Cervantes

The inhabitants of Cervan.

## Physical

An avian species, the Cervantes
used to be all alike physically but due to the introduction of banishment to
the night side as a punishment thousands of years ago, two species have
evolved.

### Day Side

The Cervantes on the night side,
who retain the name Cervantes, resemble humanoid versions of a have two
birdlike claws for feet and even have a long thin tail. They have
semitransparent wings and have a head shaped similarly to that of a terrestrial
feline with feathers strangely enough.

They have arms that are more
like claws attached to the end of their wings, which they can fold down when
not in flight. Their feathers are normally a similar red to their sky with some
variations. They can live to over 50 terrestrial years old.

### Night Side

The night side Cervantes, called
the Ervyncis, are similar in appearance to the Cervantes only their head is
shaped more like that of an owl than a feline. They have thick fur underneath
their thick feathers and have evolved bio luminescence which helps them see as
well as keeps them warm.

Their feathers and fur are black
in visible light and they can see in infrared. While they can see visible light
an amount like that from their parent star is enough to make them go blind
fast.

## History

The first Cevantes appeared near
one of the western seas near the ice shelf over two million years ago. They
moved around, looking for places to settle down until they found a perfect
place to do so. There they began building a small civilization there. As it
grew some left to find other fertile lands. The first expeditions towards the
sun returned with tales of how the sun seemed to rise as they traveled and of
strange animals and plants as well as rising temperatures.

Other expeditions headed north
or south. They saw that the plants and animals changed as well but the sun
moved a different direction. Their scholars deduced from this early on that
they lived on a sphere. Curious as to what would happen when the sun went below
the horizon they attempted a journey west. They barely made it back alive with
tales of strange lights in the sky and a cold that rivaled anything they’d
felt. They realized that they lived in a comfortable zone and expanded into it
only.

Over hundreds of thousands of
years they slowly expanded, slowly growing in number as they could only have
offspring once in their lives and that was usually only two. A million years
ago there was a massive religious war among those of one side of the planet
with those of the other. This drastically diminished the global population and
caused a collapse in most major civilizations.

From this a group of highly
religious zealots arose. Taking advantage of the fear of the general
population, they spread their beliefs around. Anyone who they found to be
impure they exiled to the dark side, never to return. These crusades against
the so called heretics lasted for many years until the last of the rebels were
purged. They set up a theocracy all around the inhabitable area and a new age
began.

The Cervantes on the other side
of the planet began to use their own slightly better scientific advances to try
and survive in their new dark and cold environments, practicing a primitive
form of genetic engineering to slowly create the current subspecies of
Cervantes. They called themselves the Ervyncis after the ancient demons of the
day side religion. Soon they began to even believe that they were in fact
actual demons. The endless cold war between them has lasted ever since, each
side preying on the other.

Currently the global population
is 109 million, 54 million Cervantes and 65 million Ervyncis.

## Culture

Once a society of free thinkers,
the Cervantes, both subspecies, have become extremely religious, each side
believing in ancient gods that are constantly at war with each other.

The Cervantes have a theocracy
with a capital near their first ancient cities on the day side which they
believe is where their gods arose before the creation of the heavens. The king
is also the religious leader of the people, something like a planetary pope. He
has absolute authority.

The Ervyncis have little in way
of a central government, opting instead to run wild as they please, acting by
feeling alone, making them unpredictable. They prey on those who wander to far
darkside.