Nisai

## Appearance

Nisai are a sentient race composed almost entirely of liquid rather than any solids. The species thrives in liquid environments and are thus covered in a thin layer of mucus, giving the Nisai a slippery texture across their entire body. The layer of mucus helps retain water when the Nisai are not in a wet environment. Historically, the Nisai adapted this means artificially rather than naturally through genetic research. It helps them survive in areas that do not contain any water though a completely unaided and unmodified Nisai would die within seconds of being exposed to such an environment. Many Nisai have also incorporated layers in their armor or clothing that assist them in retaining water which, though it separates them from the outside world, protects even those capable of forming mucus layers.

They are capable of modifying this layer of mucus, allowing them to thin it in areas that they require more texture for (such as fingers, to grab items) and thicken it in areas that require more water than others. This has also led to the capability for Nisai to modify their appearance at will though they will always be somewhat transparent. Naturally, political concern and military concern arose when this capability was discovered but biometrics of Nisai do not change when they alter their physical bodies and such concerns were quickly dismissed.

Because Nisai are capable of manipulating their bodies in such a manner, Nisai can look like whatever they desire within reason and typically mimic the forms of other beings around them. When they are among other Nisai, or among close friends, each one adopts a 'true form' which is simply the form that any particular Nisai prefers over others. Such forms can be bipedal or even merely puddles on the floor. Their interior biology and anatomy mirrors that of other species, though their organs are not always in the same place even among members of their own species. Instead, these organs are almost constantly moving around their bodies though small bone-like structures prevent them from moving into places that would be detrimental to their health such as the heart moving into a hand or their lungs moving into their legs.

## Culture

Unlike the most other species, Nisai have never resorted to slavery in any fashion including indentured servitude. Food is shared collectively on their homeworld though this does assume that the individual works. For individuals that do not work, no food is provided, and those individuals must either find or make their own food. There is no distinct caste system either. For Nisai, any follower is just as important as their leaders. At first, others believed Nisai to have a hivemind. Later it was revealed that Nisai simply share a strong sense of kinship between others and themselves that they have deemed helpful to their survival.

Few societies are as hospitable and welcoming as Nisai. Traders that come through Nisai systems, even those that are not stopping at their world for longer than it takes to refuel, can expect to be cooked for, treated medically and to speak to counselors to assuage any mental health problems the same day that they arrive. For the Nisai, taking care of one another is the surest way to ensure that each person is capable of self-actualization.

Nisai systems are typically low in crime rate with food and other basic necessities for life provided readily. Obtaining luxury items (electronics, for example) that are outside of the scope of job for whatever the Nisai has chosen as their career field, can be quite a challenge. Their society uses no currency save for traders that must in order to deal with other factions such as the USC. Instead, people living in these systems typically log hours into work and the leaders of their government assign those hours a specific worth. There is no difference, monetarily, between working as a high-ranking executive and a low wage worker at a fast-food chain in their society. The only difference is that employees who put in more work hours earn more government assigned points which can then be redeemed for various luxury items.

Due to the Nisai's low development in economics, it is difficult for the Nisai to expand their economic power into other star systems and affect the political landscape. While their people enjoy relatively simple lives, with most things provided for them, moving locations in Nisai (interplanetary or above) is exceptionally difficult and often requires a Nisai to change careers, at least for a little while, to a profession that allows them to do so.

## Religion

The Nisai believe in no particular deity but instead believe that after death, all souls of the fallen are guided by the spirits of their ancestors to a great body of water. This body of water, commonly called the Great Pool, is made from the collected souls and consciousness of the fallen that came before them; meaning that in the Nisai religion all souls are connected after death. There are no enemies in this pool nor are there friends or lovers. Instead, the pool purifies the soul and removes all emotion.

Temples built by the Nisai often feature a central bath which is used by anyone visiting the temple. Clothing is not expected in such a place and is even considered taboo ad blasphemous in Nisai culture. Ceremonies to purify the souls of those that visit are commonplace and often involve a number of Nisai priests and priestesses washing visitors with pure, regularly cleaned and changed, water. Individuals subjected to these baths are expected to remain still and not do any work themselves, instead allowing the healing waters of the temple pool to wash away their worldly concerns.

Such temples are often filled with scented candles, ornate pieces of artwork designed to calm the emotions and are often tended to by conventionally attractive individuals. Priestesses and priests that attend to these chambers are required, by the temple, to maintain a degree of attractiveness as to not upset their visitors. Those that are deemed too repulsive to serve in the temple are often sent away to serve as monks or nuns to study the religion and to heed the will of the Great Pool.

## Size

When you choose Nisai as your race, you are considered a medium creature.

## Language

When you select Nisai as your race, you speak Nisainese and Galactic Common by default.