So this ended up a little longer than I initially intended. ^^;  Whoops.  Hope it's okay regardless.  Also my ideas for orcs are that they are a race of social darwinists, but we'll see how that turns out when I get to work on them.

EDIT: Oh right!  [url=http://moerin-satsuki.deviantart.com/art/The-Ky-Ree-of-Theia-500015371]Female Ky-Ree[/url] and [url=http://moerin-satsuki.deviantart.com/art/Male-Ky-Ree-513939722]male Ky-Ree[/url].  The males are noted for having somewhat darker skin than the females.

[hider=Ky-Ree][b]BIOLOGY[/b]: Physically, Ky-Ree are rather similar to humans, enough so that they are capable of producing viable offspring together.  Their most obvious differences are their green skintone and unusual (from a human perspective) hair colours, although they also only have four digits on both their hands and feet, and their long ears come to points.  On average, they are usually shorter than humans (the tallest Ky-Ree only being about 160cm/5'3"), and their average lifespan is about the same length.  Ky-Ree musculature is more efficient than that of humans, leading a Ky-Ree to be somewhat stronger than a human of similar build would be assumed to be.  Their green skin is also notably tougher than that of a human, allowing them to endure greater physical hardships.  In fact, it is their strength and hardiness that led to them initially being used as a slave race.  The Ky-Ree seem to be inherently unmagical; they have no magic users amongst their ranks, and possess a small degree of magic resistance.  Ky-Ree age at roughly the same rate as humans, and live about the same length.

[b]CULTURE[/b]: The Ky-Ree are, simply put, a race of warriors.  Their culture glorifies honourable combat, warfare and strategy, and every Ky-Ree is trained to fight from as early as possible.  They are not a barbaric race of raiders, mind you; they approach the subject of warfare and battle almost philosophically, treating it as the ultimate test of ones abilities.  Battle scars are seen as not only a symbol of pride but of experience; Ky-Ree children are known as "Ihclynnat" or "Unscarred", as one who has not gained any scars is thought to have not seen true battle yet.  Despite their obsession with war, however, the Ky-Ree do not wage war for frivolous reasons; mostly war is declared due to some unforgivable insult from another nation, or aggression from their neighbours, or from a need to expand their territory for various reasons.  They admire the cultures of other races and nations, and although they have more interest in their views on warfare and military tactics they will happily listen and learn about other subjects too, even if they will inevitably find some way to link it back to warfare.

Even in times of war, unless their opponent is truly despicable they will treat them with the utmost respect and honour; they favour head-on tactics, and are rather loathe to use subterfuge and sneaky, dishonourable tactics.  Due to their emphasis on culture and honour, even and especially in regards to war, the Ky-Ree look down upon anyone who would treat their soldiers as expendable; to them, each and every warrior is a valuable resource, and must be treated with respect and dignity.  The Ky-Ree's view the orcs as an ancient enemy due to their history with them, and they are the only race with which they will immediately drop all pretenses of honour against.  As far as they are concerned, the orcs are a menace that need wiped out entirely.  Also because of their history with the orcs, the Ky-Ree are highly opposed to slavery; they see slavers as the worst kind of scum, and will treat them no better than they would the orcs.

Ky-Ree warriors are trained in many forms of combat, although many prefer either the scimitar or the bow.  In battle, many Ky-Ree ride atop mighty saberfangs, large tiger-like creatures with long, knife-like canines.  Saberfang calvary are are the shock troops of the Khaganate's armies, and many a foe has fallen to the combination of Ky-Ree arrows and swords and the mighty cats' fangs.  Whilst most Ky-Ree serve the army of the Khaganate, there is a sizable number of them that have spread out into the wider world, seeking fame, fortune and above all glorious battle as mercenaries.  It is noted that they tend to lower their prices dramatically when hired to fight orcs.

The Khaganate is a meritocracy, where anyone, no matter their gender, age or social status, can gain great reknown, wealth and power as long as they can prove themselves.  Each of the Khans who command the armies of the Khaganate have proven themselves through countless battles to be mighty warriors and great tacticians, and they are presided over by the greatest of them all, the esteemed Dasi-Zeh Khagan, the Great Khagan and supreme warlord and ruler of the Khaganate.  Dasi-Zeh Khagan is a rather progressive leader, and her policies revolve more around making allies and offering military support to others than they do with waging war against their neighbours.  At least, as long as the hated orcs aren't involved...

The Ky-Ree are not a religious people, and put no stock in the works of gods or spirits.  The closest thing they have to a religious text, the Ynduv-Fyn, is roughly one-quarter philosophy text, three-quarters a treatise on tactics and strategy.  The original Ynduv-Fyn was, according to tradition, writen by Fyn-Sycdan Khagan in the blood of orcs, and is kept in the grand palace of the Khagans to this day.  This original copy is the closest thing the Ky-Ree have to a holy relic, and in fact Fyn-Sycdan Khagan is the closest thing they have to a god, as he is venerated as the Prophet of Freedom and the First Great Khagan.

[b]TERRITORY[/b]: The Ky-Ree Khaganate is a vast empire that takes up a sizable chunk of the north-eastern continent of the world, and is one of the largest non-human civilizations in the world.  It is a land of mostly flat plains and rugged mountains, savannas and shrublands, and to the south the occassional desert.

[b]HISTORY[/b]: Once, millenia ago, the ancient Ky-Ree were little more than a slave race to the orcs.  The bigger, tougher greenskins considered them to be a race of weaklings that deserved to bow before their clearly superior race.  This went on for centuries, until eventually one Ky-Ree proclaimed "No more!" and stood against their oppressors.  For this act alone Fyn-Sycdan would be remembered forever by the Ky-Ree, but he went further and managed to rally the Ky-Ree into a mighty rebellion.  The orcs who had looked down on them were soon put to the blade, and those that weren't slaughtered were sent running far away from the Ky-Ree lands.  The Ky-Ree gave chase, not willing to let any of their hated former masters live, leading them to rather quickly conquer the land that would become the heart of the Khaganate in a mad frenzy.  Despite many of the orcs escaping their vengeance, Fyn-Sycdan proclaimed that they need not live in bondage any longer and that they were now free to carve out their own destiny.  And the destiny they chose was to be forever prepared in case the orcs ever came back to reclaim their former slaves.  Warfare and military training became the central focus of the Khaganate, and eventually a culture of honour and strength arose and was quickly embraced by the Ky-Ree.[/hider]