Foreword: The study of fictional cultures is always interesting. After all, the whole of the Lord of the Rings was instigated due to Tolkien's desire to put the Elvish language(and all though-environs in its making) he created, to use. There is a strange satisfaction in making something that is eminently impossible, seem plausible. Ah, worlds away - and carried on the fancies of those with overactive imaginations, like pirahna seizing on an idea... or a rather bad analogy... something which has previously existed is expanded to create a consensus for discussion. In simple terms, to know just when people are acting OOC, first there must be a solid idea of what in-character is. There are many possible references we could get for an atnhromophous feline civilization.. Kilrathi, Kzinti, for example. But Kitarans would have to be their own, free from influences that do not directly affect their growth as a people. Culture is an ofshoot of environment. It is molded by history and is subject to several jarring shocks, as paradigms of belief shift, as the people who live it begin to die out, as the circumstances of life changes, and ends up as a general measure of what a person is. It's not stereotyping, or archetyping. Cultures affect how each of us will react to any given event. Now, let us think for a moment... sunset. The sun is a big ball of red receding on the horizon, the cloud are whisps and daggers stained with brilliant blood, the sky a darkening orange... the ground, it extends bare to the horizon, pocked with craters, trenches gouged out. It is is a wounded land, a dying land, but even its carcass retains a fierce vitality in the towering mountains that remain, the sharp valleys that were formed through magma's touch. The seas are silent. Within the rock hum the unceasing machinery, giving light to those that live under decades of hiding from the sun, growing the crops that would feed these toiling souls. Each day to carve another tunnel, to keep the words spoken so long ago... sons of the forests and daughters of the plains! The death of your world be upon you! The agony of all life snuffed out by the weapons of your forebears shall haunt your dreams. Live, if only to bring life... that sleeping tangle... from the shelters of your Clanhearts. Once, your kind had ran through oceans of grass to chase agile prey. Once, your kind had skulked through dense forests to set traps. Once, your kind had farmed and freed themselves from chance. Once, your kind had made war and nearly destroyed the land. Once, your kind had suffered retribution from the stars. Twice, your kind had made war and nearly destroyed the land. Thrice, your kind had made war and succeeded at destroying the land. Once more, your kind will face each other. This time, who will die? Kitarans, for all their cheer, are motivated at a low level by guilt. Guilty at wasting life, time, and effort... so they try as hard as they can to know and feel as much as they can while still alive. Three were the times the Kitarans brought their species to extinction. Now it seems they're everywhere. Culture as motivated by situational existence means that society walks a fine line between opression and collapse. The Kitarans would have to balance on this tightrope, between civilization and savagery, from reaching pinnacles then knocking themselves back to the stone age... over the years, it is this quest to justify each of their own existences that would shape the Kitaran mind into the flexible exuberant nature it has now. After thousands of years, cultural pressure has burst, and the Kits are compensating for all the angst their ancestors displayed. They no longer have to worry about their inavertedly causing a Fourth Catacylsm to descend upon Kitara. The poor planet's been smacked around too much by its inhabitants already. Finally above the family-tie, the clan-bind, there is loyalty towards a justification for survival of a species. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Contents A. Glossary B. Timeline 1. Unrecorded history a. Myths and Legends b. Evolutionary Development 2. After First Cataclysm a. The Soft Winter b. The Blackhaired Exodus c. The Whitehaired Rule 3. Second Wartorn Age a. The Tabbana Blood Compact b. The Wild Nations c. The Third Cataclysm 4. Clans Arising a. The Building of Citadels b. The Hard Winter c. The Cleansed Land 5. The Clan Wars a. The Clanheart Citadels b. The Hard Winter Revisited c. The Breaking Century d. The Taenarian Envoy C. The Clans 1. Tabbana a. House Orange b. House Grey 2. Lio a. Outstar Merchanter Company b. Praid Domain Inc. c. The Royal Congress 3. Fantyr a. House Shamran b. House Myaanira c. House Pirsan 4. Jiraga a. Eastern Research Cove b. Citadel-tech 5. Tigiran a. House Hretana b. House Nyurr c. House Kirrana 6. Solaris/Sulararis a. Halu b. Kurrona 7. Unclanned a. The Northern Tribes b. The Southern Rebels D. Personalities 1. Toltiir 2. Lord Myrnk 3. Amira, the Sunstealer 4. Clanmaker Sera Sameka 5. Prince Lio Yanfarr 6. Tabbana Brusolla 7. 8. etc E. Locations 1. Port Neko F. FAQ 1. Can Kitarans swim? 2. Can Kitarans reproduce with non-Kitarans? 3. 4. etc ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Overview Kitarans. Noun, race which are natural evolved residents of the planet Kitara. Colloq, death through kawaii. Kit-haranna : literal translation, hunter awake The Kitarans are one of the most prolific and most widespread races of the Federation. At last year's estimate, there are approximately eight billion Kitarans (5 bil on Kitara, 3 bil on Neko Station, 300 mil on Kitlara, 200 mil on Taenaria, 500 mil etc) spread all across the galaxy. The Kitaran Royal Navy posesses at least six thousand warships for its defense, and more Kitarans enroll to become Border Patrol than any other people(approx 35% of Border Patrol's active roster at any time are Kit). They are described as capricious, easily distracted, but most of all, FAST. Kitaran physiology is optimized for quick action, and this biological imperative is also the driving force of the culture. They have a love for exploration, competition, and intimacy. While Kitarans tend to make for difficult friends, they value friendships as worth loyalty approaching that of blood-binding. Despite that the Kit tout themselves as the cutest things in the universe(for Taenrians are more of sublime beauty, really) and are fun, caring companions.. they will always remain at heart, the predators most adept at hunting thinking prey. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- A. Glossary Fariro - n, moon. Specifically the sole remaining moon orbiting Kitara. The kitaran festival known as the Farirra is dedicated to the 'shadow moon', in remembrance to having once two moon lighting the sky over Kitarann nightskies - but during the Third Cataclysm this moon was made to fall on Kitara itself, utterly rearranging the landcape. Himiro - n, House. A societal unit that contains a lineage controlling a certain world-spanning industry or commerce in Kitara. Harana - v, wake up. The Kitaran term form themselves was originally Kitharrana, meaning a people awakening. The -nna suffix, or a repeated consonant before the end vowel, denotes plurality. Inyilar - v, to duel, also known as the Kitaran Doctrine(Inyislir) which is a loose gathering of all traditions pertaining to a proper Clan Battle. A Clan Battle is an honorable meeting of forces on an agree-upon Traditional Battleground, where only armies would fight and preserving the safety of civilians. The victor in the battle would then claim the loser's holdings. Kimari - v, to eat. Also, used as the term for a Kitaran's birthday. The colloquial usage is; Kimari myor. A Kitaran at birth is traditionally first made to chew on, or at least taste raw meat before being suckled. On later celebrations, a Kit must drink at least a cup of wine mixed with the blood of a Rur. This is said to strengthen one's will and ensure a long and active life. Kitharamur - n, also known as Kitara Prime. Kit, means people/ kin/ being, Hara means 'going/in action', and Amur is kitaran for 'whole', therefore Kitaharamurr means 'all we can see'. This term however was shortened to Kitara by some lazy scribe of pre-First Cataclysm, which has since then passed into general use. Kithalara - n, also known as Kitara Secondus, fourth planet in the system and the first planetary colony established in the Kitaran space, after the Taenarians arrived and allowed the Kit