Kyrema

The Kyrema are one of the older alien races of the Collective, and had a hand in its formation.

Appearance
Standing at around five feet tall, the Kyrema are thin and lithe, with most of their muscle mass concentrated in the neck, legs and tail. Their torsos and arms are more rigid and bony. Their head possesses a hard bill sitting in front of four eyes. They are often colored in variations of red.

Biology
In ancient times, the Kyrema were preyed on by the beasts of Csalsiin, but evolved higher brain functions after many years of avoiding their predators to the point of said predators' extinction. Traits carried over from their past include their powerful legs and reddish coloration - their legs were adapted for fast running, while their color was an evolved natural camouflage. Csalsiin orbits a red dwarf, and thus gets less light than brighter stars. This results in red vegetation, which the Kyrema could blend themselves into.

The Kyrema are primarily herbivores.

As their legs do not serve their purpose as they used to, the Kyrema have become more off-balance. They have evolved longer tails and use their lowermost arms as additional legs, on occasion.

Males and females differ based on bill coloration, formation of the head's crest, and tail length.

Naturally, they live around sixty to seventy years, but have gained an infinite lifespan due to the genetic modifications of the Collective.

History
Long ago, the Kyrema first began building villages from natural vegetation, and began civilization under feudalistic rule by the one in the clan deemed most worthy. Future rulers were selected by the current ruler, also based on who was most worthy, and not by bloodline.

The Kyrema soon after began a series of conflicts between opposing kingdoms, and subsequently began processing and refining metals, as others did the same. The conflicts stopped as economy and trade of new, precious metals became more mutually beneficial than war.

Life for the Kyrema continued this way for a long while, until the most powerful dynasties continually chose future rulers based only on blood. Soon after, there were mass revolts where thousands were killed, but the Kyrema populace succeeded in overthrowing their rulers, and began new nations, united by democracy, where increased cooperation led to technological innovation on a grand scale.

A few hundred years later, the Kyrema began turning their heads upward and began working on space travel, seeking to gather new resources from other planets in their system, and eventually from other star systems as well. They accomplished this over the next half-millenium, and eventually made contact with the Krai, who were close enough to send regular messages to every few decades.

The two civilizations began to study each other, and eventually met a few hundred years later, and began exchanging information on a massive scale, for mutual benefit.

Later, the two would form an alliance to gather resources, share knowledge and bring their civilizations into the age of post-scarcity. They signed a compact, and thus the Collective was born.

Culture
Kyrema culture has always been based on the prospect of wealth and knowledge. This came in the form of mining for precious metals and exploring new lands to do the same. They believed in these ideals so much that they based the core of their civilization around these concepts.

Eager and resourceful in their earlier years, the Kyrema became more cynical post-revolution. This, however, did not weaken their ideals. The benefits of any attempt at gaining wealth were carefully scrutinized, and knowledge was held to a high standard.

The Kyrema have historically been apathetic about family, and only see breeding as a way to expand the reach and power of their species. Many became scholars and explorers after the revolutions, and this was a tradition carried into the stars.