Ahsi
"The idea that such a strangely underwhelming race could be the most prominent one in the entire Galaxy was laughable at first, no matter where we looked, we could not find any member of the race. At first.
"It wasn't until one night, when I happened to be awake and wandering the corridors of the station, that I saw one--or rather, that I realized they'd been around me the entire time I'd lived here and I had never known.
"The Ahsi are shapeshifters. That wasn't mentioned when I was in school back on Cyrine Prime. We were taught about Ahsi in, what I learned later, was their 'native' form. Most Ahsi do not stick to that form, from years of living with other species, they've learned that it's a form deemed by most to be "frightening". Seeing it then, remembering it now. Broad shoulders, stocky body with dull but sharp-looking claws, spikes on the crests to the sides of their heads, dozens of sharp teeth in their mouths. I can see why you might say they're 'terrifying'. The thing is, despite the sharpness of their teeth, they're all vegetarians, well... as long as you consider insects and fish vegetables, which for some reason they do."
The Ahsi hail from the small planet Cianlis located within the Horse-Head Nebula. They were one of the first races to gain spaceflight, a feat they accomplished due to their spiritual belief in working together to return to Ci, their Mother-Goddess.
Basic Information
Anatomy
They are shapeshifters as means of survivalistic camouflage. Through expending energy they can attain a full change into the appearance of another species, this however, drains quite a bit of energy from the Ahsi and does not allow them the abilities of the other races, just the physical appearance. It is also limited in that while an Ahsi can change their muscle mass while doing this, they cannot shorten or lengthen their overall skeletal structure, so they must remain the same height, occasionally this has been known to break their camouflage as trying to pass as a species they're not, that is usually much shorter or taller than they are, can be a dead giveaway that they're not what they're pretending to be. Because of the height situation, most Ahsi, once they're fully grown are incapable of passing as a Vrensean or Yamti.
Ahsi that are not shapeshifted have broad shoulders and dense muscles, despite this they are generally soft as their bodies contain a lot of fat to keep them warm in the cold waters of their homeworld. They are built for physical activity though, when they enter the water their powerful muscles allow them to swim with purpose and grace despite the strong currents the oceans of Cianlis possess.
They possess crests on the sides of their head that have been likened by humans to the Crests of a crested gecko or to the "neck flaps" of a Dilophosaurus, these crests are tipped with three sharp spikes each. It's unknown what purpose the spikes originally served, but modern Ahsi have an almost religious reverence for them. Longer spikes are considered to be blessings from whatever goddess that Ahsi in particular reveres most, and decorations akin to necklaces and earrings are common.
Their mouths possess a number of extremely sharp teeth, as well as some duller ones in the back of their mouth. Despite this, the Ahsi diet consists mostly of raw fish, insects, and a number of edible plants.
Genetics and Reproduction
Ahsi mate in many different ways depending on the form they've taken, but they cannot reproduce in any form except their land or sea base form, in which they lay eggs.
Growth Rate & Stages
An Ahsi citizen is considered a baby until 4 cycles have passed (one year), a child until 24 cycles have passed (eight years), a middling until 64 cycles have passed (16 years), and an adult at 80 cycles (20 years), between the middling and adult stages, they're considered [ahsi word meaning "drunk on life"] it's the time when they demand to be treated like adults without the full understanding of what adulthood actually is, but they're not quite considered middlings anymore which means they're given a bit more room to choose their own path without interference except for their safety.
Physiologically they are usually fully grown by 64 cycles, though it may take as long as 70 or 80 cycles in some cases. Ahsi usually don't have complete control of their shapeshifting ability until 12 cycles have passed, leaving them extremely vulnerable to predators in that time. Because of this, Ahsi have large clutches of eggs--numbering anywhere from 8-20 eggs at a time--though usually more than half the clutch will not survive past childhood due to predation.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Hearing
The Ahsi are telepathic to an extent, they can read other Ahsi's thoughts if those thoughts are directed at them. What this actually means is a bit vague, but it's generally explained to non-Ahsi by means of an example:
"Say that you can hear your friend talking to their friend, but you don't know what they're saying because they're not talking to you, it's essentially a more direct version of that. There could be many conversations going but you're not listening because it doesn't affect you. Ahsi can hear other Ahsi's thoughts, the same way you can hear other people talking. To us, it's just another form of communication. Like sign language."
Aside from the telepathy, Ahsi can hear approximately the same range of sounds that a human can. However, because of the telepathy, Ahsi that grow up surrounded by other Ahsi are unaccustomed to silence and dislike or even outright hate it.
Sight
The Ahsi are accustomed to a dark or dimly lit environment having evolved in the oceans of Cianlis, They have excellent Dark Vision, and require darkening glasses in bright environments. They tend to have tinted visors on their suit helmets, designed to filter out the harsher brighter rays of light.
The Ahsi also developed the ability of PallesthesiaSee Note 2. Through the use of specialized nerve endings underneath their scales, they can sense vibrations in water, air, metal, or ground to locate an object or movement, and to an extent determine what is making that movement.
Civilization and Culture
Gender Ideals
Due to lack of true sexual dimorphism and the ability to shapeshift, as well as both parents being equally capable of producing both viable eggs and sperm, the Ahsi people don't really have a native inbred concept of gender. Though when translating their works for other cultures they tend to translate singular 3rd person as "she" (or equivalent). Most Ahsi identify themselves to humans as being "female", and all their deities take on a Feminine Persona when the myths are translated into other languages.
Relationship Ideals
Due to low survival rate of offspring to adulthood, procreation between Ahsi of any relationship status is not seen as taboo on their home planet, off planet however, offspring are incredibly more likely to survive due to the lack of predators, and thus Ahsi generally choose not to procreate with other Ahsi unless in a relationship with them.
Ideally, a single Ahsi will take on three to four lovers at a time, and it's not uncommon for an Ahsi child to grow up not knowing which of the several Ahsi raising it is the one that laid the egg from which it hatched. This is because the Ahsi value love and community above all else due to their statistically wildly unlikely survival and rise to power on their planet. Ahsi are by nature polyamorous, though monogamous Ahsi do exist and are considered just as valid and loved.
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