<strong>Race name:</strong>Fel’ryn (Fel’sheen, Fel’shan)<br/><strong>Race appearance:</strong>Their appearances very from person to person, no one truly looking alike. In general, they are almost always humanoid. Beyond that, there are no statements that really hold true for them, except that they are either extremely buff or lithe. Hair, skin, and eye color can be any shade, and some seem to lack one or all three of those aesthetics.<br/><br/>Fel'ryn Commoners<br/>(http://th06.deviantart.net/fs51/300W/f/2009/281/a/5/Fille_du_Vacarme_by_Remton.jpg)<br/><br/>Fel'shan<br/>(http://th09.deviantart.net/fs40/300W/f/2009/027/6/6/Obsidian_Champion_by_SteveArgyle.jpg)<br/><br/>Fel'sheen<br/>(http://th05.deviantart.net/fs48/300W/f/2009/178/b/9/Demon_by_GooDHopE.jpg)<br/><br/><strong>Number of Systems:</strong>23<br/><strong>Government Type:</strong>Ruled by five Great Houses<br/><strong>Religion(s):</strong>There is no actual name for their religion, at least one they’ve given themselves. However, the organization known as the Chantry controls all matters religious. They believe in a being called the “Ascendant” that brought them the knowledge of altering their bodies to achieve a higher plane of existence. The “Ascended Ones”, also known as the Fel’sheen, are a group of powerful women who’s bodies have undergone a remarkable change, one that few women survive, and no males. They are the spiritual leaders, though some whisper that they, in fact, rule the governing body of the Fel’ryn. The Fel’shan are the deadly guardians of the Fel’sheen, a personal army of indoctrinated warriors that are made of all castes. Of interest is the fact that, while rare, other races can become Fel’sheen, normally priestesses or those with psychic prowess. The secretive rituals turns them completely into one of the blue/purple skinned Fel’sheen however, losing forever what they once were (for the most part).<br/><br/><strong>History:</strong>The Fel’ryn were once a simple, primitive people, or so it is taught. Truly, beyond that, little to nothing is known before the Ascendant’s coming. Since then the Fel’ryn became a heavily religious race, following the leadership of the Ascended Ones. Over time they grew, becoming daring traders across their planet. It wasn’t long their commercial pursuits took them to the starts however.<br/><br/>It’s unknown what exactly caused them to go astray, yet the constant splicing of their own genes is believed to have increased aggression in the species, especially since it was unregulated. Soon they started blackmailing other sentient life-forms, bullying themselves into being the sole traders in a system. It wasn’t long before they soon became quite warlike, and when diplomacy didn’t work, sheer, brute force did.<br/><br/><strong>Values of your nation:</strong>Control, Manipulation, Commerce, Mutation<br/><br/><strong>Five Great Houses:</strong><br/>Vloz’ress<br/>Vashreen<br/>Zorindar<br/>Mala’zir<br/>Terulyan<br/><br/><strong>National Traits:</strong><br/><em>New Hollywood</em>– While the Ekke worlds have become symbols of beauty and discovery, the Fel’ryn have turned into almost the exact opposite. While certainly wonders in and of themselves, their worlds have become symbols of corruption. Slavery, prostitution, harems, and the selling of highly dangerous weaponry is a common practice. Almost anything can be found in their bustling, dangerous cities, and it’s even said many politicians of alien races have reached their positions through involving themselves in the underworld of the Fel’ryn.<br/><br/><em>The Mossad x2</em>– The Fel’ryn make it their duty to learn of not only themselves, but of other races, and how to manipulate them. They possess some of the finest spies and assassins in the galaxy, and their unique biotechnology can allow them to go places other’s cannot.<br/><br/><em>Free Market Boomtown x2</em>– The Fel’ryn are a commercial empire by nature, or at least, by initial design. Despite their large amount of warships and sporadic wars, the one thing that is always constant is their trade. It isn’t unheard of to hear of extremely wealthy and powerful merchants to found their own Houses, even if they don’t have the military backing others do. If it exists, it can be found, and sold, in Fel’ryn.<br/><br/><em>Industrial Heartland</em>– Countless shipyards dot the night sky over every planet, producing a constant stream of smog as well as ships. Large amounts of factories also fill most of the planets under Fel’ryn control, pumping out vehicles, robots, and a multitude of others commercial products, for both trade and personal use.