Ryloth

Ryloth, also known as Twi'lek, and Twi'lek Prime, is the harsh, rocky home world of the Twi'leks.  It is an Outer Rim Territories world located on the Corellian Run and forms one endpoint of the Death Wind Corridor.  One side of the planet perpetually faces its sun and the other remains in darkness, a phenomenon known as tidal locking.  The dayside is referred to as the Bright Lands and the night-side is known as the Nightlands.

Geography

Ryloth, the second planet in the Ryloth system, possesses a thin, but breathable atmosphere.  The planet is orbited by five moons, which have subtle tidal effects on the planet's liquid core and underground springs.  It has little or no surface water except for patches of water ice on the night side.
It is a planet of extremes: dry, rocky landscapes of deserts, mountain ranges with mist-covered peaks, shadowy valleys, alternating with snowy wastes, and joined by lush temperate bands which concentrates much of its population.

Localized Phenomena

Because of its unusual day-night rotation period, atmospheric conditions on Ryloth's surface are characterized by turbulent seasons and extremely high winds (reaching 500 kilometres per hour) scouring the surface and sculpting the landscape and unpredictable bursts of heat called heat storms, which can reach 300 degrees Celsius. The more extreme heat storms sometimes move across the terminator and reach miles underground, making caves near the surface temporarily uninhabitable, before eventually dying out on the night side.
Along the terminator is a thin habitable border, a twilight realm between the two extremes. Along this narrow strip are a series of caverns where some Twi'leks have built their underground cities, and blockaded them with thick blast doors and portcullises to keep out the vicious monsters which prowl the Bright Lands - especially lyleks.

Fauna & Flora

Ryloth has several native non-sentient species, most of which are fierce and predatory for survival on a planet with such a harsh environment.  The lylek are easily the most dangerous predator native to Ryloth, with their hard shelled insectoid bodies, sharp limbs, and extremely strong tentacles.  They are one of only a few creatures able to withstand the extreme temperatures of the Bright Lands.
The doashim is another fierce predator that inhabits the dark subterranean caverns of Ryloth.  They are horned, red-eyed, sharp-clawed and fanged creatures reminiscent of demons from the lore of many different sentient species across the galaxy.  The gutkurr are fast, two-legged creatures with hard-shelled carapaces with spines protruding from their backs.  They are predatory creatures feared by the Twi'leks.
One of the few non-aggressive creatures of Ryloth is the rycrit, which are short-furred quadrupeds kept as herd animals by the Twi'leks.  They are raised for their hides, which can be used for clothing, and for their meat which is often used in rycrit stew.

Natural Resources

Ryll The major export of Ryloth, and the product which sustained its early trade, is the mineral known as ryll.  It is a potent spice, discovered in 1,147 BTC, that is mined and originally distributed for medicinal use.  Ryll is found in 'blooms' in the rock rather than veins, typical of most ores.  Miners place their mines underneath the blooms and drill up to access.  Ryll's highly addictive nature and hallucinogenic properties make it a favourite recreational substance among scoundrels and decadent nobles of the galaxy.  A particularly popular and addictive mixture is glitteryll (a synthetic mixture of ryll and glitterstim) which has a strong numbing effect on a person's memory.  Ryll and glitteryll are outlawed on most Republic worlds, but the demand is great enough to sustains a healthy black market.  Crime lords and slavers have turned their attention to ryll smuggling operations, and compete with legitimate miners.

History

Ryloth was originally discovered by Old Republic explorers approximately 6,350 years before the Treaty of Coruscant and was one of the first worlds discovered in the Outer Rim.  Located at one end of the Corellian Run, it was one of the few worlds of the galaxy further from the Galactic Core than Tatooine.
Civilization on Ryloth at the time of its discovery was not particularly advanced.  Twi'leks integrated windmills and turbines to power their homes and industries carved out of the mountains.  The cultivation of fungi and molds provided nourishment for the populace, as did the rearing of the domesticated herd animals rycrits for meat.  Twi'leks never developed space travel, but instead expanded throughout the galaxy by trading with the Republic, variously negotiating, charming, or seducing their way to the stars.
Ryloth entered into the Galactic Republic circa 6,350 BTC.
Life of enslavement The slave trade has been an everyday part of life on Ryloth for millennia, and has persisted even after its contact with the Republic sometime in 6,350 BTC.  Dancing girls are especially prized, and as Twi'lek communities were being established throughout the Republic and elsewhere, they found numerous eager markets.  The slaves from Ryloth are often sold by 'contract,' as a feeble way of evading antislavery laws.
Female Twi'lek consorts and companions have become a status symbol among the rich and the decadent across the galaxy.  The slave trade has remained profitable all throughout Ryloth's history, and though the early slavers were Twi'leks, over the years many alien crime lords have migrated to Ryloth for a piece of the action.

Tourism

The Floating Rock Gardens of Ryloth are a natural wonder and tourist attraction, well known throughout the Outer Rim, where strong winds blow among the tunnels, causing rocks to float gently through the air.  Over the years the gardens have become filled with rare and dazzling stones.  Visitors are allowed to rearrange the stones to their liking, but are encouraged to seek meaning in the natural configurations.

Alternative Name(s)

Twi'lek, Twi'lek Prime

Type

Planet