An average Noir'an, clothed in common, albeit wealthier attireRace Name: Noir'an
Race Info: The Noir'an are the dominant race of the Sororal Dominion, being made up of entirely female individuals that exert a bond among one another that is shadowed by no other race in the galaxy.
Average Lifespan: 50 years
Physical Characteristics: Noir'an are bipedal, anthropoid organisms that hail from the planet of Oristania, located within the Big Blue System. Possessing quite human characteristics -four limbs, each bearing five digits each, a pair of eyes, mouth, nose, ears, and hair-like projections- it can be a common mistake to see them as just that; human. However, Noir'an possess a number of distinct characteristics separating them from their convergent counterparts.
Most notably, at a passing glance, Noir'an "hair" is capable of shifting colors, as well as producing bioluminescence in much the same way as organisms on Earth. What appears to be hair is in fact a large bundle of thin and hollow projections, each with a single specialized nerve cell running down its length. Chromatophores are packed into the projections, and each respond to nervous impulses of a specific kind; nerve cells in the projections can release any number of chemical signals that trigger specific intracellular responses. Chromatophores possess 12 different luxin proteins, each of which reacts to oxygen to produce light when helped by the enzyme luxinase. Nerve cells release a specific signal to trigger the release of luxinase species into the chromatophore from cellular reticulumn encircling its membrane, which in turn triggers the activation of a specific luxin. This whole process is what allows Noir'an hair to produce different light effects, either as a simple color shift, or as a glow.
These color shifts are also apparent in their so-called "eyebrows", collections of chromatophore cells just under their skin situated above the eyes. These brows act in much the same way as their hair, though are more often influenced by body temperature than in their hair. Usage of these colors shifts in their hair and eyebrows serves to act as a silent form of visible-light communication between one another. Constant shifts in color allow for complicated language system that conveys mood, intention, and subsequently acts to eliminate the potential for lying in Noir'an; eyebrow chromatophore color shifts can be easily distinguished by other Noir'an, and when one is lying, it is reflected in their eyebrows.
Though apparently strongly tied to visible-light communication, Noir'an have adopted eyesight capable of seeing in three light spectra unlike in most other wildlife on Oristania; visible, UV, and infrared. Due to the pitch-black conditions of their home planet and region of residency, they have evolved to see perfectly in the dark, able to detect the heat in other organisms. Their eyes possess three distinct regions; the hyperhemisphere, hypohemisphere, and the middle pupil. The upper regions of their eyes (hyperhemisphere) possess light receptors capable of detecting infrared light waves, whereas the lower region detects UV light. Noir'an brains allow for the processing of images as multispectral images. Their pupils are elongated, unlike a human's, and do not constrict to change the amount of light entering them. Three spots beyond the cornea of the eye each receive light signals separately, allowing for trinocular vision in each eye. Increased flicker rates in each allow for the tracking of much faster movements than in humans eyes, as well.
Noir'an are strict carnivores, consuming organisms above the producer food chain, and can also subsist on detritus. Their mouths possess only two pairs of incisor-like teeth each on their upper and lower jaws, with the entirety of their other teeth being made up of sharp canines of varying sizes. Due to their relatively small size amidst an ecosystem of giants and their hunting nature, Noir'an have adopted much tougher muscular and skeletal systems to cope with danger, lifting/hauling, as well as the gravity of the planet itself. Bones in Noir'an are much more adept at resisting compression and bending, and their muscle-to-tendon connections feature increased strength. Advanced sarcomere units allow for the maintenance of muscle contraction such that energy is not expended holding a contraction in place, which results in phenomenal endurance.
Stay within a group of Noir'an long enough and one will realize that they are an entirely "female" race, in terms of human concepts. Noir'an are asexual organisms, producing offspring through a complex and unearthly manner that miraculously allows for the production of children better adapted to their environment despite lacking a way to incorporate natural selection.
