Creature:Saviki

"Nothing great left in our people, no. We wander, we raid, we steal, we scavenge, we hang on. We endure the long dark as much as we can, and we survive. That is a kind of strength, yes? Is nothing to be ashamed of."

- Qurik Skel, Plague-Smiter

Four-armed, four-eyed, and cunning, the Saviki were once the noble natives of the planet Elekzil. Now, they traverse the cosmos in gargantuan fleets, raiding and pillaging wherever they go, taking what they need from the vulnerable to keep their ships running and the supply of Mana flowing.

Proto-Saviki
The early Saviki evolved from hexapodal reptilian omnivores that lived in nomadic groups, following wandering herds of prey animals and the migratory spores of edible fungi native to Elekzil. Their intelligence, as with most sentient species, gave them an advantage and allowed them to spawn a civilization. Their earliest cities and nations began rising across much of their world, carving great keeps and fortresses into Elekzil's mountains and cliffs and building prosperous harbor cities. Tribes often held control over individual nations, with Chrills ruling over them. Warfare was common throughout the first few millennia of Saviki history, but pacifism began to prevail as they became more technologically advanced.

Shining Days and Blizzard

 * Main Article: Pre-Blizzard Saviki Civilization

The creation of powerful terraforming technology and the synthesizing of Mana for Saviki consumption ushered in the Shining Days in 0 SD. During this period, the Saviki colonized nearly every other planet in their solar system, covering them with cities and bioengineered flora and fauna. In addition, an unknown technology or entity remembered only as "Catylus" is known to have been directly responsible for the beginning of the Shining Days.

Most modern Saviki ships were designed and built toward the end of the Shining Days, and the Architect and Regulators are believed to have been created around this time as well. Hyperspace research is known to have occurred throughout the Shining Days, but no significant progress was made until the least few years.

The Blizzard itself was caused by the arrival of an unknown entity or alien hyperpower into the Saviki homesystem, where it scarred every planet and drained many Saviki of all energy in their bodies, killing them instantly. Those not immediately harmed, mostly consisting of Saviki ship crews and passengers, fled through hyperspace to an unknown region in the Endless Space between galaxies, forgetting the location of their homeworld to simply flee from the horrors of their civilization's demise.

Society and Culture
Saviki culture has varied considerably across the eons, with the two most recent periods of their history being incredibly distinct from one another.

Combines
Combines, formerly known as Tribes, play a central role in Saviki society. The overwhelming majority of living Saviki owe allegiance to a particular combine, with only a few hundred known to live outside them.

Known Combines:
 * Storm
 * Winter
 * Blood
 * Dusk
 * Void
 * Cloud†

Shining Days Renaissance
During the Shining Days, the Saviki experienced a cultural renaissance, resulting in an explosion of variety, quality, and quantity in many artistic fields, in part thanks to rapid social and technological advancements. Aesthetic consumerism also dominated during this period, and it's almost addictive nature was often pointed out by artists in various fields.

Music during the Shining Days was extremely diverse, with synthetically altered wind instruments being particularly popular. Much of it still survives in the storage drives of starships, and is said by the Saviki to give them a sense of homesickness.

Arts aside, Shining Days society placed heavy emphasis on scientific advancement, particularly in artificial intelligence and bioengineering. The junction of these two fields led to the creation and refinement of the Regulators and their ability to synthesize Mana.

Metafleet Pirate Culture
Saviki culture following the Blizzard is much more "aggressive," in a sense, due to the militant and survivalist nature of the Combines. Modern Saviki follow a policing of shooting or stabbing and asking questions later, at least for the majority of scenarios, due to a common belief that the alternative to killing is waiting to be killed. Each crew, fleet, and Combine depends on its members' ability to gather resources quickly and reliably through piracy and scavenging. As a result, few Saviki will take the time to either create or appreciate art, though those of higher standing will often listen to music from the Shining Days. Lesser ranks, mostly scullions, will sometimes attempt to use scavenged chemicals as mind-altering substances,

Hierarchy
The Saviki of the Metafleet follow a universal class system most prevalent at the bottom of the spectrum. An individual's place on this scale can be roughly inferred by height, with taller Saviki having access to larger rations of Mana due to their social status.

