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The Arkanian dragon was a winged, semi-sentient species native to the tundra planet Arkania in the Perave system.
Description[]
Native to the frozen tundra of the Perave system planet Arkania, Arkanian dragons had two broad, jointed wings, long necks and tails, and two legs terminating in three-toed feet. The dragons were of sufficient intelligence to be deemed semi-sentient,[1] possessing a limited degree of reasoning ability.[2]
Covered in hardened scales which protected their bodies from most conventional weapons of sentients such as vibroblades; the dragons possessed the ability to spew fire from their mouths as a defense mechanism and could fly up to 3,000 meters at speeds of 140 kilometers per hour.[source?]
The Jedi Master Arca Jeth, of the Arkanian species also native to the dragon's homeworld, crafted a training technique modeled on the dragon's fast-striking attacks, dubbed "the lightning strike of the Arkanian dragon," which he employed in the instruction of his Jedi apprentices, the brothers Ulic and Cay Qel-Droma and the Twi'lek Tott Doneeta at his training center on Arkania.[1]
Eventually, the dragons of Arkania declined in numbers and were largely considered extinct as of 4000 BBY. Despite this, rumors persisted of sightings across Arkania, leading some to believe that they continued to live in small pockets in abandoned diamond mines.[source?]
In 19 BBY,[3] a young and energetic Arkanian dragon was present in the throne room of Jabba the Hutt's palace on the planet Tatooine, kept leashed by an Arkanian individual.[4] The dragon's name was also borne by the Arkanian Dragon, a Victory II-class Star Destroyer of the Galactic Empire.[5]
Behind the scenes[]
The Arkanian dragon was first mentioned in the fifth issue of the Dark Horse comic book series Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi - Dark Lords of the Sith,[6] written by Tom Veitch and Kevin J. Anderson, and published on February 14th, 1995.[7] They were depicted visually by artist Scott Kolins and eleborated upon by author Daniel Wallace in the 1998 Del Rey reference book The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons,[1] and made their first narrative appearance in Elizabeth Hand's 2004 Scholastic young readers' novel Boba Fett: A New Threat.[4] The Arkanian dragon was incorporated in the current Star Wars canon by Timothy Zahn in the 2017 Del Rey novel Thrawn.[8]
Appearances[]
- Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 5 (First mentioned)
- Boba Fett: A New Threat (First appearance)
Sources[]
- The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons (First pictured)
- The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
Drawing from the Imagination: Mythological Creatures in Star Wars, Part 2 on StarWars.com (article) (content now obsolete; backup link)
Notes and references[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons
- ↑ The Essential Guide to Alien Species
- ↑ The Essential Reader's Companion dates the events of Boba Fett: A New Threat to 19 BBY.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Boba Fett: A New Threat
- ↑
"The First to Strike" (original article link) on Wizards.com (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Tales of the Jedi – Dark Lords of the Sith 5
- ↑ Star Wars: Tales Of The Jedi - Dark Lords Of The Sith (1994) #5 on Marvel Comics' official website (backup link)
- ↑ Thrawn
