Frid

Last Updated: 1/28/2024

Name: Frid (or Iskalonian)

Humanoid: No

Classification: Amphibious

Homeworld: Mackar (and Iskalon)

Coloration: Green and Red

Biology: The Frid were one of the many amphibious races present within the Iskalonian School. They could technically be considered bipedal, floating in an upright manner like most bipedal aquatic species, although given they rarely if ever traveled to land, this classification is overly relevant. Still, the species did possess two arms and two legs, each appendage only featuring two digits. The species had slick, hairless skin that was dark green in coloration. They were also covered in numerous wrinkles, primarily on their torsos, and they could be considered rather muscular.

Extending from their rear was an abdomen-like growth that could possibly be considered a pseudo-tail. Their heads were bulbous and pointed, sporting small mouths and protruding lips, as well as bulging, circular, red eyes with dark pupils that appeared to be recessed holes, nearly identical to their peers, the Graygl. While they had no visible nostrils or aural cavities, they did have two fins running along their jaws that presumably housed gills. The Frid could breathe underwater, although there is no confirmation that they could survive above the surface.

The species was also known for their evident sexual dimorphism, with males apparently being slightly larger and their dorsal fins beginning on their heads, running up and over it in a “mohawk-like” manner, while females were a bit small, seemingly slightly shorter than the average Human or near-Human species, and their fin started at the top of their back, with both having the fin extend far past their abdomen, again appearing like a tail. The Frid was also apparently always Force Sensitive (presumably possessing a high midi-chlorian count) as, given the shapes of their mouths, they were incapable of verbally speaking, instead communicating via telepathy.

Lore: The Frid had been around for quite some time, possessing a civilization on the Mid Rim watery world of Mackar during the mid Old Republic era. They were known to at least some offworlders, although we have no evidence they were a member of the Galactic Republic or anything as extreme. Around 5,000 BBY, some sort of unspecified catastrophe ravaged Mackar to the point where the species was on the brink of extinction and the world was rendered completely uninhabitable, saved only by mysterious benefactors who managed to swoop in and rescue the last remaining members of the species from total decimation. The Frid were whisked away to the equally water-covered planet, Iskalon, where they were added to “the School,” a collection of aquatic refugee species who had all suffered similar world-ending events at around the same time.

Like most other members of the School, the Frid had since abandoned much of their individual nature in favor of adopting the shared culture of their community, even adopting a new, secondary species name like the others, becoming an “Iskalonian” subsect. Over the next five millennia or so, the few remaining Frid would remain on Iskalon, occasionally plagued by slavers who would indiscriminately raid the world, collecting various Iskalonians, including some Frid, to be sold and spread out across the galaxy in servitude of others. Still, the species carried on, and soon, the Galactic Civil War had become and the School was considering a potential future alliance with the Rebel Alliance. Due to their telepathic abilities, the Frid had proved an especially beneficial asset to the safety of the school, although, as pacifists, they were helpless when the Galactic Empire eventually arrived on Iskalon to subjugate the entirety of the School.

Just prior to their crucial collective convening with heroes of the Rebellion, a missile was launched from Iskalon’s sister planet, Gamandar, which struck the oceanic world, causing a massive tidal wave that was so destructive, it completely wiped out Iskalon’s largest underwater city, known as the “Pavillion,” and killed countless Iskalonians in the process. The Frid suffered alongside the others, although they did survive. However, any chances of allying with the Rebellion or any outsiders were now over, and the Iskalonians retreated deeper into Iskalon’s murky depths, isolating themselves from future interactions with others. Though they had refused the offer to join the New Republic following the Empire’s collapse, the newly established government still dispatched researchers to investigate the initial calamities that had overtaken the homeworlds of various members of the school. This included a study of the ruins of Mackar, although no potential findings were ever made known.

Continuity: Like most other members of the School/Iskalonians, the Frid remain uncanonized, relegated to the early EU.

Unexplored: Like the majority of the named and unnamed members of the School, the Frid are fairly open to exploration, although being an Iskalonian means they’ve also shed a lot of their individuality in favor of their new collective identity, so I suppose that could prove a hindrance. As always, we first need to ask, when did the Frid first develop sentience? Given they’re one of the few Iskalonians to not even wear clothing, and the fact that they were incapable of speaking, were they more possibly more primitive than the others (at least prior to the collapse), or were they actually so advanced that they had long since shed those concepts? When were they first discovered, and was it possible they were members of the Galactic Republic, or is the fact that they were left to their own devices during Mackar’s great catastrophe reason enough to believe that they were independent?

What exactly took place on Mackar leading to its abandonment, was it related to the supposedly similar near-extinction events that the other 16 Iskalonian races faced, and how well did they fare/how many of them actually survived? What were their initial thoughts upon joining the school, how much of their culture and identity did they bring with them versus what they abandoned, and what did the Frid specifically think of the various outside events that took place over the next five millennia or so? What sort of advantages did they offer given their telepathic powers? Was that truly related to the Force, at least in a traditional sense, did they have a high baseline midi-chlorian count, were they ever the product of intergalactic studies, did they have any other unique powers, latent or otherwise, and was it common to see members of the Frid among the Jedi Order? Alongside these more specific questions, learning about their pre-collapse civilizations, societies, politics, governments, allegiances, economies, exports, galactic contributions, key historical events, religions, philosophies, traditions, cultural practices, etc. would prove incredibly beneficial for the species’ worldbuilding!

Additional Notes: I’ve actually noticed that, like they VERY similar Graygl species, there has been a bit of confusion surrounding the Frid’s appearance within their lone comic appearance, “Marvel Star Wars (1977) #74,” where various individuals may or may not be members of the species. I went ahead and decided to include every supposed depiction (there are only three, two of a female and one supposedly of a male) for the sake of comprehensiveness, but with the inclusion of the Graygl and the generally inconsistent nature of illustrations within the OG comic run, who knows how they were originally intended to be separated as their names seem to have been implemented years later.

Reference Images: