Pantorians

Overview
Hailing from the Earth-like Pantor, Pantorians are a race of mammalian humanoids with an average height of 7.5 feet and an average weight of 450 pounds. The average lifespan of a Pantorian is 140 years. Most Pantorians have hair covering their body, with longer hair growing from their head. Hair color can range from blonde to black, with the most common color being brown. However, just as in humans, hairiness is variable. Some Pantorians have very little hair covering their body, making them appear almost human. Pantorians are generally very aggressive and have little regard for members of other races. In fact, the Pantorian Empire serves as the main antagonist in the world of The Narrow Expanse. They are also known for being very literal-minded people, and do not waste their time with metaphors or humor. This causes Pantorians to have a reputation for being unintelligent or uncivilized. This is far from the truth, as Pantorians are one of the oldest races in the Milky Way and have had ample time to develop.

Pantorian name generator.

Biology and Appearance
Pantorians are one of the largest races in The Narrow Expanse. Both male and female Pantorians have an average height of 7.5 feet and an average weight of 450 pounds. The bulk of their weight comes from the fact that they have bones enriched with a naturally occurring carbon fiber, making them more durable and heavier. But Pantorians also tend to be very muscular, which helps add to their weight. Most Pantorians are covered from head to toe in a thick coat of hair, with longer hair growing from their heads. Males tend to have longer facial hair, and older males tend to take great pride in their beards. Pantorians' hair can be shades of blonde, brown, black, or gray, but brown was by far the most common color. A very small percentage of Pantorians have very little hair covering their bodies, with their dark skin still very visible. These less-hairy Pantorians are known as kyongirs, which simply means "hairless ones". Kyongirs are generally shunned by other Pantorians and regarded as inferior. Pantorians' iris color can be varying shades of yellow, brown, green, and very rarely blue.

Pantorians have an average lifespan of 140 Earth years, but ages upwards of 180 have been known to have been reached. They are omnivorous, and eat a mixed diet of meat and local fruits and vegetables. Their internal anatomy is almost identical to that of humans. Because of this, Pantorians are able to speak nearly any language, just as humans can.

Pre-GSU
Pantorians are an old race, although their exact age is unknown. It is believed by many that the Pantorian race first appeared in its current form around the same time as humans did, sometime after the Shivans and Dalthians but before most of the other races of the Milky Way. In the ancient past, the Pantorians shared their planet with another race, referred to in Pantorian historical texts as the Dhuroshi. According to the Pantorians, the Dhuroshi were a "weak and feeble people that would rather give their enemy their best livestock than go to battle". The Pantorians seemingly eliminated the Dhuroshi long before the first Pantorian astronaut was even born. In the year 2087, Pantorians landed on Edon, and discovered its inhabitants. It wasn't long after that they spread their exploration efforts across the entirety of the Phaelong System. By 2180, a specific Pantorian nation, known as Ohlan, had gained control of the entire planet of Pantor under the leadership of General Morzavel. This is often viewed as the point in history when the Pantorian Empire was first formed. Only a little over three decades in later, in 2216, the military superiority and the strength of the unified warriors of the Pantorian Empire led to the subjugation and g of both the Corrunish and Edonese races.

Joining the GSU
In 2290, the Phaelong System became the last system visited by explorers from the other star systems of the Milky Way. Initially, the Pantorians viewed their new visitors as invaders. Eventually, with the help of the Corrunish people, the Pantorians came to a truce with the rest of the galaxy. One of the first ships to arrive in the Phaelong System was a mining ship, working for Desoria Metals, discovered a rich pocket of the precious mineral livuradite on the planet Zenronoe, as well as the asteroid field surrounding it. It wasn't long after that the Galactic Systems' Union was created, and the Pantorian Empire surprisingly wanted to join, despite their past dissension with the rest of the galaxy. The GSU came to a decision that in order for a race or government to be a member of the GSU, they would have to agree to share their technology and resources with the rest of the GSU. Emperor Morzavel knew the motivation behind this new decree was to gain access to the livuradite, but knew access to the other races' technology would greatly help his people.

Fallout from the GSU
In 2415, a disease known simply as the Paralytic Plague, broke out on Pantor. The Paralytic Plague was caused by a virus that led a person’s body to become paralyzed and their lungs to become filled with fluid. The Paralytic Plague had an eighty-four percent mortality rate. The disease spread across Pantor, reducing the planet’s population by almost seventeen percent. The Paralytic Plague soon spread to Wathea and Corruna. The High King of Shiva I, Padarth Caeven, suggested to the Galactic Systems’ Council that the solution to the Paralytic Plague was to set up a blockade around the Phaelong System. Pantor’s Emperor Onzerim urged the GSU against the blockade, claiming that leaving the Pantorians to die was an act of war. In the end, the Pantorians’ reputation as uncivilized led to the popular belief that Pantor could not handle the Paralytic Plague on its own and that a blockade was necessary to contain the virus.

The blockade was ordered and finished in 2416, cutting the Phaelong system off from the rest of the Milky Way. Unbeknownst to the GSU, Pantor had developed a vaccine for the Paralytic Plague, and had all but defeated the disease. Because of the blockade, no information about the vaccine could be passed to the rest of the Milky Way. In 2417, a Edonese ship named the Khassil managed to get through the blockade. The ship was eventually caught, but the crew passed on the information that a vaccine had been created and that the disease had been killed out.

After the blockade was lifted, Onzerim attempted to make contact with the Pantorian officials on the Felicity, but was unable to make contact. A Corrunish trading ship that was stuck outside of the Phaelong System during the blockade delivered the news that as the blockade was being finalized, a massacre occurred onboard The Felicity. All Pantorian officials on board were killed in the middle of the night. The Corrunish trade ship also shared that one of the Dalthian councilors, Fovi Grex, claimed responsibility for the massacre. The other councilors from the Shivan Alliance rallied public support for Grex, and in turn the GSC decided not to seek charges against her.

The Felicity Massacre was the last straw for Onzerim. Onzerim sent a crew of emissaries to the Felicity in an attempt to reconcile with the GSU. The emissaries, however, were a farce, similar to the Trojan horse of ancient Earth. Onzerim had asked for volunteers to infected the emissaries with a mutated strain of the Paralytic Plague that had an increased mortality rate. As the Pantorian emissaries met with the officers of the GSC, they released the virus on the Felicity. A great many of the GSC councilors died in the initial outbreak. As the Pantorian emissaries distracted the guards onboard, mercenaries hired by Onzerim set off multiple explosives in the Felicity’s medical wing, ensuring the spread of the Paralytic Plague could not be combatted.

The High Council of the GSU declared the entire Pantorian Empire a terrorist organization for the attack on the Felicity. This decision was spear-headed by High Councilor Jilyhra Mha (Kamarian). As a result, Onzerim announced that the Pantorian Empire, and any planet under its domain, was no longer part of the GSU. Emperor Onzerim also stated that due to the irreconcilable actions taken against the people of the Pantorian Empire, the GSU was an official enemy of the Pantorian Empire. This led to all Corrunish, Edonese, and Pantorian members drawing out of the GSU.

By 2426, all GSU facilities in the Phaelong System had been destroyed or repurposed. Emperor Onzerim died from old age in 2479, and his son Vasatem succeeded him at the age of thirty-two. Vasatem was indoctrinated from a young age to view the GSU, and especially the Shivan Alliance, as the natural enemy of the Pantorian Empire. Vasatem increased the war effort, and eventually seized control of every planet in the Phaelong System.