ShadowFall, Copyright 1999-2008 Kaichi Satake

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SF/espionage and adventure... Genjiro Nakadai thinks he's found the perfect job, when he volunteers for the Special Forces, an elite division of the Greater Union Army of Exedra. The recruiter's promise of adventure and high pay sours, when Genjiro finds out what the job really is. By then, it's too late to back out. As he falls deeper into intrigue and danger, the likelihood of getting his own life back dwindles. Updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
(NOTE: This comic is not for children; it contains graphic violence, strong language and occasional nudity.)

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Kaipoori Physiology and Culture

Typical Kaipoori male. The Kaipoori of Maragon are basically big cats. They began walking on their hind legs somewhere around 5,000 years ago, Alliance time, at about the same time Maragon slipped into an ice age that killed off many of the Kaipoori's native prey animals. They were helped along in their bipedal evolution by the Oron' Qai, whose genetic engineering skills also helped them develop their speech and language abilities.
The average Kaipoori male stands between 5' and 5'6", on hind legs; the average female is slightly smaller. Their lean, muscular bodies are covered with a fine, downy fur, very short, like that of a newborn kitten (though the mountain-born variety have thicker, fuller fur, longer limbs and noses, and are considered the more elegant of the species), and both sexes have a full, silky mane and tail. Males are generally bi-colored, with body fur one color and mane and tail another (usually darker than the fur). Females are solid colors, usually white, grey, or light brown, with an occasional red or black appearing. A few males are born with solid color, and they are almost inevitably black (again, with the exception of the mountain cats, who are often solid white with blue or light green eyes). Albinism is extremely rare.
Kaipoori have evolved into something quite different from Maragon's smaller felines. Not only do they walk on their stocky hind legs, but their forepaws have lengthened digits, so that they look and work more like stubby human hands than paws, though they have retained the thicker palm pads and retractable claws (2-2.5 inches long) of their ancestors. Their faces have large, wide-set eyes of various colors, tuft "eyebrows," and flat noses of contrasting color to the fur. A Kaipoori face is also flatter in front than that of most other cats, and almost appears human, from a distance. The upper lip is not divided, as is common in other cats, and most of them have also lost the long, fine whiskers under the nose and in the eyebrows. Some still have these, but they are rare.