Scullions= Scullions are the cannon fodder and dregs of Saviki society, taking care of almost every job their superiors consider themselves above and providing a disposable fighting force on the battlefield. Their smaller rations of Mana result in a strange physiological reaction in which their lower arms are shed to conserve energy. They normally wield Bolt Pistols and Shivs in combat. Non-combatant Scullions are often menial physical laborers under the guidance of Techpriest engineers or the Captain of a ship.
 * Class - Scullion
 * Height - 1.5 meters
 * Function - Cannon fodder

Reavers= Reavers fulfill the role of soldiers, snipers, scouts, brawlers, and enforcers of theirmarshal's or captain's will. They collect what the scullions and Rimmers of their crew have salvaged and bring it to their leader for redistribution. In combat, they are the most adaptable Saviki troops, using their deadly arsenal of weapons to great effect. On ships, they often man non-autonomous weapons and other systems necessary to the ship's ability to function.
 * Class -'Reaver
 * Height - 1.9 meters
 * Function - Variable infantry

Marshals= Marshals exert totalitarian control over their crews, with little to no restrictions on how they treat their subordinates. Brandishing deadly Mine Casters or pairs of sharp Sabers, marshals rule through fear and their own ability to sniff out potential mutineers, though the smarter ones are often wary of igniting a potential rebellion within their crews. If a Combine becomes involved in a major conflict, one or more War Marshals will be appointed to lead the bulk of the Combine's ground forces.
 * Class - Marshal
 * Height - 2.2 meters
 * Function - Ground crew commander

Captains= Captains are the naval equivalents of marshals, commanding ships of all sizes, from the leanest Yacht to the brawniest Brigantine. Many Yacht and Gunboat captains may owe allegiance to the captain of their attached larger vessel (such as a Man O' War or similarly large ship). While generally having solitary control over their ship, some Captains have been known to command in pairs, particularly if they have a large crew to oversee.
 * Class - Captain
 * Height - 2.2-2.5 meters
 * Function - Ship commander

Counts=

Counts are the admirals of the Saviki fleets, commanding anywhere from ten to sixty to over a hundred vessels. As opposed to being chosen by their predecessors, Counts are appointed by their Chrills, and there tend to be six to twelve per Combine.
 * Class - Count
 * Height - 2.7-3.2 meters
 * Function - Command fleets

Chrills=

Chrills are the rulers of individual Combines, wielding near-complete authority over them and directing their efforts to survive. They receive the largest rations of Mana and are the pinnacle of the Metafleet's resourcetithing system. While historically looked to as kings and cultural leaders, they are now little more than glorified pirate lords barely bound by loose codes of honor.
 * Class - Chrill
 * Height - 4 meters
 * Function - Combine leaders

Reaver Specialists=

While most reavers are flexible and reasonably useful in most situations, many of their number are adept and equipped for more specific roles. Stealth reavers act as spies and assassins, hiding behind cloaking fields while they gather intelligence or fire upon unsuspecting foes. Pilot reavers are a blanket designation including the mostly non-combatant ship crew members and pilots of Shrikes. Rangers are equipped with jump packs, magnetized boots, and EVA suits for exoatmospheric combat, and are invaluable for boarding hostile or derelict vessels. Welders are mostly non-combatant field engineers who repair vehicles and machinery, but they can become a significant threat in an instant with their partially weaponized welding torches.
 * Class - Reaver
 * Height - 1.9 meters
 * Function - Specialist

Techpriests=

Techpriests are the revered engineers and scientists of the Combines, often found experimenting with salvaged alien technology in the bowels of ships or on board Foundry Ships.
 * Class - Techpriest
 * Height - 2.5 meters
 * Function - Scientist/engineer

Zealots=

Unbound by Combine divisions, Zealots are the direct servants of the Architect, leading their personal crews to enact their god's will with vigor and zeal.
 * Class - Count
 * Height - 3.6 meters
 * Function - Serve the Architect directly.

