Yuvernian/Legends

Yuvernians were a sentient species of tall, two-headed beings, with each head sitting atop its own long thin neck. At least one Yuvernian had mottled yellow skin covered with dark spots. The Yuvernian homeworld was the planet Yuvern, where parenting in the species' society was carried out by groups called parental collectives. Cane Adiss was a Yuvernian who left Yuvern and traveled across the galaxy, becoming a spice smuggler for the crime lord Jabba the Hutt, despite the wishes of his parental collective that he focus on matters related to his homeworld.

Biology and appearance

The Yuvernians were a snakelike sentient species, and at least one of their members had mottled yellow skin covered with dark spots. Yuvernians had two heads, and each head sat atop its own long thin neck. The color of the Yuvernian Cane Adiss's spots varied, with one head and neck possessing dark gray spots and the other having ones that were purple in appearance. Each head had an elongated skull, and while the rear of one cranium took the shape of a round elevated ridge, the rear of its opposite number gave form to a thinner, more cylindrical protrusion that had wispy black hair falling from it.

Both of Cane Adiss's heads had blue eyes that were found on the sides of his heads, as well as a beaklike snout. At least one of his heads possessed a mouthful of teeth that included both upper and lower fangs. Yuvernians were considered large beings, with Adiss standing at 2.4 meters tall and measuring 4.8 meters long. They could not comfortably fit into the majority of the galaxy's light freighters, and Adiss was required to use the private elevator of Jabba the Hutt when in the crime lord's palace, as no other lifts were large enough.

Society and culture

Cane Adiss was a Yuvernian who explored the greater galaxy.

Yuvernians hailed from the planet Yuvern, in the Yuvern system of the Oplovis sector. Parenting in their society was carried out by groups called parental collectives, who believed that young members of the species should concentrate on Yuvernian affairs rather than on the outside galaxy. Yuvernians were allowed to leave their homeworld when they came of age. Offworlders sometimes visited the planet, including traders and representatives of the Galactic Empire.

History

Yuvernians were known to the galaxy by 6900 BBY. After coming of age, Yuvernians were allowed to leave their homeworld. One such Yuvernian was spotted at Fornax Station prior to 0 ABY. Another was Cane Adiss, who constantly dreamed of exploring the galaxy in his youth. He left Yuvern before 0 BBY with the Quor'sav trader Kal'Falnl C'ndros and developed strong piloting skills, visiting dozens of worlds. After parting ways with C'ndros, Adiss began working as a spice smuggler for the crime lord Jabba the Hutt on Tatooine. Before 4 ABY, the Imperial Oplovis sector fleet was in the Yuvern system and engaged a fleet belonging the Rebel Alliance. Adiss observed the battle from a starship of his own as the Imperials were overwhelmed and fled the system.

Behind the scenes

"I left 'parental collective' in as a broader hint that their culture differed from Humans and similar species in important ways."

―John Hazlett discusses his development of the Yuvernian species

Cane Adiss is the only Yuvernian to appear in Star Wars media to date, having debuted in Richard Marquand's 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi as an unnamed background puppet. He can be seen in at least one shot, when Chewbacca is being led from Jabba's throne room by a Gamorrean guard. However, the book Star Wars: Chronicles claims that Adiss did not make the final cut of the film. The CD-ROM Star Wars: Behind the Magic similarly asserts that the Adiss puppet was built for the film but is only seen in its "making-of" reference book. The puppet was initially painted orange with dark orange spots, and during production of the film, was the subject of a joke between Industrial Light & Magic employees. During a photoshoot of their creature shop, they hung a "NO HUNTING" sign on one of the puppet's necks.

Construction of the Cane Adiss puppet

Adiss's species was not identified as Yuvernian until 2006, when his backstory was developed for StarWars.com's Hyperspace feature "What's The Story?" by John Hazlett (writing as "jSarek"). Hazlett established Adiss as a Yuvernian from Yuvern, a planet that had been introduced in 1990's The Rebel Alliance Sourcebook. To this day, no photo or description exists of Yuvernians below their necks.

Hazlett originally gave additional details regarding the Yuvernian parental collective in his entry, including the fact that all adults of the species were required to look over a year's hatching of Yuvernian eggs in any given community. He also surmised that in the collective, the year of an egg's hatching was more important than the identity of the egg-layer. Realizing that he had to detail these facts unobtrusively in the context of Cane's life, Hazlett cut them early in the writing process.

Appearances

• Adventures in Hyperspace: Fire Ring Race
• Rookies: Rendezvous
• Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi (First appearance)
• Star Wars Manga: Return of the Jedi 1

Sources

• The Making of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
• The Art of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
• Star Wars: Chronicles
•  Star Wars Customizable Card Game – Jabba's Palace Limited (Card: Cane Adiss) (backup link) (Picture only)
• Star Wars: Behind the Magic
• "Who's Who in Jabba's Palace" – Star Wars Insider 60
• Inside the Worlds of Star Wars Trilogy
• Star Wars: Complete Locations
• The Complete Star Wars Encyclopedia
•  Adiss, Cane in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link) (First identified as Yuvernians)
• Book of Sith: Secrets from the Dark Side
• Return of the Jedi Creature History with Pablo Hidalgo on StarWars.com (backup link not verified!)

External links

• "Behind the Scenes - Cane Adiss" – jSarek's Infonet, John Hazlett's StarWars.com Blog (content now obsolete; archived from the original)

In other languages

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