The ears are set fairly low on the head, and are rounded triangles, as in most other cats, but the tips don't stand up straight. Instead, the ear tips (which are often tufted in females) fold over forward, as in Earth's Scottish Fold cat breed. Ears are occasionally a different color than the mane, but are most often the same color, which causes them to blend visually into the thick tufts of mane to become nearly invisible.
Most Kaipoori males live from 50 to 55 years; females usually live 10 to 15 years longer than the males. Physiologically, they are capable of living much longer, but few do. Both genders are physically strong, have great endurance, and a high tolerance for G forces. The internal organs are similar to those of other big cats, except for the cardio-respiratory system, which has evolved to function better in space. Their hearts are large and powerful, about 2.5 times larger and considerably thicker than those found in other large felines; they beat slowly, but with enormous pressure, which requires sturdy-but-flexible blood vessels and equally sturdy organs. Kaipoori who die naturally (and few males do) usually die of heart failure or aneurism. They also have small but very powerful lungs, which are susceptible to a variety of respiratory illnesses. Many spacefaring Kaipoori suffer from kidney and/or bladder problems, as they generally drink far too little water, when in space.
Their eyes, ears, and noses have retained most of the predator's sensitivity, and they also have a well-developed "second sense," which is most effective around family members. They've also retained most of the typical physical responses found in most other cats, such as the flattened ears and swishing or thumping tail of irritation and anger; and the purring of contentment, affection, and pain.
Mating is seasonal, with the female's heat occurring four times each year, but many spacefaring males and females will mate out-of-season, even though females are only fertile when in heat. Once a Kaipoori couple have had intercourse, they are mated for life, and neither will take any other sexual partners. They have no marriage rituals or laws; their mating habits are instinctual.
Families, or "kasts," can be small or large, but land-based Kaipoori almost always have large, extended families of several hundred members. A few spacefaring kasts are also large, with the largest currently being the pirating Saschin family, which includes at least 800 shipboard adults. Females average 1-4 kits per litter, but sometimes will produce as many as 6. Kits are not born with the ability to speak in human fashion. This takes many years to learn, and some learn more easily than others. Education and care of kits is the responsibility of elder kast members, particularly in spacefaring families, where the younger adults are needed for ship operations. Kits reach sexual maturity at 7 or 8 years old, though most do not mate until much later in life.
Loyalty to the family is considered a redeeming quality, as is fierceness and strength. Kaipoori are not often loyal or even considerate in any way to those outside their family unit, but once a Kaipoori's trust and loyalty has been earned, it has been earned for life. It's difficult to earn this trust and loyalty, and particularly difficult for a non-Kaipoori to earn it.
The Kaipoori have no organized religion, though a few individuals have adopted a religion from some other culture. In these cases, the adopted religion usually involves sacrificial rituals and/or nature worship.
The culture is male-dominant. Females are almost universally submissive, and protected by all the males, indiscriminately. Few aggressive females exist (though any female will become aggressive if her kits, home, or immediate family are threatened), and these are mostly found as matriarchs on deep-space vessels, where the older males have died or become incapacitated.
Kaipoori are also territorial, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the pirating families. (Approximately 95% of Alliance pirates are Kaipoori.) The wealthiest, best-armed, and most aggressive Kaipoori pirates claim the meatiest areas, and will not hesitate to kill other pirates who encroach on their family's "hunting space." A great many Kaipoori males of all occupations and social standings worship the most notorious pirates as sort of pop idols, as they seem to recall the glorious days when all Kaipoori were feared as ferocious hunters, on Maragon. Their predatory nature is one of the main reasons they have had such difficulty with social relations and trade with other races and with each other. Kaipoori merchantermen are almost never captains of their ships, but usually in some position that requires little-to-no contact with buyers and sellers. Their quick tempers and violent reactions to what they perceive as unfairness, cheating, or discrimination make most of them unfit for any position requiring negotiation or customer service skills.

Comics | Fiction | Aviation Art | Guest Art/Pinup Gallery | IRC
About the Artist | Store | Links | Wallpaper| Forum | Contact Me

		God Bless America!
Comics \| Fiction \| Aviation Art \| Guest Art/Pinup Gallery \| IRC \| About the Artist \| Store \| Links \| Wallpaper\| Forum \| Contact Me

