(OTU or atleast OTU-variant)
The Ancients had an interest in Humanity; what kind of interest, and for what reason, no one knows. But they have taken human from Terra and planted them on many worlds, sometimes genetically modifying them.
One of the less known and more bizzare of these genetic experiments are the Celirans. They were, apparantly, an Ancient experiments of trans-species genetics; fragments of pseudo-reptilian (Droyne? 'Shadows'-Race?) DNA were inserted into their genome (sp?), giving them a strange appearance and a strange biochemistry. They might also have been modified to fit their low-gravity world and the warm swamp-forests of its near-polar regions (the equator is a scorching and uninhabitable desert), possibly as a part of a colonization project by the Ancients. Celirans are only partially interfertile with other Human subspeices, bearing unfertile offsprings; only TL12+ genetic techniques could modify the hybrid zygote to allow for a fertile offspiring.
Physiology: Celirans are, on avarage, 150cm tall (not including tail) and weight an avarage of 50kg. They posses a thick, muscular tail which could carry their weight on their lower-gravity homeworld (but not on Size 6 or more worlds). Their body, generally Human in form (they are genetically-modified Humans after all), is covered with gentle, flexible, greenish scales. Their eyes are typically a bit larger than 'baseline' Human eyes and typically of a yellowish hue, with nictating membranes and slit pupils, defending their eyes from biting insects and allowing them to see well in their worlds' dark swamp-forests, respectively. They have thick, oily hair on their heads (in black to dark red in color) and the males have a relatively low amount of facial hair. They walk with a slight bend forward to compensate for their tail.
Psionics: A peculiarity of the Celiran genome has made for a strange phenomena: Celiran males have a very loe PSI potential (even if trained), while females have a statistically higher-than-Human-normal chance of having a high PSI potential. This had a profound effect on their society as all of their three major cultures was controlled, atleast in its early era, by PSI-capable female "priestesses" or "shamans". Unlike the Zhodani, however, the more traditional parts of Celiran society see Psionics as a sacred thing, which should be controlled by elaborate rituals. Modernization (they are TL8 in the current Imperial year of 1115) has changed this somewhat, but there are still lingering superstitions regarding the use of Psionics in the Celiran race, which are quite a religious people even today.
History: There were, apprantly, atleast three main Ancient facilities on Renya, the Celiran homeworld or Renja (pronounded "Ren-Ya"); One was near the South Pole's tropical and subtropical areas, the second was near the Northern equivalent area, and the third was near the equatorial deserts (probably on the border between desert and dry savannah). After the Final War, the primitive celirans inhabitated the areas around this facilities. The two tropical civilizations adapted well to their wet, densly-vegetated homes, eventually developing tree-villages and tree-cities; their main form of early agriculture was fishing. The third civilization arose in the dry savannahs, possessing a nomadic lifestyle and eventually domesticating a certain local pseudo-reptilian beast as both a beast of burden and a meat source; they eventually became traders carrying goods between the Northern cities, but were unable to cross the equatorial deserts to reach the southern civilization.
The common thing between all three cultures were their religions, which were quite similar, and initially based on female shamans who tried to contact the "Mother Goddess" (possibly inspired by a half-ruined Ancient AI burried in a bombarded ruin, possesing PSI powers but quite malfunctioning, and thus sending out strange PSI-signals; it finally ceased functioning about 10,000 years ago, when the Celirans were late TL0, but it didn't effect religion much, as "She" was only seldom active even beforehand). However, different conditions resulted in three main cultures and religions. The dried swamps of the south lended themselves to the raising of rice (one of the species imported by the Ancients from Terra to Renja), which led to a more and more centralized form of government, a theocracy ruled by the Matriarch and her (PSI-capable, but using their "sacred" powers only rarely) Priestesses, leading to the invention of most TL1 techniques and to the rising of the first true cities of Renya 5,000 years ago, built from baked mud-bricks.
