Skrell
| Skrell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Basics | |
| Playable: | Yes |
| Antag Only: | No |
| Physical Characteristics | |
| Height: | 5'5" to 6'3" |
| Weight: | 75lbs to 180lbs |
| Homeworld | |
| System: | Qerr'valis |
| Planet: | Qerr'Balak |
The Skrell are a species of highly logical amphibious humanoids hailing from the now broken world of Qerr’balak: Before, a hot, humid planet with numerous swamps and jungle, and now, a sad testament to a bygone era of turmoil and desperation.
More technologically advanced than humanity, Skrell place great importance on tradition, honor and, above all, knowledge, attempting a more methodical approach to most issues they face.
If you are new to playing Skrell, or wish to understand them better, do make sure to check out the Roleplay Guide
History
Main article: Skrell History
The Skrell trace their origins to the system of ‘Qerr’Vallis’, which translates to ‘Star of the Royals’ in their language. ‘Qerr’Balak’, their homeworld, was a place of vast marsh-plains, shallow sea-oceans teeming with life, and vegetated mangrove swamps containing massive predatory lifeforms. Slightly larger and denser than Earth, it possessed a high relative temperature and increased surface pressure, conditions modern skrell find quite comfortable. The Skrell count themselves among the Galaxy’s ancient peoples, a role they now share only with their ancient enemy, the Ascent. Predisposed both to curiosity and rationality, they possess a cultural and scientific fascination with other civilizations, and a deep-seated protectiveness of their own traditions and culture. The skrellian identity and mindset strongly supports the value of groups over the individual, and is deeply concerned with matters of stability and order, often to the detriment of forward progress.
Origins
Kali’r War
The last true war fought by Skrell kind, the Kali’r war was a prolonged conflict against the Ascent following an incursion by a mantid automated strip-mining fleet in the system of Kali’ruuk. This prompted a counter-offensive by the Skrell, followed by the destruction of a mantid hive, and then an Ascent counter-offensive which resulted in the partial annihilation of their species and the loss of Qerr’Balak, which, even today, continues uninhabitable.
Lasting over seven hundred years, losses were incredibly high on both sides. It was only on the last two-hundred years of war that the Skrell managed to start recapturing their territory, and five hundred years more for the reconstruction of their infrastructure and before their population reached the same heights. Skrell historians tend to agree that the start of the informal cease-fire and the end of the war was achieved after the system of Kali’ruuk was taken back, in 1012 CE.
Even today, the Kali’r war is widely remembered with empire-wide holidays such as the Xiq’Mak-pli’a, where the Skrell mourn the lives lost during the conflict, and remember the horrors that such a large-scale conflict encompasses in this solemn occasion.
Epsilon Directorate
One of the newer ‘Factions’ of skrellkind, the Epsilon Directorate is considered a safe-haven for Ue-Katish, with it’s ‘hub’ far away from skrell territory, in the system of Gi’krall-Xix, a meager 15 LY from Fomalhaut, and another 25 LY away from Sol.
The existence of the Epsilon Directorate has many negative and positive implications for Skrell, who often refuse to acknowledge its existence as much as possible. Founded under the principles of a less bureaucratically-burdened research method, the original Malish-founded Directorate was eventually the target of an empire-wide embargo by their kin due to the dangerous, sometimes unethical research processes carried by them.
This forced the Epsilon Directorate to associate itself with Ue-Katish and Ue-Katish Pirate elements, along with the Qerr’Glia in order to trade for much-needed resources. The discovery of humanity has certainly helped the Directorate, as they now have a new trade partner to satisfy their need for manufactured goods, ship hulls and so on, allowing them to finally begin expanding their industry.
Biology
Main article: Skrell Biology
As a species of amphibian humanoids, the Skrell share certain similarities with Humans. They are, however, vastly different due to the intricacies of the environment they evolved into, which was not the same as Humanity.
