Quatrian

Quatrian (Kah-trian) are a bipedal cold-blooded reptillian race that reside on the planet Quatre (Kah-tra), Sub-Sector 34Lt within the 54th Sector of the Future Universe.



History
Recorded history of the Quatrian race goes back several thousands of years and while technically they may have achieved sentience before Cradians, their learning curve for scientific advancement is quite steeper than that of other races. They are one of the last current known species to have joined the space age and have since been a constant presence in various parts of the universe.

Planet Quatre
The Quatrian race originate from the planet Quatre, this mild/hot temperature planet has only a small varied landscape. The enviroment ranges from dry arid badlands to damp and swampy jungles. There are very few cold regions on Quatra and even most of those are scarely populated. The highest population density is around their main capital, Sra-los or "Golden City" in Quatrian tongue. This of course is also where most foreign affairs are held and embassies built to accomodate its more exotic inhabitants. Other major cities include Ko-los in the most northern part of the main continent, Nu-los the port city of Quatre, and Su-los the city in the barrens.

Currently the population of Quatre is roughly about 12 billion inhabitants, including non-Quatrians as well. This number is easily managed due to the fact that most Quatrians do not require much sustenance and can go for weeks without a meal. However, this does not stop the more well-off individuals to indulge themselves in foreign delicacies.

Race and Culture
The Quatrian race is split up into three, though admittedly two, sub-groups. There are the Que (Keh) a more hardy and violent race, and the Qua (Kah) which are your basic everyday Quatrian. However, there is one last sub-group, the Royal Line known as the Rah-Qua (Ra-Kah) or "Child of the Sun".

The Que first originated from the arid badlands of the East. At first, they were the predominant race on the planet due to their better physique and strength. However, the Que posses only a class IV intellect, and only due to the fact that the Qua in their greater benevolence instructed and guided the Que. Currently these individuals make up most of the royal guard and some high ranking positions in their military force. Prideful and brave in battle, the Que believe the only true way for one of their race to die is in battle.

The Qua are the more adaptable and intellectual cousins to The Que, as such they have become the prominent leaders of their race today. The first Qua are speculated to have originated from the swampy jungles of the south-west. Seeing as how a large percentage of the population is of Viridian Scale. Within their culture a large variation in scale coloration is present. From ancient times the Qua have seen these patterns of color as a calling towards their purpose in life. The colors range from Blue to Red to Gold and Black. However, due to the relaxation of their caste system, most bloodlines have been muddled and as such these colors have been losing meaning. The gold scale is the only bloodline that has been kept pure due to the fact that it is the Royal scale color. Following is a small list of the most prominent color variations and their meanings.

Golden Scales – Associated with the royal blood and nobility. All Leaders of the Quatrian race have been golden scales.

Obsidian Scales- Associated with death and decay. Pure obsidians are trained from birth to become assassins for the state.

Viridian Scales- Associated with renewal and cycles. Generally more adept in herbal knowledge and healing techniques.

Red Scales – Associated with loyalty and battle. These tenacious individuals are generally more hotheaded and rash.

Opal Scales – Associated with wisdom and temperance. Most opals grow to be calm and knowledgeable individuals. The current ambassador of Quatre is an opal.

Grey/Silver Scales – Associated with the other world and the occult. Those born under the Moon of Solace as a silver scale are ritually blinded at birth and become Seer's

Being cold-blooded as they are, most Quatrians must wear specially designed thermal suits when voyaging in extended galactic trips. As such, away from home it is hard for one to identify the specific race of Quatrian they might be.

Life expectancy
Depending on whether the individual is of Que, Qua, or Rah the life expectancy of a Quatrian varies considerably. A Que has by far the smallest life cycle of the two sub groups. This of course is due to the fact that being larger and in a line of constant danger, the Que require much more to keep their bodies at peak performance. Normally a Que will live from 60 to about 100 years of age before expiring in battle.

