Neti

"Tell me, Cade, have you ever met a Neti?" "Hard to meet a myth, Shado."

- Shado Vao and Cade Skywalker

The Neti were a species of shapeshifting sentient plants first encountered on the planet Ryyk. Some called them Ryyk because of the planet's name. Notable Neti included the Jedi Garnoo, Ood Bnar, and T'ra Saa.

Roughly four thousand years before the Battle of Yavin, the Neti left their home planet of Myrkr for reasons unknown. Afterwards, Neti never were a common sight across the galaxy. They had tough gray skin similar to plant bark, multiple thin branching arms, and thick body trunks. Neti foliage tended to be brownish or black and grew on the upper parts of a Neti's body. As plants, Neti survived through photosynthesis, though they also needed some water to survive. Neti were extremely long-lived, with an average life span of several thousand years. Neti reproduction only occurred once every few centuries. Seeds often remained dormant for more than a thousand years before germinating.



Neti were capable of changing their size and shape, apparently at will. A skilled Neti could morph its shape into a roughly humanoid solid treelike mass anywhere from 2 to 9.5 meters tall. When resting, Neti generally appeared as 5-meter tall treelike objects, but they were capable of maintaining other shapes and sizes, even when asleep or knocked unconscious. As a result of the Neti's infrequent procreation and long lives, their population always remained small and quite close to their homeworld.

When Ryyk was destroyed, only one Neti (Jedi Master Ood Bnar) was known to have been offworld. However, given the species' long life span and germination period, some Neti might have survived the destruction of their world, awaiting discovery in remote locations.

As plants, Neti had no need for food. They had a greatly reduced need for water as long as they had regular access to broad-spectrum light. Neti only had need of one-tenth the water of most other species, but if deprived of sunlight, they would starve, much as other races would when lacking food. Neti schooled in a special Force trance, presumably Hibernation Trance, could survive almost indefinitely in an area with natural sunlight and rain. All Neti were Force-sensitive and learned both the Neti language and Basic from youth.

Common Neti names

 * Frond Dra-loor
 * Shal Koom
 * Tuwan Urlu

Appearances

 * Tales of the Jedi: Knights of the Old Republic
 * Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith
 * Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War
 * Shadows and Light
 * Star Wars Republic: Darkness
 * Star Wars Republic 49: Sacrifice
 * Jedi: Aayla Secura
 * Star Wars Republic: Show of Force
 * Star Wars Republic: Trackdown
 * Star Wars Republic: The Siege of Saleucami
 * Star Wars Republic: The Hidden Enemy
 * Dark Empire II
 * Young Jedi Knights: Jedi Under Siege
 * Star Wars Legacy 25: The Hidden Temple, Part 1
 * Star Wars Legacy 26: The Hidden Temple, Part 2

Notes and references
Neti