Anatomy
Skrell are amphibian humanoids with average heights ranging from 5’6 to 6’4. Males are almost always shorter than females and occupy the lower ends of the height spectrum. Skrell have webbed hands which allow them to swim faster, and their respiratory system is a complex combination of vestigial cutaneous breathing, lungs, and gills placed at the back of the neck and protected by headtails.
Their blood is a light blue colour and carries hemocyanin rather than hemoglobin. Life expectancy ranges around 200 years on average. Skrell hatch from eggs as tadpoles and assume their ‘adult’ shape one year after hatching. Their tail only fully disappears after they are thirteen years old, and they continue to grow and mature until they are fully developed at twenty years old. Fifty skrell are generally birthed at the same time, but it is rare that more than five survive to infancy, due to the fragility of a tadpole’s immune system, among other factors.
A Skrell’s skin can have many different colors. They are also able to breathe through it (A vestigial trait from their tadpole state), which comes with its own advantages and disadvantages. Due to that, Skrell always take care to keep their skin moisturized and healthy. Skrell do not take tattoos like humans do, but may sometimes use temporary, bio-compatible paints to certain events, in order to show good-taste.
Diet
The Skrell are vegetarian, as indicated by their large, molar-like teeth. Not only are they unable to absorb animal protein, but doing so is likely to get them sick and nauseous, with food poisoning being possible if meat is ingested in too large quantities. Skrellian traditional foods are heavily based on the fungi-like organisms found on Qerr'balak, with prepared food being the average meal for the common populace.
Despite an extremely low resistance to alcohol, Skrell have otherwise developed a high tolerance to a large amount of chemical substances, a result of their homeworld's flora being generally poisonous as a defence mechanism. Consequently, skrellian food, and many of their medicines and herbal remedies are generally too harmful for human consumption.
Psionics
Skrell, with the exception of some Ue-Katish, posses the ability to interact with an exotic field of mechanical influence, akin to gravity, inertia, or electrical magnetism, known as ‘Psi’ by humanity or as ‘Investiture’ by the Skrell. Although a relatively poorly-understood phenomena even for Skrell, it is still widely used in their civilization and incredibly common-place. As skrell grow up, they are able to ‘shape’ their PSI which will grant them different abilities as they age. The general type of their abilities is also based on their caste. Malish are able to extract information from their surroundings, Kanin are able to interact with their surroundings with different degrees of strength and precision, Talum are able to imbue feelings and emotions into the mind of others and into mundane objects, and so on.
Society
Main article: Skrell Society
Skrell are incredibly communal on the whole, especially in comparison to humanity. This greatly contrasts with the way they handle things such as politics. Throughout time, they have been called a meritocracy, a monarchy, an empire and so on by human historians, and the truth is a little bit more complicated than that.
Politics
It is true that modern skrellian society is built around concepts similar to those of constitutional monarchies, oligarchies or of aristocracies, but there are quite a few noticeable differences. Skrell do not view ‘nobility’ the same way humans do, and, although they do have kings, high-kings and an emperor figure with absolute powers, they serve as representatives and tie-breakers more than anything. The Qarr-Skria, who is the image of the entire skrell civilization, for example, exists to represent their species and guide the debate of the Qerr-Qerria assembly, as well as acting as a tie-breaker when necessary rather than ruling over their species with an iron fist and machiavellian policies.
Qerr-Katish lack the individualistic modus-operandi of ‘Staying in power at all costs’. They will allow their heir to take over the moment they notice they are not able to rule properly anymore, even with the help of the Qerr’Koal, who are advisors of each caste to the King.
It is important to remember that skrellian city-states are all very different from one-another, and although they always have one single representative, which is given the title of Qrii-Skria, or ‘king’, the way a city-state handles its laws and policies is always in change.
Economy
The Skrell empire has a very diverse economy. Different city-states specialize in producing different products which they often export to other city-states.
Currency is, notably, the same on the entirety of the empire. Bills are printed with expiration dates due to the fading bioluminescence of the mushroom used, which incentivizes the spending of the money. A number of security measures are also used which precludes the production of bills by individual skrell, but that goes without saying.
