Aurin

Grandfer Aurin was an elderly Umbaran who ran a used droid parts stall in the town Ferdan's market on the Outer Rim planet Dalna. The droid-monger was friends with the Path of the Open Hand member Marda Ro and often allowed her to use the table next to their stall to give gifts to passersby with her group of the Path's Littles. On one such occasion in 382 BBY, the child Eff sat on Aurin's lap as Ro preached about the Force to those in the market.
By later the same year, Aurin had become wary of the Path due to their incitement of the Battle of Jedha on the Mid Rim moon. The reporter Ric Farazi questioned the Umbaran about the Path due to their friendship with Ro, making them uncomfortable. When Ro later came to visit Aurin, they were unsettled by her and refused to engage in casual conversation, only informing her that her usual table was not available and that they had been questioned by Farazi.
==Biography==
===Ferdan marketplace===
Grandfer Aurin was a non-binary Umbaran who lived during the High Republic Era. They resided on the Outer Rim planet Dalna and operated a stall selling used droid parts in the marketplace of the town Ferdan. The droid-monger became familiar with the Path of the Open Hand religious group residing on Dalna, although they chose not to join them. At some point, Aurin met Path of the Open Hand member Marda Ro and enjoyed how she preached about living in harmony with and for the Force. They began saving a table in the marketplace for Ro and the Littles—the Path's children—that she supervised so they could give gifts to passersby. The Klatooinian child Eff became especially fond of Aurin's company.
In 382 BBY,Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia dates the events of The High Republic: Path of Deceit and The High Republic: Path of Vengeance to 382 BBY. Ro brought her group of Littles to the marketplace and settled at the table Aurin had saved for them. For the first hour of their gifting, Eff sat on the Umbaran's lap while Ro preached the Path's beliefs to any passerby who would listen. One market visitor—Jedi Padawan Kevmo Zink—used the Force to lift a river rose in the air, hoping to delight one of the Littles. Ro was horrified and began explaining to Zink why she viewed the action as an abuse of the Force, as Aurin and several others watched them in interest. The group of Littles and their caretaker departed the Ferdan market shortly afterward, leaving the grandfer's table behind. Zink died not long afterward while investigating the Path on Dalna, and Ro began experiencing hallucinations of him.
===Wary toward the Path===
Later the same year, the Battle of Jedha erupted on the Mid Rim moonStar Wars: Rogue One: The Ultimate Visual Guide Jedha. The Path's leader, the Mother, blamed the group's Herald—Werth Plouth—for inciting the incident to deflect accountability from the Path, although many throughout the galaxy still blamed the religious group as a whole. As a result, Aurin—and most of Dalna's other residents—began regarding the Path of the Open Hand and its members with newfound suspicion. The reporter Ric Farazi traveled to Ferdan and questioned the Umbaran about the religious group due to their friendship with Ro, making them unsettled. When Aurin insisted they did not want to get involved with the incident, Farazi eventually departed for the nearby Path compound.
When Ro visited Aurin not long afterward, the Umbaran was uneasy with her presence and informed her that her usual table was reserved despite it being unoccupied. They briefly told Ro about Farazi's inquiry into the Path but refused to engage in casual chatter with the Path member, fiddling with a micro-gyro unit and acting busy. Ro took her leave from the Umbaran and was disheartened by her friend's unusually wary response to her visit. As the Path member contemplated the information Aurin had told her, Ro experienced a hallucination of Zink in which the Padawan told her that the Umbaran had never trusted her, but she should brush it off and move on. Ro invited Farazi to reside in the Path compound during her investigation, telling the Mother that doing so would help soothe the fears of Aurin and others who had recently become wary of the Path.
==Personality and traits==
Aurin was friends with Marda Ro and enjoyed the company of her and her group of Littles, allowing one of the children—Eff—to sit on their lap. Although they had no wish to join the Path of the Open Hand, they respected the way the group taught about the Force. Following the Battle of Jedha, Aurin adopted a much warier perception of the Path and was frightened when Ric Farazi questioned them about the religious group. As a result, they limited their interactions with Ro when she came to visit. Ro was disheartened by the interaction, having believed Aurin would be friendly toward her. By 382 BBY, the Umbaran had an elderly appearance.
==Equipment==
While on Dalna, Aurin operated a stall selling used droid parts to make a living. Their stall had a table adjacent to it that they often lent out to Marda Ro and her group of Littles for some time. The Umbaran owned at least one micro-gyro unit that they worked on.
==Behind the scenes==
Aurin first appeared in the 2022 young-adult novel The High Republic: Path of Deceit, written by Justina Ireland and Tessa Gratton as part of the Star Wars: The High Republic multimedia project's Phase II. When asked about the usage of singular "they/them" pronouns in the novel for Aurin, Gratton stated that they had intended the usage to indicate a non-binary gender for the character.
The author added that the character may not personally identify as non-binary and instead may identify with a gender unique to their species that translates to the usage of "they/them" pronouns in the Galactic Basic language. For the purposes of the free-to-edit, unofficial online Star Wars encyclopedia known as Wookieepedia, Gratton was comfortable with designating Aurin—as well as several other characters in Path of Deceit that were not within the binary genders of male and female—as non-binary. The author also confirmed that the term "grandfer" was intended to be used a title for Aurin on Twitter. 
==Appearances==
*The High Republic: Path of Deceit 
*The High Republic: Path of Vengeance 
==Notes and references==
Category:Individuals with they/them pronouns
Category:Merchants
Category:Non-binary individuals
Category:Umbarans