(Khai-)Shiang
Basic Information
Anatomy
Fero look like ferrets, stoats, and weasels. They are small, lithe, wiry, and can curl up in a ball, as well as almost tie their spines in a knot. They have small claws that are excellent for climbing, and large eyes that can see in the dimmest of light. They can walk on their hind legs, but prefer to run on all fours.
Lutrani look like otters and have plump, fat-insulated bodies. Their hands and feet have webbed toes for swimming, and their fur is coarse and oily to repel water and trap air for further insulation. They walk upright, but their legs are short, and while they don't like to run on all fours, like Fero, they will if they're in a hurry. They prefer to swim in order to get anywhere, and if they have telekinetic powers, they will use them to swim through the air rather than walking or running.
Gulo are the largest Shiang, easily twice as big and nearly four times heavier than the Lutrani. They look like badgers and wolverines, and rarely mephits. They are built like bricks, with a thin layer of insulating fat over kilogram upon kilogram of muscle. They are dense, in the extreme, and their jaws are filled with jagged teeth built for tearing muscle and crushing bones. They have large claws on their shorter than normal fingers, and they walk upright exclusively. They have developed the longest legs of any Shiang, and have also lost most of their tail, giving them the smallest.
Biological Traits
Shiang are a plaral species, meaning they are actually several species that share enough genetic material in common in the right ways to allow for interbreeding. This is not, of course, a naturally occurring phenomenon. The protocol was developed by the Fero and they offered it to the Lutrani and Gulo in exchange for protection, and cessation of the constant warring, and a practical demonstration of the weapon of mass destruction they had just finished that could devastate most of the Lutrani and Gulo homelands. The Fero knew, however, that they wouldn't be able to keep up against the predators of the world while they rebuilt from the war, and so even in winning, they would be doomed to extinction. The Lutrani and Gulo accepted the protocol and the uneasy peace that soon turned into a lasting peace, and finally the sexual utopia that is Homeworld and the Federation today.
Genetics and Reproduction
Shiang are a genetically modified species, having used a genetic protocol on themselves ages ago to make the three major species interfertile and allowing them to breed with one another. This allowed them to form political unions between bloodlines and cease their warring which was destroying both themselves and their home world.
The protocol allows them to mate with one another without mixing features in their offspring. As they usually have twins, typically in a mixed pairing, one pup will be of the sire's type, and one of the mother's. Genetic testing will show they have a familial link in their DNA, as the protocol added extra genetic information that doesn't get expressed if the Shiang isn't of the right species.
Additionally, the protocol wrote out the ability for family members to impregnate one another. There was a bit of inbreeding going between the families in the ruling classes, and to encourage the spread of the protocol, the interdiction against breeding with someone in your direct bloodline meant that to have offspring, one needed to go looking outside the direct family. In theory this would mean that eventually, after several thousand years of breeding, everyone should be related to everyone else, but in reality, this only really limits the issue to those who are within five generations.
Of all the Shiang, only the Lutrani regularly have intersexed offspring, whom they refer to as "twice-blessed". These children have fully functional male and female genitalia. Their heat and musth cycles are not always tied together.
Growth Rate & Stages
Pups are born blind, but their eyes open at about two weeks. Mothers nurse the young for two to three years to ensure proper growth and size. They grow streadily until they reach full size at maturity. Pups are considered mature at about 20 to 25 years of age, and don't get much bigger after that.
Dietary Needs and Habits
All Shiang are obligate carnivores, thought their diets vary depending on their sub-species.
Feros prefer a mix of red and white meats, with some insect and larval proteins. Grubs are considered a healthy snack, and many Fero will carry a small pouch of them with them in case they get hungry.
Lutrani, not surprisingly, prefer fish. They're not opposed to red meat, too, but they prefer shellfish, mussels, and bony fish when they can get it. The occasional mollusk doesn't go astray, either.
Gulo eat red meat. They have traditional ways to prepare it, and most are surprised that they only consume it raw during their Rite of Passage into adulthood. Lutrani joke that Gulo eat raw meat twice during the Rite, alluding to the fact that most Rites of Passage occur when the young Shiang has just reached sexual maturity and is in heat/musth for the first time. Such rites are presided over by the family patriarch, and therefore a direct blood relative.
Biological Cycle
Shiang of every kind enter into heat (for females) or musth (for males) once a decade after their age of Majority at about 25 years of age. This is a dangerous time for the Shiang, because they will not exit this condition until they have mated. Females menstruate until they mate or die from an infection or blood loss. For males, the prospect of death is due to fighting, as they become hyper aggressive, both physically and sexually. There is no treatment to counter the sheer volume of sex hormones flooding a Shiang's system during this period. However, they exit the condition in short order once they have engaged in sexual activity.
