Dacyla

The Dacyla, having the ability to see light in wavelengths invisible to every other species (especially ultraviolet), are natural-born artists culturally, but this gift gives them several advantages in the dark that most cannot appreciate. Though their history begins with mining, they have grown out from the underground and become a cultural influence throughout the galaxy. Their particular talents, however, also lend them the ability to see in the dark, and, when combined with their incredible physical strength, make them deadly assassins and talented covert operatives.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Dacyla stand a good deal taller than humans. Their legs are stocky and muscular, which serves them well in their semi-aquatic lifestyle. Their arms are quite powerful as well; strong enough to punch solid rock apart yet gentle enough to work glass. In addition to their regular arms and legs, they also carry 4 pairs of swimming legs along their torso. While typically used solely for aquatic propulsion, they can also be used, if trained, as independent semi-dexterous hands to assist in manual labor, climbing, maintenance, and much more.
The Dacyla's body is covered in a dense exoskeleton. While not as protective as a Chelon's shell, it does offer some protection above the flesh of Humans or Syrac. The exoskeleton is banded across several parts of the body to allow for incredible flexibility. It is not unheard of for a Dacyla to arch their back 140 degrees in either direction.

Genetics and Reproduction

Dacyla breed for life with a partner they refer to as a malzoneka, a word roughly translating as spouse but more akin to a spiritual partner of sorts. With the belief that their mortal bodies are temporary houses for an immortal soul, to take another as a malzoneka means to dedicate their current life and all future lives to each other. When partnered with a malzoneka, the two engage in ovuliparous reproduction, wherein the female lays a clutch of eggs and the male fertilizes them externally, in a spawning pool within their own home. Typically, 2 to 4 children are born this way.

Growth Rate & Stages

At hatching, the Dacyla are barely larger than a Terran tree frog. Their parents release cultivate the growth of various plankton within the spawning pool for their children to feed on. Within a year's time, the infant Dacyla will metamorphosize into their final body. There is a time during this transformation when the child's physical form is mostly liquid with certain organs remaining solid. This liquid arranges in such a way to form what will grow into a full adult body. At 3 years of age, the child will be able to walk, talk, and form rational thought, albeit in the same capacity that a Human child would. Until 20 years of age, the child will be educated in a general course as would any other species. However, some undergo a secretive training known as Cicha Piesec. The families who send their children to the school of Chicha Piesec are unknown to the general populace, and those children will not see anyone outside their class until adulthood. Dacyla will attain sexual maturity at 20 years of age, and at this time their fate is in their own hands.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Dacyla society is built upon personal freedoms. They enjoy a looser form of government than most, where most laws are merely local with very little federal restrictions. Laws are decided upon at local town-hall style meetings and voted upon by a committee elected by the people. The right to vote, debate, and hold office are not restricted in the slightest.

Facial characteristics

Dacyla's exoskeletons reach over their face, giving them a rather bony appearance. This has made more than a few jokes concerning the skeletal visage. Tendrils also grow from their crown like locks of hair, though these are sometimes bound during molts to join them together according to personal taste.

Average Intelligence

Dacyla are about as intelligent as humans, though their visual acuity and color perception vastly outreach other species in the Milky Way Galaxy. Their knowledge of geology also outstrips most other species.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Dacyla possess incredible compound eyes. They appear to be nearly completely black with a ring of colored iris toward the middle, but in truth, each eye contains millions of light sensitive receptors tuned to different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. While not anywhere near as focused as their main visual perception range of 300 to 800 nm, effectively offering them the ability to see some wavelengths of X Ray, Ultraviolet, and Infrared light.

Civilization and Culture

Major Organizations

• Chicha Piesec

Average Technological Level

The Dacyla are a low tech space faring civilization with most of their technological achievements revolving around stealth technology and weaponry. Chicha Piesec keeps the vast majority of these achievements concealed from public eye, however, and as such, they are unknown and unshared.

