Within Cosmoria, there are about as many intelligent species as there are stars. However, there is much debate as to what constitutes an "Intelligent Organism." Some machines are obviously intelligent, and are even confirmed to have a mind or soul. The line between beast and intelligence, automaton and individual, or creature and person is blurry. A Person is an intelligent organism that has rationality, consciousness, self-consciousness, use of language (or equivalent), and abstract problem solving. Generally, if the majority of organisms in a given species have personhood, the species is considered "intelligent." Depending on the region, culture, and time period, the definitions have changed greatly.
Arkhosians are a carbon-based species composed of long fibers called "Catomic Fibers." These structures are a strand of RNA protected by a protein coat. The resulting structure is similar to textiles, including in texture. Instead of limbs, the Arkhosians have six bundles of cables. Smaller prehensile threads comprise these cables, allowing for fine motor control and locomotion. The hind two are capable of less fine motor control but are much stronger.
The Arkhosians were one of the first species in Aylathiya to create civilization after the fall of Hyperion. Since then, they have participated in almost every major civilization. After the formation of Sedrua, there had not been a major Arkhosian state until the formation of Arkholst, although it represents less than fifty percent of Arkhosians.
Atlins abandoned the traditional multicellular paradigm in favor of a single large "cell." Made of charged plasma, all genetic material is stored in a central nucleus, the "dynamo." This central organ is also responsible for maintaining shape via powerful magnetic fields. Their entire ecosystem, even microorganisms, have a similar makeup. Coupled with symbiotic microorganisms, smaller sub-dynamos, and the resulting currents, Atlins are highly magnetic. Metal dust and other materials form a skin around an Atlin.
The Carleans are an intelligent, warm-blooded reptilian species hailing from the cool, windy forests and savannas of Carlea. Closely related to the nearby Darvikans, and descended from the extinct Varla of Veladris, the Carleans are physically among the largest intelligent species that exist in Cosmoria. They are capable of natural flight in the thick oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere of Carlea, although they can survive comfortably at much lower pressures than that of their homeworld.
The Carleans are a deeply influential in the stars of Florathel, with their homeworld Carlea one of the twin capitals of the largest surviving nation at the close of the War of the Last Alliance. Intensely curious and scientifically minded, the Carleans and their ancestors have been at the forefront of scientific thought for as long as there have been Carleans. Although strong Thaumic potential is vanishingly rare among the species, those who possess it can become among the most powerful practitioners of the art.
The original Carlean colonies at Selfar, Myra, Pyre, Noleas, and the moons of Sarelle and Turosar hold the majority of Carlean population in Cosmoria. Small populations exist throughout the universe, as distant as the city of Karlastadt on the shores of Eos, which is populated primarily by Florathelian immigrants.
The Civese are a bipedal intelligent species made up of a contiguous microtubule lattice. This network of silicon fibers is similar to a cytoskeleton. Local flexing allows the skeleton to move, circulate fluids, and send information. Outside of the central nervous system, cascades of movement physically convey information. Chemical states, damage, and even hunger can be transported to the brain by tugging receptors at the base of the head. Some regions of the cytoskeleton are denser than others, creating bone-like structures that offer increased support in exchange for less flexibility.
The Civese are immensely influential especially on Eos. Being potent users of Thaumaturgy, the Civese have continuously exercised a great deal of power. The Five Civese Great Cities of Civestadt, Tonuur, Haviir, Osmatu, and Tajuura represent the bulk of their number. Small populations exist throughout the universe. The largest Civese state is the Quintet Payotari Association.
Farlas are the intelligent members of the Callithyia Hive, a species-spanning colony that stretches throughout Cosmoria. Farla fulfill the "overseer" role in the colony structure. They command a group of workers, a "queen," and small winged drones. All memebers of the Hive are bipedal but vary greatly in height, weight, and physical appearance. Compared to Farlas, workers weigh twice as much, queens are about the same, and drones weigh only a quarter as much. Farlas instinctively collarborate with one another, making them a formidable force both politically and economically.
Created directly by Ma'eau to study abstract ideas like mathematics, philosophy, and art, the Farlas soon became immensely useful as guardians. Nearly half of all Farlas became Paladins, worshippers of Ma'eau with impressive abilities such as Velvev Authority. Despite being rare, the Farlas have become immensely influential force, particularly in Thulcandria and Mandras.