This has created it's own new traditions, as over time the level of sexual freedom and need has mingled to produce a Rite of Passage among the Shiang where a young Shiang in their first time of sexual need will be brought to the family elder, usually not more than three generations above the youth, who will service them for their first time. After that, young males are taught by their fathers how to mate properly, and how to service the needs of their lovers, and they are tested in how well they learned by their mothers. Young females are taken by their fathers so they learn what they should be expecting from a male they decide to mate with. Any male who fails to treat a daughter properly will find the father, and likely brothers, looking for him to show him how to do it right, with prejudice and at length.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Fero are considered to by the scientists and explorers among the Shiang. Lutrani are the engineers, epicureans, and artists. And Gulo are warriors. It isn't that Gulo are dumb, it's just that they have an aggressive streak a kilometer wide and neither of the other two sub-species feels the need to stop them. Plus, Gulo have the biggest sex drive (and organs) of the Shiang, so they're always DTF, something that any Shiang is fine with.
Facial characteristics
Fero are arboreal mustelids, ferret-like with similar sharp triangular features.
Lutrani have softer, more rounded features, and a slick oily fur that repels water and traps air well.
Gulo have broad, powerful features and a strong jaw capable of snapping bones.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Shiang can be found in all biomes and ecosystems. They live everywhere. However, Fero are semi-arboreal and also subterranean. They're diggers, and like tunnels, climbing trees, chasing small prey, and complex recreational math. Lutrani are semi and fully aquatic, and prefer rivers, streams, and the ocean. Gulos vastly prefer forests and meadows where they can hunt prey and dig out expansive homes. At least these are the traditional biomes for the assorted sub-species of Shiang. In reality, they all live in cities, as often as they live in the country, and they like both with equal preference.
Average Intelligence
While technically the Shiang are no more or less intelligent than your average human, they prize education and experience over industry, and so they are exceptionally well-taught and thoughtful. In reality, you would be hard pressed to find a Shiang of sub standard IQ.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Shinag are blessed with all the normal senses at pretty much the same sensitivity as humans. However, they also have a variety of extra sensory abilities that are well above human average.
Their sense of balance is beyond normal, and they can function in 0G without much training. Lutrani are particularly good with this. They don't even need to orient themselves to either a floor or gravitational down to move around in space effectively. They suffer no penalties as a result of not knowing which way is up because they always do.
They also have a special sense that is semi-mystical. Not a psionic power, specifically, but rather the ability to see the flow of probability as it moves though the world, allowing them to see what the most likely actions someone will take could be, the outcomes, and possible chaos factors that might occur, should they act. This ability, again, is strongest in the Lutrani, but all of the Shiang sub-species can access it to some degree.
Shiang are all telepaths, being at least latent psionics, but many are active psionics with a wide variety of powers. Telekinesis is most common in Lutrani, while Gulo have a rare ability called Shaping that allows them to reforge substances into new forms with their thoughts. And some Fero have the ability to link their minds together in a huge gestalt consciousness to solve complex scientific problems. They don't stay in that state because they don't want to lose their sense of self to the whole.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
Family names are mutable, with new family trees beginning if the head of that line, either male, female or twice-blessed, does something notable that is considered worthy of founding a new family line. Discovery of a cure for a wide-spread disease, victory in personal combat over a powerful entity, leading forces in a strategic or significant battle and winning, or performing a significant favor for the Monarch are all justified reasons to create a new family line.
It should be noted that just because a family name has changed does not mean the old family name is meaningless to those who come after. Only the direct family of the individual who is the reason for the change assume the new name, but they are still listed on the rolls of the family bloodline, as well as that of their new branch. The individual who sparked the change is considered the new patriarch or matriarch of the line, with twice-blessed individuals being referred to as is their preference.
Family names are typically compound descriptors symbolizing the event that caused the founding of the family line, and as such, overlap and repetition is common. This is one of the reasons that the old family name is not removed, and, unless the family line has been significantly reduced in political or economic influence, will be hyphenated with the old family name first and the new one after. This is primarily for formal introductions and once that is out of the way the old family name can be dropped for brevity and the new one used socially without causing offense.
As family names tend to be compound words, certain combinations have become and remain popular. -bane is used to indicate defeat of (and usually the death of) a certain person, group, disease, or species. Star- is often given to those who have made great strides in the realm of science, engineering, exploration, or diplomacy. -hunter is given to those who have dedicated their lives to the study, eradication, understanding, or the similar quest of a specific topic.
