Ahsi

The Ahsi hail from the small planet Ladi which they call Cianlis located within the Horse-Head Nebula. They were one of the first races within The Galactic Community to gain spaceflight, a feat they achieved through hardwork, ingeniuty, communication, and a strong spiratual belife in working together as a community to return to Ci, their Mother-Goddess whom they believe created the Universe.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Ahsi are shapeshifters originally as a means of survivalistic camoflauge. Through expending energy they can attain a full change into the appearance of another species. Depending on the individual, they may be capable of a full change through expending very little energy or it may drain them of most of their energy to the point that maintaining the form for more than a few minutes requires the use of energy supplements. Some individuals are also capable of partial shifts, though again depending on the individual this may cost them only a small amount of energy, or it may drain them enough that they require energy supplements to maintain it for the length of time they require. Most individuals in modern times use their full shift to mimic the appearance of other Galactic Races in order to fit in better with their peers or to pass as a species they're not.

Ahsi that are not shapeshifted tend to have broad shoulders, dense muscles, and thick layers of fat beneath several layers soft shimmery scales that serve as much as identifying markers as they do protection from scratches and scrapes. They are built for physical activity, and most Ahsi do not fare well in tasks that involve sitting still for long periods of time. Their powerful dense muscles help them swim gracefully and with ease through the strong currents of the oceans of Ladi.

Ahsi cannot change their physical skeletal structure when they shift without sacrificing body mass, a process which would leave all but the very strongest Ahsi permanently weakened or disfigured, or in extreme cases dead. Because of this, Ahsi tend to have trouble passing for species that are physically much taller or shorter than they are, or with more (or fewer) limbs than them. Most fully grown Ahsi cannot pass as true Vrensean or Yamti due to those species being dramatically shorter, nor as anything older than a child Yecixĩu due to how absolutely massive the Yecixĩu are. No Ahsi can truly pass for a Sriti due to only having two legs (the Sriti have at least a dozen legs, usually).

Genetics and Reproduction

The Ahsi are genetically linked to the Makiin that shares Ladi with them. Both species share a common ancestor, though their evolutionary lines diverged before either species had language of any kind. There are several genes present in the Ahsi, that are not present in the Makiin due to their divergent evolutionary paths. For example, the Makiin lack the genes that code for shapeshifting and breathing underwater as they developed fully on land; while the Ahsi lack the gene the Makiin have that is believed to code colorblindness.

It is unknown for sure whether or not it is genetic, but some Ahsi with Makiin in their family tree are born without telepathy, and others are born without working Pallesthetic nerves. It's assumed to be genetic, inherited from the Makiin, however there's not known proof of this.

Genetically, the Ahsi are capable of mating and producing viable offspring with most known species, however it's not known through what means this is accomplished as all resulting children of their own are physically for all intents and purposes Ahsi. It's theorized that this may either play some role in how the Ahsi gained the ability so shift into so many other species or is directly caused by the shapeshifting ability. Studies into this are still ongoing.

While the Ahsi physically can mate with other species both in their native and shifted forms, they can only reproduce in their homeworld form. All Ahsi are equally capable of producing viable sperm and eggs. The Ahsi physically lay clutches of 20 eggs that can hatch anywhere from 4 to 20 baby Ahsi. On Ladi, this is not an issue that could lead to overpopulation because there is a low survival rate of children due to environmental hazards and predation from the Leviathan. From a clutch that hatches 20 children, it's highly likely only 5 will survive into adulthood.

Geographic Distribution

• Ladi
• The Fractal
• The Galactic Community

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Hearing

The Ahsi have telepathy to an extent, as they can read other Ahsi's thoughts if those thoughts are directed at them. What this actually means is a bit vague, but it's generally explained to non-Ahsi by means of an example:

"Say that you can hear your friend talking to their friend, but you don't know what they're saying because they're not talking to you, it's essentially a more direct version of that. There could be many conversations going but you're not listening because it doesn't affect you. Ahsi can hear other Ahsi's thoughts, the same way you can hear other people talking. To us, it's just another form of communication. Like sign language."

Aside from the telepathy, Ahsi can hear approximately the same range of sounds that a human can. However, because of the telepathy, Ahsi that grow up surrounded by other Ahsi are unaccustomed to silence and dislike or even outright hate it.

Sight

The Ahsi are accustomed to a dark or dimly lit environment having evolved in the oceans of Cianlis, They have excellent Dark Vision, and require darkening glasses in bright environments. They tend to have tinted visors on their suit helmets, designed to filter out the harsher brighter rays of light.

The Ahsi also developed the ability of Pallesthesia. Through the use of specialized nerve endings underneath their scales, they can sense vibrations in water, air, metal, or ground to locate an object or movement, and to an extent determine what is making that movement.

"The idea that such a strangely underwhelming race could be the most prominent one in the entire Galaxy was laughable at first, no matter where we looked, we could not find any member of the race. At first.

"It wasn't until one night, when I happened to be awake and wandering the corridors of the station, that I saw one--or rather, that I realized they'd been around me the entire time I'd lived here and I had never known.

"The Ahsi are shapeshifters. That wasn't mentioned when I was in school back on Cyrine Prime. We were taught about Ahsi in, what I learned later, was their 'native' form. Most Ahsi do not stick to that form, from years of living with other species, they've learned that it's a form deemed by most to be "frightening". Seeing it then, remembering it now. Broad shoulders, stocky body with dull but sharp-looking claws, spikes on the crests to the sides of their heads, dozens of sharp teeth in their mouths. I can see why you might say they're 'terrifying'. The thing is, despite the sharpness of their teeth, they're all vegetarians, well... as long as you consider insects and fish vegetables, which for some reason they do."

— Overheard in The Fractal after a child asked what an Ahsi looks like.