Creature:Caltuun

The Caltaun are a race of tall mammalians who are native to the. They are a race of proud warriors, seperated into different clans who are led by a single leader, or Monarch, who keeps order between them, with different Sovereigns leading each clan under the Monarch. Unlike some warrior races, they are seen as a graceful and dignified people, who believe there are other solutions than violence.

They are a deeply historic people, with each Caltaun warrior and civilian being taught the history of their race as children. They also have planets that are dedicated libraries and hold all known knowledge of their race, along with many ancient artefacts and legends.

They are a proud race, having fought many foes to defend their planets and preserve their existence in the past. This has made them an arrogant race who are known to judge the worthiness of other races. However, races who do prove themselves worthy gain the respect of the Caltaun, and this alliance is deeply treasured by the Caltaun race.

History
The history of the Caltaun is a long and difficult one, being filled with stories of war and conflict, as well as peace and betrayal.

Evolution
The Caltaun were once a very primitive species, adapted for the forests of their world. They evolved in the Forest of Origin, where the earliest known fossils of their ancestors were discovered, and all Caltaun seem to have a spiritual link to the location. It is thought that the site is said to be the location where an ancient alien ship was buried in the past, however due to fears of destroying the link they have with the forest, the Caltaun have not dug up the sacred ground of their forest.

The Caltaun soon spread from the Forest of Origin to all over the continent, adapting and evolving to suit the various environments. Over the course of time, the Caltaun became larger and started to stand on hind legs in order to scout for enemies and gather food from high places. Eventually, they abandoned running and walking on four legs altogether, and became a biped race. This was when they discovered that their continent was a floating landform, among many other, smaller isles. This discovery was what inspired imagination in the Caltaun race.

When their civilization started, they were a tribal society that learned to mine the crystals, which were found to be source of the reason why the islands were floating. They used these crystals to build early boats to get from isle to isle, colonizing more of their planet, which they found mainly consisted of water. The planet itself is a mystery, but is thought to have been 'constructed'. The population of the Caltaun increased, and so more and more of the planet was colonized.

Age of Travel
With the colonization of nearly half the planet, the Caltaun's technological level increased over the course of 600 years. They began to construct ships made of metal, and started a faster way to travel to other isles. The ships of metal could carry an actual crew, and trade routes began between the different isles and continents, starting the concept of 'nationalities'. On each isle, the Caltaun grew different traits to seperate themselves from each other, either in terms of colour or size. Soon, the trade between clans reached new heights, and a majority of clans planned to create the first star ships, so that they could explore the moons of the planet.

After 60 years of trying, the Caltaun created the first star ship which could travel safely out of their planet's atmosphere. This was a technological marvel, and began to transport Caltaun civilians to other moons. The population continued to increase, as did their level of technology. However, soon came the first major war of the Caltaun, known as the Great War.

Great War
The Caltaun clans entered a state of war for their planet after resources began to run short. Their advancement began to slow, a sign to the Caltaun that they weren't trying hard enough. Each clan thought they would do better than the other, and conflict began when the Durothi clan launched an attack against their neighbouring clans, particularly the Arathui. The Durothi were known for constructing many weapons, giving them an advantage. The Arathui, however, had developed better armour to counter the weapons the Durothi had built.

The Durothi had few allies, but they possessed a large isle which was defended by the most elite of warriors. The Arathui and allies started to advance their own weapons and armour, and also some of the first energy weapons were developed. The closest allies of the Arathui, known as the Lothir, joined the Arathui in their attack on the Durothi homeland. The battle was great and many lives were lost that day.

The Durothi suffered the most, unable to defend against the energy weapons developed by the Arathui. However, they manage to almost completely obliterate the Arathui clan by creating the first Caltaun weapon of mass destruction; a large bomb which poisoned the members of the Arathui that were residing on their home isle when it detonated, along with causing much more damage.