population to expand once more (5239 KTC). It is somewhat larger than Kitara, and has a toxic atmosphere with traces of arsenic. It does however contain vast mineral resources, specially the heavy noncorrosive metals which are vital in the building of semiconductor and optical circuits. Alar, means foot or appendage. Verbform is Alaru, to run. Krin - n, race, breed. i - s, of. The suffix -i denotes the tense of a verb or the ownership of a noun. Kitarani, of kitara. Kimari, eat. Kimarii, had eaten. Kimar, like all Kitaran verbs, is future tensed in its natural form. Turo kimar?, is did (you) eat? Mani - n, Clanheart, a great fortified citadel that is home to an entire Clan, and may comfortably contain up to twenty-five million people. A Clanheart is an independent superstructure, a country all into itself and when sealed, as in case of a nuclear attack, it contains sufficient power and supplies to support its full-capacity of population for two hundred years. The first clanhearts were designed and built by the Tabbana. The full term is Kitharmani, 'our hearts as one'. Mar - n, Clan. Mur - n, family. Myaka - v, sleep, n, home. The largest continent in Kitara and where the Kitaran race evolved. Most of it lies beyond the equatorial band, creating a temperate zone with plenty of rivers and streams. At its along the coast line facing Khri is the Great Desert named Tarikanna, meaning Lost Voices. It is presumably where the pre-Cataclysm civilization had its greatest concentration of cities. Before the coming of the Taenarians, the Tarik had expanded to make Myaka a vast prairie. Only near the lakes and coastlines, on alluvial plateaus and deltas, was there possible dense agricultural efforts. Myor - v, worthy. Myorri - n, Lands of Worth; Myorri was a fragemented continent to the west of Ayrrka, and must have been settled during the pre-Catacylsm days. The Myorrina vaults sheltered the Kit who would later become the Clan Tirgiran(3411 KSC), who would then sweep into the East in raids of piracy. The Tirgiran had developed shipbuilding to an exacting degree, while the other Kitarans feared leaving the shores. Neko - v, unashamed, unafraid Neko, Port - n, the Orbiting Station built by the Taenarian under request of the ruling Clan Solaris, and the cooperation of both Clan Tabbana and Jiraga. It contains around five hundred million people, and is the primary shipyard for Kitaran Royal Navy. Its ports sell the resources mined from planet Kitara, and the debris from the field of planetoids around Kitara. Nujuro - n, the sun. Nujurran, the stars. Nujekurran, eternity. o - s, you or that. Functions similarly as other suffixes, but when a word ends in a vowel, 'r' is added into the suffix. Therefore, tu (have) is changed to turo (have you, has that) och, ukh - s, not. Therefore, turiloch or turilukh means 'not winter' or 'defronting', murroch or murrukh means 'orphan'. Ri - n, land. Rur - n, a large four-legged, rhinocerus-like beast that is one of the few surviving cattle on Kitara. Its blood leukocyte count is very high, while all the other large draft mammals died out during the Second Catacylsm from mutated disease strains, the Rur developed immunity. Sera - b, great leader. Turil - n, winter. Turilur - n, death. Etc, more to be added later ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Timeline: "From the darkness came a black cat [original word was nyara, meaning wanderer], its fur was like a piece of the night. The name of the cat WAS Toltiir [no meaning ascribed] and it was fleeing from its nemesis, whose NAME was Zharkin [study terms this as a obscure reference to a canine, which is strange as the canis branch never developed on Kitara]. Toltiir while hiding in the mountains and there found a kitten. It was hungry and mewling would have brung the attention of Zharkin. But Toltiir was a MALE cat and could not give the kitten milk. So He bit off His left paw and gave the kitten his flesh to eat and his blood to drink. [Kitaran tomes signify that the felinous ancestors have been much larger than today's Kitarans] And then He ran away again, always pursued by Zharkin. And the kitten grew and became a mother cat. She birthed a litter and during a hard winter that claimed her mate, her children were hungry and near dying. So she bit off her left paw and gave them her flesh to eat and blood to drink and afterwards could no longer chase the hunt. [the kittens were still small and as such a paw must have been enough, but if they had been larger debate rages on wheter she would have given herself entirely. However even now Kitarans would take starvation, death before cannibalism, even in desperate straits.] She was the First to wait, the first to set a trap, the first to follow the prey to its lair, the first to roll in the mud to hide her scent, the first roll stone from above, the first amongst us to walk on two legs. [no etymological explanation that isn't still wildly speculative] And one of her children, who could speak after eating of the flesh that tasted the Chaos, called her the Destroyer.[meaning whatever she wanted dead, could do nothing but to die]" -a rather crude translation of an old, old kitaran legend Their homeworld is the planet Kitara, the second planet of five in their system. It is slightly smaller but denser than Derivia, with a gravity about 0.18% higher. It orbits around its sun over a period of 405 Galstandard days, a year is split into nine months of thirty days. Traditional Kitaran chronometry uses fifteen-hour days and 45-minute hours. However, a Kitaran minute is approximately ninety Derivian seconds. To describe the planet Kitara, one word suffices succinctly. Blasted. Four times, the world came close to destruction. Three were done by the war actions of its inhabitants. A long time ago, the continents were shorn with great forests and expansive, fertile plains. The kitarans prospered upon this land, like the people of Earth, until they despoiled its treasures from overuse. After the Three Catacylsms, the Kitaran surface was sufficiently eroded to limit growth to a few regions, however hidded mineral deposits have also risen to the surface. The Kitarans were in the quandary of having more materials to build weapons with than enough land to feed themselves. Efforts of outward expansion into space were put to and end during the Third Cataclysm. Much of the surface are still wastelands, though reconstructive terraforming instigated with Taenarian assistance has created new healthy pockets of the landscape. Kitara has two great continents, but for the eras before the coming of the Taenarians, only the upper half of the largest continent was still settled. The continent's name is Myaka, it is an expansive land filling two thirds of the world south of the equator. The other continent is fractured and is further divided into two, these are Ayrka and Khri, shaped somewhat like a butterfly and is situated just above and to the right of Myaka with the Kirgrani Ocean between. To the other side of Myaka was the large archipelagic islands of Myorri. There are no national disjoints on Kitara, nor are there clear boundaries of territory. Officially, the Tabbana own everything. Those that have the pledged service of clan Tabbana will then be given what they can produce in excess of what is necessary for their own survival. They perform the basic aims and enterprises thereby freeing the ruling class for other pursuits. The currency of Kitara was Kit-hour, or Kitnuri. One Kit-hour refers to the pledge of clan Tabanna to give an hour of their life to the service of anyone who has claimed dominion over their land. Economically, these gold-stamped coins have stable value highly resistant to inflation. A Kit-hour will ALWAYS bring its wielder one hour in the care of a Tabbana.. if wounded, aid. If hungry, food. To abuse the rights brought by the Kit-hour(for it was Tabbana who mined and made the machines to mint the coins) would merit instant death at the hands of any other Kit. Over the years, the Kit-hour has expanded traditional meaning in the sense that now any Kitaran will always welcome a tired stranger with hospitality. Ever since the acceptance of the credit as the medium for common exchange, the Kit-hour disks are now prized as symbol for what it means to be Kitaran. After almost succeeding in destroying themselves several times, it now represents the average Kitaran's fealty to survival of the species above all, the concern for the welfare