Arcona/Legends

Arcona, sometimes singular Arconan, were scaleless reptiles with humanoid bodies. Hailing from the desert planet of Cona in the Teke Ro system, they had poor eyesight, despite their large eyes, and had a small organ between their eyes which, often mistaken for their nose, helped them to see.

Easily addicted to salt, their lifespan was roughly the same as a Human's. The Arcona live in a family based community, where the males take care of the young, as the females are generally reckless and thrill-seeking. Despite not being a particularly technological species, by the time the Galactic Empire rose to power Arcona could be seen in every corner of the galaxy.

Biology and appearance
They had flat, anvil-shaped heads, sharp claws, clear, marble-like eyes, and skin tone that ranged from mahogany to ebony. Cona, the native planet of the Arcona, was always hot, and had very little water. The atmosphere was filled with ammonia vapor. The Arcona adapted to this environment, picking the roots of the complex flora of Cona, who, by taking in the Ammonia in the air and breaking it down, created the only water supply of the planet. The Arcona eventually depended on the ammonia to live and as a result, Arcona living offworld had to take ammonia supplements.

Despite their bulbous eyes, the Arcona had very poor eyesight. Their eyes could not detect fine shapes; and so they only saw blurry shapes. To aid their poor eyesight, the Arcona had a small diamond shaped sensory organ between their eyes. Often mistaken for their nose, this organ detected heat patterns from living beings, and so the Arcona could recognize someone or something by its heat pattern. Like most reptiles, the Arcona had olfactory organs located in their ever moving tongues. This helped them distinguish objects in their environment that they otherwise could not make out and also gave them a keen sense of smell.

Arcona females were considered far more reckless and free-spirited than their male counterparts, and so the males usually raised the children. Arconas took much time courting a partner, and the commitment to marry was also a commitment to parent.

The Arconas' weaknesses had been exploited in the past; offworlders used to trade water for mineral rights, but soon discovered that salt was a highly addictive hallucinogen for Arcona. Traders then imported large amounts of salt before communities outlawed the dealings. Salt-addicted Arcona could be easily recognized because their eyes turned from green to gold. Because of the large number of addicts, many people believed that the natural Arconan eye color was gold. Arcona females made up the main bulk of the addicts, due to their free-spirited nature.

Arcona live in loose, family-based communities called nests, which are ruled by a Grand Nest. While Arcona had a limited technological level when they were first contacted, they had since adapted to modern technology. Arcona have established colonies on many worlds, and Arcona families and individuals spread throughout the galaxy.

History
Before they made contact with other beings, the Arcona weren't very technologically advanced. Although they eventually used other species' technology, they never developed any of their own. When scouts from the Old Republic first arrived on Cona, many Arcona were extremely enthusiastic about exploring the galaxy. Whole communities often sought to travel off world. As a consequence, Arconan colonies were common all over the galaxy. After becoming used to other species' technology not present on Cona, the Arconan were commonly seen in every spaceport in the galaxy.

Before the Great Jedi Purge, many Arcona joined the Jedi Order. When unscrupulous merchants discovered that Arcona were easily addicted to salt and began selling salt in large quantities on Cona, it was only the Republic that saved the Arcona from full-scale addiction, passing laws which punished those selling salt on Cona.

Many Arcona were vocal supporters of the New Order, when they learned of its desire to form a united galaxy, as this fit their notions of a perfect society.

Lifestyle
Arcona normally thought of themselves as a whole. They often referred to themselves as "we" even when only one was present. Arcona were born in nests underground, and from this, they obtained their sense of family living in close quarters with brothers and sisters.

Language
Arcona spoke Arconese on their home planet of Cona, however, on off-world colonies, Arconan young where rarely taught Arconese, as they could learn Basic easily.

Names
Examples of Arconan names: Kodu Terrafin, Vegath Tist, Dutna Kelliv, Dutana Leara, Hem Dazon, Illist Mandrep, Kal Nkai, Shlith-Dan.