Editing Aing-Ti Monks (section)

==='''An Aing-Tii master of the Force'''===

The Aing-Tii were native to a planet whose location in the Kathol Rift was a closely guarded secret. The rift itself was a dangerous area of space, although by the time of the Galactic Empire they had developed space travel and many had taken to living in their semi-organic starships. The majority of Aing-Tii never left their homeworld nor had any contact with members of other sentient species. Those who did—commonly called Aing-Tii warrior monks—were highly xenophobic and reclusive, attacking any who tried to learn more about them. Although most aspects of Aing-Tii culture were not known to the wider galaxy, it was documented that all Aing-Tii seen offworld were Force-sensitive. They believed that their Force talents were gifts from their deities, "Those Who Dwell Beyond the Veil," although they generally preferred not to use the Force when they could avoid it. They saw the Force as sacred, something that was not to be meddled with. The monks spent their entire lives performing errands for their gods, traveling through the dangerous Kathol Rift—which they also viewed as a holy place—and performing pilgrimages in the hope that they would receive "an answer" from them.[1]
The monks did make occasional use of the Force, mostly to fuel their cavernous ships. The Aing-Tii had a different view of the Force from that of other Force-users: they believed that even one who was not Force-sensitive could manipulate the energy field to do his or her bidding. Although Aing-Tii avoided using these "gifts," the monks could instantaneously move an object—ranging in size from small items to 300-meter-long ships—from one location to another, an ability not mastered by even the most powerful of Jedi or Sith. They were also able to teach this power to non-Force-sensitives. The Aing-Tii believed that, while life was not predetermined, everything was somehow guided by the Force. Unlike the Jedi and Sith, the warrior monks did not believe in the light or dark sides of the Force. Instead, they held that there were many different aspects to the Force.

The monks were able to use myriad other Force powers, one of which was known as flow-walking. Skilled practitioners of the technique could surrender their emotions to the Force and center themselves in its flow, thus transcending time itself. An Aing-Tii could therefore use flow-walking to observe events in the past or future, so long as the monk knew the location at which the event had occurred or eventually would occur. By allowing their senses of detachment to fade, and letting their emotional selves return, however, practitioners could impose themselves upon the passage of time and begin to influence and change the course of events. Such alternation was only possible to an extent; the Force itself was unable to be substantially altered and would ensure that events continued as they were pre-destined to do so. With its manipulation of the fabric of time, flow-walking was a complex, esoteric ability, and it remained a little-known secret among the Aing-Tii.

The Aing-Tii held a deep hatred of slavery, and they often attacked slavers who roamed the Kathol Outback. Due to the sheer power of their technology, the Aing-Tii traveled in groups of three to five ships, ramming vessels laden with slaves and destroying slaver ships that were free of slaves at the time. Few outsiders realized what was behind such attacks, thinking them simply random, although those who had dealings with the Aing-Tii learned quickly of this hatred. Although Aing-Tii were quick to respond to pleas from residents of the Kathol Outback, the species kept to themselves and discouraged any attempts by others to pry into their business. They did allow a small amount of information about themselves to surface, though only to scare off any who would seek to learn more.