Topic: The Arkanians

[Cimter]

INFO: The Arkanians were a Near-Human race which resided primarily on the planet of Arkania, though they were not indigenous to it.


RACE: Arkanian
HEIGHT: 1.8 Meters Tall
SKIN: Tan
DISTINCTION: White hair and eyes, four clawed digits, extreme intelligence, able to see into the infra-red spectrum
LANGUAGE: Arkanian

HOMEWORLD:
Arkania was the adopted homeworld of the Arkanian race. It was covered with tundra and rich in diamonds and other precious minerals, which the Arkanians mined to further their offworld connections and master their technology. Arkanian cities were designed to keep the cold out, and were mostly completely enclosed. Off-world visitors rarely had to deal with the frigid conditions of the planet.

The population was thought to be slowly built up until there was a population boom at one time. Many citizens were miners. The population was estimated to be around 250-300 billion people. An exact number was never specified.

BIOLOGY AND APPEARANCE:
Arkanians considered themselves the pinnacle of evolution, and as such many were distinctly arrogant. Arkanian scientists had been experts in genetic manipulation for millennia, and by the time of the Mandalorian Wars the species had been split into many sub-species, making it hard to determine exactly what was a baseline Arkanian. Most Arkanians could pass for Human, though the majority had pure white eyes and four clawed digits on each hand.

Arkanians were capable of seeing in infra-red light, and their eyes were sensitive to sources of extreme heat. This was helpful on their dark and frigid homeworld, but when traveling offworld, many were forced to wear blinders on planets with hotter, younger suns. It was also not unusual for an Arkanian to enhance themselves with internal or external cybernetics, or in some cases both. It was also standard practice for many of the Arkanians to undergo further genetic manipulation on their own bodies, enhancing themselves even further and better than lesser species.

CULTURE AND HISTORY:
Regarded as some of the greatest scientists in the galaxy, members either made some of the greatest advancements in medical science, or performed atrocities which surpassed even those of the Galactic Empire. The Arkanians saw the genetic betterment of their neighboring systems as their duty, though many of their experiments were unwelcome.

One of their earliest known endeavors was the creation of the Quermian species from the Xexto around 16,950 BBY. Though they abandoned their secret experiments, fearing legal action from the Galactic Republic, the Quermians resurfaced millennia later.

Centuries before the rise of the Galactic Empire, much criticism was leveled at the Arkanians for their experiments on the dim-witted Yaka. Though they dramatically increased the species intelligence of the Yaka with their cybernetic enhancements, they also removed all trace of emotion from the people. The controversy culminated in 50 BBY with the Arkanian Revolution. A group of renegade scientists on Arkania, disapproving of the systematic alteration of the Yaka, built an army of cyborg knights to overthrow the Arkanian Dominion, the dominant government. The rebels were defeated when the Jedi intervened in the war.

OFFSHOOTS:
This particular sub-species was bred as workers for the famed Arkanian gem mines. These people had hands with five digits and eyes whose iris contrasted in coloring to the rest of the eyeball - sometimes even pointed ears. Members of this breed, including Zadawi, Gorman Vandrayk and Jarael, were viewed as lower species and forced to live as outcasts by other "pure" Arkanians.



APPEARANCES:
Tales of the Jedi: Knights of the Old Republic (First appearance)
Tales of the Jedi: The Freedon Nadd Uprising
Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
Tales of the Jedi: Redemption
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Nights of Anger
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: Daze of Hate
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 33: Vindication, Part 2 (Appears in flashback(s))
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 40: Dueling Ambitions, Part 2 (Vision to Jarael)
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 48: Demon, Part 2 (Appears in flashback(s))
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Mentioned only)
Republic Commando: True Colors (Mentioned only)
Yoda: Dark Rendezvous
Boba Fett: A New Threat
Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight (Mentioned only)
In His Image (Mentioned only)
"A Two-Edged Sword" - Star Wars Insider 85 (Mentioned only)
Star Wars Galaxies – An Empire Divided (Mentioned only)
Dark Nest III: The Swarm War (Mentioned only)
Invincible (Disguise)

SOURCES:
Dark Empire Sourcebook (First mentioned)
The Essential Guide to Alien Species
The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons
Power of the Jedi Sourcebook
Alien Anthology
Ultimate Alien Anthology
Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds
Knights of the Old Republic Campaign Guide
Arkanian Chill on Wizards.com (article)
The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
The Essential Atlas
Arkoh Adasca in the Databank
Ulic Qel-Droma in the Databank

I would like to thank Wookieepedia for this info.

