Mycidian

Mycidian is the name used for the dominant species of the Mycidia Oma system. They originated from the second planet of the system, Mycidia Prime, but have spread across most of it's neighbors since then. They are also one of the founding species of the Galactic Trade Confederation.

Crest of the Mycidian Clan Council

Physiology

Mycidans are at their core a humanoid feline species. Due to this, they have many simularties to Earth felines. Their spinal cord contains far more vertebrae then a Human, mostly because their vertebrae is of a shorter size then a Human's. There is also a natural genetic affinity towards double jointedness, making them highly flexible. Like many cats, Mycidians are able to land on their hands and feet even after falling from great heights with little to no damage to themselves.

As natural for a species which developed on a heavely wooded world, Mycidians are particularly adept at climbing. Due partially their metal skeleton and a unique series of hand muscles called Flexilis, the average member of the species can climb up surfaces at a rapid pace. Mycidians also have an much more solid inner ear, making them immune to most forms of motion and height sickness.

The most distinitive feature of the Mycidian is their metallic skeleton. The material, known in some circles as Mycidian Steel, is a biologically created alloy which makes up the entiarly for their bone structure, including teeth and claws. This metal also is found in the metal quills that dot the hair of female mycidians, a form of defense only found in that gender of the species. The metal itself has the constantancy of high grade steel and in the past, mycidians were sometimes hunted for their bones, which would be sold on the black market. To suppliment the metal in their bodies, Mycidians will often eat metal along with their natural diet.

This is accomplished through a unique part of their cells known as a Maygui. The Maygui has been theorized to have once been a seperate organism but became a part of their system through evolution. The Maygui processes metals eaten by the mycidian and in turn produce the metal that coat and make up their bones.

Female Mycidians have two pairs of mammery glands, one pair under the other, though the lowest one only develops during times of pregnancy and shrinks back soon afterwards.

Mycidian females will often give birth to litters, with families ranging from 6 children to up to eighteen. Young Mycidians are referred to as "Kefs".

Language

The Mycidian language, commonly referred to as "Myous" (prononced Mai-yos), contains a seventy letter alphabet. Thirty letters of the alphabet are within the phoentic range, while the last fourty are made up of various purring, growling and gutterl sounds.

In addition to this, the written language has a seperate two additional alphabets, sometimes referred to as the "business" alphabet and the "poetic" alphabet. This is due to the fact that the Mycidian culture prescribes using the usual written alphabet (the Myous alphabet) for private or personal corraspondance only. When dealing with outsiders or Mycidians of a different clan, the business alphabet is used. The poetic alphabet, as it's name would apply, is most often used in the writing of poetry or art pieces, but is often applied to religous or faith based text. As well, the poetic alphabet is the oldest form of the three and because of this, seldom used.

Culture

Religion

Beyond their love of trade, the Mycidian culture is also extremely spiritually inclined. The Mycidian religion falls within the category of being a form of Pantheism, with a focus on a greater all encompassing spirit. This spirit, Atami (Pronounced AH-tah-*purr*Me), is thought in legend to have once been one singular entity before destroying itself and scattering it's essence across the width of the entire cosmos. As such, the Mycidians do not believe it is possible to directly communicate with this force but merely to interact with it through the actions of others. In some ways this has been suggested to be the origin of the Mycidian love of trade, as it corresponds with one of their central beliefs, that of the communing with Atami through meaningful exchange with another individual. Due to the nature of their faith, Mycidian society does not have a priest class per say but rather it is handled through the use of the occasional Yas'yun (Ya-shh yoon), a sort of philosopher. In turn, stories related to Atami are rarely written down but rather kept orally, with certain families at times empathizing aspects of tales more then others.