Kai'zhuk

The Kai'zhuk are incredibly large, bipedal sentient reptilians humanoids native to the planet of Kaiyn. They are known for embracing traditional ways of life, choosing not to advance into a modern age filled with technology. They are renowned hunters as hunting is not only a sport but a necessity of survival. They are famous for their immensely tall height and bulky build, with their average height easily towering over the average humanoid. Unlike other sentient reptilians, Kai'zhuk do not shed their skin. They are known for growing thick long tails on their body with females having a longer tail than males of the species. Despite their intimidating appearances and vast hunting culture, members of the Kai'zhuk are relatively passive. Before the events of the Damalayian Civil War that saw the separation of the country between north and south, members of the Kai'zhuk and Damalayian citizens often traded friendly waves with each other. Both cultures would often times establish trade with each other as Kai'zhuk animal pelts and sometimes weapons were popular amongst citizens in Damalay. The civil war that broke out in Year 5345 alongside the Clone Wars forced the Kai'zhuk into hiding as they didn't want to be caught up in the conflict. As of the current day, members of the Kai'zhuk mostly remain within the safe borders of Zhyrik , their country. However, supplies like scrap metal are often needed to craft weapons and fortify walls outside their villages as they lack the necessary tools needed to extract metal ore. Under the guidance of their Elder, Tiesla Sha'vola, Chief Yimin Sha'vola formed scavenger parties from warriors within the Kai'zhuk to venture into the war-torn country of South Damalay and gather scrap metal and other useful material for their people to use. Currently the Kai'zhuk are on the defensive, prioritizing the safety of their people and settlements as many factions are against them. Various leaders and devout citizens of the Commune of South Damalay sees them as no more than savage, cannibalistic beasts who are occupying their territory, the Greenwood Raiders see them as potential slaves to use for their workforce and the ruthless Lurkers see them as potential victims for murder and pillaging. The Republic of North Damalay is their only closest ally as their views on them haven't changed; they still see them as good friends who's culture and species deserves the utmost respect and protection. However, the Republic of North Damalay are limited to only delivering medical and building supplies via air, railway and water as stationing troops to guard Kai'zhuk settlements might be seen as an act of war to the Commune since their country borders Zhyrik.

Biology & Appearance

The Kai'zhuk are a very large, bipedal, sentient reptilian species. Their torso and stomach are covered in smooth scales with the rest of their body are covered in tough, bony scutes. The color of their scutes range from a from a light brown to a dark green which helps them blend in with their jungle environment. They do not shed their scales like other reptilians instead using special brushes to clean and renew their scales. Their pupils are vertically slit with the color of their being either yellow or orange. Kai'zhuk have excellent night vision compared to most sentient species, using this to their advantage during nighttime hunts. All four of their limbs end in short razor sharp claws with their hands having five digits and their toes having only four. Their heads are narrow and long ending in a v-shaped snout filled with over sixty sharp teeth. Male Kai'zhuk tend to grow two horns on the top of their head as they mature, the length of the horns differ but most do not grow past six inches in length. Female Kai'zhuk are unable to grow horns like their male counterpart but instead grow uniquely colored feathers on their tails and on the top of their heads with colors ranging from dark red, dark blue, yellow or combinations of each. Their physical strength compared to other species is vastly outmatched with some believing them to be physically more power than a fully grown Wookiee or Herglic. However, their bulky builds sometimes hinder their speed in combat to which they make up for in their sheer brute strength.
Male Kai'zhuk commoners typically wear brown, dark green or velvet red cloth tribal garb which some decorate with skulls or animal pelts. Males sometimes can be seen wearing handstitched shorts or loincloths. Female Kai'zhuk wear handstitched tribal dresses with some weaving decorative designs into them. Kai'zhuk warriors often wear full body armor made from leather or scrap metal or a mixture of tribal garb and body armor. Warriors often adorned their armor with skulls of animals to strike fear and intimidation into their enemies. Elite Kai'zhuk warrior armor differed greatly from a standard warriors. The armor elites wear is made of thicker scrap metal with leather cut and tacked into place underneath to give themselves extra protection. Elites often painted their armor in dark gray with black accents and dressed up their armor with gold attachments such as spiked cuffs, armlets and sometimes animal bones. Kai'zhuk also walked barefooted as streamlined humanoid footwear wouldn't fit their massive feet and their traditional culture never saw footwear as a necessity.
Kai'zhuk have a longer lifespan than most species in the galaxy, spanning around one hundred and twenty years old. They are considered younglings until they reached the age of eleven, are considered young adults when they grow the age of sixteen when they transitioned to full grown adults. By the age of thirty-six they are considered middle aged, and members living past the age of sixty were considered elderly. Kai'zhuk living past the age of eighty were seen as venerable and were treated with great respect in their culture. Kai'zhuk often lived past the age of a hundred years old.

