ZTARA VRATAZI - them there spacey elves
I. INTRODUCTION
☼☼☼☼☼
So, the starstrider elves are a race of elves I made because god forbid I do anything simple in my life. They're absolutely open to make and utilize in your own RPs, you don't need to ask permission or anything.
Lore surrounding their culture and biology and such are as follows; there's a lot of wiggle room for them, and most things can theoretically be rules-lawyered because genetics are a bag of fun. If you have any questions or concerns drop me a PM or on Discord. I've probably forgotten a million other details so it's all gonna be a huge work in progress for a while. WOOOO.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Intro (http://remnants.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=6701.msg50281#msg50281)
II. Basic biology (http://remnants.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=6701.msg50282#msg50282) (Featuring NSFW imagery, view at your own peril >>)
III. The Houses (http://remnants.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=6701.msg50283#msg50283)
IV. Culture (http://remnants.spiritsoftheearth.net/smf/index.php?topic=6701.msg50284#msg50284)
☼☼☼☼☼
II. OVERALL BIOLOGY
☼☼☼☼☼
General Characteristics
◊ They tol. Super tol. Range from 5'11" at their absolute smallest, to 7'5" at their largest. Variations within this range tends to be decided by House.
◊ All the starstriders possess sharpened canines/medium-sized fangs, and their premolars tend to be sharper than human premolars as well.
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/5ff6/f/2018/023/2/d/anatomy21_by_nephero-dc0zmg3.png)
Diagram of an elf's mouth, modeled by House Horizon. Featured are the set of openings on either side of the palate that generate their secondary sounds, which are reminiscent of glass harps, though very faint and involuntarily made.
◊ Tend towards a carnivorous diet, but with a strong preference for poultry and fish. Have a terrible time chewing processed grains like bread, lots of kitty-cat nyahnyahnyahing.
◊ Psionics and magic tend to be rarer for certain Houses than others. See House portion for deets yo.
◊ House coloration becomes more apparent after an infant is a few months old, slowly solidifying over time; baby elves are born nigh translucent, except for Horizons, who are born with their adult coloration from the start. Baby elves are identified for their Houses by their blood, which are a metallic hue that matches their future coloration
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/29c8/f/2018/023/b/4/blood_colors_by_nephero-dc0zplb.png)
Lifespan
◊ Age of adulthood: 125 years, which is the general equivalent of a human being in their early twenties.
◊ Functionally immortal; can be killed, get sick, etc, but will never die of old age in the classic sense.
◊ However, their emotions do run several shades deeper than most other species, and as such they are susceptible to health concerns if particularly strong emotions are present for too long. They can absolutely die of heartbreak.
Reproduction
◊ All elves have the same set of reproductive organs; a set of ovaries/internal testes, a penis and vagina. Secondary sex characteristics tend to be mild, mostly in terms of body and facial hair growth and general fat deposits. Facial hair is not indicative of gender, however, as Starstriders rather recognize gender based on an individual's song. What they hear is what the gender is, and as such, they don't have a cultural concept of being transgender, as it does not occur for their species.
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/87ac/f/2018/023/4/4/anatomy3_by_nephero-dc0zna3.png)
◊ The organ that produce the reproductive gametes can switch between producing sperm or ova, depending on what part of their genitalia is stimulated more. Special sensitive skin sends signals for the production of hormones that stimulates this process. Equal amounts of penile/vaginal stimulation results in a kind of luck of the draw as to what gamete is produced. It's really just down to genetics if an elf is predisposed towards producing sperm more frequently than ova or vice versa.
"Some people can roll their tongue. Some people jizz." - Nephero 2k18
◊ Any elf can theoretically impregnate any other elf. This is the same for nonelves as well depending on their biological makeup.
◊ Fullblooded elves (as in, from a genetic population that has not bred with a different species at all) do not possess mammary glands, and instead nurse solely through bloodletting, where the infant punctures the skin of the parent with a specialized baby tooth and drinks from the wound. A special """venom""" negates pain and instead prompts a hormone to make this process a bonding experience for both parent and infant.
