Shaliz'Na

The Shaliz'Na were a sentient species native to the planet Shar'Ack. The species had large wings, some with wingspans of 12 foot, and their bodies were covered in a fine down. Shaliz'na placed a premium on art of all forms, from music to sculptures to paintings. As a species, they were addicted to alcohol, and when conquered by the Galactic Empire, liquor was strictly controlled on the world. Some members of the species left their homeworld in an attempt to break their addiction; the musician Tyric was one such Shaliz'Na, eventually joining the Alliance to Restore the Republic in its struggle to overthrow the Empire.
==Biology and appearance==
The Shaliz'Na were a sentient species with large, feathered wings. Their bodies were muscular and covered in light down. Their facial features were Human-like, with head hair that was black in at least some cases. Some Shaliz'Na grew this down to their shoulders, held back by a patterned headband. They had talon-like fingernails, which were dexterous enough to play a synthesizer. The Shaliz'Na Tyric was 2.14 meters tall with a wing span of 12 foot.
==Society and culture==
The Shaliz'Na were a species of artisans, holding artworks of all forms in the deepest regard. Some, like Tyric, were prepared to take significant personal risks to protect that which they considered art. When offworld, Tyric would even accept sculptures, paintings, and other ornamental objects in lieu of credits. As opposed to the laser technology common across the galaxy, the Shaliz'Na developed chemically-propelled weapons, including slugthrowers and mini-submachineguns. Shaliz'Na wore clothes such as open shirts, with short sleeves decorated with hanging tassels, pants, belts and patterned headbands.
The Shaliz'Na were addicted to alcohol, and the Galactic Empire enslaved the world and their exclusive control over all liquor manufactured and imported to the planet helped maintain their control over the natives.
==History==
The Shaliz'Na evolved on the planet Shar'Ack, located in the Shar'Ack system of the Atrivis sector. The species became addicted to alcohol. When their forested homeworld was conquered by the Galactic Empire and the Shaliz'Na enslaved, alcohol became strictly controlled. That led to some members of the species leaving their world to recover from alcoholism. One such traveler was the musician Tyric, who devoted himself to traveling and music to try and break his addiction. He found support from Kelly Vermillion, a half-Human/half-Orlak, and together with two others, they formed the crew of the starship Menagerie. The group joined the Alliance to Restore the Republic, making its mark on the resistance movement. In that supportive environment, Tyric eventually recovered from his alcoholism.
==Behind the scenes==
The Shaliz'Na were created by Joe Littrell for the article The New Rogues Gallery: Unsung Heroes of the Rebellion, published in Polyhedron 59. An illustration was commissioned from Andrew Ellis to accompany the article, but due to space constraints, was instead published as part of the article The Living Galaxy: Flawed Gems Shine The Brightest in Polyhedron 63. At that time, the Polyhedron magazine was unaffiliated with LucasBooks, rendering its canon status ambiguous. In 2009, the species' home star system was referenced in the appendix of The Essential Atlas; however, according to Jason Fry, "its inclusion shouldn't be taken as a statement of canonicity for anything except the geography."
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
Category:Avian and airborne sentient species
Category:Enslaved species
Category:Outer Rim Territories species