<br/><br/><strong>Population Traits:</strong><br/><em>Hive</em>– Whispers of the Fel’ryn being telepathic, of seeming being able to know things they shouldn’t and being able to communicate with one another without the use of words have been common, though not exactly true. Each of the Fel’ryn, through years of bio-technology and selective breeding, have developed a sort of natural ‘Hive Mind’, though most cannot access it. In fact, only the mysterious and deadly Fel’sheen can tap into the Hive, and through it can learn a great deal from any individual Fel’ryn.<br/><br/><em>Space Marines! x2</em>– The “Ascension” of their race, along with new discoveries within the biotechnological branch of science have led to many innovations, including the fact that the Fel’ryn are extremely quick and dexterous. Some are extremely large and buff, able to easily lifts hundreds of pounds at a time, while others are lithe and inhumanely quick.<br/><br/><em>Tough as a Coffins Nail x2</em>– Due to the Fel’ryn changes to their own bodies, they’ve become naturally resistant to not only disease, but all manners of infection. Their skin is hard to break through, and they’re able to regenerate, if at a slow pace. Their bodies can also survive environmental hazards beyond those of other races.<br/><br/><strong>Military Traits:</strong><br/><em>Death Spiraller</em>– The Fel’ryn almost never create ‘inferior’ ships, believing it to be not only a waste of resources, but also of a pilot’s skill. Only the very best weaponry and ships are made, even if it takes a much longer time to assemble.<br/><br/><em>Awesome Training</em>– Hundreds of years of political maneuvering and civil-war has created some of the best, most trained soldiers in the galaxy. Furthermore, private militaries of different Houses have given rise to ever stronger and deadlier men and women, making the actual military of the Fel’ryn quite fearsome.<br/><br/><em>Knife in the Back x3</em>– Direct, frontal attacks have never been the Fel’ryn way to warfare, or every day life. Not because their military prowess wasn’t strong enough, or because they lacked the ships, but simply it’s a part of their very nature and culture. From cloaked ships striking at the backs of formations, to assassins cutting the throat of enemy generals, the Fel’ryn are masters of subterfuge. Of important note is the small group known as the Ashram, the most elite assassins in their galaxy, perhaps even universe. Their threat alone has stopped more than one civilization from going into open warfare with the Fel’ryn, especially when their leaders were killed off one after the other. Much of their organization is sheathed in mystery, yet the one true fact that is known about them is that they’ll never harm one of the Fel’sheen, no matter what House buys their services.<br/><br/><strong>Technical Traits:</strong><br/><em>Stealth Obsessed x2</em>– Cloaking technology is not only on of the Fel’ryn staples of warfare, but also a necessity for their lifestyle. The Game of Houses, a name given to describe the political conflicts that occur almost daily, survives on espionage and assassination, and personal cloaking devices are almost as common as the very weapons they utilize.<br/><br/><em>Nazi-Superscience</em>– The Fel’ryn have taken robotics to an entirely new level. AI, robots, armored suits… they’ve developed all manner of dangerous things. The true horror are their masters of death machines, AI driven robots that are decorated with all manner of lethal devices. While not yet implemented for large scale use, several Houses have small armies of these robotic men at their disposal, allowing them to sacrifice merely resources rather than their retainers.<br/><br/><em>Biowanker x3</em>– Thousands of years ago the Fel’ryn went through a process they call “Ascension”, or so it is written in their most holy of books. A great being, one they equate to being “God” descended upon their planet and molded them into his image, as well as giving them the mastery of their own bodies. Many years later, the Fel’ryn have become experts in biotechnology, altering their bodies almost constantly. The more genes that are splices and mutations, the more powerful and respected one is. Likewise, their medical technology has become extremely high level, with possibly only the Ekke themselves being better than the Fel’ryn.<br/><br/><strong>Historical Traits:</strong><br/><em>Commercial:</em>The Fel’ryn of the past hadn’t always been a warlike race. In fact, they were masters of trade and profit, owning some of the largest trading fleets in the entire galaxy, a necessity when their were previous few resources left on their almost entirely desolate planet. The Fel’ryn have certainly out-grown their roots, though industry and trade have continued to be a major part of their culture, even if it’s a little more amoral than before.