Iromakuanhe

Homeworld: Maekardan

Home Nation: Iromakuanhe Astral Commonwealth

Population: 37.12 Billion

The Iromakuanhe, or Dream Stewards, are a space faring race that recently came out of isolation to join the galactic community, due to a variety of social, economic and political reasons. Their entire species was born from the symbiotic relationship between a race of ancient ethereal psions and human colonists at the dawn of a great and destructive war that was only ended to save themselves from a common enemy. Because of this, the Iromakuanhe are diplomatically-minded, and largely pacifists at heart, with a tendency to welcome the diversity from other cultures with open arms. However, they are resolved to defend themselves and their way of life with a powerful resolve.

Religious idealists, they follow a complex and varied faith of dream mysticism and introspective meditation that emphasizes being in harmony with one's surroundings, and constantly striving for self-improvement and enlightenment of the self. While each is allowed to follow this religion in his or her own, the reverence to their natural and surrogate ancestors it instills is nearly universal. While it does in general promote a sense of peace and harmony, varying interpretations of the holy texts can often create conflicting sects and philosophies.

The average person is a conscientious, intelligent being who lives by the ideal that it is his civic duty to seek and understand the truth in his nation, and that blind obedience is dangerous to his state and fellow citizens. While inherently less loyal when government has failed in its duties, this makes the Iromakuanhe citizen politically savvy and willing to make small sacrifices because he is more likely to see the big picture.

(Note: Any body systems not listed act exactly like they would do in humans.)

At a glance, Iroma resemble tall, wiry humans with a pair of smooth, bony horn-like crests that jut back and upwards from the temples, in a manner similar to the horns of gazelles. Males tend to have larger and wider straight ones, while Iromakuanhe females have thinner and more elegant crests that curve slightly inwards. They also have slightly more pronounced spines, due to exoskeletal plates covering most of the joints on the body. Dotting these plates are small ports for interfacing with organic machinery and receiving liquid medication.

Cultural background determines overall appearance, with eye colors ranging from stark blue to bright yellow and deep red, and skin going all the way from dark brown to milky white.

Directly beneath the dermis, Iromakuanhe have a tight mesh of transmitter nerves that allow them to share incredible amounts of information with any creature with dense enough neural clusters (brains, spinal columns, other SEL's) within a .25 meter radius. This grants the Iromakuanhe touch-based empathy, and an intuitive understanding of most biological entities by being able to “see” into their nervous systems after forming a connection with the other organism. However, they are vulnerable to psionic assault and are easily detectable to some telepathic species.

At each joint on the body, the Iromakuanhe has at least one bony port that can function as both an intake for liquid medication and as a plug socket for neural interfaces. When unused, a plate closes underneath to protect from potentially crippling injury from a penetrating strike to a port, while they are automatically sealed with a rapidly drying antibacterial gel naturally produced by the lymphatic system.

The Iromakuanhe have a combined calcium and quartz lattice structure in their bones, giving them significantly stronger bones with little or no increase in weight. They have lessened mineral density due to the slightly lower gravity of their planet, but increased amounts collagen to improve fracture resistance. All bones in the Iroma skeletal system contain high amounts of Red Marrow, and unlike most human-derived species, these do not turn into Yellow Marrow during the onset of puberty, granting the Iromakuanhe higher red blood cell production and counts.

Over every joint of the body, Iroma have small exoskeletal plates made of the same material as their bones, which protect from abrasions and impacts. Many of these have Entry Ports (see above) on them, especially around the arms and spine. These plates can grow back if damaged, and a completely destroyed one will heal in about 1-2 months.

Instead of normal cartilaginous tissues, Iromakuanhe joints are padded and lubricated with a soft and flexible liquid-gel filled with dissolved nitrogen. As well as normal cushioning, it also allows them to safely make difficult landings from by forming nitrogen bubbles between the bones to protect them. Though not fatal to an Iroma, this action tends to be exceedingly painful, given the nature of inducing the Bends on yourself. The gel can reabsorb the bubbles in a matter of minutes, though the subject will be in great pain in the meantime. Should the joints be damaged and for any reason gel be lost, the body can refill a joint within a short matter of days.

The Iromakuanhe's lungs are adapted for a variety of environments, particularly high attitudes and places filled with harmful and irritating dust particles. They have 1.5 times the natural capacity of a human being, and are capable of removing dust that collects in the lining of the lungs by surrounding it with a thick phlegm-like fluid and coughing it up. This coughing can remove the buildup from up to a year's exposure to potentially harmful particles, but can be somewhat uncomfortable and even painful, and last minutes.

While they lack the incredible healing abilities of some races, the Iromakuanhe are blessed with very quick blood coagulation, as well as the ability to seal off large, bleeding wounds using this rapid drying. While an Iroma might not be able to suddenly pick him or herself up and and walk a serious wound off, it could allow him or her to survive long enough to reach proper medical aid. Unlike the coagulation of some other species, aggregated solids in Iromakuanhe blood naturally forms a semi-watertight flexible protein lattice which will allow the body to regain some measure of mobility after damaged tissues have been sealed.

As well as lymphatic fluid, the Iromakuanhe lymphatic system also produces a bactericidal liquid which it distributes throughout the body. It is frequently seen around the Entry Ports when they close up, where it functions as both a sanitizer and a sealant.

