Getting my alien of the month out of the way now.

I was also apathetic as hell yesterday, and it's best to do technical stuff when I feel that way.

Species : Nepensari
Homeworld : Nesari
Height : 1.5 m. give or take

* Either bipedal or quadrupedal, depending on the situation. They are quick, agile and are as comfortable in trees as they are on land.

* They use those big feathery things on their heads, necks, and backs to collect all kinds of organic matter for food. The feelers then move the matter into very small openings at the base. (see filter-feeding Crinoids) They can catch more when they move, so they spend most of their days in motion.

* They do not speak, as we know it. They produce a series of sounds like an elk's call. It's very loud and can be heard over great distances. They can only convey basic information that way. For more detailed conversation, they use gesture ... most specifically the movement of that facial crest and feelers. The crest is a complicated set of cartilaginous fingers. It's impossible for another species to speak Nepensari, but they can learn to understand.

* They are hermaphroditic, but cannot reproduce with themselves. They never identify as male or female because they don't get the concept of gender. They prefer to be addressed with the word "one" or "you". Young were never told which parent carried them, and they never asked.

*There was also no concept of spouse or marriage. They had their favorites, for certain, but they tended to move in groups of socially amicable individuals. Verbal peoples called these groups M'endwazi, from the Hassan word for "dear ones".

* Known as a race of clever trixters, the Nepensari are very smart. They would often tell cruel jokes and razz one another in a way that made other species uncomfortable. But to them, the more trouble you give someone, the more you thought of them. Their underdeveloped sense of ownership led to a tendency to take small items they liked. There was a cultural shift in their society when they were introduced to practical jokes. Practical joking was soon mastered, and they became known for it both on their planet and off. (They tend to sound like squeaky toys when they laugh, which makes it even funnier.)

* Their technology level was considered primitive. They were nomadic, and there wasn't much room for it. They were horrified to learn that some peoples don't have to see the face of another or hear their voice to communicate. To them, it would be dishonest. Translated, one of their philosophies said that if you cannot say something to someone in person and in front of an elder, then you ought not say it at all.

*****

The Nepensari are currently extinct. Their planet was taken by the TETH-SIM Soul-Syphon, who drained and killed every last one of them there. The ones who left and moved to Wegon were caught there during the Isepian occupation and all but two or three died in the liberation. The last of the species died of natural causes 226 years after the liberation. There is talk of reviving them to give them the chance at success that was taken from them by the violence of others.

Species and art (C) *NuisanceBearEull