Tag Cloud:
The Felani (pronounced “Fel-ah-nee”) are a mammalian species from the Fel System in the Secession Sector. Their homeworld is particularly idyllic - mostly free from extremes of weather, large predators and other dangers, as well as bountiful in resources. They were discovered in 2468PT, as the Commonality moved to secure strategic volumes of space during the Commonality-Ascendancy cold war that lingered after the Elysian Revelation. When initially encountered, they were a mostly pre-industrial society. The majority of the population concentrated on low-intensity agriculture, with lots of leisure time and community festivals. The few cities on the Felani homeworld contained a few eccentric inventors and scientific institutions that pursued science mostly as a hobby, and had developed small-scale electricity generation and some rudimentary electronics.
The Commonality initially took a hands-off approach, monitoring the Felani in secret and allowing them to develop on their own while the Faction secured the system. Disguised Elysian monitoring teams infiltrated the population and investigated their society, which they determined to be very slow in pace and relaxed in attitude. Given their homeworld's bounty, Felani society rarely had to deal with any hardships and they we considered to lack the essential incentives and societal drivers to develop spacefaring technology within the next millennium. However, the overseers of the monitoring teams noticed items and devices going missing at a much higher rate than would normally be expected, but it was put down to carelessness and given lower priority than developing the surrounding volume's defences and supply lines for the war. It was only when massive energy signals were detected by orbiting starships a 12 years after the species' discovery that the Commonality's operatives discovered the truth about the “disappeared” equipment. The Felani were well aware of the presence of the Elysian infiltrators, and had constructed elaborate networks around hiding that fact from their “visitors”. The technology that had been mislaid had been stolen, sold to Felani scientists across the planet, and reverse-engineered. Felani science had advanced rapidly in an incredibly short time, mostly under the noses of the Elysians.
Once the truth was revealed, the Felani were formally contacted by the Commonality, and diplomatic overtures begun. Over the following hundred years the species became gradually integrated into the Faction, and can now be found all over Commonality space. It took an additional fifty years before Commonality scientists discovered that the Felani were latent psions - their abilities were rarely developed to any great degree and took such a subtle form compared to those of the Elysians that they barely registered until Felani began to enter Commonality research institutions.
All Felani constantly and subconsciously emit a field of psionic energy that tends to subtly calm emotions and place the minds of others nearby in a relaxed state. This state mimics the sleep cycles of many species, although those affected remain fully awake while subject to it. The presence of a Felani causes the bodies of those nearby to begin to repair themselves, activating regenerative and healing biological functions in the majority of known species. Felani Psions can learn to control and enhance their aura, strengthening the healing effect or having it effect different biological systems, allowing them to relieve pain, subtly alter emotions or enhance concentration.
Having evolved on a resource-rich world with little competition, the Felani seem predisposed to being relaxed and somewhat languid. Their physiology requires more rest than the Terran standard, and most Felani typically spend half a standard day cycle asleep or resting. Although they have a tendency to be curious and adventurous, historically Felani society prized a disinterested affectation to be presented to outsiders, which still exists in a residual fashion today. Essentially a Felani may well be extremely interested in some phenomenon, culture or thing, but will put on a disinterested air around those they are not close to, only to obsess about it when among close friends. This tendency can sometimes cause problems when Felani participate in larger Confluence groups, as it interferes with them being direct and open. The Felani seem to have resisted social engineering attempts by Judges to draw them into the Commonality cultural norms, and although the tendency has lessened it has proven difficult to extinguish across the species.
Felani are bipedal mammalian sophonts with similar proportions to Terrans and Elysians. They display a range of skin tones from dark brown to pale, and have hair and fur that can be a range of colours, usually reddish-browns and darker colours, although lighter-furred individuals are known. They have thick hair on their heads, although some choose to shave this area, which then usually grows a pattern of fur in a short time. Felani fur does not cover their whole bodies, but forms a thin layer in specific patterns and locations. Typically, fur can be seen about 1-2cm from the hairline, extending out along the line of the cheekbones, around the temples and down the side of the nose. Felani noses are dark-coloured around the nostrils, where the skin is more leathery and moist. Fur extends down the sides of the neck, and forms mottled tiger stripes across the torso, arms and legs. In darker-skinned individuals fur tends to be lighter-coloured, while in paler-skinned individuals the reverse is true.
Felani have small claws on their fingers, which are non-retractable, and tend to be hard but relatively blunt. Their hands and feet can best be described as “sinewy”, with prominent lines of strong connective tissue extending from knuckles to wrist. Felani are hollow-boned, and tend to be agile and light on their feet. However, they find it difficult and painful to wield or carry heavy equipment, and have difficulty sustaining most well-known resilience training regimes. Their primary deviations from the humanoid body plan are a medium-length furred tail and two additional ears. Felani have one pair of fairly small round ears on the sides of their heads as well as a larger set of pointed ears on the top of their heads, usually in line with the eyes but set back behind the hairline on the skull. These ears are fully functional, and possess all of the internal structures needed to detect sound, and also contribute towards the exceptional balance and stability of the Felani.
