Elom/Legends

"I thought you people were demons of chaos. I realize now that order sent you to protect us."

- Ryannar N'on Dikasterar speaking to Kav Dryfus in an Imperial prison, as recorded in Kav Dryfus' journal

Eloms were short, stocky, bipedal sentients, with a thick pelt of oily, dark fur, native to the frigid and mineral-rich desert planet of Elom, located in the Borderland Regions. The primitive species had extremely tough skin, several layers of fat, and their hands and feet were coated by thick calluses.

As a result of living in dark caves, where the only light was created by phosphorescent crystals, Eloms had exceptional eyesight, though they could not tolerate bright light. Rarely leaving their underground habitats, Eloms were pacifistic and peaceful herbivores, despite their savage and fearsome appearance.

Although they were highly ambitious and intelligent, Eloms were often manipulated into becoming involved with illegal activities, due to their underestimation of the capacity for wrongdoing exhibited by other species. With an average lifespan similar to Humans, Eloms remained undiscovered for thousands of years by Galactic Republic scouts, although the species they shared the planet with, the tall humanoid Elomin, had made contact with the scouts long before they had even discovered the Eloms.

Biology and appearance
Eloms were short, stocky mammalian bipeds with tough skin under a thick, oily pelt of dark and stringy fur. They had several layers of fat, which had evolved to capture moisture&mdash;this meant they were especially equipped for life in the harsh, desert environment of their homeworld. Eloms' hands and feet each had hard, hooked claws, perfect for digging, and prehensile toes on each foot, which could be used as grip tools. The species' hands and feet were also covered with thick calluses which were a direct result from the rigorous lives they lived. Because of their subterranean existence, in which phosphorescent crystals were the only source of light, Eloms had exceptional night vision. However, their small, beady, dark eyes, which were located on the far sides of their faces, were easily overpowered by bright light, sometimes to the extent that it incapacitated them. The sturdy beings also had two rock hard, sharp tusks protruding from their mouths, with thick, pouchy jowls in which they were able to store food. Averaging at a height of roughly one and a half meters when fully grown, Eloms evolved in a dry environment, and their biological systems were adapted for desert survival. Eloms had the ability to move quickly, even when laden down with a heavy load. Some Eloms were also known to have had long, white tails which almost reached their feet.

Eloms physical appearance developed at a rate similar to a Human's: considered younglings until the age of eleven standard years, they were regarded as full adults by the age of seventeen. Once they had reached fifty to sixty years of age they were considered middle-aged, while Eloms who reached sixty-five years old were considered old. Eloms living past ninety-five were considered venerable.

Society and culture
Eloms were an extremely peaceful and unsophisticated species who lived deep beneath the surface of their homeworld. Strict herbivores, the Eloms were content to live in their underground homes, raising their young and harvesting hard-shell rockmelons and crystalweeds. The Eloms never held a grudge against the Elomin, despite the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of their horned counterparts. Throughout their history, Eloms developed a strong sense of community along with a great need for belonging. Although they were highly intelligent and ambitious, Eloms often underestimated the capacity for wrongdoing exhibited by other species and therefore were often able to be manipulated by others to do their bidding. Eloms were generally easygoing, kind, forgiving and eager to learn. Eloms organized themselves into small towns, called cseria. Every year, each cseria would meet to resolve problems and trade goods. During the reign of the Empire, the cseria tried to prevent their communities from being dragged into war.

Although they found it difficult, it was possible for an Elom to learn how to read and write Basic. They could also read and write their own language, which was also known as Elom.

Common Elom names included Broig, Gossof, Oront, Qurgg, Skona, Trugbuz and Ukskul.

History
"They were huge, hairy, tusked, and putrid smelling. Foul beasts, damned of chaos."

- The Elomin's original perception of their neighbors, as noted in Ryannar N'on Dikasterar's journals.

