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The Gran are sentient mammalian humanoids native to the planet Kinyen in Farrfin Sector, with colonial settlements on the planet of Malastare in Glythe Sector.
Biology[]
Gran are easily distinguished by their three eyes on thick stalks, hircine faces, large ears, small horns and jutting jaw line. The upper horns are long and thin, while the second pair barely protrude from the skull. Some Gran are born with five fingers, some with six. The fingers and toes of Gran are connected by small webs. The Gran have excellent vision, able to resolve more colors than most species and even able to see into the infrared. Gran are keenly aware of each others emotions, being able to judge disposition through subtle changes of body heat and skin color.
Gran have two stomachs, having evolved from herbivorous grazing animals who lived in herds on the mountains and highlands of Kinyen, surviving on Goatgrass, for which the Gran kept their taste. Boasting edible leaves, Goatgrass is the predominant form of ground flora on the plains of Kinyen. It has a silver sheen to its green color and gives off a sweet aroma. A favorite food among the Gran, it is also used in alien cooking. Gran chew and digest their food quite slowly, savoring the flavor carefully. A single meal could take almost an entire day to finish, but a Gran will often not need to eat for several days afterward. Female Gran have three breasts with which to suckle their young.
A recessive genetic mutation sometimes causes some Gran to suffer from misshapen extremities, with hands and feet swelling to abnormal sizes. While not affecting the individuals ability to perform detailed work, the handicap nonetheless often results in social isolation. Gran scientists diligently study this trait in the hope of finding a cure.
Sociology[]
The peaceful nature of Gran society is a reflection of their idyllic homeworld, Kinyen. The beauty of this planet, and the need for primitive Gran to band together for defense against predatory animals, helped the Gran to develop strong bonds of home and family in their society. Gran have a strong need for companionship. A Gran left alone will go insane or die of loneliness. Generally, they need other Gran for companionship, but some Gran are able to form sufficient bonds with aliens.
The most feared punishment among the Gran is exile. Sociopathic behavior is not tolerated at all in Gran culture, and criminals are looked upon as insane deviants to be cast out of society. Ironically, this only serves to further madden the outcast. Lone, exiled Gran are generally given a wide berth by experienced spacers. Gran isolated from their society are often shrewd, unpredictable, easily bribed and vulnerable to drugs and liquors.
Gran mate for life, forming such strong bonds that they generally die within days of a mate's death. It is rare for any Gran to leave his or her planet of origin once they have taken a mate. The Gran are very protective of their families, and are some of the most devoted parents in the galaxy. With such close bonds formed throughout the Gran community, it is not surprising that they concentrate their cities into very small areas, so they are never out of touch with their many relatives. Families will often adopt the native Houjix as pets.
Gran society is carefully balanced, and a strict program of career quotas ensures that young Gran are educated for a specific job that best suits his or her talents. While advocates of free will would criticize such a rigid social system, to a Gran it is both logical and essential. A typical Gran places the common good above individual satisfaction, and is keenly aware of his or her place in society. The small government of the Gran was a loose group of delegates from the major Gran families who usually controlled different aspects of Gran society. One delegate was selected randomly every three and a half standard years to be the leader of this group. It was only due to the very peaceful sensibilities of the Gran that this system worked at all.
Gran religion centers around the worship of the Mother Goddess Doellin. Religious practice typically involves meditative chanting and devotional music played on sacred instruments such as the wind drum.
History[]
The Gran have maintained a peaceful civilization on their homeworld of Kinyen for over ten millenia. The only known major conflicts between Gran took place very early in Kinyen's history, before 10,000 BCGT. Even these wars resulted from matters of survival, rather than strong emotional conflicts between Gran of rival nations. Once they became a civilized species, the Gran set aside fenced nature preserves for the carnivores which once threatened them. The Gran on Kinyen were peaceful, calm beings who abhorred violence and preferred peaceful ways to adapt to difficult situations. In the wider galactic community, Gran are often quite talkative and inquisitive, asking questions to learn as much as possible about new people.
On their own, the Gran discovered space travel and developed a healthy trade route with the Herglics. In 8,000 BCGT the Galactic Republic set-up a small outpost on Malastare's eastern continent. Shortly after, the Gran landed and colonized Malastare. A series of conflicts soon broke out between the Gran and the native Dugs. That conflict was eventually settled in 1,000 BCGT by the Galactic Republic, in favor of the colonists. The Gran Protectorate was established by Gran colonists as the planetary government of Malastare and the Gran began an expansionist period that saw a second colony erected on Hok. However, the emigrating colonists left a significant imbalance in Kinyen's delicate society. Feeling that too many family bonds were being destroyed, the politicians on Kinyen reacted with isolationism, prohibiting unauthorized emigration from Kinyen and not allowing offworlders into their population centers. This protected the Gran society, but it also isolated the Gran on Hok and Malastare who had begun to form strong bonds to their new homes. The Gran colonies continued independently, and while they also exhibited the strong social bonds found on Kinyen, the loosened social codes allowed for corruption and graft in the upper echelons of Gran society. The Gran Protectorate was particularly disreputable in it's treatment of the indigenous Dug population, treating them as little more than slaves and even relocating them to the western continent of their own planet. The behavior of Malastare's Gran was unusual. The high corruption rate, as well as the brutality towards the Dugs, led some Gran on Kinyen to conclude that the Gran on Malastare were no longer real Gran.
The Gran Protectorate soon became the most influential and powerful of all Gran settlements. The Gran of Malastare had a great deal of power within the Galactic Senate during the later years of the Old Republic. When the Sith reign of terror descended over the galaxy, the Gran Protectorate was abolished and the Gran became less prominent. On one occasion, the Galactic Empire demanded access to all parts of Kinyen and leveled one of Kinyen's cities when the Gran protested. This forced the Gran of Kinyen to collaborate with the Empire. Some Gran during the occupation secretly supported the Rebel Alliance, usually by peaceful means such as supplying food to the Rebels. Most Gran disapproved of violent revolt, however, and even Rebel sympathizers insisted that no military actions were acceptable on their homeworld. Kinyen is currently occupied by the Trade Federation.