Drantavax

The Drantavax are a species of bovine mammals from the planet Erndran, in the Triangulum Galaxy. Though not the most intelligent or ingenious species, the communal nature of the Drantavax helped them create a surprisingly stable interstellar civilization, known as the Drantavax Federation.

Biology
Drantavax possess many traits common among bovine mammals across The Cluster, albeit with a few unique deviations. They are large, hefty creatures, able to reach an upwards of 6 ft (1.8 m) in height and 7 ft (2.1 m) in length, covered in a coating of thin, light brown fur. Their legs are much thicker than those of other bovine mammals due to their significant muscle density, which allows Drantavax to run at high speeds despite their weight. In place of ordinary hooves, Drantavax have tri-toed graspers on the ends of their legs that provide better balance in the uneven desert terrain found within certain sections of their homeworld. These graspers can be moved with an impressive degree of precision, allowing the Drantavax to manipulate objects with their legs. However, since they are accustomed to walking on all fours, the Drantavax leave most object manipulation to an extremely flexible pair of tongues that stay curled up inside of their mouths. These tongues are very long, and are believed to have evolved so as to allow Drantavax to eat the high grasses of Erndran without bowing their heads very much, keeping their vision level with the foliage and enabling them to spot predators more easily. Like most herbivores, the eyes of a Drantavax are located on the sides of their heads, and are very sensitive to movement. The Drantavax are notorious for their excellent long-range vision, which can spot objects with a great deal of precision several kilometers away.

There is a large amount of sexual dimorphism between male and female Drantavax in terms of biology. Male Drantavax, as they mature, will grow large horns from the tops of their heads that gradually curve down in front of them. These horns serve both as a way for male Drantavax to defend themselves and their herd, and as a status symbol within Drantavax society. Primitive Drantavax were known to form circles around their females and Drantavax calves to protect them from incoming predators, goring the attackers as they approached the circle. Their high intelligence and agility allowed the Drantavax to outsmart their predators using tactics such as these, which are commonly considered to be the basis for the natural tactical skill the Drantavax display in combat.

Being a herbivorous race, the Drantavax were viciously hunted by many predator species on Erndran for a large portion of their history as a developing species. The greatest enemies of the Drantavax were the Riri, a species of frighteningly large cat-like creatures that hunted the Drantavax viciously during their periodic migrations between grassland patches on Erndran. Though not fully sapient, the Riri demonstrated certain higher-level brain functions, gathering together in small bands and even fashioning rudimentary body armor out of grasses and stones that allowed them to resist the horns of Drantavax males and surprise their herds more easily. As the Drantavax progressed technologically, they developed better and better ways of fighting the Riri, until the species that had once preyed upon their species was nothing more than a nuisance, fit only for extermination or display in their zoos. Their biological vendetta against the Riri led the Drantavax to completely exterminate the predatory species, an action that is often seen as the most violent thing the Drantavax have ever done.

Homeworld
The planetary environment of Erndran is a unique dichotomy between two predominant climate types. Verdant grasslands stretch out from the few seas and oceans on the planet’s surface, covered in tall, light brown grasses, bushes and other types of foliage. In between these grasslands are large patches of dry, sandy deserts, full of huge, displaced rocks and boulders left over from the retreat of the planet’s seas many millions of years ago. These areas are less hospitable to life than the grasslands, so naturally, life is not very prevalent in these areas, aside from a few hardy species of reptiles and insects. Most life on Erndran is concentrated in the grasslands, and it is in these areas that the Drantavax emerged as a species. Primitive Drantavax spent most of their time grazing within these grasslands, moving together as herds. When their grazing areas were depleted, Drantavax herds would make mass migrations towards new grasslands through the planet’s inhospitable desert regions. These migrations were of great significance to the Drantavax, as the intense heat of the deserts, combined with voracious predators stalking in caverns and behind rock outcroppings, caused many Drantavax to meet their demise during a trek. Even after the Drantavax developed agriculture and permanently settled certain grasslands, they continued to traverse the deserts to maintain contact with distant villages. Likewise, these deserts are of great spiritual significance to the Drantavax, and the symbols of their bright yellow star and sand are common within their culture.

