Serp

Serps were a species of humanoid reptilian beings. Beyond a few shared characteristics between the genders—such as clawed and webbed hands with either four or five fingers, bumpy, scaled skin, and sharp, white teeth—the species displayed a significant level of sexual dimorphism. Males possessed muscular builds and relatively flat faces. A scaly ridge marked the brow, arching above two bright blue—or, infrequently, red—eyes. Males lacked a distinct nose but had a sizable, oval-shaped mouth filled with sharp teeth and featuring a pale-red, forked tongue. Some males had a caudal, buzz-saw-shaped crest atop their heads, while others did not. Almost all male Serps had red scales, although some were green. Male Serps could grow facial hair, which was red in some but turned white as they aged.

Conversely, females were identifiable by their slender bodies and prominent breasts. They had a protruding snout with two nostrils. Their eyes were yellow and smaller than the males' eyes. Females, like some males, had a crest of curved spikes running along the center of their heads. They also had orange skin. In addition to hair whitening in males, Serps lost their youthful strength and their teeth began to fall out and lose sharpness as they aged.

Serp society was highly structured, with a monarch ruling the population. Beneath the King were warriors known as knights. Knights were attended by warriors-in-training called squires. Serps valued age, and elders were highly respected. They conceived of time cyclically, referring to "cycles" instead of years.

During the Galactic Civil War, the annual Doom-Jousts served as a combat tournament. Serp warriors underwent rigorous training to prepare for them, venturing to secluded woodland areas to hone mounted jousting techniques through exercises like skewering a spinning ball, archery practice, and drills with hand-to-hand combat weapons. The Doom-Jousts were popular among the Serp populace; spectators filled the stands, and heralds announced the events using long trumpets. While all jousting contestants were male, female Serps showed support by throwing red flowers at their preferred knights. Before each match, an announcer proclaimed the challengers' names. The joust itself had two phases: first, two mounted warriors charged at each other with lances, separated by a wooden fence, attempting to unseat their opponent. Second, the unseated warriors engaged in melee combat with hand weapons. The match concluded when one contestant was killed or yielded. Other recognized Serp professions included chefs and jesters, who entertained with juggling displays.

Serps practiced marriage, with a male and female Serp forming a marital union. They considered Humans physically unattractive due to what they perceived as dull coloring, soft flesh, and a lack of scales.

The Serps achieved a high level of technological advancement, with access to items such as starfighters and blaster cannons. They inhabited high-tech cities featuring multistory buildings. However, after the Serps united politically, advanced technology was prohibited, and their society adopted a simpler way of life.

Consequently, during the Galactic Civil War, Serp technology was relatively basic compared to the wider galaxy. Some Serps lived in simple cottages constructed from brown wood and thatched with yellow straw. Windows allowed sunlight to illuminate the interior during the day, while candles served this purpose at night. Doors facilitated entry and exit. Individual homes were situated in fields of green grass, separated from neighboring plots by picket fences. Interior furnishings were wooden, including tables, stools, and benches. Serps used black, metal pots and utensils for cooking and eating, and glass jugs for storing liquids. Porridge was a typical Serp meal, although some Serps found the flesh of other sentient beings, such as Humans, delicious.

In contrast, the Serp King resided in a large castle known as Castle S'Shah. This imposing structure was made of stone, featuring large towers and parapets from which banners fluttered in the wind. The castle had sturdy, wooden doors. Torches mounted on the walls provided interior lighting. In these opulent settings, glassware was preferred.

Serp fighters wielded lances, bows and arrows, daggers, quarterstaffs, longswords, nets, and maces in combat, and rode large, green, bipedal reptiles as mounts. Despite their relatively primitive technology during the Galactic Civil War, King S'Shah possessed a lance that fired energy bolts.

Serp clothing styles varied according to social setting and occupation. At home, some Serp women wore full, long-sleeved dresses, their simplicity offset by frilly collars and sleeves, as well as waist aprons. A kerchief tied under the chin covered the head. Serp females serving in the King's castle wore much less clothing, their outfit consisting of a collar attached to a metallic brassiere, armlets, bracelets, and skimpy panties. Another outfit included a wide-sleeved dress and a conical hennin headdress with cloth flowing from its tip.

Some Serp males, conversely, wore long, short-sleeved tunics over boots, accentuating their outfit with wristbands. Outside of combat, high-ranking Serp men, such as the King, wore minimalist clothing. For example, S'Shah wore a sleeveless shirt partially covered by a long cape tied with a brooch, a belt over briefs, wristbands, and leather boots. A Serp King might occasionally wear a golden crown. Royal guards dressed similarly, with conical, open-faced helmets, armbands, a sleeveless tunic, a belt, and leather boots. These guards carried long spears or halberds.

In combat, warriors wore suits of gray, metal body armor, including pauldrons, a breastplate, pieces covering the arms, legs, and feet, and a helmet with a hinged visor, and a large shield bearing an emblem. The helmets often featured colorful plumes. Lower-ranked soldiers wore simpler armor, such as conical, open-faced helms, leather boots, and short-sleeved tunics. Serp entertainers were recognized by their colorful doublets, frilled collars, and hats with several drooping points terminating in pompoms.

