RACE NAME: Myzokan (translates to "spined one")
APPEARANCE: Myzokans are bipedal beings that average about 1.5 meters in height. Their skin is leathery, almost like many reptiles skin. Their heads are elongated and oval like, and they end in a pair of eyes, nostrils, and a mouth. They are omnivorous. The legs of a Myzokan are very muscular for their size, and this gives them the ability to leap fairly long distances when they want to. The legs end in scaled feet (the only place on their body to have scales) that have three sharp talons as toes. The hands are fairly large and have five digits.
Their distinguishing feature is their many spines protruding from the skin that are made of dense connective tissue. This makes them very similar to bones in that they are strong and yet lightweight. The spines start off almost non-existent on a new-born Myzokan, but they grow larger as the individual matures. The spines normally lie flat on the body, and while in this position that act almost like incomplete plating, providing moderate protection, but a series of small muscles can make the spines stand on end when they contract. This has led to many a Myzokan accidently extending their spines when they were agitated or tensed up. They also have a long, flexible, muscular, tail. The tail also has spines coming off it, but these spines are for the most part smaller than those on the rest of the body. These smaller tail spines are used for climbing purposes, and can even enable the strongest of Myzokan to hang from a tree by their tails.
Their internal framework is fairly light-weight to counter-balance any additional weight the spines add. Their respiratory and cardiovascular systems are fairly well developed, as are their senses. Their sight is only average, but their hearing and sense of smell are advanced. There are two sexes, male and female. The male fertilizes the female and then the female lays a batch of 1-3 amniotic eggs. The eggs are then watched over while by the parents while the embryos develop into young Myzokans.
CIVILIZATION NAME: The Kintesh Confederacy
LOCATION: C/E Top Dot
CULTURE: The Myzokan have always lived in clans, or many tribes put together, and this continues to this day. Family ties and relationships remains a very important aspect of everyday life. This stems back from when the Myzokans were mainly hunters. Hunting also, remains an important tradition to this day, and it is considered a rite of passage to adulthood to successfully hunt one of many dangerous indigenous species that remain on Kintesh. While hunting remains popular, the Myzokans also believe in the need to protect the environment and its life forms. They realize that if the environment ceased to exist there would be nothing left to hunt. It is thanks mostly to this attitude that the Kintesh remains a vibrant college of all sorts of plants, animals, and micro-organisms. Even with this, industry, in an environmentally friendly form, is beginning to flourish. One especially significant area of this is using genetically modified organisms to produce many materials. Not everyone agrees with this however; many argue in preserving each species purity.
Duty is the last main tenant of Myzokan life. At a young age, all Myzokans are taught their 5 Ds or duties: duty to oneself, duty to ones family, duty to ones tribe, duty to ones clan, and duty to ones people. Many Myzokans would consider it an honor to help out ones neighbors. Though there are laws that make volunteering mandatory at various levels, they rarely have to be enforced because most Myzokans volunteer frequently of their own free will. This feature of society yet again originates from the Myzokans hunting background where they had to not only work together but rely on each other in order to survive.
Art of all sorts of forms exist in society. Painting, music, moving picture, etc. are all present. Architecture has blossomed into its own form of art of the years, specifically in integrating architecture into the environment without dominating it.
There are a number of different religions that exist. There are a few religions with multiple gods, and but most with only one. Currently the two most popular religions include worship to the God of Life Force, and the worship to a god that embodies many traits that are seen as beneficial to society. There used countless religions based around the elements, like fire, wind, etc. but as the science behind these forces were discovered over time these religions slowly died out.
GOVERNMENT: The government is a constitutional confederacy that has many regional government encompassed by on national one. The regional government is each clan that exists on Kintesh, which is at present 25. The clans are further divided into tribes that have power over local policy matters. These tribe leaders are usually the oldest Myzokan of the most influential family. All the tribes that make up a clan collectively vote for a clan leader, and then these clan leaders in turn select a council of five Myzokan they believe to be best suited to the job leading the people. The five councilers lead The Kintesh Confederacy make virtually all of the policy decisions that affect the planet nationally. A three-fifths vote is all that is required to enact any policy that is constitutional.
The Clans are still thought to have more power overall in the Kintesh Confederacy, but it is seen as a recent trend that more power has been shifting to the Council of Five (as the national leaders are collectively called). Some are fine with this, while others are very worried by these developments. The tribes also vote for the own local judges while the clans vote for regional judges; there are no national judges.
DOMESTIC POLICY: The government has set few restrictions on freedoms in general. There are many regulations in regards to the environment, but that is mostly the only area where that is the case. The national government has some regulations in regard to inter-clan trade and maintaining a national currency. As mentioned previously, there has been heated debate over the ethics of genetic manipulation, but this debate hasnt resulted in any legislation as of this time.
The clans make many of their own regional laws involving all sorts of matters like education, illegal activities, criminal punishment, and welfare. The clans are also allowed to have their own state militias while the national government handles a national army.
XENOPOLICY: No standard for interactions with alien species has yet been set, so the only policy is caution. The Myzokan are willing to cooperate and trade with other species if they feel it is within their benefit, but their nature also lets them be ready for a fight if need be. Once engaged in a fight the Myzokan hunt their prey down mercilessly.
PERSONAL NAMES: Malir, Veata, Sen
PLANET NAMES: Kintesh (home planet), Haildren, Sarford
STAR NAMES: Koa (home star), Valoa, Lintoa
SHIP NAMES: Visi Dyforn, Galta, Trenat
Here's a picture! (Note that the tail doesn't represent what I envision, it needs some work):
