Anzat (species)

"You knew them all as children, forgot them as adults. Legend is fiction, myth unreal; it is easier to set aside childish things in the false illumination of adulthood, because the fears of childhood are always formed as truths. Some truths are harder than others. Some folktales far more frightening."

- Dannik Jerriko

Characteristics
The Anzati were a dangerous near-Human species with two tentacle-like proboscises that curled out and extended from their cheeks, with which the Anzati were able to feed upon the brains of their prey. With the tentacles retracted into seams along each side of their nose, Anzati were indistinguishable from any other humanoid species in the galaxy. Anzati also had regenerative capabilities beyond those of the average humanoid, able to heal wounds more rapidly then their fellow humanoid species.

According to the Jedi Master Zao, the soup that Anzati drank was the future, and thus, the Force. Because of this, a Force sensitive Anzati who drank the soup of another Force sensitive would strengthen his connection to the Force. It is unknown what would happen if a non-sensitive Anzat were to drink the Force in this way.

Telepathic tendencies


Anzati also had telepathic abilities that increased with both age and use, enabling the oldest Anzati, which could live as long as 1000 years, to completely dominate someone's thoughts. The closer they were to their victim, the more powerful the telepathy. They used this in conjunction with their proboscises to extract the brain matter of their prey, which they called "soup", "luck", or "Sea of memory". Their tentacles were inserted up their prey's nostrils and into the cranium, where the brain was sucked out of the organism. This action however, required time and could not be rushed. This behavior led to the nickname of "snot vampires."

Biological oddity
Anzati apparently had no pulse or body heat, so it remains a mystery as to how they transported their bodily fluids, or stayed alive for that matter.

Anzati in the galaxy
Being loners, Anzati hardly ever returned home. If they did, it was normally to mate, reproduce, or sometimes be trained as assassins.

Encounters with the Sith
It was believed that the Anzati encountered the ancient Sith species during the pre-Republic era, and it was from the Anzati that the Sith drew such barbarous practices as dining on bloodsoup on their homeworld of Korriban.

Anzati among the Jedi
Few Anzati were known to have become Jedi&mdash;exceptions being Volfe Karkko and Nikkos Tyris, both of whom ultimately fell to the dark side of the Force. It was believed that Anzati were of too violent a nature to be entrusted with such power as the Jedi wielded, and would not be able to resist using their power to drink the "soup" of those around them.

The Jensaarai connection
Tyris started a cult called the Jensaarai, which was based on Sith teachings. Tyris was killed by Jedi Master Nejaa Halcyon and the Jensaarai, although based primarily on Sith doctrine, were able to coexist with the Jedi in relative peace upon their rediscovery by Corran Horn after years of isolation.

Imperial era
An Anzat bounty hunter, Dannik Jerriko, was seen in the Mos Eisley Cantina in 0 BBY. He took an interest in a local farm boy and an old hermit who entered the cantina seeking passage off-world but stayed in the background when the old man began swinging a lightsaber around.

Feral Anzati


There appeared to be a feral species of Anzat who are capable of shooting out a ropey webbing to trap their prey, though this was only seen among the Anzati drawn to Volfe Karkko. They were believed to have been Anzati who went to Kiffex in reverence to Karkko during his imprisonment. Somehow he leeched their vitality, causing them to become degenerate and feral. They retained the ability to speak, but this was usually limited to single words and small phrases.

Notable Anzati

 * Dannik Jerriko
 * Volfe Karkko
 * Rath Kelkko
 * Akku Seii
 * Sajé Tasha
 * Nikkos Tyris

Behind the scenes
In The Essential Guide to Characters, it is stated that Anzati only consumed a victim's luck, and that a victim could survive. This is contradicted by most other sources.

Appearances

 * Star Wars Republic: Darkness
 * Star Wars Republic: Trackdown
 * Star Wars Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
 * Soup's On: The Pipe Smoker's Tale
 * Galaxy of Fear: Ghost of the Jedi
 * Out of the Closet: The Assassin's Tale
 * I, Jedi