The Uraktiksak are a sentient species of the Ryccian Empire.

History

The Uraktiksak are a species native to the planet Artaknti, in the Velmino region. Conquered by the ancient Velpan Grand Authority, they were considered horrific in appearance, and were oppressed and brutalized with slave labour and high taxes, with some beings even subject to scientific experiments. Rebellions did occur, but the VGA caused a great deal of suffering to the Uraktiksak, even going so far as wiping out entire populations from various areas of their homeworld. For this, Velpan planets today now pay subsidies to this race as part of the Victim Species Atonement Act.

When the Velpans themselves were conquered by the human Ryccian Empire, their new human overlords also saw the Uraktiksak as demonic creatures. Unlike the Velpans, however, they freed the species, but they were also tyrannized and drafted into the armed forces as a sort of frightening beast infantry and torture tools instead.

When the Democratic Revolution finally came, the Uraktiksak experienced their first taste of liberty in several millennia, and their planet was granted greater autonomy compared to other systems as the Artaknti Pacifist Republic.

Culture and Language

Despite their looks, the Uraktiksak actually have a pacifist culture. Recognizing their aggressive impulses as a mainly carnivorous and highly competitive species, the ancient Uraktiksak civilizations imposed in themselves ideas of a complete and total pacifist existence, only killing when absolutely necessary, when clearly and obviously brutalized by their rulers, when needing to feed themselves from their livestock, or when at war. This philosophical current came to be as both a way to reduce the high murder rate they had, and as a way for local leaders to control their populace.

Murder in their culture is severely punished, and seen as the worst thing you could ever do. As a result, little to no Uraktiksak politicians could be ever considered "war hawks", practicing what some other species have remarked "the most respectful and peaceful form of politics they have ever seen", and their native Artaknti is a staunch Pacifist Coalition world, with their Senators almost always advocating peace and diplomacy when possible.

The religion of the Uraktiksak revolves around worshipping their star, known to humans as Artaknti, after the planet, but to the Uraktiksak it is "Schei'kkro-Gae(high-pitched growl)(low-pitched screech)ti", which literally means "Light Center" in their language. They also worship elements of nature. To them, the stars are living creatures, as they are formed of so many hydrogen and helium atoms, that, although not sentient nor even aware, they live. They reason that every single atom has a soul, and when many atoms combine, their trillions of souls become one entity, like a sentient being, a plant or a star. To them, everything has a soul, and if it provides life to them, they worship it (which is why they see all the bodies of water of the world as deities). Historians believe that, originally, the Uraktiksak were animists of a different religion, but when the Velpans and their knowledge arrived, astronomical and chemical science and their animistic belief syncretised to form a new faith.

Despite being a territorial and fiercely competitive species, the Uraktiksak, due to their pacifist culture, actually do marry, and husbands and wives are expected to be loyal to each other until they die. Divorce can be achieved if the couple has no children, but if they do, it is harder to obtain. In this aspect, they are socially conservative, highly valuing the family and spousal loyalty.

Strangely, although homosexuality and transgenderism are perfectly legal, they are extremely rare. Due to their scarcity, homosexuals and the transgendered are thought to be by the supersticious as some sort of alternating life force, divine for their rarity. The transgendered are especially sacred, as they are thought to have multiple souls at once according to their religion, and can channel them. In the ancient past, transgender Uraktiksak served as an elite class in their animist priesthood as spirit mediums.

The Uraktiksak vocal chords can allow them to speak the lingua franca of the Empire, English, but they can only produce it in a "raspy" accent with several-pitched tones, as their native tongue is a series of different-pitched yet highly sophisticated roars, screeches and growls, as well as actual human-like sounds.

Biology

Their diet mostly consists of meat from their livestock or prey, but they can also consume some plants if need be. Their peace-loving society also demands that any animal to be consumed must have its life ended as humanely as possible, and, when eating the meat proper, they always look at the carcass and say "I am sorry for eating you" before beginning to enjoy their food. Although a plant-based diet is possible, their biology is so intricately involved with meat-eating, that any such way of life would result in a weak physical state, comparable to a human being undernourished or wrongly fed.

They live for around 60 to 65 years, with the oldest specimen recorded living for 82 years and 5 months. They are born out of eggs the mothers produce, with an incubation period of 5 months. A mother can produce 2 to 6 eggs for every batch, and cannot produce more for 8 months. The Uraktiksak reach sexual and physical maturity when they are 12 years old, but they reach psychological maturity earlier, at 10. As a result, the adult age of the Uraktiksak is 10, but their drinking and consent age is higher, at 13.

Other Facts

There is more than one Uraktiksak diaspora in the Ryccian Empire. They can be generally categorized into three: the Velpan diaspora, the Human diaspora, and the Imperial diaspora.

The Velpan diaspora originated when the ancient Velpan regime took some Uraktiksak as offworld slaves, and settled them in various planets. Almost stripped of their culture, when they were "freed" by the Ryccian Empire, they were isolated into their own communities, possessing a different culture than that of Artaknti. These Uraktiksak speak a different language, have a far more violent culture, and are generally atheists. The Artaknti government is currently attempting to spread the original culture to them in collaboration with various Velpan worlds as a way to lower their high murder rate and hostile tendencies, but some critics argue that economic reform in favour of these communities is also needed.

The Human diaspora originated when Imperial forces took some Uraktiksak as machines of war. As a result, they concentrate mainly on historical military worlds that had important garrisons. Unlike the Velpan diaspora, these Uraktiksak kept their culture mostly intact, albeit they are a bit more violent and accepting of killing due to the military service that was forced upon them.

The Imperial diaspora is the only wave that was completely voluntary. These Uraktiksak fully retain their culture, and can be thought of more as expats or recent immigrants than a distinct community. They mostly migrated searching economic opportunity off-world, with most of these residing in the Farlands or The Imperial Rim.