One of the most powerful and feared species in the Milky Way, the Varanyi rule a large region of space on the opposite side of the Galaxy from the Consortium, directly to spinward of the Velarian Confederation. And if the Varanyi have their way, the amount of space they control will continue to expand.

Biology

Physically, the Varanyi are a brown-skinned race who tend to be tall: 2.0 meters is the average height, and Varanyi up to 2.5 meters tall are not unknown. Most Varanyi are thin, with similarly slender limbs and digits.

The Varanyi have minimal facial features: their ears are barely noticeable, their noses equally small, and they have no feature corresponding to the lips on a Human. They have no hair (the Varanyi evolved from a warm-blooded reptilian sort of creature, not a mammal). However, each Varanyi has from zero to five symmetrically-placed bony ridges, known as "crests;' running the length of his scalp from front to back. The crests meet at a point between the eyes, immediately above the nose. The number of crests a Varanyi has determines not only his psionic powers, but his position in Varanyi society: the more crests, the more powers and the higher rank.

Varan, the Varanyi Homeworld

The Varanyi homeworld, Varan, is a lush planet slightly smaller than Earth. It orbits a type F star and has a generally warm climate. Ocean covers 80 percent of the planet's surface, and all 14 continents are quite small by Terran standards. This creates a warm climate due to the preponderance of coastal land. Belts of swamps, anchored and supported by a native species resembling the Terran mangrove tree, surround most of the continents. Varan has a population of only four billion, but the other planets in the system raise the total to 12 billion for the entire Varan system.

Society

The Varanyi empire is ruled by its most powerful psionics, who form a single dynasty that has held power for ten thousand years. The Shgarothayn, or Emperor, and his relatives are the unquestioned masters of Varanyi society, with authority descending from them hierarchically. There's a place for every Varanyi, and every Varanyi has his place... and each of them knows it.

The main division in Varanyi society relates to their head-crests. The more crests one has, the better one's t'illk (see below). T'illk combines some of the meaning of the human terms "mental serenity," "class," "status;' and "face"; it's a hard concept for non-psionics to grasp fully, particularly since it's possible for a Varanyi to lose (or more rarely, gain) t'illk and thus effect some change in his status.

Ties of ey'vidra (see below), or "clan" hold great importance in Varanyi society; a Varanyi writes his clan name before his personal name. As a result, nepotism runs rampant, and large clans or alliances of clans wield significant social and political power.

Despite their societal stratification, the Varanyi consider even the lowest of their kind far superior to any other species. Varanyi culture emphasizes the Varanyi destiny to rule the Galaxy, just as the Emperor rules the Varanyi. Their tremendous psionic power, ATRI 12 technology, and mighty empire make them one of the Galaxy's supreme powers.

As befits a civilization with many millennia of history, the Varanyi have well-developed, highly sophisticated art forms. Varanyi literature, which runs to multi-volume epics and similar grand stories, is read throughout the Galaxy, and students of literature often mention the name of the ancient Varanyi playwright Tlanith in the same breath as Shakespeare of Earth or Jakara Daan of Dorvala.

Because all crested Varanyi can communicate mentally and have a largely telepathic language, they rarely use audible speech. The important places of Varan - the palaces, courts, and so forth - are as quiet as an Earth library. Only the Ks'lch must communicate with voices, so the Varanyi regard the use of the voice as crude, unrefined, and often insulting. A Varanyi who wishes to express the deepest sort of scorn, sarcasm, or insult towards someone uses his voice instead of his telepathic abilities.

Architecture

Similarly, the prevalence of telekinetic powers among crested Varanyi has affected their society. Humans, who must pick up things with their hands, have to store objects relatively close to the ground. The Varanyi, however, can erect shelves dozens of feet tall and experience no difficulty reaching the stored items. They favor enormously tall buildings, since they use telekinetically activated "elevators" to reach the higher floors.

T'illk

Two important divisions exist within Varanyi society. The first is "caste," or division based on crests. The more crests a Varanyi has, the higher his t'illk. T'illk combines some of the meaning of the human terms "mental serenity," "class," "status," and "face." Due to their mental powers, the Varanyi are easily able to judge another Varanyi's state of mind, psychological "balance," mental acuity, and mental power, and all of these factors, as well as the more concrete ones such as "status," are implicit in the term.

T'illk marks a clear division between social strata, but a Varanyi can "lose" it if he does something particularly embarrassing or detrimental to society. Still, it is very, very rare for a Varanyi to lose so much t'illk that he falls to a social level below the one dictated by his caste. The Ks'lch, who have no crests and hence no t'illk whatsoever, may act as they please without suffering further social opprobrium, which offers them a measure of social freedom crested Varanyi sometimes envy.

A Varanyi's position in society, job, and opportunity for significant achievement generally depend on his crests and t'illk. The lowest, dirtiest, most menial and dangerous tasks are reserved for the Ks'lch. Varanyi of one or two crests occupy mid-level positions. Varanyi of three or more crests hold the highest positions in society, though it is possible for a lesser crested Varanyi to earn sufficient t'illk (through valor in warfare, notable scientific discoveries, and similar accomplishments) to obtain a position normally reserved for Varanyi of more crests. The Ks'lch have no such opportunities for advancement; they are forever trapped in their caste.

Non-Varanyi subjects of the Empire have no t'illk whatsoever; they're even lower on the social ladder than Ks'lch. The Varanyi rarely allow them to travel within the Empire, and never outside it; the best they can hope for is a mercifully short life of backbreaking slave labor. Many species are simply exterminated because the Varanyi find it more trouble to guard them than to eradicate them.

Ey'vidra

The second important division in Varanyi society is the ey'vidra, or "clan." Family ties are very important to the Varanyi, and the clans form one of the backbones of Varanyi society; a Varanyi's clan name is written first, before his given name. As a result, nepotism runs rampant, and large clans or alliances of clans wield significant social and political power. The Varanyi have a total of 357 Varanyi clans - one for the entirety of the Ks'lch, and 356 for the crested Varanyi. It is generally accepted that male Varanyi may marry females who are beneath them in number of crests, but females only marry males who have as many or more crests as they do (in any event, no crested Varanyi would ever marry a Ks'lch.)

Each crested Varanyi clan has its own unique "coat of arms" (nuva'lish); most are centuries old. By tradition a coat of arms is divided into from one to five "fields," depending upon the number of crests possessed by clan members (thus, only the Al'gari have a five-field coat of arms). The fields may be horizontal or vertical; the basic shape of the heraldic device is rectangular.

Some scientists believe the Varanyis' psionic powers have slowly weakened over the past millennia. If so, this may hint at a chink in the Varanyi Empire's armor, and any concrete data on the subject is probably kept as secret and secure as possible.

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