Innox

Innox (Lilieci Sapien) are a species native to Oradea and the ruling species of the Solstern Empire. They are humanoid in appearance, save for minute differences.
Born from a heavily atmospheric, cool and mist covered planet and evolved from bat-like lifeforms, Innox feature pale skin and bright or unpigmented eyes, as well as pointy ears and prominent fangs. 
== History ==
=== Evolution ===
Though Solsterna is mostly temperate, its dense atmosphere means it is almost exclusively cloudy and the sun rarely shines through the thick atmospheric clouds. 
The mix of an oxygen rich environment along with near perpetual darkness favored nocturnal mammals, however, the thick misty atmosphere was not conducive to the dependencies on sonar navigation. As such, one of the dominant species on the planet were large six limbed Chiropteran creatures. As flying was difficult to navigate due to harsh fogs and mists, these bat-like creatures mostly engaged in climbing and gliding between trees in search of prey. Their eyes were well developed to distinguish shapes and heat and were fully capable of seeing in the darkness and heavy mists. 
These mammals were carnivorous and hematophagous, feeding on smaller animals mostly, but were easily able to sustain themselves by consuming blood from megafauna and even fresh carcasses. As such, they were named the Desmodus Draculae Lilieci, this is the primal species that eventually evolved into the Innox. 
The innox retain some features from this species, mainly pointed ears, large fangs, which can pierce thick hide and extract blood, excellent visual acuity in harsh conditions and a good sense of navigation. 
=== Rise of the Lilieci Sapiens ===
Oradean climate remained largely unchanged over time, the lack of significant droughts or floods keeping a certain status quo in rich lush areas and not requiring specific adaptations by various species. With that being said, dominant life forms, specifically of the Desmodontinae, had to, as they grew in numbers, compete over rich food sources and territory. This led to a rather peculiar behavior that may even be considered contractual. 
As colonies became too large to sustain themselves in one location, they began to offer up their best offspring as mates to other colonies in other crowded territories, who would mate them with their own best offspring. This caused a significant decrease in population, as the number of males and females in a specific colony became dependent on its size. Eventually, the weaker members of the colony, who could not be traded, would die off or leave the colonies in search of mates elsewhere, leaving these colonies only with diverse and superior specimens. This behavior can still be seen in Oradean Bat species to this day. 
This selective breeding allowed the Lilieci to evolve rapidly based on communication and mutual benefit between colonies and emerge from their tribal stage with primordial nobility, establishing a clear hierarchy based on desirable genetics very early on in their development and accelerating their progress towards a kingdom-like society very quickly.
This selective breeding also had another effect on the species; there are rarely any mutations or genetic defects or diseases among Innox. Likewise, they boast one of the longest mammalian lifespans in the galaxy. 
=== The Age of Chivalry ===
Innox experienced a very long chivalric period, wherein a feudal system was in place with an emphasis on genetics and etiquette. Whereas in most civilizations a knight could become a noble by merit of skill and education, in Innox society only those of the finest genes were selected. Any Innox bearing a genetic defect, skilled though he may be, could never rise to the ranks of the nobility. At the best they could marry a lower, usually undesired member of the nobility to create a branch house, vassal to the primary house of the genetic line.
Branch houses were nothing short of subservient to the prime houses, as the prime houses could easily revoke their noble ranks, completely collapsing the branch houses socially and economically and making them easy prey to their enemies. As such, they served mostly as higher class servants and squires to lords and nobles and sometimes, even lower ranking officers and knights in their armies. 
As the higher caste of Innox all boasted similarly potent genetics, competition between them instead, was turned to physical accomplishments. To keep track of such accomplishments, the Innox created titles and divided them between several fields: Academic, Civil and Combat, as well as an assortment of "Meta Titles" to celebrate multiple achievements.