Noir'an genomes are nitrogen-based, but possess a number of additional players in the role of genomics. With an advanced epigenome that reacts to changes in the environment, as well as characteristics within the Noir'an itself, Noir'an can actively shape a second genetic structure called the casconome which essentially serves as an immense database of all genotypes that were present in their parent's lineage. The casconome is organized in such a way that individual genotypes can be selected for amidst their grouping (for example, selecting a genotype for a specific body height amidst genotypes that code for other heights) based on the activity of their main DNA's epigenome. Environmental factors stimulate the epigenome which causes increased usage of certain genes in the DNA, which in turn trigger the production of chemical markers that are placed on specific casconome sections. When a Noir'an creates an embryo, genotypes with more markers on them are more likely to be selected, and thus create a child that is born adapted to the environmental conditions of their parent.
Noir'an have short lifespans, reaching, on average, an age of fifty years before their muscles suffer from a unique form of degradation that leads to death. At the age of ten, Noir'an begin having children, at least one every two years, whom they care for until they too reach "adult" age and begin having a family of their own. Gestation takes seven months, and children are born able to walk within the first few minutes.
Moral Values: Whereas it could be said that human decisions and drive is based ultimately on the desire to create safety and security for oneself and their family, the Noir'an mind works in a different manner; their directives, drives, and desires are all fueled by a need to, '"do the impossible." Safety and security is a near-guarantee to most Noir'an, as their bonds are strict and unbreakable in nearly any circumstance; instead, Noir'an seek to do more for themselves than previously, as well as to establish a sort of honor for themselves. Noir'an culture is highly focused on achievement, be it in the form of physical activity, science, or diplomacy. Especially so, taking on "bigger targets" is an honorable task. As early-civilization Noir'an had to hunt down beasts much larger than themselves, such nature translates itself into various ways in modern times. Making war with an enemy if obviously one such translation, however strangely enough, things like making peace with otherwise extremely violent nations is also seen as defeating a "big target". Other examples include making something thought impossible through engineering or science, discovering something ground-breaking, or even topping the charts in the music industry.
Also highly idealized is the idea of sisterhood and peace; nowhere else in the galaxy can anyone find a more unified nation of individuals. Crime, malevolent violence, and subterfuge, for example, are almost completely unheard of except in specific Noir'an that suffer from psychological issues. Despite their ideas of sisterhood, such individuals are actually very quickly disposed of, as the precedence of unity and safety comes before mercy to the afflicted. The fact that all Noir'an eventually give birth also stresses the issue of psychological mishaps, as the gene for said ailment can crop up again in the future generations quickly and in a wide-spread manner.
Because of the above values, Noir'an have come to be known as some of the most xenophobic beings in the galaxy; they are not unwilling to speak or interact with other races, but are guaranteed to see them as beneath them, inferior, or unintelligent in some way. Not a single non-Noir'an has ever been within light years of their home system and colonies for obvious reasons, and their xenophobia has led to a rather powerful defensive military. "The best offense is a good defense," in their leaders' minds, and it translates to their technology quite obviously.
Religion: Noir'an, even in their early days of intelligence, did not adopt a high-standing religious value system. They did, however (and still do), maintain a sense of spirituality that is focused more on ritualism and patterns than actual reverence to any entities. Many Noir'an belonging to high-standing families (its practice is seen as noble) are often practitioners of "L'or'k'ehl'" (Lorkel), which is simply a large collection of daily rituals one can perform, functioning much in the same way as human yoga. It is focused on relaxation and meditation, and mentions a few extremely old names honoring much older customs, and is practiced in isolation and silence. Many warriors of the Noir'an military are given access to a smaller, revised edition of the Lorkel manuscript which contains instructions for particular rituals revolving around moments before "the hunt". Certain sects utilize the names of spirits, which they believe are simply mental representations of real-world ideas, quite similar in respect to psionic entities. Practice is far from compulsory, and in some cases seen as silly and useless by more liberal generations of Noir'an.
