Kwenaran Profile

Created by Captain James McGowan on Thu Dec 22nd, 2022 @ 2:55am

Planetary information

Planet: Alpha Teiidae III
Era: all
Numbers: 18 billion
Languages: 461, with many dialects
Nations: 296
Continents: 8, with 2 microcontinents roughly the size of Earth's Zealandia and the Kerguelen Plateau. Imagine a world with the most beautiful forests, jungles, beaches, waterfalls, and mountains to explore, and that's this planet.
Year: 366 days of 30 or 31 days divided into 12 months of 24.25 minutes, with leap days added at regular intervals.
Satellites: two moons that regularly eclipse with the sun every three months at the solstices and equinoxes
Currency: krone/n, divided into 100 thwitten. The Krone is a vertical polymer rectangle with the value and metallic backing on it, backed by gold, silver, copper, rhodium, palladium, or platinum, which are vacuum deposited between the layers of polymer, featuring images of Kwenaran virtues. There were formerly 332 various currencies, but after WW5, most of the remaining nations consolidated onto one planetary currency that brought about true stability and economic prosperity.
Planet: 8 continents, 2 microcontinents, thousands of islands.

Species Biology

Description: Like Earth's whiptail lizard, this species is all female, and all attractive. They are externally symmetrical, unlike humans who can be asymmetrical with a leg longer than the other, or one hand bigger than another. Some women donate genetic material, while others give birth. There is no word for 'father' in this race; only 'donor-mother' and 'birth-mother', roles which alternate in couples. They tend to be fascinated and infatuated with human males, not having any on their own planet. They look human, just more attractive and endowed than average.

Physical Characteristics

Hair: has 10 layers of cuticles and is dense, causing the species to appear to have shiny, smooth, full-bodied hair. Curly hair appears in about 25% of the population. At birth, hair is typically dark, with black hair developing into brown (30%), auburn, or dirty blonde, and brown hair developing into golden blonde (44%), auburn (12%), or red hair (14%). Kwenarans have no other hair other than what's on their head. Their hair grows at 0.2 inches per day.
Eyes: Kwenaran children are usually born with brown eyes, and at the onset of their puberty turns hazel, with indications of their adult color, that finishes changing when they have fully matured. Eyes can be blue (57%), green (21%), violet (12%), or golden/orange (10%). Near the equator eyes appear full and round, while in more arctic regions near the poles, hooded eyes similar to those of Finnish humans are found, with temperate regions having partially hooded eyes in a portion of their population, like many famous human actresses.
Visual Range and Abilities: Kwenarans see between 320-780nm and have night vision about halfway between that of a human and an earth cat. Their eyes have red, green, blue, infrared, and ultraviolet cones that are densely packed in their eyes, which also have a tapetum lucidum similar to those of earth cats. Given their denser array of color sensing cones, they see more color gradations as distinct colors than human males. Kwenarans show a greater sensitivity for fine detail and rapidly moving stimuli than human females, and when conversing, tend to fixate on the mouth and eyes of the other person, and tend to be distracted by other people or motion behind that person.
Muscle/Skeleton: The skeletons of Kwenarans are structurally similar to human females, but are about as dense as human males, not experiencing any form of osteoporosis in older age. Their muscles are about as responsive as those of human males, and they are about as strong as a male of the same height and relative body mass. There are some bodybuilders or more physically active persons who tend to have more muscular mass than average. When putting on muscle mass, Kwenaran biology tends to compensate by increasing their secondary gender characteristics (i.e., imagine a female body builder that maintains wide hips, hourglass figure, round bottom, and generous endowment).
Lifespan: roughly 130-150 years. They tend to age very gracefully, much like Raquel Welch, Diane Sawyer, or other such women.
Skin Tone: Kwenarans naturally have an even skintone that human women require foundation and makeup to achieve. Skin tones range from that of Icelanders near the poles to Indians at the equatorial regions.
Teeth: Kwenaran teeth are similar to human teeth, but rather than just two sets of teeth, any time a tooth is pulled out, a new one grows in its place. Some Kwenarans have had five or more of the same tooth.
Senses: Kwenaran smell is more sensitive than humans; humans have 10 cm2 of olfactory epithelium, while Kwenarans have 14cm2 that is also more densely packed, giving them a more sensitive nose, but it is also more sensitive to artificial fragrances such as 'laundry scent booster' humans used to use, with the wide use of organically derived scents being more common, as is organically derived makeup and skin and hair care products. Taste is about 1.2x as sensitive as that of humans, with a slightly increased amount of fungiform papillae.
Height: Average height is 5'9", with 5'6" being the shortest regular height, and below that being relatively uncommon. Dwarfism is unknown. Heights above 6' are also not uncommon with better nutrition available for the last few centuries. Individuals between 6'3" and 6'8" are not uncommon, though they tend to be better proportioned than corresponding humans, not appearing as ungainly as taller humans can appear. Having an hourglass shape is the norm rather than the exception for Kwenarans, with a 3-2-3 proportion average.
Ethnicities: Kwenarans recognize themselves as one race, and have done so for several centuries, making the Earth concepts of 'race' and 'racism' unusual to them, and as such, they have difficulty grasping those concepts. They do pride themselves on their own cultural heritage and tribal heritage, however, much like a human from Scotland would be proud to be Scottish, or an Iranian would be proud to be Iranian.