Eloms evolved on the frigid, mineral-rich desert world of Elom along with the Elomin, which were a tall, humanoid race with horns similar to those of a Zabrak. The two species lived for centuries in ignorance of each other&mdash;the technological Elomin lived on the surface while the primitive society of the Eloms developed deep beneath the planet's surface. The Eloms were believed to have died out when the world turned to permanent drought.

The Eloms, however, did not always live in their city-like caverns&mdash;they originally lived on the surface, but when the water levels dropped dangerously low over the course of several millennia, the Eloms gradually developed into a subterranean species. Their hard claws were able to unearth succulent roots and natural springs, giving the primitive Elom society a source of water, and a chance to survive the potentially fatal climate shift. The Eloms settled in huge caves, illuminated by exotic phosphorescent crystals. These crystals made the transition of living underground far easier for the Elom, but their vision deteriorated over several generations, until it reached the point that bright light almost blinded Eloms, and they only ever ventured towards the surface during darkness.

When Old Republic scouts first discovered the planet, the Elomin made contact with them, trading their rich mineral deposits for large amounts of water&mdash;both the Elomin and Eloms were suffering from a terrible drought, and although the water helped save the Elomin, many Eloms died during the drought as they were unknown to the outsiders.

Elomin explorers found evidence of Elom caves in the rugged A'driannamieq Mountains. The Elomins had very rigid perceptions of order and structure in their lives, and the notion of their planet being inhabited by another species was extremely difficult for them to come to terms with. The Elomin explorers did not report their findings to the Elomin Council, and the two species continued to live with no interaction.

Several centuries after the Republic first landed on their native planet, Eloms were discovered by the Elomin after a mining accident. The Elomin had been mining lommite, an important element in the manufacture of transparisteel, when a shaft collapsed into a tunnel inhabited by Eloms. The Eloms gained the Elomin's trust after they rescued the group of injured miners. The Elom were uninterested in what the Elomin had to offer, preferring their pacifist lifestyle to technology and exploration. The Elomin originally thought the Eloms were a trainable species, using them as cheap slave labor in the mines; however, once Republic xenosociologists studied them, they were discovered to be sentient. After months of negotiating with the Republic and despite the objections of the Elomin, the Eloms were awarded territorial rights to a large tract of desert and full sentient species status, to which they were quietly pleased. The Elomin's resentment of Eloms soon passed&mdash;the peaceful, unsophisticated Eloms had accepted their neighbors with open arms, despite their previous poor treatment. As well as that, the Elom were uninterested in getting involved in the Elomin's offworld business dealings&mdash;they were content to live as they had done for many centuries. For the most part, the two species lived as they had done before discovering each other&mdash;the Eloms lived in their subterranean caverns while the Elomin lived in industrial settlements above ground, both keeping their distance.

When the Empire rose to power, the Eloms, as well as the Elomin, were turned into slaves, and the land rights and treaties given to them by the Republic were revoked. The quiet cave dwellers once again found their world ripped apart. Those that had evaded the Empire retreated to deeper, darker caves, and the young Eloms would often stage "mining accidents," rescuing Elomin slaves and leading them to their caves. The older Eloms often frowned upon this recklessness. The Imperials often hunted Eloms for sport; one of those who did so was Kurlen Flennic, later a Moff in the Imperial Remnant. Because of the actions of the Empire, many Eloms were sympathetic to the Rebel Alliance, who sent commandos to Elom to help them liberate entire slave camps, leading them to their massive cavernous cities hidden at the center of deep labyrinths.

Following the creation of the New Republic, Eloms and Elomin became more integrated&mdash;the Elomin were extremely grateful to their neighbors for rescuing so many of them during the Emperor's reign. Many Elom youths left to seek their fortune above ground or among the stars, though they often became criminals. During the New Republic's regime, the Shi'ido anthropologist Mammon Hoole included an entry on the Eloms in his publication The Essential Guide to Alien Species.

Elom in the galaxy
"I was hunting Eloms decades before you were even born."

