Created and written by Leam.

Biological:
Lifespan: 100 years
Age of Sexual Maturity: N/A
Age of Adulthood: 18 years
Gestation Period: N/A
Average Height: 5” to 5” 10’
Average Build: Lean and muscular.
Appearance: Ut’garth are unique in the Andali Nebula, partly in thanks to their distinctive and strange appearance. A typical specimen has proportions and limb configurations that exactly match those of a Human, but where Humans have skin and hair these aliens possess a network of hard exoskeleton plates, connected to each other with lengths of cartilage. Those plates are controlled by a network of complex sub-dermal muscles which is partly independent from the rest of their muscular anatomy.

Those plates are usually charcoal grey to jet black in color and are naturally coated with a slightly iridescent veneer. Very resilient, they allow them to withstand long-range laser and projectile discharges. Even their face is covered with them, the facial plates broken down to small hard sections, in order to guarantee a maximal level of flexibility. To be noted is their apparent absence of a mouth, unless provoked. An ut’garth in aggressive dispositions may actually snarl and reveal its “mouth”, which is a set of twin mandibles lined with barb-like teeth. The very edges of these mandibles present one fang each, which normally serves as a stinger. Many ut’garth are loath to resort to biting an opponent, as it constitutes a form of regression to an animal state, a very serious personal disgrace. Some Cells, or familial groups, are even known of demanding their members to have their venom glands surgically removed.

As this “mouth” is normally invisible, coiled back within the specimen’s face, their voice is made audible through a cross between a voice-throwing technique and normal speech. In essence, they speak as we do, but enhance the sound of their voice to audible levels with their strong and developed diaphragm.

Their home world’s peculiar atmosphere has also greatly influenced the development of a unique form of visual perception. ut’garth see as we do, but their field of vision is constantly bathed in the endless heat coronas which objects and people produce. Foreign anatomists have yet to understand how this combination of refractive vision and thermal perception may be possible, while ut’garth scientists have proven that they possess a heat-sensitive, full-length “iris” of a sort, which covers the entirety of their normal ocular system, acting as a form of natural enhancement.

The outer layer of their eyes is also covered with a highly adaptive chemical compound which reacts not only to light, but to emotional input. Therefore, ut’garth have no eyelids to speak of, but their eyes will appear to “shut down”, when they close them. Otherwise, the darker the color, the more light they are filtering out.

Specific colors and visual effects indicate various emotions. Here is a partial key:
Normal Alignment color = neutral
Various tones of red = annoyance, anger and the like
Various tones of silver = melancholy, sadness, depression, etc.

The upper back of their heads is usually covered with what appears to be a natural coif of hard spikes. Those spikes grow and extend as the specimen grows older. At birth, they will be small nubs on the head of the infant. At a ripe old age, these spikes may be up to three feet tall.

Lastly, as procreation has long since been relegated to technology, ut’garth genitalia have almost completely regressed and are invisible to the naked eye. Only X-rays may show vestigial remains of a male’s penis or a female’s vagina.

Procreation, in their case, involves a ceremonial and assisted process of genetic mutation called the Change. Desiring parents choose a Changeling from one of the local corrals in their neighbourhood and bring it to a Fleshcrafter; a Shaman specialized in genetic engineering. He or she uses his tools and expertise to mend the Changeling’s malleable genetic material to match that of a prospective hybrid between the two parents. Generally two days later, an ut’garth infant is created from the Changeling and given back to its parents.

Later, any teenage specimen wishing to attain a specific Alignment must journey to a deep cavern located underneath one of Leeshanee’s mountainous plateaus. This place, known as the Depths of Knowledge, is rife with fumes and minerals with specific effects on the ut’garth genetic material. Depending on what the specimen absorbs, either the sulphurous fumes or the water in one of the numerous ponds, he or she shall mutate in a Warrior or a Shaman. Specific ceremonial filtering masks are given to those who strongly wish to become Shamen, to prevent their accidental mutation into Warriors.