A Qua however is a much different story. Due to the fact that they are a much more docile race and require much less sustenance, a Qua is much more likely to live past the 100 mark and upwards of 200 years of age. However, most Qua do not posses the strength or resources to continue living much past their 130th year.

Rah-Qua are a peculiar quirk in the Quatrian race. It's been recorded, prior to outside interaction, that the longest living Rah-Qua was of 500 years of age. It was written that Sol-Rah, 13th emperor of the Golden City was blessed by the gods with an abnormally long life span due to his actions pleasing the gods. However, as of then most recorded life spans of a Rah have barely broken the 300 year mark. There is however no biological difference between a Rah and a regular Qua, as such the meaning behind their extended life spans is a mystery.

The gestation period for all Quatrians is about the same as a human child, only differing if the child is to be a Que. A Que takes roughly another 2 - 4 months to be fully developed, and once born the child can already walk, see, and in a few months hunt.

Diet
All Quatrians are carnivorous by nature, however they will partake in the consumption of greens and such. Quatrians do not require much food in order to survive as their bodies digest their meals extremely slowly, sucking as much nutrients from the food as possible. Quatrians absorb so much of their meal actually that they only have to remove waste from their body a few times a year.

Love and Intimacy
Most Quatrians are by human standards your average individual. They range from Heterosexual, Homosexual, and Bisexual. However, it would be inaccurate to say that all three orientations are equally balanced in their society. Heterosexuality is seen as the norm between their race with homosexuality and bisexuality beginning to gain more and more acceptance in their society.

Role of Gender
While Quatrians used to have extremely rigid gender roles during their earlier times, due to the relaxation of their caste system females and males have been placed on a more and more equal level. Females however are still expected to bear young and at least one male to the family. Female Quatrians have never been represented as loving mothers however and it is the males who generally take care of the children.

Caste System
The caste system was implented a few years after the creation of the first monarchy under King Sol-Tes the First. The caste split society into 4 groups which consisted of the Children of the Sun, the Nobles, Warriors of the Sun, and Followers of the Sun. This system did not allow for movement between castes unless one was a great warrior, tactician, or merchant. However, even though movement was allowed it was nigh impossible for one to do so due to the resentment higher caste members had for the lower people. This system however has been abandoned and now only serves as a sort of lineage for individuals to trace back their roots.

War and Politics
War in the Quatrian race is seldom but brutal. There have only been a few wars over the written history of Quatrians, however these wars have come within a few thousand people of extinction. The first of these wars was the War of Awakening and occurred when the Qua finally broke free from their Que leaders. Later came the War of Rights, which dissolved the caste system. There have been few conflicts between those wars, but when a Quatrian engages in war, his zeal is endless. Politics in the Quatrian society is usually done by the ambassador, who is appointed by the ruling king. The ambassador is in turn bound by royal law to inform the king of all important political events which may occur during his rule.

Trade and Economy
Prior to the Quatrians' expansion into space, trade between colonies was your basic import and export with supplies coming in from the cold northern front to Sra-Los, where the raw materials would be used for a number of things and then reshipped to other colonies. However, after the arrival of Quatrians in space, they have turned from a balanced economy on one that relies heavily on exportation of raw materials due to the fact that they hold untold number of resources within their planet. It is now a very prosperous and bustling planet swarming with merchants, travelers, and a heavy military influence.

Clans and Family
Quatrian families are much larger than that of the average human simply due to the fact that they have a longer life span. However, ever since the loss of the bloodlines family ties have been dwindling ever so slowly. This coupled with the fact that Quatrian families are so large it is no surprise when a child might not even see his parents for the rest of his life once he leaves his den or home. However, there are some families who have kept their bloodlines intact besides the Royal Family. These families have created clans in order to uphold their values and knowledge passed down from their great ancestors. As such there have been a few disputes between clans, predomidantly the Blacktip Clan and the Proudblood's.