Post by Lady Kuri on Jul 26, 2010 20:31:37 GMT -5
Excerpts from the book Alien Codex: A Guide to the Universe and All Its Peoples by Professor Kuri Wolfe
::Appearance::
The alien planet of Cerasina [sarah-seen-a], or as the inhabitants of the planet call it Zerasine [sara-sine]. A planet full of very proud creatures, humanoid but with a different mentality. They call themselves Estrez [est-tray-s], which means “chosen ones” in their language.
A typical Estrez is about 6 feet tall, with white body hair, skin color ranging from bronze to paper white to grey. They have eye color ranging from blue-green to yellow. Usually Estrez women have narrow shoulders, narrow waist while men usually bulkier with wider shoulders, larger feet and hands. Both genders have five fingers on their hands, including an opposable digit, they have no toes or extremities on their foot. Ears are pointed, and higher on the side of the head than a humans ears, a common sign of aging is elongated ears or rounded ear tips. Their eyes are narrow and slightly almond shaped. When angered or defensive the sclera of the eye becomes black and the iris becomes darker. Usually the sclera of the eye is a grayish color, the pupil is black and the iris can be any shade of blue, yellow or white. They also have long, whip-like tails with a spade shaped point at the end.
::Culture::
The social interactions of Estrez are far more complex than many other creatures.
Through my observations I have deducted that their society runs on certain tacit laws, either learned by their peers or known by instinct from birth. The nature of the Estrez peoples is, in some ways, comparable to humans and, in others, completely alien. […] They are nimble, cunning and highly intelligent creatures. To describe the nature of the Estrez is difficult. Although they may look similar to us their ideas, mannerisms and innate nature is quite different.
[…]
Familial ties are close but extended family do not feel as tightly bound to each other. Large families living together is rare. […] Life mates are chosen carefully, for once they have consummated with their mate they are bonded for life. The Estrez however, even with their extremely long lifespan, do not fear commitment in the same way as humans. They do not mark their bond with their life mate with rings or stones, in fact the Estrez do not put much sentimental value on anything. It is their clothing, or on occasion face paintings, that show they are mated. […] The reproduction rates for Estrez are low because of their long lifespan. An Estrez female can only give birth only once or twice during her life. Consummation for Estrez is initially similar to that of humans, so similar in fact Estrez and Humans can have offspring together (see page 204). Yet unlike humans, Estrez babies do not gestate in their mother’s womb for 9 months. Three days after the egg is fertilized the mother expels a leathery membrane egg containing the developing fetus. These fetuses are incubated after birth in large hospital facilities until the offspring is fully developed after about 8 weeks. At the age of 7 Estrez bodies are fully-grown and sexually mature, however, their brains never stop developing even when it reaches its full size at age 10. Estrez have an average lifespan of about 150-200 years.
(Estrez Mates)
[...]
Although not usually aggressive, they can get extremely combative when they feel threatened, insulted or have been deeply insulted. […] To humans they often appear standoffish and aloof, which makes them seem distrustful. Yet the Estrez have made active attempts to at least mitigate this impression of them. There are several Estrez ambassadors on Earth, and other planets.
[…]
There is only one language on Zerasine and it is not completely verbal. The manner in which Estrez communicate is different than ours. They do have a written language and it does not rely on phonetics but rather symbols that represent images. Written language is extremely precise, different symbols in different configurations mean different things and every symbol has various meanings. There are billions of different configurations. They do not write in a linear fashion, instead their language looks more like drawings. The spoken language is just as cryptic and precise as the written, but not everything is verbalized. When they do speak it is to say something of importance, or to speak with someone they cannot touch. However, the Estrez commonly use telepathy to communicate. They pass images, sounds, tastes, scents and emotions to each other through telepathy. This type of telepathy is strongest with touch, it is almost always necessary for two Estrez to be touching to communicate with each other unless they are siblings, mates or have a parent/child relationship with the one they are communicating with.They do not have to be touching each other 'directly' to speak, five Estrez could be sitting in a row and holding hands and all of them would be having a "conversation". By touching each other they are opening a section of their mind to the other Estrez allowing free communication. The Estrez mind has natural mental blockades that allow them to communicate only what they want the other to see. […] In the Estrez community “projecting” is a prized skill. Projecting is the ability to project your thoughts into another’s mind over a great distance and making them feel like reality. Practice and skill determine how far away the victim can be from the caster and how long & how believable these illusions are. “Delving” is another rare skill that is highly prized, and too worthy of high honors. Delving is the ability to get past the natural mental barriers in the Estrez (or that any other species) mind and read past thoughts and memories. There are ways to train the mind to block delvers and projectors, but it takes a lot of discipline and mental fortitude. Experts at blocking are also held in high regard in Estrez society.
