Horzyx

The Horzyx (singular also "Horzyx") were a warlike species from Karzabrog in the. After taking to the stars in an unsuccessful attempt at conquest in the Shield War, they became one of the more contentious member species of the Golden Empire.

Biology and appearance
The Horzyx were a species. At a glance their heads vaguely resembled those of, though Horzyx had five digits on their hands and feet and motion. Their heads were triangular from the front, but this was due to pronounced brows which shadowed their deep-set eyes and extended ridges which swept back to the bases of their skulls. Their pronounced lower jaws, cleft at the chin, featured four fangs which extended past their upper lips; their mouths were filled with other sharp, thick teeth, though they had molars at the back to grind food.

Horzyx had acute senses of smell despite their slits of nostrils, and a sense of hearing which extended into lower ranges than a could hear. Their skin was tough and craggy; due to their evolutionary history, it was resistant to both scalding and chemical burns. They were carnivores and could not survive without a diet of meat. Horzyx skin appeared in a range of earth tones, usually shades of green and brown, but their eyes were uniformly gold.

Horzyx were born with their brows in place; the bones were soft, hardening after birth, but complications in delivery and physical trauma to the mother were still much more common in natural births than among other humanoid species. Horzyx reached physical maturity around the age of eighteen standard years.

Battle
Most aliens considered the Horzyx militant, violent, and cruel by nature, although xenosociologists believed this was just as much nurture as nature. Combat played a central role in their culture, and regular fighting was expected and encouraged, though it was not tolerated when it interfered with military discipline. A Horzyx proverb ran, "Fight your friends only when your enemies are subdued." "Drain on society" was a defense to murder on Karzabrog; if a Horzyx killed another who was not only incapable of defending himself, but generally considered to be of no use whatsoever in war, the killing could be excused. Torture was perfectly acceptable; parents often beat or whipped disobedient children, while convicts and enemy prisoners were tortured much more brutally.

Training for war began early, with toddler Horzyx forced to fight various small animals. By adolescence, the best Horzyx adepts could fight pack predators and win. They trained in hand-to-hand combat from early youth, progressing to melee weapons in adolescence and ranged weapons near adulthood; Horzyx were expected to dominate battle at all ranges. Different cultures had different views of a losing hand fighter resorting to weapons to protect himself; some considered it cowardly and an admission of inferiority, while others felt the attacker, if he was caught off guard and killed by the weapon, deserved to lose for his poor reflexes.

Both male and female Horzyx were trained to fight in identical manners; combat was considered a species requirement, rather than a sex-segregated art. Pregnant Horzyx who served in active combat occupations continued to do so until they were physically incapable; they often stayed with relatives until they delivered, because pregnancy was not always a sure counter to a "drain on society" defense to murder among the most brutal Horzyx cultures.

Names and castes
Horzyx names had three parts. The first was a given name, the middle a caste name, and the third a clan name. For example, the Horzyx Centurion Hataphri Rahn Kazot was personally named Hataphri; she belonged to the Rahn caste and was a member of the Kazot clan.

Though functionally meaningless in the modern era, the Horzyx castes were oriented around wartime proficiency. Movement among the castes was possible (a superb warrior could move up, a coward or inept warrior could be demoted), but rare. They existed in all societies, though some cultures added more, suggesting the core castes dated back to the very first Horzyx civilizations.

Among the known traditional castes were: The lowest castes, which were not dedicated specifically to combat, included:
 * Zen-Shik: The highest military leaders and generals
 * Skarg: The most famous warriors (and their descendants), typically those with extensive combat experience
 * Fikk: Frontline warriors
 * Rahn: Archers and other ranged weapons experts
 * Tulfad: Cavalry
 * Heshk: Producers of food and supplies such as farmers
 * Zeed: Merchants and traders

The castes, over time, became something of a self-fulfilling prophecy. The best archers were usually those with the best sight and steadiest hands; if they married within their caste, their children would generally share these traits. Over time, caste specialties became almost biological.

Horzyx taken as slaves had no caste, and had only given and clan names.

During the time of the caste system, warriors were taught and expected to make their own weapons and armor, so there was no traditional "weaponsmith" caste. The Horzyx approach to religion and politics also eliminated the need for "priest" or "ruler" castes, though the Zen-Shik sometimes effectively filled the latter.

