Drodo

The **Drodo** are a species of near-humans inhabiting the Drodo Sector of the Axanar region of the Aoshtai Galaxy. The Drodo people are distinguished from the humans they descend from by their short, dense, soft coats of fur, their relatively short stature, and their wiry, lean frames. Drodo are often stereotyped by outsiders as being emotional, passionate, clannish, and superstitious. In many ways this is very true, though to the extent that this is an inborn racial trait as opposed to a cultural characteristic is debatable, as is its universality.

Drodo are the dominant species in the Drodo Sector. Smaller groups of Drodo, particularly Aratacian citizens, are known to live outside of the sector, wherein they typically live in ethnic ghettoes, as is the case in the Phero Ecumene. Drodo are rarely seen in any significant numbers outside of the Aoshtai Galaxy.

The Drodo race has an extremely long history, most of which was spent in semi-isolation from the rest of the galaxy within the confines of their own sector of space, within which a multitude of unique and diverse civilizations emerged and fell.

Drodo history is marked by the expansion and contractions of its state and international apparatuses, wherein a period of prosperity would allow the centralisation of small kingdoms into large states, with powerful state churches, followed by a return to petty kingdoms, semi-barbarism, and clan lifestyles after the often rapid collapse of the international system. Modern Drodo history would begin after Drodokind entered the wider cultural orbit of the Aoshtai galaxy after mass-conversions to Rhyanism starting in and around -600 NE, and the adoption of a multitude of political and cultural institutions which would "civilise" the Drodo people away from their indigenous star-paganisms. A slow process of state centralisation would ensue, which would accelerate after the devastating invasion of the Merosian Imperium around the same time. Today, Drodokind is split between a relative handful of states in and near the Drodo Sector.

## Origin

The origins of the Drodo species are not totally understood, though it is believed that the species originated as a group of migrating humans or nearhumans sometime in the 24th millennium A.R. (-40 000 NE), during the period of the middle-late Aoshanti Empire.

This tribe of humanoids, known in Aoshanti records as the **Droii**, were likely fleeing imperial persecution after a failed bid to forcibly settle in the Empire's hinterland. Instead, the Droii elected to settle in the relatively shut-away and secure Drodo Sector, choosing the temperate world of Coron as their new home. Here the Droii, who by this point were known to be anatomically-modern Drodo, "geared-down" significantly to the level of an early atomic age civilization, forming what is known to Drodo scholars today as the Original Drodo Civilization around the 22nd millenium A.R (-38 000 NE).

This civilization would last approximately three-thousand years before an unknown catastrophe known as the *Deluge* destroyed it utterly. Likely a combination of rapid and severe catastrophes, and possibly even atomic war, the *Deluge* wiped out Drodo civilization for the next fifteen thousand years. However, through the ODC's contributions Drodo presence on Coron itself was secure.

## Physical Characteristics

Drodo are relatively short, relatively lean near-humans with an average height of 5'5 (for men) and 5'2 (for women). They have fast metabolisms, which gives most Drodo both a lean build and a voracious appetite-- typically, Drodo prefer to eat four to six smaller meals or snacks in a day rather than two or three larger ones. Their bodies are covered, head to toe, in a dense but very short layer of soft, down-like fur. The fur-- and the skin beneath it-- can take countless colours and patterns. Fur colour and pattern is genetic, and inherited from the parents. Different nationalities of Drodo are known to have different ranges of fur colour and pattern. Drodo also have normal, humanoid hair, which typically grows on their head, their face (if male), and around their pubic area. Most Drodo hair is black, though some races of Drodo are known to have differently-coloured hair. Naturally, the dying of hair and body-mods are also reasonably common.

Drodo also have vestigial antennae which grow from their foreheads, just at the border of the hairline. Antennae typically grow to around 15-20cm, but some have been as long as 30-40cm. The original purpose, if any, that these antennae served is not understood by physicians or scientists who instead believe it likely that the antennae were entirely cosmetic, and a deliberate gene-edit on the part of the Droii. These antennae may grow straight, may droop forward or sweep backward, or have a distinct, angular "crook" forward or backwards. Depending on the time, place, and culture, antennae have also been styled in various ways to achieve a desired shape, though at other times they have been left to grow naturally, as is the case among modern Aratacians.

These antennae are very sensitive to touch, like a cat's whiskers, with most Drodo getting a "pins and needles" feeling from objects or fingers brushing through them. Pulling an antenna is remarkably painful, and tearing them out has been a common form of torture and mutilation among Drodo societies historically. It is not uncommon for Drodo with particularly sensitive antennae, or who simply do not want them to be an nuisance during sensitive work, to either comb and antennae back into their hair or stuff them under a hat. Some Drodo even have their antennae removed voluntarily, typically by cutting them off and cauterising the stub to prevent bleeding. This is only temporary however, as antennae typically grow back within six months.