Outsiders: Outside or offworld races are not hated or feared, just considered 'different' and the reaction to them is often weighed against what the outsider culture would do to Kwenaran culture if it were brought onto their world. Binary-gendered races often elicit curiosity by Kwenarans not used to such things. Some older Kwenarans deny men even exist, having never seen them before. Kwenarans not used to other races may accidentally translate pronouns as 'it' without intentionally meaning offense

Relationships

When a Kwenaran gets into a romantic relationship, they tend to alternate dominant/submissive role and swap the role of birth mother back and forth. When in a relationship with a species that has more than one gender, Kwenarans sometimes ask to bring in a second female (or Kwenaran) if they are in a relationship with a human male so they can perform what is perfectly normal role-switching during intimacy. A Kwenaran often gives birth to multiple children, with single births being slightly under half of all births.
In relationships with friends, Kwenarans are more open than with acquaintances (people they know in passing or work with). They will correct their friends in private to save face, as embarrassing people in public intentionally brings shame to the person revealing private information that should have remained private. Honesty is a virtue, but so is compassion, and Kwenarans can be blunt, but they won't be rude if they can help it when correcting a friend or holding an intervention when a friend is doing something harmful or stupid. So, if a friend needs to be held to account, they aren't going to insult them point-blank. They will get to the point and get to the heart of the matter to stop a friend from hurting themselves.

Reproduction and Maturation

Kwenarans have an X and a Z chromosome, the Z chromosome is carried by the birth-mother, carrying the race-specific unique characteristics, and the X chromosome donated by the donor-mother. Kwenarans are uniquely capable of reproduction with human males, when they donate an X chromosome, which will result in a relatively normal Kwenaran child.
Pregnancy can happen at any point in time, as Kwenarans are induced ovulators, not having a regular ovulation cycle like human females. They tend to go into estrus at the solstices and equinoxes in time with the lunar-solar conjunctions, and become more amorous at full moon, though Kwenarans may have children at any point in the year. Kwenarans typically cannot have children past 100, though there are exceptions. When in estrus, their lips turn redder/fuller/more sensitive, and eyes brighten, almost as if they were more vibrant, amongst other changes that signal their openness to being with someone. This is the origin of many phrases saying that 'her eyes sparkled like emeralds' and so on; scientifically, green eyes take on a brighter, almost emerald shade when looking for a mate, and blue eyes become a deep, hypnotic blue, likewise the purple and golden eyes also.
Children grown up and reach maturity at 18 years of age. Puberty begins about 12, though some fruits and drinks have been known to accelerate or augment the process if consumed in enough quantities. Teenagers tend to be both awkward and more socially outgoing, tending towards more risque behavior and clothing as they experiment and find themselves. Kwenarans are known to have started puberty when their eyes change from brown to hazel, on the way to their adult coloration. No adult has brown eyes; as such, there is a strong social stigma about being in a relationship with brown-eyed humans, whom Kwenarans, by their view, see as immature and not old enough for a relationship.
Pregnancy lasts about 9 months and with modern medicine, miscarriages are rare. Being induced ovulators, Kwenarans produce a stress hormone when unwilling to 'pair up' that prevents unwilling pregnancies. Usually a Kwenaran will become more affectionate during pregnancy, develop cravings for foods they usually don't eat, often spicy foods, which on their world have higher concentrations of brain developing nutrients and sweet foods. Families support their daughters during pregnancies, and help with the newborns as needed, though birth-mothers pride themselves on being able to care for their own children, they don't refuse help when they know they need it, they just keep it more private.

