Pria

"[The Priapulin] even tell time in terms of the tidal shifts of their world; one tidal hour equals ten galactic standard hours."

―The Essential Guide to Alien Species^[4]

Pria was a Core Worlds planet that was the homeworld of the sentient Priapulin species. A tectonically active waterworld, it featured oceans and polar ice caps, with the majority of the Priapulin population living in atolls and tidal flats. Pria had a single moon, and its tidal cycles equalled almost exactly ten standard hours, giving rise to the Priapulins using tidal hours as a unit of time.

The Priapulin society was inherently cooperative, and they maintained symbiotic relationships with several types of creatures of varying sentience—including the crasti, which served the Priapulins as food while using their digestive tracts in their reproductive cycle. The Priapulins were deeply pacifistic and also had a long history of space travel, with Priapulin starships often being modified to support their aquatic physiology. Pria fell into a state of disrepair and neglect during the reign of the Galactic Empire, but during the existence of its successor, the New Republic, the Priapulins were rebuilding their homeworld.

Description[]

Pria was a terrestrial planet^[2] located in the Pria system. It lay in the Arrowhead region, a part of the Slice portion of the Core Worlds.^[1] Pria was circled by a single moon, which, according to the planet's native Priapulin species, maintained a "perfect" orbit. The local day on Pria lasted twenty standard hours and three seconds.^[2]

Priapulin-TEGAS — The Priapulins evolved on Pria.

Pria was a tectonically active waterworld.^[3] Its surface featured a chaotic collection of landmasses that were shifting and were affected by a rapid drift of tectonic plates, growth of polar ice caps, and a cycle of ice ages, with geologists estimating that the latter occurred every ten thousand standard years. Pria had briny oceans along the bottoms of which ran trenches. At the surface level there were multiple atolls and tidal flats. In addition, early Priapulin explorations of dry sea beds were believed to have led to their adoption of the unit of distance known as salt pan.^[2]

By the time of the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy,^[2] which began in 25 ABY,^[5] tidal cycles on Pria had for several decades equaled nearly exactly ten standard hours. Meteorologically, Pria was a turbulent world, and its oceans were stormy and maelstrom-like. However, temperatures on the planet were moderate, with the Priapulins consequently not being well-adapted for cool conditions. Pria's oceans were inhabited by a variety of fauna ranging from harmless to particularly lethal, and xenobiologists theorized that the Priapulins had evolved from burrowing worm-like creatures.^[2]

History[]

Some sentientologists speculated that the Priapulin society's strict adherence to pacifism was a consequence of a near-catastrophe that almost caused the extinction of the species.^[2] Long before the reign of the New Republic,^[4] which was formed in 4 ABY,^[5] the Priapulins developed space travel,^[4] and the species was known offworld^[6] by 990 BBY.^[6]^[7] At some point by 29 BBY,^[8] the Priapulin future pilot Charza Kwinn left Pria at a relatively young age in order to find his destiny in the wider galaxy, eventually becoming an auxiliary of the Jedi Order.^[2]

Significant portions of Pria fell into disrepair and neglect during the rule of the Galactic Empire^[2] that began in 19 BBY.^[5] However, the Priapulins had begun the long process of rebuilding their homeworld by the time of the existence of the Empire's successor, the New Republic. At one point, a large contingent of crews allied with the New Republic and consisting primarily of members of aquatic species such as the Quarren, the Aqualish, and the Kian'thar landed on the planet and submerged into Pria's North Flows in order to begin reparation work—an event that proved to be particularly inspiring.^[2] Pria was also mentioned in an entry dedicated to the Priapulins in the book The Essential Guide to Alien Species, which was based on the notes of Senior Anthropologist Mammon Hoole and published during the New Republic's rule.^[4]

Inhabitants[]

Main article: Priapulin

"As on their world, the system of teamwork [the Priapulins] maintain among their spaceship crews is distinctly symbiotic."

―The Essential Guide to Alien Species^[4]

Pria was the homeworld of the Priapulins, a species of sentient, worm-like^[2] gastropod. The Priapulins reached four meters in length on average^[4] and spoke the Priap language.^[2] Although the Priapulins were amphibious, they needed to be in water nearly constantly, being at risk of quickly dying if subjected to arid environments, with a room that a Human would typically find to be comfortable being too dry for a Priapulin.^[4] On Pria, the majority of the Priapulin population resided in atolls and tidal flats.^[2]

The Priapulins maintained a symbiotic relationship with the crast, a species of small, semi-sentient^[2] crab-like^[9] crustacoids. The reproductive cycle of the crasti occurred partially within the digestive tract of a Priapulin: Priapulins ate egg-carrying adult crasti for nourishment and then incubated their unborn young inside themselves. After a time, a Priapulin would regurgitate—and thus effectively give birth to^[2]—and care for^[4] a new litter of crasti, thus ensuring the survival of the latter species and propagating the symbiotic cycle.^[2]

Priapaulin G8 — A pair of Priapulin among members of other species

Similarly as with the crasti, the Priapulins established complex symbiotic relationships with several types of creatures, both non-sentient and near-sentient. Many of these beings assisted the Priapulins in daily tasks ranging from the management of community duties to starship operation and navigation. Cooperation was a cornerstone of the Priapulin society, as was extreme pacifism, with members of the species abhorring violence. In addition, to the frequent confusion of non-Priapulins, Priapulin speech—even in the Basic language—commonly made use of Pria-specific terms such as "salt pan" for expressing travel distances and^[2] tidal hours^[4] instead of standard hours as a unit of time.^[2]

The Priapulins had a long history of spaceflight, although their physiology frequently required special accommodations when offworld. Priapulin-owned starships were^[2] uniquely^[4] modified: similarly to their abodes, the vessels were damp and often had their floors covered in saltwater. Priapulin ships were also filled with mollusks^[2] and living food.^[4]

Locations[]

Pria was the site of the underwater location known as the North Flows. In addition, the Priapulins established several outposts and research facilities along the planet's ocean floors and trenches.^[2]

Behind the scenes[]

Pria was introduced in the 2001 reference book The Essential Guide to Alien Species by Ann Margaret Lewis.^[4] The 2009 reference book The Essential Atlas placed the Pria system, and therefore the planet itself, in grid square M-10.^[1]