Kasatha

Kasathas are a race of four-armed humanoids native to the desert planet Kasath. Their homeworld's star is dying, and they consolidated their race into a massive worldship called the Idari to settle in the Pact Worlds.

Appearance Kasathas have gray skin, black eyes, and a smooth face with no proboscis. Each has a long, tall skull that extends behind their neck. Their bodies are lean, but their muscles are stronger than most humanoid races, granting them an often surprising degree of strength.
The average kasatha is 6 to 7 feet tall and weighs 120 to 200 pounds. They typically reach maturity at age 25, and most can live up to 100 to 140 years without magical or technological intervention.[1]

Abilities Being natives of a rocky desert planet, kasathas can traverse difficult sands, hills, and mountains on foot more easily than other races. They can use all four of their arms simultaneously with ease, and move with extraordinary natural grace.[2] Due to their shared experience on the Idari, kasathas of the Pact Worlds are also well-educated in a broad range of subjects, particularly history. History Early history
See also: Witchwyrd
Kasathas are descended from witchwyrds, a race of planar travellers.[1] Kasath
See also: Kasath
Kasathas are native to the planet Kasath, a massive desert world orbiting a distant, dying red giant star. They achieved feats of high technology thousands of years before the races of the Pact Worlds system. However, with their sun's demise imminent their witchwyrd progenitors returned to them after the Gap to tell them of Akiton, a world similar enough to their homeworld to be a suitable replacement.[1] Journey of the Idari
Main article: Idari
After learning of Akiton, kasathas united to built a tremendous worldship called the Idari and set out to settle it. Its slower-than-light crawl toward Akiton from their distant homeworld took centuries, during which time Akiton's technology advanced to equal, and even surpass, once-superior kasathan technology.[1]
They arrived in the Pact Worlds system in 240 AG with the intent of invading Akiton, but found themselves overmatched. Incapable of conquering Akiton's natives, many of the kasathan settlers instead integrated into its society. The rest remained on the Idari, settled into an orbit between Verces and the Diaspora, and petitioned for and gained membership into the Pact Worlds as a standalone entity.[1][3]

Society Born of a world plagued by devastating disasters, kasathas value cultural stability and treasure their rich and long history. The resulting culture is heavy on complex traditions that often confuse younger races, heavily focused on rituals of dignity and propriety, and sometimes even at odds with their own survival — for instance, favoring dangerous melee weapons over long-ranged combat. These traits lead many kasathas down the path of lawful neutrality, though some follow divergent paths during their youth.[1] The Tempering
When kasathan youths reach maturity, they spend a year melding common traditions with new ones of their own creation. This sojourn is called the Tempering, and forces a young kasatha to stretch their limits, leave their comfort zones, and even commit scurrilous acts, all in the name of learning the values of tradition and stability. Since their arrival to the Pact Worlds, some kasathas who begin the Tempering never end it, remaining wanderers and explorers their entire lives.[1] Star cycles
Main article: Star cycle
Kasathas also follow a philosophy of cosmic balance based on star cycles, one of the core beliefs of most solarians. They are the ones who introduced this philosophy to the Pact Worlds, and most solarians are kasathas as a result.[1] In the Pact Worlds
Kasathas in the Pact Worlds live primarily on Akiton and the Idari, where many still tend to its agricultural and manufacturing facilities. Most respect lashuntas for their extensive historical knowledge and research, and look at androids and shirrens as young races yearning for their mentorship. Humanity's chaotic and fluid tendencies confuse kasathas, while they view ysoki impulsiveness and shamelessness, and the vesk thirst for conquest, as distateful at best.[1] Gender
Kasathas have generally binary sexes, but their sexual dimorphism is so slight as to be overlooked compared to many other races.[1] Names
Kasathan names can extend as long as their familial histories — in other words, they can be quite extensive. While they go by their first names, a full kasathan name can include their parentage, clan, subclan, heritage from a Great Family of Kasath, connections to historical figures, and other relationships stretch back for millennia.
Some examples of kasathan first names are Altronus, Esar, Gorsen, Hadif, Jehir, Kala, Maedar, Metweska, Ninura, Remu, Senesel, Tolar, Umana, Voloteo, and Zye.