Avarian (Ah-Vah-Ree-Anne)

Avarian are a small species, ranging from 4’ 5” to 5' 5” with their main feature being two sets of horns, a medium-sized pair coming from the top of their head and a small pair from behind their jaw. These horns don't serve any defensive purpose and are mainly there for display. They are never particularly small and always remain single, instead of splitting into a branching horn like those found in male Gheladen. Aside from this they have long ears with rounded tips and cream colored fluffy hair inside. Their feet are feline-like with three toes and no claws. Their amazing balance allows them to always walk on the tips of their feet, making very little noise as they do so. Their bodies are also very resilient, similar to Nirien and this has helped them get used to some very hostile areas in the galaxy which has allowed them to spread far and wide. 

The coloration of their bodies is divided into 3 sections. The brightly colored zone, the pale cream zone and a dark stripe dividing them. The colored zone is the largest one, it has between  2-6 different colors as a gradient from top to bottom. These can be slightly dull or pastel, but more often than not they are bright and saturated hues. The pale zone always has the exact same shade of cream and covers around 20 to 40% of their body. Both of these areas are divided by a very dark edge of skin that is around an inch thick. This stripe is never fully black, and instead is just a very dark color or off-black.  

Avarian all have snow white hair, with extremely rare cases having lightly colored off-white hair like cream or pale gray or in even rarer cases it can be raven black. They all wear their hair long, with the exact length varying between individuals. It's typically seen as taboo to have your hair shorter than shoulder length, and this is very rarely seen. Those that cut it short are often off-world Avarian with a bit of a rebellious nature or with little contact at all with their own species.  

Both Albinism and Hyperpigmentation is very rare in the species, the latter being the rarest of the two. Albinism makes them all look creamy white, with even their eyelashes sharing the white color of their hair. Hyperpigmented Avarian are very dark colored, with even the creamy zone of their skin looking like a darker off-gray instead. The interesting thing about these variants is their personalities, due to it affecting their cerebral chemistry as a residue of past physical mutation, Albinos are far more passive and relaxed than other Avarian, in contrast Hyperpigmented are by far more resilient and stubborn, verging on even being violent. 

Surprisingly, Avarian can mate successfully with almost any species in the Therea galaxy, however their genetic code is extremely strong, meaning the mother of the child will always give birth to a young Avarian baby. The coloration in the vibrant zone of their body and even their eye color may be affected by the non-Avarian parent, but that is the only part of them that will be affected by a mixed couple. 

These are omnivorous people, having a diet consisting of both plants and meat but with a strong plant preference, only using meat in small quantities. Because of this, their planet has far more open farmlands and wild fruit crops than they do livestock farms.

The ruling system of Nerall revolves around the planet’s queen and her council of 24 representatives. Most of the time, the queen mainly serves as mediator between the councilors , making final rulings and leading conversation. However in times of war, she takes up the responsibility of supreme ruler. These councilors come from all over the planet, from high ranking noble houses, to local guild leaders and some were even appointed by the queen herself.

When Avarian first entered the galactic stage, they were famous for their beauty, and even now when other beautiful species have joined and become common sights, Avarian are still known as breathtaking. This attitude towards them filled the Avarian people with pride, and to this day Avarian are very careful and meticulous about their own beauty, choosing to display it as often as they can while keeping it natural. In the beginning this fascination for their own beauty led to some very unhealthy methods to maintain it, but a few generations ago steps were taken to ensure the Avarian’s healthy standard of living, and now they take care to keep themselves not just beautiful but healthy and happy as well. 

While on other planets they may take up local customs, an Avarian will never tattoo their body nor paint their hair. While they do acknowledge the cultural and aesthetic impact it has on other cultures, they see it as disrespectful to participate in it themselves, mainly because of the pride the species has over their own bodies.

Avarian are a welcoming kind of people, and as such are seen equally in both monogamous, polygamous or fully open relationships with all sorts of people from different sexualities to even different species.

As expected from a renowned beautiful species that put a lot of pride in the aesthetics of their natural bodies, Avarian tend to dress very revealingly. Both males and females spend 90% of the time completely topless, if only using accessories to decorate themselves. The species has a fascination for piercings of all shapes and sizes but mainly nipple piercings, choosing from a variety of styles and even being seen in formal settings. While they may cover up a bit more when visiting other planets, they tend to do so sparingly, often choosing the most revealing outfit that planet deems acceptable. Oftentimes females will only cover their nipples in these situations, using pasties or straps of cloth.

They are a peace loving species, willing to lend a helping hand and engage in communication to help others, however they aren't the most confrontational and will just as easily retreat from violence and threats done to them. This has led them to be considered the galactic baby brother species, and more determined ones like Gheladen and Derovann defend them with tooth and claw if they are threatened. 

Avarian are seen working in various industries across the galaxy, but often their exotic and beautiful looks along with their friendly demeanor gets them into higher ranking or public positions as well as notable places in the entertainment sectors.

Currently Avarian don't have their own active religions, and instead participate in those from other species if at all. It's known at the beginning of the age of the old empire they did have their own global god figure, but all that's left from that time are ruins of grand temples long desolated.

Avarian are a known peaceful and friendly species in the Therea galaxy, which has led to them having a great number of friends from all over. Their main companions being their close neighbors the Gheladen, which are a cousin species to them because of a common ancestor at the beginning of their history.

While their friendly nature has helped them a great amount, it has also made them the favored target for Aarakan slavers looking for a resilient and beautiful species to capture who would fight back. While they never attack Nerall directly, they do have their eyes peeled on their moons or other colony worlds where Avarian are often seen. This fascination with them has lead to the Therean Union of Systems to consider them a protected species and travel outside of TUS systems is strongly discouraged for all Avarian.