Casaanka

The Casaanka are an advanced near-human race that has sworn fealty to The Grand Principality of Dunia. Their home is the planet Casaan, in the Nyumbani system. Casaanka also refers to the language the Casaanka people speak.

History
The Casaanka are a relatively young race, though their exact origins have yet to be discerned. It is known that they have been active at a level of evolution matching humanity for at least two hundred years, but their technology has not yet been fully realized in the aspects of space exploration. This is in part due to the Casaanka's natural society - themselves and their planet have always been seen as more important, a fact shown in their use of technology. Nevertheless, their assimilation into The Grand Principality of Dunia has allowed them, ever curious, to begin exploring the stars.

The Casaanka tend to live in caste societies, and a large part of their lifestyle is hunting. The Casaanka have hunted and toiled the lands for hundreds of years, and are incredibly accomplished in this regard. Their bodies have naturally developed a powerful skeleton and equally powerful musculature, both to combat some of the indigenous species of Casaan and to allow them to move to their full potential. Even now, in the advent of space travel and with modern vehicles, many Casaanka still choose to travel as their ancestors did, and most still learn and practice techniques related to hunting. This natural and societal ambition makes most Casaanka expert scouts and trackers, and accomplished fighters in melee combat - affinities which were well noted by Dunian explorers in initial contact, and are now highly valued.

Since their assimilation into the Grand Principality, the Casaanka have lent many personnel to their cause - mainly researchers, scholars and non-combat personnel, but also soldiers and other military personnel as well. Opinions of the Grand Principality in general on Casaan are incredibly high - most are grateful to the Grand Principality for not only opening their borders to space, but also for providing employment to the Casaanka - whether in military roles, as scholars and teachers, or researchers. Their now booming agricultural industry has only become so thanks to the Dunians, who have been able to bring their products to planets which many Casaanka have never heard of, and may never have dreamed existed. Dunian is a second language in the colony now, taught alongside Casaanka, and as such most colonists are bilingual virtually from birth. Many go on to learn further languages as well, in order to better communicate with other races.

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Appearance and Biology
As near-humans, the Casaanka are very nearly indistinguishable from humanity, save some physical traits. Casaanka tend to have naturally dark skin, and hair is typically black or brown - some have rustic red hair, but this is relatively rare. Eye colours tend to be more muted than humans - grey and brown are among the most common. Casaanka generally stand between Five feet six inches and Six feet six inches, meaning that the only way to easily distinguish suited Casaanka from humans is to check body shape - their muscles are large and powerful, and so they tend to be thicker and stockier than humans.

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Military
The Casaanka operate their own smaller militia, which constitutes not only a Planetary Defense Force, but also the planet's sole (non-Dunian) Law Enforcement entity. Militiamen are held in high regard due to their roles, and many go on to (or return from) Grand Principality service, bringing further respect and admiration.

Casaanka soldiers within the Grand Principality's ranks primarily work in logistical and support roles - they are generally not suited to frontline combat, but excel as reconnaissance soldiers, and their strength proves highly useful in moving supplies that are scaled to the size of a Pribumi. Casaanka in combat roles are thus generally rare, but there is one particular role they fulfill that is well known to anyone familiar with the Grand Principality.

Verjandi
Verjandi are augmented Casaanka soldiers. They are willing participants in a Dunian "Supersoldier" program, and on completion of basic augmentation, are christened Verjandi. Due to the Casaanka's particularly sturdy skeletal and muscular systems, much of the augmentation process goes into reinforcing this already natural toughness. Their height and general body shape is greatly enhanced, with most specimens in the 9-10 feet tall range (typically matching and exceeding their Pribumi masters), and displaying incredible strength to match.

The path of the Verjandi is one seen in high regard, both within the Grand Principality and within the society of the Casaanka. They utilize their augmented strength and bodies to fulfill an important role within the military - that of bodyguards and escorts. Their natural resilience, sturdy bodies, and extreme strength make them formidable soldiers, and fearsome existences on the battlefield. They are most often assigned to research and expedition teams, but some Verjandi are also assigned as personal guards to higher ranking Grand Principality officials. The few seen in true combat roles are extremely rare, and typically assumed to be superstition - very few can claim to have actually ever seen these so-called "Verjandi Shocktroopers", and even the Grand Principality denies their existence.

As bodyguards and escorts, Verjandi are rarely equipped with weapons, choosing to face most foes in hand to hand combat. Typically utilizing a unique tribal blade and a discipline named "Umvikeli", Verjandi excel at closing in on and disabling or eliminating opponents with frightening speed and agility that is often overlooked by opponents - one would not assume that beings as massive as the Verjandi would move even half as fast as they do. Umvikeli itself is a discipline that combines elegant and refined Dunian arts with traditional Casaanka styles - all Verjandi are trained to use Umvikeli, but the use of tribal blades is usually reserved for more respected or veteran Verjandi - this is not an absolute rule, of course - fresh Verjandi may wish to utilize a blade, and veteran Verjandi may forgo one.

However, even with this powerful fighting art, Verjandi rarely attack enemies at all; their resilience and strength is typically used to assist and prevent harm to the Dunians they are with, and they will more often than not use themselves as shields for their Dunian masters. This is also helped by their stature; those who are dwarfed by the Dunians are dwarfed even more so by their Verjandi companions, and so may entirely rethink attacking Dunian groups if even one is present. Alas, they are not invincible - while the small arms of many races may not cause much (if any) damage them, they are still very much mortal. Many have given their lives to save their Dunian masters, and are decorated as heroes for their service. Many more have been seriously injured in the line of duty. Verjandi have extended their protective services to unaffiliated civilians and even enemy personell on occasion.

Those who leave the Dunian military and do not pursue further employment with other Dunian forces (or as instructors for newer generation Verjandi) typically return to their colony as scholars and militiamen, where the natural admiration and respect of having served the Grand Principality is a powerful factor.

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