanoid positions and a second pair located at the ribs, directly below the first pair—and four long horns, one pair on either side of the head, curving up and just over the head with the points nearly touching one another, and a second pair, located just below the first, curving downward and nearly touching points, like the first pair. The second pair of horns jutted forward to accommodate room for the upper chest area (mainly in females). Each being had two fingers and a thumb on each hand, and three toes on each foot.

Abilities
Like some reptiles, Cylertians had the uncanny ability to re-grow severed extremities. The length of time the severed part took to re-grow depended on the severed part and the method used to separate it—a severed horn would take a shorter amount of time than an arm or leg, and a limb that was torn off physically would grow back faster than one severed by blaster fire or a lightsaber. The re-growth process required extra effort from the immune system of a Cylertian; thus, a Cylertian recovering from dismemberment would feel slightly weaker than usual over a period of three to seven days.

Gender differences
In addition to the ideal differences between the two genders, there were several slight differences between male and female Cylertians. Female Cylertians’ body spots were a much darker shade of blue than males’, and were curvier, swirlier and more elongated. Also, a woman’s horns were slightly longer, with the points curving away from one another and pointing upward (and downward for the lower pair), and were colored a shiny champagne gold instead of the males’ beige horns. Furthermore, the three fingers on each hand of the males were each tipped with a small, claw-like nail, while the females had the same distinction on each of their three toes on each foot. Lastly, a man’s foot had two toes in front, with a second “heel-toe” located on the back of the foot, while a woman’s foot had all three toes in the front of the foot.

Aging
Cylertian children were born without claws, horns, or dark-blue spots. They typically grew their first claws at the age of thirteen, and began to grow horns at age seventeen. The usual maturation of a young Cylertian was at twenty-five, when pieces of the lighter-blue skin began to shed, revealing the adult’s darker-blue spots underneath. A Cylertian would remain with these changes until reaching elder age, at around eighty or ninety. This is when the light-blue spots of an adult would peel off to reveal the dull pink spots of a senior. If a male Cylertian grew to be an exceedingly old age (sometime after their 160th birthday), he may have begun to succumb to senility, in the form of Gapshaw’s disease, which would inexplicably blend the victim’s mental boundaries between emotion and intellect.

=Society and culture=

Mental capacity
The Cylertians based their culture on two vastly different parts of the mind: emotion and intellect. On the one hand, the Cylertians were a very intellectual race, picking up numerous skills in a short time, such as technology, fitness, navigation, cuisine, architecture, and many others. On the other hand, however, the Cylertians were known to display great amounts of emotion, mainly positive, and were known to be a very amorous race. However, neither side of Cylertian behavior incorporated anger, hostility, or misanthropy of any kind; Cylertians were very much capable of sorting out problems by using logic and reasoning, and apply outright, emotion-driven behavior only when necessary. Cylertians were also a very open and accepting race, and felt no ill would toward any race simply because of their differences (except perhaps the Gamorreans, due to their natural belligerence, and the Hutts, due to their dishonesty and association with crime).

Homeworld
Cylertians felt a great attachment to their homeworld, Cylertia. Once, in every Cylertian’s life, at any given point after full maturity, an off-planet Cylertian would feel a great need to return to their home planet for a certain period of time, different for all Cylertians.

Love
Cylertians were a very amorous race, even though they had not applied their vast knowledge into the understanding of the concept of love. During their mating periods (which could happen at anytime, but traditionally commenced in the summer), males and females were exceptionally ignorant of each other’s otherwise-well-known intellect for a short period of time. During mating seasons (or any other time, but on a lesser scale), a male Cylertian would be attracted to a female’s curvier spots, a common symbol of beauty, and the length, shape and gloss of her cranial horns, the Cylertian equivalent of a Human woman’s hair. In fact, it was not uncommon for a Cylertian woman to be seen polishing her horns in public (equal to the brushing/combing of a Human woman’s hair).

A female, however, would be equally attracted to the strength of a male’s arms (often choosing a pair that was her ‘favorite’). A woman would also be interested in a man’s horns, such as their thickness, sharpness, and how many times they have been re-grown. The sight of a male filing his horns could have been considered attractive by most females.

=History=

Formation of the Republic
Cylertians originated on the Core World of Cylertia in circa 30,000 BBY. The species kept to themselves for centuries until the formation of the Republic and the invention of the hyperdrive in 25,000 BBY. After this, they monopolized on the opportunities presented to them by the rest of the galaxy, and began to apply their slowly building intellect into improving their own civilization, as well as assisting neighboring Coruscant with its own. Cylertia became a major trade partner with Coruscant in 23,876 BBY, and both planets’ cultures flourished over the coming millennia.

The Jedi Order became more and more involved with the still-very-young Republic, and Cylertia distanced itself somewhat from the Republic little by little; the Cylertians did not easily accept the rigid beliefs of the Jedi, nor their need to set aside emotion, which was essential to a Cylertian’s life. Thus, it was an extremely rare occurrence for a Cylertian to be born Force-sensitive, though not altogether unheard of (Geoja Sueve and Telexa Damagi are two examples of this).

The Clone Wars
Despite Cylertia being a Core World—as well as its close proximity with Coruscant—the Cylertians’ pacifistic nature meant that they participated very seldom in the war effort. Occasionally, both warring factions, the Republic and the Separatists, would try to persuade the planet’s inhabitants to join their side and assist their efforts in the war. Certain instances of the Separatists’ attempts at this would result in an added attempt to capture the planet and coerce its assimilation into the Confederacy. Jedi General Geoja Sueve led several missions to repel Separatist occupation of his home planet during the Clone Wars.

Rise of the Empire
Cylertia’s proximity to Coruscant—later called Imperial Center—meant that the Cylertians were under the same amount of oppression as their neighbors. After Order 66, the Cylertians had lost all hope, now that they were sure their great hero and only Cylertian Jedi, Geoja Sueve, was dead. As a result of this, their businesses, industries and economy suffered, mating rituals were scarce, and the Cylertian race was becoming endangered. However, during a public oration on Cylertia held by high-ranking officials of the Empire, including Darth Vader, in preparation the completion of Vader’s new skyhook, Sueve made a triumphant return to his homeworld, cutting down Vader’s entourage and engaging the Dark Lord of the Sith in another climactic lightsaber duel. This grand reappearance of Cylertia’s Jedi hero filled the planet and its people with a hope they never thought they would have again.

=Notable members=

One famous member of the Cylertian species was Geoja Sueve, a Jedi General who served in the Clone Wars. He was made a Master mere hours before Order 66, and was self-exiled to many different worlds in an attempt to gather any surviving Jedi. One of these survivors was the Force-sensitive vigilante against the Empire; Telexa Damagi, another Cylertian.