Svivreni

"You know I will do my best for you, my good friend. You go into danger, and I wish you safety and success. The Svivreni do not say good-bye. We consider it bad luck. We say, the journey begins, so go."

- Tyro Caladian

Svivreni were sturdy, furry, short equinoid sentients native of the planet Svivren. Evolving in the rocky planet Svivren, they evolved as a sturdy species to adapt to the environment. They became a civilization of hard-working people with a natural talent for geology.

Initially members of the Old Republic, the Svivreni tried to remain neutral during the Galactic Civil War and developed their planet as an important trade point. In the days of the New Republic, the Galactic Empire attempted to conquer Svivren, but the Svivreni resisted through sheer obstinacy&mdash;a common trait for these aliens.

Biology and appearance


Svivreni were an equinoid, although humanoid, sentient species. They came from the harsh, mountainous planet Svivren, a world where seasons were extreme in any of its many climatic zones. Several areas, including the mines of Nalvar, were relentless with its inhabitants. Due to the severity of the planet, the Svivreni evolved as a muscular species, far beyond many other sentients; their natural suppleness was also developed.

Adult Svivreni ranged in height from 60 to 90 centimeters, very rarely surpassing the meter. However, due to their sturdy complexion, they were as strong as any human-sized species and, unlike other 90-centimeter species, the Svivreni could easily handle items created for longer arms such as blaster rifles. While their shorter legs prented the Svivreni from achieving the racing speed of a Human, the latter were faster than taller Noghris. This could be related to the cloven hooves that served the Svivreni as feet.

Svivreni had stout heads where proportionally big eyes and wide snouts stood out. They also had lifted equine ears that they could convulse in moments of particular stress. Each of the hands of a Svivreni had four triple-jointed fingers that gradually narrowed from the hand to the nail.

The body of a Svivreni was almost completely covered by short, coarse fur, except for the snout, the eyes, the hooves and the ears. The Svivreni also have a mane of distinct hair growing longer and stronger in the top of their heads and arms. Svivreni customarily never cut this hair, tying it in a ponytail instead. The braid reached from the head to under the waist in older Svivren, who could easily reach 125 years of age. However, this was not an exclusive trait of the elders: Younger Svivren including Tyro Caladian, by then a young professional with a promising professional future, achieved a mane also reaching their waists and his cousin Curran Caladian, who was considered a young sentient at this point, had a braid reaching his knees

Society and culture
"My ears are happy! It is the voice of my friend Obi-Wan!"

- Tyro Caladian

General behavior
The Svivreni were galaxywide known because of their obstinacy: Once a Svivren had reached a decision, he or she would very rarely change his or her mind, something that gave them a chance to resist shrewd sellers and even mind-influencing powers of the Force. As a collective, the Svivreni disliked when others tried to convince them from something they did not approve, and strongly opposed to this; they were also opposed to the mere idea of external forces conquering their home. Although stubborness was not universal among each and any Svivreni, most of the Svivreni do share this feature to a great extent: Several Svivreni mineralogists working outside Svivren were headstrong enough to defend their ideas in a brawl if needed; when they grew older and more experienced, they fought less, but became even more adamant. Historians agree that this personality was developed because of the important natural hazards and in the planet Svivren during the biological and cultural evolution of the species.

Svivreni also had a skill as miners and mineralogists, and a well-deserved reputation at this with some of them having become scouts due to this. Commonly, important extraplanetary businesses hired Svivreni professionals merely to manage and supervise mining projects in either planets or asteroids. The exploits of Svivreni in mining and metallurgics, particularly for the private sector, were as renowned as their resolution. The species appeared to have a talent to appraise the value of any mined material, from gems to less-valuable minerals. As Svivreni commonly had to use many tools, they wore working trousers with many full pockets and pouches; to improve the mobility of their arms, they resorted to sleeveless robes. For the Svivreni mineralogists, recognition of their peers was important, even though the collective could hardly reach quorum about who was the best mineralogist ever. They nevertheless recognized Saqc'or as one of the hardests.

