Artist - Algido
Name: Ti'Xal
Designation: Sentient
Homeworld: Miasma
Language: Xalish
Average height of adults: 2.1 Meters
Skin color:
The generally accepted belief is that the Ti'Xal had a pale white colored skin (If this is actually true or merely taken as fact from depicted images of the species in their murals is unknown.) Some sources cite that the Ti'Xal would paint their skins a bone colored white, though other sources and recovered tomes speak of specific sects using the colorization of their flesh as a means of revealing their clan affiliation and religious belief. For this reason the Skin color of a Ti'Xal could have been one of any numerous colors.
Hair color:
While lacking conventional hair as seen on other mammalian species such as Humans and Bothans, the Ti'Xal are known to have two feather covered, wing like appendages that protrude from their back. The feathers of these appendages are often jet black in color, with other colors such as gold, and red while common are much rarer in occurrence and generally accepted as a showing of a deities favor upon that being. With that said, it was not unheard of for those Ti'Xal that had lived for countless years to have grayed or silver colored feathers as a sign of their lengthy life.
Breathes:
As with many species the Ti'Xal are well adapted to breathing a simple Type I atmosphere found on many worlds. However due to the regular dust and ash storms on their homeworld, they have biologically adapted a special membrane that acts much like a breath mask would for a human. This biological adaptation allows them to breath in otherwise hazardous Type II atmospheres though the effects of a Type III atmosphere were not known.
Strengths:
- While suffering from an Immunodeficiency, the Ti'Xal were known to be Biologically Immortal (much like lobsters and a handful of other species on earth.) This biological immortality cause those Ti'Xal that lived for extended periods of time to become seen as powerful Seers and Warriors that would earn their right to lead through the simple fact of their age alone.
- For the Ti'Xal the Force seemed as if it were a river that one merely needed to scope their hand into to drink from its flow. While their total number of those that could harness the force was limited, it flowed freely and powerfully through those that could harness it. These beings of the Ti'Xal would later go one to become the forerunners of religious teachings and followings, earn their own titles of Prophets as they spread the word of their own deity. When it comes to the Ti'Xal it was calculated that only five in one hundred thousand were likely to be touched by the Force.
Weaknesses:
- Immunodeficiency was present in a high percentage of the population, causing many of the Ti'Xal to have a sickly and weak constitution. This is likely the cause of the species ultimate fate of extinction, as they could have come in contact with a disease unknown to them, or that had previously been known yet mutated with deadly results.
- Reproductive balance was another possible cause for their extinction, as much like the Cereans, their male to female was a three to one ration. Unlike Male Cereans however the Male Ti'Xal did not age as quickly, causing many to either be killed in honor combat or in other similar bouts of jealous or marriage rights through combat. Additionally these high death rates among the males may have also caused a biological shift that produced more males in pregnancy than females, likewise with the possibility of it being a cause of their eventual extinction.
Distinctions:
- Wing like appendages sprout from their backs at roughly the same height as their shoulder blades. These appendages are curved forward and seem to act in the same way as an extra set of arms. While they are covered in feathers, they are flightless, as the appendages serve more as a sign of station and power with the feathers graying over time and with few being born with naturally gold or red feathers as a sign of divine providence. Each wing ends in a five digit hand that is fully articulate. While these hands are capable of fine manipulation and manual dexterity, it takes some concentration of the part of the being. Thus they were never really used in battle beyond them being covered in armor and being used as natural shields.
- They do not have the same structural composition in terms of a mouth that many other species do. Rather what serves as a mouth appears to be a flesh covered system that is more akin to an insectoid mandible. However there does not appear to be the proper muscular mass needed to open it any further than it already is open. Due to this reason they biologically adapted a natural filter membrane that prevent dirt and debris from passing through as they breathed.
- The structural design of their eyes also serves to protect their vision against the harsh dust and ash storms that frequent their homeworld. Their eyes are two hardened black lenses that also help shield their eyesight from harsh sunlight. When looked upon closely, their proper eyes are two fully sized silver pupils that allow for the ease of vision in dim to low light levels, which also allow the species to make out vague shapes in dust or ash storms.
