Njetra

Njetra (singular: njetra) are a large, lean, and quadrupedal sapient species not dissimilar in build to that of a dragon or cat. Their civilization has reached interstellar travel, and is part of the SESA alliance.

Biology
Njetra diets are comprised of primarily fish, but they often eat land animals or plant material depending on situation. Njetra can last up to 1 Earth week without water, and 4 Earth months without a meal before starving. Njetra live up to around 35 Earth years naturally, but due to recent advances in medical technology, they have an average life expectancy of 130 Earth years. Njetra reach maturity at around 22. Njetra reproduce sexually, and have two biological sexes. Njetra experience gender far differently from humans.

Njetra are covered in short fur, with long whiskers and "crests" of longer fur along the back of the head and neck. Coloration varies to a high degree, and the only colors not commonly found are bright neon colors and most shades of blue. Njetra have brightly colored horns, usually forked in some way, that vary a lot from individual to individual. Njetra have digitigrade legs suitable for pursuit and leaping.

Empathy
Njetra can see the emotions of nearby sapient beings as clouds or particles. These can, in some cases, completely block off vision during crowded or emotional situations. Some njetra have described this empathy ability to cloud any of the 4 other senses as well, though this is rare.

The mechanism behind njetra's empathy ability is unknown.

Prehistory
In prehistory, njetra originated from the Tafja Shrublands on Lawa, and fit the niche of somewhere between a fish-eating carnivore, a plains/savanna pursuit predator, and an opportunistic omnivore. They hunted in small parties, either to guide fish in streams to other party members, or chase down larger prey. They created and used tools for hunting, and stayed in contact with party members even after parties disbanded.

Written History
Eventually, society arose from these hunting parties. The njetra took about 40,000 Earth years to advance from stone age societies to industrial age. Wars were relatively rare, and clashing civilizations typically frowned upon war, and usually solved things relatively diplomatically. From the industrial age, the njetra took only a few Earth centuries to get interstellar. They've achieved species-wide unification, and speak a few common languages. They were found by the recently formed SESA alliance, and agreed to join a few decades later. Since then, their technological and economical support to SESA has furthered the progression of sapient species across the stars over the past few Earth decades. They are the first SESA species to have begun construction of a Dyson swarm, and are considered the most medically advanced SESA species.

Culture
Njetra often carve their horns and cut their fur and crests as a form of self expression. Clothing is not required for njetra by their societal norms, and it is instead seen as an optional method of self-expression. Njetra typically wear clothing where individuals from other species can be found, as not wearing clothing is often seen as rude or obscene to certain species. Traditionally, there are gender norms as to how horns should or should not be carved, and what clothing should or should not be worn, but these norms have been falling apart over recent years.

Njetra artists are typically categorized into "focused" or "unfocused" artists. The way in which focused artists handle art is rather unique. Instead of building a collection of smaller artworks, focused artists typically spend their entire life on a small selection of works. As a result, their music tracks can last several hours, their murals can span entire blocks, and films made by large teams of focused artists can last over a day. Unfocused artists create large quantities of works that require less time and effort, which mirrors how most artists function in most sapient species' societies.

War and conflict is frowned upon. As a result, some njetra sees species that had a violent past as "barbaric", and specific subcultures of njetra society typically judge them from afar and keeps their distance. Individuals from other species are typically met with distrust by those njetra due to their "lack of empathy", and some njetra individuals think it impossible to be considerate without empathy abilities.

The njetra society has been undergoing some internal stress as they transition from a primarily capitalistic society to a post-scarcity society as part of SESA.

Reach
(WIP)

Modern Conflict
[REDACTED]