Humans are a bipedal intelligent species created by Father Zaphenim. Related directly to the Kristals, this species tends to occupy similar niches to their ancestors. Humans are a highly tribal species that tends to split into multiple factions, causing them to spread out across Aylathiya. A calcium endoskeleton supports the body, protecting the most fragile organs in cases of bone.
With representation in many states, Humans gained a great amount of power through countless wars. The Human deity Mars, a powerful spirit, is immensely influential within Cosmoria. Those who harnessed Mars' power have almost universally been Human, leading to disproportionate representation in Aylathiya's aristocracy. The vast majority of Humans live within the Greater Martial Consilium but a great number live within Sagittarium, the Theocracy of Silverstar, and the Greater Celestial Concord.
The Kshi are an artificial species created in 85,231 CE. Originally complex self-organizing algae, the Neo-Terran Party uplifted the species to use them as weapons. They were one of the few unintelligent species capable of using Thaumaturgy. After much genetic engineering, the cells were forced to remain together. Without much of a physical body, however, their creators gave them robotic bodies. These metal skins closely resembled the armor used by Neo-Terran soldiers. A small number of Kshi escaped their fate as soldiers, hiding deep within cities to remain free. Unable to organically manufacture their armor, they have no choice but to remain in industrialized cities.
Currently, the Kshi do not have a state of their own. With only small settlements being made up of entirely this species, most participate in existing structures. There are a large number of Kshi active in the Altgrave of Royer and Uspayador.
Kristals are a multicellular amorphous species native to the Etoile Sea on Eos. Kristals have a centralized nervous system complete with all required sensory organs. Muscles support the nerves, creating two main arms and a host of sub-arms and legs. Surrounding this nervous system is a symbiotic organism that has grown to depend on the Kristals. A clear gelatinous creature, this symbiote serves to protect the fragile nervous system. In exchange, the symbiote does not need to worry about feeding or reproduction as the Kristal passes on a portion of the organism to their offspring. Kristals are heavily dependent on their sight as well as light-based communication.
Kristals are directly related to Humans. Father Zaphenim heavily modified Kristals into modern Humans by sculpting them into his image. Humans and Kristals cannot reproduce together, but their centralized energy-hungry nervous systems are similar. Kristals currently live across Eos and have been hugely impactful. Most of them live within the city of Kristadt, the last great Kristal city that survived Rinayo and Isayo's campaign across Eos.
The Kya represent one of the few aquatic species to create civilization. The Kya's complex pereopods, located directly under the head, allow them to overcome the most difficult hurdle for aquatic species—fine motor control. Hidden behind exoskeletal plates to increase the Kya's hydrodynamic torpedo-like shape, these six pairs of arms allow for Kyan civilization. The Kya became increasingly intelligent as group hunting and complex social structures evolved.
The Kyan homeworld shares a system with the Humans. Unlike their terrestrial brethren, which were uplifted by the Triumvirate Civilization, the Kya were largely ignored. The Triumvirate did not believe transporting large amounts of water into space was as efficient as transporting air. The Kya had to climb out of their gravity well by themselves. The Kya took thousands of years to advance from simple iron production to space flight. As the Triumvirate collapsed into civil disorder, the newly-formed Kyan Commonwealth could take Helyar for itself.
Loresavts are mechanical general-purpose humanoid machines created by the Phaethon System. Created to protect Eos from degradation and tampering, Loresavts exhibit complex problem-solving abilities suggesting intelligence. This species is elusive and intelligently resists attempts at study, inadvertently giving researchers information. They have an innate sense of their surroundings despite having no visible sensory organs. This includes the positions of fellow Loresavt. They most likely reproduce by manually constructing copies of themselves. Whether this constitutes reproduction is a hotly contested issue. Another unique characteristic is their composition. They are made up of trillions of gears. Within their chest cavity lies an immensely complicated analog computer that handles problem-solving through unknown means.
Loresavts marginally participate in civilization, but they spend most of their time maintaining Eos. Consequently, their involvement usually involves protecting their home. Whether by generously funding rulers, politicians, and groups that invest in maintaining the disk or forcibly stopping projects that damage it, the Loresavt are formidable opponents. Every so often, a firm is revealed to be operated by Loresavt. Most do not trust the mechanical beings, usually leading to that firm's dissolution. Loresavts do not have voting power in any state.
Luxscions are an offshoot of the Civese created by Father Zaphenim. Separated from their people for millennia within the Lux Aetnera, the Luxscions became potent users of Thaumaturgy. The species left the Lux Aeterna with Mother Sachitel. The austere Luxscions make their notoriously dispassionate Civese cousins seem animated by comparison. Physically, Luxscions never strayed far from the Civese body plan.
