Kartanin

"To be means to live; to live means to fight. Every creature struggles for survival every single day, but only he who is honorable may call himself a warrior. He who does not flinch; he who faces the dread of death with a smile on his face; that is the mark of a true Kartanin."

- Teneb-Jass-D'hios

The Kartanin are true warriors at heart, honorable until death. They live to fight, which also reflects in their language - the verbs "to fight" and "to be" are identical. There are dozens of different words for "war", each one having a slightly different meaning about what kind of war it is, while "peace" might better be translated as "not war".

In spite of this, they are not oppressive warmongers. In fact, since the founding of the Kartanin Dominion, they haven't made a single unprovoked attack. It is, however, quite easy to provoke them. A famous example is that of an independent trader from Corellia who accused a Kartanin captain of being a liar - all in good humor - and never left the Dominion again.

To a human, Kartanin look like large cats walking upright. They have all the traits normal cats would possess, like a tail, whiskers and their exceptional senses. They also have the same superior stamina, speed and strength - especially in the leg area. However, the main cause for this is the higher gravity of Kartan. The average height for them is a bit more than six feet - 1.85 metres - but they can grow as tall as seven and a half feet easily, also influenced by heritage.

Heritage is something that matters less and less lately, due to crossbreeding between the different houses. In the days of the Kartanin Empire however, one could take a look at a Kartanin and instantly recognize them as a member of house D'hios due to the black fur, green eyes and height of about 6'2". It was simply impossible to mistake them for a snow-white member of House H'ay.

Today it is slightly more difficult, although the general appearance remains the same for the most part.