Certain historians had compared the Svivreni with the similarly-stubborn Human settlers of Poderis but, although the Poderisans tried their best to improve the status of their marginal world, they never achieved the success the Svivreni had: The Svivreni managed, through sheer effort and dedication, to transform their harsh world in an important trading place with no less than seven spaceports, including one of the greatest available class. They bought food and pharmaceuticals from other worlds while selling computers, droids and other high and middle technology. With this, Svivren achieved a population of 8.5 billion sentients, including native Svivreni, Humans, Sullustans and a surprisingly big population of Ewoks in the times of the New Republic. Having become an important trading point, the Svivreni developed a traditional clothing for their traders, including robes and turbans.

Social behavior
As their planet had important traffic of aliens, Svivreni enforced strict laws forbidding any personal weapon to citizens and visitors, except for those carried by the well-armed Svivreni security. Beyond that, weapons were forbidden anywhere in the planet, although in the times around the battle of Endor several smugglers managed to hide important cachés of blasters in the area of Wrils. Violent action in Svivren was punished with immediate and public execution, something that, combined with the previous measure, helped to keep a very low crime rate and a very reduced presence of scoundrels, who found Svivren too dangerous to work in. Several other galactic groups also criticized the harsh laws of Svivren, notwithstanding their results.

Svivreni had several protocolary traditional greetings and farewells, depending on the relationship of affection between the Svivreni and the sentient the Svivreni was talking to. The most affectionate greeting included opening a hand, closing it next, and then placing it in the heart. Svivreni considered bad luck to say the words "good-bye" in any language, so the common words said to a parting loved person were "The journey begins. So go." When parting from a close friend, a Svivreni raised a hand with spread fingers and the friend was supposed to mimic the gesture, so that the Svivreni could press his palm with the friend's.

The Svivreni, a species that could snort, had a native language that could not be reproduced by Humans, the Svivreni language, due to their vocal range. Not all the Svivreni learned Galactic Basic Standard.

Aesthetics
Svivreni valued both the fur covering their body and the mane in their heads. At least two Svivreni were known to smooth their facial pelage with their hands when nervous or focused. The hair from the head was more important, and was customarily allowed to grow, never ever cutting it: The Svivreni consider that the thickness of it was a reflection of the person's intelligence and fertility. The elders, who could be easily recognized for their mane reaching beyond their waist, were particularly respected in their culture &mdash;however, as previously said, younger Svivreni sometimes also had very long hair. Many Svivreni tied their hair with leaves of Nalvar grass from the planet Svivren, as a sort of homage to their native planet. Others used metal rings.

Naming conventions for Svivreni included one-word names such as Mihalik or Saqc'or, and names including a first name and a surname such as Casin Mak or Kitalic Nirasic. Relatives shared the surname, as exemplified in cousins Curran Caladian and Tyro Caladian.

The Old Republic
The Svivreni evolved on the harsh planet of Svivren, in the Seswenna sector of the Outer Rim. They became resolute miners by fighting the harshness of Svivren. The planet Svivren was scouted by the Galactic Republic during the last millenia before the battle of Yavin. At some point during the Old Republic era, the species joined the galactic government. The planet obtained a certain importance due to their rich mines. The Svivreni ability for geology became famous and many of these equinoids left their world to work in that field. Others became Jedi seers and began roaming both the Outer Rim and the Unknown Regions. The natives who remained in their world made it thrive as a trading point.

During the years leading to the Separatist crisis of 24 BBY, the Svivreni considered themselves a peaceful species, and some of them were worried about the growing disorders in the galaxy. Senator Sano Sauro of Eeropha attempted to obtain control over the mines of Svivren and use them in a project to develop weapons, but this operation was illegal as the native Svivreni strongly and specifically opposed to the arms industry. The crime was avoided, but Sauro managed to avoid any responsability and, even though he was known to be the man after the plan, Sauro faced no legal or penal responsability.

Svivren was not directly affected by the galaxy-wide conflict known as the Clone Wars (22 BBY–19 BBY). After the end of the Clone Wars, the less fortunate planet Berchest tried to promove itself as a trading center, competing with Svivren; although prosperous, Berchest never became as important as Svivren or other important trading centers such as Ketaris.

The Galactic Empire and the Civil War
During the times of the Galactic Empire, Svivren remained a galactically important commerce center, with a certain Imperial presence but still governed by the Svivreni Trade Alliance.