Notable family names: Starhunter, the family line of the Monarch, was awarded to the sixth Monarch for his diplomatic efforts that "ended" the territorial wars with the Eternal Empire. Starbane is the family name of a powerful Gulo clan who are considered ultraconservative and was given as an insult (which they take great pride in) when they slaughtered almost every Fero scientist working on the Unification Protocols that ended to Shiang Blood War. Sergalbane is the family name belonging to the Prince Consort, A Knight of the Silver Star and the last of the Monarch's family, though not of his bloodline, who single-handedly killed 30 sergal that had been sent to assassinate the Monarch's youngest son, a twice-blessed who is now the sole surviving heir to the Monarchy.
Major Organizations
The Monarchy: The Federation is lead by the Monarch, a hereditary title given to the male heir to the throne of Homeworld. Almost always a Lutrani, the Monarch is the final arbiter of any decisions which the Senate cannot mediate. He also gives the official seal of approval to any laws or changes in policy that will affect the Federation as a whole. While seen as a figurehead by the Senators, the Monarch commands the loyalty of the finest personal combat specialists in the galaxy outside of the K'zo Interstellar Alliance, the Knights of the Order of the Silver Star. Until recently, this made the Monarch seem virtually untouchable, but careful planning and secrecy on the part of the Darkhide Matriarch has shown that not to be the case. The Monarchy, the Senate, and the Order are all in ruins thanks to her machinations.
The Order of the Silver Star: The Order are knights who server the Monarch with a degree of loyalty that falls a fraction of a quanta below fanaticism. They are highly trained martial scholars whose very body is every weapon they will ever need in combat. All of them are trained Shapers, psionic psychokinetics who can touch a surface and reform it into whatever they want. Thus, no knight is ever without a weapon so long as they can touch a wall, the floor, or even the ceiling. Most favor spears, staves and other polearms with reach, but some are specialists in extremely close quarters combat known as the Point Blank Technique. These are the Order's assassins. With the exception of the Point Blank, knights are easy to notice as they will always be completely naked. Knights considered entering combat clad in any form of armor including normal clothing to be a display of weakness, and will only Shape armor as they require specifically for a given foe, and return it whence it came once they are finished. Point Blanks are given leave to wear whatever clothing is appropriate for blending in so they can approach their marks and execute them without drawing attention.
The Senate: The Federation is comprised of thousands of star systems, and each of them has their own Senator. Laws governing the highest levels of the Federation are passed by the Senate, with more local groups running the day-to-day of the individual systems. Senators spend most of their time in the Senate reading proposals, bills, and requests for audiences from supplicants who which to have the Senate arbitrate their grievances. The Senate believed itself to be the government, not the Monarch, and wasn't entirely wrong, up until it was wiped out along with the Monarch's entire family on the Day With No Dawn when the Darkhide Matriarch killed every member of the Monarch's bloodline save one, destroyed the Senate while it was in session, with no survivors save one, and effectively destroyed the Federation.
The Darkhide Matriarchy: Sergal are matriarchal by nature, with females running everything, while males are relegated to the role of beloved pets and guard dogs, unfit for more than the most basic education and duties more complex than a single specialization. The Darkhide Matriarch, the highest ranking female in the entire clan, discovered the duplicitous nature of the cease-fire with the Eternal Empire, which promised to increase the military might of the sergal, but spread them thin enough that if they attacked any Imperial targets, they would be easily defeated by even a modest patrol, thus keeping the fast-breeding sergal numbers under control. Enraged, she spent nearly 100 years planning, forging secret alliances, and placing resources in the right place to enact her revenge against the Federation and the Monarch for their treachery. On the Day With No Dawn, slightly before sunrise, she executed every shiang with even a drop of royal blood, destroyed the Senate complex while it was in session, andvery nearly collapsed the entirety of Federation society, all within ten minutes, start to finish. Only the botched test assassination of the Monarch's youngest son gave hint that something was off, and because he was now under the personal protection of a Silver Star Knight, who also happened to be a newly appointed Senator, both the now Crown Prince, and the single Senator required to confirm him without opposition, survived to rally support. They promptly disappeared off the Matriarchs radar, but she has been planning for their re-emergence as patiently as she did the destruction of the Federation.
The Lighthide Matriarchy: Like their Darkhide cousins, the Lighthide are a matriarchy by nature. Not as ruthless, but just as clever, the Lighthide Matriarch, was promised a position in the new Sergal Hegemony in return for both her secrecy and participation in the Day With No Dawn. However, once the Federation collapsed, the Darkhide did not provide quite as large a role or prestige as they had lead the Lighthide to expect. The Matriarch demanded their promised reward, as was summarily and viciously assassinated for her troubles. Her daughter has been understandably more accepting of the situation.
