Topic: The Encyclopedia Galactica - Shattered Prism Edition

TracerFox

Date: 2008-06-04 20:15 EST
While many denizens of Rhydin and more specifically the Stars End starport are familiar at least in passing with the great Encyclopedia Galactica, an effort on the part of several multi-dimensional publishers to collect information on the various sights of the multiverse; few were aware that these same publishers took to creating specific editions focused on a particular universe or realm.

This particular tome is dedicated to a universe collectively termed, by the publishers mind you, Shattered Prism. Which this is in no way the 'name' the inhabitants of said universe use, it served as a good name and title for this volume.


The Encyclopedia Galactica
Shattered Prism Edition


((OOC Note: This post is designed to inform players about the species, governments, places, technology, and terminology of my own story universe.
This thread is by no means complete, and will be updated as and when possible.
As I play several characters, I decided to post this under a single central profile, however the information presented here is applicable to the following characters:
Kain Starsong
DamonTrask
HX-909-A
Aryl-Zyn
Trystal Vordia
Arak Kryyn
NekoFox
Star Runner
Further characters may be added at a later date.
Please also keep in mind that I am more than willing to allow others to play my creations! If anyone is interested, please drop me a line if you see any of the above characters lying about.))

TracerFox

Date: 2008-06-04 20:39 EST
Species: Balian
Physiology:
Overall, an adult Balian resembles a rough cross between an octopus and a squid, only grown to very large proportions. Measuring at roughly four feet in length, five including the crest, and weighing only about 200 pounds. Unlike many land-based animals, a Balian's head and body are one and the same. The main body measures roughly three feet across.

Balians possess no 'face' as such, but do have one recognizable feature: eyes. They eyes are easily a half-foot wide, bulging from the sides of the body in forward-facing sockets. The milky-white orbs are broken only by the vertically oriented pupil, and protected by large, sideways closing eyelids. Set just behind and below the eyes are two openings, resembling blunt, fleshy tubes; a third of these openings is situated on the back of the body. The top of the body is crowned with a flexible, sponge-like, foot-long 'crest' shaped roughly like a shark's dorsal fin.

The bottom of the body spreads out into six, tri-laterally symmetric tentacles. Each measuring roughly three inches thick and three feet long. The end of each tentacle branches out into two secondary tentacles, measuring an inch thick and one foot long. These secondaries then branch out into two tertiary tentacles measuring half an inch thick and also a foot long. Finally, the tertiary tentacles again branch into two tiny 'feeler' tentacles, measuring five inches long and only a fraction of an inch thick. Spreading out from the body and between the primary tentacles is a thin 'hood' made of flexible skin. Roughly a foot in length, this hood aids underwater locomotion.

Owing to their aquatic natures, Balians have adapted to an unusual method of locomotion. The two fleshy tubes behind their eyes are intake valves for a complex 'water-jet' system inside their bodies. Water is drawn through these intakes into specialized bladders inside the body, then squeezed out under great pressure through tubes that run through the primary tentacles, and exit in outflow vents roughly midway down the primaries.

The three intakes and bladders can all pump at the same time, or alternate to provide constant flow. By adjusting the angle of the primary tentacles, a Balian can change their heading even at speed, with their crest stiffening and acting as a rudder as well.

Balians breathe oxygenated water through gills, which are situated inside the water-jet's bladders. Balians are capable of limited amphibious activity by storing water in their bladders, then percolating air through the water to re-oxygenate the liquid. In this manner a Balian may survive out of water for several days if necessary, or indefinately if they can draw additional water into their bodies.

A Balian's skin retains moisture for several hours, but afterwards dries out and cracks. When hydrated, the skin has a damp, slick texture, but does not feel slimy. Normally the skin is smooth in texture, but the entire surface is impregnated with chromatophores - color expressing nodules, and texturaphores - texture producing muscle fibres. These are both under concious control, and a Balian can change their skin's color, pattern, and surface texture at will.

Abilties:
Owing to their water-jet syphons, Balians are extremely fast and agile when underwater, and prefer this environment whenever possible. They can crawl at a slow pace on land, but are pitifully clumsy and dislike the experience. When forced to travel out of the water, they traditionally employ a grav-harness which lets them 'swim' through the air, albeit at a much slower rate than underwater, as their water-jets cannot handle air very well.

Balians have absolutely no magical ability whatsoever, and while their bodies *do* produce thaumic energies, their minds are incapable of shaping this energy to perform magic. As a species, Balians also have a rather low instance of Psionic ability, with the most common being telekinetic powers, usually with a water affinity.

A Balian's sense of sight is adapted for underwater vision, and when in that environment they can see clearly for miles. Above water, their vision is distorted and blurred, limiting clear sight to a hundred feet or less.

The sense of smell is exceptional when underwater, with specialized receptors designed to 'smell' blood for miles, like a shark. Other chemicals can also be smelled in very minute amounts, and tracked underwater. When on the surface, their sense of smell is dulled to roughly human level, as air has a poor circulation for particulate compared to water.

