Drahvin

Drahvin
Biological type:	Humanoid
Affiliated with:	The Alliance
Place of origin:	Drahva
Notable individuals:	Maaga
First appearance:	Galaxy 4
Appearances:	PROSE: Mission: Impractical AUDIO: The Suffering AUDIO: Empress of the Drahvins

The Drahvins were a humanoid race. They were predominantly female and looked mostly human (they indeed referred to themselves as "human beings") but had several large dots around their brow ridge.

Biology

The Drahvins were physically similar to humans. They were blond and physically attractive. (PROSE: Galaxy Four)

Culture

The Drahvins had a rigid caste system. On top were the Elite, with the scientists, leaders and military commanders. They could be identified by their scarlet clothing. They were allowed actual food, could vote and had a normal birth. Below the Elite were the slave class, which did menial labour. They were artificially created and were given limited intelligence and creativity. They would be given a number instead of a name (such as "Drahvin One", "Two" and "Three"), were fed on food pills and were expected to obey the Elite without question. Males had no part in this system and only a small number of males were kept alive for reproduction, the rest being killed to preserve resources.

The Drahvin government was split up into Ministries, such as the Ministry for Offensive Research. Though the Elite had a vote, there was only one political party and little actual change. (PROSE: Galaxy Four)

Drahvins did not understand the concept of giving one's life for an individual. Failure was considered inexcusable and it was standard policy among the military Drahvins to shoot the wounded. (TV: Galaxy Four)

Technology

The Drahvins had somewhat limited technology. For example, their ships were made of common metals, making them functional but not particularly durable. They used guns physically similar to the machine guns of Earth, but which used energy instead of bullets. In an attempt to stop the Chumblies, they also used a mesh-net which could incapacitate them. (PROSE: Galaxy Four)

Exterior of a Drahvin spaceship. (TV: Galaxy Four)

A Drahvin scanner was acquired by Torchwood Three. (AUDIO: One Rule)

History

Early in their history, Drahvin society was patriarchal with a shared consciousness between all men allowing them to dominate and subdue the women, whom they kept in small numbers as slaves in cages. One female Drahvin rebelled against this oppression and found a way to join her mind along with those of her fellow slaves into the shared consciousness. The women were eventually expelled from the shared mind, and as punishment the instigator was set up with a similar construct centred on her, such that she would constantly feel the pain of every female Drahvin. However, all this power concentrating on her meant that when she was eventually killed, she wouldn't die, but instead gained a new sense of control and mastery over the suffering and pain of her fellow slaves. She was then able to give strength to her slaves, which began an uprising, eventually leading to the toppling of the patriarchy and the institution of a matriarchy.

This new leader decided to keep a small number of men alive for reproductive purposes and due, to the small numbers of women, additionally started work on finding ways of creating female clones for menial tasks. This Drahvin leader still ruled oppressively and was overthrown herself by her female subjects, her body sent deep into space, eventually reaching Earth. Her skull was eventually unearthed by human archaeologists in 1912 and attempted to cause a violent uprising at a suffragette rally in London, before being defeated by Vicki, the First Doctor and Steven. (AUDIO: The Suffering)

At some point in their history, the Drahvin homeworld, Drahva, was undergoing a dramatic drop in temperature, killing the vegetation and forcing the Drahvin to find new planets to colonise. One ship, led by Maaga and with four Drahvin slaves, encountered a Rill ship. The Drahvins attacked, but were defeated, causing them both to crash onto an uninhabited planet. The planet was doomed to destruction and though the Rills wanted to work together with the Drahvins to escape, the Drahvins attempted to take the Rill ship by force. When the First Doctor, Steven and Vicki came to the planet, Maaga tried to trick, then force the Doctor into helping them destroy the Rills and escape the planet, but failed. The Drahvins died when the planet exploded. (TV: Galaxy 4)

A Drahivin firing one of their weapons. (TV: Galaxy 4)

The Drahvins attempted to invade Earth some time prior to 1997. UNIT fought them off without the Doctor's assistance. (PROSE: The Dying Days) By 2005, Torchwood Cardiff had acquired a Drahvin scanner. It was procured by Yvonne Hartman, who hoped to use it to unlock the Void Ship back at Torchwood London, only to lose it in a fire. (AUDIO: One Rule)

Posing as waitresses, Drahvins infiltrated Torchwood Cardiff's Christmas party. As Gwen Cooper recalled, the party turned into a siege once they were outed. (AUDIO: Dissected)

On 17 November 2900, the Drahvin conquered Tivoli, eradicating the Shakri. The Hath returned to the planet (centuries after their original occupation of it) on 8 December 3001 and drove out the Drahvins. (PROSE: Time Traveller's Diary)

In the 30th century, the Imperial Landsknechte troops were trained to identify Drahvin ships. (PROSE: Original Sin)

The Drahvins had competitors in the 309th Intergalactic Song Contest, performing a song called "Cloned Love". (AUDIO: Bang-Bang-a-Boom!)

Heera was a Drahvin bounty hunter sent to capture the Sixth Doctor. (PROSE: Mission: Impractical)

At some point after his sixth incarnation, the Doctor saved the planet Symbios from the Drahvins. (AUDIO: The Crimes of Thomas Brewster)

The Drahvins were among the races who joined the Alliance. They came to Stonehenge in 102 and helped imprison the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica in order to save the universe. (TV: The Pandorica Opens)

According to a joke book which the Doctor and Yaz became trapped within, the best alien at steering a car was a Drahvin. (PROSE: Knock! Knock! Who's There?)

Behind the scenes

According to The Brilliant Book 2012, a book that contains non-narrative based information, the Eleventh Doctor claimed a Drahvin had "twang[ed] [his] suspenders".