Post by Lithium on Mar 1, 2011 13:34:16 GMT -5
[final edit! Added blood coloration [highlighted in purple] and changed the years of events in their history after realizing BBY runs backwards (derp).]
Species Name: Gnovari
Species Type: humanoid
Planet of Origin: Undos
Average Maximum age: 500 years
Age of Maturation: 3 years
Average Height: 6'
Average Weight: 260 lbs
Notable biological features:
At first glance the Gnovari look very similar to humans. Their skin is usually pale with gray variants, going from paper white to charcoal gray. Their hair is usually wavy with ash colors ranging from white to dark gray with specks of lighter gray to jet black. One of the most notable aspects of the Gnovari race is their eyes. Every member of the species has two eyes, just like humans, but the pupils are bright red and almost metallic in nature, reflecting even the dimmest of light. Their skin is hairless with the exception of their scalp. A Gnovari’s skin is smooth and soft to the touch, but notably tougher to penetrate than human skin, acting as a form of very light armor. A vibro-blade could easily penetrate Gnovari skin, but a normal blade would require some effort, and they could walk barefoot over broken glass and be unharmed.
Gnovari ears are similar to human ears, though they end at a very light point. The Gnovari also have horns that grow from the side of their heads pointing backwards. These hors are strictly ornamental and are never used in combat. They will grow upwards, angled backwards, with slight twists like an antelope’s horns. Sometimes, however, the horns will curve downward in a form more reminiscent of a mountain ram’s. Both males and females have these horns, and between the ages of 4 and 400 the length of the horns is the only way to tell the age of the Gnovari individual [after age 400 they enter their elder stage. Their horns stop growing and they start showing signs of aging, becoming wrinkled]. At age 400 horns will be an average of a foot long.
Gnovari biology is very unique. Their cellular structure resembles a combination of vegetable life and mammalian biology. A Gnovari’s body will always maintain a high level of minerals in it. It is what gives them their hardened skin and their slightly higher density. It also makes their bones rather resilient to breaking. Gnovari blood is black with a tar-like consistency. Because of this viscous nature the Gnovari have a main heart and additional pumping muscles in each of their organs. Piercing a Gnovari heart is still considered lethal, as the other pumping muscles do not have the power to keep blood flowing on their own.
Lastly Gnovari teeth are the teeth of a carnivore race. Their front teeth are similar to human teeth, but their fangs are sharper and their molars are pointed in a similar fashion to a carnivore mammal. The Gnovari are known to bite during close combat.
Number of limbs and Type: Two arms and two legs. Five digits on each hand and foot. Gnovari fingernails are naturally pointed and black, made of a dense cellular structure that makes them strong enough to be used as rudimentary melee weapons. The Gnovari, even the males, usually have their fingernails grown at least half an inch past their fingertips. They need to use wire cutter grade clippers to trim them. Their toenails are usually kept short.
Culture: The Gnovari have a very darwinian society in which the weak are weeded out at an early age. The Gnovari reproduce by a strange vegetative method. A female will lay a fertilized ‘egg’ between the ages of 150-155. This egg is a Seed, and it must be buried in the soil of their home world or a world with similar mineral composition. During a period of five years this egg will grow into a tree-like husk that will drain minerals and nutrients from the soil, blooming upon it’s sixth year. Once the flowers bloom they become fruits. Each tree can hold up to five fruits. These fruits will ripen in five months, incubating the young Gnovari. A ‘baby’ Gnovari emerges out of the ripen fruit after the sixth month.
To the Gnovari the tree and fruit are the ‘baby’. The Gnovari that emerge out of the fruit will look like a pre-adolescent, being able to walk and move on it’s own. These newborns are instructed. During their childhood [first three years of life] they will learn how to speak, write, hunt, and battle. This period is not only an instructive period but a constant test of survivability. On average about half of the newborns die during this period.
As they reach their third year the Gnovari young will have develop into adult form. Upon this time they will undergo the Trial of the Abyss, a grueling trial in which they are thrown into a hostile environment with no weaponry. The young adult will then fight it’s way to a designated rendevous point, usually about fifty miles away from their drop-off. If they make it they are declared a true member of the species.
Gnovari adult life is simple. Every member of the race follows a tribal passion for combat. Even though the Gnovari race is united as a whole it is common for them to duel each other to the death. These duels, called Theums, are sanctioned by the High Magistrate and are usually held on front of many eager witnesses. The victor always devours the loser. To the Gnovari the consumption of the fallen enemy is the greatest glory one can achieve. This cannibalistic idea is common in their culture.