Beauty Ideals
Because of the variations between the different Shiang types, beauty isn't really a concern. Shiang regard one another as casually about their looks as they do about their sexuality. Physicality is not a deep concern for Shiang.
That isn't to say that Shiang don't do things to make themselves more attractive. It's just that attraction is very much scent and taste based. Those looking to mate or engage in sexual relations will often put on scents that enhance the natural scent of estrus or musth. Combined with applying edible bio-neutral salves to their genitals to entice their potential lovers, this is what passes for beauty among the Shiang. They are very honest about attraction being about sex.
Gender Ideals
Shiang are fully, universally, and unquestioningly pansexual. Males and females will, and do, have sex with anyone willing to, in need of, or offering. Their casualness about sex is so intense that they pay little attention to public sexual acts, and might not even stop holding a conversation to mate with someone in need. Homosexual relations are not only accepted, but are almost the norm. However, strict homosexuality is unheard of, and a male or female who only mates with other males of females would be considered beyond kink.
It is important to note that this level of promiscuity is STRICTLY between Shiang. Sexual relations with other species are generally considered kinks, and are typically much more discrete, even when conducted in public. Anyone making an unwanted advance on a Shiang will likely find those Shiang in the immediate area becoming agitated and angry.
Courtship Ideals
Being in heat, fondling someone's genitals, or sometimes just saying hello are all considered courtship among the Shiang, depending on their hormone levels. If a female is looking to get pregnant, or a male is looking to breed, it is part of Shiang culture to indulge them, if possible. It is almost a moral imperative.
Relationship Ideals
Shiang have a cultural phenomenon because of their history that has lead to traditions that few, if any, other species possess or recognize as morally acceptable. Early on in their technological development, the Shiang were warring tribes, much like the rest of the galaxy. But scientists from the Fero clan, the smallest and least intimidating Shinag type, developed a genetic protocol that, when introduced to a group, would begin rewriting the genetic code in the testicles and ovaries of the recipients to do two things.
First, the protocol would adapt their gametes to be able to accept and be accepted by any other Shiang. It would make Fero, Lutrani and Gulo all recognize one another on a genetic level as being the same species. It had the added benefit of not mixing traits, so offspring would be of one kind or the other in the pairing, but never a mix of both. This allowed interbreeding between the types, and therefore no longer require them to fight over resources with other tribes because alliances and bargains could more easily be struck through intermarrying.
Second, it rendered close family members with blood relations incapable of impregnation. This was to prevent genetic regression issues that might breed back out the genetic protocol and make it so that the wars would start again. But this had a second effect in that now families could train their next generations how to properly treat their partners. Older, more experienced Shiang could teach younger males how to bring a female to orgasm, and younger females could be taught how to please a partner when she wasn't in heat.
There was a practical side to this situation, too. Shiang of both sexes go into heat. And neither of them come back out again until they've mated. But young female Shiang have horribly high miscarriage rates due to their bodies not being completely ready to carry offspring to term, and the fact that Shiang usually have twins. Now an older male in the family could bring a young female back out of heat and safely allow her body to mature without the problem of getting pregnant. Similarly, young males could be brought out by a family member without their aggressive and violent tempers being hormonally awakened.
While this is looked on as incest by most species, it is a pragmatic situation for the Shiang, and having been part of their culture for many hundreds of generations, a successful solution to issues like underage pregnancy and rape. With an easier outlet for sexual tension, the bred-in respect for the body autonomy for others, and the lack of social pressure to mate, the entire concept of rape has removed itself from the Shiang consciousness.
Average Technological Level
The Shiang are at a much lower technology level than they have been previously. They used to be rivaled only by the Kitsune, and looked on the dragons as children to be guided. But they have fallen back to a much more regressed level. No one is exactly certain what happened, but a myth states that the entire Interstellar Kingdom of the Star fought against an ancient enemy of unknowable strength, and though they beat it back, the cost in lives and resources was so great that they were unable to recover. And worse, they knew they had not killed it, but only drove it off for the cycle to begin anew some day. Now they have forgotten even that, and try to rediscover their roots, and find lost bits of technology and arcane power that might bring back their mythological golden age. It's a fairy tale that far too many Shiang have wasted their lives pursuing.
Shiang enjoy a high standard of living, though. Even the poorest lives far better than most sergal, and are still better off than most of the lesser species in the Federation. Shiang families are tight knit social groups that work with one another to promote the well-being of all in the family.
