Pittani

Modern representation of the ancient Pittani warriors

Thousands of years before the Shalani began to make plans to reach the stars, their species was going through the different, technological steps undergone by other races. Unlike some like the humans, Thadrakos or Zracon, they were not the only dominant sentient species in their aquatic world of Mradrik. There was another race, one which shared many traits with these aquatic mammals, yet also quite the number of differences. Seen as rivals, they often went to war with one-another, to the point where one can trace the birth of Shalani military traditions to their first wars with this race.

Records do not speak of what name they gave to themselves, leaving many historians only with the name given by the Shalani people: The **Pittani**. Aquatic like the Shalani yet far stronger and more agressive, these half fish, half reptilian creatures were present during what we could consider the Shalani's early and late prehistoric ages, where they often fought against Shalani tribes for resources and terrain under the great oceans of Mradrik.

The main museums of the Galactic Entente hold many of the tools and clothing used by the Pittani. Unlike the Shalani, who would later explore and settle the few islands to be found in their homeworld, the Pittani were bound to the sea, a place where they were nearly unmatched. Working in very small tribes, they behaved mostly like hunters, using weapons made mostly of bone to kill their prey (or those bronze weapons they could still from Shalani hunters).

The relationship between Shalani and Pittani was difficult to say the absolute least. While there was some cooperation between their hunting parties when it came to bringing down large prey or dangerous predators, the truth is Pittani and Shalani mostly interacted by trying to slay one-another. These battles were little more than skirmishes between small groups of hunters, skirmishes the Shalani often lost due to the Pittani's greater strenght and speed. Some tales even survive speaking of how a Pittani "brave" (the name given to their warrior/hunters) could face six Shalani grown hunters and still win.

Being forced to adapt in areas where the prey was not so numerous and far more dangerous, the Shalani had to develop new tools and techniques fast just to survive. Able to work on land and in the sea both, they were able to develop at a much faster rate than the Pittani, who were in turn far less adaptative, stubbornly holding to their traditions.

There is no report or great battle which speaks of when the Shalani became the true dominant species. Still, growing in numbers and using more advanced technology, the Pittani's natural strenghts finally were beaten. Coupled with diseases they were not ready for, relying to much in small groups and the Shalani hunting down many of their common prey, the Pittani slowly decreased in numbers. Some were hired as mercenaries as the Shalani created the first cities and experienced the first wars. A few showed their worth and even became beloved figures in the history of the Shalani coalition, their names matching in fame those of kings and generals.

Still, their decline was only a matter of time. Sometime during the 451 AD, the last Pittani, a warrior by the name of Tirak, died at the age of 82, marking the end of the Pittani race as a whole. Still, some of their traditions still lived on, including the names of their best warriors, some of which have been used to name many ships in not only the Shalani fleet, but the Alir  one as well.