2. Homeland
A very hot destroyed planet, they were once human, but, over many years of evolution, their bodies adapted to the beating sun and hot climate. Their counterparts, the Atrum, live underground while they live above ground.

3. Special Abilities and Distinguishing Features
Their eyes have an extra ‘lid’ kind of like sunglasses, which they can close over their eyes to protect them from the sun. This is black, making their eye completely black as well. They let off excess heat from their ears, and give off heat of their own, sometimes to alarming degrees if they’re somewhere cold, or, if they’re bodies cannot give off heat, or they’re plunged into very cold temperatures quickly they can burst into flames, sometimes causes minor burns, and of course, disintegrating their clothing.

4. Lifespan
A little longer than the normal Human lifespan. 150-200 tops.

5. Cultural Description
Their culture has a royal family, there’s a hierarchy, and all that fun stuff. At least, there was, but, now that technology is around, the royal family, though they still exist, aren’t worshipped as thoroughly as they once were.

6. Religion
Up to them! They can believe in whatever they like!

[Created by Draconian]

The Sigrene had never extensively studied agriculture, as the species devoured the planet’s many hillsides in order to gain their nutrition. What they didn’t know, however, was that their diet allowed them to ingest several vital species of anaerobic bacteria that thrived in the heat and mineral-rich soil around the base of the volcano. These cultures, high in nutrition and much more beneficial than any Earth microbe could prove to them, proved to be surprisingly plentiful in a land whose lakes and rivers were buried so far beneath the planet’s surface. Those few who dared venture away from the volcano were greeted only with stones that were bitter, tasteless, and toxic; without the bacteria within the dirt, the material clogged their digestive tracts and quickly ended their lives. Since the afflicted felt no hunger as a result of dead weight in their stomachs, they starved to death while feeling blissfully stuffed. Lessons were learned, and they came to deify the land given to them by their Matron, the planet.

Earth scientists came to view these harvesting grounds as scars from asteroids, though that was a far cry from the truth- they merely gathered earth to bring back to the side of the volcano, where their goddess Aluverhia (with the volcano serving as her current incarnation) warmed the land and blessed it with her life-giving eruptions once every hundred years. They claimed she was cleansing the area of all that was impure, replacing it with the unadulterated life of the Matron herself… a noble sacrifice every century was given to them, they claimed, since the goddess birthed from her noble womb a life that died to allow her children to live. Food sacrifices were offered into the volcano itself every time the one of Mars’s twin moons eclipsed, and living Sigrene offered up one of their own two days following each eruption to pay for the sacrifice of their goddess’s life-giving child.

When Edanith first began to settle the lands, bringing their magicians and Mordecai in tow, the Sigrene regarded them with distrust- they were creatures of unnatural stature, tore apart the desert land in favor of strange ‘green things’ that siphoned the life out of their beloved Matron, and poisoned the air with even more oxygen then the local plant species had ever given off. With the temperature of the planet increasing over the centuries and the magicians only aggravating the climate’s condition, the Sigrene found that the nurturer that sprang forth life from its open womb was now warming the air too much- they could not survive if they remained forever attached to the peak. With great sadness and bitterness, they ran to the woods that stole their Matron’s life with each passing day, hiding among the trees while continuing to eat the dirt whose nutritional quality continued to decrease with time.

Accounts differ on who rediscovered the edibility of protein-laden meat, but the people of Matron Mars quickly came to realize that the newly-introduced wildlife made for reliable sources of food. Abandoning their formerly life-giving dirt as if it were no more than waste, they flourished over the next several generations, reveling in the realization that this long-absent nutrient allowed their scales to be completely malleable, rushing over any part of their bodies and padding it as they pleased for up to three hours at a time. Vocal chords could be created- for the Sigrene had no pharynx, only lungs with which to hiss communications with others- and impersonation of voice was easy enough, given practice. Skin once again was taken care of by secretions, only now the colors of said secretions could change at will. The only problem that this race had with the newcomers is that they could not replicate clothing, and could not transform within it.