[…]
The Estrez seem to be creatures that socialize often but prefer to live in solitude or with their mate. Long periods of isolation do not do much to effect the mentality or mental fortitude of the Estrez. They like having space in which to live and think, and their pods – large apartments that typical Estrez live in – are usually large enough to host many people but house only one or two. Pods are joined together in large, often tall buildings giving each inhabitant both the opportunity to live in solitude and the opportunity to socialize with their neighbors if they so wish. Unlike on earth the Estrez do not have individual ‘houses’.
[…]
The Estrez appear only to be split into two distinct communities, which are perhaps better described as castes. As an honor based society, those who have not compromised their integrity remain a “Pure member of the Chosen Race” and make up the majority of Estrez. Estrez consider themselves equals although there are those who have more authority or have performed feats that earn great respect. Overall though they consider themselves equals as a race and attempt to treat one another as such.
The only thing that separates the chosen from ‘the disgraced’ is honor. The disgraced are not born so, unless they are of “impure blood”/half-breeds. Other ways one becomes one of the disgraced:
1. They could have betrayed the Estrez people in some way.
2. They could have killed or attempted to kill another Estrez.
3. They could have harmed or attacked an Estrez child.
4. They could have had a child with one who is not their life mate.
5. They could be infertile or unable to produce healthy offspring.
6. They could have broken rules of conduct and acted in a disrespectful and reckless manor harming or disturbing others.
These are the most common reasons for an Estrez to be disgraced. The disgraced are treated as second-class citizens, which means they have limited rights. Some are imprisoned or killed. All of these disgraced are looked down upon, and often ostracized. They are the only Estrez to wear the color red.
[…]
Estrez are intellectual individuals, but as a race are united by mutual respect, and common beliefs. All Estrez believe they are sacred beings and thus, feel that they must treat each other with equal respect, unless they are disgraced. Their belief system does not focus on a God, or omniscient being. They believe they themselves are the ultimate anomaly of the universe - the perfect outcome. All of the other intergalactic races are, in their eyes, ‘lesser outcomes’. They believe that their race is the result of the best possible cumulation of cosmic events that could occur and create a planet with sentient life thus making them “Pure Ones” or “The Chosen Beings”. This claim has yet to be proven, but the Estrez take it very seriously. Because of this widely held belief most Estrez are highly prejudiced against other beings, and look down upon them.
::Politics and Government::
The Estrez have one central government, the Council of Minewet. The planet is split into several regions and each has a handful of representatives that convene for two months every year and discuss. They provide regulations for business and control the army and planetary military of Zerasine. Zerasine is a planet that needs very little government interference in the daily life of its people. There is not much crime, such as murder or theft, but the Minewet Council does struggle to keep violence against the disgraced caste under control.
(Large Estrez City at Dusk)
::Clothing and Dress::
Estrez seem to attach a lot of meaning to colors. It would seem that their spectrum of color is beyond ours, meaning they can see colors we cannot. The special importance of color is expressed through their clothing. Their clothing is always intricately but subtly decorated with beautiful patterns. […] Blue is a color assigned to government, most wear comfortable robes – long but well fitting, and belted around the waist. These robes are about mid-thigh length with wide slits along the sides and a narrow slit at the back to allow their tail free movement. Beneath this they wear tight fitting pants with a hole in the back for their tail. In more formal situations they wear longer robes with only a slit in the back. […] Those attempting to attract a mate usually wear the color yellow. Those who already have a mate usually wear the color derotine, which we perceive as purple or blue. […] Warriors and military tend to wear scarce clothing to allow free movement. Although they do not have a particular uniform, all military Estrez wear the color white. When they are not fighting or on duty they wear white robes. […] The only particularly exclusive colors are red and green. For example an Estrez who is not a warrior could wear white but an Estrez who is not impure will never wear red. Red is a color of impurity and therefore only those who are disgraced wear it. Green is the color of wise or valiant people, therefore only those who have earned great respect or have great authority may wear it. Often times those with special skills, or those who are very talented in their craft wear green decoration on their clothing or green accessories. Military leaders, older government members or certain specialists often wear green clothing as well.
