Teshkava

Written by Domehead

The Teshkava are a race of eyeless, quad armed, bipeds. Despite the odd appearance, their biology, they are a visually oriented species. Compared to humans, they are taller, stronger, faster, and have superior senses. On average they’re 2 to 2.5 meters tall. Originally created as a pet for their creators, the Teshkava were created by mixing their genetics with their creations following an unintentionally released bioweapon. Following the death of their creators, they have optimized their biology to be ever-improving of themselves.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Teshkava have 4 arms and are otherwise unremarkable and similar to human. Their musculature is an advanced biopolymer that more strength than that of human muscles., To help control this, they have a reinforced calcium skeleton. This allows them to survive somewhat longer falls than a person though often not without some sort of internal injury.
A Teshkava has some structural similarities to humans with a heart, lungs, brain, digestive, and reproductive system. After that, Teshkava varies wildly from human physiology. Rather than have concentrated organs, most functions are spread out throughout the body.

Biological Traits

A variety of individuals with customized colorations exist. Customization around the edges is allowed but the individual must keep their four arms, tail, and antenna.

Genetics and Reproduction

While all Tolesian are born as cisgender, Teshkava biology is flexible and many undergo augmentation to change their sex to whatever fits their image best. The vast majority of Teshkava are straight and cisgender, though intersex, hermaphroditic, and null gender individuals exist. Teshkava have mammaries but lay eggs that hatch after about a year, and must be incubated once laid to prevent death.

Growth Rate & Stages

A Teshkava undergoes typical growth from the size of roughly 0.5 meters to their full height of 2 to 2.5 meters.

Ecology and Habitats

Teshkava are mostly at home in temperate and moderately wet places.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Teshkava are omnivorous and function adequately on anything that serves their biological needs. Some limited compatibility may exist with certain plants and compounds from other planets but these are unlikely and could be fatal.

Biological Cycle

An average Teshkava has an expected lifespan of 150 years though many last much longer due to careful and attentive life choices and continued regeneration.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Their social structure is softly tribal, allowing socialization in both small and large groups without succumbing to infighting.

Facial characteristics

Most unique about this species is their lack of eyes, given that their face is sensitive to light.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Interstellar

Average Intelligence

Despite their larger brain, more of their brain is used to process optical data from the myriads of cells. As such, even though their brains are larger, they're as smart (maybe a smidge smarter) than the average human.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Teshkavan sight is based off on 8 optical eye cells. They have activation in the near-infrared, red, orange, yellow, green blue, indigo, violet, low ultraviolet. These are combined with the cell's rod-like engineering that allows them to activate at very low lights, allowing them to see a very wide spectrum even in low light situations. Their vision is based on the principle of an organic light field, a vision system based on directionally sensitive cells. Their brain reconstitutes the image into a solid, singular image.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Teshkava naming conventions tend to be related to occupation and birthright. The intermingling of various classes over the years has diluted the names.

Major Organizations

The Tolesian commonwealth speaks for the vast majority of Teshkava, though ex-pats and those on the run from the law exist.

Gender Ideals

Tolesian biology and engineering technology allow for up to 8 possible sex selections based on the individual:

• Male
• Female
• Intersex Male
• Intersex Female
• Female bodied hermaphrodite
• Male bodied hermaphrodite
• Male Nullified
• Female Nullified

History

Rather than their creators leaving their creations to teach, their creator's created advanced AI to strategize and coordinate. Each creator's nation attempted to build the AI that could out-think the other nations' AI. Using semi-automated labs and factories, it got to the point that their creators relied on their creations to fight the impossible wars on the ground and in cyberspace. Then came the virus.
The virus (though it was actually a fungal-like organism) was developed as a bioweapon by a nation. slowly spreading through the populace. It was only detected after the first deaths before it horrifically mutated, causing systemic organ failure in its hosts. Seeing their fate, their servants, a specially created race of slaves using genetic material from a small creature native to their world, were elevated to take their place. Billions died. Billions more died from the famines and societal collapse until their race was all but extinct. Soon it was only their servants, immune from the effects of the virus thanks to their differing genetics.
However, their AIs still fought, still seeking one another's destruction, guided their servants to fight for them as a contingency. Many buildings were destroyed as the AIs could no longer fight their digital wars but each fortified a city around their AI constructs. The wars were endless and merciless, the Teshkava, as they called themselves quickly gained a martial spirit as they fought battle after battle. Each nation took their creators cloning and modification technology, using it to create spies. 
As the dead piled up the populace realized they were pawns, manipulated into the destruction of themselves. One by one the populations turned on their massive AIs Shutting them down and destroying them, fueling a distrust of AI that would last centuries. Of course, much of their creator's civilization was ost as they vengefully burned and torched the rows upon rows of servers. But they, like a Phoenix, rose from the ashes to catapult themselves to the stars.

Origin/Ancestry

Genetically Engineered Successor Species

Lifespan

~150 years

Average Height

2.0-2.5 meters

Average Weight

120-170 kilograms

Average Physique

Their average physique is a toned form with muscles that are defined.