Failure to focus on a single form of mutation triggers the appearance of random mutations, many of which may have life-threatening consequences for these creatures. The unfortunate souls who suffer this fate are known as the Fateless. To become one of them means immediate exile even deeper within the Depths.

Planetary:
Planetary Name: Neroo
Environments: Tropical to subtropical. Neroo’s ecosystem is like none other, particularly thanks to the presence of a distinctive gas layers in the planet’s atmosphere. If life grows and prospers on the planet in a manner similar to Earth, it does without an actual sun. The abovementioned layer nullifies the reflective properties of the ozone layer and reveals the sky as a continuous nocturnal vista, the sun being a larger star amongst others.

As Leeshanee is a small continent and the ut’garth do not produce much visual pollution, the stars above are constantly visible. The thermo-optic layer in the natives’ eyes compensates for this lack of lighting.
Continents: One, called Leeshanee.
Oceans and Seas: A single, all encompassing body of water known as the Mirror.

Cultural:
Religion: The current technological state of this civilization having been achieved eons ago, it has been adapted into a religious cult. Ut’garth hold all manner of genetic research, including cloning, as a form of divine right bestowed unto them by the Overseer, their god. What constitutes normal employments for other species is held sacred by the ut’garth. This has caused very distinct social groups to appear in their society.

First there is the Warrior caste, represented by the Gu Brood, a single bloodline of ut’garth specimens which have been genetically re-engineered (or Aligned, as they say) for combat and peacekeeping purposes. Then comes the Shaman caste, represented by the Neth Brood, which is Aligned to favour intellectual pursuits and research, as well as for tending to Changelings, the dog-sized insects which serve as the genetic base for this civilization’s assisted procreation needs. The third caste, composed of Everymen (citizens who have not been Aligned) contains the bulk of the ut’garth population and is spread amongst many smaller Broods and numerous other careers.

Still, unlike the Indian concept of castes, these three groups are perceived as being equals to one another. It is believed that if the genetic codes for the creation of members of any one of these castes were lost, ut’garth civilization would crumble.

This civilization is also rich with its own mythology. The ut’garth themselves knowing that is impossible to simply descend from insects without a steady form of evolution, most citizens of Leeshanee are willing to accept the fact that the first ut’garth were not like them at all. Some believe that the Overseer might have descended upon Neroo at the dawn of time, selected a first batch of Changelings and created the first ut’garth, to then impart His knowledge to them. Others stress that recent archaeological digs have proven that ut’garth once were a species of slaves, designed by greater beings to alleviate their tasks. A rebellion or armed conflict of some kind could have caused the slaves to wrest the secret of genetic engineering from their creators and claim it for their own.

In any case, many submarine travels along the greater coast of Leeshanee have revealed the presence of old faults, which suggest that a forgotten cataclysm might have sent this unknown species of forefathers to their doom, along with a land mass that was once believed to be more than thrice the size of the small continent of Leeshanee.
Customs: The Alignment, which is the cornerstone of their customs, is explained in detail in the Appearance section. Its failure transforms the hapless soul into one of the Fateless. It is said that the fate of those who are properly Aligned depends on the existence of the Fateless. For the ut’garth, if suffering as a Fateless is dishonourable, social cohesion would not exist without these wretches’ constant pain. Many ut’garth believe that it is thanks to the Fateless if the Depths of Knowledge still produce their gene-splicing materials to this day.

Even if the percentage of failed Alignments is small, as every ut’garth knows how to partake of the Depths’ gifts properly, the number of Fateless is large enough to warrant the creation of their own underground settlement, deep underneath the surface of Neroo.