The Gnovari religion is strongly followed by the whole species and it seems to be embedded into their genetic code, as even stray Gnovari will come to the same conclusions of how the universe works. They believe in something they call the Great Devourer, a cosmic force that consumes entire sections of the universe at a time, leaving a great Nothing behind. They believe that their race was created by this force to prepare the galaxy for its arrival. Because of this belief the Gnovari consider devouring an act that draws them closer to their deity.
The Gnovari know of the Force, and every member of the race has a certain affinity to it, though only a handful are adept at it [meaning only a few are able to use Force abilities]. In their race it is called Igl’gna [meaning ‘The Will’]. Any newborn demonstrating a strong affinity for the Force is marked with the word ‘Igl’gna’ on their forehead [in Gnovari it being a single character]. The child is then treated as any other member of the race, given no instruction on the Force until they undergo the Trial of the Abyss. If they survive that long they are then taken to the Grand Witch to be taught the ways of the Force.
In Gnovari society the Force is approached differently. Given their mythology the Gnovari see the Force as a way to please the Great Devourer further. Because of this the Gnovari use the Dark Side of the Force, but they do so in a different way than the Sith. A Gnovari Force user is disciplined like a Jedi, with a selfless need to follow the will of the Devourer. They perform terrible feats of cruelty and destruction in the name of the Devourer. Satisfaction comes out of destruction, this is what fuels the dark Force the Gnovari use. Much like the rest of their culture, even while using the Force their desire is to devour. This has lead to some interesting Force uses, such as aggressive Force Drain usage and a technique they call Udnar [“Hollow”] in which they carve the Force outside of an opponent in an attempt to negate their will to live [effects only temporary].
A proud race, the Gnovari believe themselves to be superior to all other species in the universe. Interactions between a Gnovari and another race is usually problematic because of this. A Gnovari will not hesitate to point out the flaws of another species.
Lastly, the Gnovari have an ‘elegant tribal’ fashion sense. They never wear shoes, and it is argued that putting them in shoes will negate their natural grace and dexterity. Given their skin works as a form of light armor they never wear actual armor. Their pride also denies them the will to wear armor. They see it as a coward’s way reserved for the lesser species. Gnovari are not fond of any technology that doesn’t involve starships. They have never adopted blasters, finding them cowardly and antiquated. Gnovaris prefer to use their bodies as weapons, and in extreme cases, melee weaponry such as axes, blades, and knifes. The closer they are to their foe the better. Their speed and strength, along with their fast reflexes helps them when dealing with blaster fire. As the Gnovari have began to wander out of Wild Space they have adopted an affinity to vibro-weapons.
History:
The Gnovari record their history as that of genetic superiority. Their world was once inhabited by what they call the Qui-gnoh, which in their language mean “the opposer”. Ever since an early evolutionary state the Gnovari and the Qui-gnoh were enemies. Life on their planet became a genetic arms race for survival. Over time the Qui-gnoh became more defensive, their own Force affinity being a passive one, while the Gnovari began to consume other species to take on their genetic material in an effort to defeat the Qui-gnoh’s defenses, following their own strange Force affinity.
The Qui-gnoh became sentient first, though the Gnovari still were a formidable foe of ferocious proportions. By the time the Qui-gnoh were walking on their hind legs and building rudimentary tools the Gnovari were still prowling on all four limbs and viciously hunting and devouring all Qui-gnoh they could find. The Gnovari were many back then, and the Qui-gnoh began to thin out into separate tribes. The Qui-gnoh came to call the Gnovari the ‘devouring scourge’. Technology became a necessity for survival. The Qui-gnoh began an arms race to deal with the Gnovari infestation, and after much suffering their struggles began to bear fruit. With the invention of the bow and javelin, along with fortifications on their villages, the Gnovari attacks became futile.
The Gnovari, almost as if selectively evolving, became more focused with itself. This is when the species earned its sentience. The first group of Gnovari to walk up straight devoured all remains of the old race. Their religion became settled almost the moment they gained sentience. In this evolutionary stage the Gnovari adopted their still existent philosophy of ‘quantity over quality’, since their previous horde method had beared no fruit. As the Gnovari worked on their own tactics and on weeding out any genetic imperfections in their race the Qui-gnoh became confident that their Gnovari problems had ended. Over the course of centuries the Qui-gnoh built their now peaceful civilization. They developed their Force use into a peaceful meditative form. By the time the Gnovari attacked the Qui-gnoh had signed their own death sentence.
