Bitthævrian

The Bitthævrians were warlike, bipedal sapients native to Guiteica, in the Kadok Regions.

Biology and appearance[]

The Bitthævrians were tall creatures with heavily muscled bodies. They had a leather-like skin protecting them from physical damage. The color of that hide was typically sandy pink or a rusty brown, but variations were wide, including tan-colored Bitthævrians living in equatorial areas and dark brown or black Bitthævrians living in the north. The species also had a row of six sharp fang-like teeth, similar to those of the aquatic frist shark from Trandosha, which jutted from their mouths. These fangs were used in personal combat.^[2]

The knees and elbows of Bitthævrians were covered with sharp quills used in personal combat as piercing weapons. The quills were not particularly hard, and they were often broken or lost, but they were constantly replaced. As the Bitthævrian aged, those quills became more resilient and larger.^[2]

Bitthævrians' vision ranged into the infrared, allowing them to see heat sources (such as living beings or recently fired sidearms) in complete darkness.^[2]

Society and culture[]

Bitthævrian culture was based on personal combat and fighting readiness. The status of a Bitthævrian was based on his or her personal skill as a fighter, with the greatest warrior becoming the leader of their people. The leader was absolutely respected. People dishonoring a leader would be chased by Bitthævrians even if they left Guiteica. Being highly isolationist, Bitthævrians tended to leave only to pursue the most serious offenders.^[2]

The personal weapon of a Bitthævrian was commonly the dematoil, a customized morningstar with Bitthævrian joint quills attached to the ball. Every time a Bitthævrian was defeated by another in personal combat, the winner was allowed to take the loser's biggest quill from his arm and attach it to his dematoil.^[2]

Naming convention[]

Bitthævrian naming convention was atypical, with a Bitthævrian having three or four names. The first name of a Bitthævrian was the season when he or she was born. There were seven seasons in Guiteica: Giil, Quul, Aul, Zoul, Tweil, Jael and Quaal. The second name was the family name, which was inherited from the mother's maternal surname. A male Bitthævrian adopted a third name when married: his wife's surname. The fourth name (third in females and single males) was the Bitthævrian's personal name, used normally only as a form of familiar address, by friends, family, and cohorts.^[2]

History[]

Main article: Bitthævrian War

In approximately 65 BBY, the Bitthævrians started a war^[3] in protest of Republic interference in the Kadok Regions. From the start the Republic played up the threat posed by the Bitthævrians in order to gain allies to bolster its increasingly small armed forces.^[2]

BitthaevrianFighting-AIR — Bitthævrian fighting with Dematoil weapons

At length the Republic defeated them with an army of Jedi and Kaleesh. The m'Yalfor'ac Order, one of the biggest Bitthævrian armies, killed several Jedi Knights, but they were eventually defeated. The Bitthævrians afterward hated the Republic as a whole, despising its values and methods. Although they were also unhappy with the Galactic Empire, they considered it to be the lesser of two evils.^[2]

Bitthævrians also felt hatred towards any Force-user, due to the Jedi implication in their defeat, and towards Bothans because of the Bothan tendency to mislead, lie and avoid direct conflict, behavior which was anathema to the Bitthævrian beliefs.^[2]

The Bitthævrian planetary defense force, the Guiteica Militia, was rebuilt around 2 ABY, led by Colonel Quaal Tavier Catharius of the m'Yalfor'ac Order as a continental army in l'Quar'ta with support from the other fifteen continents of Guiteica. The m'Yalfor'ac Order considered the Rebel Alliance, as official heir of the Old Republic, to be an inherited enemy. However, their isolationist tendencies and use of obsolete equipment made them little threat to the Rebel Alliance; they mostly just became a headache for Moff Rhain Towith of Kadok Regions.^[2]

Vulca Minerals tried to mine yttrium in Guiteica, but the pushy attitude of Vulca officers led to a more aggressive attitude from the m'Yalfor'ac Order. The crisis was witnessed by a Vulca officer and later Rebel lieutenant Ayla Shar. After that crisis, Kadok Resources, a Bitthævrian-controlled operation, managed all of Guiteica's exports.^[2]