Culture

Their culture prizes physical beauty, and sexual selection has emphasized the hourglass shape and more prominent secondary characteristics in adults. The ugliest or plainest Kwenaran would look something like the Earth model 'Nata Lee', and on average like Thylane Blondeau, Alicia Schmidt (the runner), or Natalie Gavreau in the face, and Stephanie Fox, Lindsay Pelas, and the like with regard to the body shape. By and large, Kwenarans are very comfortable in their bodies and are not as shy as humans about covering up, and have to learn that other cultures are not as open as they are. Amongst friends or within the tribe in private, Kwenarans can go without tops on, and have no cultural or personal stigma attached to it, but will clothe themselves fully before going out in public.
Makeup is used but Kwenarans don't need as much to look pretty as other species. They have a naturally even skin tone and their lips redden when attracted, so lipstick and foundation are less common, but are common enough that most Kwenarans have some various shades in their possession. Jewelry is exchanged in romantic relationships or within family. Often, the initiation of a relationship is begun with the gifting of a bracelet, earrings, or a necklace. The sign of engagement for marriage is often a necklace with the tribe's gems inlaid in gold or silver, with the gem of the recipient's tribe centered. Outsiders can find themselves on the receiving end of a Kwenaran's affections if they gift earrings or other jewelry without realizing the cultural significance of it.
When translating into human terms, Kwenarans have two forms of each pronoun - female and non-female. In Federation standard, an individual uses 'she/her/her' in the singular for herself, and often has trouble at first distinguishing when to use he or it with non-Kwenarans. The use of a generic 'they' for the plural is also confusing for them, as it's not specific enough - it has no female form, just a general form.

Clothing and Hairstyles

Traditional clothing, similar to the earth dirndl, the Armenian red outfit, and so forth are commonly worn in traditional ceremonies and for official events, such as marriages, court, inaugurations, and so on; culturally they feel 'classic' and 'comforting' to Kwenarans. With the influence of humans, a tuxedo suit counterpart with a skirt bottom and tails is often worn in 'fashionable' parties.
In day to day life, derived versions of traditional clothing is often worn, with dresses (such as sundresses) more commonly worn when not at more 'outdoor' or 'dirty' work like animal care, construction, etc. when they will of course wear pants or shorts as needed.
Kwenarans tend to wear clothing that shows off their shape, while still being tasteful. It is often light and 'flowy' while also being form-fitting as appropriate (see the 1960s Star Trek female costumes for common 'trendy' clothing) for 'trendy' and popular clothing styles. With the cultural expectation and desire for excelling, showing off one's form shows how healthy and fit she is, and can be a good partner for another woman.
Hair is typically worn long, shorn short to the chin when in mourning by tradition (This can lead to some cultural misunderstandings when human women wear their hair short). Children wear their hair up and off their shoulders in public, an outward sign of 'keeping away' until their 18th birthday, typically a big affair in the tribes, when the girls 'let down their hair' and become women.
It is custom to hold a 'rite-of-passage' within the tribe or the clan on or near the 18th birthday of the girls who are growing up as a recognition of their maturity. It's typically a several hour celebration, and a traditional and legal recognition of the girl becoming a woman, where they first 'let their hair down' in public and can date others without supervision. The ladies often perform traditional dances resembling jigs and reels, which vary by region, some adding line dances or other dances to the ceremony. It goes by various names in the languages, but it's usually a big event in a woman's life and there's usually a lot of gift-giving, and the 18-year-old usually gives some kind of gift to her tribe as a thank you for raising them, usually something hand-made and with a lot of thought and time put into it.