<br/><br/><strong>Hyper-Technology:</strong><br/><em>Advanced Biotechnology</em>– It is uncertain when and how the Fel’ryn first ‘Ascended’ to ‘higher levels of being’, yet what is certain is that they’re masters of the body and mind. From splicing genes to creating bio-mechanical machines and ships, their biotechnology is superior to almost every other race, something that is seen in their very citizens. Playing “God” is not something they’re concerned with; they believe they were taught the mysterious of the flesh for the very purposes of spreading it.<br/><br/><strong>Faults/Weaknesses:</strong><br/><em>Cult of Metamorphosis</em>– A troubling and dangerous Cult that has seen a recent growth of popularity, these fanatics mutate and deform their bodies all in the hopes of becoming “gods” themselves. Rumoured to even have several Houses in league with this group, they have become an increasing problem on Fel’ryn worlds, and perhaps even more so to other races. Sudden kidnappings of whole groups of people by large bio-ships aren’t unheard of, nor is the whispered rumours of loved-ones returning as “demons”.<br/><br/><em>Paranoia! x2</em>- The Great Houses of Fel’ryn have been in a constant struggle since the “Day of Ascension”, or so it is said. Political maneuverings, assassinations, and even large-scale military assaults can be extremely common. It’s easy to see why they are extremely paranoid of others, and some even take it so far as to assume everyone is playing the “Game of Houses”, even aliens that have never been on a Fel’ryn world. (x2) Trust has always been a major issue among most of the Fel'ryn, and considering how the government rarely is capable of upholding agreements between individuals, sometimes matters need to be taken into one-anothers' hands. It isn't uncommon for individuals to set up a "time bomb" inside each other to forcibly make people hold up to their own bargains, but even this has its limits.<br/><br/><em>Public Outcry x2</em>– Each person has an opinion on things the government should and shouldn’t do. But when you add in a large group of like minded individuals, unregulated weaponry, and a lack of currency, and you start having some problems. The Houses are certainly feared by the people, yet angry mobs are extremely common in the streets of Fel’ryn, and the guards aren’t always as quick to respond as they should be. (x2) Rarely is there a shortage of people willing to fight off the government. While terrorist groups are relatively unheard of, young Houses or those fallen from grace can easily gather supporters to their cause to fight off governments on planets. Truly, only the Houses that are given control over entire systems have any actual permanency of control, but even that is debatable.<br/><br/><em>Trade Dependent x2</em>– The Fel’ryn have always been a commercial race, and trade has been a large part of their culture. The booming Black Market, the constant trade for new technologies, and the Galactic Stock Market are all things the Fel’ryn have invested heavily in. Because of this however, embargoes and wars always affect them, either negatively or positively. (x2) Unfortunately, the early Fel’ryn practiced forms of processing food and technology that negatively harmed the environment. Because of this misfortune, ¼ for their worlds lack any natural resources that can provide food, making trade a dangerous necessity.<br/><br/><em>Government Red Tape x2</em>– It’s strange, perhaps, that with a booming free market (somewhat) and Black Market that there’s so many issues with government regulation, yet there it is. The many Houses of the galaxy seems to always stomp over each others feet, and because of this it’s difficult for the average citizen to get anything approved quickly, much less have a law that doesn’t change every few months. (x2) Civil wars across planets and even systems aren’t unheard of, especially among the lower Houses. Constant skirmishes and fights break out over the simplest matters, and planetary government changes hands almost as fast as money does. Except on the capital worlds of the Fel’ryn empire, one should expect to have to wait months for even the simplest matters to go through the system, at least unless one involves themselves in the dangerous politics of the Fel’ryn.<br/><br/><em>Soylent Green Is People! x2</em>– One of the closest, guarded secrets of the Fel’ryn is held by the five Great Houses. In practice, they all denounce the Cult of Metamorphosis. However, two of the Great Houses are actively involved, some of their people the heads of the cult, leading the kidnappings and spread of this unorthodox ‘religion’. (x2) Worse, still, is the fact that the three other Houses are aware of the two’s traitorous beliefs, yet they do nothing to stop them. In fact, “agreements” have been reached, where certain groups of individuals or cities would be attacked by the Cult for political reasons. Such secrets could easily ruin relations between races, considering that some of the politicians from a few races had been taken by this nefarious Cult.<br/>