Kaleesh

"The Kaleesh are not known for their mercy."

―Grievous — 20?cb=20250116042720

The Kaleesh, also known as the Kaleeshi, were a reptilian sentient species from the Wild Space world of Kalee. They had red, scaly skin and possessed the distinctive snake-like, slitted yellow eyes, a flat or snub nose, and elongated, pointed ears, surrounded by two enormous tusks on their lower jaws. A primal yet spiritual people, the Kaleesh were formidable warriors, and they were not likely to display empathy, kindness, or vulnerability. All Kaleesh nearly always concealed their facial features behind terrifying customary war masks, which were typically crafted from the skulls, bones, and teeth of the deadliest predatory beasts on their home planet—mumuu, erkush, and karabbac.

Despite their technological inferiority, the fierce and proud warriors engaged in numerous conflicts, particularly against the Yam'rii, their technologically superior adversary and planetary neighbor, an insectoid species of the desolate planet Huk in the system of the same name near their own. The most notorious member of the species, General Grievous, fought as the Supreme Martial Commander of the Separatist Droid Armies during the Clone Wars.

Biology and appearance

Grievous' face before being cybernetically enhanced

The Kaleesh,^[4] also known as the Kaleeshi,^[9] were a species of red-skinned^[1] humanoid^[4] reptilians^[2] from the planet Kalee^[7] in Wild Space,^[10] having distinctive snake-like^[3] beady^[11] yellow eyes^[1] with slit pupils^[3] and eyelids^[12] framed by prominent brows, triangular-shaped nostrils with two slits toward their eyes, and a mouth^[6] with teeth,^[13] two of which are fangs in the upper jaw, which, when closed, are visible. Two^[6] large^[5] tusks protruded^[6] from the lower jaws^[5] on both sides,^[6] and bony protrusions jutted from the chin.^[14]^[13] Although all of their facial features were reminiscent of bats, such as their elongated,^[4] pointed^[15] ears and flat^[4] or snub^[14] noses, they usually wore masks.^[4] Their two arms were long and thin, with four-fingered hands,^[6] two of which possessed opposable thumbs,^[14] had sharp, claw-like nails on each,^[15]^[13] and two four-jointed legs,^[6] bent back,^[16] with five-toed scute feet: two in front, two on each side, and one in the back.^[6]

They were digitigrades,^[6] walking on their toes rather than their entire feet,^[3] and they possessed a brain,^[17] a heart, lungs,^[18] a liver,^[14] several vital internal organs,^[19] and nerve endings.^[20] Their internal organs were extremely flammable.^[1]^[21] The species had two sexes, male^[1] and female.^[9] Their claws ranged from white^[13] to black.^[15] Like other reptiles, Kaleesh are cold-blooded and could recognize one when they see it and have scaly skin. As if prepared to strike, their scales quivered menacingly.^[9] Kaleesh perceive color in their eyesight^[22] and could also smell an individual's origin and the stench of death from afar.^[8]

Society and culture

A statue of Grievous holding the severed head of a . — A statue of Grievous holding the severed head of a Skrilling.

Though primitive,^[23] the Kaleesh were a fierce^[24] and proud^[6] culture of warriors^[25] who were known for their lack of mercy.^[8] Dumas Mar'Ti was a Kaleesh who believed in a pantheon of beings she called her gods. According to Mar'Ti, her sins were a matter between her and the gods.^[9] One of their deities was called Ithano and was a trickster god.^[26] The warlords of Kalee were worshipped by a young Grievous, who would watch the warlords return home with plunders taken in war.^[27]

On their homeworld of Kalee, Kaleesh warriors hunted mumuu, erkush, and karabbac. Instead of only hunting for meat alone,^[24] they generally killed to demonstrate their bravery^[28] and make masks and clothing. Whereas the clothing was made from the animal hides,^[24] those fearsome traditional masks^[25] were frequently^[29] carved from the skulls, bones,^[25] and teeth^[30] of the deadliest predatory beasts.^[25] With that mask in hand, a Kaleesh's features were normally^[3] and traditionally^[25] hidden behind the mask, with only their slitted golden^[3] eyes and tusks visible.^[6]

Before battle, Kaleesh smeared^[14] karabbac-blood war paint above their eyes on their skull masks.^[25] Rarely seen without these masks, their masks also made it difficult to read their expressions.^[31]^[24] Apparently, if it were discovered that someone wore a similar mask just for effect, the Kaleesh would not tolerate it.^[32] Kaleesh dressed in^[6] campaign^[33] cloaks and half hoods with headwear^[6] as part of their homeworld's warrior traditions, giving them a menacing appearance,^[34] and used weapons including swords, shields, spears,^[6] and slugthrowers,^[35] such as the Czerka Arms Outland rifle.^[23] Kaleesh warriors developed their own martial disciplines. The Jedi appropriated their^[36] ancient^[37] techniques into an unarmed combat style known as "Na Jang" and utilized it to train^[36] various^[37] military units^[36] across the galaxy.^[37]

