Kaleshi
The Kelashi were once an extremely proud, wealthy, and powerful race that ruled over a vast space empire in another corner of the galaxy, hundreds of years ago. Due to their own intense hubris, they drew the ire of a Majin Lord who was charting the space for his own dreams of conquest. He played the Kelashi against each other, using their legendary greed, and exploited the incalculable potential energy that resulted from the following civil war to permanently, magically change the Kelashi. This twisted spell rendered them nearly inverted versions of themselves, driven insane by an inexplicable need to spend every moment serving others. The majority of the crippled race was corralled by the Majins, and they exist today as self-driven slaves of countless Majin. Some, however, maintained enough of their sanity to escape the Majin's net to search the galaxy for other masters.
Physiology
The Kelashi are descended from several species of closely-related, fleshy humanoids with subtle, insect-like qualities who coexisted and evolved for eons. Because the subspecies divide still exists in their race to a subtle degree, not all Kelashi are exactly alike in anatomy. They all have many traits in common, however, to the point where it is not difficult to identify any Kelashi for their race from appearance.
Kelashi are hatched from buried eggs, rather than birthed as most mammalian species are, but the eggs are fertilized in a manner similar to human conception. They are all humanoids, or mostly humanoids, that possess a shale gray skin that is similar in texture to a lizard's scales, but much finer. Their most noticeable common quality is usually the horns that emerge from their heads at various points. The number, coloration, size, and shape of these horns vary from one member of the species to another. Kelashi who are of higher castes in their society tend to be born with longer and more elaborate horns, and the bigger these horns are, the more the person they belong to tends to prize them as a symbol of their pride. Longer horns are sometimes forcibly styled into unorthodox shapes during their youths, so as to project the individuality of their owner. Their eyes are yellow, with universally black pupils, which have the ability to see into the infrared spectrum -- allowing them to see perfectly well even in places where most would see only pitched darkness. This also allows them to see anything that has heat as though it was glowing. Their mouths are full of pointed teeth, and many have long fangs for canines that protrude slightly even when their mouth is closed. Their hands and feet, while usually mostly human-like, are usually adorned with claws, which sometimes are attached to venom sacs.
Kelashi blood varies in color across the visible spectrum, and was once used to gauge the caste an individual was born to. Those closer to red were of lower rank, while those closer to violet were the most respected. This was primarily because those with redder blood had more physically superior genes, while those with more violet blood tended to be more cunning, and possessed of natural psionic talent. There once was an assortment of blacks and grays in the bloodlines, but these tended to be subsentient brutes, capable of only screaming and herculean destruction, and were bred out of the racial gene pool long ago, when Kelashi stopped having to fight for themselves.
Speaking of physical activity, Kelashi never become "fat" as humans and some other races do, due to sedentary lifestyles and inactivity. Their appetite for food diminishes and grows with their physical activity, and their bodies waste whatever cannot be used in the relative short term. Their muscles, on the other hand, can be either weak and lacking from disuse, or bulky and powerful from excessive use. This variable metabolism requires them to eat regularly, however; they cannot fast for longer than a few days, and it often has immediate, visible effects on their well-being.
Variations in Kelashi have been known to include, but not be limited to adaptations to aquatic environments (allowing some to exist entirely underwater), extraordinarily refined taste that can actually "see" better than their eyes, specialized reproductive systems that can custom-breed swarms of lesser organisms, increased numbers of limbs, and glands that can excrete useful substances, like a spider's silk.
Former Society and Behavior
The Kelashi Empire once covered thousands of stellar systems, and enslaved or subjugated hundreds of conquered races. Its borders grew as their burgeoning population required new lands to rule over. Despite this aggressive stance toward other civilizations, they were not necessarily overly cruel or demanding masters of those they brought under their thumb, and they were clever enough to avoid hostilities and foster trade with empires they believed might be too resilient, powerful, or well-connected to bring low. While they were not particularly well-liked as a race, due to their obnoxious elitism and greed, they were generally tolerated by their bigger neighbors, since the products and services brought by the people they controlled were often enormously cheaper than similar goods from free peoples who decided their own market worth.
At the top of the Empire, there sat her Imperial Deific, the Empress of the Kelashi. Their leader was always a female, and was always very, very carefully bred and raised in a highly manicured environment, away from the rest of the populace. As a result of this extreme care and treatment, the Empress always has the most purple violet blood of all Kelashi. Some rumors reported that it even possessed an ultraviolet glow proportionate to her power. Though this Empress almost never saw battle first-hand, her psionic powers were said to be so exceptional that she could speak directly to any of her subjects from any distance, and if she so wished, a fully grown Empress could bodily move and crush entire planets with her mind. It was through her will and direction that the Kelashi Empire grew and thrived. Her intellect was said to be unfathomable. Her image projected respect and fear into even the greatest of her own people. A single Empress could often live for hundreds of years, sustained by her own stubborn and psychically dominating refusal to age.
Directly beneath her was a cult of dark enforcers, those of violet blood, who carried out the spirit of the Empress's will and acted essentially as free agents of the crown, with authority to do almost anything they wanted, so long as it was in the favor of the Empress. They frequently operated in the shadows and used their mental powers to make others their puppets. They also wore elaborate costumes and masked their identities on the rare circumstance that they met someone in person, so as to protect themselves from being targeted by assassins. The masks would then be copied and given to other people, who would be forced to wear them when they carried out the cultist's bidding. These masks became part of their identity as much as their own real faces, and only the Empress ever saw an adult member of the cult without their mask.
