Bardottan

Bardottans were a sentient species of scaled reptiles native to the planet Bardotta, and were a proud and independent people who were reputed for their mysticism and attention to spiritual matters as well as for art and music throughout the galaxy.

Biology and appearance[]

Bardottans were a sentient species of thin reptiles. Their lower legs bent backwards and ended in three-toed feet; their short forearms ended in three fingers and a thumb. Bardottans had long, curved necks that could bend in any direction atop which was a pointed skull with a beak-like snout dominating their face. While males did not possess hair, female Bardottans had thick feather-like fibers that covered their heads.^[1]

Some Bardottans had nostrils by their snouts, while others had them on crests protruding between their eyes. Skin color ranged from a variety of greens and grays, to orange, red, and blue; some Bardottans had mottled, striped, or spotted skin with distinctive markings of multiple colors. Eye color also varied between individuals, though all had black irises. The trait with the greatest variance was height, as some Bardottans stood a meter tall at maturity while others were over two meters tall.^[1]

Society and culture[]

Bardottans' natural habitat was at high elevations among mountains, and they built their palaces upon mountain peaks.^[2] Developing a society with a rich Force-tradition early on in their history, Bardottans were war-like demon worshipers in their earliest years, led by the Frangawl Cult in worshiping Malmourral. When the Dagoyan Order came to power, the Frangawl religion was banned and the Dagoyan practices of peace, meditation, and contemplation became socially entrenched in the culture of Bardotta. The Dagoyan Order represented the religious aspects of the Bardottans, while the Bahk-tov Council and the Monarch of Bardotta presided over the government. All education on the world took place in Dagoyan schools, though belief in the tradition was not mandatory. Valuing knowledge and spiritual devotion, Bardottans were scholarly and insular when it came to outsiders and sharing their knowledge.^[1]

All Bardottans were proud and independent, feeling shame when forced to ask for assistance. Cities on Bardotta were clustered around different academic and religious studies, studying in their own fields and sharing with other cities if asked. The right to education was earned through intense study and devotion, never handed out freely.^[1]

History[]

FrangawlCultist-FDNP — A Frangawl Cultist holds the Bardottan Sphere.

The early history of the Bardottan people was a violent and war-like one. Ruled by the Frangawl, the tribes of Bardotta fought for dominance, finding strength in pain and torture. When the competing school of thought, known as Dagoyan gained momentum, they slowly dismantled the Frangawl way of life and expounded strength through intellectual pursuits and the arts. Banning the Frangawl tradition and converting their temples and holy sites into palaces and meditative retreats, the Dagoyans gained complete control over Bardottan culture and established themselves at the reigning force on Bardotta. Under the leadership of the Bahk-tov Council, the planet elected a monarch who governed with the assistance of the Dagoyan Masters and the High Seneschal.

Undergoing a brief era of expansion into the greater galaxy, Bardottans settled several worlds, most notably Phu. The people of Phu and the other colonies generally continued their cultural habits of meditation and peacefulness, though tended not to be as secretive with their knowledge as their ancestors on Bardotta. Frangawl sympathizers also spread out into the galaxy in an attempt to revive their ancient traditions, gathering other species to their cause, such as the Ming Po and Zygerrians of Zardossa Stix.^[3] During this expansionist era, the Jedi Order began to induct Bardottan children into their ranks causing the Dagoyan Masters to accuse the Jedi of abduction and acts of war. This brought an end to induction of children from Bardotta into the Jedi Order, though other colonies were not as strict.^[4]

During the Clone Wars, the reigning Queen Julia and High Seneschal Peteen presided over a crisis wherein the Dathomirian Nightsister Mother Talzin^[3] allied with Frangawl sympathizers on Bardotta and Zardossa Stix to overthrow the Bahk-tov Council. Unbeknownst to the Council and the Queen, Peteen was secretly the leader of the cult and had facilitated the abduction of several prominent Dagoyan Masters to be sacrificed to the demon Malmourral. The sacrifice took place within an ancient Frangawl Temple beneath the Bardottan Royal Palace where the abducted masters were thrown into the gaping maw of a statue of Malmourral, and their Force energy was harvested into small orb like devices. One of the hostages was the Dagoyan Master Joseph.^[4]

BardottanCouncil — The Bahk-tov Council listens to a speech from Peteen

The Queen contacted the Galactic Republic for aid, and requested that help be sent in the form of the Gungan Junior Representative Jar Jar Binks. The Jedi, fearing a greater cause for concern from the kidnappings, also sent Jedi master Mace Windu. Arriving on Bardotta, they were received by Peteen and the guardsman Savatte. Although Windu felt a great darkness overcoming the planet, he could not pinpoint it. Eventually, Julia herself was kidnapped. Windu, Binks, and Savatte tracked her to the underground caves beneath the government temple, where Binks was kidnapped. Savatte left to find help, while Windu tracked Binks with a comlink. Meanwhile, a Dagoyan Master was sacrificed and harvested by Peteen. Binks was later freed, and together with Windu defeated the cultists and freed the other masters, including Joseph.^[4] Peteen, however, escaped to Zardossa Stix with Julia. Windu and Binks gave chase, and after several skirmishes with cultists and Mother Talzin, Peteen was killed, Talzin retreated, and Julia was rescued.^[3]

Bardottans in the galaxy[]

Mars Guo before crash — Mars Guo crashes during the Boonta Eve Classic Podrace

The Bardottans society was insular and secretive, though this did not prevent some members from traveling offworld in search of greater knowledge. Bardottans abroad tended to seek out academia and thrive in cultures with a rich history and an open flow of knowledge. While Bardottans were tight-lipped as a rule, those of their species that inhabited their colony worlds, such as Phu, did not practice this particular cultural norm.^[1]

A famed podracer pilot named Mars Guo was from Phu and participated in a Boonta Eve Classic Podracer on the planet Tatooine. Guo initially did well, and took second position during the second lap of the race. However, the first place competitor, the Dug Sebulba, tossed an object into one of Guo's engine intakes, crippling Guo's Podracer and causing him to crash into the sandy desert. Sebulba later crashed in the same stretch of land during the end of the third lap.^[5] A Bardottan taxi driver lived on the planet Lothal five years before the Battle of Yavin.^[6]