[…]
Face paint may be worn during times of celebration like a hativ (the day the mother receives her child once hatched), a military victory, a historic day, ECT. On occasions of lamenting, like funerals or large disasters they may wear it. Someone going to jail or one of the disgraced may also wear face paint to show the offense. Face paint shows specific information about the wearer. For instance on the day of a funeral you may differentiate the mate of the diseased and their sister by the different patterns. […] Estrez wear jewelry. They wear no metals as jewelry but gold, perhaps because gold is an abundant metal on their planet. Their jewelry is made of cloth, leather, or animal feathers. Ornamentation is usually around the base of the tail, neck, wrist, ears, hair, upper thigh, upper arm. Rarely you may see rings placed close to the tip of the tail. Even more rare is seeing an Estrez with the tip of their tail pierced.
::Technology, Military and Weapons::
Their weapons seem archaic by human standards, jagged swords and large scythe weapons. Weapon technology has not been significantly developed on their planet because of the centuries of peace and prosperity on Zerasine. Only recently have they felt the need to become a more militarized planet due to the rising tension in the galaxy. They have adopted high tech weapons in the military, seeing the advantage of having guns and plasma weapons to use against combative planets like Earth. Their use of armor is minimal although this too is beginning to change. The Estrez prefer to use personal kinetic shields to use against guns, and other firepower.
(Sketch of Female Estrez Warrior)
Transportation:
Most local transportation is done with genecrafts; self- driving personal transportation devices that run on can carry individuals or small groups of people. Although they are quick moving they scarcely crash because they sense the movements the Estrez, genecrafts, and other mobile things.
Cosmic travel however requires a much sleeker, elegant looking ship. Typical Estrez ships are gigantic, silver beasts. They look completely smooth, but transform instantly in preparation for battle. Usually flat round, or egg shaped they are built to withstand almost any kind of attack. The Estrez have built some of the most beautiful, maneuverable, advanced and deadly ships in the galaxy. Their ships have the advantage of being flexible – they can be ready to fight just as quickly as they can be ready to flee.
::Appearance::
The alien planet of Cerasina [sarah-seen-a], or as the inhabitants of the planet call it Zerasine [sara-sine]. A planet full of very proud creatures, humanoid but with a different mentality. They call themselves Estrez [est-tray-s], which means “chosen ones” in their language.
A typical Estrez is about 6 feet tall, with white body hair, skin color ranging from bronze to paper white to grey. They have eye color ranging from blue-green to yellow. Usually Estrez women have narrow shoulders, narrow waist while men usually bulkier with wider shoulders, larger feet and hands. Both genders have five fingers on their hands, including an opposable digit, they have no toes or extremities on their foot. Ears are pointed, and higher on the side of the head than a humans ears, a common sign of aging is elongated ears or rounded ear tips. Their eyes are narrow and slightly almond shaped. When angered or defensive the sclera of the eye becomes black and the iris becomes darker. Usually the sclera of the eye is a grayish color, the pupil is black and the iris can be any shade of blue, yellow or white. They also have long, whip-like tails with a spade shaped point at the end.
::Culture::
The social interactions of Estrez are far more complex than many other creatures.
Through my observations I have deducted that their society runs on certain tacit laws, either learned by their peers or known by instinct from birth. The nature of the Estrez peoples is, in some ways, comparable to humans and, in others, completely alien. […] They are nimble, cunning and highly intelligent creatures. To describe the nature of the Estrez is difficult. Although they may look similar to us their ideas, mannerisms and innate nature is quite different.
[…]
Familial ties are close but extended family do not feel as tightly bound to each other. Large families living together is rare. […] Life mates are chosen carefully, for once they have consummated with their mate they are bonded for life. The Estrez however, even with their extremely long lifespan, do not fear commitment in the same way as humans. They do not mark their bond with their life mate with rings or stones, in fact the Estrez do not put much sentimental value on anything. It is their clothing, or on occasion face paintings, that show they are mated. […] The reproduction rates for Estrez are low because of their long lifespan. An Estrez female can only give birth only once or twice during her life. Consummation for Estrez is initially similar to that of humans, so similar in fact Estrez and Humans can have offspring together (see page 204). Yet unlike humans, Estrez babies do not gestate in their mother’s womb for 9 months. Three days after the egg is fertilized the mother expels a leathery membrane egg containing the developing fetus. These fetuses are incubated after birth in large hospital facilities until the offspring is fully developed after about 8 weeks. At the age of 7 Estrez bodies are fully-grown and sexually mature, however, their brains never stop developing even when it reaches its full size at age 10. Estrez have an average lifespan of about 150-200 years.