Because of this, the Durothi were banished from their homeworld forever, forced to take what ships they had and travel endlessly throughout the sector. Meanwhile, the Arathui died off, while the Lothir and other clans began to mix and soon decided that in order to keep peace between them, they needed a single leader. This leader became known as the Monarch, with the clan leaders becoming Sovereigns that served him or her.

Discovery
Soon they travelled throughout the sector of space they were located in. They were colonizing planets at an amazing rate, with clans being gifted with their own planets to look after. Increases in population and technology meant that the Caltaun became increasingly one of the more noticeable empires in Andromeda, although they were colonizing a sector far from most others. However, it was only a matter of time before the Durothi, who had become bandits of a sort, discovered the within their sector.

They knew little of the race, but upon seeing the Khaxvis, they were intimidated by their obsession for perfection and how they have augmented themselves. However, before long, the Durothi wished to join the Resurgence to fight alongside them, after seeing them take down some Durothi soldiers. And so, they were accepted into the Resurgence, carrying the rank of warriors and soldiers, along with some rebels who had managed to secure an alliance with the Resurgence.

Meanwhile, the other clans of the Caltaun were discovered by the not long after. When communications opened, the Monarch and Warmaster gladly arranged a face-to-face meeting before the Monarch decided to allow one of the Caltaun clans, the Tinarh, to become part of the Brood to serve alongside the Zazane and other races, being particularly impressed by their skill of combat.

Physiology
The Caltaun are tall and slim, possessing little fat on their bodies. However, despite this, they will still fight and even live in cold climates. The Caltaun possess four noticeable horns sprouting from their heads, which were actually used for some form of primitive communication some time long ago, but serve almost no use now. As well as four horns, the Caltaun also possess four long ears, which can are often mistaken for something else. With four ears at their usage, they can hear from amazing distances, making it difficult to ambush them.

As well as sensitive ears, their reactions are quicker than those of humans, and because of their light skeletal structure, they can use their impressive agility and speed to get themselves out of dangerous situations. Their skeletal structure is also very flexible, allowing them to be able to bend all the way back with relative ease.

Caltaun are mainly mammalian, and possess many mammalian traits. However, their bodies are adapted for survival, so they have evolved a few traits that could appear in certain reptiles. Underneath their tongues is a hole which spits out an intensely hot liquid, though exactly what this liquid is currently unknown to alien races. It is thought to be saliva, though a closer look will argue otherwise.

They are a race of vegetarians, believing it is wrong to devour dead flesh, which is their reason for explaining why their teeth are not adapted for eating meat.

The Caltaun feel emotions much more strongly than most, making them dangerous enemies in battle, as an angry Caltaun could easily prove a challenge for even some of the strongest, who are supposedly one of the strongest of warrior races. Because of this title, the Caltaun are determined to prove their worth to them, not seeing as a simple rivalry but seeing it as a goal as a race.

The colour of the Caltaun's blood is a mix of purple and red. The light tones of the blood is different amongst the different clans, to show their ethnicity.

Abilities
The Caltaun are renowned fighters, known to be flexible yet strong. Each fighting style is different with each clan, although there are several main styles that can be chosen by multiple clans. Caltaun see many different ways to waging war, and Caltaun children will be taught the way of war that their clan is adept in.

The Caltaun possess a small amount of psychic power, which can be maximized in forest environments. The Caltaun's senses are more sensitive, allowing them to detect even the slightest disturbance in the environment they are currently in. The Caltaun's quick reaction time also allows them to avoid attacks both ranged and close up. All this allows them to be fast, agile, efficient and deadly in the ways of war, being fast to evade, and even faster to strike.

With the assistance of their battle armour, the Caltaun are able to teleport short distances to confuse their enemy. This skill makes them fierce in combat, and are often called 'ghosts' because of this skill, along with their amazing speed and agility. However, despite their psychic powers and incredibly speed, they can still get distracted and are susceptible to powerful psychic possession, which would be the main downfall of most Caltaun.