=== The Solstern Occupation ===
It is not clear exactly where the Solsterns came from as a species, but they were far advanced compared to any other race in the galaxy at the point in time they conquered the Innox. The Solsterns made quick work of conquering the Innox and taking Solsterna as their own. Using Solsterna as their base of operations, the Solsterns, using the Innox as fodder, quickly conquered the rest of the Solstern Empire. During this period, the Solsterns found more primitive species from other part of the galaxy; These planets were too far away to be colonized by the Empire in an economically feasible way, so they were, instead, brought into Solstern Space to colonize planets with less than ideal conditions. The species in question were the Salamandra and the Ungolian. This subjugation was done in such amounts that these species were no longer able to sustain themselves on their original planets. 
The innox were a proud race, and quickly recognized the tactical weakness in the Solstern's strategy. Though they were technologically advanced, the Solsterns were spread out much too far to be able to contain their empire. One particular innox, by the name of Desmodus Spada Iliescu, abbreviated D'sparil was the advent for the events that unfolded next. D'sparil reached out to the other subject races, rallying them to his cause to fight against the injustice the Solstern were inflicting upon them. He played to the subject races' fears and ambitions, and was skillfully able to rally the vast majority of subject races to his side.
When the time was right, D'sparil unleashed the combined might of all of the subject races at once and led a mass genocide on the Solsterns, bringing them to the very edge of extinction. Only a few hundreds, maybe thousands, escaped the systemic annihilation. The Innox bear an intense hatred towards Solsterns and have not forgotten the humiliation they suffered under them. 
With the Solsterns defeated, the Innox made a point of destroying Solstern heritage and culture, wiping it off the face of the empire. The old Solstern capitol city was buried beneath the new foundations of the new capitol. Under D'sparil, a new Solstern Empire prospered. The subject races fell into place under the innox, and were content with their improved lot.
The next most significant event was the Solstern's encounter with the Council forces. By then, the Council was technologically advanced enough to begin mapping the entire Galaxy, and was able to make first contact with the Innox. The Innox immediately recognized its own military superiority, and set out on a campaign to conquer the council races.
However, they were completely halted after only a few victories by the tenacity of the council's peacekeeping force, the Arcana Corps. The war ended when Arcana's King of Swords defeated the Innox grand admiral Eidric Olmo Negrescu abbreviated Eidolon in single combat, claiming the largest battleship in the Solstern fleet and paving the way to a ceasefire.
The Innox then agreed to join the council, on the sole condition that the Arcana Corps was disbanded. Through various means of bribery and other corrupt affairs, the vote passed, enraging the King of Swords and turning the powerful peacekeeping force into a rogue organization.
Eventually, the Arcana Corps, under the Knave of Swords would face off against the Solstern Armada one last time, before being vanquished at the border of Solstern and Knave Space.
== Biology ==
=== Habitat ===
Innox live mostly inland, in all manner of terrain. Being suited to the high precipitation, lack of sunlight and cold, they are most comfortable in temperate or montane forestenvironments between 8 °C and 20 °C.
=== Biological Variation ===
Due to Innox culture, the greatest biological variation is found when comparing Innox living within the Solstern Empire, to those living outside of it. In turn, these are referred to as Imperial Innox and Galactic Innox respectively (The latter often called ‘Gypsy Innox’ as a slur by their Imperial counterparts)
Due to their evolutionary method of selective breeding, the biological variation in Imperial Innox species appears at a glance to be very small, but this is highly deceptive. Though their physical features are largely similar in terms of skin, eye and hair color, a closer look at their genetic reveals a wide and diverse tapestry.
Different Innox can easily distinguish between ethnicity based on attributes as subtle as the angle of the point of an ear, thickness of eyelashes, visibility, color or curvature of a vein, or even length of a stride. 
Innox eyes are rarely pigmented, with eye colors ranging from blue to pigment-less red, but mostly remaining between violet and red.
Other traits such as blood type, cranial features, eye color, hair color and type, height and build, and skin color may vary slightly across the Empire. Imperial Innox body types rarely vary substantially. The typical height of an adult Imperial Innox is between 1.8 and 2.0 m (5 ft 9 in and 6 ft 6 in), although this varies depending on family bloodlines. 
Body size is mostly determined by genes in Imperial Innox. In Galactic Innox living outside of the Solstern Empire it may be significantly influenced by environmental factors such as diet, exercise, and sleep patterns and the environment and atmosphere they grow in, especially as an influence in childhood.