of their fellow Kit, and the readiness to die for the sake of those they care for. The Kitaran government is purely corporational in nature, which are controlled by Houses, which swear fealty to the Clans. The Clans themselves meet once a year to vote on laws, with clan Solaris having four vote-rights. Other clans have two vote-rights while minor clans have one. Kitarans evolved from two branches of felinus predator species that relinked to form the third chain that would become the kitarans of today. The large Kit ancestral animal shrunk as climate changed while the smaller, more docile Kit breeds somehow coexisted. Eventually an upright, bilateral, utilitarian creature developed, and even now it's unclear on which chain actually directly produced the Kitarani Sapieni. However, it's clear that all other feline breeds died out for some reason, except for savage beasts that look like a cross between the tigers and giant rats. Despite that Kitarans seem outwardly similar to Derivians and Taenarians, they are unique creatures adapted specifically to their frantic environment. They have two hearts, the normal one in their chest, and a smaller one within the abdomen, nestled between the kidneys. Their lungs are also larger and their muscles needing more energy and oxygen, which explains the *ahem* 'unfair endowment' of most Kitaran females. Their bones are also denser, and a Kit's bouyancy is incredibly low, leading to the belief that Kitarans can't swim. The obvious differences in large ears, whiskers sensitive to air currents, and a tail for balancing - all are indicative of an evolutionary path dedicated to the creation of a perfect predator for the setting. Kitarans normally live from 125 to 150 Galstandard years. No Kit has ever lived for much longer, despite advances in medicine. It is a matter of choice, for there is no sense in living too long in a world, Kitarans tend to become rather fixed and dogmatic in later years(perhaps in compensation for how rebellious and unafraid to try new things while they were younger) realizing that all things follow a cycle and Death is a natural reward for having lived, not something to be feared. Historical documents of Kitarans do not extend back to beyond five thousand years ago, the time of the Second Cataclysm. Evidences however point to that the first global disaster was a nuclear interchange, as radiation levels all over the planet is about 5 rems naturally higher than any other inhabited planet in the Galaxy. The natural mutation rate is also high, but on the whole benign to beneficial. From these do the variance between the Kit breeds come. The Second Cataclysm was a comet that plunged into the world and bringing into a Greater Winter than what it had endured as a result of its children's wars. Though the entire global environment was changed drastically, Kitaran casualties was much less than those that had died during their previous war. After nearly being blasted back into the Stone Age after the nuclear devastation, the comet's arrival was when civilization was regaining the glimmering of re-establishment. There was adequate forewarning of the approaching disaster. A steam-based industrial civilization couldn't stop an incoming space nemesis but could retreat into the mountains and live off hunting and root crops. It took nearly a thousand years for the skies to clear up again. The Kitaran subspecies were formed during this time due to the forces of isolation and interbreeding. There are six different subspecies of Kitarans. Incidentally there are now also six Kitaran major clans. This period was known as the Soft Winter, for though overall planetary conditions were harsh, it was still possible to eke out a progressive existence. Contact between the peoples happened as agriculturalization of the valleys and plains took hold. At first there were still too much free, fertile land for serious conflicts to happen, but later the social structure naturally forged into feudalism. How had it come to this? Let us take a hypothetical situation. Say, thirty-nine thousand years ago. Waay before even the First Cataclysm. The northern reaches of Kitara's mainland was of snow and hardship. his was yet when Aka and Khri were connected. Beasts loomed with tough meat on their bones, but the horns on their skull make them risky to hunt. Nevertheless, there thrived Kit'i who in time forged a civilization out of cave-dwelling tribes. In time, the wanderlust took them, and a small army ventured to the south beyond the mountains. The plains of Kitara were gentle and wild game roamed through the grass. Here, these white-haired Kit'i met a village of smaller, brownhaired Kitaran. The township had no walls, but there were homes made of baked clay brick and delicately-wrought sculptures in profusion. Surprsingly to them, the brownhaired Kit met them as friends instead of enemies. When the demand to surrender or be killed, the Elders of said town merely laughed. The decision was so appalingly obvious. The village capitulated easily, and promised to serve the Whitehairs if only they would be allowed to manage their own affairs. The Brownhairs were a peaceable folk, they recognized that servitude itself was not too much of a burden as their crops were producing far more than what they could consume, and in exchange, the warlike strangers would protect them from what dangers that might emerge. Their culture would remain untouched, maybe even enhanced. Their civilization had stood unchallenged and safe for the better part of half a century. Their Kind did not make war upon each other, nor did they need to unite under one king. The plains had seen placid stagnation for centuries, being kept in isolation by mountains to the north and a desert to the south. But they themselves were not natural to the Plains, coming from a place far, far into the East - a mythical land of forests and swamps. They lived there since... time immemorial, but were forced to flee en masse when the ground shook, and a mighty volcano rose. By the tens of thousands they have spread all over the continent, and learnt how to introduce crops and animals without harming the present ecosystem. The Whitehairs would find repose, the Brownhairs would find security. They would co-habit but ignore each other's prescence as much as possible. It seemed a sensible arrangement, until the Whitehairs... with their greater size and brawn, took to taking whatever they wanted from their servants. A Brownhaired woman was raped, and her family killed when they protested. Horrified, the Brownhairs could not rise up against the superior foe. So instead, they poisoned their master's food, stuck daggers into their chests while they slept, and by morning, not a single Whitehair was left alive. Some time later, another expedition came from the North. They didn't bother with pleasantries, they immidiately massacred the village which deprived them of some of their bravest warriors. And then upon the ashes, they made their own settlement, their foothold in the midlands. And two years after this, there came an army from further south. Their armor were of bronze and their shields were gilded with intricate designs. They fur was yellow and their scent was hostile. The Whitehairs, they had to establish this vilalge on their own. They had to farm and build. However, the Yellowhairs had come into an agreement with a host of Brownhairs. They would perform the menial work, leaving the Yellowhairs free to train themselves for battle. They would rule themselves, but promise to do everything for the harmony of their combined village. As long as respect between mutual parties was maintained... the Brownhairs would give the Yellowhairs all that they needed to live and the Yellohairs would not betray the trust their workers gave to them. The Yellowhairs did not need to bother with growing of food or cleaning their homes. They drilled and thought and discussed tactics. They were well-armed, well-trained, and well-fed. The Whitehairs never stood a chance. However they too learned the merits of cooperation, and as they poured south from the colder lands to the north, they killed all enemies, but spared those with brown hair. These they indoctrinated with the notion of a master race, and a servant race - and both would bring a grand civilization upon the lands. It was only logical, they said. The Maker had made them to fight - look at theit height, their might, and there were those made to serve, with