Uvak

"Such beautiful creatures."

- Kaliska

Uvaks were a large, membranous-winged reptavian species with sharp beaks. They were native to the planet of Kesh, where they were used by both the indigenous Keshiri and the Human Lost Tribe of Sith for transportation. Uvak were known to become attached to their riders and could be temperamental when separated from him or her. On Kesh, in the time before the Omen crash landed, uvak riders, called Neshtovar, were highly respected members of Keshiri society and were thought to descend directly from the Skyborn.

Adari Vaal had inherited an uvak named Nink from her Neshtovar husband after he died. This same uvak is the one she used to escape the Keshiri mob and later during the Keshiri revolt against the Sith on Kesh around 4,975 BBY. Later, Vaal also rode Nink across the sea to Keshtah Major. Following the Second Galactic Civil War, the Sith Vestara Khai owned an uvak named Tikk, which she obtained in a competition at the age of ten years old.

Biology and appearance
Uvaks were large quadruped reptiles with large leathery wings, sharp beaks, and large tails. Like most predators, they had one set of emerald eyes at the front of their heads. A single uvak was larger than a full-grown Keshiri or Human being. Uvaks also had four digits on their paws which ended in sharp claws. As a reptilian species, uvaks were covered entirely in scales and were hatched from eggs. Due to their strength and stamina, uvaks were used as steeds and beasts of transportation in Keshiri society.

Each uvak was capable of carrying a maximum of two Human-sized individuals. The uvaks were also capable of flying for long distances across landmasses and oceans by tapping into a jetstream current in Kesh's upper atmosphere. However, long-distance travel between Keshtah Minor and the other continents Alanciar and Eshkrene was considered by many Keshiri and Sith alike to be very dangerous if not impossible. While uvaks were known to live on Keshtah Minor and Alanciar, they did not live on the polar continent of Eshkrene in the planet's South Pole due to its harsh and frozen environment.

Behaviour and intelligence
Uvaks were known to be temperamental and often developed a strong bond to their riders. Often, the deaths of their riders led many uvaks to become insane. Thus, it was necessary to keep them stabled with the relatives of the deceased one in order to keep them sane. Wild uvaks which lacked riders had a reputation for being sloth and hostile towards other living beings. Uvaks were also known for their intelligence and were capable of developing personalities. One uvak known as Nink was known to have dumped its rider, Zhari Vaal, into the sea after enduring prolonged maltreatment from the latter. Nink subsequently developed a warm and close relationship with Vaal's widow, Adari Vaal. Within Keshiri society, uvaks were regarded as a status symbol by any faction known to have ruled Kesh: the Neshtovar and later the Lost Tribe of the Sith.

Force-sensitive individuals were also known to be able to communicating with their uvaks. During Dreypa's rebellion in 2,975 BBY, the leader of the Doomed, Kaliska, was able to use the Force power animal friendship to convince a herd of uvaks to travel from the port town of Eorm to Eshkrene, in the south pole. By 37 ABY, prospective Lost Tribe riders had begun using the dark side of the Force to force their will on infant uvaks while they were still residing in their eggs. Their goal was to cause the uvak to "imprint" itself upon the Force-user, thus allowing the latter to claim the uvak for their own. The Sith Vestara Khai developed a close bond with uvak Tikk through this experience.

Pre-Sith era
Uvaks originated and evolved on Kesh, a remote planet situated in Wild Space. At an unknown stage, the Keshiri, a purple-skinned humanoid species who were indigenous to Kesh, tamed and domesticated the uvaks. The uvaks subsequently became beasts of steed and burden in Keshiri society. By 5,000 BBY, uvaks had become a status symbol in Keshiri society and only members of the Neshtovar, an elite political and religious aristocracy, were allowed to ride them. Uvaks had an imporant role in Neshtovari religion. According to Nesthovari cosmology, a group of gods known as the Skyborn had ridden gigantic crystal uvaks during the "Great Battle" against the Otherside, malevolent entities associated with death, sickness, fire and rebellion.

The Neshtovar regarded themselves as the "Sons of the Skyborn" who had brought the knowledge of the Great Battle and Keshiri's creation to oceanside mountains of the continent Keshtah. The Nesthovar used uvak steeds to unite the entire continent under their rule. Many Neshtovari came to develop a deep bond with their uvak steeds which usually lasted a lifetime. One Neshtovari Zhari Vaal was known to have mistreated his uvak steed Nink. In retaliation, the uvak dumped its rider into the sea and Vaal drown and died. His widow Adari Vaal, a geologist, subsequently inherited Nink and developed a close and amicable bond with the uvak.

The Lost Tribe
In 5,000 BBY, Adari Vaal's scientific research on tectonic plates challenged the teachings of the Neshtovar that Kesh's frequent volcanic eruptions were caused by the gods, known as the "Skyborn." As a result of harassment by the Neshtovar, Vaal and her uvak fled into the Takara Mountains. While flying over these mountains on Nink, Vaal discovered the stranded Sith Empire ship Omen. She and Nink also saw a man, later revealed to be Yaru Korsin, pushing his estranged brother Devore Korsin over the cliff into the Southern Ocean. During this incident, Vaal lost balance and fell from Nink but still managed to hand on the uvak's foot until it landed on a seaside perch.