Dancing and Music

The culture of the Kwenarans highly values music of many styles, which can be reminiscent of Earth operas at their most grandiose, to those of traditional Irish or Celtic, German, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Asian folk music at their most common. Droning instruments are common, resembling the Nyckelharpa, Hurdy-Gurdy, dulcigurdy, bagpipes, kaisatsuko, donskoy ryley, bowed clavier played with instruments resembling the piano (but 101 keys and 8 octaves), guitars, violins and cellos. Folk music telling tales and deeds and accomplishments of the tribe and how they played a part in the clan's history are popular forms of music.
Dancing is highly popular with larger gatherings almost always involving some kind of dancing and music. Unlike Earth clubs of the 1980s-2020s, 'grinding' kind of dancing is not common, but rather dances with long-established patterns that can be adapted to new songs and in new forms are much more common. Dances resembling waltzes, foxtrot, line dances, jigs and reels, square dances, court dances in formal situations (waltz, regency, renaissance, mediaeval dance), and Irish dances are part of the wider cultural heritage of the planet and have mixed and evolved in all the nations into unique variations that you can tell where someone's from by how they dance. Typically, forms similar to belly dancing are practiced near the equatorial regions, but have spread over the last 6 centuries and are now performed either solo or in groups at special occasions, be it marriages, the rite-of-passage, or otherwise.

Behavior and Personalities

Kwenarans are honest, but considerate, trustworthy, loyal, kind, considerate, passionate, compassionate, and tend to be very clean and enjoy clean environments, and tend to get antsy when around messiness. They believe in holding themselves to a high standard and this starts from early childhood where students are expected to clean their classrooms and the school after lessons end for the day. Kwenarans grow up with the understanding that it is important for them to clean the things and places they use, treat others' possessions with respect, and be spatially aware (not bumping into things, knocking stuff over, stepping on things, etc). And as the schoolchildren grow, their concept of what constitutes their space extends beyond the classroom to include their neighborhood, their city and their country. A Kwenaran, for example, would remove their shoes before entering a building, and guests always remove their shoes when entering a person's house as a sign of respect.
About 45% are left-handed, and they tend to be visually oriented and stimulated, and are great with numbers and math, often doing more complicated calculations in their heads. They tend to excel in very technical roles, and Kwenarans are often found in highly technical fields, but also in caregiving roles as well. They tend to act within the normal range of personality types for human women, though what humans would call 'butch' is seen as abnormal or out of character. Sporty-type Kwenarans are a cultural phenomena with a long precedent and is often lauded for their physical fitness.
Family is very important, and family business is kept within the family, though close friends may become considered adopted family, enough that family business is discussed with them. Issues are dealt within families, and between families within the tribe, and between tribes at the clan level. To outsiders, this can appear as if Kwenarans are closed to outsiders. It's not that, it's that to Kwenarans, it's a matter of respect not to burden others outside the family with their problems, which has caused some strain in friendships with non-Kwenarans. They just don't tend to gossip outside of their families about their own family issues or other families (because those other families aren't talking either). As gossip has a social stigma to it, so does being a busybody, or a 'Karen' as some humans called it in the distant past. Kwenarans bristle at being nagged or bullied into something they don't want to do by outsiders who should be minding their own business.
Kwenarans are family-oriented but also very individualistic and seek excellence and achievement, and can be their own worst critics when they do not excel. Their achievements to them, bring honor to their family, notably their parents, but also their tribe and clan. A Kwenaran becoming the first in her tribe to scale a mountain or swim the Issican Channel, would bring high praise and laud to her family and clan, and earn more social standing back home.

Languages

There are 461 languages on their planet, and a variety of sub-cultures. If you had to compare languages, they would tend to be more like Celtic or Germanic languages of Earth, as would names used by Kwenarans.

Common Names (and meaning)

Aoðe (fire), Aoðra (lightning), Korvra/Karfra/Karvra (chariot queen), Chovhinne, Channa (ancient), Kathalla (great battle), Karrol, Karren (zealous), Kolma (dove), Konkra, Konkrana (desire to help), Konna (wisdom), Kandra (friendship), Kaniss/Kanissa (fair one), Dara (lovely), Jerma/Jermeþ (free woman), Donnacha (strong warrior), Dovnala (world strong), Eovara/Eivara, Eoinna (John, from Earth) (grace), Farla (valiant warrior), Fardorcha (dark-haired woman), Fargha (Fergie) (strong warrior), Feila, Fionbara (fair-headed), Fiona, Finta, Flanna, Fiþalla, Fiacha/Fiachra (hunter), Giulli/Giullia (disciple), Sevryn, Shivaan (beauty)
Family names tend to be a common name, then a matronymic of the birth mother's name + doghtra (daughter) and the tribe name (usually a great matron's name + an), such as Kolma Daradoghtra Shivaan.