Honorless= Disgraced Saviki with no hope of even becoming Scullions, the Honorless have committed unforgivable crimes against the Chrills or the Architect, and are kept on the brink of death with barely enough Mana to survive, if they are not killed outright. In a humiliating "ceremony," their arms are stitched to their backs at torturous angles and their feet are replaced with pegs. Their sole function becomes that of living bombs, as mines are strapped to them before they are sent to charge enemy fortifications, motivated by the sole desire to end their own suffering.
 * Class - Honorless
 * Height - 1.5 meters
 * Function - Suicide trooper

Code of Honor
The Saviki as a whole are known to raid and loot within the bounds of a loose code of honor, the most notable aspect of this being their refusal to directly attack pre-spatial sentient species. They also refuse to consume any kind of "replacement" for Mana, save for those who have chosen to live among more civilized empires away from the Architect and Regulators. Besides these two surprising standards for a survivalist people, several general rules of honor exist, among them: a compulsion to sacrifice oneself for the good of their Combine if one has already lost any hope of surviving, but distaste for commanders who needlessly send their subordinates on suicide attacks, a standard that any combatant Saviki, male or female, may only have as many sexual partners as enemies he or she has killed, a tithing system for raw materials, in which the Marshal of a crew has total authority over how collected materials are distributed, and a standard that the successor of any commander should be chosen based on merit alone.

Biology and Appearance
Saviki are somewhere between reptilian, avian, and mammalian in outer biology and appearance, but anatomically they are vastly different.

Anatomy
Saviki are endoskeletal (they have skeletons inside their bodies), with surprisingly flexible bones and weaker skulls than most races. Their large number of limbs requires both a thoracic heart and an abdominal heart, which pump digested Mana to bodily cells and pump the vaporous waste they produce back to a trio of vestigial lungs, which exhale it. While the Saviki as a race have spent much of their history surviving via respiration, Mana's ability to satisfy all their biological needs has mostly negated the need for lungs, causing them to evolve smaller ones over the past several centuries.

Saviki are eurytherms, able to function optimally in a wide variety of temperatures. In addition, they exist in an interesting state between cold-blooded and warm-blooded; they are able to maintain a higher body temperature when Mana is readily available, but will be at the mercy of environmental temperatures if they are without it for extended periods. Like cold-blooded species, they are capable of true hibernation, making their cryo-stasis technology relatively simple compared to that of warm-blooded sentients.

Saviki bodies are extremely adaptive to the amount of Mana they consume, being able to grow or shrink in size, regardless of age, depending on how much they regularly ingest. In addition, Saviki bodies that receive rations of Mana below a certain point will cannibalize the two smallest arms to conserve energy.

Mana
Mana is a dark gold, transparent liquid with a viscosity similar to that of water. It is known to have a sweet taste, and contains all elements, compounds, and nutrients that are vital to the Saviki body. The taste, however, is believed to be an additive to make it more enjoyable to ingest, which is filtered out during the digestion process. The extracted contents are then passed into the Saviki bloodstream and circulated throughout the body, with cells producing a steam-like vapor after processing the Mana. This vapor will leak out of wounds and can give Saviki corpses an illusory burning appearance.

Appearance
Saviki are typically around 2-3 meters tall, though this can vary depending on Mana consumption. Most have four arms and four eyes, and their hands and feet have three clawed digits each. Their skin is rough, and can vary in color from dark grey to olive green, with small scute-like scales on their shoulders, neck, and back. A Saviki's head, back, and arms are the site of feather-like quill growth, which most will keep trimmed to prevent discomfort while wearing armor, dying what is still visible in the colors of their Combine. Two flaps of their rough skin hang from either side of a Saviki's head, which is triple-jawed and has a mouth lined with tooth-like bristles.

Male and female Saviki are almost indistinguishable, especially when wearing armor, though the female's voice has a noticeably different pitch.

Quotes
"We are a shattered people. But our strength may soon claim a new home for us."

-, Chrill of the Blood Combine

Trivia

 * The Saviki are, in many respects, based on the Fallen from Bungie's Destiny franchise, albeit with a plethora of noticeable differences.