Society and Culture

Morals

Kai'zhuk are generally known for being passive, respectful and wise to those who encounter them. When they made first contact with the then Unified Damalayian government, they were forgiving and polite as they discovered workers had accidentally built a double-track railway line through their land to provide transportation between two of their cities. After the discovery of their presence, the Damalayian government sought to improve relations between them and the Kai'zhuk which was a big success. Despite their traditional idealistic views, they showed the vastly superior Damalayian government and their people great respect to which was returned to them by citizens of Damalay who encountered them. The Kai'zhuk even embraced trade with citizens of the modern civilization, trading things such as clothing, jewelry, pottery and weapons in exchange for material like fabric, metal and wood. When the Damalayian Civil War broke out and the government who they were close allies with split into two factions, the Kai'zhuk went into hiding wanting to avoid all conflict. Completely cut off from North Damalay who's views towards them didn't change, the Kai'zhuk were forced to become increasingly on edge toward those weren't them. Kai'zhuk soon garnered a list of enemies who seek to exploit their culture. They soon grew hostile towards the Commune of South Damalay for accusing them of occupying their territory that belonged to the Kai'zhuk in the first place. They eventually became hostile towards a group known as the Greenwood Raiders, a proxy organization of South Damalay who wanted to kidnap Kai'zhuk for slave labor. And lastly, a group known only as the Lurkers who's only desire was to pillage and disrupt their way of life. Despite odds being stacked against them, the Kai'zhuk are resilient and haven't given up hope. They know that if they want conditions to improve around them, they just have to work with what they got and steam past the undesirable circumstances around them instead of letting it consume their way of life.

Religion

Kai'zhuk believe in the existence of magic and members of the species would regularly take practice in harboring magic to benefit their people. Those who had a stronger connection with magic were appointed as village shamans. The magic that they practiced was purely ritualistic; aiming for goals such as a better harvest, a plentiful hunt, better weather conditions or well being upon others. Kai'zhuk worshipped a God named Uvrali , a deity who seeks to aid, protect and benefit those who worship him. Kai'zhuk would appease their God through great worship and offering personal possessions as gifts. In their culture is the existence of an Oszra, a person of good karma who is the avatar of their God. The Oszra wields great magical powers who uses their magic to aid the Kai'zhuk in times of need and safeguard those around them. The Kai'zhuk believe they have found their Oszra, a young human boy by the name of Louis van Noven. This news came after Louis along with a small detachment of the Exodus Protection Corp's Diplomatic Guard and a B1 battle droid found themselves on the outskirts of the village of Hwen when it was under siege by Lurkers. They assisted the Kai'zhuk warriors in pushing back the Lurkers, even defeating their leader which happened to be a corrupted Kai'zhuk. Hwen's Elite Warrior, Olvkrut Ke'grog witnessed Louis used a few magical spells during the fight with the Lurker's leader and fully believes he is the Oszra designated to help them in their time of need.

Diet

A standard Kai'zhuk meal consist a mix of raw meat, fruits and vegetables. Cooked cuisine such as Guara, a cooked slab of Damalayian Stag meat seasoned with Steyr, various spices and topped with a dark red paste called Muzhe. As small meals or snacks, Kai'zhuk would often consume meat from small game, fish on the bones, vegetables or bowls of fruit. Kai'zhuk primarily drank water, or juice made from fruit but alcohol was also available for consumption. A wine made from fermented Jungle Plum was the most popular amongst members for it's aromatic scent and sweet taste. While the potency of this wine barely effected the Kai'zhuk who drank it, the same can't be said for any other sentient species that drink it as it's incredibly potent for them.