As far as technology goes, Shiang cities tend to be exceptionally modern, and conveniences are easily obtained and common. Luxury items aren't terribly rare, either. Shiang use their psionic abilities to accomplish a lot of everyday tasks, and even those they don't are still enhanced by them. Technologies that stand out are their use of psionics-enhancing crystal matrices, interplanetary teleportation networks, and longevity treatments that have extended the natural lifespans of the Shiang to rival that of some dragons.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Shiang speak their own language, known as "Khai" of the language of the stars. It's a mixture of their hereditary dialects and tribal languages that resulted from the blending of their species with the introduction of the protocol. They're also telepaths, which makes things much easier.
Common Etiquette Rules
Shiang are, for all their promiscuity, among the most polite and friendly people in the galaxy. They treat one another with a level of respect unrivaled even among the hide-bound Jades, who take protocol to be a form of ecstatic experience. Crimes by Shiang are practically unheard of, and even other Federation species know that if trouble starts, they can look to their Shiang neighbors to help end it.
Common Dress Code
Shiang clothing is loose and flowing, like the rivers that the Lutrani revere, when it is worn at all. Public nudity is not a taboo, and neither are public displays of affection or copulation. Unless a situation calls for it, or a uniform is involved, Shiang dress with as much or as little clothing as they prefer.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
As scent is a big part of a Shinag's life, it is not considered impolite to smell someone when meeting them. Similarly, it isn't impolite to ask if they would like to take a refreshing dip if they are in heat. Sexual activity makes up a lot of Shiang culture, and many traditions, customs, and ritual greetings have sprung up because of it. New visitors to Shiang worlds are often advised to expect to see a lot of casual sex happening, but most from more conservative worlds are still shocked at how often it seems to go on.
Common Taboos
Forcing one's self on another is such a strict taboo that the entire concept of rape has been bred out of the Shiang culture. Similarly, it is regarded as odd or "sexually adventurous" (read: kinky) to engage with other species sexually. While not taboo, per se, it isn't seen as normal.
Very little else is taboo among the Shiang. Even recreational substances are considered acceptable, as medical technology has advanced to the point of being able to deal with the more dangerous side-effects. And nothing is really more amusing than watching a fero speedball. Stimulants, depressants, and hallucinogens are all among the more popular substances, but using them to excess is frowned upon. Still, accidents happen, and habitual use is seen as a medical issue, not a criminal one. Hallucinogens are believed to be a way to help oracles see to the truth of the matter, but it is also easy for them to overdo it and end of addicted.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
After the disappearance of the Kitsune, the only true rival to the power of the Kingdom of the Stars was the fledgling Eternal Empire, who were seen as an infant race, and though powerful, in need of guidance, not hostility. It was widely believed the dragons would be the next addition to the Kingdom, but the Empire began a rapid climb in power and technology, which soon eclipsed the Kingdom, and some say hastened its descent into recession. The Kingdom, however, rebounded as the Federation by offering support and defense to the systems around it, halting the spread in nearly half the galaxy of the Empire.
Despite this, the dragons and the shiang are on relatively peaceful terms. Many believe the Monarch and the Emperor were secretly controlling public perceptions of their governments' relations, which was closer to the truth than even the most ardent supporters realize.
Shiang do not, however, get along with the sergal, who are seen as violent technoprimatives with innate psychopathic tendencies. This, too, is not far from the truth.
To a majority of those species that make up the Federation, the shiang are seen as protectors, leaders, and mentors. Fallen empire or not, the shiang are powerful, and their good graces are a place others want to be.
Scientific Name
Mustalidae Sapiens Stellae
Lifespan
25000 years.
Average Height
.6 m, .9m and 1.8 m for Fero, Lutrani and Gulo
Average Weight
15 kg, 27kg and 90kg, respectively
Average Length
n/a
Average Physique
This varies by sub-species. Fero are lithe and wiry, able to almost tie a knot in their spines. Lutrani are chunky little sausages, but they can withstand the greatest variation in climates. And gulo, contrary to their name, are all muscle, not fat. They are also as thick as bricks, but are, of all the sub-species, the least well read.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Fero have lighter fur, with whites, greys, browns, tans and creams being common. Albinoism is a problem brought on by their constant genetic tinkering with their genome early on in their technological development. They were unable to cure it and now it appears to be a regular occurence. Albino Fero are highly sought after, however, as companions and advisors by larger species for their striking appearance.
Lutrani tend to have brown and tan fur. They have little variation, both in color and form.
Gulo have the widest variety of colorations and patterns, ranging from black and white to browns, golden, tan and cream. They have a variety of fur patterns, too.
Geographic Distribution
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