K'lerin

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 Species:
 †*Ornithosapiens cognitus**Ornithosapiens cognitus*

**K'lerin** or ***Ornithosapiens cognitus*** are the dominant lifeforms and only known sentient species occupying Tau Ceti f, known as Le'ma to the inhabitants. They are characterized by erect posture, bipedal locomotion and avian-like plumage.

## Anatomy and physiology

K'lerin are a sexually dimorphic species, with females standing 1.5 meters in height and males standing a 1 meter on average. They are bipedal, birdlike, and have two arms with hands that include two fingers and two thumbs each. Unlike the forelimbs of Earth's birds, these arms are not derived from wings and are held in a pronated posture. Their heads, arms, and backs are topped with pseudo-feathers that serve much the same purpose as human hair with a flat face with a long, pointed nasal ridge, giving them a distinct resemblance to barn owls. Their eyes are large and almond-like in shape, with a distinct black tint. They have no lips and two sets of nostrils, one set near the tear ducts and the second set in the center of the face.

## Evolution

The K'lerin are members of a clade of bipedal bird-like creatures with skeletons comprised of calcium carbonate that are currently the dominant lineage of "vertebrates" on Le'ma. These, in turn, evolved from the common ancestors of all "vertebrates" on Le'Ma, which were multi-legged bristleworm-like creatures. Just as the early tetrapods did on Earth, these land pioneers evolved into a variety of lineages, one of which became the clade of bird-like bipeds leading to the K'lerin. Ranging from swift, cheetah-like hunters to towering, sauropod-sized frugivores, they occupy the majority of large land "animal" niches on the planet (except flying ones--these are occupied by an "invertebrate" group). One group of stork-like terrestrial stalking predators native to the planet's tropical wetlands developed a significantly larger brain than its relatives, and over time this eventually led to sapience.

## Social Structure

Most K'lerin are hunter-gatherers, traveling in multi-family groups and led by a group of elders from each family. The only civilization on the planet, the river lying city-state of Val're, were governed by a group of 6 "Queens," or matriarchs, who share spouses and maintain their family lines. This confederated monarchy, where every "Queen" had a harem of husbands who were in turn "married" to the others, ensured that no single monarch could wield all the power in the city. In 2067, two years after first contact with humanity, a revolution against the plural monarchy broke out and a pseudo-republican regime was installed by the revolutionaries. Infighting continued for more than a year before heirs of three of the royal families restored order. Mediated by the human visitors, the Val're government was reorganized to permit the monarchies while allowing for a representative assembly.

## History

Most of the population of Le'ma are neolithic hunter-gatherer nomads, with the most successful clans making use of fixed camps along seasonal caravan routs. At least three civilizations have arisen on Le'ma, two of which occupied the city of Val're, and one that occupied a mountain settlement in the Tu'val Mountains until 1249 CE. Humans made first contact with the K'lerin in 2065 CE and have begun an education and technology transfer program to foster good relations.

Recent archeological evidence taken from Le'ma's Subtropics has indicated the possible presence of an expansive society of earthwork builders, similar to the pre-Columbian Amazon cultures of Earth. However it is still hotly debated if this was a single organized civilization.

### Founding of Val're

The oldest known K'lerin presence in Val're is the Val Forest, which has been dated to between the 6th and 3rd century BCE. Val're has been continuously inhabited for at least 2000 years. By 300 CE the settlement had become a permanent center of the K'ron dynasty, a collection of traveling clans who maintained fixed camps to consolidate provisions. Unlike other K'ron centers, such as Val'mu and Val'fau, Val're became a more conventional city during the K'lerin stone-age. By 1000 CE, the K'ron dynasty collapsed, and Val're was abandoned due to plague. By 1730 the T'rul dynasty had taken over the city as a supply center for hunter-gathering caravans.

Unlike the K'ron civilization, which used Val're chiefly as a fishing village during the height of their rule, the T'rul dynasty use the city as a center for agriculture. It is believed that the K'ron civilization successful domesticated at least two species of large animal for food production, but never made the step to centralized farming. The T'rul dynasty absorbed the V'morai dynasty in 1859, forming the T'Vai dynasty that has ruled the city to this day.

Val're is a predominantly agrarian and fishing city. At least 3 species of plant-life have been domesticated for consumption by the K'lerin, and 4 species of large animal have been domesticated for labor, hunting, and consumption. Val're began producing bronze tools in 1871, and has had a written language since the formation of the T'Vai dynasty.

### First Contact

The Human interstellar space vehicle IV-101 Enterprise, entered orbit around Le'ma on January 3, 2065 (Earth calendar). The ship, remained in orbit for several months observing the planet for signs of civilization, using orbital reconnaissance and drone swarms dropped in pods from orbit to observe the K'lerin without disturbing them. On April 6, 2065, NASA gave the crew of the Enterprise permission to make First Contact. The first team made their way to the surface using one of the Enterprise's two shuttles, landing half a kilometer south of Val're, in full view of the city. Mission planners and crew xeno-sociologists insisted that the crew remain in their shuttle until approached by the K'lerin. A squad of bronze clad soldiers were the first to approach the shuttle when the Commander of the Enterprise, Jin Musgrave revealed herself and the landing team to the K'lerin, upon which she introduced herself on behalf of humanity and requested their permission to set foot on their planet. The leader of the K'lerin only agreed to do so after Commander Musgrave initiated physical contact with him, in which the two touched hands. The team was then escorted to the gates of Val're, and presented to the city's Queens. An agreement was reached to allow the human explorers the right to study the T'Vai lands and open a center of learning.

The first human explorers were very careful introducing the K'lerin to new technology, initially using chalkboards to convey information rather than holograms or neural uploading. They were granted a domicile near the edge of the city (which was built on a swamp to service septic treatment), and built a school, clinic and embassy for more of the crew to operate in. They taught the K'lerin smiths more advanced smelting techniques, studied their hosts' anatomy/genetics, and taught those that would listen about astronomy, chemistry, mechanics, human biology, language, and history. For the most part, the monarchs' were content to leave the "Travelers" to their own devices. The city now had steel, new machines, and they even helped prevent sickness. Due to political concerns by NASA, the first crew were instructed to avoid informing the K'lerin about human governance, or theology in great detail. Unfortunately, once their hosts learned about the concepts of the Enlightenment, they started demanding certain social reforms. These initial protests resulted in four of the Monarchs proclaiming the closing of the school, which resulted in more protests that quickly turned into a violent uprising. The Val're Uprising of 2067 ended with the death of three of the six sitting queens, while the other three were protected by the human explorers. Commander Musgrave oversaw a negotiated redress of grievances and re-installed the remaining Monarchs and a city council to handle matters of public interest. The revolution was not very well received by NASA, but the mediation managed to salvage public perception of the first contact mission.

After the Uprising, NASA ordered an early recall of the Enterprise. It was agreed that one of the K'lerin return with them to Earth to serve as a ceremonial ambassador. However, the return was cancelled and the ship re-tasked to rendezvous with the ISV-03 Constitution in the Beta Hydri system, after their contact with the Morak civilization. The Ambassador was awoken to open relations between the K'lerin and the Moraks before arriving at Earth.

### K'lerin Enlightenment

First Contact with humanity initiated a period known as the K'lerin Enlightenment where human derived technology and philosophy spurred a series of dramatic shifts in K'lerin society. Advances in agriculture, sanitation and medicine led to a population explosion in which the population of Val're grew from 70,000 to just under 1 million in a century. New cities sprung up across the planet and the K'lerin reached a planet-wide population of 230 million by 2160.