The pinnacle of the race’s development came to its climax when one Sigrene, hiding the excess scales it didn’t need where humans normally had space set aside for intestines, hobbled into the Edanith settlement under the guise of a naked woman. When asked why she could not walk properly and why she was without clothes, the intelligent creature drew a crude picture of a man in the dirt, hoarsely mumbling the words it had heard from escaped prey… “That thing attacked me.”

It was the first, but certainly not the last Sigrene to integrate into other sentient societies. Even though she behaved oddly, people attributed it to the apparent trauma (for certain parts of the anatomy had been mangled, for lack of information on how they were supposed to look) and let her be, though some remained concerned for the apparent woman and cared for her while she lived on the streets, observing the cultures of this species and relaying the information to her colleagues as more slipped into the fold of society. Sterility seems to be the one main constant, as reproduction among them can only be accomplished with another.

No race except the Edanith have ever seen the true form of the Sigrene, and those that have even among the mage-controlling culture are seen to be inspiring unnecessary panic. Most who hear the name consider them to be placed under the same category as Teinar’s infamous beasts.

[Created by KuraiKitty]

2. Homeland
The planet Lanaes, a dwarf planet in between earth and mars, which is barely noticeable unless you are specifically looking for it. Lanaes is not so different from earth except that all the plants and creatures that live there are purple or blue in colour because of a strange mineral in the planet’s surface called Tralite. When Tralite reacts with water it emits a type of radiation which causes the strange colouration. Other than that the general layout is not so different from medieval earth though the technology in the settlements is far more advanced.

3. Special Abilities and Distinguishing Features
All Lanaerians have some magical ability to a greater or lesser extent because they are descended from magic users.

4. Lifespan
The lifespan of a Lanaerian is the same as a humans’.

5. Cultural Description
The Lanaerian culture is lot like the culture of medieval earth in that the values are very similar such as men being considered as superior to women. The reason for this is that in the beginning, procreation was very important in order for the society to continue so women were awarded special privileges to sway them to have children but over time this evolved into a belief that women were inferior.

Most Lanaerians also believe non-magic users are inferior and often blame them for the oppression mages suffered before the migration to Lanaes. Despite being rather medieval in its ideas and values, Lanaes has incredibly advanced technology mostly for industry as generally the Lanaerians are a peaceful race

6. Religion
Lanaerians believe that magic users have been given sacred powers from the powers that created and government the world, another reason why they believe non-magic users to be inferior. They also believe that though advances in technology are a good thing, they must still take care of nature and the environment for it is nature that grants many magic users their power. The gods or ‘powers’ that the Lanaerians believe in are nameless as they believe to name them is a sin and to try and describe their powers in also a sin as mortal beings can never begin to understand. Because of this idea, anyone who tries to claim that there is no divine intervention in the world is automatically treated with suspicion

Their services to their gods are very simple to show that humans are simple in comparison to gods. The services are generally just a few prayers and blessings but temples do exist.

[Created by MiatheRabbit]

2. Characteristics
Most people seeing them for the first time would describe them as deer-like, and there is really no escaping the resemblance. However, that’s all it really is—a resemblance—as the Tuathi are in no way related to or descended from deer.

The Tuathi are a humanoid race. They’re human in shape with all the same human parts, they just have a few additions and alterations. All of them have stark white skin and hair, though both their skin and hair may be streaked with color or a pattern, or it may be completely undecorated. The colors are never wild ones like purples and greens and blues, but more neutral colors, like grays, browns, black, even more subdued, brownish shades of red. Stripes along the body are the most common, but some Tuathi have large spots like a snow leopard. Still, markings vary from person to person and no Tuathi bears the same pattern. There’s a lot of variation. On the subject of skin, Tuathi do sunburn, but they don't tan.

Their eyes come in a wide range of colors. Tuathi can have any eye color that exists in the color spectrum.

Tuathi all have fangs like a predator, as well as retractable claws on their hands. They all also have fluffy deer-like tails, long deer-like ears that are covered in the same fur as their tails, and while their legs are humanoid in shape, they become more animalistic below the knee. Thick fur begins to grow there, and instead of human feet and toes they have sharp, cloven hooves that help them dig in and walk on ice. The hooves are fairly large, as well, not small and dainty, and the “toes” can spread out which allows them to walk easily through snow, like a moose. All Tuathi also have horns. Or, well, the females do. Two short, spiraled horns grown from the females’ heads, never growing more than about four to five inches. Males, on the other hand have antlers of a sort, though they are also spiraled, they are never shed, and they are never covered in velvet.