Those aspects of genetic variation that give clues to Innox evolutionary history, or are relevant to medical research, have received particular attention. For example, the genes that allow Innox to digest blood are present in high frequencies in Imperial Innox, but rarely in Galactic Innox. This is largely due to how the practice of consuming blood directly is greatly frowned upon outside of the Empire and even illegal in many places. Whereas within the Empire, blood and fermented blood are the preferred beverages of high society. Another interesting fact, is that while Imperial Innox boast a much stronger immune system than their Galactic counterparts, Galactic Innox show a significantly better ability to combat viruses and diseases they have not encountered before.
== Behavior ==
=== Language ===
Innox nouns are characterized by gender (feminine, masculine, and neuter), and declined by number (singular and plural) and case (nominative/accusative, dative/genitive and vocative). The articles, as well as most adjectives and pronouns, agree in gender, number and case with the noun they modify.
In Innox definite articles are enclitic: that is, attached to the end of the noun, instead of in front (proclitic). 
Innox verbs are highly inflected for person, number, tense, mood, and voice. The usual word order in sentences is subject–verb–object (SVO). Innox has four verbal conjugations which further split into ten conjugation patterns. Verbs can be put in five moods that are inflected for the person (indicative, conditional/optative, imperative, subjunctive, and presumptive) and four impersonal moods (infinitive, gerund, supine, and participle).
=== Marriage and Procreation ===
Innox are very selective about their breeding and children out of marriage are rare in Imperial Innox, unless the potential mate is of extremely potent stock. The general consensus in Imperial Innox, is that if an Innox is not fine enough stock to marry, they are often not fine enough stock to breed with. This however, has no effect on recreational intercourse.
=== Treatment of Subject Species ===
The Innox consider themselves an 'elevated' species. They often use chivalric terms to describe themselves as a 'prime house' of which all of their imperial subjects are branch houses. Like in their chivalric period, they have an appreciation for their subject races, but though their subject races may have their merits and advance up the lower officer rankings, they will never truly be equal to the Innox.
=== Titles === 
As previously mentioned, Innox Nobility having reached a plateau in their genetic desirability, turned to focus also on personal accomplishments in order to compete for more desirable mates. Titles are considered extremely important and a titled noble will always be given respect by those with fewer or no titles. The Recognized Imperial Titles are displayed in the chart below:
==== Academic Titles ====
Title 	Requirement
The Learned 	Publish Academic Articles in multiple fields
The Erudite 	Get numerous Academic Degrees in both humane and scientific fields
The Sage 	Become a senior academic with a seniority of at least 10 years
Of the Word 	Win the Debate Circuit
The Historian	Take an active part in uncovering or preserving the history of the Empire
The Maker 	Register 10 unique patents or inventions that contribute to the Solstern Society
==== Civil Titles ====
Title 	Requirement
The Kind 	Spend a significant amount of time Volunteering with charity
The Generous 	Donate a significant amount of personal funds to charity (not government or palace funds)
The Peacekeeper 	Actively participate in law enforcement
The Lawmaker 	Actively propose and enact new laws on the parliament floor
The Justiciar 	Become a High justice
Of the Sol 	Compete and win a medal in the Solympics
The Protector 	Complete a tour of duty while actively participating in military actions
The Great 	Sire at least 3 male children
The Wordsmith 	Author at least 5 published books (of any genre)
The Inspirational	Actively participate in the Education system
==== Combat Titles ====
Title 	Requirement
The Red 	Slay a hundred foes in combat*
The Black 	Slay a thousand foes in combat*
The Demoralizer 	Slay an enemy general in single combat and cause his army to rout
Of the Lion's Roar	Lead inferior forces to victory against a superior foe
The Scarred 	Suffer and display the scars of war proudly (Only scars gained in service of the throne count)
The Ring Master 	Champion any form of athletic fighting i.e Boxing\Dueling\Fencing\Martial Arts
The Mighty 	Win a Gladiatorial Circuit
==== Meta Titles ====
Title 	Requirement
The Golden Heart 	Hold both "The Kind" and "The Generous" titles
The Balanced Scale 	Hold both "The Lawmaker" and "The Justiciar" titles
The Feathered Pen 	Hold both "The Inspirational" and "The Sage" titles
The North Star 	Hold "The Gilded Heart" and "The Balanced Scale" titles
The Mirrored Shield	Hold both "The Peacekeeper" and "The Protector" titles
The Flaming Sword 	Hold both "The Champion" and "The Protector" titles
The Scholar 	Hold 3 Academic titles
The Champion 	Have 3 Combat titles
The Red Dragon 	Have 3 titles in multiple categories (not including meta titles)
The Black Dragon 	Hold 5 titles with at least 1 from the Combat category
The Golden Dragon 	Have at least 6 titles with at least 2 in each category
The Blood Dragon 	Have 10 titles, with at least 3 in each category and 1 meta title (New)
This proved extremely beneficial to the Innox as a whole, as nobles dedicated the majority of their time to improving themselves, their technology and in turn, their society.
