Castithans

Castithans are an alien race that feature in Defiance.

History

Castithans were a race of ethereal and aristocratic humanoids that hailed from the planet Daribo. During the time of the Omecs, a period known as the Enlightenment saw the Castithans taken as slave courtesans who were taught their conquerors language and poems. A remnant from this time saw their children told of the Omecs as mythological figures. At some point, they managed to go into space and settled another world that they called Casti.

Their intelligence and ambition helped them adapt to life on Earth with it expected that their society would evolve on their new home. However, the Castithan survivors instead clung further to their heritage and kept hold of their old traditions

After the Battle of Bloody Kansas, a group of religious elders formed the Soldiers of the Way.

Six months afterwards, the Votanis Collective was petitioned for the release of Datak Tarr who was being held in detention at Camp Reverie by the Earth Republic for killing one of their military officers.

Overview

In appearance, they were a race of pale skinned humanoids with beautiful features. Their fine sense of smell allowed them to determine if a woman was pregnant.

They were noted for being an aristocratic, proud and haughty people that tended to dominate others in social situations. Other characteristics common in them included their cunning intelligence and unbridled ambition. However, Castithans were also vain and prideful with them bristling at the mere implication that another race may exceed them in terms of intellect or beauty. To their kind, the place of an individual in the world was determined at birth and appearance was everything to them. They spoke very quickly that was both a sign of their impatience and a challenge to anyone else to keep up with them. Though conservative on tradition and language, Castithans were highly liberal on matters of sexuality. Sex was seen as a tool that could be used for political agenda as it could be for expressions of love. As such, they had no reservations to using it as a means to an end. Despite that, they enjoyed it to the extreme with many of their most cherished ceremonies involving expressions of passion and desire.

Castithans were noted for being a trick people who were obsessed about their past, who their ancestors were and which caste they were born into in their lives. They built their lives around ancient traditions that once had a purpose on their world but on Earth none could agree what the purpose was for them

Castithans were a patriarchal culture with males in positions in dominance whilst females subservient with this being orthodox by their people. In fact, females were expected to be submissive to their males and were not allowed to bathe alone as doing so would bring shame to both themselves as well a their families. They were a very liberal people with regards to sex and often used it to get their way. It was claimed that their people drew their strength from their culture.

One item inherent to their culture was the Kyerupavo that were courtship gems crafted on Casti and precious items to an individual that were given to another to indicate courting.

Their society was noted for its rigid social structure that involved a strict caste systems. Lower castes were expected to serve those of a higher castes and females were seen as being subservient to the males of the family. There were a number of liros that included:

• Shanje Liro : the ruler caste
• Valáne Liro : the noble caste
• Emine Liro - the merchant caste
• Rizi Liro - the soldier caste, consisting of soldiers whose families have served in the military for generations who were often used by the ruling castes to oppress the lower ranks.
• Yuke Liro - the worker caste, they were known as the fog caste that operated as labourers in Castithan society who despite being the lifeblood of their people were treated as being expendable.
• Thorn Liro - an unofficial caste, formed on Earth
• Thawandayo - the casteless, reserved for criminals, outcasts and rebels

Bathing was viewed as a family activity with wealthy Castithans bathing a least three times a day. The use of showers was considered only for the lowest of liros. Powerful families were sometimes assisted in their daily activities by a handmaiden with some being purchased as servants.

Sometimes, Castithan children used puppets to enact plays from their holy scrolls. From the time of the Enlightenment, Castithan children were taught the language of the Omecs and their stories along with poems.

For crimes, those that opposed their culture and religion faced punishment at the shaming rack. Those guilty of murder were strung up where the members of the community placed stones into the rack that increases the weight designed to pull the criminal apart.

It was said that that they were cruel but beautiful race of conquerors that were suited for survival. Those that called another brother were honor bound to avenge their death.

A central religious belief system in their society was Shirivanawo that was a monotheistic faith that worshipped the god Rayetso. It was very important to them and violation of their religious practices results in persecution. According to the laws of their deity, running away from battle reflected upon the brothers of the liro caste with such acts being deemed shameful. Anyone that did such a thing went through a Castithan cleansing ceremony that appeared as torture where the perpetrator was placed on a rack that slowly pulled their limbs apart. The community believed such a ceremony was for the good of the individual otherwise their fesho would be denied passage to the afterlife.

On Earth, a radical group formed among the Castithans religious elders known as the Soldiers of the Way who desired to wipe out all of humanity.

Castithan writing system was fajizwalino that translated to literately mean "revered characters" and was complex as well as irregular that made it difficult to master. It was crucial to know in their society whether to speak to a superior, or an inferior or an equal without causing offense or appearing as crude. There were a number of words in the Castithan language such as:

• Favi : an honorific given to another with their faily name added second, for example Favi Tarr.
• Fesho : a term that was similar to the soul.

There was a Castithan saying that said, "The fruit of a misdeed leaves a sour taste". Another proverb that when translated from their language meant 'seize the day'.

Similar to the other Votan races, the Castithans had many legends surrounding the Omecs. According to one, if a Castithan girl ever met an Omec she would fall madly in love with him and be snatched away during the Dread Harvest

Members

A female Castithan.

• Datak Tarr :
• Stahma Tarr :
• Alak Tarr :
• Favi Kurr : a male priest who resided in the town of Defiance and believed in the patriarchal culture of his society which was why he opposed Stahma after she overthrew her husband in control of their family.

Notes

• The Castithan language is created by linguist David J. Peterson, developer of the Dothraki language used in Game of Thrones.

In other media

Video games

• In Defiance, Castithans featured in the MMO video game and became playable characters in the DLC expansion.

Appearances

• Defiance:

External Links

• Defiance Wiki Entry

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