ShadowFall Cast \| ShadowFall Worlds \| The Making of ShadowFall \| Latest ShadowFall Comic
Kaipoori Physiology and Culture
Typical Kaipoori male.	The Kaipoori of Maragon are basically big cats. They began walking on their hind legs somewhere around 5,000 years ago, Alliance time, at about the same time Maragon slipped into an ice age that killed off many of the Kaipoori's native prey animals. They were helped along in their bipedal evolution by the Oron' Qai, whose genetic engineering skills also helped them develop their speech and language abilities. The average Kaipoori male stands between 5' and 5'6", on hind legs; the average female is slightly smaller. Their lean, muscular bodies are covered with a fine, downy fur, very short, like that of a newborn kitten (though the mountain-born variety have thicker, fuller fur, longer limbs and noses, and are considered the more elegant of the species), and both sexes have a full, silky mane and tail. Males are generally bi-colored, with body fur one color and mane and tail another (usually darker than the fur). Females are solid colors, usually white, grey, or light brown, with an occasional red or black appearing. A few males are born with solid color, and they are almost inevitably black (again, with the exception of the mountain cats, who are often solid white with blue or light green eyes). Albinism is extremely rare. Kaipoori have evolved into something quite different from Maragon's smaller felines. Not only do they walk on their stocky hind legs, but their forepaws have lengthened digits, so that they look and work more like stubby human hands than paws, though they have retained the thicker palm pads and retractable claws (2-2.5 inches long) of their ancestors. Their faces have large, wide-set eyes of various colors, tuft "eyebrows," and flat noses of contrasting color to the fur. A Kaipoori face is also flatter in front than that of most other cats, and almost appears human, from a distance. The upper lip is not divided, as is common in other cats, and most of them have also lost the long, fine whiskers under the nose and in the eyebrows. Some still have these, but they are rare.
The ears are set fairly low on the head, and are rounded triangles, as in most other cats, but the tips don't stand up straight. Instead, the ear tips (which are often tufted in females) fold over forward, as in Earth's Scottish Fold cat breed. Ears are occasionally a different color than the mane, but are most often the same color, which causes them to blend visually into the thick tufts of mane to become nearly invisible. Most Kaipoori males live from 50 to 55 years; females usually live 10 to 15 years longer than the males. Physiologically, they are capable of living much longer, but few do. Both genders are physically strong, have great endurance, and a high tolerance for G forces. The internal organs are similar to those of other big cats, except for the cardio-respiratory system, which has evolved to function better in space. Their hearts are large and powerful, about 2.5 times larger and considerably thicker than those found in other large felines; they beat slowly, but with enormous pressure, which requires sturdy-but-flexible blood vessels and equally sturdy organs. Kaipoori who die naturally (and few males do) usually die of heart failure or aneurism. They also have small but very powerful lungs, which are susceptible to a variety of respiratory illnesses. Many spacefaring Kaipoori suffer from kidney and/or bladder problems, as they generally drink far too little water, when in space. Their eyes, ears, and noses have retained most of the predator's sensitivity, and they also have a well-developed "second sense," which is most effective around family members. They've also retained most of the typical physical responses found in most other cats, such as the flattened ears and swishing or thumping tail of irritation and anger; and the purring of contentment, affection, and pain. Mating is seasonal, with the female's heat occurring four times each year, but many spacefaring males and females will mate out-of-season, even though females are only fertile when in heat. Once a Kaipoori couple have had intercourse, they are mated for life, and neither will take any other sexual partners. They have no marriage rituals or laws; their mating habits are instinctual. Families, or "kasts," can be small or large, but land-based Kaipoori almost always have large, extended families of several hundred members. A few spacefaring kasts are also large, with the largest currently being the pirating Saschin family, which includes at least 800 shipboard adults. Females average 1-4 kits per litter, but sometimes will produce as many as 6. Kits are not born with the ability to speak in human fashion. This takes many years to learn, and some learn more easily than others. Education and care of kits is the responsibility of elder kast members, particularly in spacefaring families, where the younger adults are needed for ship operations. Kits reach sexual maturity at 7 or 8 years old, though most do not mate until much later in life. Loyalty to the family is considered a redeeming quality, as is fierceness and strength. Kaipoori are not often loyal or even considerate in any way to those outside their family unit, but once a Kaipoori's trust and loyalty has been earned, it has been earned for life. It's difficult to earn this trust and loyalty, and particularly difficult for a non-Kaipoori to earn it. The Kaipoori have no organized religion, though a few individuals have adopted a religion from some other culture. In these cases, the adopted religion usually involves sacrificial rituals and/or nature worship. The culture is male-dominant. Females are almost universally submissive, and protected by all the males, indiscriminately. Few aggressive females exist (though any female will become aggressive if her kits, home, or immediate family are threatened), and these are mostly found as matriarchs on deep-space vessels, where the older males have died or become incapacitated. Kaipoori are also territorial, and nowhere is this more apparent than in the pirating families. (Approximately 95% of Alliance pirates are Kaipoori.) The wealthiest, best-armed, and most aggressive Kaipoori pirates claim the meatiest areas, and will not hesitate to kill other pirates who encroach on their family's "hunting space." A great many Kaipoori males of all occupations and social standings worship the most notorious pirates as sort of pop idols, as they seem to recall the glorious days when all Kaipoori were feared as ferocious hunters, on Maragon. Their predatory nature is one of the main reasons they have had such difficulty with social relations and trade with other races and with each other. Kaipoori merchantermen are almost never captains of their ships, but usually in some position that requires little-to-no contact with buyers and sellers. Their quick tempers and violent reactions to what they perceive as unfairness, cheating, or discrimination make most of them unfit for any position requiring negotiation or customer service skills.