Males tend to be larger than females and can grow upwards of six feet tall, while females are considered tall at five foot five, though they’re rarely shorter than five feet. While males are built for power, with broader builds and larger muscles, females are built for speed, with lithe, graceful builds. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, and sometimes a smaller male with a slight build might be born or a taller female with a more powerful build. All Tuathi are quite physically strong, though females are generally less so than males. However, while a male is stronger in regards to sheer brute force, females are much quicker and more agile.

3. Special Abilities
All Tuathi possess some level of magic. The most common type is Earth magic, though Tuathi may be versed in all sorts of elemental magics, even the more obscure types such as Light, Dark, Spirit, Chaos, and the like. Those are more rare; earth, water, fire, and air are the most common.

Different Tuathi may be stronger or weaker in their magic than others, and this has more to do with experience and age, though some Tuathi just may be naturals at it. Gender does not play a role in how strong a Tuathi is in their magic, and all may learn to strengthen their skills with practice, perseverance, and application. Generally, Tuathi are born “knowing” one element, though they can learn others. This is very difficult to do with the common elements, and near impossible to do with the rare ones.

4. Vocalizations
Tuathi make a wide variety of sounds apart from the usual humanoid ones, sounds which further stress the fact that they are in no way related to deer. Tuathi can growl, snarl, hiss, and even roar when angry or threatened (though it is generally only the males that have the ability to roar; some females can, but most lack the vocal capacity), they can purr like a cat when pleased, and they sometimes mewl when frightened.

5. Diet
Omnivorous. The Tuathi have their teeth and claws for a reason. They’re hunters, their white coloration giving them good camouflage against the snowy landscape, but they also eat plants and fruits.

6. Homeland
They’re native to a small planet called Ren’unis, a planet that has been plunged into a sort of ice age for the last few millennia. It’s a fairly young planet with four small moons, at least one of which can be viewed at all hours of the day and night. The planet’s orbit around that galaxy’s sun is rather lengthy, and the planet is currently on the outer reaches of its orbit and, thus, far from their sun. The planet is home to a number of races, none of which are particularly advanced, as much of their technology has been destroyed from the ice age or from the wars that occur there. The Tuathi were once one of the dominant races, but they have been dying out for some time now as the more predatory races of the planet have been turning to them for sustenance. The Tuathi were not always viewed as prey, but as other species have also died out, the other predators have really had no choice but to start picking them off.

The planet’s temperatures are sub-zero for two thirds of their year, which is measured by their moons instead of by their sun. To make things simpler to understand, the Earthian equivalent will be used, so…for about four months out of a twelve month period, there is a brief reprieve where the planet becomes a little warmer and some plants adapted to the cold temperatures can grow. This occurs when their largest moon moves closest to Ren’unis during its orbit.

The technology level on their planet is not altogether advanced. They used to be highly advanced, but a lot of their technology, as mentioned, was destroyed and lost. They rely a lot on steam power, which powers much of their current technology (a lot of which was salvaged from destroyed parts). They do have some working spacecraft that they were able to save which they use to venture occasionally to other planets in search of new technology. However, they are not interested in leaving their planet, harsh as it is. It’s their planet and their home; they don’t want to give it up.

In regards to their predators, there are many, but the most troublesome sort they simply call "Others". The Others do have a name, and they're an intelligent culture, but the Tuathi hate them and do not honor them with a name. Information about them will come later, as they're a species in development!

7. Lifespan
Very long! Tuathi tend to age fairly slowly. They tend to age as a human would until their twenties, after which their aging slows down radically. Yet even though they may physically look about twenty, they don’t actually reach sexual maturity until the age of around sixty. That’s when females have their first “season”, or in other words, are ready to mate. It may seem strange that a dying race comes to sexual maturity so late, but there was a time when the Tuathi nearly overpopulated Ren’unis, so it was likely evolution’s way of dealing with the problem. Now, the fact that they’re so difficult to breed is even more of a problem.

