Chouk'miri

Overview
Centaur in shape, reptilian in looks, the Chouk'miri are from the planet Chouk'mir. Their torsos are upright when standing in typical centaur fashion, but the Chouk'miri can hang from things upside down with all six limbs without discomfort.

Physical Traits
Despite their size, Chouk'mir (sometimes colloquially referred to as 'reptaurs') are very agile and fast creatures, capable of running on four or six limbs. They can climb walls due to tiny hairs on both their hands and feet, like a gecko, and for these reasons tend to build their homes above-ground. Chouk'mir houses some very dangerous ground predators with a taste for Chouk'miri flesh, necessitating the situation further.

Chouk'mir are very hardy folk. The difficulty of life before modern advancements and the transition into a space-faring people meant that physical weakness could not be tolerated, as it would not survive. It was in the race's best interest to develop strong claws and the ability to climb.

Their skin is scaly like a lizard’s, with their chests and undersides being a paler and smoother version of their back. They can come in nearly any color, but one Choukmir’s skin can change color throughout his or her life. The females tend to be darker in color and slightly taller, whereas the males usually represent the lighter shades and don't usually grow above six and a half feet. Both genders are statistically equal in all mental and physical traits, and the likelihood of a Mirki being male or female is equal.

Mental Traits
Chouk'mir have a slightly above average racial intelligence, though their beginnings were tribal and space travel was given to them by a more advanced race. They took to it very well, and proved that Chouk'mir could not only meet the other races at the table, but often be better at skills like engineering and technological innovation.

The Chouk'mir language is a combination of clicks, squeaks, and super- and sub-sonic vibrations, in addition to actual words, and it is difficult for most humanoids to pick up due to the fact that humans, at least, simply cannot replicate all the sounds of Chouk'miri without their specialized voice box. Some Chouk'mir struggle to form the letters of Common, so there is usually some speech impediment. Nearly all have a lisp that gets worse when they speak faster or feel strongly. They tend to be a quiet people toward other races, with very few of them being public speakers without always-attending non-Chouk'miri translators.

Government
Their society is organized into clans, loosely related (and sometimes unrelated) groups of Chouk'miri living in one area, with the clan lords as members of a sort of senate. The title of the senators is Mirki, which, due to peculiarities in Chouk'miri culture, translates poorly into Common but is closest to the word ‘delegate’ despite the lack of election in Chouk'miri society. The Mirki have no single leader on their home planet, but the interplanetary leader is referred to as the Mirkisu, with ‘su’ meaning upper or greater. A Chouk'mir speaking in Common would as likely call it the Highmirki (one word) as the official term.

Society and Culture
Even after the advent of space travel, society on Chouk'mir retains its tribal roots. The priesthood on that planet maintains that the gods frown on excess, so there was never a push for modernization prior to space travel. Current architecture and culture is an interesting blend of tribal and technological; much of the old art has been replaced (though not destroyed) by tribal-influenced modern materials and patterns.

Chouk'mir took to space travel with an unparalleled enthusiasm and skill. A disproportionate number of them took jobs as ship's engineers and hydroponics/botanical bay maintainers, both in the Imperium and in the private sector. A common sight to see on Chouk'mir is a small techbrace, about seven inches long and worn on the wrist to aid in computer work.

Notable Members

 * Nia Hovall of the Mandrake
 * (engineer) of the Mandrake

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