- Kurlen Flennic

Elom rarely left their homeworld, or even their cave communities, of their own accord. Ignorant in the ways of the outside world, those that did leave often ended up working as criminals. Elom thugs, bounty hunters and pirates were not uncommon throughout the Galaxy, though Eloms never rose to positions of power in the underworld. These criminal Eloms sometimes displayed hyper-accelerated and sociopathic tendencies, possibly as a result of physiological changes brought on by being so far from fellow Eloms and their peaceful cave habitats. Another theory put forward by cultural anthropologists was that, because of Eloms' strong sense of community and need for belonging, these criminal Eloms had simply fallen in with the wrong crowd; they were only following the lead of other, more manipulative beings, and would not have committed crimes if they had not been ordered to.

Most of the criminal Eloms did not leave of their own accord&mdash;those that did often became scouts or fringers. Some Eloms also became tour guides on planets similar to their own. After the dissolution of the Empire, many young Elom departed their homeworld due to their ambitious, intelligent nature, yet they often became lonely. Many Eloms served the Rebellion and New Republic military, though they sought to work directly with other members of their species. Eloms serving the Rebel Alliance proved to be experts in adapting stolen Imperial equipment for use by the Rebellion soldiers.

The earliest known sighting of an offworld Elom was in 4000 BBY, where an Elom pirate was known to serve on the crew of the Marauder Starjacker, a pirate ship captained by Finhead Stonebone. They were known to raid Ithullan ore-haulers in Stenness Node, and around 4,000 BBY they enraged Great Bogga the Hutt, the ruler of the Stenness system, who was paid to protect these ships. Bogga told Finhead and his crew to kill Thon, a powerful Jedi Master who lived on nearby Ambria, or he would execute the alien pirate and his men. Thon, however, proved too strong for the pirates, and he and his apprentice Nomi Sunrider drove them back to where they came from. Whether or not the Elom survived is unknown.

Prominent Eloms included Kav Dryfus, Tanus Spijek and Vigrriev. Tanus Spijek was a member of Jabba Desilijic Tiure's court on the Outer Rim desert world of Tatooine, acting as an informant for the Hutt crime lord, aiding him in his bets on the status of the Galactic Civil War. He had previously been a spy for the Rebellion, hired by the Alliance to carry messages between Alderaan and the Rebel base on Yavin 4. When Alderaan was destroyed by the Death Star in 0 BBY, Spijek found work in Jabba's Palace.

Kav Dryfus was a male Elom soldier, who fought against the Empire during the Galactic Civil War. He was one of the Eloms discovered by the Elomin during the mining cave in&mdash;he helped rescue the trapped Elomin, including Ryannar N'on Dikasterar. He ultimately died in an Imperial prison, alongside Dikasterar, who Dryfus had befriended.

Vigrriev was a thug and enforcer for Jabba Desilijic Tiure. He was stationed on Tatooine, but often traveled across the galaxy to fulfill the wishes of the Hutt or one of his favored lieutenants, such as Bib Fortuna, Revidjasa or Lleag'Mak.

Behind the scenes
During production of Return of the Jedi, the Elom costume was nicknamed "mole." Mole spelled backward became the species' name. The character was developed in sketches by Chris Walas, and was played by a background extra, wearing a full body suit and a mask.

Eloms first appeared in Return of the Jedi as a background character in Jabba the Hutt's desert palace. All subsequent appearances were also as background characters.

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: The Saga of Nomi Sunrider
 * Star Wars: The Old Republic: Rise of the Hutt Cartel
 * Star Wars: Republic 33: Darkness, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Republic 43: Rite of Passage, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Jango Fett
 * Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight
 * Rogue's Gallery
 * Star Wars: Republic: Show of Force
 * The Gambler's Quest
 * Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
 * Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand
 * The Jabba Tape
 * Shadows of the Empire: Evolution
 * X-Wing: Wedge's Gamble
 * X-Wing: The Krytos Trap
 * Heir to the Empire
 * Crimson Empire II: Council of Blood
 * Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 1
 * Crimson Empire III: Empire Lost 3
 * The New Jedi Order: Force Heretic I: Remnant
 * Star Wars: Legacy 1: Prisoner of the Floating World, Part 1