Y'bith

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The Y'bith (or "Ghost Bith") were a subspecies of the Bith. The ancestors of the Y'bith were merely Bith who occupied the domed city of Nozho on Clak'dor VII, but a civil war between that city and the planet's capital, Weogar, would inadvertently create the subspecies. Weogar launched a biological attack against Nozho, destroying most of the wildlife and killing many of the citizens. Those who survived suffered from mutagenic irregularities, leading them to be branded as "Ghost Bith." The Y'bith eventually left what remained of Nozho, and relocated to Clak'dor IV.

Bioengineers were able to stabilize the mutation of the Y'bith, but the beings took some time to adapt to their newfound genetic features. Developing their own culture, the Y'bith were never fully embraced by the Bith, who cited the volatile biochemistry of the subspecies which made them violent and aggressive. Nevertheless, the Y'bith strove to be accepted by the galactic community as a whole, and their city of New Nozho became a notable trade port. The Y'bith also aided in the rebuilding efforts that took place in the wake of the Yuuzhan Vong War.

Biology and appearance

The physical features that were unique to the Y'bith and not possessed by the Bith themselves were a direct result of the biological attack on the city of Nozho. The Y'bith featured orange, sensitive skin, poor eyesight, strong hands and feet, thicker bones, and ductile mouth structures. In addition to that, they possessed volatile biochemistry, making them prone to violence and aggression.^[1]

Society and culture

The Y'bith always strove to be accepted by their Bith cousins, even when faced with harsh refusal. As a whole, they resolved to not be satisfied with anything but acceptance from the Bith. They saw their story as one of success, and hoped that the galaxy as a whole would agree with their point of view. As a result, the Y'bith were constantly trying to prove themselves as a people.^[1]

History

At some stage in the early history of the Bith, a bitter rivalry brewed between two prominent cities on Clak'dor VII: the capital city Weogar, and the domed city of Nozho. In approximately 300 BBY,^[3] relations between the two cities broke down over a dispute pertaining to a stardrive patent. As a result, the Nozho-Weogar War broke out, causing insurmountable damage to the biosphere of Clak'dor VII. During the war, Weogar launched a biological attack against Nozho, effectively destroying the city, as well as causing mutations in both the populace and the nearby wildlife. Those surviving Bith that had suffered mutations were in a minority, though; most of Nozho's populace had been killed in the attack. The irregularities that were a result of the mutations were consistent amongst all the survivors, leading to the creation of what was essentially a subspecies of the Bith.^[1]

In the wake of the devastating attack, the survivors, dubbed "Y'bith," or, in Galactic Basic Standard, "Ghost Bith,"^[1] lived in domed,^[4] hermetically sealed cities that had been built in the ruins of Nozho. In time, they departed the ruins, and Clak'dor VII altogether, instead choosing to settle on the world of Clak'dor IV. There, the Y'bith established the city of New Nozho. While the bioengineers amongst the Y'bith were able to stabilize the mutation, the populace found it difficult to adapt to their new physical features and traits. The Y'bith were tolerated by the Bith, but they were never openly embraced by them. Although some would claim that the Bith's reluctance to accept the Y'bith was borne from guilt over the Nozho attacks, the Bith themselves denied the accusation. They instead cited the volatile biochemistry of the Y'bith as their reason for apprehension. Nevertheless, the Y'bith strove for acceptance not just from the Bith, but from the wider galactic community. New Nozho itself would eventually become a thriving trade port.^[1]

Y'bith in the galaxy

As they were constantly striving for acceptance from the galactic community, the Y'bith spread to worlds other than Clak'dor IV. As a result, they formed notable minority presences on worlds, such as Nar Shaddaa, and the galactic capital, Coruscant.^[1] During the Galactic Civil War, Graven R'ube, a member of the race, was present at Chalmun's Cantina, in 0 ABY.^[5]^[2] Later, on both Nar Shaddaa and Coruscant, they aided in the rebuilding efforts in the wake of the Yuuzhan Vong War.^[1]

Behind the scenes

NearBith — A Y'bith in *Star Wars: Yoda Stories*.

The species of the Y'bith first appeared, albeit unidentified, in The Star Wars Holiday Special's "Cantina scene." They would go unused for several decades, save for scant appearances in the non-canon computer game Star Wars: Yoda Stories, where they were used as generic non-player characters. In 2006, the species was identified and fleshed out by Evan Burger (writing as "ShadowCultist") through the StarWars.com Hyperspace feature, "What's The Story?" Burger, noting the visual similarity between the species and the Bith, decided to make them a mutant offshoot of the latter, and in doing so based their name, "Y'bith," on the original. Looking for a way to explain the mutation, Burger searched Wookieepedia for a suitable catalyst. He found one in the Nozho-Weogar War, which had originated in Troy Denning's Galaxy Guide 4: Alien Races, originally published in 1989.^[6]

Burger continued to build upon established elements in the Expanded Universe, including mentions of the Ghhhk from Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope, and the Yuuzhan Vong War from R. A. Salvatore's Vector Prime. While the mention of the Ghhhk was cut from the final entry, the Yuuzhan Vong War reference was kept. Burger's intentions in mentioning the war had been to tie the Y'bith into the modern Expanded Universe. When describing the physical traits of the Y'bith, Burger wanted the mutations to be both a blessing and a curse to the species, giving them positive and negative traits.^[6]

In order to further differentiate the Y'bith from the Bith, Burger wrote them as violent and temperamental beings, far removed from what he perceived as pacifist tendencies in the Bith. He made even more ties to the Expanded Universe with his mentions of Clak'dor IV, originally mentioned in X-wing Rogue Squadron: Requiem for a Rogue, and Nar Shaddaa, from Dark Empire. Burger originally named the capital of Clak'dor IV "Nozho II," in reference to Nozho from Galaxy Guide 4. The name was later changed to "New Nozho" by StarWars.com staff.^[6] Burger's entry was later used, with a few minor alterations to change the tense, in 2008's The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia.

In the Star Wars Blog article, The Star Wars Holiday Special Cantina: Who’s Who, the unidentified Y'bith that appears in The Star Wars Holiday Special was finally given the name of "Graven R'ube".