Ceretians

> **" There is so much about the Vikharne that is amazing and strange, but the strangest, and the most amazing, must be just how much- almost deliberately seemingly- more perfect in every way than humanity; they've had *four* particularly major wars is their recorded history, all of which were resolved diplomatically, and though they haven't even invented the internal combustion engine, they have a society that somehow manages to answer half the questions rebellious Terrans have asked about their society's morality. They may be far from perfection, but it's *painful* how much better they are than humanity."**
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- Vytis Simmons, *The Oddities Of Yasathvik b*

**Ceretians** (known in their own language as Vikharne) are any of the two members of the genus *Minotauri*, and the single species of the genus *Fraximussapiens*.

## Biology & Appearance

**GENERAL**

Ceretians are mainly humanoid creatures with double jointed limbs. the three types all have two horns upon their heads, which are hollow and made of chitin. each horn is filled with an extremely fine powder, which is used for balance. Below the horns are a pair of large pointed ears, which, at the base, separate into two holes: one for hearing, and one for smell. They have two fingers and an opposable thumb on each hand, each tipped with a black claw (these are in fact teeth on the fingers covered with a protective chitinous layer) and a horse like hoof on their feet, which unlike the claws, is pure chitin. They possess black leaves, but these are microscopic and somewhat devolved in *Minotauri* and only visible in the more basal *Fraximussapiens*. Their eyes lack lids, instead having a hard but transparent plate similar to that of an earthly snake. their teeth and bones are pale blue and made from a compound including silica and titanium, among other materials, they have fourteen teeth for each jaw. The blood of all of the three is pale cyanish-blue, and their skeletons are quite unlike those of an earthly vertebrate. Ceretians are primarily herbivorous, but will also consume meat in their diet.

**SCORPIPLIANS**

M. caesitus are a dark shade of navy blue with paler countershades, they are covered with stripes and patterns unique to each individual. Scorpiplians are on average around 5.5 feet (1.6 metres) in height, though this can vary significantly, and are quite slender in build. Their horns are small and sharply hooked backward, forming an inverted "L" shape. Scorpiplian eyes are whitish-blue and have a slightly (though hardly noticeable) oval shape. Their ears are large and taper to a long point, shaped distinctly unlike those of any animal of Earth.

**KALLORANS**

M. dvergr are burgundy with more coral countershades, and have violet highlights on their foreheads. They are about 4 feet (1.2 metres) tall, and anything more is considered unusual, they are stout and strong for their small size, but still quite flexible, and have large, thick hooves and similarly large and hooked claws, both used for scaling mountainous terrain. Ván Kallorans' horns are large and are shaped somewhat differently in every individual. They have yellow eyes with thicker plates than other Ceretians, which causes them slighly worse and blurrier vision close up but excellent depth perception. Their ears are fairly short but not small and look similar to those of a mountain goat.

**ERRASSI**

F. simia have pale bluish white skin, but this is mostly covered by a thick coat of gray leaves, earning the genus its name, at their rear is a tail like a cockerel's made of elongated leaves. At the shoulder they are normally 10.5 hands (3.5 feet, 1 metre) high, but as they are quadrupedal they are quite tall when standing upright (this rarely happens), they have very long limbs, even for their size, and have quite thin bodies for their size, making them rather light. Ván Errassi have smallish horns that twist ninety degrees at the middle to form a twisted shape similar to a terran eland, but otherwise point straight upward. Their eyes are bright green and uniquely among Ceretians they are able to bend the shape of their eye-plates for a desired effect to their vision. Their ears are thin, long and pointed, and have a single leaf on the very tip which allows them a superior ability to sense air currents, quite similarly to the whiskers of a cat.

## Technology

Ceretian technologies are at a roughly 18th - Early 19th Century level of advancement compared to Humans, although the properties of Pandemonium and their greater cooperation mean that they have created such things as aircraft (mainly consisting of hot-air balloons, though somewhat larger airships and even very few mobilised floating islands have been made, albeit rarely) and quite advanced clockwork and steam powered machinery.

### Aircraft

**HOT-AIR BALLOON**

Often, in fact, a quite misleading moniker, as many of them are in fact filled with polished pebbles of Pandemonium. Though relatively simple and not too hard to maintain, the disadvantages of a Balloon lie mainly in its slowness and the difficulty of piloting one, as well as the cold at higher altitudes. Despite these faults, however, Balloons remain the main method of airborne transportation on Ceres.

**AIRSHIP**

Bigger, faster and easier to control than a Balloon, but still rare across much of the planet, Airships have varying propulsion systems, these have been known to include bellows, large sails, (though this method runs a risk of capsizing the aircraft in strong winds) propellers are common too. More rare are winged airships, which use two or more flapping, slanted sails attached to the sides of the craft which are usually powered by various mechanisms, utilising steam, clockwork, or a hybrid of the two, though occasionally a crew of about 50 Ceretians are employed to work the wings.

**MOBILISED ISLAND**

The rarest kind of aircraft Ceretians have made, throughout their history the Kallorans have created only 12 of these, and none have been made by the other species. A mobile island is usually propelled by either a giant steam-powered propeller, or massive wings. These aircraft have notable advantages such as being able to support an entire village and the ability of agriculture on one, meaning that a minimal one only has to stop for water and occasional metals and other rarer materials for repairs. However, the resources and time required to make just one are massive, making it impractical, if not unfeasable, to make a significant number in any reasonable time.

Out of the twelve to ever exist, one, *The Maghnarrus*, was stripped of much of its Pandemonium by a large Ssrvacker colony and ended up landing in the ocean, where it promptly sank and left the inhabitants stranded on crude rafts made of whatever floated (this has now become the small city of Maghnar'¦orik)

Another of them, T*he Hirnen*, collided with a floating island and lost the function of its mechanical components, leading to the surviving villagers' escape with parachutes.

Four, The *Pyius, Bolmii¦, Fevali & Eiserond* simply stopped working after some time and were scrapped.

Two more, The *Amparis & Sirapma* were abandoned by their inhabitants.

And one, *The Linfios-Nightael* disappeared completely, and remains lost to this day. The reason for the aircraft's disappearance was ultimately yet again, blamed on Ssrvackers, though this remains unproven.

And finally, the remaining craft were divided among the three species after much debate about what do do with them, now known as: the *Poignistr, Maporiss & Siimpai¦ien.*

### Transportation

**HEHSKELN**

A strange vehicle found on Ceres, given no proper Human-language name other than "Precarious Contraption" A Hehskeln runs on a single track below the main frame of the vehicle, some of these are steam powered while others are pulled by a domestic creature such as a Porrin or Skann. Hehskelns are rather uncommon due to the disadvantages of one compared to newer vehicles.

**BICYCLE**

A simple thing found just as commonly on Earth, a Bicycle has two wheels attached to a frame, and is driven forward with pedals operated with the rider, steered using a pair of handlebars (sometimes modified in shape to a pair of circular rings on Ceretian kinds) Ceretians often also put a body of wood or metal over the frame, slightly compromising the speed and turning radius of the machine in return for a more visually appealling shape.

**CARRIAGE**

A vehicle also found commonly in Earth's antiquity, a carriage or chariot is essentially a fully or partially enclosed room sat atop a wheeled chassis designed to be pulled by one or more pack animals. Though Ceretians also have developed some steam-powered forms, a primitive kind of automobile.