The great war known to the Gnovari as the Igl’gna Devagnass [“The Will Fulfilled”] was a short-lived one. The Gnovari carried rudimentary weaponry and still favored their own bodies as a means to kill. However, they used advanced tactics, stealth, and deceit to achieve their goal of genocide. The Qui-gnoh had not developed a true military force to counter the Gnovari aggression, and in the end, they were vanquished with little resistance. The Gnovari were victorious, devouring the last Qui-gnoh on 10332 BBY.
The defeat of the Qui-gnoh was just the beginning for the Gnovari. There were other smaller tribes of sentient life in their home world and they sought superiority over all of them, annihilating them one by one. By 8995 BBY they had annihilated all opposition, being the only sentient race left int heir world. But they were still not satisfied. The will of the Devourer was yet to be fulfilled. And so the Gnovari turned their eyes to the stars.
In 8997 BBY the Gnovari formed its ruling system, based entirely on their old tribal ways. The seat of power is held by the High Magistrate, which consists of the nine oldest members of the race. The High Magistrate is the supreme authority of the Gnovari and their word is law. Under the High Magistrate there is a series of Chieftains, each governing over a city-state.
As a warring species, the Gnovari often felt the need for battle. These would take place in arenas as olympiads, or as individual one-on-one struggles in the form of Thelums. Sometimes entire city-states would declare war on each other. These were sanctioned and monitored by the High Magistrate.
In the meantime, the Gnovari were collectively researching technology in their desire to take to the stars. Their natural dislike of technology made this a feat of struggle and hardship. In their constant warring the process was slowed and the race thinned down. It wasn’t until 5302 that their efforts beared fruit in the form of a small fleet of scout ships. The Gnovari then began to scout their quadrant, and in 5510 they came upon their first alien contact. Rather than declare war right away the Gnovari began trade with their newly found adversaries. Their main interest was interstellar travel, and they took any and all technology they could find. It wasn’t until 3709 that they finally mastered the construction of hyperspace drives. Using purchased star charts the Gnovari began to explore the galaxy. To the Gnovari this is an era of introspect, much like the time when they were building up their civilization to take on the Qui-gnoh. They admit their technology is too rudimentary to take on any other races, and for such, they will require time to advance before they can strike. For now the Gnovari are merely exploring, mapping their future battle ground, learning about their enemies, and expanding their technology to deal with the opposition.
Species Name: Gnovari
Species Type: humanoid
Planet of Origin: Undos
Average Maximum age: 500 years
Age of Maturation: 3 years
Average Height: 6'
Average Weight: 260 lbs
Notable biological features:
At first glance the Gnovari look very similar to humans. Their skin is usually pale with gray variants, going from paper white to charcoal gray. Their hair is usually wavy with ash colors ranging from white to dark gray with specks of lighter gray to jet black. One of the most notable aspects of the Gnovari race is their eyes. Every member of the species has two eyes, just like humans, but the pupils are bright red and almost metallic in nature, reflecting even the dimmest of light. Their skin is hairless with the exception of their scalp. A Gnovari’s skin is smooth and soft to the touch, but notably tougher to penetrate than human skin, acting as a form of very light armor. A vibro-blade could easily penetrate Gnovari skin, but a normal blade would require some effort, and they could walk barefoot over broken glass and be unharmed.
Gnovari ears are similar to human ears, though they end at a very light point. The Gnovari also have horns that grow from the side of their heads pointing backwards. These hors are strictly ornamental and are never used in combat. They will grow upwards, angled backwards, with slight twists like an antelope’s horns. Sometimes, however, the horns will curve downward in a form more reminiscent of a mountain ram’s. Both males and females have these horns, and between the ages of 4 and 400 the length of the horns is the only way to tell the age of the Gnovari individual [after age 400 they enter their elder stage. Their horns stop growing and they start showing signs of aging, becoming wrinkled]. At age 400 horns will be an average of a foot long.
Gnovari biology is very unique. Their cellular structure resembles a combination of vegetable life and mammalian biology. A Gnovari’s body will always maintain a high level of minerals in it. It is what gives them their hardened skin and their slightly higher density. It also makes their bones rather resilient to breaking. Gnovari blood is black with a tar-like consistency. Because of this viscous nature the Gnovari have a main heart and additional pumping muscles in each of their organs. Piercing a Gnovari heart is still considered lethal, as the other pumping muscles do not have the power to keep blood flowing on their own.
Lastly Gnovari teeth are the teeth of a carnivore race. Their front teeth are similar to human teeth, but their fangs are sharper and their molars are pointed in a similar fashion to a carnivore mammal. The Gnovari are known to bite during close combat.
