Reputed to be amongst the oldest spacefaring species, in a time before many of the galaxy's other premier explorers even evolved, the Rakshasa were very slowly, but inexorably plying the stars and making detailed maps of everything they came across. Never particularly bent on empire building, they nevertheless ventured after a while to command a few thrall species, and in the present day live in something approximating equality with them in tiny, farflung redoubts. Although undoubtedly one of the first peoples of the present cycle to attain sentience, they were never very technologically minded and had a preoccupation instead with trying to gain lordship over all the things of the natural world. Building squat mud bricked fortresses, they originated a sparse architectural style which is popular even today in the galactic west, and from inside their mundane houses plotted to extend their rule. Lethargic and content a lot of the time to imagine their conquests without actually getting on and invading anybody, contemporary Rakshasa are proud of their ancient origins and dream of a time when their scattered domains will rally together once more. Forgetting that they were never actually the undisputed rulers of the cosmos in the first place, but rather early explorers with an overdramatic penchant for organisation.
Every individual knows precisely what their place is within the wider social organism, understanding that it is only natural for there to be higher ups so that order doesn’t dissolve. They don’t mind being lesser in prominence to a talented member of a thrall species, who are actually by this point synonymous with the name Rakshasa, misinterpreted oftentimes to refer to the wider society that they have created rather than a specific racial identity. While jocularity is not commonly associated with a people of conquerors, other species often have a special fondness for their proud, feline neighbors. In the public imagination they are not so much to be feared but rather admired for everything that they managed to accomplish in the span of primordial history, and nobody begrudges them the chance now to rest a little while after so lengthy a saga of gallant military crusades. Famous for appropriating things that they like, it is probable that more than a few of their inventions were directly inspired by other ancient peoples, and there is even a popular story of the oldest Rakshasa learning how to build spaceships by tricking a creature of pure energy into telling them how. There is some speculation that this being could be one of the now long vanished ________. Plenty of similar tales crowd their mythology, and separated from their fellows in a bar or on public transport, they love to regale others with the many glories of their kind. Partially this is why they are so well known even after the epoch of their rule has passed, an age survived now by their predilection for storytelling.
Round faced and covered their whole bodies over in lurid orange fur, they have tufts of it that are particularly voluminous on their chins and forearms, as well as white markings arranged uniquely across the face and chest. Clustered in certain places over the rest of their bodies are stripes of the same colour, although these are a lot less individualised and are more or less the same on each of their kind. Crowding above their eyes is a pair of bushy eyebrows, starting out black but fading with age to a striking grey or white. These don’t give them the impression of being angry, but kindly instead because of their rounded shape, similar to the soft edges of the rest of their face, which is usually pretty wide and quite flat apart from a prominent black nose. Their ears are also round and often even have tufts of fur growing from inside of them, these help protect the sensitive components of the inner ear from picking up too strongly on sounds, and are nearly always white as well. Rakshasa born without these clumps need to wear specialised earplugs so that they are not deafened by loud noises. Supposedly from a very tranquil planet in the west, it may be that they have only evolved this trait to counteract the hubbub of life in the wider galaxy, and maybe once needed to rely on subtle rustling to detect prey. If this is the case then the tuftless individuals represent an older evolutionary path.