Esh-kha

The Esh-kha were an alien species that inhabited the galaxy before being imprisoned on the planet Belsavis thousands of years ago.

Biology and appearance
In terms of appearance, the Esh-kha were a grey-skinned humanoid species.

History
Only the ancient warnings carved on the prison walls of Belsavis provided an in-depth history on the Esh-kha race. According to these writings, this race were once considered one of the most feared species in the galaxy during distant times. They were known to had arisen from their isolated homeworld whereupon they began to cut a swathe of destruction across countless systems. These campaigns saw entire races being hunted to extinction by the savage Esh-kha who wiped out countless species whereupon they expanded into their conquered worlds. The population of the Esh-kha expanded as a result of so much living space and led to the rise of a new patriarch whilst the old one was still alive. Such an event was unmarked by this species and this new patriarch known as Hallow Voice proposed a more peaceful approach in their dealings with other races through cooperation. As the Esh-kha population grew too large, Hallow Voice took a number of his followers away who settled on other worlds in order to reach out to other nearby cultures.

Despite their works, the Esh-kha became well known for violence and mass destruction with only a few tentative alliances being formed. During this time, the marauding Esh-kha destroyed dozens of slave worlds that belonged to the Infinite Empire. These incursions eventually attracted the attention of the fearsome Rakata who assembled a massive military force against this threat. Ultimately, the Infinite Empire won the resultant conflict and took the defeated Esh-kha to the prison world of Belsavis. Once there, they were imprisoned within the Tomb in stasis beneath the surface where they were kept in a conscious state though immobile where they were left in the darkness for thousands of years. In later years, Jedi historians came to wonder on whether the legend of grey-skinned warriors in the Outer Rim did not refer to the Taung but may had been sightings of Hallow Voice's followers. By the Cold war era, the security systems of Belsavis began to break down leading to the Esh-kha being freed from stasis. Onc freed, they began to resume their campaisng of ruthless expansion and zealous combat. Among their noted goals appeared to be releasing their kin that remain trapped on Belsavis and spreading as much chaos within the prison planet as possible. As time moved on, they continued to recover more technology and strange weapons as they attempted to return back to the stars.

Among the noted patriarch's that controlled the freed Esh-kha included Gore Claw who intended to free an ancient entity known as the World Razer that was trapped deep within Belsavis. In addition, they sought to take control of the Rakatan transportation technology as a means of escaping Belsavis. A group of Esh-kha also attempted to harness the great power of the Sith Dread Masters until they were freed.

Culure
In terms of society, their race's culture resembled that of a hive society though each individual retained their own thoughts and aspirations yet all being bred for a specific role that they were eager to fulfill. A caste system was present amongst the Esh-kha which included Force-sensitive simple minded savants, more numerous skilled determined warriors hat watched over them and finally the patriarch's that acted as leaders who provided their wisdom as well as decisions to their entire people.

Whilst their kind were individuals, Esh-kha were not named at birth but instead earnt their names through their actions. Thus, those members of their kind that displayed cunning were able to be called "Razor Mind", "Water Thinker" or a similar such naming convention. It was believed that this partly explained an Esh-kha's zeal in battle with young warriors seeking not only victory but an opportunity to lay claim to a name and forge their own identity.

Esh-kha appeared to outsiders as a savage violent species that cared only for the destruction of all other races. This hatred for other sentient species was believed to had stemmed from their tighly-knit hive-like society. It was suspected that the Esh-kha were simply unable to tolerate or even adapt to the existence of thinking of outsiders who only suffered their wrath. Their race only turned violent against one another in the most extreme of circumstances.

Appearances

 * Star Wars: The Old Republic