Tantaari

The Tantaari (//, singular also "Tantaari") were the sentient natives of Daispin. A species, they were often persecuted by  colonists until the reign of Queen Aria Nikina and Daispin's subsequent incorporation into the Golden Empire.

Biology and appearance
Tantaari generally resembled their Human ancestors, though with some small differences. The most conspicuous was the presence of three slender at the base of the skull which usually extended to mid- or lower back. These head-tails were the same color as the flesh of the Tantaari in question. Tantaari skin ranged from dark brown to olive, and they grew almost uniformly black or brown hair, which turned gray with age. Most Tantaari had brown or green eyes; blue eyes existed, but were very rare.

Tantaari could leave up to one hundred fifty standard years, reaching fully physical maturity around thirty. They bore live young after a gestation period of roughly a standard year. Nearly all Tantaari had a mild degree of Force sensitivity, although the ability to train it and use the Force's power was much less common.

As a Near-Human species, Tantaari could interbreed with Humans. Human/Tantaari hybrids did not grow head-tails, and generally were indistinguishable from pure Humans.

Society and culture
Most Tantaari were at least trained as warriors, if not active fighters; failing to serve as a clan warrior at some point was usually due to infirmity or disability rather than lack of desire. Warrior Tantaari wove their three head-tails into braids.

Tantaari religion centered around a primitive understanding of the Force. Many Tantaari warriors would meditate before going into battle, and most with sufficient training could use the Force to clear their minds. Well-trained Tantaari warriors also developed some variation of the, able to coordinate well with one another in combat.

Tantaari society was largely matriarchal, with the female chieftain of each clan choosing the best warrior of her subjects as her husband. The Tantaari were a people with a rich tradition of myths and legends, and Tantaari children were often taught life lessons through stories and parables.

History
How the Tantaari diverged from baseline Humans was lost to history, as was the method of their arrival on Daispin. They became its dominant species, with female-led clans ruling the planet. The oldest known Tantaari clan was the Kazics, and Tantaari legend had it that the Kazics were themselves the first Tantaari.

It is unknown when and how Humans found Daispin again, but conflict between the Tantaari natives and Human colonists was constant. The Tantaari initially held their own, but in 92 ABY, Human revolutionary Tristarian Zelon overthrew the Tantaari queen and conquered Daispin. Three years later, he was succeeded by his foremost commander, Genera Seithe.

Seithe ruled Daispin with an iron fist for forty-four years, favoring the Human populace and oppressing the Tantaari, who became second-class citizens on their homeworld. Attempts at rebellion were crushed until the Battle of Gantu in 136 ABY. Seithe threw his half-Human, half-Tantaari daughter Tristaria Zelona Seithe, nicknamed Aria Nikina, into the onrushing hordes. Rather than fight her people, however, Aria rallied them to defeat her father's army.

The last direct descendant of the Kazic line, Aria became Queen of Daispin and established Humans and Tantaari as equals under the law. Two years later, she pledged Daispin to the Golden Empire in return for the protection of the Empire's Armada. Royal forces upheld Aria's reforms when Aria herself became a Centurion, and Aria's Tantaari cousin Syr'ei became first the Regent of Daispin, then also Consul.

Daispin was attacked during the Nightmare War in 149 ABY, and Aria personally led the defense of her planet, with Tantaari allying with Humans and the Empire's 11th Massassi Cohort to repel the invading Skavik. Aria dispatched the enemy commander, the ferocious Dark Jedi Sacco Vyrak, and Daispin suffered comparatively little in the battle. The planet had largely rebuilt in time for the Harvest Festival.