The Tanausans are a humanoid species native to the Large Magellanic Cloud. They were members of the Apostate Fleet during the Dark's reign of terror, rewarded for their service with two million years of prosperity as the Tanausan Imperium. This came to a halt at the end of the Dawnbreaker War, which saw their empire crippled by the entity Elysia in what is known as the Great Retrograde. Presently, their government has taken the form of the New Tanausan States.
Physiology[]
Tanausan biology follows a typical humanoid structure, and they are primarily differentiated by their blue skin which varies from pale, powdery shades to deeper navies.
Culture[]
Little is known about tanausan culture prior to the wars of conquest that began the Imperium. One detail that has been preserved is that of their religion, the reverence of a Night Goddess which later translated into worship of the Dark. Indeed, much of tanausan culture seems to revolve around the motif of night, from their black cities to their lunar calendar.
Naming Conventions[]
While Tanausan first names can range wildly from planet to planet, their last names tend to follow a basic three-letter, monosyllabic structure.
Examples:
Male Names: Clarus Son, Daharius Nil, Janus Pyr
Female Names: Saedis Vex, Aubrosia Wen, Liliath Var
Genetic Purity[]
Though the Imperium maintained a harshly xenophobic culture, interbreeding with the other populations was common. By the time that they encountered the Federation, less than ten percent of all tanausans were truly "pureblooded," with most members of the populace employing biomodders to mask what they considered genetic imperfections. Those of mixed heritage are referred to as shanoura, and were barred from most positions of power in the Imperium save for in extremely rare and exceptional circumstances. After the fall of the Imperium attitudes toward shanoura have relaxed some, but they still face discrimination.
The Great Houses[]
For the first 1.7 million years of the Imperium's existence, it was ruled as a traditional hereditary empire by the Imperial family of Dus. In that time, the House of Dus splintered repeatedly into a multitude of cadet branches, the existence of which threatened the stability of the Imperium well before the last Dusian emperor - Hyrathin Dus - found himself childless at the end of his life. To that end, he established his cousin families as the Great Houses of Tanausa, and decreed that all future emperors would be elected from among a council of these houses. Even those who did not assume the throne were elevated in status by the luck of having been born into such a bloodline. It is a practice that lasted until the Imperium's end, and now survives only in the minds of those who would see it restored.