Shan
The Shan caste is a middling class in Danaij society that is not restrained by blood. They are warrior houses equivalent to the knighthood of human nations. They are supreme warriors amongst the Danaij, allotted some privileges of nobility which are often carried down family lines. While most of the Shan inherit their rank through their family lines, they must still earn it when they come of age. Any child born of a Shan family that lacks the aptitude for combat will be disowned, or at the least, passed off into the Shuri or Chau. The Shan may also conscript members of the lower castes in place of their own child and train them to join the ranks of the Shan.
Most Shan marry within their caste, but marriages to Shuri and Chau are not completely unheard of, and the offspring of such unions (either within marriage or not) are still considered legitimate so long as they prove themselves worthy of being Shan. The Shan cannot marry into the Vana, but may offer themselves as lovers or breeding partners to produce a child into a Shan house.
The Shan have more variety to their appearance than the Vana castes as their members are often hybridized, though all Danaij. Some traits from lower castes, or Danaij’vai, may be apparent in members of the Shan. Their lifespans vary between 700-900 years, depending on breeding.
