Lwhekk

**Lwhekk** is a planet located in the unknown regions of the galaxy in the remote star cluster known as the Ssi-ruuk Star Cluster. It is the homeworld of the saurian Ssi-ruu and P'w'eck species, and is the capital of the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium.

## Description

Lwhekk is a humid junge planet within the Ssi'kaat system in the Ssi-ruuk Star Cluster of the Unknown regions. The Jungles of Lwhekk are separated by spired cities. The planet also has volcanoes and large oceans.

The Volcano, Mount Skar'lak, the underground caves of SS'laath and the Cree'n'aak Palace are the most well-known locations on Lwhekk, the palace serves as the personal residence of the Shreeftut, the ruler of the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium.

The planet was inhabited by the saurian Ssi-ruuk and P'w'eck species. It is also home to the Fft, a small six-legged species of lizard that is the main source of food for both sentient species.

## History

### Early History

Isolated from the rest of the galaxy for most of their history, when the Ssi-ruuk finally began to expand into space, they conquered several worlds and enslaved their inhabitants, most of which were primitive. They discovered entechment, a process which drains a being of their life-energy to be used as a power source for machines. The practice of entechment became common, with the P'w'eck becoming subjects of the technology. Howevere, it was eventually revealed that the containment for long periods of time resulted in the subject descending into madness and the Ssi-ruuk expanded again.

### Exploration of the Galaxy

Never before had the Ssi-ruuk travelled beyond their cluster, but the dwindling resources of their region in space forced them to expand further. Due to the large distances, their xenophobic nature and the religious fear instilled in them, they had not dared to travel so far, but in 2 BBY, the Shreeftut, the religious leader received force visions sent by the then-emperor, Palpatine. He promised them dozens of worlds and millions of slaves in exchange for the use of their technology. The Ssi-ruuk then ventured into wild space, where they conquered the colony of G'rho, the imperial leadership covered up the incident and blamed the rebel alliance for the attack.

The Ssi-ruuk took the young, Dev Sibwarra captive, he was brainwashed by the Elder Sh'tk'ith, and he was discovered to be force-sensitive, they used him to gain information on the rest of the galaxy. Using his force abilities, they were able to entech more human subjects and keep them calm.

In 4 ABY, Palpatine was killed by Darth Vader during the Battle of Endor and was unable to keep his promise. The Ssi-ruuvi Imperium launched an invasion of the edge of the known galaxy. They sent forces to the known galaxy and the neighbouring government of the unknown regions, the Chiss Ascendancy, but were unsuccessful in most of their campaigns. They only narrowly managed to conquer Cattamascar before being defeated at Bakura by the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the Imperial Remnant.

While several minor Chiss world were taken, the retaliation of the Chiss was great, and they laid waste to Lwhekk, crushing the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium. While a small task force appeared soon after to stop the Ssi-ruuk, the raid by the Chiss and seeing the Imperium in ruins had the alliance believe the threat of the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium to be over.

### Resurgence and Defeat

It took many years for the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium to rebuild enough to contemplate continuing their expansion. Two major events occurred, the first was the birth of the Keeramak, part of an ancient prophecy among their people. The Keeramak is a mutant of the Ssi-ruuk species, covered in scales of every colour. The second was the takeover of the Imperium by the Yuuzhan Vong, placing E'thinaa in the position of general.

E'thinaa and the Keeramak devised new strategies for continuing their invasion of the galaxy and made a deal with the Prime Minister of Bakura, Molierre Cundertol. They engineered a faux P'w'eck slave uprising, positing the Keeramak as its leader. They consecrated Bakura and launched a second invasion of the planet, but when a real P'w'eck revolt happened the Keeramak was killed, Cundertol fled to Lwhekk where E'thinaa killed him.

Subsequently, the Yuuzhan Vong invaded Lwhekk and subjugated the Ssi-ruuvi Imperium, briefly reigning their territory until 29 ABY, when the Vong were defeated by the might of the Galactic Alliance fleet, the Ssi'ruuk freed themselves. They remained too weak to continue their invasions and remained isolated in the Ssi-ruuk Star Cluster.

### Galactic Legends

In the year 1005 ABY, the Sith Dominion, under the leadership of Darth Magice, uncovered the whereabouts of Lwhekk. Determined to strengthen their forces, Darth Magice set his sights on Lwhekk, aiming to assimilate their numbers into the Sith Dominion's ranks.

## Government

The Ssi-ruuvi Imperium is governed by two seats of power; the conclave, which is the religious body, and the Elders' Council, which is the political body. The seats of power frequently compete for control of the empire, with the leader of the empire, the Shreeftut, preventing civil war.

Ssi-ruuk are divided into a caste system based on scale colour, comprised of five main groups: blue, gold, yellow, red, and green. Their scales represent their standing in the political system. One colour dominated each Ssi-ruuk's body, and it was forbidden to mate with a Ssi-ruuk with a different colour.

At the top of the caste system are the blue-scaled politicians and leaders of society, gold-scaled individuals make up the religious caste. The Yellow-scaled Ssi-ruuk are responsible for technology used by the empire, while the red-scaled ssi-ruuk dominate the military. The Green-scaled individuals make up the workforce of society.

Below the green-scaled Ssi-ruuk are the brown-scaled who are the offspring of two Ssi-Ruuvi from different castes, they are considered outcasts and perform the most menial of jobs. Last were the P'w'eck who serve as slaves.

## Trivia

* Originally, Kyrenaz was planning to have the Ssi-ruuk be part of the Sith Dominion almost from the start. But the personality and power of the Ssi-ruuk made it unlikely that the dominion would be able to take control of them early.