Few species have been as unfortunate as the Khyrian. Not once, but twice have they lost their home world, and still live on ships and deep space stations throughout the galaxy, forced into a life of piracy. Being antagonised by most of the galaxy, it has hardened their culture, however, they are not unreasonable. Even as the galaxy's pariah, they still restrain themselves from cruelty, at least, most clans do...

The Khyrian stem from another species called the Zhareni. When the Garnok Crisis began, the Zhareni casted a planet-wide magic field that shifted the entire planet of Zharen into the future (nowadays called the Great Skip) to avoid the Garnok threat. However, not all Zhareni were on their home world; those that were still on their ships, were left behind. These people would band together, trying to survive in deep space, where the Garnok wouldn't be able to detect them. They'd raid Garnok ships for resources, and the remained a thorn in the Garnok's side for thousands of years to come until the Garnok went extinct.

Living in space for fourty-five millennia changed them enormously physically. Their reptilian appearance transformed in a more insectoid one, with a hardened exoskeleton and a more clearly segmented body. Khyrian are physically very tough; a normal human wouldn't land a hit on them in hand-to-hand combat. The most striking feature of a Khyrian is their third arm that sticks out the middle of their chest and their third leg facing backwards. They also have four eyes that allows them to see into the near infra-red part of the electromagnetic spectrum. Although they're omnivores, the Khyrian are often forced to have a meat-rich diet due to the lack of agriculture they can access. The Khyrians live in clans, where each clan owns their own ship. Individuals often wear hoods with the mark of their clan. Khyrian individuals often don't have a name, only a rank number, as names need to be earned in Khyrian society.

But when the Garnok threat was finally over, they found an uninhabited planet to settle down again, named Kyre. There the Khyrian had their Golden Age, where they could set up an industrial civilisation again with abundant food from their farmlands. Yet, the Garnok threat had taught them to fear going too far with technological development, and thus, for many centuries Khyrian technological development completely stalled. It was a stable society, until a new threat loomed: the newly formed United Federation of Independent Systems was rapidly expanding their territory, and was far more imperialistic compared to the present day. