Arcona/Legends

Arcona, sometimes singular Arconan, were scaleless reptiles with humanoid bodies. Hailing from the desert planet of Cona in the Teke Ro system, they had poor eyesight, despite their large eyes, and had a small organ between their eyes which, often mistaken for their nose, helped them to see.

An Arcona's lifespan was roughly the same as a Human's. The Arcona lived in a family based community, where the males took care of the young, as the females were generally reckless and thrill-seeking. Despite not being a particularly technological species, by the time the Galactic Empire rose to power Arcona could be seen in every corner of the galaxy. They were also notorious for their easy addiction to common salt.

Biology and appearance
The Arcona had flat, anvil-shaped heads, sharp claws, clear, marble-like eyes, and skin tone that ranged from mahogany to ebony. Cona, the native planet of the Arcona, was always hot, and had very little water. The atmosphere was filled with ammonia vapor. The Arcona adapted to this environment by eating the ammonia-converting roots of the complex flora of Cona as a source of water (the only water planet-wide). The Arcona depended on the ammonia to live and, as a result, Arcona living offworld had to take ammonia supplements or risk death.

Despite their bulbous eyes, the Arcona had very poor eyesight. Their eyes could not detect fine shapes; and so they only saw blurry objects. To aid their poor eyesight, the Arcona had a small diamond shaped sensory organ between their eyes. Often mistaken for their nose, this organ detected heat patterns from living beings. Thus, the Arcona could recognize someone or something by its heat pattern. Like many reptiles, the Arcona had olfactory organs located in their ever moving tongues. This helped them distinguish objects in their environment that they otherwise could not make out and also gave them a keen sense of smell.

Arcona females were considered far more reckless and free-spirited than their male counterparts, and so the males usually raised the children. Arconas took much time courting a partner, and the commitment to marry was also a commitment to parent. Arconas were highly susceptible to salt addiction, which served as a hallucinogen. Their eyes shifted from green to gold after prolonged addiction. The Arcona lived in loose, family-based communities called nests, which were ruled by a Grand Nest.

Contact
Before they made contact with other beings, the Arcona were not technologically advanced. Although they eventually used sentient technology, they never developed any of their own. When scouts from the Old Republic first arrived on Cona, many Arcona were extremely enthusiastic about exploring the galaxy. Oftentimes, whole communities sought to travel off-world. As a consequence, Arconan colonies were quite common throughout the galaxy. After becoming used to other species' technology not present on Cona, the Arconan were commonly seen in every spaceport in the galaxy.

Before the Great Jedi Purge, many force-sensitive Arcona joined the Jedi Order.

Salt Addiction
Offworlders initially traded water for mineral rights, but soon discovered that salt was a highly addictive hallucinogen for the Arcona. Traders then imported large amounts of salt before communities outlawed the dealings. In the long run, it was only the Republic that saved the Arcona from pandemic addiction, passing laws which punished salt sales on Cona. Salt-addicted Arcona could be easily recognized because their eyes turned from green to gold. Because of the large number of addicts, many people believed that the natural Arconan eye color was gold. Arcona females made up the main bulk of the addicts, due to their free-spirited nature.

The New Order
Many Arcona were vocal supporters of the New Order, when they learned of its desire to form a united galaxy. This concept fit their notions of a perfect society. However, Arcona were present in the Galactic Alliance and the New Jedi Order; Vaala Razelle was an Arcona Jedi Knight.

Culture
Arcona normally thought of themselves as a whole. Virtually, they had no individuality. They often referred to themselves as "we" even when only one was present. Because Arcona were born in nests underground they obtained a close sense of family living in close quarters with brothers and sisters.

The language of the Arcona was Arconese, which came from their home planet of Cona. However, on off-world colonies, Arconan young were rarely taught Arconese, as they could learn Basic easily.