Military

Army

The fighting force of the Kai'zhuk are their Warriors. Kai'zhuk warriors are 55,000 strong and are located all throughout Zhyrik, ready to protect their fellow tribe members, family and uphold the faith of Uvrali. Mostly males serve as warriors but there are a handful of female warriors that will gladly take up arms and fight. Three of the most notable female Kai'zhuk warriors are Ke'ala Lo'hura, Qru'ku Ao'zho and Dizhar Ir'ofh, all of whom are deemed Elite Warriors. Warriors either wear armor crafted from leather, scrap metal, animal bones and or cloth. Scouts typically wear lighter armor that is a mix of protective material and tribal garb. Warriors are commonly found at the front and rear gates of villages, patrolling the streets of their villages, and sacred landmarks however some patrol the jungles in between gathering necessary material to keep their settlements thriving. Mounted warriors can also be found however their far more common at their sacred landmarks and patrols throughout the jungles.

Defenses

The perimeters of their settlements are surrounded by constructed walls made from wood and scrap metal salvaged from Lurkers or the abandoned settlements of Far South Damalay. These walls are constantly checked for breaches or disrepair and are promptly repaired if such things are noticed. Emplacements defenses are absent in Kai'zhuk villages as historically they've never had a use for them however what is present around settlements to better shield it's denizens are traps. Large pitfalls traps often adorned with metal spikes at the bottom, snares, and swinging branch traps are the most common types of booby traps found. These traps are commonly found in wooded sections of settlements perimeters where the foliage would make it easy to try sneaking in. A few leaders within the Republic of North Damalayian Army (RNDA) had proposed the idea of planting mines in certain sections of Zhyrik that were known as hotspots for hostile activity but it was unsurprisingly denied by the Chieftess as she didn't want any of her people, particularly children to accidentally wander in and set off a mine. However, the Chieftess did agree to have anti-tank and personnel mines planted within a certain small section of Zhyrik. This region is located just south of Arramore and east of the Dellsen Channel. This area isn't typically patrolled by Kai'zhuk warriors and is located far away from any of their villages which was the reason why she agreed to let the North Damalayian Army plant mines all over the region. The area also had signs planted on the border letting anyone passing by know that it is occupied by mines. The only people present in this region are a small detachment of Kai'zhuk warriors that act as primarily sentries, watching in case any mines get set off so they can be replaced by the RNDA during their monthly visits. This detachment are aware of where every mine is planted and if they forgot they use small stones as markers where mines are located which is also what they do for their regular traps too.

Weaponry

The Kai'zhuk primarily utilize melee weapons for combat and hunting. Warriors often crafted their own weapons which range from either great axes, war hammers, spears or great swords. For targets at a longer range, they use bow and arrows. One obvious detail that is noticeable about Kai'zhuk weapons is their size, their larger in size when compared to their counterparts from other species. Their weapons are larger in size than other sentient species and the Kai'zhuk themselves. Their bows are so large that they are classified as great bows by other civilizations. Some Kai'zhuk, with enough practice will sometimes shoot multiple arrows at once instead of just one single arrow. For skinning animals, cutting meat or point blank protection, the Kai'zhuk use daggers that are mistaken as short swords by other civilizations. Many warriors practice duel wielding a shield in one hand along with their weapon in the other. These shields are mostly made of wood often reinforced with scrap metal, tightly woven cloth or leather. Some of their shields are thick enough to stop small caliber gunfire which has been proven useful against Lurker attacks.

Base Info

Designation
Sentient
Classification
Reptilian

Looks

Average Height
8'-9 ft (females)
9'-12' ft (males)
Skin Colors
Green
Light Green
Brown
Light Brown
Gray
Stripe Colors
Green
Light Green
Brown
Light Brown
Gray
Eye Colors
Yellow
Orange
Distinctions
Very tall stature
Brawny build
Horns (males)
Small back spikes
Feathers on head and tail (females)
Thick tails

Region

Homeworld
Kaiyn
Home Country
Zhyrik