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Description

Short, stocky and surprisingly strong and agile, the sapient Lexan from the ringed, desert world of Xuono, rimwards of the Suuk in the Carina Arm, are a major power in the region, closely allied with the Groth.
Standing on average at about shoulder height to a normal human, with two sturdy legs ending with three digits, two knee-long arms also ending in three digits, a large torso with the stubby remnant of a tail and a fairy large head with large, prominent eyes and the most distinguishable feature of the lexan species: a large, bony mane which, in addition to display, allows for heat to dissipate from their head faster. Evolved in the shearing heat of Xuono's endless deserts as fierce social predators, their leathery skin comes in various shades, most common being a light brown or lion. Due to the somewhat higher gravity of Xuono (1.15 surface g), as well as to better blend in the flat, featureless badlands, the lexan rarely grow very big, though they have exceptionally large muscle mass and a robust physique, able to endure weeks with no food or water, hunting the deserts few migratory herds of animals moving between the richer feeding grounds.
Though they are very strong and robust predators, the lexan live a fairy sedentary lifestyle, having establish permanent settlements within the few rocky outgrows along the migratory routes of the animals they hunt, where they live in small, close kit communities with a strict social hierarchy. At the top lies the alpha male-female pair, who share the power over the tribe equally; bellow them lie the lieutenants, up to ten large males and females (usually their direct offsprings) who enforce the will of the alpha pair. Further bellow them are the rest of the tribe, who are considered of equal standing among themselves. Due to a limited food source, the tribes rarely grew very large, but as millennia passed and they spread across the planet the number of individual tribes grew to the thousands. Most lexan live their lives within the tribe's camp, only going outside when the herds pass through to hunt and bring back food to the tribe, who conserve most of it in vast underground catacombs- many tribes got so efficient, they had reserved food for several years. Few, if any, dare to venture far from the settlements, making contact between them difficult and slow.
Within the settlements, the lexan culture is as diverse as the tribes themselves, but generally are fairy open minded to new ideas and very few express xenophobia or isolationism- due to the harsh environment, none of the tribes could really afford to shun ideas away, as any new innovation could be potentially useful. Most of the more advance settlements became so due to a dedicated education system and encouraged free thought. Due to their isolation, distance from each other and general disposition to avoid spending energy on unnecessary endeavors, there has been few major conflicts between the lexan clans. The abundance of minerals and rare metals within Xuono's crust made the lexan developed a very throughout understanding of metallurgy fairy fast, developing far faster in many areas than other species and displaying a surprisingly keen penance for advancing their technology.
The small, scattered civilization which developed on Xuono advance relatively quickly from one stage to the other; by around the Earth year 300 BCE, some of the larger settlements grew with the help of new technologies from small villages into proper cities, and with the invention of self-propelled vehicles many of them began to have more contact with each other, exchanging new ideas and science at a far faster rate. Though it lead to a technological revolution akin to the mid 20th century Earth, it also brought to light raising rivalries between the larger city states, eventually leading to an all out global war. Lasting for a decade, mostly due to the lexan's lack of experience with large scale conflicts, the war eventually ended in a draw once the larger combatants started delving into nuclear weaponry. Cooler head within the clans prevailed and put an end to the war before it could degenerate further, and after intense negotiations the clans of the four largest city states came together under one joint senate.
The Lexan Empire was born, and over the next couple of centuries integrated every city and clan on Xuono into a larger entity and turned them into a true global civilization, going as far as embarking into space exploration and even the beginning of a colony on Xuono's moon. When the species was discovered by the galactic civilizations around 50 CE, the lexan scientists were already experimenting with subspace communication and well on their way to invent hyperspace travel. The first to establish diplomatic contact with the Lexan Empire was the Voir, who began to engage in trade and introduced them to proper FTL travel. Though it eventually allied with the Groth, for almost two millennia the Empire grew in isolation, outside the well traveled routs between the Garician Worlds or the Groth's core powers. By the time the Third Groth War erupted in 1860CE, the Lexan were already a formidable, if isolationist and trade oriented power on the outskirts of the Garician Worlds.
Though they offered little other contribution in the war, the Empire acted mostly as a travel hub for the Groth's overall war efforts, its position allowing its allies safe travel to and from their territories to reinforce each other. That small but essential contribution quickly turned the small regional power into one of the Groth's most important holdings, and that position only grew larger over the next few centuries. Though somewhat rare in the galaxy, the lexan that do leave their territory have a reputation of timid and patient beings that make excellent soldiers as well as a well respected intellectual race, the lexan government employing one of the galaxies most extensive and efficient education system in the Groth Alliance.

