Difference between revisions of "Anzati"

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== Society and Culture ==
 
== Society and Culture ==
According to most reports, because Anzati are loners, it has thus contributed to the false impressions that they are vampires. This drive to fill the void for soup is something that consumes the Anzati way of life. Some Anzati regard other species as cattle and a meal, while others try to control their needs. They do not reproduce often and their parents do not name their offspring. Anzati often adapt human names to blend in with their surroundings. Youthful Anzati reach puberty at approximately one hundred years of age and leave Anzat to hunt for soup. This soup gives the Anzati race a perceived form of immortality, seemingly never succumbing to old age, able to sustain life for over a thousand years with little resemblance of aging. However, as the Anzati ages, the urge for soup grows, often resulting in isolation from their peers, self-destruction and increased feedings.<ref name="SWC" />
+
According to most reports, because Anzati are loners, it has thus contributed to the false impressions that they are vampires. This drive to fill the void for soup is something that consumes the Anzati way of life. Some Anzati regard other species as cattle and a meal, while others try to control their needs. They do not reproduce often and their parents do not name their offspring, whom are often surrendered to be raised in creches dotting Anzat. Youthful Anzati often adapt human names to blend in with their surroundings. They reach puberty at approximately one hundred years of age and leave Anzat to hunt for soup. Anzati possess a perceived form of immortality, seemingly never succumbing to old age, able to sustain life for over a thousand years with little resemblance of aging. However, as the Anzati ages, the urge for soup grows, often resulting in isolation from their peers, self-destruction and increased feedings.<ref name="SWC" />
  
As the Anzati's hunger grows as they age, and because they live for such a long time, they end up becoming more and more isolated in their need. The older the Anzati, the more unstable and obsessive they become, often to the point of insanity. They will lose focus on the world around them and in many cases wwill make a crucial mistake, leading to their ultimate destruction.<ref name="SW Wiki" />
+
As the Anzati's hunger grows as they age, and because they live for such a long time, they end up becoming more and more isolated in their need. The older the Anzati, the more unstable and obsessive they become, often to the point of insanity. They will lose focus on the world around them and in many cases will make a crucial mistake, leading to their ultimate destruction.<ref name="SW Wiki" />
  
 
===The Silent Voices===
 
===The Silent Voices===
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===Anzati Arts===
 
===Anzati Arts===
Though it is easy to picture the Anzati as heartless predators, that was no more true of them than it was of any species that eats another species to live. With their long lives, Anzati have plenty of time to develop and pursue all manner of interests; many are devoted patrons of the arts. A few have even produced works of art of their own: books, music, paintings, sculpture, films, and holos. Few have created more than one example in any given medium, however. For a being so long-lived as an Anzati, perfection at a craft is pointless; reaching the pinnacle of an art is no real accomplishment if its only becazse other practitioners died off a thousand years ago.<ref name="SW Wiki" />
+
Though it is easy to picture the Anzati as heartless predators, that was no more true of them than it was of any species that eats another species to live. With their long lives, Anzati have plenty of time to develop and pursue all manner of interests; many are devoted patrons of the arts. A few have even produced works of art of their own: books, music, paintings, sculpture, films, and holos. Few have created more than one example in any given medium, however. For a being so long-lived as an Anzati, perfection at a craft is pointless; reaching the pinnacle of an art is no real accomplishment if its only because other practitioners died off a thousand years ago.<ref name="SW Wiki" />
  
 
===Anzati Scholars===
 
===Anzati Scholars===
A common misconception among those who study tales of the Anzati was that they are hyper-developed scholars, experts in fields of knowledge and craft long since forgotten by younger species. While Anzati can remember things that happened centuries earlier, they have little or no interest in pursuing mastery of any given area of expertise or knowledge—other than feeding. To the Anzati, the important skills to pass on to their offspring are the arts of stealth and the kill; everything else is just amusing diversion, hardly worth the effort of committing to memory.<ref name="SW Wiki" />
+
A common misconception among those who study tales of the Anzati was that they are hyper-developed scholars, experts in fields of knowledge and craft long since forgotten by younger species. While Anzati can remember things that happened centuries earlier, as a species they have little or no interest in pursuing mastery of any given area of expertise or knowledge— other than feeding. To the Anzati, the important skills to pass on are the arts of stealth and the kill; everything else is just amusing diversion, hardly worth the effort of committing to memory.<ref name="SW Wiki" />
  
 
===Anzati Bounty Hunters===
 
===Anzati Bounty Hunters===

Revision as of 21:19, 13 January 2013

Anzati1.jpg
Anzati
HomeworldAnzat
Languageold Anzat language, Basic
Average HeightRanging from 1.5 to 1.7 meters [1]
Skin colorGrayish-hued [1]
Hair colorbrown, black, blonde, etc.
DistinctionsHidden proboscises, exceptional longevity , high regenerative capabilities [1]
Average lifespanup to millennia [1][2]
Known MembersList of known Anzati