Number of limbs and Type: Two arms and two legs. Five digits on each hand and foot. Gnovari fingernails are naturally pointed and black, made of a dense cellular structure that makes them strong enough to be used as rudimentary melee weapons. The Gnovari, even the males, usually have their fingernails grown at least half an inch past their fingertips. They need to use wire cutter grade clippers to trim them. Their toenails are usually kept short.
Culture: The Gnovari have a very darwinian society in which the weak are weeded out at an early age. The Gnovari reproduce by a strange vegetative method. A female will lay a fertilized ‘egg’ between the ages of 150-155. This egg is a Seed, and it must be buried in the soil of their home world or a world with similar mineral composition. During a period of five years this egg will grow into a tree-like husk that will drain minerals and nutrients from the soil, blooming upon it’s sixth year. Once the flowers bloom they become fruits. Each tree can hold up to five fruits. These fruits will ripen in five months, incubating the young Gnovari. A ‘baby’ Gnovari emerges out of the ripen fruit after the sixth month.
To the Gnovari the tree and fruit are the ‘baby’. The Gnovari that emerge out of the fruit will look like a pre-adolescent, being able to walk and move on it’s own. These newborns are instructed. During their childhood [first three years of life] they will learn how to speak, write, hunt, and battle. This period is not only an instructive period but a constant test of survivability. On average about half of the newborns die during this period.
As they reach their third year the Gnovari young will have develop into adult form. Upon this time they will undergo the Trial of the Abyss, a grueling trial in which they are thrown into a hostile environment with no weaponry. The young adult will then fight it’s way to a designated rendevous point, usually about fifty miles away from their drop-off. If they make it they are declared a true member of the species.
Gnovari adult life is simple. Every member of the race follows a tribal passion for combat. Even though the Gnovari race is united as a whole it is common for them to duel each other to the death. These duels, called Theums, are sanctioned by the High Magistrate and are usually held on front of many eager witnesses. The victor always devours the loser. To the Gnovari the consumption of the fallen enemy is the greatest glory one can achieve. This cannibalistic idea is common in their culture.
The Gnovari religion is strongly followed by the whole species and it seems to be embedded into their genetic code, as even stray Gnovari will come to the same conclusions of how the universe works. They believe in something they call the Great Devourer, a cosmic force that consumes entire sections of the universe at a time, leaving a great Nothing behind. They believe that their race was created by this force to prepare the galaxy for its arrival. Because of this belief the Gnovari consider devouring an act that draws them closer to their deity.
The Gnovari know of the Force, and every member of the race has a certain affinity to it, though only a handful are adept at it [meaning only a few are able to use Force abilities]. In their race it is called Igl’gna [meaning ‘The Will’]. Any newborn demonstrating a strong affinity for the Force is marked with the word ‘Igl’gna’ on their forehead [in Gnovari it being a single character]. The child is then treated as any other member of the race, given no instruction on the Force until they undergo the Trial of the Abyss. If they survive that long they are then taken to the Grand Witch to be taught the ways of the Force.
In Gnovari society the Force is approached differently. Given their mythology the Gnovari see the Force as a way to please the Great Devourer further. Because of this the Gnovari use the Dark Side of the Force, but they do so in a different way than the Sith. A Gnovari Force user is disciplined like a Jedi, with a selfless need to follow the will of the Devourer. They perform terrible feats of cruelty and destruction in the name of the Devourer. Satisfaction comes out of destruction, this is what fuels the dark Force the Gnovari use. Much like the rest of their culture, even while using the Force their desire is to devour. This has lead to some interesting Force uses, such as aggressive Force Drain usage and a technique they call Udnar [“Hollow”] in which they carve the Force outside of an opponent in an attempt to negate their will to live [effects only temporary].
A proud race, the Gnovari believe themselves to be superior to all other species in the universe. Interactions between a Gnovari and another race is usually problematic because of this. A Gnovari will not hesitate to point out the flaws of another species.
Lastly, the Gnovari have an ‘elegant tribal’ fashion sense. They never wear shoes, and it is argued that putting them in shoes will negate their natural grace and dexterity. Given their skin works as a form of light armor they never wear actual armor. Their pride also denies them the will to wear armor. They see it as a coward’s way reserved for the lesser species. Gnovari are not fond of any technology that doesn’t involve starships. They have never adopted blasters, finding them cowardly and antiquated. Gnovaris prefer to use their bodies as weapons, and in extreme cases, melee weaponry such as axes, blades, and knifes. The closer they are to their foe the better. Their speed and strength, along with their fast reflexes helps them when dealing with blaster fire. As the Gnovari have began to wander out of Wild Space they have adopted an affinity to vibro-weapons.
