Lylek

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"They're lyleks—armored insects, with stabbing limbs and poisoned tentacles. They hunt in packs, and they'll travel for days to get fresh food. We might kill the first wave, but we couldn't keep them back for long."
―Goll[2]

Lyleks were a species of large insectoid predators native to the equatorial forest of the planet Ryloth. With their spiked pincers and powerful mandibles with a pair of tentacles near them, the lyleks were the only Rylothian lifeform more dangerous than the predatory gutkurrs. Their ridged, spiked carapaces could deflect blaster bolts. Although the lyleks lived in hordes, the bigger individuals often dismembered the smaller members of their kind. These hordes were led by a lylek queen, and their elaborate underground nests could cover up to 15 square kilometers. They communicated by hissing, clicking, and chittering. Their carapaces were tough enough to repel even heavy blaster fire, though a precisely aimed shot to the head could put one down.[1]

By 228 BBY,[3] the Evereni Marchion Ro had fought against lyleks with his bare hands.[4]

In 134 BBY,[5] a group of poachers and mercenaries led by the off-worlder Orisent released two lyleks into the hunting arena of the Crowning Convocation on the planet Siline as part of a conspiracy to upend the tradition and to illegally harvest organs of the immensely valuable ericadi. Their plans were thwarted by Jedi Padawans Jecki Lon and Yord Fandar, who attempted to protect their fellow Convocation great hunt participants from the unexpected danger posed by the lyleks. When the mercenaries directly attacked the Jedi, along with Silinese contender Sitia Arthyst and her human friend Lionine Graf, the loose lyleks attacked the assembled crowd. The resulting fight and the eventual response of the Silenese authorities resulted in the death of both lyleks.[6]

A swarm of lyleks attacked Emperor Sheev Palpatine and Darth Vader[1] during their 14 BBY[7] mission to Ryloth after their Star Destroyer the Perilous was shot down by members of the Free Ryloth Movement. The two Sith Lords fought a running battle against hundreds of the insects before they were incidentally herded into the swarm's central hive. There, they proceeded to kill the gigantic lylek queen and slaughtered the hundreds of remaining drones.[1]

Behind the scenes

The lyleks of Ryloth were first mentioned in the 1998 reference book The Essential Guide to Planets and Moons, written by Daniel Wallace. The creature was named after Wallace's wife, Kelly.[8]

Appearances

Sources

Notes and references

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Lords of the Sith
  2. ↑ "Mercy Mission" — The Rise of the Empire
  3. ↑ Star Wars: Timelines dates Starlight Beacon's destruction to 230 BBY. The implementation of the Guardian Protocols, which Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia places in 229 BBY, took place one week after Starlight Beacon's fall according to The High Republic – Shadows of Starlight 1. As The High Republic: Temptation of the Force takes place one year and six weeks after the destruction of Starlight Beacon and its events span a few months, it must be set in 228 BBY.
  4. ↑ The High Republic: Temptation of the Force
  5. ↑ The events of The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown take place in 134 BBY per the following reasoning. The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown establishes that Jecki Lon is the Padawan of Sol and Yord Fandar has yet to undertake his Jedi Trials. The novel also states that Lon has been Sol's Padawan for at least two years, as well as that Sol had not taken a Padawan for years after his former Padawan, Verosha Aniseya, left the Jedi Order. From this, at least four years have passed since Aniseya left the Order. "Lost / Found"—the events of which take place in 132 BBY per the reasoning here—establishes Aniseya left the Order six years before its events, equating to 138 BBY. The episode further states Fandar passed his Jedi Trials two years before its events, meaning he must have passed his Trials in 134 BBY.
  6. ↑ The Acolyte: The Crystal Crown
  7. ↑ Star Wars: Galactic Atlas
  8. ↑ StarWarsDotComBlogsLogoStacked Forgotten Easter Eggs on Continuity, Criticisms, and Captain Panaka — Daniel Wallace's StarWars.com Blog (original site is defunct)
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