Evocii

Last Updated: 2/28/2024

Name: Evocii

Humanoid: Yes

Classification: Near-Human

Homeworld: Evocar (Nal Hutta)

Coloration: Brown, Tan, Pink, Red, and/or Yellow

Biology: The Evocii were a humanoid species known for resembling baseline Humans from afar, yet having their appearance be slightly off upon closer observation. Evocii seemed to stand around the same height as the average Human, if not slightly taller, usually being between 1.8 and 2 meters tall when fully grown. The species was bipedal, with two arms and two legs, each limb appearing to end in appendages with five digits each. Evocii had pale tan skin that sometimes took on a pink or yellow hue, only growing visibly dark red around certain areas of their face. It was also possible for them to grow black or dark brown hair, though again, this was relegated to sparse places on their head.

Said heads were slightly taller than that of the average Human’s, with large chins, defined brows, sharp cheekbones, and hairlines that appeared to start at the very least on the top of their head, making them seem like they had huge foreheads if they chose to grow any hair at all. They also had some maroon coloration, staring on their lip, running up their philtrum, covering their noses, then encircling their eyes, coming to a point on their lower eyelids. Evocii were also known for their distinctive noses, which were large and wide, with outwards facing nostrils. They also had pointed ears that extended up and out from the back sides of their head. Additionally, though Human-like, their eyes were almost always observed with bright blue irises.

The species was, at one point in their history, subterranean in nature, which lended to their pale complexion and potentially strong eyes. Evocii were also herbivores, subsisting on a diet almost exclusively made up of dried fruits and boiled vegetables, though it’s never been expressly stated that they could not eat meat. They were seen as a scrawny and weak species, with frail muscles and relatively brittle bones. The species also wasn’t known for having a high baseline intelligence, possessing underdeveloped brains, at least when they were first discovered. They preferred to speak their native tongue, also known as “Evocii,” which consisted of long words with many vowels, though they also had no issue fluently speaking both Basic and Huttese.

Lore: The Evocii hailed from a mountainous world once known as Evocar, dwelling primarily among its many rainforests and cavern systems. They were an ancient species, developing sentience sometime shortly prior to 15,000 BBY, though by the time of their discovery, they were still classified as fairly primitive, never even developing the concept of family/surnames. They were just in the process of developing a unique culture when, in approximately 15,000 BBY, they made first contact with a far more advanced species from Varl, the Hutts. These large beings presented the Evocii with various technological wonders, offering them in exchange for various plots of land. Whisked away by the torrent of progress and new discoveries, they quickly make deal after deal, and before they had realized it, the Hutts owned the entirety of their homeworld, renaming it from Evocar to Nal Hutta and quickly turning on the locals.

The Hutts established their tyrannical Empire in a move that seemed sudden for the Evocii, but which had been planned for some time, the manipulative strategy going over perfectly. Having sold their souls to these “devils,” they were now helpless as the planet’s natural biomes were torn down, replaced by various cityscapes, palaces, and spaceports, the local environments even becoming much more barren and swampy to suit the Hutt’s preferences. The Evocii even attempted to reach out to the Galactic Republic for some kind of aid, though, given that the Hutts had technically acquired their homeworld through legal means, the Republic’s hands were tied and they gave the Hutts full reign to proceed in their complete takeover. At first, the Evocii were simply displaced from their land and forced to take up residence across the more undesirable locations of the planet, but soon, the Hutts realized they could be used as a cheap workforce and began the process of enslaving the entire species.

Becoming one of, if not the first of many Hutt slave species, the Evocii would be split up over the next ten millennia or so, some remaining to help expand Nal Hutta, while the others were shipped off to develop a newer Hutt colony on one of Nal Hutta’s moons, namely one that would eventually become known galaxy-wide as the “Smuggler’s Moon,” “Little Coruscant,” or the “Vertical City,” Nar Shaddaa. The last of the Evocii’s original civilizations and architecture were demolished around this time, leading to a small uprising on Nal Hutta. The few remaining Evocii who had escaped capture banded together to fight back against their Hutt oppressors, and for a short time, these sabotage and raiding efforts were quite successful. One individual, known simply as the “Huttsbane,” even became quite legendary around 3,650 BBY, known for being an incredibly skilled guerilla fighter who slew quite a number of Hutts. Though becoming famous among his people, he was eventually put to death when the Hutts brought in bounty hunters to deal with the rabble, and the rebellion ceased shortly thereafter, with the last of the Evocii either shipped out to Nar Shaddaa or being wiped off the face of their former world entirely.

