Vesk

Intimidating and militaristic, the vesk have long had a reputation as little more than bloodthirsty conquerors. But following the recent alliance between the Veskarium and the Pact Worlds—uneasy though it may be— the vesk have proven themselves honorable

Originally native to the world Vesk Prime in an eight-planet Near Space system not far from the Pact Worlds, the vesk defeated all other contenders to become their home world’s dominant species. Initially, the vesk considered it necessary to engage in endless military conflict to ensure the survival of their species. In short order, though, these unending conflicts forged vesk society into an efficient war machine focused on conquest—a drive that soon propelled the vesk into space. As they expanded their reach to the other worlds of their home solar system, the vesk created a mighty empire called the Veskarium. As the system fell under vesk control, the fearsome conquerors replaced the planets’ native names using a characteristically utilitarian approach, until each world became just a name and a number, from Vesk-2 to Vesk-8. Vesk are warm-blooded reptilian humanoids with an imposing physical appearance. Covered in tough scales, predominantly in various shades of green, vesk stand around 7 feet tall on average and are heavily built, with powerful muscles and long, thick tails. They retain their predator ancestors’ claws and teeth, and their heads are edged with small horns. Visibly notable are the spikes that protrude from their lower jaws like bony “beards,” which strengthen the skull and help protect a vesk’s head in combat. Occasionally, a vesk is born with spikes running all the way down their back to the tip of their tail. Such children are said to be especially favored by Damoritosh and destined for great glory in battle. Vesk display some sexual dimorphism; females tend to be larger than males, with vivid colors creating mottled patterns in their scales, while the scales of male vesk are plainer. From an evolutionary standpoint, vesk scientists agree that female vesk’s size and coloration once helped them attract the best mates and produce the strongest offspring; even today, the vibrancy of a vesk’s scales is viewed as a sign of good health and physical beauty. Vesk reach maturity at 16, and can live up to 90 years, though a strong or glorious death in honorable battle before that point is both common and even sought after. Vesk reproduce by laying eggs. Once they’ve chosen a mate, female vesk produce clutches of three to seven eggs at a time. Vesk eggs are about the size of an ostrich egg, with dense shells that protect the embryos inside. The shells are white when first laid, but gradually take on a greenish or iridescent hue as they develop. Most vesk place their eggs in modern incubators, but recently a return to traditional methods of incubation has become fashionable, with some vesk parents constructing nests within their homes to incubate their eggs with their own body heat. After an incubation period of 6 months, the eggs hatch into newborn vesk. Female vesk can lay multiple clutches of eggs over the course of their lifetimes, which creates large extended families. Vesk are matrilineal, meaning they trace their lineage through their mothers. All vesk born of the same mother are considered siblings, even those from other clutches or from different fathers, but vesk have the tightest familial bonds with their clutchmates. In particularly large vesk households, each clutch of siblings might form one of several “sub-families” within the larger family structure and compete with their other sibling clutches for favors, recognition, and accomplishments, sometimes both inside and outside the family. Some clutches have even formed respected military units and mercenary companies, their members living their entire lives from birth to death in the company of their beloved clutchmates. Vesk reproductive biology has resulted in a high population, a fact that early vesk society struggled to cope with. Vesk Prime simply did not have enough land, resources, or jobs for an ever-growing population. Rather than devolve into civil war, the vesk organized themselves along military lines and turned their aggression toward their neighbors, first on Vesk Prime, then on other planets. Even with the expansion of the Veskarium to multiple worlds, population pressure remains a concern, so vesk society is strictly regimented, and the military remains at the top of the vesk social hierarchy. As a result, military service remains the best career option for many vesk. Young vesk soldiers feed the Veskarium’s war machine with their lives, conquering territory and plundering resources for the might of the empire, and the military repays that service with the opportunity for honorable combat and a glorious death. The highly efficient, militaristic nature of vesk society extends even into childhood. At the age of 10, all vesk children are enlisted in their local planetary militia, where they receive basic military training as their primary education. There they learn self-defense, unarmed combat, and basic strategy, as well as the principles of honor and the importance of dutiful service to the Veskarium. Vesk living outside the borders of the Veskarium either send their children to the system for this instruction, or they form vesk-only academies where they can educate their young in traditional vesk values and fighting skills. It is not uncommon for young vesk to die during this period of training—combat is a dangerous undertaking, after all—but a warrior’s death, even one that results from training, holds no shame or dishonor. When a vesk comes of age, usually at 16 years, they either enlist in the military (by far the most common choice), enter a military academy (if they seek more advanced military training or wish to become an officer), enroll in a university, or seek an apprenticeship in a useful trade. Vesk tend to dismiss any higher education as irrelevant and a waste of time—a young vesk will learn what they need through the trials of life or perish, according to widespread vesk beliefs—but they recognize society’s need for more than just warriors, and a child who chooses a non-military vocation is respected for their choice. Vesk children usually save a piece of their eggshell when they first hatch and carry it with them through their childhood. When they come of age, they ritually destroy this memento of their birth to symbolically leave childhood behind and enter adulthood. Traditionally, vesk dedicate this ritual destruction to Damoritosh to pledge their life and loyalty to their patron deity. Today, those vesk who do not worship the Conqueror or who are entering non-military occupations might dedicate their destroyed eggshell to another god or remove religion entirely from the equation, destroying their eggshells in quiet, private ceremonies with family and friends. Because of vesk society’s hierarchical organization, vesk tend to be fixated on social status. While all professions are respected, provided they serve the needs of the Veskarium, military service or prowess in armed combat are the true markers of status. Only warriors who have been bloodied in real battle wield political power in the Veskarium, even if their experiences were not in service to the empire. Most vesk are as fixated on dominance, conquest, and the pursuit of glory in their daily lives as the Veskarium itself is on a larger scale. Vesk have a strong sense of honor and duty, but their society is a prideful one, and the combination of these two traits often leads to deadly duels over matters of honor. Vesk also pride themselves on their self-mastery and sense of propriety, but particularly egregious insults to a vesk or their honor can result in a blood debt, a brutal and violent custom that can only be considered paid when the offender and their family are slain in combat and have no more blood to shed for the affront. Vesk respect strength, bravery, and victory, and the history of their species only reinforces their belief that the vesk way is the best way, and that all other species are inherently weaker and inferior. However, vesk also believe that they have a duty to treat their subordinates—including those they have conquered in war—fairly and honorably, and aim to improve the lives of their subjects through education, the rule of law, and interstellar trade. Whether or not their conquered subjects appreciate these changes is a matter the Veskarium gives little consideration. Although they evolved as carnivores and meat remains a mainstay of their diet, most modern vesk are omnivorous. Vesk cooking is as efficient and regimented as their society, with traditional recipes remaining unchanged for generations. However, the preparation of meat is considered almost an art, and the vesk have appropriated methods for cooking meat from almost every planet they have conquered, adding these techniques to their culinary culture. Vesk speak a tonal language, in which the meaning of words changes based on the pitch or tone used to pronounce them. Although many humanoid species consider Vesk a difficult language to learn, it is the official language and common tongue of the Veskarium, spoken by a wide variety of non-vesk species. With increasing cooperation between the Veskarium and the Pact Worlds, Vesk is more widely spoken outside of the Veskarium than ever before.