Noghri/Legends

"What the Noghri assassins of Honoghr lack in numbers, they make up for in skill."

- Urai Fen

Noghri were a primitive humanoid species. They had steely gray or blue skin, and were extremely skilled assassins due to their abilities in stealth and hand-to-hand combat. Despite their small size, they were efficient killing machines, with claws, fangs, and a sense of smell so acute, they could smell one's bloodline (as exemplified by Khabarakh's identification of Leia Organa Solo as Darth Vader's daughter and heir). They were much like the Wookiee species culturally, in that they respected honor above all else. Noghri society was clan-based, revolving around the dukha, or community building, at the center of each village.

History
"Oh, yes, Noghri&mdash;I know what you and your people are. The Emperor's private Death Commandos; killing and dying at the whim of ambitious men like Darth Vader and the Grand Admiral here."

- Joruus C'baoth

The Noghri were natives of the planet Honoghr. Long before the Clone Wars brought devastation to their world, the Noghri were enslaved by the Rakata of the Infinite Empire. While the empire itself eventually faded into history, the ex-slaves soon began worshiping the memory of the Rakatans, viewing their ancient structures as evidence of the gods' time on Honoghr.

The Noghri entered the galactic spotlight during the Clone Wars when their planet was ravaged by the Separatist toxin Trihexalophine1138. The contaminant had come from a downed Lucrehulk-class Core Ship destroyed in the spaceborne Battle of Honoghr, and decimated a vast majority of the planet's flora.



Soon after the conclusion of the Clone Wars, Darth Vader discovered the planet, and was dramatically impressed with the warrior skill of the Noghri when they slew his stormtrooper escort. Under the guise of "helping" the planet recover from the ecological disaster, he received the homage of the Noghri, as a result of which most of the young males of the planet became Death Commandos&mdash;the personal assassins of Emperor Palpatine.

The Noghri stayed in the lesser-known sides of the Empire that required Assassins, bodyguards, and generally shady occupations. Darth Vader appointed several to guard the planet Yalara's cloaking device, after subsequently taking out the previous guards. These Noghri would stay there until called upon. They were attacked long after their call, by two parties at once: the Disciples of Ragnos, and the Jedi Knight, Jaden Korr. These Noghri were faithful to the last, showing their loyalty.

As a reward for Thrawn's assistance in planning the Battle of Derra IV and in his campaign against Prince Xizor and Black Sun, Vader gave him control of the Noghri.

The Noghri remained in service to the Galactic Empire after the death of Palpatine. Lord Cronal captured some and created mutated branches of Noghri assassins, to guard Dromund Kaas.



About five years after the death of the Emperor, Grand Admiral Thrawn ordered the Noghri to kidnap the pregnant Leia Organa Solo. Realizing that neither she nor her children would be truly safe as long as the Noghri served the Empire, she went to Honoghr in order to convince the Noghri to leave the Empire's service. She was able to use the fact that she was the daughter of Darth Vader to convince the Noghri that the Empire had been lying to them and kept them in virtual slavery for many years. As a result, the Noghri turned against the Empire. Grand Admiral Thrawn died when his Noghri bodyguard Rukh turned on him and stabbed him.

Following the death of Thrawn, the Noghri came into the service of the New Republic. The New Republic helped resettle the Noghri to other planets, including Wayland, to give Honoghr time to heal. Leia and her entire family became very highly respected figures in Noghri society. Leia was later assigned two Noghri bodyguards, Cakhmaim and Meewahl, who helped protect her during the Caamas Document Crisis.

Attributes and society


"But it was so artistically done..."

- Grand Admiral Thrawn's last words, after being stabbed by his Noghri bodyguard, Rukh

As mentioned above, Noghri were notorious assassins. They also made outstanding bodyguards. In battle, they were exceptional in hand-to-hand combat. Their speech was very guttural and scratchy in nature, comparable to Trandoshans. The smuggler Talon Karrde came up with the idea of hiring out individual Noghri as bodyguards.

They had a clan-based, honor-based society and referred to someone by their family. Leia Organa Solo was known by them to belong to the same family as Darth Vader. She was then referred to as, "Lady Vader", or, in the Noghri tongue, Mal'ary'ush. Each clan had a Matrakh, or matriarch, the storyteller, leader, and lore keeper of the clan. A clan also had a dukha, or meeting place at the center of a village, where the Matrakh usually resided. Dukha were considered somewhat sacred, belonging also to the ancestors of the clan.

Noghri were also very loyal, as shown in examples where the Death Commandos and similar groups often willingly went to their deaths to fight against those they considered enemies. A conflict of loyalty was a major event in a Noghri's life. The Noghri bodyguards were a new tradition and group that developed after the race learnt of Leia Organa Solo's parentage. After that time, the Noghri became the dedicated protectors of Leia and her family with two such warriors always being nearby her, something she found somewhat frustrating and attempted to dissuade but this did not stop her vigilant defenders.

The Noghri bodyguards undergo extensive training as well as testing in order to determine which warriors gain the honor of becoming the guardians of the Mal'ary'ush, the daughter of Darth Vader. They would serve her and this would result on some of them being assigned to protect important people within the New Republic, something these warriors do so in order to prove themselves that they are worthy to be the protectors of Lady Vader. Such warriors considered their task a sacred duty which meant that they could not be bribed or blackmailed.

These warriors were trained in a wide variety of weapons and typically carried little more than a few daggers; believing that their environment would provide the additional equipment when needed. However, the pride of these warriors were their blades which were a mark of of honor as well as excellent weapons for they were well balanced for hand-to-hand combat and could be thrown with skill in battle.

The first trained Noghri bodyguards were honored with their initial assignment to protect a key individual and though they were skilled, they had much to learn. As they gained experience, they would often be added into elite units and deployed for military strikes an example of which was seen when they scouted Ithor. Once these warriors had distinguished themselves in their duties, they would finally be given the honor of serving the Skywalker and Solo family.

Notable Noghri clans

 * Clan Bakh'tor
 * Clan Baikh'vair
 * Clan Eikh'mir
 * Clan Khim'bar
 * Clan Hakh'khar
 * Clan Tlakh'sar

Notable Noghri



 * Adarakh
 * Barkhimkh
 * Basbakhan
 * Bolpuhr
 * Cakhmaim
 * Ir'khaim
 * Jhordvar
 * Kahr'corvh
 * Khabarakh
 * Khakraim
 * Meewahl
 * Mobvekhar
 * Mushkil
 * Olmahk
 * Ovkhevam
 * Plakhmirakh
 * Sakhisakh
 * Sirhka
 * Rukh
 * Vor'corkh

Behind the scenes
Author Timothy Zahn originally intended for the Noghri to be the Sith, thus making Darth Vader "Dark Lord of the Sith"; this idea came into conflict with Lucasfilm and was thus forced to change.