It’s not really known how long a Tuathi can live. There are many who are in their hundreds, but not many live past four-hundred. The cause of death is rarely “natural” as in old age or disease; violent death by one of Ren’unis’ predators is far more likely.

8. Cultural description
To an outsider, their culture would probably look, well…antiquated and misogynistic. Their society is patriarchal; the males are in charge, even though there tend to be fewer males than females born. This is not to say the females are powerless, or that the males lord their power over them. Each member of the society has a role, and all are important. Issues such as murder, rape, and abuse are virtually non-existent except in special cases and highly frowned upon (in fact, any responsible for such an offense are promptly branded and exiled). It is a highly traditional society, and not a lot has changed in it for hundreds of years.

Community is what is most important to the Tuathi. “We” comes before “me”, always. The Tuathi are raised to be selfless, to help others where they can, to share, and to think of others before they think of themselves. They are the sort of people that, if they only have food enough for two in their household and someone that was starving came along, they’d split the portions even more in order to feed that person. They’d rather go a little hungry themselves than see someone else go completely without a meal. On that note, the concept of “stealing” is an alien one to them. There is no such thing; everything belongs to the community, essentially, and the idea that someone would take something just to hoard it is an idea that would baffle them. Selfishness is shameful, after all, and stealing would definitely be a selfish act.

The Tuathi have strong ideas in regards to shame and honor. Dishonoring others brings shame to the one that did the dishonoring, and to clear one’s name of that shame, it must be worked off under the one who was wronged. Lying, cheating, stealing, scheming, disobeying orders, humiliating others, etc. are all shameful and dishonor others, and all offenses are to be worked off. Working off an offense can be as simple as apologizing or doing a mundane task, or it can be more complicated and take years to work off. It all depends on the severity of the offense. Choosing not to work off the offense only results in acquiring more shame and a bad name in the community—and among the Tuathi, a highly communal people, there are few things worse than having a bad name in the community. After all, the community affects every aspect of a Tuathi’s life…so having a bad name in it can make life downright miserable.

Tuathi are very polite, and very conscious of chain of commands, which in their society is gender and age based. Older males are at the top of that chain of command, and next come adult males, elderly females, females, and lastly children, male and female alike. Females defer to males, males defer to elderly males, and children (male and female alike) defer to male and female adults. There is no hierarchy among children below the age of thirteen. Again, power is not usually abused as it is believed that only weak people abuse their power out of their own insecurities. Tuathi are respectful of their “superiors”, and in formal situations they often bow deeply from the waist in greeting and in farewell.

In lieu of being very community-oriented, Tuathi are known for being very blunt, and having a very logical, no-nonsense way of looking at the world. Things should have a practical use, and instead of beating around the bush, if you want to say something, just say it! There is no use decorating your speech with euphemisms and the like, which only confuse people as to what you want, need, or think. While the Tuathi view some behaviors as shameful, they are very honest and open with their thoughts; hiding things, after all, helps no one.

Similarly, on the topic of shame…Tuathi, unlike some human cultures, are not afraid of nudity. Nudity is no big deal; breasts are simply viewed as “food makers for babies”, males and females can be naked around each other, even sleep in the same quarters right next to each other, without it being awkward and without any traces of sexuality. In fact, this is not uncommon at all, and it’s not uncommon for Tuathi to even bathe together and wash and groom each other. Tuathi rarely do anything alone, and are highly social. They tend to get lonely easily, which of course depresses them, and they’re a very physically affectionate people. Kissing is often done as a greeting (among people they are familiar with, that is), they tend to love hugging and cuddling, they even pet each other. They tend to feel more comfortable with physical contact than without it, which can often make them feel rejected.

Nudity among Tuathi really only becomes arousing during their breeding season, which lasts a week. Even then it’s more scent-based than sight-based. When it comes to mating, Tuathi females come into Season once a year, usually at the end of Spring and beginning of their next Winter. There are some hormonal changes that occur to signal that the female is ready to mate, but the most noticeable are the release of pheromones. Males can easily pick up the scent, which is extremely arousing to them. Females may try and get the attention of males they’re interested in by purring and petting them, but ultimately the male chooses what females he mates with.