(Estrez Mates)
[...]
Although not usually aggressive, they can get extremely combative when they feel threatened, insulted or have been deeply insulted. […] To humans they often appear standoffish and aloof, which makes them seem distrustful. Yet the Estrez have made active attempts to at least mitigate this impression of them. There are several Estrez ambassadors on Earth, and other planets.
[…]
There is only one language on Zerasine and it is not completely verbal. The manner in which Estrez communicate is different than ours. They do have a written language and it does not rely on phonetics but rather symbols that represent images. Written language is extremely precise, different symbols in different configurations mean different things and every symbol has various meanings. There are billions of different configurations. They do not write in a linear fashion, instead their language looks more like drawings. The spoken language is just as cryptic and precise as the written, but not everything is verbalized. When they do speak it is to say something of importance, or to speak with someone they cannot touch. However, the Estrez commonly use telepathy to communicate. They pass images, sounds, tastes, scents and emotions to each other through telepathy. This type of telepathy is strongest with touch, it is almost always necessary for two Estrez to be touching to communicate with each other unless they are siblings, mates or have a parent/child relationship with the one they are communicating with.They do not have to be touching each other 'directly' to speak, five Estrez could be sitting in a row and holding hands and all of them would be having a "conversation". By touching each other they are opening a section of their mind to the other Estrez allowing free communication. The Estrez mind has natural mental blockades that allow them to communicate only what they want the other to see. […] In the Estrez community “projecting” is a prized skill. Projecting is the ability to project your thoughts into another’s mind over a great distance and making them feel like reality. Practice and skill determine how far away the victim can be from the caster and how long & how believable these illusions are. “Delving” is another rare skill that is highly prized, and too worthy of high honors. Delving is the ability to get past the natural mental barriers in the Estrez (or that any other species) mind and read past thoughts and memories. There are ways to train the mind to block delvers and projectors, but it takes a lot of discipline and mental fortitude. Experts at blocking are also held in high regard in Estrez society.
[…]
The Estrez seem to be creatures that socialize often but prefer to live in solitude or with their mate. Long periods of isolation do not do much to effect the mentality or mental fortitude of the Estrez. They like having space in which to live and think, and their pods – large apartments that typical Estrez live in – are usually large enough to host many people but house only one or two. Pods are joined together in large, often tall buildings giving each inhabitant both the opportunity to live in solitude and the opportunity to socialize with their neighbors if they so wish. Unlike on earth the Estrez do not have individual ‘houses’.
[…]
The Estrez appear only to be split into two distinct communities, which are perhaps better described as castes. As an honor based society, those who have not compromised their integrity remain a “Pure member of the Chosen Race” and make up the majority of Estrez. Estrez consider themselves equals although there are those who have more authority or have performed feats that earn great respect. Overall though they consider themselves equals as a race and attempt to treat one another as such.
The only thing that separates the chosen from ‘the disgraced’ is honor. The disgraced are not born so, unless they are of “impure blood”/half-breeds. Other ways one becomes one of the disgraced:
1. They could have betrayed the Estrez people in some way.
2. They could have killed or attempted to kill another Estrez.
3. They could have harmed or attacked an Estrez child.
4. They could have had a child with one who is not their life mate.
5. They could be infertile or unable to produce healthy offspring.
6. They could have broken rules of conduct and acted in a disrespectful and reckless manor harming or disturbing others.
These are the most common reasons for an Estrez to be disgraced. The disgraced are treated as second-class citizens, which means they have limited rights. Some are imprisoned or killed. All of these disgraced are looked down upon, and often ostracized. They are the only Estrez to wear the color red.