History

Wars with the Bitthævrian and Yam'rii

At one point, Kaleesh warlords^[38] and warriors^[39] took roggwarts as trophies^[38] from the battles with the Bitthævrian^[39] on Guiteica,^[38] Bitthævrian homeworld^[38] that neighbored Kalee.^[40]

The overextended Old Republic overlooked crimes on numerous peripheral worlds. One such world was Kalee, which unintentionally faced injustice at their hands. The low-tech Kaleesh were conquered by the insectoid the Yam'rii^[23] of the desolate planet Huk^[33] in the Huk system^[41] next to^[25] Kalee's own.^[41] The Yam'rii had ruthlessly invaded many worlds in their sector, stripping them of their resources and selling their populations into slavery. When they focused their attention on Kaleesh's homeworld, the results were horrifying and resulted in a never-ending,^[23] merciless conflict^[25] between the Kaleesh and Yam'rii.^[23]

Rise of Grievous

Born on Kalee amidst the near-continual conflict against the Huk,^[23] a Kaleesh named Qymaen jai Sheelal,^[42] who later became known as Grievous,^[43] would become a warlord^[27] and learn the art of warfare and battle tactics,^[44] specifically tactics that were ruthless and successful,^[27] in his homeworld's battle^[44] against the Huk.^[23] Gathering them^[35] as his bodyguards, Grievous fought alongside his people's strongest warriors,^[23] the Izvoshra,^[43] over the years of war. With increased ferocity and determination,^[23] Grievous led his people in a ruthless^[25] all-war against the Yam'rii,^[35] carrying out an offensive. In time, the Kaleesh forces successfully repelled the Yam'rii from their world.^[23] Grievous launched a series of devastating campaigns on Huk itself,^[33] sweeping across the barren Huk worlds.^[45] However, the Yam'rii pulled off an unexpected move and appealed to the Republic for assistance.^[23] The Republic^[44] and the Jedi intervened,^[25] siding with the Yam'rii^[44] against the Kaleesh invaders. The Kaleesh were censured and faced a mixture of embargoes and fines, leaving hundreds of thousands to die of starvation.^[23]

The cyborg warlord Grievous started out his life as an organic Kaleesh and embraced his rage, becoming Supreme Commander of the Separatist Droid Army.

Developing a personal vendetta against them,^[44] Grievous's hatred for the Republic and the Jedi only increased.^[23] It may have been the hatred he felt that drove Grievous to join^[23] the InterGalactic Banking Clan.^[43] Proving to be phenomenally successful, he became one of the IGBC's more valuable resources. By that time, Count Dooku and Darth Sidious had already taken notice of his exploits and had major plans for him.^[23] The Sith approached Grievous with the ability to be transformed into a cyborg, to which Grievous agreed^[27] and, over time, replaced his body with cybernetic implants.^[17] With his upgrades, Grievous increased his power^[19] and skill.^[46]

However, one day, Grievous' shuttle was sabotaged^[47] during an assassination attempt planned by San Hill,^[48] causing his troop carrier to crash and fling him from the debris.^[30] The sabotage nearly killed him^[47] and destroyed the majority^[3] of his original body.^[3] After regaining consciousness in a bacta tank, the Kaleesh warrior discovered that he had been nearly totally gutted and deformed by surgical FX droids.^[49] In order to survive his injuries,^[50] he was further transformed into a cyborg^[6] and served as the Commander of the Separatist Droid Army, bringing him face-to-face with the despised Jedi and seizing their lightsabers as trophies throughout the years until his death on Utapau.^[1]

Kaleesh in the galaxy

"I met a Kaleesh on my travels who bragged of a revered warrior. He supposedly had cybernetic implants for enhanced combat!"

―An artist learns of Grievous^[3]

During the High Republic Era, the Kaleesh Dumas Mar'Ti was a captain of her own starship, the Athos, and a member of the Byne Guild.^[9] One of the species' most well-known members was General Grievous, who was also regarded as its most infamous.^[3] His mostly cybernetic body eliminated most resemblance to other Kaleesh.^[51] As the Supreme Commander of the Separatist Droid Army, he fought in the Clone Wars^[52] until he was killed by Jedi General Obi-Wan Kenobi during the Battle of Utapau.^[1]

Though not Kaleesh himself,^[29] the Delphidian pirate captain Sidon Ithano wore a red plasteel mask that resembled^[53] that of the ruthless^[54] reptilian Kaleesh species,^[55] one of the masks^[29] he stole from the Kaleesh,^[18] to hide his Delphidian heritage.^[29] During the First Order-Resistance War,^[56] one Kaleesh was present at the Vargo Spaceport on the planet Varkana, wandering around when the First Order stormtroopers searched the city for resistance spy Norath Kev.^[15]