Serphidi, a planet of mountains and forests in the Belial system, served as the evolutionary home of the Serps. The planet was situated in a region of space initially explored by outsiders between 3000 and 1000 BBY, eventually becoming part of the Sanbra sector in the Outer Rim Territories. By 1004 BBY, during the New Sith Wars, the Serp homeworld was part of the Sith Empire, and by 22 BBY, during the Clone Wars, it was located within Separatist space.

The Serps progressed to an advanced technological state. However, access to advanced weaponry tempted Serp factions to engage in warfare, leading to centuries of conflict and widespread devastation. The costs of war became so high that, at least several cycles before the Galactic Civil War, the warring factions agreed to a pact: advanced technology was banned on Serphidi, and the Serps pledged allegiance to a single King. The annual Doom-Jousts were established as a means of channeling aggression previously directed towards war.

Many cycles before 0 ABY, S'Shah ascended to the Serphidian throne. The new King broke with tradition and accessed some of the planet's previously lost advanced technology. He used this forbidden knowledge to enhance his personal jousting equipment, transforming the Doom-Jousts into deadly contests. S'Shah decreed that he could only be removed as King by someone defeating him in the Doom-Jousts. The King faced all challengers and consistently prevailed. Nevertheless, Serps continued to train for the opportunity to oust S'Shah; the elderly Serp Elglih was one such example.

After the founding of the Galactic Empire in 19 BBY, the Belial system remained outside Imperial control until at least 17 BBY. However, the Serp homeworld had fallen under Imperial dominion by the start of the Galactic Civil War. Despite this, the Serps sympathized with the Alliance to Restore the Republic in their opposition to the galactic government. When the Empire increased its activities in the star system by deploying TIE/LN starfighters, Alliance High Command decided that the increased Imperial presence posed too great a risk to Rebel operations, as the Alliance had no bases or allies in the sector. The Human Alliance operative Leia Organa thus dispatched a strike team—consisting of the Human starfighter pilots Berl, Luke Skywalker, and Cinda Tarheel—on a mission to Serphidi to attempt to befriend the Serps and gain valuable intelligence about Imperial activities in the region.

The Rebels were attacked by Imperial forces upon arrival in the system. They fled to the planet's surface, where they were attacked by King S'Shah, eager to enhance his legend, and several Serp warriors, including one named Chahis. The Serps killed Berl and injured Tarheel, but Skywalker shot some Serps and escaped into the nearby woods. The Serp King took Tarheel as a personal plaything, taking her back to Castle S'Shah.

In the forest, Skywalker encountered Elglih, who was trapped by a carnivorous plant. The young Human rescued the elder Serp, who revealed he had been practicing for the Doom-Jousts when he fell into the trap. In his cottage in Harmony Glade, Elglih explained the planet's history to Skywalker and, realizing he was too weak to defeat S'Shah, asked the Human to enter the Doom-Jousts on his behalf. Skywalker agreed.

At the castle, the King toyed with Tarheel, dressing her in an elegant gown and feigning attraction to her. He revealed his true intentions: he planned to eat her. A pair of Serp guards took Tarheel to be fitted for a dress, but she escaped. S'Shah recaptured her and brought her to the Doom-Jousts, which began that day, forcing her to sit in his personal viewing box.

The Doom-Jousts marked the end of Elglih's intense training regimen. At the tournament, Elglih challenged the King but requested that Skywalker fight in his place as his champion. S'Shah accepted, and the Serp ruler faced the Human in a joust. The King's energy bolts overwhelmed Skywalker, who was dismounted. S'Shah's attempt to finish his opponent brought him within range of Skywalker's counterstrike, allowing the Human to unseat the King and engage him in hand-to-hand combat. Grabbing the King's energy-bolt-firing lance, Skywalker gained the upper hand, and S'Shah yielded. Nevertheless, he attempted to surprise Skywalker with a high-tech weapon called a micro-jolt. Skywalker shot and killed the King in response.

Elglih asked Skywalker to take the Serphidian throne, but Skywalker insisted that Elglih was best suited to rule. Elglih agreed and succeeded S'Shah as King—and as a loyal supporter of the Rebel Alliance. Decades later, in 137 ABY, Serphidi fell under the control of Darth Krayt's Galactic Empire.

The Serps were conceived by writers Michael Fleisher and David Michelinie for the 64th issue of the Marvel Comics Star Wars comic book. Artists Joe Brozowski and Vince Colletta designed the species' physical appearance. The issue featuring the Serps was first published in October 1982. Unlike other Serps in the issue, the Serp on the cover of Star Wars 64 has green skin and red eyes. Whether this is a variant phenotype or an artifact of the Rebellion's digital display is not known.

The Serps are mentioned in "ComicScan: Marvelously Silly Aliens," an article by Charlie Novinskie for Star Wars Galaxy Magazine 3, first published in Spring 1995. The article misspells the species' name as Sepr.