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Healing-mountain stands for eternity; it comforts the sick and sore; healing-mountain holds the Titan of Vision; healing-whale, sky-born comforter of men.
—Red Sun Scrolls
The Tyrrhan sky leviathans, also called the Tyrrhan sky whales or Mashanti-kore (Garganese: "People of the Sky" ) by the Tyrrhans were a species of semi-sentient avian cetaceans who were native to the planet Garganath. One of the oldest species on the planet, Tyrrhan sky leviathans have been significant in Tyrrhan culture for millennia. They were distinguishable because of their flying ability and inherent Force-sensitivity. They were also strange creatures, empathetic to sentients and primarily used photosynthesis for sustenance.
The Tyrrhan sky leviathan became an important part in the culture of the Tyrrhans. Early pre-Imperial kingdoms often carried sky leviathan imagery on their banners, and some even believed the creatures were close to divinity. Because of their elusive nature, sightings were rare, with some even came to view sky leviathans as bringers of good fortune or heralds of peace. The Khul, the original native people of Garganath, had been the only species to have been able to both communicate with, and ride on the back of, leviathans. After their turn to the dark side of the Force, however, the leviathans started to avoid the Khul and became notably more elusive.
Biology and appearance[]
The Tyrrhan sky leviathan was a large cetacean life-form with multiple appendages and fins attached to either side of its torso. They had long, slender mottled golden or brownish bodies, with a number of reflective scale-like features strewn over its back from which the creature absorbed sunlight for sustenance. The sky leviathan was photosynthetic, capable of converting light energy into chemical energy through its pigment. Additional features of the sky leviathan included a broad, flat head; long and slender flippers; sixty to eighty expandable throat pleats; a small falcate dorsal fin positioned at the far end of its tail; a thick tail stock; and a massive, slender fluke. As it did not dwell underwater, a sky leviathan did not have a blowhole.
Tyrrhan sky leviathans lived long lives, with an average healthy adult being able to live up to 1,500 years. A sky leviathan matured at around age 500, and was considered "elderly" at around 1,250 years of age. They were massive, approximately 52 meters in length and a body width of approximately 6,8 meters. An average sky leviathan could weigh up to 85 to 185 metric tons, though apparently its ability to fly negated the weight.
The sky leviathan was unusual as it was uniquely attuned to the flow of the the Force. As observed by Garganathi scholars, the sky leviathan used the Force to alter its own gravitational mass - allowing it to fly unobstructed. The sky leviathan could land, take off, as well as accelerate or decelerate its speed and velocity without difficulty. They were also highly intelligent, capable of empathy and able to understand human verbal communication at a basic level. They could also attune to a being's emotions, sensing happiness, sadness, anger, or even fear.
While largely solitary, sky leviathans spent their adolescence under the care of their parents - who often mated for life until their child reached biological adulthood. They communicated with other members of their species using a low-frequency pitch, akin to a low, bellowed roar of a large beast. Sky leviathans were known to be highly elusive and often avoided populated places. They mainly nested on greatly-elevated mountain tops, so high that most organic beings would not be able to draw breath (on its own a rarity on the oxygen-rich planet of Garganath).
Due to its size, the sky leviathan had a slow metabolism. Since they were photosynthetic, they did not have any natural prey and had no to little impact on the environment. Despite this, they also did not have any natural predators.
Behavior[]

A sky leviathan in flight.
Despite common belief that the sky leviathan had a cognition similar to most cetacean animals, the creatures were in fact highly intelligent, empathetic, and possessed a great memory. Sky leviathans were believed to be semi-sentient; incapable of speech or abstract thinking, but nonetheless able to both understand and empathize with sentient lifeforms. They lived largely solitary lives, though calves lived with their mothers until they matured. Since sky leviathans did not eat other flaura or fauna - they had a minimal to negligent impact on the environment. They received their sustenance through a process similar to photosynthesis. As such, they spent much of their mornings and afternoons resting on mountain tops in full view of the sun. During twilight or early sunrise and sunset, they would fly and relocate to other mountains. The reasons for this were not readily understood, though some believed that they held a special attachment or connection with Garganath's mountains which required them to always be near them. It was unlikely for a sky leviathan to reach habitated areas or even fly lower than two thousand meters.
