Creature:Oralite

Oralite

Domain: Eukarya

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Amphibsida

Order: Amphibtherasida

Family: Amphibparaora

Genus: Ceratophryinae

Species: Ceratophyrinae Oculorus

The species Ceratophyrinae Oculorus, more commonly known as Oralites, are a very remarkable species that have originated in the Beta quadrant of the Milky Way and have evolved to control a large part of their galactic arm in a vast empire.

History:

The Oralites originated on their homeworld of Falos III, unusually early, relative to the rise of other galactic civilizations. They quickly rose to dominance, and were the only sapient species that evolved on their homeworld, save a few semi sentient tribal clans that were eventually wiped out. As the Oralites created innovations such as the city, and motorized transport, they became divided across the four main continents of their homeworld. Ultimately, the militaristic Red Nation conquered the planet, uniting its races. The Oralites took some time to develop an operational spacecraft, although a suitable model was developed by industry giant IE Dynamics. The Oralites soon encountered a crashed starship on a swampy planet in their solar system, and from this ship, they reverse engineered the technology to traverse the stars. Before long, an Oralite vessel discovered the remains of the civilization that the craft originated from, and discovered from excerpts of a communication device that the destroyers were a race known as the Grox. The Oralites established first contact in 0 AST (Oralite Galactic time) with amazingly, another Oralite race. This species, along with several other empires appear to have been abducted from Falos III by an unknown species (although it is now believed to have been the Grox) sometime during their evolution, and have evolved separately ever since. The first true extraterrestrials encountered were the Wirbleflubbies, which soon ushered in an unprecedented interstellar war. At this time, and likely because of this, the Oralite Emperor Furonos II was overthrown and replaced with a parliamentary council. The Oralite empire continued to expand, and after many years, became one of the largest empires in the Beta quadrant. In 1027 AST, the Oralite race achieved enlightenment by reaching the center of the galaxy. The only true foes remaining to the Oralites now are the Grox, and it is unknown if even the vast Oralite empire will be able to rise to the challenge of such a deadly foe.

Anatomy:

Oralites are of the order Amphibtherasida, a taxon of amphibious mammals. They are warm-blooded and bear live young, but possess strangely insectoid wings (a possible throwback to their oceanic history) and a beak-like jaw. Their legs are particularly muscular, and are made for jumping great distances and scaling steep ledges. Furthermore, their three-fingered hands are surprisingly dexterous, and hand gestures that would be described as almost overly exuberant by other races are a part of their communication process, which itself consists of trills and clicks from the central beak and more vocal utterances from a smaller, secondary mouth. The eyes of an Oralite are decidedly simple; resting on stalks and being able to swivel from side to side. Remarkably, their lack of optic nerves is compensated for by being able to see in vivid colors, far more potently than most other sentient species.

Culture:

The Oralites possess varied and complex traditions and customs that may have their roots near the end of the Oralites’ tribal phase. Their belief system may have begun here, and some nations (that were conquered in the end) had an inherently religious perspective towards everything. This system was quashed during the Battle of Deijos, the takeover of the last religious city by the Red Nation and a site that has become culturally significant to the Oralites. Although now, the Oralite Empire is far from being a theocracy, their philosophy has an important role in their culture. The Oralites follow the ideals of the Stones of Life, a set of 10 rare relics containing the basic principles of all ecologist archetypes. These ideas even find their way into government principles, as "The care of nature and the environment is of ultimate importance. We cannot prosper- we cannot even survive- without a healthy, viable ecosystem to support us." (–Stones of Life vol. 2)