The appearance of the Alliance to Restore the Republic in 2 BBY marked the beginning of the so-called Galactic Civil War. The Svivreni people, nevertheless, dismissed the conflict calling it "political infighting" and refused to take part in it. Nevertheless, many individual Svivreni helped the Alliance in their fight against the Empire, even if they would rather be working for private interests.

In 4 ABY, a Jeodu crimelord named Dequc attempted to revive the crime sindicate Black Sun under the new name of Black Nebula, and travelled to Svivren to deal with small criminal cartels and arm dealers who had slipped past the local security. Dequc went to the southern area of Wrils, where Imperial General Touno was unable to control the area&mdash;to the point of being unable to arrest Cevva Xuz, a Rodian with known links to the Alliance. Not wanting the Black Sun to thrive again, the Emperor Palpatine sent Mara Jade, the Emperor's Hand, to Svivren to murder Dequc, taking advantage of him being outside his more protected headquarters.

Jade, who wanted to atone for a failed mission, contacted Touno and pretended to be after Xuz, mostly to stage a distraction. Touno assigned captain Strok to help Jade; but Strok was a corrupt officer working undercover for Dequc. Strok and his stormtroopers tried to arrest Xuz publically, but Xuz's Rebel forces began a shoot-out in the streets of Svivren, which resulted in the deaths of troops and of several innocent bystanders. Strok discovered that Jade was after Dequc and alerted the Jeodu; thus, Dequc escaped from Svivren leaving behind a decoy who was killed by Jade. Jade then left the planet among the remains of the battle.

The New Republic
"I mean, we're not talking Svivren here, but even Ukio should have taken them a little longer to overrun."

- Samuel Tomas Gillespee

Several Svivreni mineralogists who were working for big companies severed their professional links during the first years of the New Republic to continue their career as freelances. They considered themselves good enough to choose their employers and even their prices, and wanted to be recognized by others. One of such mineralogists once worked for Executive D'gaat analyzing D'gaat's mine of Vendusii Crystals.

At some point, Senator Garm Bel Iblis lost a CGT sensor in Svivren; he would regret it later as it would have been useful during the Third Battle of Coruscant.

In 8 ABY, smuggler Talon Karrde pretended to be Syndic Pandis Hart of the Sif-Uwana Council, en route to important businesses in Svivren. Karrde did not need any forged document related to those fictional deals, but instead relied on the reputation of Svivren to impress an acquaintance.

In 9 ABY, during the Thrawn campaign, Imperial Grand Admiral Thrawn placed Svivren in the list of planets he intended to conquer specifically. Thrawn sent the Imperial Navy from Farstine to attack the planet Svivren using tactics of siege. The traditional Svivreni stubborness gave the natives strenght to organize a strong resistance. The Empire did not expect this and the first attempts of besiege Svivreni were unsuccessful. The Empire retired, but then sent more forces to occupy Svivren. The planet became an important problem for the surprised Imperials, as the invaders achieved little more than losing their own temper. This inability to get a victory was soon well-known; smuggler Samuel Tomas Gillespee mentioned the problems the Empire was having in Svivren and compared the situation with their easy victory in the battle of Ukio.

That same year, even with the Imperial blockade, Svivreni traders visited the trading city of Calius saj Leeloo in Barchest, apparently for business reasons. They crossed paths with Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, who was looking for clones working for Thrawn. Skywalker used the Force to scan the Svivreni, apparently without them noticing.

Thrawn's death soon afterward in the battle of Bilbringi meant an important breakdown in the control of the Empire. The Navy retired from Svivren, never having been able to conquer it. The Svivreni considered that their resolution had helped them in the attempt of conquest, and proposed to become even more determined about rejecting would-be conquerors.

As the Svivreni were clearly opposed to Imperial occupation, pilots from the New Republic found the planet compelling: Unlike other planets near Imperial Space such as Morishim, Svivren was a place they could comfortably visit. This situation eventually changed as the New Republic extended and the Imperial Remnant reduced, because those same pilots had more places they could relax at.

After the New Republic
When the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances was created, several Svivreni helped this new government, although they still preferred a job in the private sector.

In 137 ABY, Svivren was among the few planets in its area under the influence of the Galactic Alliance Remnant, sharing this trait with Sluis Van and Skynara.

