Kobari

Every kobari understands two things when they hatch, what their caste is for, and that they really love kemzali. Their relationship is both pragmatic and spiritual, at a biological level, kobari eggs’ can only reliably create the specialist castes needed by a colony with side effects of kemzali reproduction. Secondly, they quite literally believe in the divine rite of their rulers as divine, living gods. For this they love their rulers, they love their role in society, and they are content in their relatively short lives. As a colonial species, a kobari is aware, intimately, that their own survival and life is second to the colony and their kemzali. But this doesn’t bother them. They are glad to exist as they do, and are willing to go to any length to fulfil a purpose. Seeing themselves as in many ways a superior being. Others live life being uncertain of their purpose in life. Unsure where they belong, always challenged to find a new role. Yet for kobari? They know who and what they are and what they are for.

Physical Description

Kobari are small beings, rarely reaching above 4.5ft  and usually closer to 3ft. They have thick, strong tails, usually possess a single horn, and have three to four toed feet. The exact appearance of a kobari is highly variable, as they are heavily adapted to specific roles. From short to stout, to long and lithe. As part of their divergent biology that aids their eusocial society, specific castes of kobari in a colony are adapted to highly specific roles.

Heritages

Kobari heritages are their birth caste, these are their biological specialties. While different colonies can have divergences, usually appearing much like the kemzali they serve, they have masses of castes. While these can be extremely specialized (such as a dedicated nest-tenderer) the most common castes are as follows.

• Laborers Laborers are bulky, durable, muscular and have dense bones.
• Analysts Are in some way devoted to logical processing of information, analysts are generally very slender, fragile and somewhat bobble-headed.
• Engineers Highly-dexterous and mechanically oriented, they tend to have opposable and grip-capable toes and tails.
• Warriors The largest of kobari, they are strong but lithe, and fully ready and willing to engage in violence without a second thought.
• Administrators Kobari need direction and kemzali cannot be everywhere–They are the middlemen and instructors. They most closely resemble their kemzali physically, usually being tall (for a kobari) and slender.

History

Kobari  history is linked to the kemzali. They were considered rightless slaves prior to first-contact and since have gained a good deal of rights. Though their actual social positions have not significantly altered, they technically have freedom to travel, gain education, and act as any feni would.

Society

Kobari are a caste-based colonial species. Kobari castes are the fundamental nature of their society. Each kobari is born to purpose, and are biologically and mentally adapted to that purpose. This is not something forced onto them, nor is it something that could be forced onto them–it is simply how they are.  They are deeply connected to kemzali, they will biologically adapt to resemble ‘their’ kemzali, their ability to produce specialist castes that can run society is tied to the ‘dream’ of the kemzali that rules them. Properly a hormonal reaction mixed with latent psionic connections.  Without a kemzali to guide them, rogue colonies tend to become highly destructive, violent infestations in short periods of time. Their names are almost universally a simple given name, followed by their kemzali’s name.

Example Names: Scruuni, Feevo, Yrid, Skooka, Vryn, Skipp.

Beliefs

Kobari almost universally believe that kemzali are living gods, and service to the kemzali, the manifestation of the Kemz, is a path to their own divine ascension. As such, usually, they believe whatever their ruler, usually a kemzali, believes. However they are not without individual wants and agency, they simply believe it is secondary to their role in the colony. Similarly, they do not accept rulers who fail to live up to their own standards and are entirely capable of banding together to forcefully change their ruler to one that leads correctly. However, a kobari's exact beliefs are seemingly ever-shifting. They are a short-lived species constantly creating their own meaning in their own colony, and the priest-castes have been known to radically alter the specifics of dogma as need be.