Description

Short, stocky and surprisingly strong and agile, the sapient Lexan from the ringed, desert world of Xuono, rimwards of the Suuk in the Carina Arm, are a major power in the region, closely allied with the Groth.
Standing on average at about shoulder height to a normal human, with two sturdy legs ending with three digits, two knee-long arms also ending in three digits, a large torso with the stubby remnant of a tail and a fairy large head with large, prominent eyes and the most distinguishable feature of the lexan species: a large, bony mane which, in addition to display, allows for heat to dissipate from their head faster. Evolved in the shearing heat of Xuono's endless deserts as fierce social predators, their leathery skin comes in various shades, most common being a light brown or lion. Due to the somewhat higher gravity of Xuono (1.15 surface g), as well as to better blend in the flat, featureless badlands, the lexan rarely grow very big, though they have exceptionally large muscle mass and a robust physique, able to endure weeks with no food or water, hunting the deserts few migratory herds of animals moving between the richer feeding grounds.
Though they are very strong and robust predators, the lexan live a fairy sedentary lifestyle, having establish permanent settlements within the few rocky outgrows along the migratory routes of the animals they hunt, where they live in small, close kit communities with a strict social hierarchy. At the top lies the alpha male-female pair, who share the power over the tribe equally; bellow them lie the lieutenants, up to ten large males and females (usually their direct offsprings) who enforce the will of the alpha pair. Further bellow them are the rest of the tribe, who are considered of equal standing among themselves. Due to a limited food source, the tribes rarely grew very large, but as millennia passed and they spread across the planet the number of individual tribes grew to the thousands. Most lexan live their lives within the tribe's camp, only going outside when the herds pass through to hunt and bring back food to the tribe, who conserve most of it in vast underground catacombs- many tribes got so efficient, they had reserved food for several years. Few, if any, dare to venture far from the settlements, making contact between them difficult and slow.
Within the settlements, the lexan culture is as diverse as the tribes themselves, but generally are fairy open minded to new ideas and very few express xenophobia or isolationism- due to the harsh environment, none of the tribes could really afford to shun ideas away, as any new innovation could be potentially useful. Most of the more advance settlements became so due to a dedicated education system and encouraged free thought. Due to their isolation, distance from each other and general disposition to avoid spending energy on unnecessary endeavors, there has been few major conflicts between the lexan clans. The abundance of minerals and rare metals within Xuono's crust made the lexan developed a very throughout understanding of metallurgy fairy fast, developing far faster in many areas than other species and displaying a surprisingly keen penance for advancing their technology.
The small, scattered civilization which developed on Xuono advance relatively quickly from one stage to the other; by around the Earth year 300 BCE, some of the larger settlements grew with the help of new technologies from small villages into proper cities, and with the invention of self-propelled vehicles many of them began to have more contact with each other, exchanging new ideas and science at a far faster rate. Though it lead to a technological revolution akin to the mid 20th century Earth, it also brought to light raising rivalries between the larger city states, eventually leading to an all out global war. Lasting for a decade, mostly due to the lexan's lack of experience with large scale conflicts, the war eventually ended in a draw once the larger combatants started delving into nuclear weaponry. Cooler head within the clans prevailed and put an end to the war before it could degenerate further, and after intense negotiations the clans of the four largest city states came together under one joint senate.
The Lexan Empire was born, and over the next couple of centuries integrated every city and clan on Xuono into a larger entity and turned them into a true global civilization, going as far as embarking into space exploration and even the beginning of a colony on Xuono's moon. When the species was discovered by the galactic civilizations around 50 CE, the lexan scientists were already experimenting with subspace communication and well on their way to invent hyperspace travel. The first to establish diplomatic contact with the Lexan Empire was the Voir, who began to engage in trade and introduced them to proper FTL travel. Though it eventually allied with the Groth, for almost two millennia the Empire grew in isolation, outside the well traveled routs between the Garician Worlds or the Groth's core powers. By the time the Third Groth War erupted in 1860CE, the Lexan were already a formidable, if isolationist and trade oriented power on the outskirts of the Garician Worlds.
Though they offered little other contribution in the war, the Empire acted mostly as a travel hub for the Groth's overall war efforts, its position allowing its allies safe travel to and from their territories to reinforce each other. That small but essential contribution quickly turned the small regional power into one of the Groth's most important holdings, and that position only grew larger over the next few centuries. Though somewhat rare in the galaxy, the lexan that do leave their territory have a reputation of timid and patient beings that make excellent soldiers as well as a well respected intellectual race, the lexan government employing one of the galaxies most extensive and efficient education system in the Groth Alliance.