Jorus Merrill
is mek bote
Name: Bereth-Aku
Designation: Sentient
Homeworld: Lost to history, believed to lie somewhere in the less charted regions of the Kathol Outback or even the Kathol Rift. Bereth-Aku are a rare and wandering species.
Language: Lost to history, but the Bereth-Aku are frequently conversant in common trade languages such as Sy Bisti, Rammocate, Minnisiat, Huttese, and Basic.
Average Lifespan: 150
Estimated Population: Less than twenty million, mostly scattered through the Kathol worlds from Kal'Shebbol to Demonsgate.
Average height of adults: 1.2 metres
Average length of adults: N/A
Skin color: Grayish-green, greenish-gray, brown.
Hair color: N/A
Distinctions: Bereth-Aku are tortoises. Usually bipedal, they are capable of quadripedal locomotion with somewhat greater ease than a humanoid trying to crawl. They are capable of withdrawing head, neck, and limbs completely within their shells.
Breathes: Type I
Strengths:
- Bereth-Aku can withdraw their heads, necks, and limbs into their shells, and segmented flaps of shell can seal openings from within. If calm, Bereth-Aku can hold their breath for up to an hour. The density and insulation of a Bereth-Aku's shell and related connective tissue is such that, when sealed inside its shell, a Bereth-Aku can survive submersion or hard vacuum for quite a while.
- The shell of a Bereth-Aku is extremely durable. A lightsabre can cut through it with minimal time and effort (comparable to a Lucrehulk's bridge blast door, for reference), and a laser cannon would roast a Bereth-Aku alive. However the shell can withstand slugthrower or blaster fire, conventional explosions, etc.
- Bereth-Aku are not very dextrous. Their fingers are quite stubby, and they do most of their fine motor manipulation with their long, dull claws. Unless a weapon is specially designed or modified, getting a firm grip on, say, a blaster or lightsabre just isn't in the cards.
- Bereth-Aku are usually very slow. They can move quickly, even very quickly, but only for a short time. A Bereth-Aku can scuttle/sprint to safety, but only if safety is nearby. In any contest of endurance running or prolonged combat, the Bereth-Aku will be at a speed-related disadvantage.
- Most Bereth-Aku are pacifists.
Diet: Bereth-Aku have a tough stomach. As a wandering species, they feast happily on the fruits, vegetables, grains, and processed carbohydrates of dozens of worlds. They can survive on meat but prefer not to eat it, unless in desperate circumstances.
Communication: Bereth-Aku communicate verbally.
Culture: Peaceful pilgrims, the Bereth-Aku lost their homeworld millennia ago. They readily assimilate aspects of the cultures where they live, but certain elements remain the same: a tendency toward pacifism and a powerful wanderlust. These qualities can take many forms and manifest in many degrees. For example, one Bereth-Aku might abhor weapons and refuse to travel on armed starships, while another might travel armed and fight only in self-defense. Likewise, one Bereth-Aku might live as a true wanderer, completely homeless, while another might put down roots for decades, knowing in his heart that eventually he would move on, if only to find a final resting place.
The Bereth-Aku are a deeply spiritual people, Force-attuned in a quiet and mild way. They tend to have a sense of when things will or won't work out, and a deep trust that, on balance, all will eventually be as it should. Their conception of the Force is bound up in those instincts. They view the Force in a spiritual, not functional, way, and have essentially zero historical contact with any formal Force traditions except the Wardens of the Sky and the Aing-Tii Monks. The phrase 'use the Force' is baffling and silly to the Bereth-Aku.
Technology level: Comparable to the rest of the Kathol Outback: think Tatooine or Jakku.
General behavior: As diverse as any other sentient species. In general, Bereth-Aku have a penchant for optimism and a calm certainty that things will work out. As noted above, they frequently exhibit profound wanderlust and pacifism in one degree or another. If startled, frightened, or just in need of a deeper night's sleep than usual, they often retreat into their shells.
History: The Bereth-Aku have forgotten their history; so has everyone else. Tens or hundreds of millennia ago they were formed as servants of the Kathol species and their ancestors, deep in the territory that is now the Kathol Rift. The Bereth-Aku were distant contemporaries of the Sharu, the Gree, DarkStryder, the Rakata, the Killiks and the Kwa. The Aing-Tii, due to certain obscure monuments on their homeworld, hold the Bereth-Aku in respect and call them 'the elder brothers,' which mystifies the utter feth out of the Bereth-Aku.
When the Kathol Rift was created, the Bereth-Aku homeworld was devastated and lost. Scattered remnants of the species kept traditions alive. At various points in the ensuing millennia, groups of Bereth-Aku came together as temporary colonies on various worlds in and around the Kathol Outback, creating enough genetic diversity to ensure the species' survival.
The great events of recorded history -- the destruction of the Rakata Empire, the founding of the Republic, the Pius Dea Crusades, the Sith Wars, the rise and fall of the Empire and the One Sith, even the Gulag Plague itself -- largely passed by the Bereth-Aku due to their extreme remoteness. It's not easy to get to the Kathol Outback at all, let alone far enough into the fringes to find large numbers of Bereth-Aku. Lacking a homeworld or defined territory in the modern era, each Bereth-Aku found his or her fortunes tied to whatever culture and world he or she called home.
Thus, the Second Akala Crisis shook the Bereth-Aku to their collective core. Overnight, huge numbers of the already decimated species vanished, and those who returned brought with them a strange and splintered picture of the afterlife. The Bereth-Aku associated Akala with fragmentary legends of the beings they once served, and fear settled in, doubt that things would turn out well after all.
Even so, the Bereth-Aku largely remained positive, despite the oppression of leftover Black Rose cultists and other Dark Side influences. When the Underground expelled the remnants of the Black Rose, the Bereth-Aku found themselves more at ease. Some, hearing of the liberation of Coruscant, declared themselves ready to join galactic civilization, and a few ventured farther Coreward than Kal'Shebbol. Individual Bereth-Aku can now be found just about anywhere.
Notable Player-Characters: Currently none.
Intent: Do I really need a reason to want more turtles? Seriously, I've gone through Wookieepedia so many times looking for a decent turtle species. Unacceptable lack of turtles.
