Lizard Warrior

The Lizard Warriors were a species of sentient reptilians who lived in a desert region of the Forest Moon of Endor. Members of the species had green scales and yellow underhides with yellow spikes running down the spine. Their bodies were humanoid except for a long tail. Lizard Warrior culture valued both martial prowess and hunting skill, and they marked the borders of their territory with totem poles.
Sometime before 3 ABY, an Ewok named Graak was exiled to the Valley of the Lizard Warriors. When he taught his advanced martial skills to the reptilians, they selected him as their new leader. Graak instigated a new system whereby strength and fighting prowess were valued over other attributes. In 3 ABY, the Lizard Warriors captured two trespassing Ewoks, Teebo and Wicket W. Warrick, and made them the quarry of a species-wide hunt. Nevertheless, when Joddar, Graak's lead warrior, was saved by the pair, he promised to escort them out of the valley. Graak attempted to prevent their escape, so Joddar overthrew him and assumed leadership of his people. The following year, the Lizard Warrior Dracos represented his people among the members of the Alliance to Restore the Republic at Bright Tree Village, home of the tribe of Ewoks who had helped the Alliance overthrow the Galactic Empire. Dracos trained in military combat for a time under a member of the Alliance, the Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker.
==Biology and appearance==
Lizard Warriors were sentient bipedal reptiles whose physiology was largely humanoid. The exception was a long tail, which began thick at its base and tapered to a point. The tail dragged the ground when the reptilians walked or stood, but it projected straight behind when they ran. The species' short legs and stooped posture made them stand over 1.2 meters tall, making them slightly taller than an Ewok. Likewise, they were roughly twice as long as they were tall at around 2.4 meters in length. Nevertheless, at full height, some Lizard Warriors stood taller than an average Human. Their digits sported sharp claws, four fingers per hand and three toes per foot. Lizard Warriors were covered in green scales with a yellow underbelly. Nevertheless, their hides offered little protection from punctures from such hazards as burr balls. Many Lizard Warriors had a row of yellow spikes running from the crown of the head to the tip of the tail, while others had two isolated spikes toward the back of the head. An additional spike grew from each elbow.
The bulk of the Lizard Warrior head was given over to a long, pointed snout full of sharp teeth. Two nostril holes pierced this muzzle at its farthest extremity, and a red tongue lay within. A pair of narrow, yellow or brown eyes on the sides of the head flanked the snout at its base. At least some Ewoks found the Lizard Warriors' appearance unattractive.
==Society and culture==
A group of Lizard Warriors lived in a desert valley on the Forest Moon of Endor, where they kept to themselves and rarely interacted with other species. Their region, named the Valley of the Lizard Warriors after its inhabitants, lay several days' journey from the forests of Happy Grove. Thus, the Ewoks of Bright Tree Village who lived there had little knowledge of the species. Nevertheless, Endor's Lizard Warriors spoke Ewokese.
The Lizard Warriors had a martial culture that valued warfare and hunting. The pursuit of game was valued not only as a necessity of life, but as a sport. The species went to battle armed with relatively primitive weapons, such as recurve bows, wooden arrows, and throwing spears with stone heads. Still, some Lizard Warriors had access to more sophisticated arms, like metal spear points and swords. What little clothing they wore was devoted to warfare: a quiver on the back for carrying arrows or a belt around the waist for holding a sword.
The species followed the greatest warrior among them. Such an individual did not necessarily have to be a member of the species; in fact, in 3 ABY,Star Wars: Behind the Magic places the Ewoks animated television series in 3.5 ABY but makes no mention of the Ewoks comic book series. Nevertheless, as the character designs in the comic book are identical to those of the the first season of the Ewoks television show, the comic book stories must take place around the same time as the animated cartoon. Endor's Lizard Warriors were ruled by an Ewok named Graak. Lizard Warriors adhered to a strict code of honor that compelled them to keep their word and repay any act of kindness.
The Lizard Warriors were territorial and demarcated their lands with totem poles: carved wooden posts decorated with such items as cloth, crossed sticks, feathers, bird wings, and skulls. If Lizard Warriors detected strangers in their lands, they ambushed the interlopers from behind rocks and brush. The warriors used a special capturing stick made of a length of wood with a looped cord attached to snag the intruders. Members of the species lived inside caves, the outsides of which were littered with bones. They had access to goods such as bowls, fruits, and jugs of liquid.