If a Skrell wishes to preserve money for future projects, or simply for financial safety, their only recourse is to loan that money, without interest, to the City-State, for a set duration decided at the start of the loan. When the government gives back the money, the bills are freshly printed for a new 2-year long period of use.
Language
The common Skrell language — commonly known as skrellian — can be best described as a series of hums, warbles, and croaks; while it would not make sense to other species, the Skrells intricacies of communication can display a wide variety of emotion and meaning that many human languages cannot.
With other languages, such as Zurich Accord Common, Skrell take on the accent of the person who taught them the language.
Talum often consider their language to be an art in itself, and the sentiment is often shared by the other castes, especially where relations with other species are concerned. There are a number of variations on the ‘skrellian’ dialect and different accents and emotion tones exist depending on the region of the empire where it is being spoken, with one of those being the so-called Ue-Katish Pidgin, a shock-language used by Ue-Katish pirates filled with slurs and anti-honorifics in skrellian.
Education
Skrellian education is the basis of skrellian society and viewed as an investment by Skrell. Tadpoles are educated by their parents and interactions with the other Tadpoles of their Bonding. When a Skrell enters their “adult” shape, they first enter the first level of academic life, called by the Skrell the Mi-Gloa, or Early Enlightenment. At this point, they learn basic logic, elementary sciences such as mathematics and low-level physics, and skrellian history. All the Castes share the same lessons, except for the Qerr-Katish, who are taught apart from the rest of society and groomed for leadership.
At the age of 8, the Skrell leave the Mi-Gloa and enter the Qlor-Gloa, the Focused Enlightenment, where the different Castes are separated in different paths of teaching. Here again, the lessons are generalist and leave plenty of specialisation to be done later.
When they reach the age of 15, the Skrell choose the path that will determine their future work: They enter the Keri-Gloa, the Ongoing Enlightenment, for it is believed a Skrell never truly stops learning from that point. From there, a Skrell, called a Keri-Glo’i as long as they are in this system, can leave the Keri-Gloa at the age of 18, which means they will be a Qrri-Mog, a low-class worker, taught but not truly enlightened, or at the age of 25, making them a Qerr-Mog, a fully-fledged skrellian mind, expert in their area of work. Only the “Qerr-Mog” can hope to one day become Qerr-Koal, experts of their castes and counsellors to their King.
Castes
The caste system has been in place for millennia in skrellian society, taking its current form after the founding of the first cities in Qerr’Balak. While the specifics of the system vary from city-state to city-state, the core five castes and their organization are common to almost all Skrell societies. This is reinforced by the significant degree of partial speciation created by millennia of directed breeding, resulting in low fertility rates in cross-caste breeding. It is also further reinforced by the psionic nature of the skrell, as different castes, today, are predisposed towards a certain psionic potential. Due to this, cross-caste breeding can often result in a tadpole who completely lacks any psionic potential, or, very rarely, one who acquires the psionic potential of both of their progenitors.
Five castes exist:
Qerr-Katish (High Caste)
Considered as the leaders of Skrellkind, the Qerr-Katish are the face and soul of skrellian society. Managers, diplomats, lawyers, they are notably the only caste allowed to fulfil the role of Qerr-Skria, Qrii-Qerria and Qerr-Qerria. Representatives of the Skrell,Qerr-Katish are highly social beings, sophisticated,and organized. They tend to be rather conservative, although progressive ideas regularly grow within the caste, as a stagnant society is a dying society.
Malish-Katish (Caste of the Mind)
If the Qerr-Katish are the face of Skrellkind, the Malish-Katish are its brain. Scientists of all sorts, they are the ones who allow skrellian society to grow, be it technologically or ideologically. Highly inquisitive, they are among the more progressive Skrell. However they are not very social, and their emphasis on methodical thinking makes them less capable of acting quickly under pressure and handling their feelings in public.