The Anzati race is sometimes described as near-humanoid.[3] Native to the planet Anzat in the system of the same name in the Maldrood sector, they differ the most from their human counterparts because of the two tentacle-like proboscises that extend from their cheeks. An extremely longlived and Force-sensitive species, the Anzati are mainly known (and feared) for their ability to feed upon the "soup" of others. Derogatory sometimes referred to as "brain suckers" or "snot vampires", they are often persecuted and discriminated against in Galactic Society because of this.[1][3][4]

Biology and Appearance

An Anzati with retracted proboscises

The Anzati are a unique species in the Galaxy as they do not exist in a similar fashion to other species. They are ancient, rumoured to be one of the first to ever roam the galaxy.[4] Anzati do not have a biological rhythm, in the sense as they don't have a pulse and as a result no body heat. Their circulatory system therfore still remains a mystery[1] They live off the life essence of other sentient beings; this is also referred to as their "Soup" or "Luck". It is believed that Anzati are one of the oldest species, one of the original, yet because of their reclusive mannerisms and desire of the essence much has contributed to the myth of the Anzati.[4]

They are an extremely long-lived race, also possessing regenerative capabilities beyond those of the average humanoid. The Anzati are also telepathic, growing more adept at the talent as they age, allowing them to dominate someone's mind to give them a chance to feed.[1]

The youngest Anzati are, by most standards, ancient. The ages of the eldest can be measured in eons. They roamed the galaxy when the Galactic Republic was just a dream of the Core Worlds. The Anzati can live for millennia, sustained by the life essence they draw from others. An Anzati who does not feed at least once every few days merely grows hungry. Lack of sufficient meals has no more of a supernatural aging effect on an Anzati than it does on a Human.[1]

Feeding

Because the Anzati prey upon those whose life force is strong, they must be stronger than their prey. While Anzati tend to possess exceptional might and often startling reflexes, they are not supernaturally endowed. At best, they reflect the pinnacle of Human athletic ability; at worst, they merely have the attributes of an ordinary Human. However, physical strength is only a small part of the equation. To sense the presence of a strong life essence in others, they have highly developed sensory organs unknown in other sentient species. To physically drain this life essence's connection from living beings, they have to be physically adapted to do so. For the Anzati, these things are interconnected.[1]

An Anzati feeding with their proboscises extended out

The Anzati are natural predators, preferring to hunt sentient races of all shapes and sizes and kinds. With their two proboscises that can re- and extract, they "suck" out their prey's life force. This has been described as grotesque.[1]

Using a kind of mind control, which Jedi who have encountered them claimed is akin to Force manipulation, they bewitch their victims in a manner similar to a Jedi mind trick. Using this telepathy, the Anzati lure in their unsuspecting targets by mesmerizing them with their telepathic control. This control strengthens at close range and is even further augmented and honed with age and use.[1]

Once a victim is within their power, the Anzati would uncoil their thin proboscises from their cheek pouches located on either side of its nose and usually insert them into the subject's nostrils and into the cranium, where the brain is sucked out of the organism, though the Anzati feeds by drawing soup out of wherever it resided in a victim, as it varies by species. In most humanoid races, it lays within the brain cavity. Almost of their own, the proboscises seek the victim's soup, and begin draining it into the Anzat. The victim can struggle, though often the Anzati's attack is so sudden, so perfect, that it is too late. This action, however, requires time and can not be rushed. This behavior led to the derogatory term of "snot vampires." They also have been known to grasp the victim's head to hold it in place close to them as they feed.[1]

"Soup"

The victim's life force is called either the "soup," "luck," or the "Sea of Memory." The actual substance they drain out of living beings—the gelid, mucoid medium for the luck or life essence—they referr to as soup. In Anzati traditions, the term referrs to the life essence, or spiritual power, of the victim. As well, the Anzati believed that this life essence governs a living being's personal presence. Thus, the more presence a victim has, the more potent the luck is likely to be. Particularly fortunate individuals ware tasty meals for the Anzati. It is reputed that Anzati can keep their victims alive for several feedings, taking great pleasure in the fear and terror their prey feels throughout the ordeal.[1]

Though life essence and luck are manifestations of the Force, the luck upon which Anzati feed is only peripherally related. Certainly, beings who are particularly gifted in the Force are appetizing to an Anzati, but this is usually because their close connections with the life energy of the universe presents the appearance of a great personal presence. Of course, experienced Jedi usually have both powerful personal life essence and a close connection with the universe's through the Force. The Anzati who makes a meal of such a Jedi is a rare and terrible creature indeed.[1]

Another depiction of an Anzati feeding. Close-up of the proboscises extending

The Anzati, of course, consider such discussions academic. "The Force" is a concept developed by younger species. It is a concept Anzati do not recognize as any more correct than any of a dozen theories that existed beforehand. They know only that weak-willed beings are as unsatisfying as table scraps. To subsist on the average sentient, an Anzati would have to feed on a dozen beings every day; and since the meal rarely survives the feast, the Anzati would leave a trail of corpses. On a world without sentient beings, or in a place where soup is in short supply, an Anzati can easily starve to death. Most of the galaxy, however, is unfortunate in this regard: the Anzati are not liable to die off so easily—sentient beings are plentiful enough to feed a legion of them.[1]