As they emerged with Mother Sachitel, they served primarily as her foot soldiers. Capable of resisting the allure of her Hedonist Worlds, they proved immensely useful in maintaining the Second Aeternal Society. After the fall of this empire, they played a major role in founding the Civese Great Cities of Civestadt and Tonuur. While isolated communities of Luxscions exist throughout Cosmoria, their population has been continually on the decline. Interbreeding with the Civese has largely erased the Luxscion species. The identity lives on among the Civese, however, with Civese magi often called "Luxscions."
The Molkor are a carnivorous species native to the Marred world of Hathia. Subject to nearly a millennium of Ma'eau's delirium, Hathia's native life was warped to become monstrous but also very diverse. Most species absorbed foreign genes. The results were extraneous limbs, corpulent growths, and a painful existence. Plants were also not exempt, forming planet-spanning forests eager to feed upon nutrients instead of photosynthesizing. The ecosystem would have collapsed were it not for the accidental introduction of photosynthetic plants. The quadrupedal Molkor, one of the few functional species, resisted the hostile environment.
Naturally a solitary species, congregating in large numbers with other animals triggers a stress response. This adaptation, leftover from the time before Ma'eau's delirium, is to keep populations spread out. Molkor Civilization emerged when a small group was desperate enough to resort to the psychoactive Vexquisite plant. With potent calming properties, their instincts dissipated enough to allow for civilization. Despite its wide consumption, The urge to kill perpetually exists in the back of their mind. It is an indispensable part of Molkor society. Today, the main ingredient is readily available and allows for organizations like the Alkan Order and Vespanic Order to exist.
Ohmados are a unique species native to Xadio. Without a distinct form, the Ohmados are a diffuse cloud of entangled monopolar electrons. In other words, Ohmados are a living electric current. Ohmados usually take on the form of closed loops, endlessly cycling around a central point. They derive energy from their planet's magnetic field and intense electric storms. The Ohmados are one of the comparatively few intelligent species that hail from a gas giant. This unique species evolved intelligence to channel Thaumaturgy, which makes staying together and gathering energy far easier. Nearly every animal species on Xadio can use Thaumaturgy to a limited degree.
The Ohmados remain politically ineffectual despite their potent thaumic abilities. The main reason for this is the ease at which other Magi, the users of Thaumaturgy, can disrupt their delicate structure. Unable to thrive in a region dominated by Magocracies, they tend to cooperate with or support non-Ohmado Magi in battle. The largest polity in which Ohmados have power is the province of Avolast in the Commonwealth of Aggregate Aylathiya.
The Pestilence is an intelligent species that evolved in space, likely around Thalsiedeln. Unlike most intelligent lifeforms, this species never once formed into civilization. They prefer to live out their predatory existences undisturbed. They usually live in packs of ten to billions of individuals. Large swarms represent a great threat to spacecraft wherever they occur. The Pestilence requires pressurized environments to reproduce; in the past, they landed on low-gravity worlds to spawn. When spacecraft became common, The Pestilence began targetting them for a much easier place to reproduce.
Individuals of this species, called Pestelts, have an elongated hexagonal shape. They are symmetrical about the center of their body, giving them ten sextets of limbs space evenly across the body. Their legs have a sharp glass-like tip to tear into prey. On their front face are their dominant eyes, and on their back face is the mouth. Pestelts primarily communicate via flashes of light. There are thousands of Pestelt languages.
Their name derives from this behavior. Sometimes, entire fleets ended up as spawning grounds for swarms. Smaller groups have been known to hijack spacecraft and keep a small portion of the crew alive. The remainder of the crew would be forced to pilot the craft towards another star system. As this practice became common, it was clear that packs had a way to communicate. The Pestilence began sparing the crew if they cooperated, making them far more likely to get to the system they wanted. At least three civilizations have fallen to The Pestilence, most notably the Cosmic Commonwealth of Magi, whose collapsing civilization could not defend itself from one of the largest Pestilence swarms in history.
Ror Units are an intelligent bipedal species native to the planet D'Naevium. Their phylum abandoned the common paradigm of organs with discrete functions; all vital functions happen within a universal medium pumped throughout the body. This network of pipes is very prominent and a defining feature of Ror Unit's appearances. Despite their seemingly artificial origin, Ror Units are naturally occurring and have even evolved. With the ability to withstand the varied and extreme conditions of D'Naevium, settling nearly any world is trivial.