Religion
Horzyx religion was usually polytheistic, but centered on Zahan Orifess, the blood god. The most ancient Horzyx believed Zahan Orifess required the shedding of blood and the sacrifice of the defeated, lest he punish Karzabrog with natural disasters. Adherents would take body parts of defeated enemies (and sometimes living, captured enemies) and burn them at altars of the blood god. They believed these sacrifices would earn them places closer to Zahan Orifess's throne in the afterlife, where they would have a share in the blood sacrifices themselves and grow eternally stronger. Horzyx younglings (and members of non-war castes) who got into fights would sometimes take the blood of those they fought from their hands, feet, or personal weapons and sacrifice that, as it was the best they could do; warriors viewed this with approval in children and some measure of tolerance in non-war caste adults.

Most Horzyx societies had other gods as well, which were worshipped with varying degrees of reverence, though agricultural and hearth deities were paid more homage by the lower castes.

All Horzyx were given religious instruction as children, which continued through adulthood so they could perform their proper roles. Distinguished leaders of each caste performed religious rites for their own caste members, while Zen-Shik caste members could perform sacrifices for entire armies.

Political structure
Nearly all Horzyx societies were monarchies, oligarchies, or dictatorships; sometimes a council of seasoned warriors led, though governance by a single warlord was more common. These leaders were almost always drawn exclusively from the Zen-Shik caste.

History
The tough skin and shielded eyes of the Horzyx both evolved as a result of Karzabrog's constant geysers, which sometimes spewed only water but other times much more acidic or basic liquids. Natural predators, the Horzyx domesticated some other predators as war companions or mounts while preying on herbivores. Eventually, the benefits of settled societies and cities led them to domesticate prey animals as well.

Peace never lasted long on Karzabrog, and alliances were always tentative and subject to change. Neighboring states sometimes coexisted in cold wars, knowing any attack would lead to mutually assured destruction, but more often neighbors eventually felt compelled to face the test and discover which was stronger. Entire societies occasionally disappeared from history when they fought each other to extinction, or became so badly reduced that a third force came in and obliterated them both.

The demise of the traditional caste system (and the rise of a middle class) came when the Zeed caste began independently manufacturing weapons. The initial disdain of warrior castes for those who used mass-produced weapons and armor quickly subsided when those weapons and armored proved superior and forces which eschewed them were slaughtered. Zeeds became more important, and eventually vital to society, which allowed them to demand more privileges and ultimately reduced the importance of the traditional castes.

Most scientific advances came in the interest of making better weapons, stronger armor, or more defensible cities. As it did in most societies, the discovery of gunpowder changed warfare, although the Horzyx opted to make stronger cities rather than give up on walls for a long time. Even into the digital era, laser weapons were initially invented to shoot down projectiles rather than for their direct application.

The Horzyx discovered interstellar travel when the surveyed their world. They were no match for the, but when later aliens came by the planet, the Horzyx were ready and captured their ships. It took time to reverse-engineer the technology, and an unprecedented international force was assembled to protect both the ships and the scientists working on them, to ensure the opportunity for interplanetary war was not lost. This coalition led to an eventual unified, if loose, collection of Horzyx nations.

When at last the Horzyx had produced and tested -capable craft of their own, they embarked on what they hoped would become a series of conquests across the galaxy. Instead, they immediately became embroiled in the six-year-long Shield War against the Zarban Hegemony. The Horzyx themselves were not particularly disappointed, as they had found a worthy foe, and they experienced even greater planetary unity when Karzabrog was attacked twice. Eventually, however, the Horzyx were too beaten down to continue the attack, while the Hegemony was not strong enough to take Karzabrog, leading to a stalemate truce.

The stalemate became permanent when the Golden Empire acquired the Hegemony. On information from the Simyastos, the Empire went to Karzabrog in early 105 ABY to bring their enemies into the fold as well. Though still recovering from the Shield War, the Horzyx mustered enough of a force to demand combat from the Empire; Queen Rin Sakaros obliged by sending down several Massassi Cohorts led by Centurion Aquila Corcer. Faced with the equally ferocious (and much larger) Massassi and a Force-wielding warrior, the Horzyx conceded in the Third Battle of Karzabrog and joined the Empire.

Local support for the Royal government waxed and waned and, like Baes, Karzabrog acquired a reputation for needing a firm-handed Consul at the planetary helm.

In the galaxy
Horzyx who left their homeworld often found their way into the Armada of the Empire; most preferred direct, personal combat, joining the Royal Army or Royal Starfighter Corps rather than the Royal Navy. Some Horzyx were also hired on as enforcers by organized crime syndicates.

Hataphri Rahn Kazot was a female Horzyx who joined the Order of Keltrayu and served as a Royal Guard to Rin Sakaros.