For some time there was still a quite large Evocii population on Nar Shaddaa, but as the planet-wide city’s construction began wrapping up, their usefulness waned, and many were suddenly left to their own devices to survive among the planet that never sleeps. Many of these Evocii simply could not survive on their own anymore, and the constant exposure to the moon’s surprisingly harsh atmosphere only sped up the decline of their population. The survivors receded into the city’s underbelly, relying on inbreeding to preserve their species. This resulted in a generation of sickly, pale, deformed Evocii who had little strength and an aversion to light. Barely unrecognizable, the Hutts actually incorrectly wrote the Evocii off as extinct, an idea that became widespread throughout the galaxy. This may have been made true, however, when the Yuuzhan Vong glassed Nar Shaddaa’s surface and flooded it’s underbelly with aggressive and lethal bacteria during their invasion, though it’s possible some could still remain on other Hutt-controlled worlds.

Continuity: The Evocii remain exclusive to Star Wars Legends for now, though, aside from their possible extinction at the hands of the Yuuzhan Vong, most of it can be adapted into Canon with little issue.

Unexplored: Outside of Canon, where they’re one of hundreds of “blank slate” species, there’s still some aspects of the Evocii’s established EU lore that could have been expanded upon further, so that’s what we’re going to tackle here (alongside a few ideas that would only work if they were Canon). First off, how long before 15,000 BBY was it when the species first developed sentience, and what sort of creature might they have evolved from? Were the Hutts really the first people to learn of their existence, or had the Republic already discovered them and simply left them to develop unaffected by outside influences? Why did the Hutts specifically target Evocar, and how long did it take to execute their plan of taking jurisdiction of the world? Did they already have other species in their “employment,” or were the Evocii truly the first they forcefully incorporated into their growing Empire? What happened with the Evocii during the 11,000 years or so between their first contact with the Hutts and being completely removed from Nal Hutta?

How long did the rebel efforts last, and did a similar uprising ever take place on Nar Shaddaa? Additionally, how many Hutt casualties were there during the conflict, especially at the hands of the Huttsbane? When were the Evocii finally dismissed from their duties on Nar Shaddaa, and how long was it before they became their final sickly, inbred form? Additionally, were they truly wiped out in the end, or is it possible more could be found in small groups throughout Hutt Space? We’ve only really ever seen Evocii towards the end of their existence, but what did the species look like millennia prior, and did they have any additional unique anatomical or biological traits that we have yet to observe? Also, regarding canonical context, if they weren’t wiped out like in the EU, is it possible the Evocii might have survived long enough to become founding, or at least key, components of the Kanjiklub, witnessing the regression and possibly even collapse of the Hutt Empire? It would also be interesting to see a snapshot of their culture (and other various worldbuilding traits) prior to the Hutts’ arrival, which, if preserved and carried forward even after being enslaved, would help us better understand and write Evocii characters!

Additional Notes: I think the Evocii are a fascinating species, as is usually the case for any species designated as the native race of a previously established and popular Star Wars planet/moon/astronomical object. The lore here is also just a really interesting glimpse into a species that simply never got to grow into their own, losing their chance at a unique identity because they were manipulated during their developmental years. I think the Evocii could fit extremely well into Canon, both as a cautionary tale as well as a prime example of victims of the dastardly Hutt Empire, and I would also be okay with them faring a bit better canonically so that they could still pop up in the “modern” eras. Especially, as pointed out above, they would be a unique aspect added into the Kanjiklub mythos that would help flesh out and ground the budding, ex-Hutt controlled criminal organization even more!

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