Alteans

**Alteans** are an alien race native to planet Altea and previously ruled by King Alfor. They were once thought extinct, with Allura and Coran as the sole survivors. However, Haggar and her son Lotor are both revealed to be Altean. Furthermore; a thriving colony of Alteans are discovered hidden inside the Quantum Abyss, preserved for Lotor's devious purposes.

## Biology

Alteans' exterior appearance are nearly identical to humans of Earth. The have an adult height of 1.8 metres, have four limbs with prehensile fingers, human facial features like noses and eyes, and flowing hair localised on their heads. Their distinguishing features are pointed elf-like ears and facial markings. Ancient Altean facial markings are sickle-shaped blemishes located under the eyes, but over the course of time, modern Altean markings have diversified to include stripes, and geometric shapes located on the foreheads, upper lips and jaws. Facial markings vary in colour by individual, as does hair, eye, and skin colour. For example, the royal family is known to have white hair and brown skin.

It is possible for Alteans to shapeshift to alter their height and skin tone. They can only change one colour at a time, and cannot transform into unnnatural shapes. They did this to blend in with other races for diplomatic missions, espionage, or hiding from persecution.

Alteans have a lifespan of more than 600 years. Coran explains that the Castle of Lions is 10,600 years old by the time the Paladins arrive on Arus, and states that he was alive when his grandfather was building the Castleship. Subtracting the 10,000 years of cryo-sleep, this places Coran's age around 600 years old. To expand on this, Alteans' relationship with quintessence may have enabled them to harness the life-force of the universe to increase their longevity. Lauren Montgomery explained that Lotor has achieved his impressive lifespan of 10,000+ years, due to being concieved by Haggar while she was suffering from quintessence poisoning. Her overexposure to quintessence allowed him to inherit 'extra' life-force. Conceivably, ancient Alteans performed the same procedure to increase their lifespan.

Additionally, Alteans have the ability to manipulate quintessence for healing, constructing weapons and conducting life-force. Using her body as a medium, Allura has demonstrated that she can heal wounds on a planetary scale, as seen with the first Balmera the group encounters, transfer consciousnesses from vessel to vessel, and create powerful energy blasts. Alteans with this ability are known as "Sacred Alteans" and treated wth reverence. It is not known if this status runs in the royal bloodline, but both Allura and her father, King Alfor, were party to it.

## Society

The culture of Alteans remains largely unknown, but they appeared to be a morally-sound, well-intentioned race that valued diplomacy, sheltering the weak, respecting other races, and peace. Their society was a monarchy based upon the undivided rule of a single person. The last known ruler was King Alfor, a war hero and alchemist.

Altean technology is highly advanced, powered by quintessence and artifacts from other races. Their unique blend of science and magic is known as Altean Alchemy; a set of pseudoscientific rules and procedures used for chemistry, engineering, healing and exploration. The qualifications for being a 'master' alchemist are unclear, but Alteans with the ability to channel quintessence - "Sacred Alteans" - are held in high regard. One of the races' most notable technological achievements was the development of Teledavs for travelling via wormhole.

While advocating for peace, Alteans were not above conflict. Alteans were trained in the art of war from a young age and warriors who possessed both a tactical mind and reputable fighting abilities were hailed as heroes. Altea had a large military fleet of spacecrafts, equipped for battle and peaceful exploration.

King Alfor had specific vessels for deep space exploration called Tel-Galax exploration shuttles. Battleships were powered by equally massive Balmera Crystals - blue, crystalline formations produced by the living Balmera planets. Owing to their respectful nature, the Alteans had a mutually-beneficial relationship with the Balmera: in return for extracting Crystals, they infused the planets with life-giving Quintessence.

The Altean currency was the "groggery", which came in the form of crown bills and was used by a multitide of other races. The groggery was named for "King Groggery the Infirm" and had his face printed on the bills.

### Known Alteans

#### Core Reality

* **Altea**
	+ **King**: Alfor
	+ **Queen**: Melenor
	+ **Princess**: Allura
	+ **Royal Advisor**: Coran
	+ **Commodore**: Trayling

* **Galra Empire**
	+ **Empress**: Honerva
	+ **Prince**: Lotor

* **Colonists**
	+ Romelle
	+ Bandor
	+ Merla
	+ Luka

#### Alternate Reality

* **Altea**
	+ **Empress**: Allura
	+ **Commanders**: Hira
	+ **Scientist**: Unnamed

## Gallery

A male and female Altean.The Royal FamilyAllura as an Altean infant.
## Trivia

* Alteans can suffer from a harmless condition known as "the slipperies", where their bodies excrete massive amounts of slippery, mucus-like fluid. The flow can sometimes be so intense that walking is impossible, as the patient will slip and fall instead. The condition is common for senior Alteans and usually only lasts a couple of days.
* "Sloven-day-ho" is Altean for "gone".
* In an Alternate Reality, Alteans created an evil Altean Empire.
* "Groggery" is spelt "Grogory" according to the official *Voltron* Twitter account, in contrast to the comics and Netflix subtitles. "Grogory Day" is an Altean holiday celebrated by Alteans complimenting each other, and is celebrated on December 8th.

## References

1. ↑ **Season One**: Episode 1, "The Rise of Voltron"
2. ↑ **Season One**: Episode 4, "The Fall of the Castle of Lions"
3. ↑ **Season One**: Episode 8, "Rebirth"
4. ↑ **Season One**: Episode 2, "Some Assembly Required"
5. ↑ **Season One**: Episode 3, "Return of the Gladiator"
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 **Season Three**: Episode 4, "Hole in the Sky"
7. ↑ **Comic**: Vol. 1 Issue #1
8. ↑ **Season Two**: Episode 7, "Space Mall"
9. ↑ **Guidebook**: "The Voltron Coalition Handbook"
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 **Season Two**: Episode 5, "Eye of the Storm"
11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Voltron Twitter: Grogory Day

## Navigation

v ◆ e
Characters