Editing Kitsen

{{lifeform
|image=Lord Hesho and Kitsen by Brent Donoho.jpg
|sapient=Yes
|world=Evershore
|universe=[[Cytoverse]]
|books=[[Skyward (series)]]
}}
{{update|sky2|sf3|sky4}}
{{quote
|They seemed to be a powerful spacefaring race that had shown bravery and loyalty in combat. But . . . scud, they were also really cute.
|Spensa to herself upon seeing the kitsen{{book ref|sky2|16}}
}}

The '''kitsen''' are a race of aliens that have secondary citizenship within the [[Superiority]] empire. Until recently they had a hereditary monarchy and were ruled by King (now Captain) [[Hesho]].{{book ref|sky2|15}}

==Description==
The kitsen are about one handspan tall. They have bushy white tails and long, pointed ears. Although they look like a cross between gerbils and foxes, they walk upright on two legs.{{book ref|sky2|13}}

==History==
{{image|Spin and Kitsen by Jillustrations.PNG|side=right|width=250px|[[Spensa]] talking with some kitsen}}

The kitsen made first contact with humans in East Asia thousands of years before the [[Human Wars]], before either species had gone through the industrial revolution. Kitsen [[cytonics]] teleported to Earth, leading to interactions and trade between the two cultures. The kitsen people did not trust their cytonics, and an intense disagreement ensued. The details of the disagreement are not clear, since records from that time are potentially untrustworthy and scarce. It is known, however, that humans were somehow involved and a war was implied. The kitsen cytonics left, and the main population was stranded on their homeworld.{{book ref|sky2|20}}

They remained isolated until the Superiority made contact.{{book ref|sky2|20}} They received secondary citizenship in the Superiority. Decades prior to the abolition of the absolute monarchy, Hesho's grandmother, then the queen, coordinated the theft of three hyperdrive-equipped Superiority starships. The hyperdrives were found to be missing, and after they were caught, the Superiority temporarily revoked their citizenship.{{book ref|sky2|26}} They followed the Superiority's orders to try and reach primary citizenship. They abolished their hereditary monarchy to follow the superiority's equality laws. A crew led by Captain Hesho, the former monarch, joined the Superiority's [[delver]] fighting program in the hopes it would give them citizenship.{{book ref|sky2|13}}

== Culture ==

As a result of their centuries-long history of monarchy, the kitsen are in the habit of showing great deference to Hesho despite having transition to a democratic society. Even though he claims to no longer be royalty{{book ref|sky2|13}} -- and appears to be genuinely trying to live up to that claim{{book ref|sky2|26}} -- he is still treated quite specially: he has an entourage of other kitsen who feed him,{{book ref|sky2|16}} fan him,{{book ref|sky2|17}}, and drive him around,{{book ref|sky2|20}} and the senators of his government are at a complete loss for what to do apart from what they think he wants.{{book ref|sky2|26}}

They also appear to have a somewhat militaristic culture. Hesho agrees enthusiastically when Spensa describes him as a warrior poet{{book ref|sky2|20}} and Hesho's great-great-great-grandfather (who was presumably royalty) led the kitsen armies himself with a sword to fight the human invasion. Their culture is related to that of feudal Japan; their nation had had, around the time of Hesho's ancestor, a rank of "[[wikipedia:Daimyo|daimyo]]" and a notion of separate clans within the nation.{{book ref|sky2|26}} Kitsen, at least those in the government, also often wear formal-looking silk clothing,{{book ref|sky2|13}}{{book ref|sky2|16}}{{book ref|sky2|26}} most likely inspired by or the inspiration for [[wikipedia:Kimono|kimono]].

== Members ==
* [[Hesho]], former absolute monarch
* [[Kauri]], Hesho's shieldbearer
* [[Aria]], Senator
* [[Aya]], gunner
* [[Juno]], Kitsen lorekeeper

== Trivia ==
* They are presumably, in the Cytoverse, the origin of [[wikipedia:Kitsune|kitsune]] myths.
* The name for young kitsen is translated into English as "pup",{{book ref|sky2|26}} the same word used for foxes and gerbils.

== Notes ==
<references />
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{{Skyward}}