quick hands and agile minds. The Whitehaired civilization was absorbed into the Yellowhaired culture, but the notion of a servant race was accepted into lore. In this sense, they have left a far lasting legacy than those that eventually made them give up their spears. Pseudoslavery became rampant, with the smaller brown-haired Kitarans that lived in the valleys and river deltas were made to service, and in times to come deemed as barely more than draft working animals. They were forbidden to learn how to read, or to refer to themselves as "I" but as "this one" or "of those that serve, and is called < name >". As a byproduct of several hundred years of this, the brownhaired began to form a species-based loyalty and would later form the basis for the Clan structure to come. They called themselves Tabbana, meaning The Builders. THE EMERGENCE OF THE CLANS War returned to the lands of Kitara, and the Tabbana were never called to fight for their masters, deemed as nothing more than property to be won. Over time, it became taboo to kill or even harm a Tabbana in or out of battle. In exchange, the Tabbana worked and managed themselves. It became so that the entire social system was based entirely upon uncomplaining Tabbana labor, who grew food and forged their weapons. After all, why develop a consumeristic independent commerce when the Tabbana could make something for little more the cost of the raw materials without the added tome and cash overheard of needing to training your own people to a job that others have already near-perfected in process and method? The concept of Tabanna revolt was unthinkable, as their traditional loyalty to their People as a whole kept them from anything that would provoke a widespread slaughter of their Krin. No one would bother to teach Tabbana about war, and without this knowledge they could not hope to free themselves. And besides, already it's the master populace that has grown dependent on Tabbana. Whatever discoveries someone made that related to industry and production, a Tabbana could do better. Their loyalty to their masters also covered, not revealing this knowledge even to the Tabbi Clan unless it is specifically asked for. The Tabbana were the first to tame the land, and their culture was one that had no use for war. When the other Kit tribes appeared, they saw no ill with offering to serve them in exchange for protection from enemies. The Tabbana would not be casualties of any war, and the rulers would never ever need to worry about losing their warrior's edge. The houses and clans which had the sponsorship of Tabbana were shown to have overwhelming advantage over the others. The ratio of clanruled to clanserved was 2:1, and never had any of the warrior city-states needed to cull Tabanna population. Instead as they were freed to focus for conquest, every portion of land they gained were instantly turned productive by the Tabanna who had eschewed all thoughts to defending themselves in combat and instead achieved great breakthroughs in farming, mining and masonry. Soon, each clan had to respect Tabbana, for they were the ones that would build them massive fortresses for defense and dig up metal for their armies. Kingdoms, nations and factions arose. Democracy lived, thrived, and died a quick death. It did however leave the Tabbana with near-absolute control of the political environment and no control over their own situation. The Tabbana had made countless calculations in regulating their lives, their growth and their pursuits. The 2:1 Tabbana to Everyone-else was the only constant on Kitara. They had inavertedly allowed war to reach a new pinnacle. To stop all the bloodshed, all the Tabbana Composite had to do was to surrender. Any house or nation knew that they would be lost without the working class steadily producing their arms and food. However without someone to work for, the Tabbana could not live as they could not stand on their own. They could live, yes.. but utterly helpless. If they allowed the others to grow independent of Tabbana labor, then the Tabbana would need to become a power into itself as well, to protect themselves.. and from slaves to overlords was a distasteful prospect. Their production capabilities were immense, and instead of turning these resources towards war, perhaps they could be turned to rendering war obsolete. The year was 1967 ASC. Weapons of mass destruction were again in vouge, trying to serve as deterrent to attack from others. Only the Tabanna possessed no weapons at all and yet, they would be the ones to suffer most in case those weapons were ever used. Many of them would die and to them would fall again the burden of rebuilding civilization after the inevitable cataclysm. To this end, the Tabbana built the citadels/arcologies that would become Clanhearts in later years. These were mountainhewn Vaults, Arks to preserve Kitaran life. But perhaps these only encouraged the bloodthirst, an affirmation that a global war was survivable on some level.. And so perhaps came a society OPTIMIZED for warfare. The Tabbana were like property, who would follow whoever conquered the land they occupied. As long as they were left alone to settle their own differences, they would work and live for the sake of their ruling house. Because of this ethic though, they didn't fear their own death. So if ever the clan Tabbana chose to stop working, slaughtering them wholesale would only enrage the other clans. And they still had living Tabbana forging their weapons and growing their food... as then well- armed, well-trained, well-fed. It was best not to kill the goose the laid the golden eggs. It is this specialization that allows the mass development of armies and the rapid accumulation of knowledge. The elite were free to become all that they could be. Competition in the fields of endeavor were heightened by the fact that it was by merit that they could be judged, not wealth or ancestry. A Tabbana, for example - may be allowed to join another clan IF he or she passes the rigorous test of abilities. Scouts of the clans continually searched for talented additions to their respective strengths. Nevertheless, the factor of subspecies still applied. Any clan mated with a Tabbana will produce a recognized member of the stronger clan. For example, a Lio(yellow hair) and a Tabbana wife, will have a child with yellow hair. Only Tabbana when mated with a Tabbana will produce a pureblood Tabbi. But on the other hand, mating and mixing all the bloodlines will produce a Tabbana. The Tabbana, small and mostly harmless, was the root stock of all Kitaran breeds. Theirs is a recessive genepath that occasionally births children which has characteristics of the other breeds from two pure Tabbi parents. So for this reason, interbreed marriages aren't that common. In fact, it's almost a taboo. To mate with someone of another breed was 'weakening the bloodline'. Each Kitaran had a purpose to live for, which the Clans help to fulfill and bring them to their furthest personal potential. The Third Cataclysm was an SDI-sattelite death. Tachyon beams and microwaves bathed the world in a deadly bluish glow. It took only two hundred years before the Kitarans could live on the surface and form factions again. It was during this time that the Clans were formed and the Kitarans proved to be the most incredibly persistent creatures in the art of self-destruction. The clans emerged from their citadels. The Tabbana went forth to no longer semi-slaves but equals. Still, they would pledge their services in exchange for fair compensation. Again they would help the other make war, for the simple bargain that if that happens, they would join the winners. During these centuries called the Broken Age, the clans developed as the different Kitaran breeds congregated... smaller clans were routed, houses chose sides, and the Clans themselves found their respective strengths. The resources of Kitara had by this time dwindled, and the Kit looked up to the beyond the sky for their materials. It was a race to the stars, and then to bring back mined resources to earth. The Kitarans bypassed the rocket stage od outer space exploration, and concentrated on making viable vacuum propulsion drives before the first launch. They already knew from records of the Third Cataclysm that outer space travel was possible - and wasteful with chemical-propellants. Such began the Gauss Technological Revolution. Instead of lifting a series of cargo flights to