Shirren

Shirrens are a species of arthropodal tetrapods who originally evolved on the planet Khir'Sai. They were uplifted to sentience by the Navigator, who created for them a single soul which linked the bodies of every individual of the species. The resulting hive being grew, forming the Pre-Silence Omnimie civilization. When the Silence fell, the destabilizing of the Veil and vast Aetherial starstorms resulted in the Shirren oversoul being torn from its bodies. Lost in the Aether, the soul reshaped itself over the course of the Silence, eventually joining the ranks of the gods as the Life Giver. The beings left behind, however, found themselves adrift with only scattered memories of their collective past. Over the centuries since, the Shirrens have managed to remake their self-image and culture, and thrive on worlds across colonized space.

Biology and Appearance

Morphology

Shirrens are bipedal tetrapods with arthropodal features and morphology, sporting rigid exoskeletons that support their otherwise limp and fibrous internal tissues. Though a distinct brain-like nervous structure is present in their upper torsos, many neurological processes are surprisingly decentralized. Each of a Shirren's limbs supports four opposable digits; while those on the feet are functional, they are far less dexterous than the hands.

Shirrens do not use their mouthparts to speak or breath. Speech is produced by vibrating membranes within several chambers in their heads and upper torsos; this unique structure makes Shirren languages melodic and distinct, but means that it is difficult for them to learn non-Shirren languages, and nigh impossible for non-Shirrens to learn Shirren speech without cybernetic augmentation. Shirren respiration is largely decentralized, with small airways drawing from a number of orifices across their body and allowing the oxygen to diffuse relatively directly into their cells.

Life Cycle

Shirren reproduction is completely unisex. To reproduce, they simply excrete a viscous gel of reproductive cells and nutrients. If multiple individuals contribute matter to a single clutch, genetic information is shared amongst the cells in that clutch. After a few weeks, embryos begin to form, which mature over the course of several months, emerging as small but fully developed Shirren young. Both the reproductive clutch and newborns are cared for by the individuals who contributed to the clutch.

These large family units can contain between one and several dozen parents and might produce hundreds or thousands of offspring. However, of these offspring only a fraction develop souls; most simply remain catatonic and eventually decompose. Though the subject of vigorous research by biologists and soul experts, this quirk of Shirren reproduction is poorly understood, and few Shirren have any desire to rectify it, both for spiritual reasons and more pragmatic concerns of population control.

Aetheractive Capabilities

Almost all Shirren are capable of some basic aetheraction in the form of short-range telepathy, a relic of the species' hive-mind days. However, it is seen as an invasion of the self to use such capabilities without invitation, and most Shirren prefer spoken communication outside of intimate or sensitive interactions. Natural arcane connections and strong aetheractive capability are more common among Shirrens than most other species, but not by a significant margin.

Culture and Language

Shirrens as a people are torn between their history of absolute unity and their present as individuals. Through freedom of choice and individual expression, what Shirren call the unfettering of the soul, are seen as key to a healthy existance, Shirren expect their compatriots to respect and serve the community before the self when such interests diverge. Many hive instincts persist even in modern Shirren, and these both shape the way Shirrens view and interact with the world and give rise to many quirks of Shirren social custom and interaction.

Due to their unique vocal structures, Shirren languages often involve the overlaying of multiple pure tones, and often sound like music to members of other species. The most common Shirren language is Intersong, though many others exist in more isolated communities.