Akots and Astrals
Akots are a fairly peaceful species from the planet of Ginjota. They are brilliant terraformers and farmers, and also make a lot of plasma weaponry. There's three different subspecies of Akots with distinctly different cultures, but said cultures have mostly melded together into the current Akot Republic. There's field Akots, the most common variety. They're generally 4-5ft tall and have short, thin fur. They handle heat well and can survive in deserts a lot longer than most other species. There's jungle Akots, which are smaller and generally are more hostile, but are often more lithe. They're 3-4ft tall, and have short but dense fur. They handle humidity well and often enjoy swimming. That last subspecies is mountain Akots. They're giants, and can be 5-7ft tall. They have long, dense fur and don't do well in a lot of the environments most other Akots live in. They are extremely well adjusted to cold, low-atmosphere environments and thrive in these areas. Due to mingling, Akots with some or all of these traits exist. They come in almost every color and pattern Terran felines come in, but the most common colors and patterns are brown, grey, and black with tabby stripes or spots. They live 60-80 years. There's rumors that Akots and Sabreians can crossbreed, but it hasn't been confirmed by any official sources.
Akots are extremely close allies with the Raposa, and collaborate on near everything with them. They, like many species, are at war with the Sabreians and are losing many outer colonies to them. Their government is a true democracy, and their current president is Vuir Seelah. Akots have the odd tendency to have a fear of robotics, including bionics(to a lesser degree). They'll try to stay away from androids, mechs, and hardlight holograms as much as possible and may even lash out if touched by one. Many have a fear of mannequins as well, which is believed to be the main reason for their fear of robots. Jungle and mountain Akots strangely have fewer numbers that have these fears.
Akots have no afterlife, and cannot have ghosts. All Akots are reincarnated into various species native to Ginjota, including Akots, but it wasn't always like that. During their tribal and feudal eras, they had numerous afterlives, but a great 'shift' occurred that changed them to being reincarnated instead. Akots born believing in their afterlives went there still, and slowly the ghosts passed on to their respective afterlives as well. A single Akot ghost remains and she is well known. Her name is Aleu, and she resides within a cave called Seetiv cavern. Seetiv cavern was well known before the discovery of Aleu for its brilliant, shining white-blue crystals, which line the walls, ceilings, and floor in the deeper areas. Aleu is intelligent and responds to questions and most of the time can be seen. From what she has told scientists, most believe that she died by falling into the crystals below while trying to protect them from a different, marauding tribe. She apparently succeeded, as there's no sign of any crystals being broken or removed in the cave. The cavern, and a large area around it, is protected land and a wildlife preserve. There's signs that she can actually leave the cavern, but for unknown reasons, she does not and can't move on to whatever afterlife she belongs to.
Akot burials differ from culture to culture, but there's some more common ones. Traditional burial is popular with field Akots. Sky burials are popular with mountain Akots. Jungle Akots often have pillars of silence, and some ancient Akot tribes practiced endocannibalism, but this has since been phased out. Gaining in popularity is incineration and cremation, things that Raposa mostly practice.
Astrals -
Astrals are often considered the "angels" of any given location they settle in. Each Astral has an associated star, which determines their name and power. They're humanoid in shape, but have longer (some being spiky, like elf ears and some being floppy, like a.. deer's?) ears. The areas around the nose, ears, limbs and back are a darker color and have starry freckles on them. Astrals come in any shape and color, and their blood is a glowing color - their "freckles" and eyes is this color as well. The brighter their blood, the more powerful an Astral is. The only exception to this is the monarch, who's usually a wild card. Although they are humanoid, they can have up to two wings or horns (but not both at the same time) - these are also spots that are darkened and have "star freckles" on them. Astrals are a long-lived species, and their associated star affects them (but not the other way around - if a star "dies", they do. If they die, the star lives.). Every Astral has magic, although ones with horns have larger "reserves" and are better at handling it overall. The only Astral to have both wings and horns is the current ruler, who gains both to accompany their power.
Astrals live in a grand city located in a pocket realm - Horsehead. Only Astrals can survive there innately, although being "invited" up allows one to survive the surroundings. Mirroring their star, Astrals have a "backup" to dying - stars like the sun turn into white/black dwarves, whilst bigger ones turn into neutron stars or black holes. This changes their self, and only works once. If they are to die for real, their blood turns black and they wither away into nothingness. The Astrals have faced conflict after conflict, and eventually turned quite shy - descending from Horsehead these days is illegal, and rare. The only exception is if one is on a mission - which is SUPER RARE. Any Astral found trespassing are caught and executed. Somehow, their backup plan to dying never works in these cases. Astrals, being considered "angels", have a demonic counterpart referred to as Galaxy Demons - they're incredibly rare, and incredibly powerful making them hard to deal with. Astrals can become galaxy demons if they are powerful (really powerful) and die (still really rare!) or get corrupted by a REALLY powerful dark force. Most Galaxy Demons die shortly after turning due to how easy it is to tell the difference between an Astral and a Galaxy Demon. There's also some records about "Ascendants", but too little is known to actively share knowledge of them. Alongside the threat of getting caught trespassing, Astrals who spend too long away from Horsehead face the chance of "burning out" - they slowly lose their starry properties and turn into husks of what they once were; once properly burnt out, they can never return to their former glory. Located in Horsehead's grand castle is the Library, which holds countless books that have survived for ages upon ages. Deep within this library lays a thick, thick tome which holds the visions of a mad Astral. Despite being branded a madman, his visions have time upon time proven to be true. Few of these prophecies remain, but they show dire times ahead. While "At the hour of her third death, she will usher in his coming." and "Its surface blazes bright, masking shadows below." seem grim enough, the last and final page of prophecies - which the madman claimed to all be part of the bigger picture - outshines them all. "Despicable kin of cosmos, fear her nightmares." "When all is lost, he will come with an army of nightmare, guided by the Forsaken One." The Astrals have faced conflict after conflict, lost city after city, and eventually turned quite shy, afraid that their very last city will fall to the final conflict. Descending from Horsehead these days is illegal, and rare. The only exception is if one is on a mission - which is SUPER RARE. Any Astral found trespassing are caught and executed. Somehow, their backup plan to dying never works in these cases. In days gone past, the Astrals had no real ruler. They were disorganized, until the First Monarch - Sol - united them all under the banner they still hold today. Unfortunately, it would not last. She was poisoned once, then twice, then stabbed through the heart with the stuff of nightmares. After that, the rules on who holds the crown have changed quite a bit, including how to even claim the throne - the current monarch, Canis Majoris VY, was 9th in line to challenge the previous ruler, but there was a slip in the system which led to him taking the throne before his intended time. Mutations are rare, and most are disregarded. However, in some extreme cases (such as not being connected to a specific star or missing a key component), outlier Astrals are branded "outcasts" and, while they are not banished, are mostly ignored by the major populace. They're practically ghosts. Despite a majority of Astrals sticking to the safety of Horsehead, there's a large chunk of the population that have specialized in supplying the rest of the universe with ships, ship parts and weaponry; the weaponry being actual platoons of Astral fighters, ready to go. What are you talking about? They'd never sell their armor or weapons to some other species. It's their last ace up in their sleeve. Although they have been hit heavily in the past, they've continued to bulk up and are capable of messing up anyone trying to bring a fight to their turf. Watch out.
