Therion

Therions are a fictional race for the Tellus Sector Roleplay community

Biology and appearance
Like many earth children, Therions are conceived and placed into their homeworld after growing in their parents bodies for about a year, much like the mothers of earth do with their own children. After their child is born however, many females must wait for their bodies to repair itself and strength soul, body, and mind before they are able to have another child, this wait usually taking about 5 or so years. Once the wait is over a healthy female Therion is able to hold another child, and because of their lifespan it's not uncommon to see Therion families in the double numbers.

Many Therion's bodies work very similar to earth bodies, with a few major differences. One is the the fact their bodies are actually quite soft an squishy, excluding claws and teeth, and are often seen as fragile creatures. With this fragile disadvantage though comes a big advantage as Therions are known to be geniuses at whatever line of work they choose, their brains able to process and memorize many aspects of things as they grow up. Once they reach a certain age their bodies will start to harden a bit, signaling the sign of change, otherwise known as the 'Rite of Passage'. Many Therion's bodies will change during this Rite to a form of their choosing, usually some sorta animal like form as well. Those who do not take the rite are, besides seen strangely, similar to other Therions, just with a harder skin, much like normal flesh. From the post Transformation on many Therion's bodies turn even more earth like on the inside, with only their outsides being different from earthlings. Again though, their brain retains all the information they gained before the transformation to further help them in their new life.

Until their rite of passage, Many Therions are smaller, with brown to greenish shades of skin, and are often seen running around or hopping about in their cities until their transformation. The only hard and sharp parts of their bodies are their feet claws and their teeth naturally, which are used to mostly help them walk on their earth terrain and to also eat their food, if not for small attacks. They are fairly simple creatures in this state, living their life until the rite of passage comes. Once the time for the Rite has come many Therions will feel their soft skin start to harden a bit, growing a little more durable an tougher. IN this phase their bodies start to release a chemical reaction to make their DNA structure more acceptable to change, though this is a one time thing. With this signal many Therions begin to catch materials of an animal of their choosing, usually fur, teeth, hair, feathers, scales, or such that holds DNA of the animals. After gathering several pieces of the animals and customizing them to their liking, they wait to the full moon for the Goddess of the night to bless their change, the lunar rays actually effecting their bodies and DNA more as they combine the items and materials before mixing it with a solution and drinking it, causing their DNA to merge until the Lunar lights engulf their body, many seeing their experience saying the Therion's body lit up like lightning before after a few seconds, their new form of their choosing is revealed.

Society and culture
Upon the birth of a child, the child is given a name and left to be raised by the family itself. Most families take great care of their children and extremely proud of their families as well. The child will grow up like many earth kids, waiting until they hit a certain age to start basic schooling and education before going to a higher education system and then finally to a specialized school of their choosing to learn a career path of, again, their choice. Around the time during or towards the end of the specialized schooling many Therion will start to feel the Rite of Passage kick in and it is around this time they will change, and many will go through with the ritual, while some rarely will stay the same. After the therion is done with their education they are then put into the working world where most start to make their own lives and families, for the entire system of education and learning usually takes around 100-120 years depending on the field they choose to go into and how far they choose to master the said fields. The reason for this length is again, because Therions have the ability to memorize and store things in their brains they are often taught everything in the specific field of their choosing, not just a specialty of the field.

The 'Rite of Passage' mentioned above is a special ritual when a Therion becomes of age. The ritual consists of finding several materials of an animal, or animals, of your choosing on the planet (or for daring Therions other planets) that holds their DNA. When all the materials are found the Therion then customizes it, either with colors, markings, or so forth by thinking clearly of the image they want to be in their mind and hearts. When the image is thought of, the materials gathered, and when the moon is full and bright, a Therion is to go to a special, isolated spot of their choosing, and by mixing the materials in with a special Therion Passage Potion, as it's called, the Therion then drinks while under the full moon, their bodies glowing and their DNA shifting until in a bright light they are suddenly changed into the image they had chose. This ritual is complete here after, and the Therion is unable to change to any other form after this point, hence why many Therions choose a species they wish to honor or give tribute to while adding their own unique twists to.

For many Therions, lifestyle is very simple to that of the earth beings, waking up, working, going home to the family, occasionally spending a day off to do something fun or relax, and so forth. Many have jobs very similar too, including hospitals, banks, government areas, food joints and so on, and due tot he way the government is ran many Therions are considered middle class if not higher, with a poverty rate of only 2% in their entire world. The main reason for this, and something Therions feel VERY strongly about, is due to the fact their entire lifestyle and ecosystems are based on green energy and keeping the world as it is, meaning bare minimum damage to the wildlife and nature. In fact the Therions are one of the most intelligent and talented when it comes to Energy devices and technology related to energy. Examples of this can be seen by their cities, which are usually build going vertical and stacked on top of winding platforms or swirling empty stacks of supporting structures to which houses are built. Furthermore, all of their energy is based off of nature itself, including Solar, Thermal, Tectonic, Water and Wind based energy to which they thank their deities and knowledge for. Many Therions growing up are also taught to respect the earth and the things it brings, so many are taught to not litter, recycle, be considerate of nature and so forth, and Therions who don't are often viewed as strange and weird, if not down-right rude.