Ror Units are very widespread, but they prefer dry climates. The result is a tremendous amount of influence in galactic history. With the Atlins, billions of Ror Units served the Triumvirate Civilization as police. Their most common religion, Alkanism, is rooted in Invocative Thaumaturgy. This already ascetic and dispassionate species can somewhat easily meet the religion's steep demands.
Ryleiths are an incredibly tough species with six limbs and prominently developed centaurism. They are one of Azurullya's native intelligent species, and their evolution has been heavily influenced by their celestial environment. Rhen's almost-consistent transit through the Viritacloud every few centuries allowed the ancestral proto-Ryleiths to survive the death of their star 2 million years ago, and they have since only grown in raw biological prowess. Trace amounts of titanium have been found in the skeletal structures of other Rylehkastran fauna, which is likely also true for Ryleiths.
The Ryleiths are still primitive in their civilization, but have been uncooperative in contact efforts. Still in their iron (titanium) age, they have made it abundantly and violently clear that they are not ready to become civilized. The irradiated environment of Rylehkastra is difficult enough to deal with, and language barriers from an unruly and barbaric race proved too much for the young Theocracy to handle. The moon itself is under close observation for later teams to eventually attempt contact again.
Ski'pec are a silicon-based intelligent species and one of the three intelligent species natice to Azurullya. Their species has a dimporhic nature, with a roughly even split between members of the populus who have a patagium with a flight-capable build and members who have an extra set of arms and a noticeably sturdier build. They are covered in mottled fur that comes in a bismuth-adjacent variety of hues. Their Auramest-enhanced evolution led them to be natural conduits for Thaumaturgy and gave them the tools they needed to dominate the colder worlds of the region for a long time.
The Ski'pec were Azurullya's first imperial power, taking to its wild stars in the millennia before the Theocracy of Silverstar entered the region and conquered them. The pantheistic culture of the era led to semi-peaceful negotiations with the new state, giving them roughly equal power and delegating worlds within their own habitable range to Ski'pec development. They have since become known for their thaumic prowess, making up a great deal of the Theocracy's military ranks.
The Timporians are an intelligent species made up of one thousand spindles joined together in a central point. Surrounding this fragile center is a shell that doubles as a store of resources, useful objects, and shelter. Every so often, Timporians abandon their old shells to find a new one. Almost anything can be used as a shell. In modern times, carbon fiber offers a high-strength and lightweight alternative to natural substances. Timporians are unable to detect visible light and rely on vibrations in the ground to see.
The Timporians have been immensely influential since Sedrua contacted them. Most Timporians live within Eqeyuana, a federation encompassing their homeworld and its nearest planets. Sizeable popualtions exist on Eos, under the Filililand barony, and Indar.
The Un'oit are a common species originating from the low-gravity world of Capriccio. Twenty-five pairs of true legs and two pairs of more dextrous forelegs support a body weighing over three tonnes. Males are far smaller at only four hundred kilograms and are also unintelligent. Their three eyes serve well to detect bioluminescence, while their feet are sensitive to vibrations. Resistant to the harsh conditions of space, the Un'oit can spend over four weeks in a sleep-like state in these harsh conditions.
The Un'oit learned to cooperate with animals early in their history. Without advancing technologically, or even societally, they achieved spaceflight by gripping onto Spaceborne Life capable of leaving Capriccio's gravity well. Their adaptations to Capriccio's harsh environment served well in colonizing space, allowing them to settle dozens of worlds beyond their home system. After gaining advanced technology, the universe contended with the Un'oit Ascension, a period of 150 years in which large Un'oit armies conquered much of Aylathiya. The Un'oit are present in almost every society but struggle under the gravity of most worlds.
The Xherari are a slender bipedal species hailing from the moon Pherran. Their eight limbs include their two legs, a pair of wings, and four dextrous arms. Their serpentesque torsos are usually enhanced by their prolific biotechnology. Their innovative civilization had just barely taken flight beyond its own moon system when the Theocracy of Silverstar entered Azurullya and subjugated them.
The Xherari have a long history with technology, especially in the fields of bodily augmentation and prosthetics. They modify their own bodies and buildings in a lifelong journey of tinkering. This skill has not gone unnoticed by their new theocratic authorities. The Xherari have a reputation for their mechanical skills and are at the forefront of many large devlopment firms.
