Species: Aera

Physical Characteristics:

The Aera are a centauroid species measuring 2-3 meters in length from the head 
to the end of the balancing tail, and 1 - 1.25 meters high at the four leg-
shoulders.  The four stocky, sturdy running/gripping limbs provide support, and 
the front two limbs end in three-digit hands, with two fingers and an opposable 
thumb.  When active, the upper body bends up from the rest of the body just past 
the middle limbs at about a sixty-degree angle, with the forelimbs sprouting 
from about two thirds of the way up the upper body, and with the head bending 
back down so as to be parallel with the main trunk and the ground. Aera tend 
towards slim, muscular builds, and are usually both quick and agile.  They have 
two genders, each of which is similar in appearance.  Among the spacefaring 
races, the Aera have one of the shorter natural lifespans.  Prior to the advent 
of advanced life extension technologies, it was as rare for an Aera to reach 60 
years of age as it was for a twentieth century human to reach 100.

The physical appearance of the Aera reflects upon their origins.  The Aera have 
a smooth, leathery skin not dissimilar in appearance to the bark of a birch 
tree, with occasional yellowish patches reminiscent of lichens.  The hinged 
portion of the mouth is, in contrast to that of terran species, the upper 
portion.  The mobile portion of the mouth is also notable in that it does not 
consist of a bony arch, and is actually a solid bony plate.  Inside this mouth 
are two rows of teeth, the second moving forward to replace the first as they 
naturally fall out, and a new second row is grown.  The front teeth are razor 
sharp and are obviously for tearing flesh, and the next sets of teeth are 
likewise designed for the chewing of meat, but the rearmost few teeth have 
grinding surfaces, allowing the consumption of nuts, seeds, and other such 
vegetable matter.  The corners of the mouth are usually open, and provide the 
normal breathing route.  When exerting itself, an Aera will pull back its lips, 
increasing the size of the airway. The wide, narrow eyes are almost universally 
a milky green, with wide, narrow pupils, and are largish in size relative to the 
head.  The eyes are above the terminating point of the downward slant of the 
lipline, but below the bony jaw plate.  Just below the mouth, on each side of 
the head, is a row of small pits that are used for chemoreception.  Beneath each 
eye is a kidney-shaped patch of lighter skin that marks the location of a 
tympanum.  On the underside of the Aera head is a pair of organs, each capable 
of producing variable amplitude, low frequency vibrations, which the Aera use to 
communicate

Habitat:

The Aera homeworld was, prior to changes imposed by the technological 
advancement of the Aera, a nearly seasonless planet with an oxygen-nitrogen-
neon atmosphere, on whose surface were a single large landmass and many large and small islands.  The mainland was nearly entirely covered with jungles and 
marshgroves, with only small belts of more sparsely overgrown land on the 
northern and southern reaches of the continent.  The rich jungle land was home 
to all sort and manner of parasites, predators, diseases, and competitors for 
food. It was in this vast, dark jungle that the Aera arose into sentience, tool 
use, and civilization.

Culture:

Aera culture is highly organized and decidedly hierarchical, but in the form of 
a meritocracy rather than an aristocracy.  While what has constituted merit has 
morphed over the millennia since the first Aera tribes selected work crews to 
cut back the encroachments of the jungle upon their early settlements, given the 
relative position of the pre-technological Aera in their local food chain, there 
has long been a favoring of cleverness and determination over raw strength.  The 
current social and vocational position of any Aera is immediately indicated by 
the color and pattern of an individual's coverall.  The Aera are ruled by a 
subset of the highest caste, with membership in the Oligarchy changing whenever 
either an individual steps down, or a third of the other members call for a 
member's replacement.  New members must be confirmed by two thirds of the 
current Oligarchy.  It is much more common for members to voluntarily remove 
themselves from power, believing themselves more useful elsewhere in society, 
than to be cast out.  An average stay in the Oligarchy lasts a few Aera years.

The long struggle of the Aera against the erosion of their society at the hands 
of the natural world has instilled in them a deep respect for that which has 
enabled them to conquer their environment: technology.  Not only is the 
advancement of technology greeted without fear, the social position of the 
artificer and the engineer is one more greatly elevated than that seen in any 
pre-Diaspora human society.  What is feared is the unmastered and uncontrolled.  
Even after the last war between Aera and Aera was fought, bringing the last of 
the major islands under the control of the mainland, the Aera did not relax 
their military investment.  Perhaps in large part due to their short lifespan, 
and the consequential rapid dying off of adherents to old theories, science 
advanced quickly, and with the understanding of their place in the universe came 
a belief that just as they had been forced to fight back against the jungle to 
keep themselves alive, so would they likely have to push back against all that 
waited for them beyond their world.  Thus, the Aera burst forth from their home, 
not afraid, but determined that nothing would stand between them and their 
indefinite existence.