Svivreni in the galaxy
"No, Executive D'gaat, your mine will produce only Level-001 quality Vendusii Crystals, of that there is absolutely no doubt."

- Unidentified Svivreni mineralogist

Svivreni commonly left their native world to work in the fields of mineralogy, geology or related, commonly hired for great corporations to manage and supervise mining projects in asteroids or planets. Several Svivreni considered this to be "field work" to improve their education and, when they had achieve enough experience, they began self-employment careers. Notable Svivreni in this situation include Saqc'or, a veteran miner who worked in the Moddell sector and was considered by the other Svivreni one of the hardest people in the business; during the years before 4 ABY, the Empire tried to forcefully recruit him to work in the Death Star project. Another important miner was Kitalic Nirasic, who had worked in almost all the fields of mining from Af'El to Vactooine and then settled in Bandomeer to create Southern Bandomeer Consolidated, threatening the planetary monopoly of the Offworld Corporation.

Some other Svivreni found their vocation as Jedi, leaving Svivren in the line of duty.

As the Svivreni had turned their planet into a trading post, Svivreni traders were also a common sight outside their planet, easily recognizable with their robes and turbans. Several Svivreni traders were seen in Barchest in 9 ABY, even with Svivren theoretically under an Imperial blockade. In the shadier side of business, Svivreni had also been scoundrels: Svivreni crimelord Torsteen operated in the borders of the Corporate Sector during the Galactic Civil War.

Ironically, Svivreni were less permissive with alien outlaws in their own planet: Violent crime and weapon possession were strictly forbidden. Senator Sano Sauro found strong opposition when attempting to use Svivren in his illegal plot to build weapons. Smugglers avoided Svivren, considering a too dangerous planet for them. However, members of the New Republic who had to avoid the Imperial Remnant commonly enjoyed in Svivren an amount of freedom rarely achievable in other planet.

During the last years of the Old Republic, cousins Tyro and Curran Caladian both worked as aides in the Galactic Senate of Coruscant, with promising professional careers at one point. Unfortunately, Tyro was murdered by a politician wanting to keep his secrets, and Curran became a fugitive during the first days of the Empire.

As the Svivreni opposed warfare, they tried to not take part during the Galactic Civil War, but they did not restrict their activities to their native planet, not even when the Empire tried to blockade them. Some Svivreni were members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and, later, of the Galactic Alliance.

Behind the scenes
Svivren and the Svivreni was first mentioned in The Last Command (1993), written by Timothy Zahn. The first named Svivreni to appear in a published story was Tyro Caladian in Jedi Quest: The School of Fear, ten years after the publication of The Last Command.

However, before that, West End Games had already expanded the background of the species in The Last Command Sourcebook (1994), by Eric Trautmann. Both Svivren and the Svivreni had descriptive entries and statistics, and the Svivreni were also mentioned in passing in the entry about the planet Poderis. The first published image of a Svivreni was drawn by David Plunkett. The text was mostly repeated in The Thrawn Trilogy Sourcebook (1996) and then again in Alien Encounters (1998), in the latter without a paragraph describing Thrawn's attempted invasion and a role-playing rule about their stubborness. That rule was also missing from the Svivreni stats in Heroes & Rogues (1995).

Wizards of the Coast's role-playing game provided different statistics for the Svivreni in Star Wars Gamer #9 (2002) and in Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds (2004), disagreeing about the size of the Svivreni for the purposes of the rules; also, Geonosis was unclear about the rules on this matter. A question in Jedi Counseling #69, in the webpage of Wizards, created a new "species trait" to work the difference.

Appearances

 * Jedi Quest: The School of Fear
 * Jedi Quest: The Changing of the Guard
 * Jedi Quest: The False Peace
 * The Last of the Jedi: Underworld
 * The Last of the Jedi: Death on Naboo
 * The Last of the Jedi: A Tangled Web
 * The Last of the Jedi: Return of the Dark Side
 * The Last of the Jedi: Secret Weapon
 * The Last of the Jedi: Against the Empire
 * The Last of the Jedi: Master of Deception
 * The Last of the Jedi: Reckoning
 * Mara Jade: By the Emperor's Hand
 * The Last Command
 * Specter of the Past
 * Specter of the Past