Architecture

Architecturally, around their equator tends toward styles similar to Mediterranean revival, with styles more like Renaissance Italy and France north of that, and further north like Georgian to Victorian England and Germany.

Medicine

Medical care tends to be homeopathic, with hospitals reserved more for emergency needs like weapon wounds. The regular diet tends to be regularly balanced and organic.

Families

Family is the core of Kwenaran society. Tribes, a division of clans, form the basis of much of society, and generally handle disputes within themselves without resorting to courts, but when actual crimes occur, they will resort to clan legal remedies. Disputes between tribes or clans tend to be resolved in their equivalent of courts. As there is no government welfare, elderly are taken care of by their tribe medically and otherwise. Parents tend to be monogomous, and alternate the role of birth-parent. Children are reared by their parents and tend to be named by the birth mother. Families tend to be very generous with family members and friends, and value their elders and their advice greatly. Each culture has long histories of families and their accomplishments. Kwenarans do not appreciate being taken advantage of, or having their generosity abused. Friends are considered surrogate family and treated as one of the tribe, sometimes joining the tribe officially and as such, Kwenarans don't tend to throw around the term 'friend' lightly. By and large Kwenarans value family and don't want non-family messing in their private affairs. Families tend to gather on the last day of the week for family meals, which can be a multi-hour affair.

Marriage

Marriage between two Kwenarans is usually held by the clans if between tribes, or within a tribe, often performed by an elder blessed by another elder for such a purpose from the religion of the two Kwenarans, who presides over the ceremony, while the tribal/clan elder does most of the ceremony. The bride-of-the-tribe and the bride-from-the-tribe typically wear traditional costumes of their culture, each accompanied by at least two bridesmaids. Both the brides and their bridesmaids traditionally exchange golden rings with a single silver band inlaid atop the gold symbolizing the union of their two tribes, two metals distinct but together. The brides and bridesmaids traditionally get temporary (like henna) tattoos of various colors with designs important to the tribes and clans to which they belong, the left hand/arm symbolizing their future and new tribe, the right arm/hand symbolizing their past and their birth tribe, and either a back/shoulder or front/chest tattoo chosen together by the bride-of-the-tribe and the bride-from-the-tribe to symbolize their union together. Brides typically wear their hair up (as the current fashion), but often in intricate braids (more traditional), with a flower wreath atop their heads, the language of which is quite historic and traditional, each flower chosen with its own meaning along with its position in the wreath.

Religion

There are 8 major religions and over 240 minor religions. These religions reinforce cultural norms for Kwenarans. One of the major religions has a unique belief, that of Manono and Epona, the all-father and all-mother. Manono and Epona brought the Kwenarans into the world, creating them to bring light and order into the world as its caretakers, breathing life into them. There were once Wirosan and Kwenaran, who lived in the old world, but were chosen to begin again on this new world chosen by Manono and Epona after Niðogg corrupted the old world with greed, envy, pride, wrath, and sloth. Manono and Epona brought the two tribes to the new world they created for them. The Wirosans worked tirelessly to bring them and the Kwenarans food, but the Wirosan were unable to live on the world, and began dying because of the falling stars thrown by the chaos god Niðogg to destroy them. The fire from the stars burned the Wirosans and they began to die. To save the Kwenarans, Manona and Epona merged part of the Wirosans with the Kwenarans so they could live on in the Kwenarans. This story has some reflection in several other religions, major and minor, but there is currently no archaeological evidence that the Kwenarans came from another planet. It has been common in the past for some religious families to send their second-born daughters to serve for two to three years in monasteries as Kallakduv(en), or female monks, deepening their religious faith, while also learning martial arts, meditation, and traditional medicines.
While permanent tattoos are culturally taboo, the equivalent of henna, or temporary tattoos is quite common in several religions during important life events, like marriage, coming-of-age, and so on. Elaborate hand, arm, leg, shoulder, and upper chest temporary tattoos of a variety of colors and designs with their own cultural or personal meanings are often used, with linguistic glyphs, animal designs, and more, telling their own stories through their designs that more educated Kwenarans can read and decipher just by looking. For example, the bride who joins another tribe is given an elaborate both-arm design detailing the love for her bride-to-be on her left arm/hand (future), and of her family on her right arm/hand (past), and a combined, personal tattoo on her back and/or chest chosen by her and her bride. Her bridesmaids will then choose designs very similar to that of the bride as signs of their allegiance to her and their agreement to the marriage.