A Balian's skin is quite sensative, able to discern very minute details on a surface. This is required for their form of texture-based writing.

Balians possess no organs for the senses of taste or hearing, however the tips of their tertiary tentacles possess specialized touch receptors which are sensative enough to pick up vibrations when underwater. This can be interpreted as hearing of sorts, though the ability is voluntary and the Balian must concentrate to discern anything useful.

Finally, Balians also possess receptors able to sense and locate electrical currents when underwater, not unlike sharks, and use this ability when hunting.

Balians communicate using their chromatophores and texturaphores, so to them, speaking *is* reading. If a Balian can 'speak' an alien language, the Balian is actually producing textual symbols on it's skin surface.

They generally use zero gravity in space, and are all excellent at maneuvering in that condition. They are instinctively good at thinking 3 dimensionally, and do not need any arbitrary orientation to be comfortable.

Society:
Balian phyles, equivalent to a House or Clan, are the species' method of specialization, and each phyle has a particular specialization. The phyle develops and promotes the phyle members, pushing for phyle inclusion in any particular venture. There are thousands of Balian phyla, and they compete with similar phyla for employment. The head of the phyle is the oldest member, with the next ten oldest making up an advisory council.

Balians government is entirely ad-hoc, consisting of phyla agreeing to cooperate to further a joint endeavor. Sometimes, long-lasting alliances are built up in this way, but phyla are inherently competitive, and most cooperations are short-lived marriages of convenience. Art is essentially propaganda, designed to intimidate other phyla into submission or cooperation. Balians make no music, but subtle scent and taste markers are embedded into thier art to boost the reality of the experience.

Each phyle has it's own religion, known as the "Phylic Mysteries". Balians are very close mouthed about their mysteries, saying nothing on the subject, but what follows is consistent with all that is known about the species. The many, many religions of the Balians all apparently spring from one particular concept, the sacrifice of one for the advancement of the pair, the phyle, or the species. Since all sentient Balians are sexless, there is no biological drive for family. No one know which particular triad gave birth to which particular Balians. The phyle is all the family a Balian knows, and Balian philosophy is entirely one of ruthless altruism. Those who sacrificed themselves to advance the phyle or species are venerated as saints or demigods, depending on the religion. Their lives are taught as examples of rightness, and the highest praise is given to those who imitate their lives.

The Balians are Hunters - total carnivores who never eat vegetation except for medicinal purposes. They eat their food raw, and do not consider non-Balian sapients as non-food. They divide all animals into 3 types: Balians, Prey-which-Can-Safely-Be-Eaten, and Prey-Which-Cannot-Safely-Be-Eaten. The last category includes poisonous species and creatures able to defend themselves. A human with a powerful weapon maight be in the latter category, while one without ammuntion might be in the second. Balians are very intelligent, and if there is a strong possiblility they will be harmed, they will not attack, but if they think they can get away with it, all bets are off.

Balians are fast and voracious predators. Any non-Balian animal is considered fit for food, including other sentients. Their water-jet siphons push them at extreme speeds underwater, and they are known to fly up out of the water for minutes at a time in pursuit of prey. Balians get a visceral thrill from the hunt, and will hunt prey they cannot eat for the pleasure of the chase. Balians do raise food animals for consumption for those times when they cannot break from their duties to hunt, but all far prefer hunting to eating food animals.

Image: Image Here

TracerFox

Date: 2008-06-15 14:50 EST
Species: Drahkanid

Physiology: Physically, the Drahkanid somewhat resemble a traditional draconic species, with six limbs and a body covered by thick (yet flexible) scales. However there are certain drastic differences. Firstly, for those individuals who have grown developed wings; instead of the wings being anchored to the shoulders, the wings are anchored to the sides of the torso, situated *above* the arms.

This configuration gives the Drahkanid a slightly less top-heavy flight profile. The wing bones and membranes are segmented in such a way that the entire sail and spars can be folded up into very compact bundles along the side of the torso. This keeps the wings out of the way when the Drahkanid is moving on the ground.

The 'wrists' of the wing also possess three 'wing-claws' in a tridactile arrangement, allowing the limb to pick up and hold small objects when the wing is folded. When the wing is unfurled and in use, these wing-claws fold down along the edge of the join to minimize drag.

From head to tail, mature adults usually measure 15 feet long, with roughly the last six feet being the tail. The torso is roughly human width and size, though elongated to roughly six feet long. The neck is approximately two feet long, and very supple, capable of a wide range of motion in all directions. The head itself is a foot long, truncated wedge shape, with the wide back of the skull elongating down into a squared off muzzle.

The Drahkanid's skull houses most of the sensory organs. Sight is achieved through a pair of eyes, set on either side of the skull. The eyesockets have very little forward range, which forces the Drahkanid to turn their heads to the side slightly to view objects directly in front of them. This arrangement does give the Drahkanid excellent peripheral vision, with a roughly three hundred degree field of view. Only objects directly in front or behind their heads are out of sight. The design of the eye itself is comprised of two seperate retinal surfaces at the back of a very large eyeball, which allows a Drahkanid to maintain binocular depth perception even when viewing something with only one eye. This double retina requires a bifurcated iris and cornea, such that the traditional 'slitted pupil' of serpents is exaggerated.

