Evereni

The Evereni were a humanoid species notable for their [slate-gray](/article/color] skin, elongated [bones](/article/bone], and dark gray, thick blood. Their jet-black [eyes](/article/eye] allowed them to see more effectively in darkness compared to humans, though they still needed a brief period to adjust to dim lighting. Their bodies possessed notable resilience, yet remained vulnerable to extreme cold. Evereni had sharp black claws and sharp white teeth, both of which could be used to tear flesh. Their nails and teeth had razor-like sharpness. The presence of red streaks in their hair indicated aging within the Evereni.

As a result of their history filled with war and conflict, the Evereni evolved from a species focused on caretaking to a group of individuals skilled in deceit, lying, and manipulation. However, the Evereni Marchion Ro once stated that his species remained a society of caretakers at heart, but that caretaking was now centered on prioritizing one's own survival above all else. Indeed, an Evereni could be raised in a nurturing environment and develop into a caring person, as seen in the case of Marda Ro, who nonetheless found herself going down a dark path as her life spiraled out of her control.

In Marda Ro's opinion, behaving as a "pure Evereni" meant being as savage as her species' reputation suggested they would always be. Although she personally believed that reputation was undeserved, even the normally peaceful Marda was capable of using her body as a weapon: she gave into her sheer instincts on one occasion, using her sharp teeth as a weapon and feeling no pain in her injured body as she fought. While her hand was burned at that moment and her limbs were all tired, she felt nothing as she gave into her instincts.

A unique characteristic of the Evereni was their capacity to "see" the deceased, who manifested as ghost-like figures or were perceived as voices within their minds. Such a figure might support the Evereni's aspirations at one moment, offer harsh criticism at another, or aid in rationalizing a situation as if they were having a real conversation with someone. One story, narrated by an Argazdan smuggler, suggested that these were the souls of those the Evereni had murdered, destined to haunt their killer forever. However, the figure seen by the Evereni did not necessarily have to be someone they had killed: while Marchion Ro did see and hear the "ghost" of his father Asgar Ro, who at one time appeared to him with a ruined face and whom Marchion had indeed killed, he also came to hear and eventually see the "ghost" of Marda Ro, his great-great-grandmother. She appeared to him both as a young woman and as an elder. His father, meanwhile, could be limited to a voice in the back of his head or appear a figure who loomed over him.

The Evereni Yana Ro initially dismissed the rumor of her race 'talking to the dead' as nonsense, only to later see the "ghost" of her dead lover Kor Plouth from across a room, with Plouth later always seeming to be a few steps away, yet her voice remaining as clear as if they sat next to each other. All the same, she knew the figure was not the real ghost of her lover: while she had not killed her girlfriend, with Plouth's death instead being the fault of Path of the Open Hand leader "the Mother," Yana believed the apparition was her own anger and guilt given shape. She further thought of the figure who haunted her every waking moment as a figment of her imagination brought into "being" by her own desire to not let Plouth go. Plouth appeared to her as she had at the time of her death, with icy water cracking her lips and her eyes cloudy.

Marda herself experienced visions of a "ghost" in the form of Jedi Padawan Kevmo Zink, whom she had fallen in love with despite their different views on the Force. After dying in her arms after an encounter with the Nameless known as the Leveler, Zink's apparition was heard as a dead voice inside her mind and his "ghost" stood beside her as a true believer in the Path, though his skin was reduced to a chalky, white appearance as it had been as he died and his voice was gravely. All the same, Marda believed it was the real Zink returned to her. After the Battle of Jedha, she found his voice had become harsh and bitter, coming to further realize he was much crueler than his living self. At another moment, she questioned to herself whether the "ghost" who spoke to her even was the real Zink.

The Evereni placed their faith in their tempestuous homeworld of Everon, striving to coexist harmoniously with the natural environment. In the Evereni language, the term 'Evereni' signified "caretakers." Eventually, a catastrophic storm, referred to as the Great Storm, an event occurring only once every thousand years, emerged from the planet's core, obliterating their [cities](/article/city] and leading the Evereni to lose faith in their home planet. In the aftermath of the Great Storm, the Evereni attempted to trust their institutions, but governmental corruption resulted in conflict and centuries of war.

Their numbers greatly diminished and their society in ruins, the species had evolved to be untrusting to the extent that they knew the exact moment when someone would betray them, realizing the exact moment when the interests of two parties changed. While there could be exceptions if an Evereni was raised in a more caring environment, it was said by the Evereni Marchion Ro that individual Evereni only trusted themselves, so not even Evereni families could work together. After the last survivors of the Evereni left Everon around 500 BBY, they became outlaws for trying to wipe out any other sentient species they found in the galaxy, forcing them to adapt again; they learned to hide their hatred from other life-forms, becoming beings skilled at deception and lies. They developed a reputation for deception and treachery. They also avoided staying in one place and commonly left without saying any goodbyes, though they did also master how to say a goodbye should the need arise.

Throughout the galaxy, the Evereni were met with fear and viewed as little more than savage predators, a reputation fueled by the actions of deceitful and murderous individuals within their species. The physical appearance of the Evereni species further convinced people to judge them as monsters should they not know an Evereni personally. On one occasion, an Evereni approached a fire tended to by various other beings on a cold night. A deceitful Evereni, just as their species had evolved to be, that Evereni presented themself as nothing more than a wanderer who wanted shelter from the cold and offered a bottle of secretly poisoned wine as a gift in return for the hospitality. Wiping out the entire camp with the supposed gift, the Evereni collected their valuables and departed.

Lacking a true home or purpose, the Evereni found themselves defined by the slurs hurled at them by other peoples. For example, the slur "planet killer" was used against Evereni since the days of their escape into the wider galaxy. Another anti-Evereni slur was "shark." Outlandish rumors also spread as stories about the Evereni, and their ability to "see" the dead was spread as such a story.

The Ro family, an Evereni lineage, once attempted to establish a life on the planet Genetia despite the galaxy's widespread distrust and hatred towards their kind. When a harvest failed, the townspeople blamed the Evereni and attacked during the night. In the ensuing struggle, the grandparents of the family and Yana Ro's sire were killed, while Marda Ro's sire gave his life to hold off the crowd to let the rest of the family escape. Young cousins Marda Ro and Yana Ro escaped with Marda Ro's mother and Yana Ro's mother, with both parents killing a Theelin family to escape the world aboard the Theelins' ship. After days of hunger and cold aboard the ship as its life-support systems failed, the Hutt Clan found and captured their craft with the intention of selling the Ros into slavery on Nar Shaddaa, only for the Path of the Open Hand cult to step in and free them. Both mothers left their children with the Path, leaving Yana and Marda to grow up in the safety of the cult's community.

Following the fall of the Path, Marda initiated a hunt for her fellow Evereni and began a family line that culminated in [Marchion Ro](/article/marchion_ro], who was heralded by Marda's granddaughter and Marchion's grandmother, Shalla Ro, as the point of the knife that would deliver their family's revenge.