Education

Education tends to be controlled within the clans who cooperate at the county level to form education policy. Government does not handle education due to a history of abuse of the education system.

Government

Governments are very minimal aside from defense, court and legal systems, and other basic functions. Most things are taken care of within the tribes and clans. There is no government charity (medical, retirement, unemployment) as that is all taken care of with the large families of Kwenarans. There are a number of monarchies on the planet (about 83), elected monarchies (federations of monarchical societies that then pick their collective monarch), and the rest are republics of various forms. Government on their planet is very minimal, with the equivalents of sheriffs and their police departments keeping most of the peace. There has been no major war between nations in about 296 years. The last war, World War V, nearly wiped them out, with nuclear, chemical, and biological warfare agents being used. They encountered humans in the 2160s, but only joined the Federation in the 2260s after a delegation from the Enterprise visited the planet in 2268.

Languages

The original proto-Kwenaran language was reconstructed over 400 years ago by linguists as having verbs featuring 5 times (far past, past, present, future, and far future), 3 moods (indicative, subjunctive, imperative), 3 voices (active, reflexive, passive), 3 aspects (instant/moment, progressive, continuous), and 3 numbers (1, 2, plural). Pronouns are all inflected for female or non-female, in singular, dual, or plural. When dealing with non-Kwenarans, they tend to be confused by binary-gender races, misusing the masculine or neuter pronouns until they get used to them. There are currently 461 languages, with Kwenaran Standard acting somewhat like Latin or Sanskrit on Earth as a high literary language with official status and taught to everyone, though every Kwenaran also knows their own language, and often Federation Standard as well, though with an accent that comes off as vaguely Celtic or northern European (Dutch, Saxon, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, etc). Before the five world wars, there were over 8000 languages.

Time-Keeping

The year 2370 is considered the year 7711 to the Kwenarans, dated from their traditional date of Creation (i.e. when they were brought to this planet). There are 12 months with alternating 30 or 31 days of 24 legal hours. To keep the year, seasons, and festivals in the proper seasons a leap month of 30 days is added every 8 years, or 31 days 8 years after that.

Entertainment

Kwenarans have a long literary tradition, with many novels becoming holo-novels once holography became popular in the 24th century. Drama, romance, and historic fiction and fantasy are often the most popular genres, with mythology featuring dragons, knights, and the like being consistent favorites. Science fiction became popular with mechanization, the fear of new machines taking over or dehumanizing Kwenarans fueling many stories.
Kwenarans are visually stimulated, and when print was more popular, 'ladies mags' were often found at print stands featuring well-proportioned Kwenarans in swimsuits or scanty clothing. Such entertainment is less often encountered but still has a profitable subset of the population that enjoys it.
Video games were popular for a long time, with several nostalgic phases bringing back older favorites, and old Earth video games tend to be quite popular with those longing for simpler times.

Employment

Kwenarans all appear outwardly as human females, though more attractive on average than human females. All jobs are filled by Kwenarans, and business culture tends to be more family-oriented than stereotypically earth-like corporate culture. Businesses tend to understand when individuals need to have time off to give birth, and when Kwenarans return to work after several years to rear children, old friends often rehire them at their old jobs and pay. Monolithic corporate cultures like Oracle or other giant businesses are not known in Kwenaran society since the collapse after the third World War, which tends to be blamed on giant profit-seeking corporations that used their employees like tissue-paper and bribed governments of the time to bend the laws to their whims. Businesses treat their employees like family, and want them to be happy so they will be more productive, and often invest in their employee's continued education at work-related skills.

Military

Kwenarans tend to keep and bear arms and are vigorously defensive when anyone outside their tribes attempt to take away or 'regulate' their ownership, seeing it as a threat to their ability to defend themselves and their families, and a precursor to some kind of attack on them or their lives or jobs. Every Kwenaran from 18-85 are in the militias of their clans and regularly practice with firearms and weapons, both modern and traditional. Martial arts of various kinds are widely popular. Countries have small professional militaries and when wars have happened, they call up their militias, drill them, then send them into war. The Imbolken Wars that engulfed over a third of the planet 500 years ago made most societies wary of large, standing professional armies, instead relying on militias to defend them.
There was a brief flirtation with powered armor, mechs, and vehicles that converted into powered armor, but advances in technology made these obsolete. They do have a place in modern entertainment though.