For hearing, the back end of the Drahkanid are equipped with a set of two horns which extend out of the skull itself. These horns are comprised of mostly hollow bone, with tiny fuild-filled chambers throughout the entire length. These horns act as ears, with the fluid serving as an inner ear which is sensative to a very wide range of vibration frequencies. Range of hearing is far better than that of humans, extending well into the subsonic and roughly twice as far into the ultrasonic than humans.

A Drahkanid's senses of taste and smell are undoubtedly their weakest. With the nasal passages primarily designed to detech specific pheremones from Drahkanid only. The one exception to this is that the Drahkanid are able to smell even tiny amounts of iron-based blood up to several hundred feet away.

Starting between the horns, and anchored along the spine, a ridge of spines extend all the way down to the tip of the tail. These spines serve as the supports for a 'vane' comprised of membrane identical to the wings. A mirror vane starts at the base of the tail on the underside, and merges with the topsail at the end of the tail. This spine sail serves as a control surface during flight, adding stability.

Due to the shape of both tongue and muzzle, Drahkanid are only capable of very rudimentary human speech. The accent is thick and gutteral, with many sounds being outside their normal range. This forces the Drahkanid to resort to technological, psionic, or magical methods of translation when communicating with other species. The Drahkanid's own language is comprised mainly of growls, hisses, and the variety of human-like sounds they are capable of.

One last aspect of Drahkanid physiology which appears magical in nature is the Dragonborn. Roughly ten percent of the total population of the Empire are Dragonborn. The majority of Drahkanid individuals are born wingless, and at no time are they capable of developing the extra limbs. For the Dragonborn however, this is a different story. Some facet of innate magical energy allows the Dragonborn to consume the bodies of other Drahkanid, and somehow gain strength and power beyond simple nutrition. After consuming the flesh of the recently dead, a Drahkanid will begin to grow in size and length.

If this flesh is fed to a young Drahkanid Dragonborn, they will eventually develop wings of their own. At some point in their adult lives, adult males will also grow a series of glands in their mouths which secrete the components of a binary compound that ignites on contact with air, giving them the ability to breate fire. Females fed Drahkanid flesh will grow in size and magical ability, but will never develop firebreath.


Abilties: The Drahkanid Empire was the source of the new discipline of Magitech, the practice of combining elements of both magical and technological principles. As such, a well educated citizen of the Empire will be versed in at least the basics of both fields, understanding technology equivalent to 20th century Earth, and knowing some basic magical spells.
As a general rule, Drahkanid as individuals are capable of easily mastering either the art of magic or the science of technology, and only the lack of proper readily available education among the common citizens prevents the general populace from becoming an even greater power than they are.


Society: The Drahkanid Empire has become a highly stratified, feudal society. The entire populace is divided into different social ranks, with the wingless Commoners in the lower echelons, and the winged and magical Dragonborn serving as the nobility. Much of their culture is rooted in tradition and ceremony. In many cases, these traditions are themselves rooted in biological functions and instinctive drives.

The most obvious of these is the practice of cannibalism carried out by the Dragonborn nobility. Because the dead are only consumed shortly after death, combined with the fact that Drahkanid immune systems are very resistant to food-borne illness, there is no risk from consuming dead flesh. The act of consuming the dead has gathered around it rituals of ceremony and respect, and has formed the basis of their feuneral rites and a good deal of their religion.

The majority of the Common population lives an agrarian life on homesteads and farms, each ruled by a local noble family. It is the duty of the resident nobles to ensure that the commoners under their charge do not overpopulate, and thus it is common practice to 'cull' the weaker children of recent clutches. These weaklings are killed on site, with the majority of the corpse fed to the noble's family, and a portion returned to the parents.

This practice of culling the species stems from two sources. The first is that adult Drahkanid females are fertile year-round, and monthly enter a state where their bodies exude powerful pheremones which drive nearby males into a mating frenzy. Usually females in this state are kept isolated from any males other than their chosen mates, as if more than one male is affected by their pheremones, the males will fight to the death to mate with the female.

The scales of young females who have not yet mated are usually gold or silver, while those who have chosen a mate and entered their first mating cycle 'blush' a light pink. After actually mating, this color deepens to a blood red, indicating they are sexually active. This change of color and physical chemistry can be forced upon the female past a certain age through close physical contact with an adult male.

For this reason, Drahkanid custom is to carefully monitor unmated females to prevent their 'abuse' by amourous or unscrupulous males. It is considered unthinkable for a young noble woman to travel alone, or even escorted by any who are not of their own family, or otherwise courting them.

All these factors have generated a culture very much resembling that of the Victorian era British Empire of Earth.


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