Kel Dor (Jedi Renaissance)

"A species well accustomed to the study of the Force, the Kel Dor have long been proponents of the Jedi and many have become some of our strongest leaders. Their control over their brains continues to baffle some and their unique appearance can be off-putting; and while they view morality in black and white, their contributions to the Order's history is unquestioned."

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

Kel Dor were a doria-helium-breathing, Humanoid species from the world of in the  of the galaxy. Occupying a technologically-rich planet trapped beneath two black holes, the Kel Dor maintained a working relationship with the Jedi Order through most of its history, despite the Baran Do Sages' resistance to being brought under the Order's jurisdiction. Following the Clone Wars the government continued their support for the Galactic Republic and along with other political and social reforms began participating in the Acquisition Division of the Order's Jedi recruitment program wholeheartedly with the agreement of the Baran Do to join the Order.

Biology and appearance
The Kel Dors were a tall race, typically of the same height and weight as Humans. Their skin ranged in color from peach to a crimson red. Most had dark, black eyes, although some were born with silver irises, a mark that was often seen as an affinity for the Force. Kel Dors were, as a whole, considered an unattractive species due to their strange facial structure. Their noses were described as falling short of becoming a beak, with a gaping opening that descended to the mouth, a toothless chasm with drooping fleshy strands. In place of teeth, Kel Dor had an upper and lower hard-palate, visible only when they pulled their lips back. Framing their head were extrasensory organs which terminated in small black tusks.

Due to Dorin having a unique atmosphere composed of helium and doria gas unique to their world, the Kel Dors were forced to wear an antiox breath mask and protective goggles whenever in atmospheres of a different composition. This equipment protected them from carbon dioxide, nitrogen and oxygen which were fatal to a Kel Dor. The breathing mask also helped to amplify the Kel Dor's voice, as they were forced to shout to produce any sound when out of their native atmosphere. Without their protective goggles, Kel Dors were considered effectively blind when away from Dorin. They were also able to survive in the vacuum of space for a brief time as their body was resistant to decompression sickness. The Kel Dors had heightened reflexes, a result of the extrasensory organs in their heads. As a species, they were thought to be typically quick and wise, but of a weaker constitution, when compared to other species.

Power and abilities
The Kel Dors were aware of, and used the Force long before they joined the Galactic Republic and the Jedi. This proud Force tradition was known as the Baran Do Sages. The Baran Do Sages often acted as advisers to rich and powerful Kel Dor families. Initially, their powers centered on weather-prediction, but as the Baran Do Sages learned more about the Force, they realized they had an affinity for detecting, and subsequently preventing, dangerous events. Wars and disasters were often averted simply by the insight of a Baran Do Sage. After joining the Republic, the Baran Do Sages dwindled in power and number, due to the Jedi's greater knowledge of the Force, and their taking of Force-sensitive infants. Those Kel Dors who were even aware of their existence considered them to be eccentric wizards. All members of the species were telepathic to some degree; Forceful individuals had an advanced from of this communication technique.

History and culture
Kel Dors were noted for their simple approach to justice, and they typically saw moral issues in black and white. On the one hand, the Kel Dor were noted for their hospitality, they would never turn away a stranger in need. Yet, Kel Dors were not averse to taking the law into their own hands, and had no compunctions about putting to death a thief who was merely stealing to feed himself.

Kel Dor surnames, like Human surnames, were based on ancient family trades or jobs, or even a description of a particularly famous Kel Dor in the family. The Koon family name, for example, meant 'explorer'. Kel Dor given names were based, loosely, on the sounds generated by Dorin's unique atmospheric phenomena. This tradition was highly popular among the Kel Dors, and the upper classes considered it bad luck to name a child away from Dorin. Kel Dor names tended to be short, usually monosyllabic, due to an ancient superstition about the "wind spirits" of Dorin. Upon hearing the sustained wind-sound of a long name, so the story went, the wind spirits would have mistaken the child for one of their own, and carried him or her off to be raised as a wind-child. No one believed in this myth for thousands of years, but the effect it had on Kel Dor naming conventions remained. The tradition of using the sounds of atmospheric phenomena meant that Kel Dor given names appeared to have almost no meaning to an outsider, but another Kel Dor who had heard the sound in question and could identify the phenomenon would understand the significance and meaning of the name.

Kel Dor Jedi
Following joining the Republic, the Jedi Order accepted all Kel Dor who exhibited Force-sensitivity into their ranks. This frustrated the Baran Do Sages for centuries as their numbers dwindled and their techniques threatened to be lost to history. When the Jedi Order restructured itself following the Clone Wars, the Baran Do were petitioned by Master Plo Koon to join the Order. Having long been resistant to assimilating into the Order, Koon appealed to the Sages' desire not to have their order disappear and offered to support their temple on Dorin if they agreed to send all children to Ossus. With the Sages on the brink of extinction they agreed to join the Order and only train Jedi Knights interested in studying their ways on Dorin.

Like all species which served in the Order, Kel Dors 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 Kel Dors to serve alongside the likenesses of hundred of other species. The kneeling Master, a male Kel Dor, with his hand raised to his temples, represented the great Jedi Master Gnost-Dural. In the Sword of the Jedi tower, the lightsabers of all Jedi were placed in memory of fallen warriors and scholars alike. A multitude of weapons once owned by Kel Dor Jedi were housed here, including the hilt of Master Plo Koon's weapon after his death. The Edifice of Heroes also commemorated past Kel Dor Jedi with paintings, statues and other works of art presented as memorial and museum to each and every Jedi to have served the Order.