History

Dissolution of the Monarchy

Dacyla civilization was lead (until recently) by an absolute monarchy. The Imperial City of Giezno ruled with an iron fist over the people of Rzezcz, the Dacyla homeworld. The common folk were betrodden by Emperor Zelewski the 7th and the Dacylan aristocracy, who extracted all the value from the labor of the people while leaving scraps for the ones below them. Hunger and poverty were rampant, and the people could do so little for themselves. Public meetings were outlawed. Public press, besides what the aristocracy gave to the people, was outlawed. A war between the Dacyla and the Legati over colonization rights broke out, and the Dacyla soon realized they needed many more troops than they were able to field. Conscripts taken from the homeworld were sent, under trained and under equipped, were sent to fight for the crown, but more died than ever imaginable. The aristocracy, however, cared little, and sent more and more to die. On the surface, the people were fighting for their homeworld, but underground, tempers were swelling, and the people were mustering for a different kind of fight.
The revolt started in the mines. A few thousand overcame the Imperial Soldiers overseeing them, even convincing many soldiers to join them. They raided armories and armed themselves, and after the mines were under their control, they used them as a headquarters. The mines themselves were expansive enough that their operations could be moved as needed. The multiple shafts throughout the world were easily connected with the readily available mining supplies and explosives to create multiple points of egress to attack without warning, for agents to escape quickly, and any number of surreptitious goals. All over the Empire, revolutionaries fought back against their oppressors. Soldiers were ambushed. Supply lines were disrupted. Monuments were demolished. These agents and shocktroopers would eventually become the original Chica Piesec, and their effectiveness would be put to the test soon.
Towards the end of the war with the Legati, the Dacyla aristocracy surrendered the disputed territories and returned their forces to the homeworld. Now with the might of the Dacyla Armed Forces bearing down upon them, the Chica Piesec were waging a full clandestine civil war. But the resistance fighters had been legitimized in the eyes of the public, and support for them had grown. New recruits were coming in daily, and many who could not fight provided material support in some capacity. Fighting was the fiercest around the capitol city of Giezno, and the Battle of Giezno raged for nearly a year with no clear victor. It was a single sniper whose name has been lost to history that fired the shot to end hostilities.
All that is known of the assassin is that they fired the round while clinging to a wall of a building facing the Imperial Palace. The round pierced through several layers of reinforced building materials while the Emperor was not visible by any known means. The round itself was never found, although material abrasion traces suggests it was composed of an as-of-yet-unknown material. Investigations continue to this day, and nothing conclusive has been uncovered. While the true name of the assassin is unknown, colloquially it is attributed to the legendary hero king Boleslaw the Brave.

Widmo Operatives vs. Legati Supply Legion

While the Dacyla were no strangers to aliens after overthrowing the aristocracy, the true breadth and depth of sapient life in the galaxy was held from them.The Legati were known to them as an inevitability, but the other species were completely unknown. The Dacyla held no grudges against the Legati, knowing that their Emperor forced them into warfare and the Legati were merely a foe chosen by a dead government. The Legati, however, were not as kind. Though introduced as a new nation, the Legati were not pleased to see their rivals again, even if under a new banner. The virtually defunct Supply Legion, which, at one time, carried war goods and food for the Legati military, was called back into service with a new mission: espionage and subterfuge. This, however, was did not go as they expected.
The Chicha Piesec had taken control of the Dacyla's colonization efforts, and the Supply Legion's actions had not gone unnoticed. Watching from afar, the shady group made great effort to interrupt the Supply Legion's operations but leave the alien soldiers unharmed as to not start an interspecies incident, and this was achieved surreptitiously by infiltrators known as Widmo. Witnesses within the Supply Legion would remember these events with horror as entire cohorts comprised of at least 300 soldiers would suddenly vanish only to reappear a few hours later bruised and battered with their stocks of ordnance mysteriously missing. The attacks themselves were precision strikes making use of psychological warfare. Widmo operators would burn flammable materials far away and use Gravid powers to facilitate a silent dispersal of smoke in Supply Legion camps. When the smoke and smell of the burning material was deemed sufficient, they would silently approach until on the borders of camp. The operators would rack their swimming legs against their plated torsos, creating a signature sound that drew parallels within the Legati to the Lost Legion. When the Widmo team leader gave the signal, the operators moved in and silently incapacitated every Legati soldier in the camps, and then steal whatever they could take. Later, it would be revealed that such missions often only utilized as few as 3 Widmo operators.
The Chicha Piesec's mission had been successful. The Supply Legion, fearing attacks from the unknown, unseen enemy might become lethal, retreated and regrouped within Legati controlled space. There was nothing that could be done to stop the Dacyla from spreading, and upon realizing this, the Legati Praetor extended an offering of peace and cooperation between the two species. The peace between the two remains shaky, but true.

Historical Figures

Hero King Boleslaw the Brave is widely considered to be the ideal to which all Dacyla are held. Boleslaw united the Dacyla under a common banner and the idea that all are equally important to the success of the kingdom. His exploits are storied throughout Dacyla culture in a manner similar to that of King Arthur among Humans. His influence is so impactful that every Emperor of Giezno claimed lineage to his line, whether true or not.

Lifespan

75 years

Average Height

1.8 - 2.3 m

Average Weight

80 - 130 kg

Average Physique

Dacyla stand much taller than humans and weigh much more in muscle mass. This affords them greater strength and agility at the cost of stamina.