◊ Mixed race elves (those whose genetic population contains material from other species) can possess mammary glands depending on the ancestor. These tend to be small and nonfunctional, though, and there is no instinct to breast feed.
◊ Elven genetics are strong as fuck - starstrider genes are dominant and it takes several generations of dilution to obtain strong non-elven characteristics (ie skin color, eye color, singular reproductive organs, blah blah blah, have fun).
◊ The only detriment to the population of the species is that elves don’t usually attempt to mate with anyone but their resonance, and finding that resonance and recognizing it can take centuries.
III. THE HOUSES
☼☼☼☼☼
“Houses” are essentially cultural groupings of starstrider elves to denote which type of star was influential at their birth. It’s a set of physical differences rather than cultural, as there is no real separation of Houses into specific castes or jobs or whatever.
Percentiles listed are just for the sake of being able to do dice rolls and as a marker of how severe the rarity is.
☼☼☼☼☼
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/ef31/f/2018/016/8/3/procyon1_by_nephero-dc06231.png)
HOUSE PROCYON
◊ Average height of 6’. Can vary by a few inches here and there, but doesn’t tend to get much taller or smaller.
◊ Born under a white-dwarf star's influence
◊ Tend towards very pale, iridescent types of colors. Babyblues, pale pinks, very light seafoam greens. They do not get much in terms of ‘melanin’, don’t tan and typically don’t have freckles, but their coloration does have a wider range of hues.
◊ Percent chance of psionics: 7%
◊ Percent chance of magic: 12%
☼☼☼☼☼
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/5b9d/f/2018/016/3/9/archernar_by_nephero-dc06227.png)
HOUSE ARCHERNAR
◊ Average height of 6’4”.
◊ Born under a blue star's influence
◊ Are always varying shades of blue, with lighter, grey-blue skin. Their hair holds the most hue variance, and can range towards greenish hues or purpling, but will always be darker than their skin.
◊ Percent chance of psionics: 11%
◊ Percent chance of magic: 11%
☼☼☼☼☼
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/efd1/f/2018/016/3/c/phaeton_by_nephero-dc0622t.png)
HOUSE PHAETON
◊ Average height of 6’10”.
◊ Born under a yellow star's influence
◊ Probably the most “human” looking, with tanned skin that can vary in shades but is never pale. Their hair is usually some kind of gold, though it can get towards platinum blonde. depending on the star.
◊ Percent chance of psionics: 7%
◊ Percent chance of magic: 8%
☼☼☼☼☼
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/f80c/f/2018/016/6/0/antares_by_nephero-dc06221.png)
HOUSE ANTARES
◊ Average height of 7’2”.
◊ Born under a red giant star's influence
◊ Their skin is always dark, never going lighter than a deep tan, and their hair color is almost always a crimson-red hue of varying shades. Some individuals may have more orange in their hair, but usually not by much.
◊ Percent chance of psionics: 3%
◊ Percent chance of magic: 17%
☼☼☼☼☼
(https://orig00.deviantart.net/af4f/f/2018/016/f/4/horizon_by_nephero-dc0622l.png)
HOUSE HORIZON
◊ Average height: N/A, heights vary wildly depending on parent elves.
◊ Born whenever an elf mates outside of resonance in any fashion. Also tend to happen with in vitro fertilization babies (about a 60% chance).
◊ Their skin is always dark and greyed, thought the base hue can range depending on their parentage. Their hair is always a deep pitch black that does not catch light, and often it’s hard to tell the strands apart for how much light is absorbed into the black. Their eyes are a bright, nigh-glowing blue, in stark contrast to the rest of them.
◊ Unlike their kin, who tend to have relatively “human” internal coloring for gums and teeth, Horizon elves resemble black mambas. Their gums are a deep purple-black, and their teeth are similarly greyed.
◊ Percent chance of psionics: 65%
◊ Percent chance of magic: 1%
☼☼☼☼☼