This can be a chaotic time, with males and females alike becoming irritable and edgy, and it’s during this time when fights are most likely to break out as males stake claims on the females of their choice. The stronger males get first pickings, generally, and mates tend to be chosen based off their own strength—they think in terms of which females can provide the healthiest, strongest children. They may be challenged by other males, though, and that’s where things can get nasty, even bloody. The whole concept of shame and honor is thrown out the window once a year.

Even if a female has been claimed by a male, she can choose to back out, though he might still be able to coerce her to stay. Again, rape is an exile-able offense, so there is no forced mating. A male that forces himself onto a female is viewed as weak and disgusting. On the flip side, if a female is in season and chooses not to mate with one male, she better choose to mate with another, as being capable of mating but not doing so is regarded as grossly selfish among a species that is dying out. Every newborn counts.

Sex as a whole is regarded in a technical fashion—it is done to reproduce, not for pleasure. It’s not to say they can’t feel pleasure during the process—males certainly can! However, it tends to be more of a “wham, bam, thank you ma’am” sort of deal, so most females probably wouldn’t. Their culture just doesn’t put much importance on the act, as there are more important things they could be spending their time doing, and as most of them simply don’t get aroused outside the breeding season.

On that note, it is rare for Tuathi to fall in love and have romantic partnerships, but sometimes it can happen, and it is simply referred to as Bonding and having a Bonded, which is very different from mating and having a mate. Mates are temporary, a one-time deal. Tuathi may have countless mates throughout their long lives, and even during a single Season, and they’re not regarded as anything special. Sometimes, though, deeper feelings for a single person may develop and, if mutual, they might choose to Bond. It is not a lifetime commitment like human marriages tend to be viewed as, but it is a promise of long-term dedication, which is really the only promise they can make. Bonded Tuathi may be more physically intimate and may have sex for pleasure.

Again, this doesn’t happen often, though. The Tuathi world is chaotic, they have many predators, and it’s not uncommon to lose quite a few friends and relatives throughout a lifetime. Thus, there is a certain level of detachment about them; it ensures they never get too close to anyone so that, if tragedy does strike, they can pick themselves back up and keep on trucking. They mourn hard to get the loss and pain out of their system—but they also mourn briefly so they can get back to living. After all, the dead don’t need anything anymore, but the living certainly do. Depression and suicide are considered morbidly selfish in their society, and the depressed are encouraged to get out of their slump and think of the others, and as for suicides…Tuathi who have killed themselves are buried quickly and unceremoniously, and quickly forgotten. They are not worth thinking about, as they obviously weren’t thinking of anyone else either.

Children are born at the beginning of the spring, and the community as a whole cares for them. Tuathi children don’t just know a “mother” and a “father”—they have many caretakers, and there isn’t a huge emphasis placed on the concept of “mother” and “father” as in other cultures. Mother is simply the one that gave birth to you. Father is simply the male that provided the seed. Tuathi that are too young to breed or too old to breed often serve as babysitters for the children, and any females that lost a child and still have milk will often serve as wet nurses for children whose mothers are simply busy with their daily duties or children who were orphaned. At the age of thirteen, Tuathi children start to be treated more as adults who have responsibilities and duties in the community and who don’t need to be babysat. They may become babysitters themselves, actually.

In regards to other races, Tuathi are highly curious. They may be cautious at first, but curiosity tends to win in the end. Despite this they have a very purist stance on mingling with other races. While they have no trouble interacting with them, mating is forbidden—they wish to keep their race pure. There have been a few cases in the past of a Tuathi female being raped by an Other and conceiving, but the child was killed upon being born. It is unknown whether they would do the same to a child that was a hybrid between a Tuathi and a species they didn’t hate.

They’re very proud of their race and their culture and would have a difficult time assimilating into another one, as other cultures usually don’t “make sense” to them.

9. Religion
Their religion is animistic more than anything. They are nature lovers and very earthy, and…um…I’m still figuring all this out. But they do have druids of a sort among them. And stuff like that. >_> And deities. Just gotta get those down!

[Created by Rhi-Rhi]