[…]
Estrez are intellectual individuals, but as a race are united by mutual respect, and common beliefs. All Estrez believe they are sacred beings and thus, feel that they must treat each other with equal respect, unless they are disgraced. Their belief system does not focus on a God, or omniscient being. They believe they themselves are the ultimate anomaly of the universe - the perfect outcome. All of the other intergalactic races are, in their eyes, ‘lesser outcomes’. They believe that their race is the result of the best possible cumulation of cosmic events that could occur and create a planet with sentient life thus making them “Pure Ones” or “The Chosen Beings”. This claim has yet to be proven, but the Estrez take it very seriously. Because of this widely held belief most Estrez are highly prejudiced against other beings, and look down upon them.
::Politics and Government::
The Estrez have one central government, the Council of Minewet. The planet is split into several regions and each has a handful of representatives that convene for two months every year and discuss. They provide regulations for business and control the army and planetary military of Zerasine. Zerasine is a planet that needs very little government interference in the daily life of its people. There is not much crime, such as murder or theft, but the Minewet Council does struggle to keep violence against the disgraced caste under control.
(Large Estrez City at Dusk)
::Clothing and Dress::
Estrez seem to attach a lot of meaning to colors. It would seem that their spectrum of color is beyond ours, meaning they can see colors we cannot. The special importance of color is expressed through their clothing. Their clothing is always intricately but subtly decorated with beautiful patterns. […] Blue is a color assigned to government, most wear comfortable robes – long but well fitting, and belted around the waist. These robes are about mid-thigh length with wide slits along the sides and a narrow slit at the back to allow their tail free movement. Beneath this they wear tight fitting pants with a hole in the back for their tail. In more formal situations they wear longer robes with only a slit in the back. […] Those attempting to attract a mate usually wear the color yellow. Those who already have a mate usually wear the color derotine, which we perceive as purple or blue. […] Warriors and military tend to wear scarce clothing to allow free movement. Although they do not have a particular uniform, all military Estrez wear the color white. When they are not fighting or on duty they wear white robes. […] The only particularly exclusive colors are red and green. For example an Estrez who is not a warrior could wear white but an Estrez who is not impure will never wear red. Red is a color of impurity and therefore only those who are disgraced wear it. Green is the color of wise or valiant people, therefore only those who have earned great respect or have great authority may wear it. Often times those with special skills, or those who are very talented in their craft wear green decoration on their clothing or green accessories. Military leaders, older government members or certain specialists often wear green clothing as well.
[…]
Face paint may be worn during times of celebration like a hativ (the day the mother receives her child once hatched), a military victory, a historic day, ECT. On occasions of lamenting, like funerals or large disasters they may wear it. Someone going to jail or one of the disgraced may also wear face paint to show the offense. Face paint shows specific information about the wearer. For instance on the day of a funeral you may differentiate the mate of the diseased and their sister by the different patterns. […] Estrez wear jewelry. They wear no metals as jewelry but gold, perhaps because gold is an abundant metal on their planet. Their jewelry is made of cloth, leather, or animal feathers. Ornamentation is usually around the base of the tail, neck, wrist, ears, hair, upper thigh, upper arm. Rarely you may see rings placed close to the tip of the tail. Even more rare is seeing an Estrez with the tip of their tail pierced.
::Technology, Military and Weapons::
Their weapons seem archaic by human standards, jagged swords and large scythe weapons. Weapon technology has not been significantly developed on their planet because of the centuries of peace and prosperity on Zerasine. Only recently have they felt the need to become a more militarized planet due to the rising tension in the galaxy. They have adopted high tech weapons in the military, seeing the advantage of having guns and plasma weapons to use against combative planets like Earth. Their use of armor is minimal although this too is beginning to change. The Estrez prefer to use personal kinetic shields to use against guns, and other firepower.
(Sketch of Female Estrez Warrior)
Transportation:
Most local transportation is done with genecrafts; self- driving personal transportation devices that run on can carry individuals or small groups of people. Although they are quick moving they scarcely crash because they sense the movements the Estrez, genecrafts, and other mobile things.
Cosmic travel however requires a much sleeker, elegant looking ship. Typical Estrez ships are gigantic, silver beasts. They look completely smooth, but transform instantly in preparation for battle. Usually flat round, or egg shaped they are built to withstand almost any kind of attack. The Estrez have built some of the most beautiful, maneuverable, advanced and deadly ships in the galaxy. Their ships have the advantage of being flexible – they can be ready to fight just as quickly as they can be ready to flee.
