#nicassar

Renner the Nicassar takes a rest, while Truthfinder counsels their juniors.

Renner spends quite a lot of time resting and mulling over her warp visions. They need careful interpretation to ensure the safety of the ship.

"Nicassar art I commissioned a while ago, drawn by Carl_Tabora."

Commissioned by reddit user hydraphantom

A quick Nicassar sketch based on their description!

My interpretation of a Nicassar From Lexicanum

The Nicassar are a psychic xenos race who were the first addition to the Tau Empire.

The Nicassar are highly psychic. Because of this, the Tau have carefully kept them hidden from the Imperium for fear of igniting the worst excesses of human xenophobia.[1]Physically, Nicassars have ivory hair-quills and stubby, clawed limbs. They possess no eyes, instead sensing their surroundings with psychic abilities generated by glands in their avian skulls.[2][3]When communicating with Tau, a Nicassar always floats in a special healsphere.[2] They are described as having limited mobility and being unfit for ground combat, and so further the Greater Good by providing ships for the Tau fleet, especially for the roles of scouting and exploring.[1] The Nicassar are driven by an insatiable curiosity to explore and travel, becoming semi-nomadic and most content when traveling. They are able to place themselves into a state of hibernation, allowing them to survive for long periods.

Renner the Nicassar councils the captain of the Great Adaptation, El'Iresh. Truthfinder and Iresh' second are also in attendance.

Nicassar are monoecious, meaning both female and male reproductive organs are on the same organism. They have no cultural sex differences, but often pick a t'au gender. They're wind/warp pollinated (anemophilous) not dissimilar to plants, putting out pollen and recieving it. They then drop tens of young after a gestation period.

These young are the size of a baseball and highly motile little bugs, with a soft shell. As they age, they quickly grow both in warp ability and intelligence. They are considered legal entities after a few months, at which point they are usually put into apprenticeship with an elder. They stay with this elder to be raised for several decades. After entering adulthood, they feel an urge to migrate and leave their elder's household.

They enter adulthood at approximately sixty waking years. As they age, their shell hardens and becomes larger. They become heavy and physically large, usually the size of an indian elephant by sixty and the size of a house by 200. They never stop growing, but growth slows to a crawl later in life. For most of their life, they are elephantine- large enough that steps carry them far, but also so large that moving takes energy away from warp ability. They often move with purpose and a plan. The most ancient of nicassar are mostly sessile.

As they age, their shell becomes more and more adorned while their head and body become proportionally smaller. Their shells will grow knobs starting at 150. At 200+, they are usually adorned with spikes and ridges. At 350+, their spikes have usually grown into large swooping crown-like structures. Their lifespan is generally 500 waking-years with outliers towards the 2k.