Then came the regional administrators and politicians, of blue and indigo blood, who presided over whole star systems and clusters, often in groups. To many outsiders, they were the face of the Kaleshi people, and they tended to embody the best and worst of their stereotypes. They forever yearned to own everything that they could, and have command over the greatest, best, and most luxurious things possible. Possessed by material greed, but tempered by a wily cunning that took most other races by surprise, these power players knew what to say to whom to make things happen in their favor. They knew what moves to make to progress themselves and their Empire. Theirs were the lives that lower Kaleshi dreamed of having. Tragically, it was through their own avarice and manipulative ways that the Empire was destroyed.
After the administrators were the commanders and leaders. These green and yellow blooded individuals marshalled the many Imperial fleets and armies, including their slave warriors. They also governed planets, or provinces of planets. Some green-bloods were bred specifically for upkeeping the Home Swarm, a host of sub-sentient creatures genetically spliced and bred to watch over the Kaleshi homeworld, where their people generally went to deposit their eggs, and those eggs were then hatched and raised by the Swarm until they reached adulthood.
The lowest of the Kaleshi were the red-bloods and orange-bloods, and these formed the bulk of Kaleshi society. This wasn't to say that they were, by any means, at the bottom of the Empire's pile; they simply tended only to have authority over one another, or over groups of other races. They often ran businesses and oversaw the finer details of the Empire's economy. When they entered the battlefield, they were given the best equipment available, and generally had their own vanguards of warrior slaves. Usually lacking psychic talent, these warriors were instead extraordinary martial masters, capable of taking on groups of enemy warriors at a time.
For the majority of the Kaleshi, including those as high as the administrators, common behavior didn't include anything particularly bizarre. Those of higher caste obviously led more luxurious and catered lives than those below, but their personalities, for the most part, ran the normal gamut. Kaleshi simply tended to be ambitious creatures who always were looking to better their lot in life, and were almost never simply satisfied with what they received. Though greedy by nature, they were as likely to be good or evil as most other races, which factored into which avenues they were willing to pursue to achieve their goals. Generally materialistic in nature, Kaleshi were big on gift-giving occasions, and the idiom "It's the thought that counts" rarely enters into their minds. Giving something of low value on such an occasion would be akin to a direct insult.
Lacking families, many Kaleshi track their specific genetic strain, bearing symbols of their heritage. In youth, they research those who achieved greatness within their strain, and compare their own personalities and merits with their biological celebrity forebears. They never knew who laid their egg, nor do those who lay eggs ever seek out their offspring. Though raised by the Home Swarm, Kaleshi young hatch mostly independent already, and live most of their young lives with only minimal assistance and guidance. Their natural ambitions guide them to learn necessary skills. They are not, however, generally allowed to leave their homeworld until they fully mature.
Kaleshi society was highly technologically advanced. Computers were interlaced throughout everything, and almost all Kaleshi were at least savvy with operating most common computers. Most were capable of crafting their own software, as computers were simply additions to the host of servants that surrounded them, and knowing how to make them do what you wanted them to do was a crucial part of their life. They placed high value in scientific pursuits, and a significant portion of their populace were scientists in their own rights. They specialized in bioengineering; the Home Swarm was one of their crowning achievements, as they invented an entire ecosystem that revolved around their own race. They also were quite skilled at manipulating and interfacing technology with psychic energy.
While they were aware of magic, the Kaleshi were mostly never any good at manipulating it. They instead conquered races who were powerful mages, optimized their progress as only a race of bureaucrats could, and then made use of them whenever magic was called for.
The Curse
The curse of the Majin wrecked the Kaleshi Empire nearly overnight, turning calculating overlords and powerful psions into servile doormats. Oppressed and enslaved races quickly realized their masters were suddenly powerless, and uprisings mounted everywhere. Entire space armadas happily surrendered to a single flotilla of Majin forces, out of desperation to be helpful. The Imperial Deific left her Golden Spire, that unassailable flying fortress where every Empress has ever been hatched and lived out their lives, and was ordered to kill herself by her former slave, who she had been particularly cruel to. She was so eager to do so that she winked the entire ship out of existence.
The magic does not simply make a Kaleshi want to serve others, it makes them need to serve others. Their very life force drains with every moment they are not living in service to someone who is not a Kaleshi. Selfish thoughts are forbidden from entering their mind, putting them at war with their own inherent natures. Conversely, acts of service come not only with health and relief from racking mental anguish, but scaling levels of joy and pleasure. The greater the act of service, the greater the mentalized reward. Exceptionally monumental deeds done for masters, such as when one purple-blooded Kaleshi revealed to her Majin master how to easily eradicate the entire Home Swarm -- which had been largely unaffected by their magic and still vigorously defended the homeworld -- she fell into ecstasy so profound that she fainted for days, and then died from lack of nourishment. When their master becomes greater, richer, and more powerful, they feel it as their own personal victories.
That said, there is a loophole to the curse. Kaleshi form magical bonds with their masters, and feed on their presence and praise. When they regularly and obediently serve benevolent masters, they slowly begin to remember their own thoughts and will. Their former personalities, with all of the cunning and greed, begin to resurface. The nagging need to serve selflessly diminishes somewhat. A few Kaleshi have reached this stage of the relationship with potent power wielders, and have discovered that the bond can be broken, and with it, the curse... and the former master. This murderous act causes overwhelming pain and anguish for the Kaleshi, but once it passes, they are free again. This sort of trick requires a series of very specific circumstances, however, so free Kaleshi are rare indeed. Plus, those who were freed usually find themselves profoundly changed from the experience of serving a kind master for so long. Many lack the moral weakness to become turncoat on such a strong bond. The option exists, however, and beware to the power wielder master who binds themselves unwittingly to such a selfish Kaleshi.