Kanin-Katish (Caste of the Builder)
The main workforce of the Skrell. With activities ranging from goods production to services and engineering, they occupy the largest and most diversified sector of skrellian activity. They are a very tightly knit community, both within their families and with their co-workers. Very traditional, they hold rather conservative views on the world, and their pack mentality dampens most individualism. Their families are frequently large, three or four bondings. As such, they are often among the less wealthy Skrell, but they do not seem to mind, as their work is the life and blood of skrellian civilization.
Talum-Katish (Caste of the Artist)
One would be mistaken to think Skrell do not consider the arts much. This important sector of skrellian society is handled by the Talum-Katish: artists, chefs and entertainers. They compete with the Qerr-Katish’s role as representatives of skrellkind, although in a different way. They are in fact frequently on the public scene. The Talum-Katish are the most individualistic members of skrellkind, though they enjoy busy social lives. They are the free-thinkers of skrellian society, often at odds with conservative castes. They tend to reproduce a lot, multiplying their encounters with various partners.
Raskinta-Katish (Caste of Warriors)
Rarely seen outside skrellian society, they are the ones who ensure the safety and stability of skrellian civilisation, both against internal and external threats. The military caste of the Skrell, most end up working for the various city-states, either in the police or as career soldiers, although some of them end up working for private security or as entertainment fighters. They are very conservative, deeply committed for their community, caring very little for self-development and personal satisfaction. Their martial training leaves very little time for indulgences, and they are trained to be expert tacticians and possess organisational skills second only to the Qerr-Katish. Uniquely among Raskinta, loss of a headtail is not seen as disfiguring, especially if it was lost in battle.
Ue-Katish (Casteless)
While not technically a ‘Caste’ by itself, the Ue-Katish make up an incredibly small but always growing fraction of the total skrellian population. Born to unions of Skrell of two different castes or two Ue-Katish, the Ue-Katish typically have no place in the regimented society of the Skrell. Many work in various forms of dangerous, unpleasant, and low-paying labor, and although they are still Skrell and individuals with rights, discrimination still ends up being extremely common. Many Ue-Katish try to imitate other castes in an attempt to pass as a Kanin, a Malish or another caste, or leave for a more tolerant life either inside human territory, nomadically, or as pirates. Ue-Katish are often not discriminated against as much in the colonies that are closer to the human border as a result of ‘cultural bleed’, but they are still viewed with mistrust.
Military
The Skrell possess a highly diverse military, with different levels of organisation, expertise and various duties dependent upon who it is organised by.
The most common military forces seen operating in the interior of the skrellian territories are the local reserves of each kingdom. Tasked with local defence against internal threats and policing, those forces are known as the Qrii-Morr’Kon, and have a heavy focus on policing and combating smuggling. Different Qrii-Morr’Kons belonging to kingdoms in the same planet or system often cooperate with each other, especially where criminal activity in near-space is concerned. Although trained for general offensives against their enemies, the particularly small numbers of the Qrii-Morr’Kon limit their effectiveness in times of war.
To compensate for this issue, the Skrell formed what they call the skrellian Defence Task Forces, or Qarr-Morr'Kon. SDTFs are independent entities formed by several City-States who pool together resources and manpower for their common safety. Once such a group is formed, they gain some independence from their creators,but they are still formally bound to them as they need the City States as a source of recruitment and financing. Private corporations also have a part to play with the SDTFs, as they often sign contracts with them to sell equipment and ships at preferential prices. For the corporations, it is mostly a way to advertise themselves: The prestige of a partnership with an SDTF, along with the fact that such groups only procure the best equipment generally means a major boost in sales based on the reputation of the SDTF.
Crime
As a millennia-old civilisation spanning across thousands of star systems, it would be foolish to think the skrellian territories manage to stay free of criminals and illicit organisations. All across the territories, smuggling rings, extortion rackets, underground science labs engaged in gruesome experiments and organised crime can be found, operating behind the scenes.
