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Ryn

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this species of humanoids was distinguished by their birdlike faces and the stiff hair covering their bodies. They had a slender, prehensile tail and a chitinous nose. The males had drooping moustachios and crests at their temples, while the females lacked moustachios and had slicked-back hair in place of the crests. Their noses were formed from a series of holes, making it appear to be a musical instrument, and the tips of their tails were sky-blue in color. They were known to be hard workers, but with a penchant for thievery and confidence games. The Ryn also had a distinct odor, which many other species found offensive. As a people, Ryn were highly superstitious, and had a number of rituals involving eating and bodily fluids. They were considered nomads, and those Ryn which were encountered most often were enslaved or being hunted down for some crime. Most xenobiologists were unable to discover the homeworld of the Ryn. The Ryn themselves had forgotten its name and location, but their histories showed that they were native to the Core and were driven from their homeworld long ago. Some Ryn believed that they were descended from a civilization of 10,000 musicians who agreed to move to a planet which was bereft of music. Others believed that their ancestors were warriors who were planted on other worlds to fend of a threat from the Inner Rim. This latter explanation was considered the most plausible, since the Ryn language contained a variety of military terms, including words for "non-Ryn" and "civilians." A large colony of Ryn settled in the Corporate Sector, moving from planet to planet. Some contingents of Ryn were quite fatalistic, claiming that they had been abused by the rest of the galaxy for so long that they often abused themselves whenever they were alone. When the Yuuzhan Vong invasion of the galaxy began, many families of Ryn were suddenly split apart as refugees were shipped off to any planet which seemed to be on the far side of the invasion. Despite their separation, the Ryn maintained close contacts, and managed to create a tightly-knit web of information gatherers. They chose to blend into their environments, taking advantage of the way other races ignored them to insinuate themselves into their host culture, using these vantage points to collect information. Using secure channels, the Ryn began to anonymously provide their information to the Galactic Alliance, in the hopes that it could be used to defeat the Yuuzhan Vong. It was believed that the Ryn were led by a single individual, but no one knew who it was. Among the Ryn, it was rumored that this leader established the information network after learning about the Great River of the Jedi Knights.