As mentioned above, many of the world's prosperity is due to the planet's unique government, which is actually run by the major planet's business, 'GreenWings'. 'GreenWings' is the main supplier of the cities, and a few other planet's, green energy machines, as well as a few well designed Self-defense items and tech, including some of the more advanced shields for war, if ever need be. Due to the success of the business and because it is used everywhere in the world, the business is in charge of several aspects of the world, including justice and law, military, hospitals, and so forth. The heads of 'GreenWing' are the ones who get together every so often and help settle issues and problems as a team, and though it has it's bumps and bruises, each person on their team of ten Therions helps the world in one way or another. These 'Heads' are considered the Heads of the business as well as the government, with usually only their last name given after the word 'Head'. Some of the more known Heads, and half of team, are; Head Talik, Head Kanza, Head Janice, Head Zane, and Head Leena

While government controls many things, the one thing they do not control are the churches and religions, to which the Therion species is a Polytheism species, meaning they are known to worship multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, which all hold their own religions and rituals. The Therion species in particular are known to worship 6 deities in particular. Most Therions worship Mihy and Mekrd, but from there the gods become diverse based on locations and energy.

Mihy ("Mee-haae") - The goddess of the Night, and the Moon itself. It is with her gift and blessing many Therions are able to make their transformation during their Ritual and rite of passage. Almost every Therion lives in Mihy and her presence, and often many will leave a gift for her during a full moon where the moonlight can shine clearest, this place usually being on a high hill or rooftop. These gifts are usually related to the Therion's apperance or talents.

Mekrd ("May-kuk-ra-de") - The god of Solar energy and Light. Through him the world around the Therions flourishes and grows. Sunlight gives life to the natural floral and greenery surrounding the homeplanet Karos, much like many other planets, and through the god many find energy and life themselves, mostly in a spiritual sense. Those who believe in Mekrd often greet the morning sun and give him a greeting prayer.

Vena ("Fueaynah") - The goddess of Thermal energy, Heat, and Flames. A being of strength and power, many worship Vena in hopes of their Thermal machines running well and functioning for years to comer, as well as to be safe in it's design. Those who worship Vena are often seen blessing or thanking the goddess with candles, torches, lanterns, or other heated objects at a shrine or pedestal.

Fydan ("Feae-deahn") - The goddess of the aquatic realm and hydro energy, the energy given to the Therions by the forces and rushes of running water. Fydan is known to be soothing and calm, or quick and rapid. Many who believe in her often do so when they live near large bodies of water, or rely heavily on her energy to help their cities and towns. Those who worship her are known to cast away small spheres of light into the sea, lighting the ocean for her to gaze up at and count her own stars.

Xiyga ("Xeeae-geah") - The god of Tectonic energy and the very earth which rumbles and quakes, Xiyga is a strong and tall being, said to overshadows mountains themselves. Many who worship him pray to him for safety using the dangerous, yet vastly effective technology of Tectonics. Utilizing the movements of the earth was unheard of as an energy source, and by worshiping this being many hope to perfect it past it's 98% success mark. To worship this being many will either stay simple and align a rock sanctuary or garden, while others will literally move boulders in the name of Xiyga.

Yen ("Aeeayn") - The god of Aero and wind, and like the others one of the beings that represent one of the many technological energy courses the Therions have come up with. Yen himself is a god of vanishing winds and clouds, but one of tranquility and often leisure. the wind gives the energy when it's needed and desired, and many who live in open fields or nearby often ask this god for help by releasing floating lanterns high into the sky, to not only praise him but see where his winds will take them next.

The houses (sub-species)
Many Therions are simply considered that, Therions, However for the Therions that choose to take certain forms they are given another side-name next to Therion. While these beings aren't per-say "Sub-species" they choose to live slightly different lifestyles in terms of where they live or what they become. Many of their lifestyles, habits, government and religion are all the same.

Vmoehk ("fumohay-ha-kuk"): Vmoehk are Therions who have taken a form, during their Rite of Passage, that is able to fly or holds feathers in some way. These Therions usually take the sky and prefer to live in tree houses or cities built within forests or woodlands. They are very similar to many other Therions in terms of life and society, however many of them choose to solely worship Yen besides the main two gods.

Yxiydel ("Axeee-deeay-lu"): Yxiydel are Therions which are taken a form of a creature or being that primarily lives underwater. These Therions choose to live in oceans, seas, rivers, and anywhere aquatic with many of the same lifestyles and choices of the normal Therions. The differences between these Therions and others are the fact they do need some water to survive (though they can be outside of water for a good period of time) and many choose to worship Fydan next to the primary gods.

Behind the scenes
The Pre-transformation Avatar: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Tokushi-Photo-Synthic-Alien-Mesh-Avatar/2622357

The 'Therion' Language is actually based of the language known as 'Al-bhed' from a video game known as Final Fantasy X. If you wish to speak Therion (which usually only Therions know) there is a website to help translate and speak it found here: http://stefangagne.com/albhed.html