Despite myths to the contrary, victims of the Anzati do not become Anzati themselves.[1]

Society and Culture

According to most reports, because Anzati are loners, it has thus contributed to the false impressions that they are vampires. This drive to fill the void for soup is something that consumes the Anzati way of life. Some Anzati regard other species as cattle and a meal, while others try to control their needs. They do not reproduce often and their parents do not name their offspring, whom are often surrendered to be raised in creches dotting Anzat. Youthful Anzati often adapt human names to blend in with their surroundings. They reach puberty at approximately one hundred years of age and leave Anzat to hunt for soup. Anzati possess a perceived form of immortality, seemingly never succumbing to old age, able to sustain life for over a thousand years with little resemblance of aging. However, as the Anzati ages, the urge for soup grows, often resulting in isolation from their peers, self-destruction and increased feedings.[4]

As the Anzati's hunger grows as they age, and because they live for such a long time, they end up becoming more and more isolated in their need. The older the Anzati, the more unstable and obsessive they become, often to the point of insanity. They will lose focus on the world around them and in many cases will make a crucial mistake, leading to their ultimate destruction.[1]

The Silent Voices

Some Anzati believe that feeding on live vessels ives them eternal youth and energy. This belief can be traced to the Silent Voices, luminescent bands of gases that glow in the Anzat atmosphere at night. Ancient Anzati believe that these are the life essences of their ancestors. Although such a possibility is not scientifically viable, it illustrates the level of importance that "soup" plays in Anzati culture, morals, and belief structures.[1]

Anzati Arts

Though it is easy to picture the Anzati as heartless predators, that was no more true of them than it was of any species that eats another species to live. With their long lives, Anzati have plenty of time to develop and pursue all manner of interests; many are devoted patrons of the arts. A few have even produced works of art of their own: books, music, paintings, sculpture, films, and holos. Few have created more than one example in any given medium, however. For a being so long-lived as an Anzati, perfection at a craft is pointless; reaching the pinnacle of an art is no real accomplishment if its only because other practitioners died off a thousand years ago.[1]

Anzati Scholars

A common misconception among those who study tales of the Anzati was that they are hyper-developed scholars, experts in fields of knowledge and craft long since forgotten by younger species. While Anzati can remember things that happened centuries earlier, as a species they have little or no interest in pursuing mastery of any given area of expertise or knowledge— other than feeding. To the Anzati, the important skills to pass on are the arts of stealth and the kill; everything else is just amusing diversion, hardly worth the effort of committing to memory.[1]

Anzati Bounty Hunters

The Anzati are accomplished hunters, tracking their quarry silently, invisibly and efficiently. Their abilities serve them in avoiding notice as well. Despite occasional noticeable individuals, all Anzati diligently maintain as low a profile as possible, disappearing into the galaxy's crowds as soon as anyone appears to notice their activities, abilities, or longevity. An Anzat uses his or her sense of personal presence to hunt or to detect prey's soup. The stronger the target's soup, the more the target stands out to the Anzati's senses.[1]

Anzati are also difficult to capture. Because of their secrecy, hunting skills, and training, Anzati are often employed by organized crime factions as assassins. The Anzati simply dwell among the sentient species of the galaxy, blending into the dizzying myriad of cultures—invisible because, until one reveals its true nature to a victim, an Anzati is just another alien; and, of course, once the victim sees the Anzati, it is too late to warn anyone else.[1]

Their anonymity is frequently used to their own advantage, so they rarely, if ever, work in groups. It is only in the capacity of a bounty hunter that they will abandon their lonely tendencies and band together to form a corporation or guild. On these exceptionally rare occasions, they will sometimes share prey and the financial rewards of their hunts. These corporations are temporary, often existing for only one hunt, as they typically end up killing each other to eliminate competition for a very "soupy" victim.[1]

Myths about the Anzati

Thousands of worlds across the galaxy have legends of the Anzati, yet no culture's myths include their origin. To some, this implies that the Anzati have been around longer than any other species, or that they have survived, by thousands of centuries, the only other species to share their homeworld. Others believe that the Anzati have evolved simultaneously with Humankind, somewhere beyond the knowledge of sentient races, only to enter galactic society at large when hyperspace exploration put the Anzati homeworld within reach of the Republic. When the planet was later found, it was usually avoided for the race's tendencies.[1]

Death of Teniel Djo

Teniel Djo as she was last depicted

Teniel Djo, former leader of the Eidola Pirates, is probably the most famous individual of the Anzati. She carried on a reign of piracy for over a decade before dying in The Maw on Year 12 Day 207 by choice with a group of pirates all wanting to commit suicide.[5]

References