build a mining station, a space slingshot was constructed, drawing power from the geothermal heat of volcanoes. The Kitarans developed gauss and missile tecnology to a degree surpassing that of all other races at the time, out of sheer necessity. A moonbase was established on Fariro I, the smaller of the two moons, to mine and send back the ore through another mass driver built on its surface. This one used nuclear power, the fuel for which was sent up as trade for the metals mined. Eventually a space ladder was created, leading up to Kitara's own Langrage Point. On this spot was built a station, nothing more than a waypoint between Kitara and Fariro One, refining and casting metals into forms more suited for use. Over time, this became the first Kitaran shipyard. The Kitaran Spacefaring civilization has started, fully three thousand three hundred years before the Zalluns, and only a millenia and a half after Derivia. The first Kitaran explorers were hailed as heroes, new warriors. They had still not learnt of artifical gravity, or inertia cancellation, but the Kitaran physique was capable taking freefall and higher gravities longer than all other races, EVEN Zallun. The greater body mass of Zalluns meant that the accelleration affected them more strongly - despite that they withstand greater gravity, they can't stand a force six times that of their homeworld for as long. In freefall, a Zallun is sooner given to nausea. Both moons were mined, however transporting people from one moon to the other could not be done with mass drivers. That was simply too great an acelleration. However, primitive ion drives were placed onto shuttles, and sent out to mine from a small asteroid belt circling Fariro II. This was a moon about the size of Earth's own moon. There had once been three moons, but that third chanced to shield the planet from an asteroid, and had broken into pieces. Most of the debris had fallen into Kitara, but there were still kilotons trapped by Fariro II's gravity field. It was a perilous endeavor, but well worth it. Think of it, a crew of Kitarans in a small resourcing ship that had only a slight gravity through centrifugal force, and limited fuel. They had to mine the quota before they ran out of air and propellant. It was an intensive competition, and the greatest miners were legends. It was the Wild Wild West of Earth - only it's the Wild Wild Up There. The remains were of almost pure ore - gold, radioactives, and other heavy metals, and soon the spacefaring Kit were independent from Kitara. Permanent sttlement were built on the moons, and within a millenium each moon was a nation all its own, more powerful than any of the Kitaran Clans. A malfunctioning Derivian starship entered out into Kitaran space, its hull broken into pieces and all its crew dead. The subspace drive was of course, dissolved to slag, but within it, was a still functioning inertialess drive. During this time, the Kitarans had discovered the principles of controlled gravitons (which they named the Jiraga Mayar Effect), and this discovery retained peace and equality between Kitara, Fariluro (Fariro I), and Farilurro (Fariro II) as it allowed a practical space fleet. And build this fleet they did. The time before the Fourth Catalcysm (or the Third Kitaran GreatWar) is hailed as the highest apex of pre-Taenarian Contact Kitaran technology and civilization. The Tabbana were still subject under other clans, but they were attaining dominance in the moon colonies where their bodies were more of an advantage, and their responsibility for life-support control was penultimate. The Fariluro government sent an expedition towards the third planet to see if it could be turned into a colony. Even the moons were losing their riches. A Kitaran spaceship, even with antigravity (note, not ARTIFICIAL gravity)still had to endure three years before reaching Naraluro. But the real treasure was finding a three-hundred year-old relic in high orbit around the planet. A ship named the DSS SOLAR. A Tabbana was Great Speaker for Fariluro at the time. He disobeyed the old Tabbana Blood Oath, we shall not make war. He ordered the ship's existence kept secret, engaged upon the task of rapidly building a colony and research station at Naraluro, and renamed their then already intermixed population - the Solaris. The Solaris held the key to the universe and had shut the door to the Kitaran race. There were aliens out there, which held technology greater than the Kitarans. Why had they not discovered Kitara? Calculations put the Derivians on another ecliptic of the galaxy's spiral arm. A high-energy pulsar group between Kitaran and Derivia occulded detection. Nevertheless, it remained - the Kitarans needed to take their place within the universe. The Tabbana Council were pacifistic, but not stupid. They guessed at the Solaris intentions, noted the rapid military buildup of Fariluro - and with a heavy heart 'recommended' their master Clans to do the same. Thus was the seed of the Breaking Century, a hundred years of war that would end up with the near-utter decimation of the Kitaran race. Those were the greatest of times for the Kitaran fighting spirit. Gauss cannons on ships meant that armor was basically useless - and shields were heavily battered by banks of plasma guns. Large capital ships were less of starships and more on moving weapons platforms, dependent upon the elite fightercraft pilots - unshielded but blindingly fast, carrying rapid-fire gauss miniguns and a bomb payload, their only threat was another fightercraft on their tail. Missiles and hyperacellerated rounds flew, planetary bombardment met by seige emplacements, millions upon millions died, a bloodhate between the planetbound and the moonmovers developed. The FI-GUP K299, The Federation Standard Issue General Utility (plasma) pistol is completely similar to the design used by the Solaris Coalition Fleet during the Breaking Century. So is KUSARI-D2 Swarm Missile unchanged from those old designs. The chaotic time set pinnacles and standards for the construction of fast, hard-hitting ships and the weaponry to equip them with. The Kitarans never built a space warship larger than a corvette, and even this was in peril from the brutal fightercraft. Kitaran Carriers were never built, as the fighting area was in Kitaran planetart bound, and never too far from the moon/mobile asteroid bases. The Solaris had figured out the inertialess drive - unfortunately as they did not develop it from the group up, they only knew how it worked, not the why of its functions. This only served them well with their more agile war fleet, but all the fightercraft still had to undergo the pull of heavy g-turns. No matter, glory is best found under difficult conditions. Myorr. The Fourth Cataclysm was the rising of bitter oceans, the destruction of the other Kitaran moon, and disastrous movement of the planet's crust. The massed Kitaran world fleet met the combined Kitaran moon fleet, and came the greatest space battle in Kitaran history. The purpose of this battle was to let a certain weapons platform slip through the Solaris blockade. The Kitarans had discovered Phase Particle Technology. The KLF ships rammed themselves into KRF ships if they had to - the Kitaran world had more lives to spare. The Clan Solaris had to land back to Kitaran on their largest warship, which would be turned into the Solaris Clanheart. Farilurro was completely destroyed, and its shards rained down on Kitara like a wall of piercing flame. Its largest fragment was around the size of Texas, which struck the northewesten side of Myaka, the fated plains of long ago, and separated Myaka from Ayrka. Failurro - the larger moon's orbit was disrupted, bringing it closer to Kitara, just shy of being also caught in the planetary gravity well and sending it plunging to the ground. But after the sucessful test of the phased plasma particles, the Kitaran Clans then sent the entire Fleet to Naralur, the Solaris home. Utilizing a sufficiently-large asteroid sent at relativistic speeds, the Clans had invented their very own version of planetbreaker technology. Their idea was to sterilize the Naraluro surface. [Note; the other races which have planetbreaker tech are Derivians (Hand of God - antimatter cannon), Zalluns(Judicator - moving battlemoon). During the time of Taenarian arrival, the Kitarans had no space fleet, unlike the other races which were extensive... but the Galaxy's Biggest Ever Gauss