Sky leviathans often ignored or avoided most sentients, except for Force-sensitives. They held a special connection with Force adepts - even being able to transmit thoughts, feelings, or even visions of the future to some. Some Jedi would even go on pilgrimages to Garganath to seek out and attain wisdom from the leviathans, returning with vague premonitions or feelings. According to those who took the Path of Healing, the sky leviathans used a form of Force healing that provided both warmth and comfort to acolytes who had took the perilous and gruelling journey to commune with the creatures.
The Tyrrhan sky leviathan was believed to be one of, if not the oldest living animal species on Garganath. Archaeological excavations on Garganath revealed, through a method of carbon-dating, the oldest leviathan fossil - aged approximately 1 to 2,5 million years old. As they were a highly elusive species, it took the Coruscanti scholars several decades before encountering a leviathan in the wild. Initially, Coruscanti scientists believed the species was supposedly endangered or near-extinct, until a mass-migration sometime during the 5000s BBY revealed that the species was far more numerous than initially believed.
History[]
Khul era[]
The sky leviathans were first encountered by the Khul, the native civilization of Garganath. According to oral lore, the first Khul were brought to their homeland by way of the sky leviathans who carried them on their backs. Throughout the Khul's existence, the sky leviathans became spiritual guides and companions to the planet's Forceful, who had the uncanny ability of communicating directly with the creatures. In early Khul states, it was customary for young men to travel to the leviathans on their sacred mountains and receive visions of the future. The leviathans would also be commonly used as transportation between isolated cities, and some settlements were built so high that only a leviathan could reach them.
As the Khul began to shift away from their ancestral roots and started worshipping new, dark gods, the leviathans began retreating from Khul settlements in full. This led to some cities becoming completely severed from the others, and without any means of transportation most of these settlements died out in relatively quick succession. It was unclear how or why this happened, though scholars at the time suggested that the leviathans believed the Khul to be unworthy of their friendship after they turned from the light. It was commonly believed that the leviathans all died out, although they inexplicably returned after the Khul's mysterious disappearance. The leviathans would not welcome any sentient being again until the arrival of Humans two millennia later.
Gargan era[]

The heraldry of House Averidan, depicting a sky leviathan.
After the Decimation of Peelo Colony and the subsequent cultural regression of the Tyrrhans, the species attained a near-divine status. Since they were elusive, and capable of exchanging emotions with some Force-sensitive beings, some Tyrrhan clans came to revere the beings as gods or godly intermediaries. In some Tyrrhan cultures, specific prayers or offerings were placed upon mountain tops to please the leviathans for good fortune or a bountiful harvest. Some more developed realms, such as the Kingdom of Nylos, developed a specific ritual that some Force adepts had to go through to achieve a shamanic status. They were instructed to climb to the top of the mountain, naked, where they would try to look for and eventually commune with a sky leviathan. As the beings were highly elusive, an acolyte was not allowed to return to Nylos until they had in fact spoken with the beast and communicated wisdom.
After the formation of Gargan's Empire, the sky leviathans continued to be revered. Gargan the Conqueror was aware of the perception that some Tyrrhans had towards the sky leviathan, and so enforced the belief that they were friendly and wise creatures that could not be harmed. Whether this was because he wanted to use the beings' spiritual reputation to develop and more easily enforce his new religion or if he in fact genuinely respected the leviathans is unknown. Nevertheless, specific laws were developed that specifically protected the sky leviathans and its natural habitats. Even after the Empire's founding, the practice of sending Forceful acolytes up the mountains to speak to the leviathan was kept in place - in a ritual known as the Path of Healing.