Hymerian

The HYMERIANS, are a race of highly intelligent, semi-psychic avian-humanoid beings native to The Hymer Mountains, the unscalable mountainous regions of Theia, the fourth planet to orbit Vorta, and the largest planet in the Vortan System. On a galactic average, the Hymerians are the most intelligent of the six major autonomous species native to Vera.

Physical Characteristics
Hymerians are bipedal, winged beings with small heads and protruding mouths. Their arms are long and flat, thought to once be covered in feathers or a thick layer of skin which might have joined their bodies at the sides along the rib cage to provide stabilization during flight, although scientists hypothesize that the Hymerians have long since evolved past the practical use of their winged appendages for sustained periods of flight, perhaps as an evolutionary response.

The most remarkable characteristic about the Hymerians are the four wing appendages situated along the spine––two to either side on and below their shoulders. For many Hymerians, the wings are mostly an aesthetic appendage regarded as a sign of rank or class among the Hymerians society. Rarely is an Hymerians seen using their wings for flight, unless in battle.

Origins
The Hymerians are known to have existed as a species––in their current biological form––for roughly seventy thousand years. Their progenitors are thought to be massive, winged beasts that evolved standard bipedal legs and the ability to navigate on land as a necessity, perhaps as the result of an atmospheric or environmental threat. One hypothesis states that around four million years ago, Theia was struck by a large meteor which caused debris and other noxious gases to form a dense layer of clouds just above the planet's surface. This event may have caused earlier Hymerians ancestors to relinquish their aerial positions in lieu of the safety of the ground. After several million years, the massive beasts are thought to have evolved smaller bodies and wings, and strong legs useful as a means of practical transportation.

Over the last thirty thousand galactic years or so, the Hymerians as a species experienced a remarkable boost to their intelligence, after which they formed a thriving civilization modeled around collective unification or groupthink, what they call regor, a type of psychic link which allows the Hymerians to communicate without speaking while in close proximity. [Disambiguation: The Hymerians are not capable of general telepathy. Their abilities to communicate via conscious or subconscious link to other members of their species while gathered in groups has been speculated upon by members of the scientific community to varying extent, but presently the collective thoughtform known as regor is largely undocumented, and was only recently discovered by OSID. The secrecy of the Hymerian High Command regarding this phenomenon has stalled all scientific endeavors up to this point.]

Whatever the case, biologically speaking, the Hymerians have evolved a way of silent communication which possibly allows them to share a collective subconscious, which consequently could explain their remarkable intelligence as a species. The ability to share tactical information, such as navigational data or other realtime intelligence, makes the Hymerians cunning military strategists and unparalleled tactical thinkers. Perhaps this is why five of the twelve Alliance Overseer seats are occupied by Hymerians incumbents (more than any other individual species in the galaxy).

History
The Hymerians are great thinkers, but also adept warriors. Their most courageous, fearsome warriors are known as the Grex, a word which, in the high speech of Hymeria, implies a small collective of invisible predators hunting in perfect harmony––a terrifying thought to enemies on the field of battle, perhaps.

Some historians say the Grex were the deciding factor in the Great Veran Conflict, having defeated the remainder of the Grothan ground forces on Hydrae III before the Grothan fleet could join the fight at the edge of Hydraen space.

The Grex not only navigated uncharted Hydraen space to find the Grothan homeworld, they did it in radio silence, effectively in the dark––with no active comm systems, and running on auxiliary void power to remain hidden from enemy scanners. The Grex successfully infiltrated Grothan space in V.Y. 2557 to scale a lethal assault on the Groth Capital. A small force of Grex soldiers, roughly 400 in all, ransacked the Grothan Capital, burned their buildings and temples, and left their stone monuments in ruins. The Grothan fleet reversed course to triage the assault on their homeworld, but they were too late. By the time they reached orbit, their cities were burned, and nearly everyone they'd left on the planet was dead or captured. Within three months, the Grothan army was dismantled and the force of the Hydraen Empire was brought to its knees. See also: The Fall Of Gunga.

''NOTE: The worst punishment for an Hymerians is to have their wings removed. It is considered a disgrace to have one's wings cut off, and this punishment is used for Hymerians who have committed capital crimes––most often, high treason or murder of a high degree.''