Average Lifespan:
As the Ti'Xal are Biologically Immortal it is difficult to gauge the average lifespan. However as they were a warlike culture, with only the strongest surviving, the average lifespan was roughly between Two Hundred and Three Hundred years, with most Ti'Xal males dying in this period. However, it should be noted that for those rare occurrences in which a Ti'Xal has a comparably long lifespan; their mental stability and facilities have a tendency to begin breaking down.
Much like a similar race the Gen'Dai, this will being to manifest itself through various forms of emotional and mental instabilities such as uncontrollable mood swings, schizophrenia, bouts of psychotic rage and other such similar mental instabilities that are known to develop over long periods of time and isolation. It should be additionally noted that while all Ti'Xal suffer from these degenerative mental problems, those that have been cryogenically frozen or are force sensitive seem to far much better than other members of their species.
These mental instabilities begin to manifest themselves usually within reaching a lifespan of eight to ten thousand years, though it is possible for some beings to experience such developments at an earlier stage. With regular contact with other members of their own species or with other species in general, such mental instabilities do not usually develop until the aforementioned eight to ten thousand years, with extended isolation bringing degeneration earlier.
Races:
At one time the Ti'Xal were so diverse in their cultural and religious beliefs that it was nearly impossible to count every single tribe, clan or religious sect. Each of these sects had their own Fortresses, Fortified towns or Fortified Monastery that they called home. Thus they are too numerous to explain or recount.
Estimated Population:
- Historically - 8 Billion
- Current - Believed Extinct
Diet:
The average diet of the Ti'Xal species consisted of very little meat, due to the simple fact that there was not many other species that could survive the harsh environment of their homeworld. Those few were often predatory or were solitary and had developed a complex hibernation cycle. For this reason their diet was mainly comprised of a vegetable known simply as an 'Ash Yam.'
These plants were known to grow in the Ashy soils of Miasma and had a complex internal system which allowed it to bond hydrogen and oxygen to produce the water needed to bear its fruits. These fruits were thus the result of the plants water gathering as the ash yams themselves were known to be juicy, providing nourishment and water at the same time.
Communication:
- Written Xalish - The written communication is often seen as a series of scribbles comprised of lines, dots and dashes. The best and closes approximation of its look would be the mixture of cuneiform and early Arabic script; with the two combined to produce simple and elegant script.
- Spoken Xalish - A more monotone, guttural language, the makeup of the Ti'Xal's vocal cords causes it to come out with a more booming and deep sound than that of other languages. At times it also include subtle tone variations along with growls and roars for emphasis on particular points.
Culture:
Originally the Ti'Xal were a species of many hundreds if not thousands of belief systems, all of which had hundreds of thousands of followers to their names, each believing in their own deities. For thousands of years this polyreligious system thrived, until a new religion rose up. Worshiping a deity called 'The Great Old One' the Ti'Xal were forced into a cultural shift. By the end of a brutal civil war that lasted nearly five thousand years, all that remained was the Church of the Old One.
This force cultural shift brought on the destruction of previous deities that were all reclassified as heathen deities. New temples, and strongholds built and consecrated in the name of the Great Old One were constructed and even the government, a former Republic was abolished in favor of a Theocracy. From that day the culture of the Ti'Xal changed to a singular focus on The Great Old One.
Culture shifted to the belief in the Great Old One, and that it was through this deities hands that the galaxy took shape and form. It was also through those hands that life and death were weighed and kept in balance. However the Church of the Old One had its own prophecy that the Great Old One would come to be displeased with the Galaxy and would wipe it clean, and that only those whom were worthy and loyal, acting upon the Great Old One's word, would be permitted into their blissful afterlife. While this prophecy of a great cleansing could be remarked as being the event that was the 'Gulag Plague' the Ti'Xal were extinct many thousands of years before then, when their sun went Supernova and destroyed all life on Miasma.
Daily life revolved around the veneration of their Deities, with many sects and orders holding their own special events and prayers before the rise of the Church of the Old One. Likewise many of the Ti'Xal were focused on living a life according to what ever scripture that they were following at the time. Thus for a long period of time their culture was one of a myriad of beliefs that affect every day life. Many Ti'Xal maintained a culture of simplicity and poverty, in which one did not own a singular item as all things were shared.
Another major cultural following was that of the ancient deity Xi'Cei, with such religious teachings affecting the followers in which their daily lives consisted of constant fighting (much like the Spartan Culture of Ancient Greece.) This sect of Ti'Xal were known for being warriors and fighters, with every member being as equal with no one such person above the other.