Culture
Main article: Skrell Culture
The Arts
For obvious reasons due to their biology, Skrell give a lot of importance to music: It is actually quite rare to meet a Talum-Katish who does not at least possess average singing skills. While it would be impossible to describe their entire musical history, a few major points can be mentioned; First and foremost, skrellian music has abandoned tonal considerations, both in harmony and melody, centuries ago. While the skrellian artists are still looking to produce enjoyable music, they prefer to avoid the restrictions of a codified system, allowing them more freedom in their creations, at the cost of more work to develop proper musical structures. Secondly, rhythm. While it is still very much existent in skrellian music, rhythm too went through a long phase of deconstruction in the musical process. In the last few centuries, the trend has been to subtly (sometimes not-so) shift the rhythm of their music over time, meaning a musical phase that starts as slow can finish very fast. The process is, however, not random. Lastly, voice plays a very large role in their music. Because of the specifics of their written language, Skrell did not develop a printing system until very late in their development, meaning knowledge had to be spread either by handwritten books or orally; in the latter case, songs quickly became the norm to transmit that knowledge. Skrell do have a large array of musical instruments, most electronic, to serve as a support to the vocal lead, but generally, voice stays at the forefront of mainstream skrellian music.
Fashion
Despite having a very pragmatic society, Skrell are still concerned about showing good taste and leaving a good impression on others, and this is especially true for Qerr-Katish and Talum-Katish due to the nature of their castes. Their fashion is mostly composed, today, of different fungal silks and fabrics, along with jewelry and bioluminescent mushroom patches sewn into their clothing.
Skrell often have very varied clothing styles when they are not at work. Against the common misconception of some, Raskinta can (and often will) dress casually when they are not at work. Similarly, Kanin will not spend their entire days in their trusty but often not very comfortable overalls. Skrell know what clothes to use and when.
Family
The Skrell are non-monogamous, preferring a large panel of sexual partners for the purpose of reproduction. As such, the notion of human monogamy is alien to them, although some skrellian border colonies have seen more radical skrell toying with the concept. Despite this, Skrell need and enjoy a family structure, leading to another form of union, that the Skrell call Bonding. Instead of forming a constant familial structure to which offspring will automatically be attached, Skrell make a punctual Bonding when a couple produces a shoal to attach the children to this couple, and only this couple, making them, in effect, a family. This allows legal and social recognition of the progeny by both parents while letting them explore other reproductive opportunities.
The parents rarely stay together after a Bonding, one being designated as the Qarr-Maqa, the main parent, responsible for the children, while the other becomes the Qrri-Maqa, who has more of a support role, financially and materially supporting the Qarr-Maqa
With such a focus on pragmatism and widespread reproductive partners it would be easy to assume that Skrell do not form long term intimate relationships. This is, of course, incorrect, and Skrell are very much capable of feeling love for another on the level of a life partner; there is simply no sexual attraction to this particular relationship.
Typically, Skrell do not engage in the production of offspring with those from castes other than their own. When this does happen (which is exceptionally rare) the offspring take the label of Ue-Katish.
For the Skrell, gender has no significance outside of reproduction. Skrell stopped having gender-specific roles before humans invented the wheel. Sex itself is just as fluid as a concept, with Skrell shifting sex as needed for the purpose of reproduction.
Religion
As a civilisation with a long history and a large and diverse population, it would be surprising if the Skrell did not develop, at some point, some form of religious thought. Science being such a tenet of skrellian society, however, skrellian religions are generally focused on the metaphysical study of the universe rather than the mythological aspect of religion. As a result, most Skrell hold particularly agnostic views, believing that the existence or the lack of an all-powerful being could not be proved, while most religious Skrell hold a monist view of the universe, with their beliefs often being akin to one form or another of pantheism.
Relations with other Species
Credit
Partially written by Warbidon, Limette, Memed Hams and Kaksisilma. Based on work by Eckles, Skeeveo and Polaris/Baystation 12/Aurora users Pybot, Searif, Sweedle, Phosphorus, Memescope McGee, Paradoxon, Elgeonmb, FtangSteve, ParadoxSpace, and any other people who, over the years, contributed to the above.