Ithor
Ithor
Once a sylvan paradise, Ithor has now been memorialized alongside Alderaan as a planet destroyed by war.
- Grid Location: M-6
- Region: Mid Rim
- Terrain: Wasteland; formerly rain forests
- Diameter: 13,310 km
- Length of Day: 41 standard hours
- Length of Year: 422 local days
- Population: Modern: none; historic: 2 billion
- Sentient Species: Ithorians
- Species Mix: Ithorians (99%), other (1%)
- Languages: Ithorese, Basic
- Government: Elected council
- Major Exports: Botanicals, rare goods
- Major Imports: Technology, raw materials
- System/Star: Ottega/Ottega
Planets in the System:
| Planets | Type | Moons |
|---|---|---|
| Imrooso | Volcanic rock | 1 |
| Torgazi | Toxic hothouse | 3 |
| Ottega | Terrestrial | 0 |
| Ithor | Terrestrial | 6 |
| Harupi Spill | Asteroid belt | — |
| Shihor | Gas giant | 29 |
| Gyo | Gas giant | 15 |
"Once a sylvan paradise, Ithor has now been memorialized alongside Alderaan as a planet destroyed by war..."
Detailed History
The planet's rain forests supported one of the densest ecosystems in the galaxy, with millions of living things crowding every square kilometer. Decaying leaf mats on the forest floor provided sustenance for ruinous columns of albipedes, which then became food for manullions' bills before they in turn fell down the gullets of hungry arrak snakes. A lively evolutionary dance eventually gave rise to the Ithorians, an intelligent species of hump-backed herbivores with twin mouths and a complex stereo language.
The Ithorians created a religion centered on the Mother Jungle. The most pious among them considered it blasphemous to take anything out of the natural world without replacing it twofold. When technology permitted the construction of anti-gravity settlements, Ithorians moved to these herd cities en masse and only set foot on the surface during sacred ceremonies.
Spacegoing herdships allowed the Ithorians to earn a living as galactic traders, and their movable bazaars reached Republic space as early as 12,800 BBY. Ithorians, nicknamed "Hammerheads" by most, carried universal welcome, with their home system of Ottega acting as a lighthouse world in the galaxy's sparsely settled northern quadrant. Ithor eventually became a hub for trade in botanicals and handcrafted goods throughout the Mid Rim's Lesser Plooriod Cluster, and a key to the successful colonization of the New Territories.
The Empire, mindful of the Ithorians' expertise in cloning and genetic engineering, tried to frighten the planet into loyalty by incinerating a grove of bafforr trees in the sacred Cathor Hills. The trees had comprised a one-of-a-kind hive intelligence, and their destruction during a purge of bafforr trees set the sacred Mother Jungle ablaze. The Ithorians moved into deeper service of the Rebel Alliance.
In 25 ABY the Mother Jungle died. The Yuuzhan Vong targeted Ithor due to the crippling effect of bafforr pollen on Vong crabshell armor, and it became the site of a duel between Jedi Corran Horn and Yuuzhan Vong commander Shedao Shai to determine the planet's fate. Horn won, but Shai's subordinate defied him and unleashed a plague that reduced Ithor into rancid black ooze.
Many outfits tried to claim a new homeworld for the Ithorians after the war, and many survivors eventually built colonies on Ottega, Upatu, and Felucia. Yet most preferred to roam the starlanes in their herdships. The core terrariums of these vessels contain only re-maining specimens of many irreplaceable species, and thus the herdship fleet is now considered the Mother Jungle reborn.