Anzati

Anzati
Homeworld	Anzat
Language	old Anzat language, Basic
Average Height	Ranging from 1.5 to 1.7 meters
Skin color	Grayish-hued
Hair color	brown, black, blonde, etc.
Distinctions	Hidden proboscises, exceptional longevity , high regenerative capabilities
Average lifespan	up to millennia
Known Members	List of known Anzati

The Anzati race is sometimes described as near-humanoid. 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 long-lived and frequently Force-sensitive species, the Anzati are mainly known (and feared) for their ability to feed upon the "soup" of others. Derogatorily sometimes referred to as "brain suckers" or "snot vampires," they are often persecuted and discriminated against in galactic society due to their feeding habits.

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 the majority of species. They are ancient, rumoured to be one of the first to ever roam the galaxy. Anzati do not have a biological rhythm; they lack a pulse and emit no body heat. Their circulatory system, which features two hearts, therefore still remains a mystery. They live off the life essence of other sentient beings; this is also referred to as "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.

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

The youngest Anzati are, by most standards, ancient. The ages of the eldest can allegedly be measured in eons. They are believed to have 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.

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.

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 be concealed behind flaps of skin in their cheeks, they "suck" out their prey's life force. This has been described as grotesque.

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. The Anzati lure in their unsuspecting targets by mesmerizing them with this telepathic control, which strengthens at close range and is further augmented and honed by age and repeated use.

Once a victim is within their power, the Anzati uncoil their thin proboscises from their cheek pouches, and usually insert them into the subject's nostrils and into the cranium. The Anzati feeds by drawing soup out of wherever it resides in a victim, and this may vary by species, but it resides within the brain cavity for most humanoid species. Almost of their own accord, the proboscises seek the victim's soup and drain it into the Anzati. The victim may struggle and may require the Anzati to hold him or her in place, but typically the Anzati's attack is so sudden and rapidly executed that it is too late. The duration of the feeding, however, requires time and cannot be rushed.

"Soup"

The victim's life force is called either "soup," "luck," or the "Sea of Memory" by Anzati, which is a gelid, mucoid medium typically found within the brain cavity. In Anzati traditions, the term refers to the life essence, or spiritual power, of the victim. As well, the Anzati believe 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. As such, Anzati often favour particularly fortunate or highly Force-sensitive beings for their meals. It is reputed that Anzati can keep their victims alive for several feedings, and many are known to take great pleasure in the fear and terror their prey feels throughout the ordeal.

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 through the Force.

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.

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

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 typically do not name their offspring, which are often surrendered to be raised in creches dotting Anzat. Youthful Anzati frequently 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 semblance of aging. However, as the Anzati ages, the urge for soup grows, often resulting in isolation from their peers, self-destruction, and increased feedings.

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.

The Silent Voices

Some Anzati believe that feeding on live vessels gives 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.

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 only because other practitioners eventually will have died off a thousand years ago.

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.

Anzati Assassins

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.

Anzati are also frequently 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 humanoid alien, and once the victim identifies the Anzati, it is often too late for them. Due to their propensity for isolation as they grow older, Anzati frequently prefer to work alone and alliances are often temporary.

Myths about the Anzati

Countless 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.