Civrides - Taja

A lot of watchers bailed on me thinking Alien of the Month was over. A few told me just what they thought about me doing other things. 
Who said it was over? I didn't. 
And to those who feel I need to cater to their tastes? I invite you to take your own opinions rectally. I draw what I want.
... It just so happens I still want to draw aliens.

The Alien of the Month for February is the Civrides.

Species Information:
Civrides (civrides faceres) pronounced siv-ride-ees

Homeworld: Andrekeris-3
The civrides were nomads for time out of memory, even for such a long-lived species. They drifted from system to system and galaxy to galaxy trying to find a place to stay. They'd had an unfortunate past of being subjugated by other cultures who prized them for their abilities that made them wary of any galactic neighbors.

They eventually came to the Mechanid Kingdoms, an affiliation of independent kingdoms under an over king spanning several galaxies, and came to the end of the road. As luck would have it, they were closest to the territory held by the kingdom specializing in the manufacture of fine goods. Five years of gentle persuasion and negotiation later, the civrides were given status as a sovereign species and citizens of the kingdom, and set up on their small planet to go about their business in peace.

They have lived on the small garden world of Andrekeris-3 for almost a thousand years.

Size: 2-3m
It varies from one to the other. They can control some aspects of their appearance, height being one of them. They are more comfortable being what humans would call "tall", but don't go too big for fear of alienating other "normal" sized species. It makes communication and interpersonal relationships easier.

Intelligence: Roughly human equivalent.
They have an excellent sense of space and form, and are able to turn images in their mind to see all sides. They also have a unique ability to sense the physical makeup of any object, can list it all by name if they have the proper translation and diagrams, and give you that list in any order you like. Even their children can do it, but rarely have the language and communication skills to go with it.

Language: Civrides 1a-9b
The Mechanid Archivists list all the qualifying dialects of their language as speakable for most humanoids, and no more difficult than human Greek with similar sounds, structure and grammar. 

Lifespan:
They live until they have created something that perfectly represents their soul. Some live for tens of thousands of years, some only a few decades. Some put it off deliberately by not trying as hard as they say they are.

Psychology / Sociology:
If the civrides have one failing it's in their communication skills. They do stop and think before they speak, but they don't tend to *not* say something just because it might make people uncomfortable. They are not cruel, they just don't understand why they need to be dishonest. It can make some people uncomfortable. The best they can do is keep their mouths shut ... but they will tell someone about it later.

Individuals are usually detail-oriented, perfectionists, easily frustrated by their own ineptitude, talkative, friendly, and hard-working. Not all of them are all of these things. However, these are very common traits.

They value their loved-ones and friends. The line between "friend" and "family" is almost nonexistent, and they all refer to one another in terms of siblings and immediate family within the clan, and secondary familial terms such as "auntie" and "cousin" when speaking to someone from another clan. People from another species are "friend" or "boss" (if someone is a clear superior). Their leader is called "Structatis" (closest translation is "foreman").

Civrides do tend to pair-off and live with a companion as a spouse. Their reproduction isn't sexual in nature, so preference for one gender over another as a social norm hasn't been a part of their society for millions of years.

Physiology:
They come in many different colors, shapes and sizes. For the sake of simplicity, they do tend to be reserved in their self-modification. The most common change is in color. Taja, pictured above, is in a base state with a little color added.

The sixth finger on each hand is a natural trait. Most of their work is extremely manual and tactile. The extra finger helps things go faster and can function as a pseudo-thumb. Large eyes allow them to hyper-focus and see in a wider range of light and dark. Their sense of touch is several times more sensitive than a human's. The gill-like structures under their chin is a part of their body's natural matter-processing system.

They all have the ability to shape and transmute solid matter. In each transmutation, the mass is relative. They must take on extra from an outside source if needed, and any extra is absorbed into their bodies and expelled as a "blank-matter" when needed. The structure pictured above is what Taja made in a few minutes when she was asked to shape a large, rounded, metallic stone to make a cloak-hanger. The shape was her choice.

Baby civrides are created from the biological material of a recently deceased civrides with some added from each parent. There is a complicated ritual performed, that has yet to be witnessed by an outsider, to give life to the creation. Outside of this ritual, they are not able to make anything living past a plant or a moss (and even that is only for a handful of the most skilled).

About Taja Civrides Karamestos:
At a mere 718 years old, Taja is one of the youngest. Her specialty is in medium to large objects that are both beautiful and functional. She was chosen by the Structatis to travel the kingdoms and beyond to take measure of the people she encounters, then to report back in 100 years. 

She is currently attending a conference on a mechanid Builder World with some of the other most prolific and unique creators and structural artists in the universe. When the conference is over, she will leave with her new friend Accolon Chase to visit his home on Corona Station, then on to the Terrian, A'Cheis, and ASS Empires.

Art, Story, and Character © NuisanceBearEull
Mechanid Kingdoms © Eullogy-Enterprises