Selkath are the native species of the planet Manaan. An aquatic species, they are very good swimmers and have the ability to breathe out of water. They resemble anthropomorphic catfish and have aqua-colored skin. In ancient times, their ancestors were slaves to the Rakata. Their planet has only one city above land, the capital, Ahto City, and it is the position of the Selkath to remain neutral in times of intergalactic conflict. Their laws are very harsh, and it is common for violence or attempts to compromise Manaan's neutrality to be punished by death. But some believed if the Sith won the Jedi Civil War, they would conquer Manaan. So, they made a secret agreement with the Republic to build a facility right at the kolto source.
All members of the Selkath race have venom-tipped, retractable claws. Similar to the Wookiees, the use of these claws in any form of combat is considered dishonorable and a sign of madness. A large, female Firaxan Shark, known as the Progenitor, is seen as either a deity, or even an early evolutionary step in the Selkath chain. This belief is similar to that of a mother Earth goddess, or mother "ocean" goddess in this case. After the events in Knights of the Old Republic, a Force tradition known as the Order of Shasa arose among the Selkath.
The population of the Selkath has always been low, even in times of prosperity, but there was a greater proportion of Force-sensitives compared to other species. The members of the Order act as seers, advisers, and elite military leaders in times of war. Their main weapon is a fira, a curved sword, similar to a scimitar, constructed of Cortosis and as part of initiation in the Order of Shasa. Some time after the Battle of the Star Forge, the source of Kolto dried up for reasons unknown and foreign groups abandoned Ahto City and the Selkath. As such, the Selkath gradually reverted to primitive ways, and abandoned Ahto City. When the Empire returned centuries later, Ahto City was revived, but the Selkath were enslaved. As in many other examples of racism and speciesism, the Empire polluted the oceans of Manaan and wrecked the environment. Darth Vader himself (a Sith who was closely connected to Darth Sidious, the Emperor) came to the planet, and soon started a quiet, but bloody, revolt of the Selkath against the Empire. However, he told several Force-sensitive Selkath warriors and Shasan Adepts of when and where to strike the Imperial Stormtrooper patrols. It is currently unknown whether the Empire put down this revolt, left the planet, or didn't even care.
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