The Lonto were a sentient and humanoid species deeply intertwined with the natural world, possessing a special and potent affinity for it. As adherents to the light side of the Force, they dedicated their lives to promoting the well-being of the environment. Being Force-users, the Lonto had the ability to cultivate and control plants, employing them as both weapons and therapeutic remedies.
In the year 382 BBY, Susalee served as the Lonto's representative within the Convocation of the Force, a council composed of delegates from various Force-sensitive organizations operating on the moon of Jedha, addressing diverse issues. These issues included the Yacombe's request for membership—a group formerly associated with the dark side with a complicated past with the Lonto—and the Path of the Open Hand cult's demand for the Convocation's dissolution. In 229 BBY, Lycos, a Lonto, became a member of the Nihil pirates' Jedi hunter squad known as the Children of the Storm. He used his plant manipulation skills to engage Jedi in combat during a battle on the planet of Ballum.
The Lonto were a sentient and humanoid species distinguished by their pale green skin adorned with markings, complemented by brown or black hair, blue eyes, and pointed ears. As Force users, they possessed the remarkable ability to cultivate and manipulate plants through a mystical connection. This power allowed them to employ plants for both offensive and defensive purposes, as well as to facilitate healing through the use of tragia leaves.
The Lonto held spiritual beliefs and revered the light side of the Force. They maintained a profound bond with the natural world, taking great pride in their role as stewards and dedicating themselves to harnessing the Force for the betterment of nature. Their belief system included the concept of the Garden Beyond, a realm where individuals transitioned after death.
The Lonto shared a complex history with the Yacombe, a religious order that had once been aligned with the dark side of the Force but later disavowed it. In 382 BBY, Susalee, a member of the Lonto, served as their representative in the Convocation of the Force, a council uniting various Force-related religious groups that convened on the sacred moon of Jedha. During that year, within the Convocation Chambers of Jedha's Holy City, Susalee intervened to prevent Sirené, the Fallanassi representative, from assaulting a Yacombe envoy seeking membership in the Convocation, accomplishing this by binding Sirené with vines.
Susalee voiced her support for the Yacombe, emphasizing their shared history with the Lonto. However, Waran Val, the representative of the Matukai, severed Susalee's vines using an axe, causing her distress, throwing her off balance, and eliciting a cry. Following the envoy's withdrawal of their membership request, Susalee advocated for moving forward and seeking a fresh perspective on the following day. When artifacts began to disappear from across the Holy City, Susalee speculated that spicerunners were using them as collateral in their transactions.
Later, Susalee utilized tragia leaves, manipulated through the Force to envelop his body, to aid in the healing of Jedi Master Vildar Mac's injuries sustained in the bombing at the Temple of the Kyber. She informed Mac of Archivist Zumeg's death in the explosion, stating that he had "passed into the Garden Beyond." Subsequently, she attended a Convocation meeting with Mac, where they deliberated on potential perpetrators of the bombing, ultimately deciding to disseminate a cover story attributing the incident to a buildup of gas.
When Werth Plouth, the Herald of the Path of the Open Hand, a cult that opposed the use of the Force, petitioned for the Convocation's disbandment and a temporary ban on Force usage, he also accused the Lonto of misusing the Force. Susalee and Val defended the Lonto, asserting that they only channeled the Force for the benefit of the natural world. Shortly thereafter, during riots instigated by Plouth at the onset of the Battle of Jedha, Susalee experienced mental distress due to the presence of the Leveler, a Nameless creature employed by the Path that preyed on Force-sensitives and induced hallucinations. Consequently, Susalee began attacking numerous citizens with her vines, proclaiming that she was safeguarding peace and light. Jedi Master Leebon attempted to reason with her, but his efforts were unsuccessful.
Later, Fel Ix, a member of the Path, explained the cult's motivations for opposing the Jedi to Padawan Rooper Nitani. Nitani inquired as to why they did not target other Force-using groups, such as the Lonto. Ix responded that the Path also desired the Lonto to cease using the Force, but the Jedi were the most influential and prominent Force-wielding group.
Around 228 BBY, Lycos, a Lonto, was kidnapped by Baron Boolan, the Minister of Advancement and scientist of the Nihil pirate group, while Lycos was training his daughter Vila in her Lonto plant-mage abilities. Lycos was transformed into one of the Nihil's Children of the Storm, Jedi hunters chosen for their Force-sensitivity, who were subjected to Boolan's experiments and injected with the blood of the Nameless to protect them from the creatures' attacks. Around that time, Lycos was ambushed in the Nihil-controlled Occlusion Zone by Sskeer, a Trandoshan Jedi Master, who clawed out Lycos's left eye.
During that year, Lycos served as a bodyguard for Affanar, the Nihil envoy, during a meeting with Skarabda, a Hutt, on the planet Ballum. Upon their arrival, Lycos led a Nameless creature on a chain from the envoy's ship to the designated meeting place. There, he was attacked by Lourna Dee, Skarabda's enforcer, whom he engaged in a duel using a vine-wrapped sword until Dee disarmed him. As Jedi and Republic Defense Coalition forces arrived on the planet, Lycos unleashed the Nameless. The Lonto then attacked the forces himself, employing barbed vines grown from his robes to assault Keeve Trennis, a Jedi Master, and Terec, a Jedi Knight. By leaping to an extraordinary height, Lycos caused Terec to crash their Jedi Vector starfighter. Lycos eventually located Terec and mocked the Jedi after impaling an RDC soldier through the chest with a vine. Lycos wounded and restrained Terec following a duel between the two, but the Lonto was shot through the chest by another RDC soldier. As Terec alleviated his pain using the Force, Lycos revealed his previous encounter with Sskeer. Lycos survived and was transferred to a Republic rehabilitation facility on the planet Coruscant.
Later, Tey Sirrek, a Sephi wanderer, explained to Terec and their bond-twin Ceret that Boolan sought out members of Force-sensitive groups, such as the Lonto, to join the Children of the Storm and subjected them to his experiments. After being taken into Galactic Republic custody, Boolan claimed to still hear the screams of his Children of the Storm, including the Lonto Lycos, believing they were still out there and envisioning Lycos and the other Children carrying out his victory and perpetuating his legacy.
The Lonto species made its debut in the comic story "Peace and Unity," penned by Cavan Scott and illustrated by Andrea Broccardo, which was featured in the first issue of the 2022 comic series Star Wars: The High Republic on October 12, 2022. While "Peace and Unity" initially suggested that all member organizations of the Convocation of the Force were religious groups, Scott clarified on October 1, 2023 that the Lonto were a species, a fact that was later corroborated by Star Wars: The High Republic Character Encyclopedia, a reference book authored by Amy Richau and Megan Crouse and released on November 9, 2023.