Underwater dweller

"Greetings, surface dwellers!"

- Squik, greeting Wicket W. Warrick and Teebo

The Underwater Dwellers were a species of amphibious sentients who had green, scaly skin and yellow fins. Some members of the species were short and plump, while others were tall and brawny. Many members of the species inhabited the Underwater Kingdom, below the surface of Sunshine Lake on the Forest Moon of Endor. Most of these lived in large caves where they cultivated their main source of sustenance, known as food pearls, with the help of the light from a large red pearl. Other members of the species terrorized their brethren by raiding them for this commodity.

In 3 ABY, the Underwater Dweller Squik rescued the Ewoks Wicket W. Warrick and Teebo after a devil serpent attack and took them to the Underwater Kingdom. A tyrant named Orcon attacked the settlement and made off with their red pearl. Squik and the Ewoks voyaged to his stronghold to recover it, but the gem was destroyed in a skirmish. However, Teebo gave the Underwater Dwellers a blue pearl that was even more powerful than its predecessor.

Biology and appearance
"I'll show that no good fish-faced&hellip;"

- Teebo, confronting Orcon

The Underwater Dwellers were a sentient species adapted to life in fresh water. Their bodies were covered in green scales and featured a musculature and anatomy similar to that of other humanoid species. Their faces had white eyes, small depressions where the nose of other beings might be, and expressive brows. Yellow fins grew in several locations along the body: the back of the head, the sides of the cheeks, the insides of the forearms, the length of the spine, and the tip of the tail. They had three clawed digits on each webbed hand and foot. Members of the species could breathe and speak both in and out of water, and they were strong swimmers, able to withstand powerful currents.

The species came in two major variations that differed primarily in size: one group stood about a meter tall on average, while the other was almost twice that height. The shorter group were pudgy, with limbs relatively short in proportion to the body, whereas the taller group were muscular, with normal humanoid dimensions. Both groups had strong jaws capable of eating hard pearls, but the taller members of the species also made use of sharp teeth. Whereas the shorter Underwater Dwellers had green bellies that matched the rest of their coloration, the taller variants had yellow stomachs that displayed a pattern of deep striations.

Society and culture
A group of Underwater Dwellers lived in the Underwater Kingdom, a polity deep beneath the surface of Sunshine Lake on the Forest Moon of Endor. Their main settlement was a large grotto accessible only through an underwater opening. Their caves were littered with shiny, yellow food pearls, which they carved up with knives and ate as their main source of nourishment. The light emitted by a large, red pearl fostered the growth of these foodstuffs until it was replaced by an even more potent blue pearl in 3 ABY. The Underwater Dwellers considered these luminescent pearls their most important cultural possession and kept them hidden in a large shell. Meanwhile, a bigger member of the species, Orcon, lived alone in his personal stronghold, a cave within an underwater mountain.

Endor's Underwater Dwellers had access to simple technology such as knives, nets, and tridents. They tamed lake creatures such as devil serpents and water wallocks as mounts and attack beasts, and even knew how to summon these creatures by blowing through shells. Orcon had a trident with which he controlled his personal devil serpent.

The denizens of the Underwater Kingdom were vulnerable to raiders. The smaller Underwater Dwellers, for example, had to contend with Orcon, who demanded tribute in the form of food pearls. Orcon was capable of ignoring the pleas of his victims and of showing no remorse when he took all of their food pearls and left his cousins to starve.

Although their aquatic lifestyle kept them from encountering terrestrial sentient species with any regularity, the Underwater Dwellers were generally welcoming and hospitable to such strangers, whom they called surface dwellers. Food pearls were a common gift offered to such guests. Other members of the species, however, demanded that strangers treat them with the utmost respect and grew irked at perceived slights. Endor's Uderwater Dwellers were able to speak and comprehend Ewokese.

History
"Why&hellip;our food pearls are glowing brighter than ever! The blue pearl must have greater strength than our red one!"

- Squik

The Underwater Dwellers of Endor established the Underwater Kingdom under the surface of Sunshine Lake. They learned to cultivate food pearls and chose the lake's submarine grottos as their homes. They tamed the native creatures of the lake as beasts of burden and mounts.

At some point, a larger, more aggressive Underwater Dweller named Orcon took up residence in a large, underwater stronghold. He relied on his smaller brethren for food pearls and survived by raiding their grottos on his personal devil serpent. The smaller Underwater Dwellers quickly learned that giving in to his demands was a sure way to make him leave, and they grew inured to his despoliations.

In 3 ABY, an Underwater Dweller named Squik discovered two Ewoks sinking into the lake. He rescued them from drowning and dragged them into his people's underwater lair. The Underwater Dwellers welcomed the Ewoks, who called themselves Teebo and Wicket, and showed them around their home. However, the tour was interrupted with the appearance of Orcon astride a devil serpent. Orcon demanded food pearls, and the smaller Underwater Dwellers complied. Nonetheless, Orcon was not satisfied, and the Ewoks pleaded for him to leave. The large underwater dweller took umbrage to their remarks and commanded his devil serpent to blast all present with its energy beams. The resulting fracas unearthed the red pearl, and Orcon absconded with this new prize.

The smaller Underwater Dwellers despaired that the loss of the pearl would spell their doom, but Wicket formulated a plan to recover the jewel. He fashioned makeshift helmets for himself and Teebo from bubble plants, while Squik summoned two water wallocks for the Ewoks to ride. Squik guided the Ewoks to Orcon's stronghold, where they snuck past his devil serpent and entered his cave. There the Ewoks attacked Orcon and wrestled the red pearl away. The large Underwater Dweller summoned his attack beast and commanded it to strike at the interlopers. Squik then took the red pearl and acted as a diversion while Wicket and Teebo swung by on vines and swiped Orcon's trident of command. The ploy worked, and Wicket ordered the serpent to attack its former master. The red pearl was destroyed in the commotion.

Squik despaired that the loss of the pearl would truly spell the end of his people. However, back at the Underwater Kingdom's main grotto, Teebo presented a blue pearl he had found to his new allies to cheer them up. To everyone's surprise, it had an even more powerful effect over the food pearls than its red counterpart had previously.

Behind the scenes
"Travel to the underside of Endor and&hellip;the Underwater Kingdom!"

- David Manak

This unnamed amphibious species appears in Ewoks 9: The Underwater Kingdom, a Marvel comic book written by David Manak and illustrated by Warren Kremer. The story leaves the real name of the species a mystery and reveals only scant information about their society. The comic also fails to establish why some Underwater Dwellers are short and chubby while others are tall and muscular. The variation may represent juveniles and adults, two distinct races, or even two different species.

Similarly, no information is provided about the Underwater Dwellers' origins. Other sources suggest that they did not evolve on Endor and are instead from another planet. For example, Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds lists only Ewoks and Yuzzums as native to the Forest Moon. Similarly, "Castaways of Endor" adds only Duloks to this company. Nevertheless, these two works, along with "Endor and the Moddell Sector," provide a rationale for the moon's myriad other sentients: such beings are offworlders who crash landed there after falling prey to Endor's massive gravity shadow and large screen of space detritus. Nevertheless, no source explicitly describes the Underwater Dwellers as hailing from another planet, so they cannot be ruled out entirely as natives of the moon.

Appearances

 * Ewoks 9: The Underwater Kingdom