==History==
The Lizard Warriors of Endor settled in a desert valley and set up their homes in caves there. At some point, they came into contact with the moon's native Ewoks, who named their territory the Valley of the Lizard Warriors after its reptilian denizens. The warrior Joddar eventually attained a leadership position in the culture.
Years before 3 ABY, a one-eyed Ewok named Graak entered Lizard Warrior territory. He had been exiled from his home, Bright Tree Village, by the village chief, Chirpa. After he demonstrated his skill at combat and promised to train the Lizard Warriors in his techniques, Joddar stepped down to allow Graak to assume leadership with Joddar as second-in-command. Under the exile's leadership, the Lizard Warriors adopted a philosophy of survival of the fittest.
In 3 ABY, the Lizard Warriors detected two Ewoks—Teebo and Wicket W. Warrick—wandering through their territory. They ambushed the interlopers, captured them, and brought them to their caves. Graak made the tresspassers a deal: if they could reach the edge of the Valley of the Lizard Warriors alive, they could go free. However, they would have to escape the Lizard Warriors, who would hunt them down for sport.
Several low-level warriors pursued and confronted the Ewoks, but their prey survived. Joddar finally joined the hunt and tracked the Ewoks to a swamp at the border of the valley. Before he could kill them, however, Joddar came under attack himself from an Endorian swamp beast. Warrick chased the beast away with a well-aimed beehive and pulled Joddar from the swamp, an act of mercy that saved the Lizard Warrior's life and defied his expectations.
Though confused, Joddar thanked his benefactors and swore them his life. The Ewoks asked only to be led to the edge of the swamp and out of Lizard Warrior territory, and Joddar gladly complied. However, Graak arrived on the scene and refused to let the younger Ewoks go. When he attacked and nearly killed Warrick, Joddar stepped in and stopped him. Joddar rejected Graak's protestations of supremacy and explained that the young Ewoks had taught him compassion, something Graak never could understand. He then ousted Graak from his position and assumed leadership of his people once again. Joddar and his Lizard Warriors parted with the younger Ewoks on good terms; Graak, on the other hand, severed ties with his former underlings and cast off into the desert alone.
At the Battle of Endor in 4 ABY, the Alliance to Restore the Republic defeated the forces of the Galactic Empire thanks in large part to the help of a tribe of Ewok allies on Endor. The Lizard Warriors sent a representative named Dracos to join the Alliance forces gathered at the Ewok settlement of Bright Tree Village. Dracos was present as the Alliance leaders formed the Alliance of Free Planets. Admiral Gial Ackbar later assigned Dracos to train with other Alliance recruits under a Jedi Knight, Commander Luke Skywalker. The Lizard Warrior and the others hoped to eventually learn how to use the Force to become Jedi. Nevertheless, Skywalker was still haunted by the memories of how his father, Anakin Skywalker, had fallen to the dark side, so he refused to teach the recruits anything beyond basic marksmanship, hand-to-hand combat, and meditation.
==Behind the scenes==
Writer Dave Manak and illustrator Warren Kremer introduced the Lizard Warriors as antagonists to the Ewok characters of Ewoks 4. The comic book was published by Marvel Comics in November 1985. The character Dracos, who appeared in Marvel Comics Star Wars (1977) 92 later that year, was identified as a member of the species in the article "The Forgotten War: The Nagai and the Tofs," written by James McFadden and published as part of the Hyperspace website in 2009.
Valley of Evil implies that the Valley of the Lizard Warriors was the reptilians' homeland and that, thus, they were native to the Forest Moon. Nevertheless, later sources point to an origin on another unidentified planet. The roleplaying supplement Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds, for example, names only Ewoks and Yuzzums as native to Endor,Geonosis and the Outer Rim Worlds and the article "Castaways of Endor" adds only Duloks to the list. According to such works and the roleplaying article "Endor and the Moddell Sector," the majority of the sentient species who lived on the Forest Moon were survivors of crash landings caused by the main planet's massive gravity shadow and shield of space detritus.
==Appearances==
*Ewoks (1985) 4 
*Star Wars (1977) 92 
==Sources==
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==Notes and references==
 
Category:Reptilian sentient species
Category:Sentient species of Endor