History:
“Out of the Nothing we were born, and to the Nothing we shall return.” -Gnovari proverb.
The Gnovari record their history as that of genetic superiority. Their world was once inhabited by what they call the Qui-gnoh, which in their language mean “the opposer”. Ever since an early evolutionary state the Gnovari and the Qui-gnoh were enemies. Life on their planet became a genetic arms race for survival. Over time the Qui-gnoh became more defensive, their own Force affinity being a passive one, while the Gnovari began to consume other species to take on their genetic material in an effort to defeat the Qui-gnoh’s defenses, following their own strange Force affinity.
The Qui-gnoh became sentient first, though the Gnovari still were a formidable foe of ferocious proportions. By the time the Qui-gnoh were walking on their hind legs and building rudimentary tools the Gnovari were still prowling on all four limbs and viciously hunting and devouring all Qui-gnoh they could find. The Gnovari were many back then, and the Qui-gnoh began to thin out into separate tribes. The Qui-gnoh came to call the Gnovari the ‘devouring scourge’. Technology became a necessity for survival. The Qui-gnoh began an arms race to deal with the Gnovari infestation, and after much suffering their struggles began to bear fruit. With the invention of the bow and javelin, along with fortifications on their villages, the Gnovari attacks became futile.
The Gnovari, almost as if selectively evolving, became more focused with itself. This is when the species earned its sentience. The first group of Gnovari to walk up straight devoured all remains of the old race. Their religion became settled almost the moment they gained sentience. In this evolutionary stage the Gnovari adopted their still existent philosophy of ‘quantity over quality’, since their previous horde method had beared no fruit. As the Gnovari worked on their own tactics and on weeding out any genetic imperfections in their race the Qui-gnoh became confident that their Gnovari problems had ended. Over the course of centuries the Qui-gnoh built their now peaceful civilization. They developed their Force use into a peaceful meditative form. By the time the Gnovari attacked the Qui-gnoh had signed their own death sentence.
The great war known to the Gnovari as the Igl’gna Devagnass [“The Will Fulfilled”] was a short-lived one. The Gnovari carried rudimentary weaponry and still favored their own bodies as a means to kill. However, they used advanced tactics, stealth, and deceit to achieve their goal of genocide. The Qui-gnoh had not developed a true military force to counter the Gnovari aggression, and in the end, they were vanquished with little resistance. The Gnovari were victorious, devouring the last Qui-gnoh on 10332 BBY.
The defeat of the Qui-gnoh was just the beginning for the Gnovari. There were other smaller tribes of sentient life in their home world and they sought superiority over all of them, annihilating them one by one. By 8995 BBY they had annihilated all opposition, being the only sentient race left int heir world. But they were still not satisfied. The will of the Devourer was yet to be fulfilled. And so the Gnovari turned their eyes to the stars.
In 8997 BBY the Gnovari formed its ruling system, based entirely on their old tribal ways. The seat of power is held by the High Magistrate, which consists of the nine oldest members of the race. The High Magistrate is the supreme authority of the Gnovari and their word is law. Under the High Magistrate there is a series of Chieftains, each governing over a city-state.
As a warring species, the Gnovari often felt the need for battle. These would take place in arenas as olympiads, or as individual one-on-one struggles in the form of Thelums. Sometimes entire city-states would declare war on each other. These were sanctioned and monitored by the High Magistrate.
In the meantime, the Gnovari were collectively researching technology in their desire to take to the stars. Their natural dislike of technology made this a feat of struggle and hardship. In their constant warring the process was slowed and the race thinned down. It wasn’t until 5302 that their efforts beared fruit in the form of a small fleet of scout ships. The Gnovari then began to scout their quadrant, and in 5510 they came upon their first alien contact. Rather than declare war right away the Gnovari began trade with their newly found adversaries. Their main interest was interstellar travel, and they took any and all technology they could find. It wasn’t until 3709 that they finally mastered the construction of hyperspace drives. Using purchased star charts the Gnovari began to explore the galaxy. To the Gnovari this is an era of introspect, much like the time when they were building up their civilization to take on the Qui-gnoh. They admit their technology is too rudimentary to take on any other races, and for such, they will require time to advance before they can strike. For now the Gnovari are merely exploring, mapping their future battle ground, learning about their enemies, and expanding their technology to deal with the opposition.