The Iromakuanhe have a single stomach filled with a potent solution of hydrochloric acid and lined with a standard self-replenishing membrane to protect it from itself, as well as the other components of normal humanoid digestive systems. The Iromakuanhe digestive tract is more effective at drawing out vitamins and minerals, and as well as most non-fatty substances. Unfortunately, this has given them increased absorption speeds for alcohol, which frequently cause Iroma to get intoxicated much faster after drinking.

One of the most distinguishing features of the Iromakuanhe is the pair of bony horn-like crests that begin at the temples, and jut at a gentle slope in a manner similar to the horns of a gazelle. These are usually around 5/4 the actual length of the skull. Small cartilaginous ear-like recesses at the base of the horns, rimmed by a loop of bony tissue grant them basic functions as ears, similar in capabilities to humans. Meanwhile, a thin network of tubes in the horns grant excellent hearing in lower frequencies and an improved capacity for hearing things behind them. They aren't very sensate, but there are enough nerve clusters inside for it to cause serious pain if someone were to attempt to break it, or strike it with enough force. If broken, they can grow back in a month or two, depending on how much was lost.

At birth, Iromakuanhe have only small bony bumps on the sides of the head, which grow to full size in proportion to the size of the head by adolescence. Males tend to have larger and wider straighter ones, while Iromakuanhe females have thinner and more elegant horns that curve slightly inwards.

Iromakuanhe eyes tend to have a bit of a dim glow to them from a gradual buildup of fluorescent materials in the cones of the eye. With age, these accumulate and the eyes become brighter. The Iroma tend to have good eyesight, and decent nightvision, though not quite the equivalent of light amplification. Though uncommon, the most common type of eye problem known to the Iromakuanhe is Far-Sightedness.

They also have a second eyelid designed for protection from the elements, including dust particles, water and the harsh sun of their homesystem. These secondary lids are concealed inside the primary eyelids and are are naturally transparent, with the ability to polarize to various light levels. This is done via an involuntary color changing property in the cells of this eyelid, which may affect natural color perception somewhat by gradually shifting tones to brown or greyscale with increasing levels of polarization. Different effects in color perception might be felt if the eye adjusts for visible light in different colors of the spectrum. In the mid-day sun of the desert, plains or tundra, the full eye may appear almost completely black, while it can become fully transparent in normal conditions.

Though they have human-type teeth, the Iroma's are denser and covered in a thicker layer of enamel, making them stronger and more durable. They also have marginally longer top and bottom canines, but this is rarely something very noticeable.

Though pure telepathy is exceedingly rare among the Iromakuanhe, they have several telepathy-like abilities that focus more on subconscious thought, emotions and sensations.

Within a range almost limited to touch, the Iromakuanhe have the ability to share emotional and sensory information, granting them a sort of empathy. While they cannot simply “feel” another's pain or emotions, they are able to “share” while in close proximity, making Iromakuanhe empathy a two-way channel. Feelings tend to mix and blur between people, allowing one individual to calm down another, especially when he or she is in traumatic or painful states. A common use is “leeching”, whereby an Iroma draws away as much pain as possible from an injured person, lessening the burden on them.

The nature of their ability makes them vulnerable to psionic and telepathic attacks.

The Iromakuanhe's knowledge of dreams and their own innate emphatic abilities have also imbued them with the ability to “share” dreams. While primarily used to speak with the Makuori, many Iroma also use this ability to communicate with eachother during sleep. There are natural restrictions on this ability, due to certain conditions having to be met before an Iroma can dreamwalk.

• Both walkers must be sapient.
• Both walkers must be willing.
• Both walkers must be in deep sleep.
• Neither walker can harbor any ill feelings for the other, lest he or she be ejected by the other's mind.

Dreamwalking is no minor thing, and is only done by people that are very close.

The Iromakuanhe reproduce sexually, via the male fertilizing the female's egg during ovulation and give birth to live young after an 10 month gestation period. Single children and twins are the most common, with 66 out of 100 births being single children and 33 out of 100 being fraternal twins. Iromakuanhe infants are born with only small, unformed plates and bone crests on their bodies to facilitate birthing. After birth, they are breast fed for the first 6-8 months of life, and gain the ability to walk around 7 months.

Males tend to be fertile for most of their lives up until the last decade or so, while females experience menopause right around age 100. Though individual rhythms differ, most Iromakuanhe women ovulate about once every 45 days.

The Iromakuanhe live to be about 130 years old, with the oldest living Iroma living to 157, but this was an exceptional case. Females live about 8 years longer than their male counterparts. Aging is slightly disproportionate in respects to human aging, with a longer adult and middle aged lifespan, and only a decade and a half of actual old age. There is also a slight difference in actual biological age versus the one that is presented due to a long solar cycle for all the planets which the Iromakuanhe inhabit.

To figure out your Iromakuanhe's age in proportion to Yamataian years use this formula. Take your Iromakuanhe's age, multiply it by four and then divide it by three.

Interested in playing an Iromakuanhe? Click this link to the Character Creation Guide.

Authored by Exhack and approved by Kim on Feb 5, 2008¹⁾