Azora

The Azora are a race of cold blooded humanoid creatures, often compared to by residence of New Earth to dinosaurs. They are hardy and deemed as warlike by other civilizations, with numerous evolutionary defense mechanisms that were the result of their harsh homeworld and expansionist culture.

## Homeworld

The Azora homeworld which acts as their namesake is, just as many would describe members of their race, a place of extremes. Its topography consists of so many active and inactive volcanoes that the planets atmosphere is a shroud of aerosols which prevents its inhabitance from being exposed to natural sunlight. As this is a long standing natural feature of the planet, lifeforms of Azora have evolved not only to tolerate what many may describe as a 'barren hellscape', but have enhanced nightvision at the expense of photosensitivity which prevents them from living comfortably on other worlds without the aid of specialized eye protection.

More peculiarly, pockets of tundra can be found on the surface; small sections of the earth which have the ideal conditions to be insulated against heat being generated within and without the planets atmosphere. While the cold blooded nature of the Azora initially kept them from stepping foot into the areas (save for when they were deliberately used as exile for criminals), advances in their own science eventually led to full surveys of these areas and the bizarre life that has managed to etch out existence therein.

## Physiology

Azora are taller than humans on average, both naturally muscular and cold blooded to tolerate their homeworld. Their skin varies in shades of red, brown and sometimes yellow, and is textured but still pliable, thicker than other species but not naturally armored. It's clear that this was evolved over time and that their ancestors may have once had naturally armored skin. They grow no hair on their bodies but do each have a set of horns which express themselves in manners as unique as hair in other sentient mammalian races; they vary widely in placement, shape and pigment.

Their bodies have various natural defense mechanisms which indicate their evolution was effected by their expansionist tendencies. Their knees and elbows have protrusions which can be used to gouge in combat, their forearms bare quills which can not only offer an edge in a hand to hand fight but be ejected at velocity from a distance, and their teeth are just as naturally predatorial as any large carnivorous creature. Their eyes resemble that of a lizard and vary in hue among yellow, orange and red, often expressing multiple colors in 'shards'. Aside from their heightened ability to see in dark conditions and light sensitivity, their sense of smell is also not particularly strong given a lifetime in a world where any 'fresh' air would still be scented by brimstone.

### Lifespan

Azoras outlive humans on average by a considerable margin, though nowhere near as prolific as Elves or Dwarves. While they are capable of building muscular mass and density very quickly through deliberate effort and are naturally strong and large, their actual aging process seems to merely be slower than other races. The scientists of their homeworld will attest that their species was once non-mammalian and evolved to become mammalian over time, though recorded instances of breeding outside their race are practically non-existent. Their gestation period is longer than humans on average and birth is a significant event due to the structure of their society.

## Culture

The integration of the Azora people into an interplanetary government was in some ways easier and in others harder than some civilized worlds, due largely to the widespread imperialism innate to their homeworld. The concept of complex government systems and being absorbed by them for a greater cause was not a strange one to their people, given that all corners of sentient society are ruled by a matriarchal empire and have been for some time before the arrival of other species wishing peaceful coexistence. Talks with that empire were where the bulk of difficulties occurred, as the descendants of those who had conquered an entire planet were not very receiving of the idea that any governmental body might be larger or more powerful than they were. It was largely introducing them to the pacifist Nuu and the combined diplomatic efforts of various members of the GPC which eventually convinced them to tolerate a higher bureaucracy and subject their spacefaring to examination by an organization who would, ultimately, prevent them from becoming a tyrannical superpower by force.

Their matriarchal structure can be traced through their history beyond