Cannon was still operational.] Naralurro split into pieces. It caused ripples and increased activity in Kitara's floating crust, making the plates move once more. Wiping clean the entire surface of Kitara, rendering it completely uninhabited and uninhabitable for eight hundred years more. Only those within the sealed Clanhearts were spared from the mass extinction. It took two thousand years for life to be restored to full swing. The Tabbi Mani opened far sooner than the other Clanhearts, but even as they seeded the land, let loose the saved animals, tried to bring the balance back into the world, the other clans were still capable of overpowering their outside settlements. Within the arcologies, cultures and legends were distorted. When the clanhearts opened again there were no more tries for peace. All must be subjugated lest someone create another weapon of mass destruction, choosing death instead of surrender. The first principle of Kitaran Warfare: THE BLOOD THAT THINE ENEMY SPILLS IS THE SAME AS YOUR BLOOD. Never again would doomsday devices be built. War became ritualized... if that is what can be termed bringing two armies together and not stopping until the other is completely annihilated. No longer must civilians suffer. There will be no fights for freedom, for justice, or for other abstractions. The truth of it shall remain clear: ONLY ONE CLAN SHALL REMAIN TO RULE. These were the Clan Wars, the bloodiest, longest world war ever on Kitaran history. The Kitaran culture was completely molded into serving the war effort, which eventually stagnated as each clan were equally matched. With only limited planetside resources, the Kitarans attained a high degree of weapons-tech, but all areas of space expansion were closed. There was nothing left to mine in near Kitaran orbit. Nevertheless, it was viewed as a Silver Age for Kitarans. Journals from that time revealed that the people thought their times were glorious and full of *myorr*. The journal of Fanthyr Dirgar Numa, acclaimed general of the Fanthyr forces perhaps best exemplifies the viewpoint of that age; "It was a slaughter. A magnificent slaughter. After thousands of miles of fighting, we have found Kuruna, the hidden Solaris base. I could see it, the ancient warship kissing the mountain, a moutain that has since been hewn and shaped into a fortress. Not a Clanheart - here there lived no one that did not know the taste of war. The Solaris had enrenched themselves firmly, clear space between their citadel and my advancing force was to be our battleground. But behind that were small hills, and doubtless the level ground on the other side was littered with mines. The Inhirruk bas.tards intend on fighting us to the bitter. They force me to waste men to reach their enclave, while we could both save lives and dignity by the token battle, and an amicable surrender. Of course, their leader would have to be given up and his head displayed in our Hall of Victory - but we'd do that either way. Our forces are superior in both number and materiel. Outworld barbarians. How the continue to refuse the kind laws of our world! At first light of day, I ordered a full assault. Their artillery had a longer reach than ours - cursed Jiraga! I had heard that the Technominder Clan allied themselves with these remnants of a golden past..but I had not thought they'd supply actual war machines. It was of not great consequence, their barrage could only cut up my infantry, but it boded ill for future conflicts. We had to end it now. The major players in this battle - my fasttracks and fightercraft, were to the most part undamaged. A wing of fighters found the locations of these large cannons, and wreaked havoc with their operational crew. Despite that they had a point-defense missile system, a sufficient amount of high-altitude plasma bombs got through. Only missiles? I had expected them to have at least ONE gauss-autocannon. While silence reigned on the field, we sent out our own mobile artillery to blast them out of their bunkers and trenches. The Lio have been very angry at these Solaris, who raided their citadels and disrupted their trade routes. Our employers were hesitant to purchase us with the latest Jiragan equipment, but taking advantage of the wholesale profit-margins, had supplied us to the teeth with the almost-cutting edge. My fasttracks moved to the front, escorted by the four-wheeled Motor Gunnery brigade. My general-in-action recommended we send in the hovertrackers first, in case the Solaris mined the contact field. However, the relatively light armor and slowere speed would make them easy prey to their defenses. The fool thought it an adequate compromise. I had to restrain from teaching him an immidiate lesson on the value of life. instead I had to explain to him, think of soldiers as an investment. The fasttracks were the ones who would win the battle, yes- and their loss could be disastrous to our efforts, but each vehicle and occupant presented an investment of years by the Fanthyrra, and the more that survived to fight the next battle meant for us that we wouldn't have to train and feed again an entirely new regiment - which costs far more than a few fasttracks. The field WAS mined. However when we established the extent of the line, I ordered a salvo of artillery at the space in front of the fast-tracks. The resulting smoke kept them out of sight, allowing them to run through into the trenches with a clear path. We dug the Solaris out of their hunkered-down position and into full retreat. The fasttracks could not get through the mounded impediments in our way. From thence on it was a soldier's battle. There was a splendor of lances, a splendor of spearheads! Massed troops met, and war returned to its pure savage state. The Solaris rushed at our forces by the thousands, and we rushed at them by our tens of thousands. They knew their death was certain but still they screamed their oath and leapt into battle. I take back every nasty thing I have said against Solaris. So what is their ancestors have once preferred the moon to our living world? They were Kit, through and through. Their valor would always be remembered. But they parted before our spearhead like water, and my forces charged towards Kuruna. And there was a ground-level sun. The space warship's engines were still functional! Rigged to overload, for a brief moment were were brighter than the sun. What had our hands wrought? A fire hotter than the stars! And when it faded there was nothing more than a hole in the ground. Several miles wide, the crater ended merely five hundred yards from my own position. The Lio general fell to his knees and wept. I laughed. It was a magnificent slaughter, they had broken much of Fanthyrra might, at the cost of their primary base. The Solaris soldiers had known they would die, they stood waiting for us, to lead us to our deaths... and theirs. Such myorr! I have lost many men, but the Solaris will not match the other Clans again. It is a pity I cannot add the Solaris Clanfather's head into our hall - I can only offer instead my own head. I have seen all I needed to see, fought all the wars I had to fight. A stalemated war is no better than a lost war, but I know my daughters will be proud of what I've done." When the Taenarians reached Kitaran space, they found the Naralurro research station filled with frozen corpses, which had died from starvation. From its records they learned of a planet and a culture that needed help. Their arrival on Kitara Prime and their helping of the outcast clan Solaris finally brought unity into the Kitaran world, and allowed them to roam free into the stars once more. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- C. THE CLANS The Clans are the primary movers of industry, with their own specializations, employing people from other clans as well to fill specific jobs. To be born either planetside or on Neko Station matters little in terms of pride. To be born into a specific House was evoking of a fierce loyalty, a love of family and a knowledge of home. But being born of a Clan was something that reached beyond mere Loyalty and into Survival of the Species. To be part of a Clan is to denote a Kit's temperament and skills. Kits belong to the Clan its parents hold, until they reach the age of fifteen, in which they can then take tests to join other Clans. The six Major Clans decide the fate of Kitara. --------- Tabbana To be Tabbana is no shame. It is a life of peace and simplicity, and of happiness. There are no great demands upon a Tabbana, and they are in no great risk when the Clans make war. Though they have little voice in the Clanmeet, without them the entire planet would grind to a halt, metaphorically speaking. A Tabbana is known for scrupulous honesty, a mechanical and practical ken bordering on genius, patience, and loyalty that borders on the suicidal. They are also pacifistic, easily intimidated, and have little sense of ambition. Tabbana are often shorter and darker than other races at most reaching six feet in height. Their hair ranges from all dark shades of color but mostly brown to black. They are often hardier and stronger than the others, but this is mostly due to their daily toil and respect for honest sweat. A Tabbi's joy is his family, and each Tabbana works to provide for their litter. Tabbi families spend a lot of time together, as from the age of five Tabbi Kits can already work to find small problems before they become big problems. Larger family = larger income. Larger income = more time spent together. Frugality was an ingrained trait for the Tabbana, who often did not know what to do with or how they accumulated their little piles of fortune. The Clan still tries to maintain the 2:1 ratio, though. The Tabbana Clanheart is named Tabbi's Pain (Tabbinaril Mani), in referring to how they held responsibility for all other Clans. It is the largest and most well-defended citadel in all of Kitara. It has no active attack force, but the architectural integrity of their design serves as testament to their resilience. Other citadels have been built into or over mountains. The Tabbi Mani was built UNDER one. The mountain was hollowed out, a burrowing strike would only destroy the incredibly fertile farmlands that supplied the planet. In making a controlled-environment agronomy, the Tabbi could produce more food than the rest of the Clanhearts could ever use up, at optimum growing rate, at all seasons. For much of the decades after the Cataclysms, Tabbi Mani kept everyone else alive. The Tabbi are the first Kitarans, their pre-Cataclysm civilization could be traced to Sarhilram, that first bastion of civilization that were to them as the Egyptians were to us. House Orange and house Grey are named for the relic of Pre-First Cataclysm civilization that they keep sacred. A flag of when the Tabbana were a nation of their own. A flag of an orange background, with a small gray gear-and-shaft to the upper left. The Tabbana were also first to discover Communism, but unlike Terran history, chose not to impose their working philosophy upon other nations. -------- Lio The Lio are arrogant. They are loud. They are greedy and opulent. They are beautiful. They are the merchants and the royalty, even as other clans embraced a free republican society, the Lio chose to keep their Queen and their palaces of shining gold. Since they have in their dominion the richest mining plot in all of Kitara and their Tabbana were taught to be excellent miners, the Lio control the economic front. They hold regular contacts with the offworlders and create lavish festivals, looking for any excuse whatsover to celebrate. But behind the decadence lies a cunning mind ever alert to protecting itself. While the Lio can't win a war, they can withstand it. The can even hire the full force of other clans to fight for them. They will do anything to keep the status quo. Lios have manes of golden hair, and their skin are fair. They are somewhat taller than Tabbana, but not by much. The thought of manual labor is abhorrent to a Lio, which is how they spend much of their time ensuring that it never happens. They are always trying to attain perfection in themselves, and are the poets and mythmakers of Kitara. The very sumptuousness of their lives meant an neverending battle against boredom. The Lio clanheart is the magnificent floating city of Praid. It is atop the inhospitable lava rivers of the Koris-above-Kroyar and in direct contrast the loveliness of their made surroundings. It is also a small near-LKO Port, in which ships dock regularly to trade in Lio's precious metalcraft and to partake in the luxury of Praid. While outwardly Praid may seem open to attack, it is kept aloft by a laser pillar system, which can easily be turned to cut mountains. Of course, Praid will crash.. so it's a last-ditch effort... the death of a clanheart to kill another. Praid is actually two cities, there is the actual city above and the mining annex below that sends up processed ore to be made into jewels and works of art by the artisans. --------- Fanthyr The Fantyr were natives of Myaka's lower regions, where the jungles were. Now they lived across Kitara, serving as armies and peacekeeping forces. They are reconizable for being the tallest of the Kitaran breeds, with deep black hair. They are ferociously disciplined, and trained from birth for a combative life. Fanthyran children are not raised by their own parents but by an academy, where they are trained in all forms of warfare. Though they are slow to anger, a Fanthyr's rage is legendary. They are quick to thinking and response, openly reviling politics and indolence. Though the Fanthyr are the best fighters of the Kitaran race, skilled in everything from marksmanship, to counter-terrorism, to piloting, they do not rule the planetary council. Their days of conquest are long past, their production and military build-up are severely restricted by the other Houses, preventing their rise to an overwhelming world power. They instead hire themselves out as mercenaries and contract armies, becoming the dominant Kitaran force, but unable to coerce others into doing their bidding. Rather like pawns on a chessboard, they have the capacity to become all-powerful queens, but are block by other pawns. Strangely, not many Fanthyr leave the planet to join the Border Patrol or whatever militant group to make their fortune off. More important than money to a Fanthyr is the sense of comradeship, they BELONG to the Clan, this was drilled into them from childhood. When not in bought duty, they train. And traind some more. And then another, just to keep their edge sharp. And then they go to war. They are the buffer between the Clan's lands, and the revolutionary Unclanned nation/tribes which live in the deep Myaka, parts of Myorri and most of Khri. They are not paid for this 'service', but are nevertheless rewarded for showing valor by the Fanthyr Council. They fight fair, choosing to meet the Unclanned on equal terms - aka no artillery, no aircraft strafing/bombing, no heavy weaponry, just a organized centurion army outnumbered by a disorderly gathering of insurrectionists. The Fanthyr clanheart is Giirah, which stands on one of few forested areas left on Kitara. These trees were seeded by their Tabbana and kept by the Fanthyr throught the Clan Wars. They were the ones most often invading enemy territory, instead of vice versa. They have recruitment garrisons in almost every Kitaran city. --------- Jiraga The Jiraga have always been at the forefront of discovery, doing the things which the other Clans were cautious to do so. They resemble in most respects the Fanthyr, but tend to be less muscular, and have vibrant reddish-orange hair. The Jiraga speak a faster-paced Kitaran dialect, which they prefer over Standard. The Jiraga have to speak to the other Clans with the aid of an interpreter. The Jiraga are less inclined to allowing outsiders into the Clan than the others, but they are willing to engage in cooperative research. The ruling Jiraga philosophy is uncaring of the ethical dillema caused by the invention of more powerful weapons. The Jiragan army is not as large as the other clans, however the recent data upon mechanoid fighting units which were shared by Derivians had allowed the Jiraga to shift their forces from conventional arms towards mech warfare. It is all for defense, however - their influence upon Kitaran society is dictated by their patents on the Clanhearts. They do not have the production capacities of the Tabbana, however. The Jiraga send their designs to the Tabbana, who would then construct them. Their research are not always for war, their scientists have also been the driving effort behind the reconstructive efforts of Kitara. On the whole though, Jiragan scientists are more on physics and mechanics while Tabbana scientists are experts at natural sciences. The scientific bodies of two clans share the Clanheart of Arriti, which was built by the Tabbana from Jiragan designs. It is the only mobile clanheart on Kitara, capable of shifting position, and even launching itself into space if necessary. The Jiragans are fatalists, they always plan for the worst that could happen. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- D. Personalities 1. Toltirr is the mythical creator of the Kitaran race. Historians dispute wheter the vauge Kitaran legends imply that an alien race descended upon the world to accelerate its evolutionary development. Those againt this theory however refer to that Toltiir was a cat which came upon a world already populated by cats. Fossil records prove the evolutionary ladder is in Kitara itself, from precursor strains leading up to the current Kitaran race. Toltiir never became a focus of Kitaran religion, there has not been any prophecy that he would ever return to... say, save the race or pass judgement. Experience and the touch of mass extinctions have revealed to the Kitarans that their fate was their own. They instead revered an intagible force suffusing all life called Khry, which is synonymous with Fate. Ancestor worship figured greatly in Kitaran religion, they believed that worthy Kit became a part of Khry and would then become one with the universe, the ultimate form of life. This is likened to the Psionic River theory. 2. Lord Mynk, chief of the Myorri, was the fiercest pirate in Kitaran annals. He also posessed a curious and inquisitive mind, mark of the Jiraga, which is why when his horde managed to conquer Myaka, it was agreed that it was for the good of all civilization in the end. Whole cities surrended and gave praise at his approach. All that refused him suffered the bite of the Myorri massed bowmen. 3. Amira, the Sunstealer is the most vile villain in Kitaran history. It was her - the leader that brought to a bloodlust the Fanthyr Clan which spread across all of Kitara, subjugating everything in its way. It was known as the Black Plauge, and all the Clans united to combat a dynasty bought with blood and will rule with blood. And when defeat seemed certain, she caused the Third Cataclysm. 4. Sera Sameka lived at the same time as Amira, and while the other was looked upon with distaste, she was one of the few genuine Kitaran saints. All life is founded on infinity, was her saying. She worked to have the Kitarans living in unity and hamony. However, the disarmament that came as her views were seen to be possible, was the impetus that Amira needed to create her empire. She was personally captured, tortured and killed by Amira herself, who knew that such a charismatic leader could defeat the whole of her army even while it was as yet at its strongest. Sameka was a Tabbana(obviously). 5. Lio Yanfarr was an infamous Lio, well-known throught the Federation as the writer of the Kitaran-satire novel, Kittens At Play. His efforts of destroying the entire Clan structure, pushing instead equality of all Kitarans, is the symbol by which the Unclanned rally behind. He is more famous however for being an errant prince, voluntarily exiling himself - and yet somehow managing to maintain his former way of life entirely through gambling and racing. He was an excellent artist as well as a fighter, multitalented, and had six wives - not all of whom were Kitaran. 6. Married the grandaughter of, and trained by Lio Yanfarr, Tabbana Brusolla is probably the most famous/infamous Kitaran in recent history. A Tabbana prone to violence, a Kitaran with a Zallun name, all his life is a study of opposites. During his border Patrol service he was known as the Pirate-bane, and was later discharged for insubordination. He established with Lysle Rigger the Intergrated Guardian Fleet, and was one of the few at the forefront of Scourge War. After the Scourge threat was done the IGF was almost decimated from the heavy fighting it had undergone, but Brusolla left the Alliance in Rigger's unwilling hands, pursuing a mysterious something which he deemed more important. 7. suggestions and ideas, please? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- E. Locations 1. Port/Station Neko is a Concordance-class Station, visible from ground level as an object almost the size of Fariro. It houses three billion people with the space for two billion more, and contains a world-competitive production baseline. It is not as large as Port Concentric in Nexus, which is an expanded design, but seems more spacious and livable. It contains entire forests within its great dome, and the Kitarans within live as true citizens of the galaxy, free from the entrenched traditions of Kitara below. It is the disassembled Krithirr-class "Wounded Soul" superweapon, all procedures of rebuilding that, or another like it was destroyed, and all materials were recycled into something that preserves life, rather than takes it. Etc..etc. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- F. FAQ 1. Can Kitarans swim? Yes. All living creatures have natural bouyancy, as proof - ALL corpses of whatever animal or plant, tends to float. 2. Can Kitarans reproduce with non-Kitarans? No. Although Derivians have been known to fall in love with Kitarans, marrying them and vice versa, there two races simply have evolved independently and differently - the genes can't mix. 3. Do Kitaran eat human flesh? Kitaran absolutely refuse to be cannibals- it is their greatest taboo. However, people of another race.. it's not cannibalism per se. Old legend has it that a Kitaran once roasted a Taenarian. This is false of course, they merely accorded it the honored funeral pyre like their own nobles. What is true is that a Kitaran will snap at someone non-Kitaran that they are at a murderous battle at, and yes.. will swallow the chunks of flesh they tear out. They spit out the meat of Kitaran foes, and gargle with sugar-water afterwards. 4. Are Kitarans unreliable and given to unpunctuality, lying under oath and etc? Unlike the Zalluns, the Kitaran notion of honor is flexible. They seek to survive a battle, not just to win it, and fight with every means at their disposal. So is the word for promises. They do sign contracts, but view such agreements as merely 'suggestions'. Unless it's a critical delivery, there are only two guarantees - either it arrives early (so the Kit can get on to other things they enjoy) or it arrives too late (because by then the Kit is already suffering a hangover). The truth, to Kitarans, is much better said with embellishment. It's not that an average Kitaran is given to exagerration - only that those who most are in public eye delight in the unexpected. The Kitaran prejudice of dishonesty can all be blamed on Lio Yanfarr, who had the strange habit of running away from immidiate debts. An entire generation of young Kitarans grew up trying to imitate the rouge's flair - and that's how the whole mess got started. A better thing to swear by is the word 'Riku', which means bloodprice. A Kitaran will have to perform to the fullest conditions whatever is sworn by a Kaji-promise, or kill himself. And he will, too - for a Riku oath is sent to the Clan Council for a guarantee. However, a Riku is an indication of absolute trust, no Kitaran would say a Riku promise to anyone but their very closest friends and relatives. Its not the sort of promise money can buy. For the brief timeframe that a Clan-validated riku is in effect, said Kitaran will have the full support of his clan. So if say, B-sol's riku to, say... Malan, is approved - even if it means that the Tabbana build from scratch a new Mimir's Will, the promise has to be honored. A Kitaran's fealty to its clan is made by a Rikkuryai - the rite of passage into adulthood, and in such... the choosing of a clan to follow. It's all a matter of 'myorr'. The Kit serves the Clan, the Clan has to benefit its Kit. 6. Which is better as of martial arts; Kitaran or Zallun? Both are pretty much equal, in that they kick Derivian butt in roughly the same amount of time. Both are also similar in that the movements require a dense bone structure, a Derivian will probably fracture his own arms if he tries to imitate. If a Kitaran is set against a Zallun in combat then the Kit will immidiately go for the eyes, knowing that trading punches with a Zallun was a ticket to hospitalville. 7. etc.. any more questions? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ©2003 Aegis Taenar - your upcoming TDZK Writer's Guild and Workshop!