-- To Be Continued beyond TL1 later on --
The Ancients had an interest in Humanity; what kind of interest, and for what reason, no one knows. But they have taken human from Terra and planted them on many worlds, sometimes genetically modifying them.
One of the less known and more bizzare of these genetic experiments are the Celirans. They were, apparantly, an Ancient experiments of trans-species genetics; fragments of pseudo-reptilian (Droyne? 'Shadows'-Race?) DNA were inserted into their genome (sp?), giving them a strange appearance and a strange biochemistry. They might also have been modified to fit their low-gravity world and the warm swamp-forests of its near-polar regions (the equator is a scorching and uninhabitable desert), possibly as a part of a colonization project by the Ancients. Celirans are only partially interfertile with other Human subspeices, bearing unfertile offsprings; only TL12+ genetic techniques could modify the hybrid zygote to allow for a fertile offspiring.
Physiology: Celirans are, on avarage, 150cm tall (not including tail) and weight an avarage of 50kg. They posses a thick, muscular tail which could carry their weight on their lower-gravity homeworld (but not on Size 6 or more worlds). Their body, generally Human in form (they are genetically-modified Humans after all), is covered with gentle, flexible, greenish scales. Their eyes are typically a bit larger than 'baseline' Human eyes and typically of a yellowish hue, with nictating membranes and slit pupils, defending their eyes from biting insects and allowing them to see well in their worlds' dark swamp-forests, respectively. They have thick, oily hair on their heads (in black to dark red in color) and the males have a relatively low amount of facial hair. They walk with a slight bend forward to compensate for their tail.
Psionics: A peculiarity of the Celiran genome has made for a strange phenomena: Celiran males have a very loe PSI potential (even if trained), while females have a statistically higher-than-Human-normal chance of having a high PSI potential. This had a profound effect on their society as all of their three major cultures was controlled, atleast in its early era, by PSI-capable female "priestesses" or "shamans". Unlike the Zhodani, however, the more traditional parts of Celiran society see Psionics as a sacred thing, which should be controlled by elaborate rituals. Modernization (they are TL8 in the current Imperial year of 1115) has changed this somewhat, but there are still lingering superstitions regarding the use of Psionics in the Celiran race, which are quite a religious people even today.
History: There were, apprantly, atleast three main Ancient facilities on Renya, the Celiran homeworld or Renja (pronounded "Ren-Ya"); One was near the South Pole's tropical and subtropical areas, the second was near the Northern equivalent area, and the third was near the equatorial deserts (probably on the border between desert and dry savannah). After the Final War, the primitive celirans inhabitated the areas around this facilities. The two tropical civilizations adapted well to their wet, densly-vegetated homes, eventually developing tree-villages and tree-cities; their main form of early agriculture was fishing. The third civilization arose in the dry savannahs, possessing a nomadic lifestyle and eventually domesticating a certain local pseudo-reptilian beast as both a beast of burden and a meat source; they eventually became traders carrying goods between the Northern cities, but were unable to cross the equatorial deserts to reach the southern civilization.
The common thing between all three cultures were their religions, which were quite similar, and initially based on female shamans who tried to contact the "Mother Goddess" (possibly inspired by a half-ruined Ancient AI burried in a bombarded ruin, possesing PSI powers but quite malfunctioning, and thus sending out strange PSI-signals; it finally ceased functioning about 10,000 years ago, when the Celirans were late TL0, but it didn't effect religion much, as "She" was only seldom active even beforehand). However, different conditions resulted in three main cultures and religions. The dried swamps of the south lended themselves to the raising of rice (one of the species imported by the Ancients from Terra to Renja), which led to a more and more centralized form of government, a theocracy ruled by the Matriarch and her (PSI-capable, but using their "sacred" powers only rarely) Priestesses, leading to the invention of most TL1 techniques and to the rising of the first true cities of Renya 5,000 years ago, built from baked mud-bricks.
-- To Be Continued beyond TL1 later on --