=== Nomenclature ===
Common and female noble Innox have two names, a given name and a Surname. Noble Innox males have at least three, with one or more middle names usually given upon reaching metaphorical adulthood during their adolescent years. It is common for Innox with three or more names to use an abbreviated version of their full name, especially those of great renown (e.g. Desmodus Spada Iliescu as D'sparil).
An Innox will often introduce himself with his family name first, particularly in any official context, then followed by his middle initial (if noble), first name and title if applicable. (e.g. Iliescu S. Desmodus the Golden Dragon).
Common endings for Innox family names include:
* Escu
* Eanu
* Aru
=== Honorifics ===
Mr 	Domnul / Dl
Mrs	Doamna / D-na / Dna
Ms 	Domnisoara / D-soara / Dsoara
== Notable Innox ==
=== Innox Noble Families ===
Great Noble Families
'''
* Albescu - Named for their silvery white hair said to be descendant from the Great White Bat Mora, traditionally they are the regents of Great Boreala. Their coat of arms is a white bat silhouette against a starry black background.
* Iliescu - Branch of the Popescu family and current royal family line, said to be descendants of the Great Bat Lilith.
* Negrescu - Nemd for their uniquely black hair, all of the Negrescu family have jet black hair said to be descendant from the Great Black Bat Striga, traditionally they are the regents of Lyra. The Negrescu coat of arms is a black bat silhouette against a yellow sun with blue sky background.
* Rosescu - Old family, named for their red hair, said to be descendant from the Great Fire Bat Camazotz. Traditionally, they are the regents of Salamandra. The Rosescu coat of arms is a flaming bat against a red background.
Minor Noble Families
'''
* Albu - A branch of the Albescu family
* Dalca - Old Military family (Coat of arms features a lightning bolt)
* Eder - Old family, known for very regal looks, most noble families intentionally intermarry with the Eder family to produce attractive offspring.
* Lupei - Old family of Wolf worshippers (Coat of arms features a wolf)
* Popescu - Old family of Lilith worshippers, from which the Iliescu family branched off.
* Stoica - Old academic family
* Ursu - Old military family (Coat of arms features a bear)
=== Innox Royalty ===
==== Present ====
Visarion Tudor Iliescu – Also known as Vitis Emperor of the Solstern Empire 
Niveaus Desebal Iliescu – Grandson of Emperor Vitis and heir apparent of the Solstern Empire 
Deirdre Iliescu - Granddaughter of the Emperor and sister of Niveaus
==== Past ====
Desmodus Spada Iliescu – Also known as D'sparil, first Innox Emperor.
=== Innox Nobility ===
==== Albescu Family ====
Seluna Albescu Iliescu
Lunastra Lupei Albescu
==== Negrescu Family ====
Eidric Olmo Negrescu – Also known as Eidolon, Grand Admiral of the Solstern Empire during the Solstern Contact War
==== Lupei Family ====
Lunastra Lupei Albescu
Ionu Lupei
Athena Lupei
==== Rosescu Family ====
Darko 'Dalca' Rosescu
==== Other ====
Desmera 
Tuquori 
Zailok 
Category:Galaxy One Species
Category:Solstern Empire Species