[Cimter]

UNDER THE SITH:
Arkania was originally a world in the ancient Sith Empire, during which time it was the site of a Sith library called Veeshas Tuwan, established c. 6,900 BBY. Sith Lords would experiment with dark side magic in concealed chambers, and as the library grew over thousands of years, it eventually became so large that no one could actually find for what they were looking for.

After the exile of Naga Sadow, the Jedi sent several Masters to Arkania to destroy Veeshas Tuwan, and so they did. After the library's demolition, Arkania remained unpopulated for some thousand years.

OLD SITH WARS:
When the Jedi on Ossus heard of a possibly re-emerging Sith force, they sent Jedi Masters across the known galaxy to places strong in the dark side, and Master Arca Jeth was sent to Arkania. Jeth cleansed the world of the dark side as much as possible set up a Jedi Praxeum on the planet, where he would later train such Jedi as Ulic Qel-Droma, Cay Qel-Droma, and Tott Doneeta. Many of the near-Human people to which Jeth belonged came with him and settled on the world: they came to be known as Arkanians. A number of diamond mines were established on the world.

By the time of the Mandalorian Wars, Arkania remained largely populated by the original Arkanian species. "Genetic offshoots" like Camper and Jarael were unwelcome to say the least, and when those two visited Arkania in 3,963 BBY to find a cure for Camper's illness, they found themselves pursued by powerful forces bent on capturing Camper and retrieving an unknown secret that he held: Adascorp, the world's most powerful corporation, run by the House of Adasca.

Due to their high sensitivity to infrared light, Arkanians in the Jedi Civil War time period developed infrared "blinders" for when they traveled to worlds that were noticeably high in such emissions. This technology was adapted to filter out excessive amounts of any electromagnetic energies, thus preventing "ocular overload" in native Arkanians.

THE ARKANIAN REVOLUTION:
The Arkanians developed a bad reputation as mad scientists, though not entirely undeserved. Arkanian scientists genetically altered many races with the approval of the oppressive, tyrannical Arkanian Dominion, including the neighboring Yaka, many of whom settled Arkania. In response, in 50 BBY a group of scientists known as the Arkanian Renegades attempted a coup against the Dominion, the Arkanian Revolution. The Renegades tried to create the ultimate army, cybernetic warriors. The coup failed, resulting in a a brutal civil war, in which Mace Windu, Aqinos, and the Iron Knights participated on the side of the Dominion. The cybernetic warrior Gorm the Dissolver faced off against Mace. Jabba served as a middleman, delivering weapons from Dreddon to the Renegades. At least two of the Iron Knights were slain, the other Iron Knights (along with Aqinos) were excommunicated by the Jedi High Council but made High Marshals by the Supreme Chancellor. The Renegades were all executed and Jabba was stuck with a surplus of weapons. Some of the cyborg soldiers survived, most notably the bounty hunter Gorm the Dissolver.

LATER HISTORY:
Prior to the Clone Wars, Arkania was known as the location of dejarik tournaments.

Many Arkanians became Jedi, like Jeth. One such Jedi was Serifa Altunen. Disgusted by the Clone Wars, Altunen left the Jedi Order and returned to her homeworld 20 BBY, urging Arkania to remain neutral. Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi failed to convince her to return to the Order.

Arkania was part of the Galactic Empire, but never joined the New Republic. The Arkanians did work with the New Republic to wipe out stone mites after the pests destroyed an Arkanian colony 24 ABY. In 27 ABY, during the Yuuzhan Vong War a fierce battle was fought over Arkania.