Warriors, however, know another kind of mutation. Their network of cartilage and their eyes both turn to a bright crimson hue, and a staff-like weapon called the Reaver is produced, which is as much flesh and bone as the Warrior itself. As such, a Warrior’s Reaver is his or her life. Its loss or destruction is considered an unbearable shame. Many would rather die than to suffer such a fate. Precise hormonal therapy may, however, sustain a Reaver long after its owner’s death. As such, many families of the Gu Brood hold Reaver Cults, literal worship to the weapons of past Warriors.

Shamen, however, see their eyes and cartilage turn to a bright neon blue hue, and are blessed with the appearance of a third eye, in the center of their forehead. After a Shaman’s death, the external membrane of this third eye is oftentimes excised and crystallized. The created jewel is worn by one of the Shaman’s closest family members, or its closest descendant.

Customs: The ut’garth stance towards outsiders is one of quiet respect, which oftentimes serves as a front for whatever true feelings one specimen may have towards a foreigner or foreigners in general. This species is known for its stoic temperament, as ut’garth do not place much value in emotional outbursts. This causes some aliens to view them as cold-hearted oddballs or two-faced opportunists.

Also, some aliens are wary of working with a species for whom cloning is so natural that it does not lead to an ethical debate. The ut’garth have never had to face the same kind of ethical questioning as we currently are facing, regarding cloning. If it can be done and is profitable to someone or something, it is done. That simple.
Languages: Generally guttural and sometimes interrupted with snake-like hisses and mandible flares, very few aliens are actually capable of speaking the ut’garth native tongue. Those who can oftentimes rely on an electronic form of vocal synthesis to produce the required sounds, like various mechs and robots. This language, called Pirak’tha, is oftentimes reserved for private conversations between two or more ut’garth.

All ut’garth are taught Basic from their first days of sentience, along with their native language. Their mastery of this language is perfect, and some ut’garth poets or songwriters prefer Basic over Pirak’tha for their compositions.

Historical: As explained earlier, ut’garth history is shrouded in mystery. The earliest known date is of merely ten thousand years ago, the coronation of the first Mother Matron. This species had known very few upheavals since then, as the small size of their single continent forces them to constantly intermingle with one another, leaving very little place for an actual elite. Eventually, the species stagnated. It took their first contact with other life forms to break their mold of contented apathy.

Now, since over a century ago, tensions have begun to erupt. As their genetic expertise is sought after by other species and their ways challenged by other cultures, some strive to proclaim the supremacy of ut’garth technology by performing some great scientific feat or other. Others have turned to politics, turning the previously formal and placid succession of Matrons into a political fistfight between the two candidates of each generation. Yet more others call for a partial abandon of genetic engineering and the adoption of mechanical research.

Indeed, the ut’garth are a species caught in the middle of deep social changes. Many resent the aliens for this, others thank them openly.

Technological: Remarkably, not a single item in ut’garth culture, from their capital ships right down to their forks and spoons, is of inanimate nature. Everything is genetically engineered or grown. All forms of lodgings, from the simplest commoner house to the Mother Matron’s palace, are grown as gigantic plants, and then planted in place. Computers are essentially autonomous brains, and electricity is produced by a chemical reaction in another type of plant, which blends in seamlessly with the rest of Leeshanee’s abundant urban fauna. Strictly speaking, they knew nothing of processors, alternative current and transport using atomic reactors, among other things, until they came in contact with the other major alien species.

This alone serves as the testament of ut’garth scientific efficiency, and stands as the proof that geneticists originating from or trained on Neroo become top-of-the-line researchers. Many of the hormonal therapies the few living hybrids use have partly been designed by ut’garth hands, as well as countless other treatments, cures or medications.

This scientific expertise even extends to the military, as Neroo natives have developed battle stimulants and organic weaponry adapted for other species. Some undisclosed, larger projects have even been the object of rumours, spreading ludicrous or terrorizing tales about perfect hybrids, enhanced soldiers, or living war machines of both human and ut’garth descent. The local rumour mill, however, stresses that some ut’garth have retrieved molecular remains from the mysterious “Race of the Overseer”, and are even now attempting to create a viable clone...