Nations/

Zohara - a continent-sized nation, about the size of Australia, with a geography similar to that of Australia and Texas combined, with enough rivers to support its 2370 population of 230 million. This nation has won its independence three times, from the Zhiranikan Empire (and its own Srilassan Empire before it), the Union of Ikenian States (War of Ikenian Aggression), and the Gwenatha League (during WW5). The nation was settled by Ikenians who settled by grant of the Srilassan Empire, which promised religious freedom.
Ikenian Confederation - one of two states that broke off from the Union of Ikenian States as a result of the Vikparan League coming to power in the 7110s, a political party formed on centralizing power amongst themselves and their friends. The Dachmos League wanted to keep traditional Kwenaran customs and their religion, while the Vikparans worshipped the state as their religion, wanting to eliminate all traditional ways of life in the name of progress. A four-year war ensued, with Zohara also desiring independence for themselves, finally achieving it when the Kingdom of Durotriga and the Kingdom of Sequanna helped them find independence. The smaller Union of Ikenian States continued down its path, while the IC kept to more traditional Kwenaran ways, with a much slower mechanization, allowing them time to adapt progress into their traditional culture. As such, the IC, which is a league of smaller republics, is now one of the freer and more conservative portions of the Kwenaran homeworld. These Ikenians don't tend to like outsiders on their planet for fear of affecting their traditions, but they are some of the nicest, most hospitable Kwenarans you could find, even to men of other species, which often draw lingering stares of curiosity and sometimes attraction from the natives.
Smaller nations - Galtia, Senonia, Siluria, Ikenia, Avernia, Veneþa, Karnutia, Treveri, Volkae, Bolia, Skordichi, Nori, Daradni - fragmented nations speaking a commmon family of languages. They typically have wild, red, curly hair, blue or green eyes, and a very decentralized governance comparable to human Celtic or Germanic tribes on Earth.
City States - West Volkae, Sequannis, Dantsia, and five others, ranging in size from the Leonine City to Fiume or Danzig. They are often coastal with strong international trade.
Amami - the native culture of one of the two microcontinents (the northern one, about the size of Zealandia), this appears to outsiders a mix of Japanese and Pacific Islander culture, mostly Hawaiian, Maori, and the Ryukyu people of Japan. The architecture is very similar to that of traditional Japanese, and this people often have brown up to auburn and red hair, with green and amber eyes being most common amongst them. They have around 240 million people, with their religion being one of ancestor worship, with statues of deceased ancestors in traditional garb used as focus points in prayer within the home, and local minor deities and island-wide major deities having temples nearby. The Amami once had 73 languages, but now have only two major languages, one of which appears to be a collection of dialects without a standard written form or grammar, the other having 9 major dialects with one standard written form based on that of the capital, Kiarta.
Dantsia (originally Kudansika) - a city state broken off of the Thiedennian Empire during WW2. It speaks Thiedennian and is culturally identical, but prides itself on being more 'modern' and cosmopolitan, while also continuing all the old tribal festivals. It typically welcomes off-worlders more than other nations. Imagine Hamburg, Danzig, Lubeck all together in culture and style and vibe, but allowing off-world men to live here if they're employed or have a permanent relationship. The city has a small men's rights league which fights for more legal rights for the off-worlder male population that has gotten residency visas.
Naaras (inhabited by Naarasi) -

Player Guide

Kwenarans think of themselves as female, and use the singular feminine pronouns in English to refer to themselves. They have difficulty with distinguishing he and it, since their languages only distinguish 'female' and 'not female' pronouns. They tend to be fascinated with human males and depending on the personality type can become 'one of the guys' or with other, more reserved Kwenarans, 'one of the girls' that likes to be pursued by a male, both of which are reactions to their inner curiosity at a binary gendered species. Their single gender status is rare, but not unheard of in the Federation, and can make interactions with them a little awkward sometimes when humans don't conform to the Kwenaran cultural norms, but IDIC means humans, Vulcans, and otherwise do try to bridge the gap. There are hundreds of nations to choose as a background for this species, with broad cultural depictions above providing enough to go on to create a unique character with a unique cultural history.