Duinuogwuin

The Duinuogwuin, colloquially called Star Dragons, were among the galaxy's most secretive and mysterious species. Though variable in apprearance, Duinuogwuin generally had serpentine bodies, diaphanous wings, and a pair of legs on each of many body segments. The legs on their frontmost segment were used as arms with fully developed hands. Their average length was ten meters, but some were rumored to be one hundred meters or more. Duinuogwuin were covered in scales which ranged from various shades or gray or pale blue to black in color.

Aside from guesswork based on observations of live Duinuogwuin, little was known of their biology, as they never gave up their bodies to scientific research. Instead, they went to an uncharted planet known as "The Graveyard of the Dragons" to die. It was believed that they had internal organs which acted as repulsorlifts, since their wings were too delicate for such large creatures to take off from any but the lowest gravity planets. Some Star Dragons had the ability to exhale superheated gases, leading to speculation that they also had internal organs capable of organic cold fusion. One of their most impressive abilities was the ability to fly and survive in the vacuum of deep space for weeks or months at a time.

Their homeworld was unknown, or at least unrevealed by the Star Dragons. Individual Duinuogwuin had been seen on such far-scattered worlds as Cona, Barab I, and Columus. They had even been sighted in deep space far from any planet. Though they had been involved with the Galactic Republic for millennia, little solid historical fact came down through the ages. They did appear as heroes and saviors in numerous, but contradictory, myths.

Duinuogwuin were known to have only one sex, though little further was known of their reproductive process. It was known that when two Star Dragons did mate, there was a good chance that they would produce unintelligent offspring, little more than ravening monsters. Such creatures would usually have to be destroyed by their parents. Others showed intelligence, but only in the form of evil cunning. Given the likelihood of having to destroy their own offspring if they mated, most Duinuogwuin lived in isolation from others of their kind. This might have been due to their highly variable genetic code &mdash; dragonlings could emerge with genetic adaptations which were not hinted at by their ancestors. Their variable genetics may have led to completely separate species to be descended from the Duinuogwuin. Krayt dragons were believed by some to be the descendants of an accidental concentration of unintelligent Duinuogwuin offspring on Tatooine. Another sentient species, the Kadri'Ra, were possible relatives of the Duinuogwuin.

The Duinuogwuin had reputation as wise and mysterious, helped by their centuries-long lifespan and their polite indifference to questions about their past or their physiology. They were generally calm and even-tempered, and often preoccupied with cosmic musings. They were also noted for a strong, innate sense of morality. While they were friendly and gregarious with other races, the minority of aberrant Star Dragons sought only to manipulate and destroy others.

Prior to the Clone Wars, the Jedi Masters Jorus C'baoth and Tra's M'ins mediated a conflict between the Duinuogwuin and the Gotal. Little about this conflict is known.

Approximately one third of Duinuogwuin were Force-sensitives, but they denied this during the Galactic Empire's rule in order to avoid persecution. Rumors persisted that some Duinuogwuin served as Jedi, but the destruction of the much of the order's records during the Great Jedi Purge made this impossible to confirm.