Hethi'i

"'The stars are where we belong, and so the stars belong to us' - Afto Elafri'to Kris"

Biology
The Hethi'i are a silicon-based people. They stand between 7"2 to 8"7 tall on average, and have very long gangly limbs. Their flesh is a greyish brown colour, and is nearly as hard as rock, though it would be wrong to actually say it is stone. The only part of them that is purely mineral or metal would be their heart and blood, which is Neodymium, and extremely strongly magnetic metal. Where the metal comes from is completely unknown. As far as the Hethi'i are concerned, it forms out of nothing, and as far as we're concerned, they're completely right. It is with this heart that gives them their power over the manipulation of magnetic fields. While the average Hethi'i can only do small feats with this ability, such as those that your ordinary household magnetic could do, those that are strong enough to go above and beyond with this ability can truly do amazing things. The strongest Hethi'i that ever existed was so strong that it is said he felled an entire floating mountain, one which was so large it would dwarf cities of today. It was large enough that people argued it was actually a moon suspended in the atmosphere due to magnetism. Normally strong Hethi'i, however, cannot do such feats. None have ever reached the legendary strength that he accomplished. Those employed by the military however can do some great things, such as manipulating the flow of energy (such as fire, and plasma), and moving objects that are rich in metal, like the iron sands found all over their world.

The language of the Hethi'i is a very low and guttural sounding one, with their syllables being quick and seemingly disconnected from each other. Because of this it sounds very jagged to more smooth sounding speakers.

Hethi'i food primarily consists of silicon-based meat, as carbon-based is highly poisonous to them. Plant matter is more of a rarity as most if not all plants on Heth are toxic and requires special and very risky preparation to be made edible as they lack the necessary glands to process the toxins they produce. There is also a very rare delicacy found on Heth that takes the form of an edible crystal. It has been found to possess hallucinogenic properties, and is only ever eaten by the ruling class.

Hethi'i lifespans are generally very long, with it averaging around 100 of their own years and they generally only go through a gestational period once, giving birth to 3 children on average at the age of 50.

Magnetics
An important part of Hethi'i biology, it is the common name for the Hethi'i magnetic abilities. They have many uses, both militaristic and everyday. Probably the most common use, that most if not all soldiers can perform, is the ability to guide projectiles to hit targets. These projectiles, as with all other forms of Hethi'i weaponry, are made of magnetic materials which allow them to perform this feat. It is very rare, however, for a Hethi'i to protect themselves from guided projectiles, as it requires a certain amount of concentration and accuracy, something which can not be achieved on the receiving end. A very weak "overshield" of sorts can be used to help minimise the damage, however. Hethi'i have developed technology to replicate a much stronger version of the overshield to help protect themselves from plasma weaponry, fire, and magnetic ballistics, however it is too large currently to be considered viable in the field of battle, so it is only installed on their ships instead. Some of the more advanced soldiers can also use a basic maneuver to create effective cover by stirring up and levitating sand around themselves so they are hidden from accurate fire. Coupled with the overshield, this can greatly improve their chances of survival in combat. Magnetics are usually extremely weak, however, as well as tiring. To a Hethi'i, using magnetics is as tiring as running is for us. They can train to increase how much they can do, but it is a slow process, and for the common people not an endeavor worth exploring. The average range of effect is around 10 feet in any given direction, with the level of power being logarithmically proportional to the distance from the user i.e. it gets a lot weaker over distance. Standard soldier range is 50 feet, and advanced soldier range is 100 feet. Leaders of society and high ranking army members have been observed to have ranges of over 200 feet. All of this pales in comparison, however, to the fabled Hethi'i, who was said to have had a range of over 1,000 feet.

Culture
The culture on Heth were as varied as the people themselves before the Grand Unified Treaty. From the Vaseli'o of Karloti, to the Nomasa of Akrio, these cultures are now extinct in name, though still existing within the greater powers. The dominant culture currently is the Aftokra of Ankene, who value intelligence and the pursuit of knowledge above all else. It is through this that they have, within the space of a generation, has taken the Hethi'i to the stars and colonising all other worlds in their system.

Language
The Hethi'i language, while hard to understand at first, becomes very straightforward once one has grasped the basics. As mentioned before, the different syllables are all disjointed sounding, and very sharp. As an example, the name of the Hethi'i Afto, Elafri'to Kris (trans. Light of Judgement), would be pronounced E-La-F-Ri-To-K-Ri-S, though in a quicker succession.

Technology
Hethi'i technology centers itself around the use and understanding of magnetic fields. Due to the strong magnetic fields and high possibility of EMP waves disrupting circuitry however, special technology was created to counter this effect. This in turn saves their data and electronic devices from destruction. Gauss technology is a very popular tool in all facets of Hethi'i life. It is used in weaponry to launch projectiles rather than the standard explosive rounds system we use, and also for space travel as a means of escaping the atmosphere (think of a giant spaceship sized gauss cannon pointing up). They have also perfected the use of plasma as a power source and weapon and from this have perfected fusion nuclear power.