Due to the limited size of the Drantavax Federation, Erndran was not as heavily industrialized as the homeworlds of other species. It was orbited by several large satellites and was known to have a few space elevators connecting the planet surface to these satellites, enabling better material transfer. Though the grasslands of Erndran were heavily settled and urbanized, the desert regions remained largely untouched by the Drantavax even as their civilization developed, since they were still considered spiritually significant areas. Many groups of Drantavax were known to have made pilgrimages to Erndran so as to make journeys across the deserts, just as their ancient ancestors had once done.

When the Drantavax Federation was destroyed by the Kaeolian Empire in the Drantavax-Kaeolian War, Erndran was devastated by Kaeolian orbital bombardment and invasion. After the Drantavax had finally been rendered extinct through Kaeolian actions, the planet was eventually settled by the Kaeolians, and became a prosperous colony of the Kaeolian Empire, attracting many wealthy Kaeolians due to its ecological similarity to the Kaeolian homeworld of Kaeolus. Some of the Drantavax infrastructure on the planet was left to stand and turned into museums that detailed the triumphs of the Kaeolian Empire in the Drantavax-Kaeolian War. These museums portrayed the atrocious actions inflicted on the Drantavax as proud achievements of the Kaeolians, and serve as brutal, albeit silent, testaments to Kaeolian xenophobia.

Psychology
Having survived as a species by staying in large herds, the Drantavax are naturally a very communal species. They almost always prefer to be in groups as opposed to being alone, and feel a strong sense of kinship between all members of their species. Primitive Drantavax were accustomed to working together to defend their herds from predators, and it is this natural inclination towards cooperation that led the Drantavax to develop as a civilized species. Their nomadic existences also factored into their desire for interstellar colonization, as they continued to have an innate desire to migrate from to location to location even after discovering agricultural, negating the need for migrations between grasslands. Conflicts between different Drantavax herds, even during the very early years of their civilization, were uncommon, as the predators of the Drantavax posed a greater threat than any other members of their species. It is known that the Drantavax were never able to completely eliminate the danger they faced from predators until they entered their equivalent of the industrial revolution, in which projectile weapons and mechanized vehicles allowed the Drantavax to stand against even the gargantuan Riri.

However, even though there is a strong sense of community within their species, there is not a strong concept of equality. The status of a male Drantavax is often judged based on the size of their horns, which serve an important cultural purpose within Drantavax society. As they mature, male Drantavax will frequently fight each other with their horns, usually to show dominance or claim something. Most male Drantavax, upon reaching a certain age, will fight their own fathers with their horns, a tradition intended to test the strength of the young Drantavax. Constant fighting will cause a male Drantavax’s horns to grow larger and sharper, and thus, Drantavax with prodigiously large horns are considered very strong and venerable, as they are presumed to have won many fights with other males. Sometimes, during these fights, one of the males will break their horns, which stunts their growth and prevents them from developing new horns. Having broken horns as a male Drantavax is something to be very ashamed of, and almost always results in them becoming an outcast from society. As the Drantavax developed civilization, the importance of horn size and fighting was lessened somewhat, but not fully erased, and it was not uncommon for male Drantavax to engage in these fights in order to become generals, high-ranking scientists, government officials or other prestigious members of society.

Female Drantavax, on the other hand, are the lesser caste of Drantavax society. Female involvement is largely regulated to household duties and various low-level administrative positions. Their lack of horns and smaller bodies are seen as evidence of the subservient role they are intended to play in society, so this social hierarchy has existed for virtually all of Drantavax history. As they entered the space age, the role of female Drantavax was expanded slightly, as they proved to be very important for the establishment of new colonies, but it was never dramatically changed. Most female Drantavax do not express any desire to change their circumstances, either due to their satisfaction with the safety and privileges these roles afford them, or due to apathy, as many female Drantavax assume such a long-lived hierarchy cannot be changed. In some Drantavax communities, particularly those on their far-flung border colonies, female Drantavax are considered property, and are bought, sold and auctioned by male Drantavax for breeding purposes. In these communities, it is common for male Drantavax to fight to the death for particularly fertile or healthy mates, a practice reminiscent of ancient Drantavax mating rituals in which males competed for a chance to reproduce.