That is for thousands of years, their culture was their religion or specifically the religion that they followed. With the rise of the Church of the Old One, the attempted forced cultural shift brought on by this new sect saw thousands of years of myriads of cultures wiped out as each sect fell. The Qul'Xi whose culture and day to day lives were spent venerating the peaceful ways of their Goddess Qui'Shi as they worked on masterful works of art and music. With as many sects and religions there were that subtly changed and interacted with the followers, countless cultures were lost, each one as varied as the last.
By the time the Church of the Old One had total control, the culture of the Ti'Xal shifted dramatically. Going from a myriad of cultures to a singular belief forced upon many and held by those survivors that originally rose up. This new culture was one in which they believed all things needed to be balanced or else the Galaxy would be unbalanced. This culture turned an entire society upside down in such a way that every aspect of life became quickly dominated by a forced culture of balance. When one was born, when it was permitted, one was immediately given a job that they would be required to perform when they came of age.
Daily life in a sense became highly regimented and seemingly all emotions or sense of self freedom was purged by the Church of the Old One. It became so regimented and so focused upon balance that when one Ti'Xal died, only one couple was permitted to conceive a child to replace that being which passed.
Technology level:
Before their extinction the Ti'Xal species had managed to reach a technological level relative to that of the early Cold War on Earth. While they would eventually discover spaceflight, they would ultimately make the decision to not progress further (which would serve as a cause of their extinction) and remain isolated on their homeworld from the greater galaxy at large.
General behavior:
For the most part the Ti'Xal species were zealous in their beliefs and how they should act in their every day lives. Their beliefs held strong that one would ultimately serve at their deities side in the afterlife upon their death (though a life first had to whole and full before one could properly join.) While this could be interpreted by other species as meaning a long life, the Ti'Xal saw it rather to literally mean a life filled with devotion to their deity (as their view of time was not the same as many other species.)
Likewise it was this that would lead to many of the Ti'Xal to be both zealous in their beliefs as well as war like. Many of the ruins that remain are a testament to this as they are all fortified structures in one way or another with a majority of the working and living areas carved into the rock underground. However this is not to say that all Ti'Xal were warlike or aggressive, as there were many sects that that preached a more pacifist life and were known to practice in solitude in the wastelands and other remote locations on the world.
Thus the general behavior of the species as a whole was as wide and varied as any other specie in the Galaxy.
History:
For countless centuries since the evolution of the Ti'Xal species, there had been hundreds if not thousands of religious beliefs. For most of the worlds history these beliefs flourished. In terms of contact with the greater galaxy or even their neighbors at large, the Ti'Xal were a reclusive species with very little information known about them, much like the Chiss. Rather the Ti'Xal remained on Miasma their entire lives in search of a greater meaning to life and their eventual death. They didnt even bother to attempt the colonization of their moon, planets in their local star system or explore beyond it for that matter.
Mid way through the Ti'Xal historical timeline, a new religious belief had arisen. The Church of the Old One, a fanatical group that worshiped a deity simply called 'The Great Old One,' which is now believed to have been the aging star at the heart of the system, rose to power. For nearly five thousand years they waged a bloody civil war against rival sects and religions that they came to call heretical. By the end of this bloody civil war, the population had dropped down to nearly a quarter of the previous Eight Billion Ti'Xal that had inhabited the planet.
What would proceed would later become known as the great extinction, in which a highly depleted population would go on to experience a complete die out. At this time, roughly calculated as being during the Jedi Civil War in 3,900 BBY, the Ti'Xal species suffered from three cataclysms with the final event causing their extinction. The first event was caused from a lack of food supply due to the extended Civil War, which lead to a mass die out from starvation. This brought on a plague due to the high number of dead, further weakening the numbers of the Ti'Xal species which were upon the brink of extinction. The final event (which could have been avoided had the Ti'Xal remained with the focus on technological advancement) was a Super Nova from the nearby sun which would erase all life on the planet.
Notable Player-Characters:
- None
Intent:
Provide a historical reference to the Ti'Xal species that had at one time thrived on the world of Miasma. This species would later go on to found the original Church of the One before their inevitable extinction. This article is also to continue to help and further aid in the stories developing through the Marmora character with the possibility that perhaps not all of the Ti'Xal went extinct.
