Space Baroque Venrusi Monk 1

What started out as a contribution to a friend's book project has since expanded into its own spinoff project under the temporary codename "Space Baroque".

In an alternate universe, after centuries of war, 5 planetary kingdoms reach a stalemate and agree to form a new combined empire, whose emperor is chosen by hand to hand combat among champions from each planetary system. But the agreed upon peace is only skin deep, with each kingdom looking for a way to gain political or technological advantage over the other. Expect political intrigue, galactic wars, strange alien races, and all the things you'd expect from a top notch space opera. For Fans Of: Space Operas, Dune, Metabarons

The Venrusi are a tall slender humanoid species from the planet Venra. Adult Venrusi grow to between 7 to 9 feet tall. Their height is due to the reduced gravity on their home planet, which affected them in 2 ways. First, the lower gravity allowed the local flora to grow taller, and so tall Venrusi had a biological advantage in picking fruit off the higher plants. And second, the lower gravity was gentler on their bones, allowing them to grow tall with less physical stress. Their skin is thick and rubbery, with a tendency towards wrinkles. Culturally, the Venrusi have a strong sense of religious devotion. Some would focus on becoming monks or pilgrims seeking enlightenment, and others would go down a militaristic path to exterminate those who did not share their beliefs.