Later, Vaal discovered the offworlders' mountain encampment and met Yaru Korsin. She learnt that the offworlders were a group of predominantly Human Sith who had become stranded on Kesh after the Omen had been attacked by a Jedi starfighter while delivering lignan ore to Sith Empire forces during the Great Hyperspace War. There were also 55 Red Sith and a contingent of Massassi warriors but these either succumbed to the effects of Kesh's alien atmosphere or were later killed during the Red Sith Purge in 4,985 BBY. Korsin convinced Vaal to help them escape their dire predicament. She agreed and led the Neshtovar to the Sith's mountain encampment. The Sith posed as the Keshiri gods known as the "Skyborn" and gained the complete allegiance of the Keshiri masses on the continent of Keshtah Minor. The Sith subsequently moved into the Neshtovar's homes in the capital Tahv. With the decline of the Neshtovar's power and influence, Vaal became an honored member of the new Sith government. Shortly after their arrival, the Sith took the strongest uvaks for themselves. A group of Sith riding enthusiasts also formed an uvak-riding club known as the Skyborn Rangers, which later developed into the Tribe's air force. However, the Keshiri were still allowed to keep most of the uvak population as domesticated beasts of burden. By 4,985 BBY, uvaks were also used to ferry water throughout Keshiri settlements and operated the pulley system that fed Tahv's aqueduct.

Sith Subjugation
Uvaks also played an important role in facilitating Sith efforts to administrate the continent of Keshtah. Uvaks were used to ferry Sith circuit riders to outlying settlements, who would consult with local bureaucracies which were staffed by former members of the Neshtovar. Neshtovar were also allowed to fly uvaks for work travel and visits to the Sith's mountain retreat. Following the lakes poisoning incident in 3,985 BBY, the Sith barred all Keshiri from riding uvaks in order to control the circulation of information on Keshtah. Many of the former Neshtovari became little more than stable hands and policemen. The sole exception to this rule was Vaal, who was allowed to keep Nink so that she could continue to visit Korsin.

Eventually, many Keshiri including Vaal and several disaffected Neshtovari came to oppose the Sith's rule over Kesh and formed an underground resistance movement. Their goal was to undermine Sith rule, force them offworld, and free the Keshiri species. By 4,975 BBY, Vaal attempted to organize a strike against the Sith by stealing their uvaks. The Keshiri resistance managed to assemble an army of over a tousand Keshiri and five thousand uvaks. By then, Vaal's uvak Nink was the oldest uvak at the age of forty and was regarded by the other uvaks as their natural leader. However, the Keshiri resistance's plans were foiled after Vaal's son Tona Vaal betrayed them and revealed the existence of the plot to Nida Korsin, the daughter of Grand Lord Korsin.

As a result, many members of the Keshiri resistence were forced to flee into exile, while the rest were killed. Vaal and around three hundred Keshiri riders and their uvaks fled across the ocean to the continent of Alanciar. There they were stranded on an island until they were discovered by the Alanciari Keshiri. Vaal and her fellow allies succeeded in warning their Alanciari brethen about the threat of the Sith on Keshtah. In response, the Alanciari Keshiri strengthened their military defenses and prepared for any Sith military invasion. By 3,960 BBY, Some uvaks were raised for rake-riding, having their wing muscles clipped upon hatching and being rendered flightless.

Behind the scenes
The uvaks were first conceptualized by John Jackson Miller as plot elements in his Lost Tribe of the Sith novella series. Uvaks were first introduced into the Expanded Universe body of canon as unidentified winged beast in Miller's Precipice, the first online short story in the Lost Tribe series which first debuted on May 28, 2009. Uvaks were first named as a species in the second Lost Tribe novella Skyborn, which was released on July 21, 2009. Their anatomy, physiology, behavior, and history were further explored in later Lost Tribe of the Sith novellas. This novella series concluded with Pandemonium, which was released on July 24, 2012.

Uvaks also appeared in the writings of Christie Golden, who contributed two novels and a novella to the Fate of the Jedi novel series. The novella Imprint explores the Force-induced bonding between the Lost Tribe of Sith and their uvak steeds. Uvaks also appeared in Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith: Spiral, a comic spinoff of Miller's novellas which ran from August 8 to December 12, 2012. They were drawn by Andrea Mutti, inked by Pierluigi Baldassini, and colored by Michael Atiyeh. In addition, they were also illustrated by the cover artist Paul Renaud. Pablo Hidalgo's The Essential Reader's Companion, which was released on October 2, 2012, also included a painting depicting the Keshiri character Adari Vaal and her uvak steed. This painting was illustrated by Darren Tan.

Appearances

 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Precipice
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Skyborn
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Paragon
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Savior
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Purgatory
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: SentinelUvaks-Savior.jpg
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Pantheon
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Secrets
 * Lost Tribe of the Sith: Pandemonium
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 1: Spiral, Part 1
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 2: Spiral, Part 2
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 3: Spiral, Part 3
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 4: Spiral, Part 4
 * Star Wars: Lost Tribe of the Sith 5: Spiral, Part 5
 * Imprint
 * Omen
 * Ascension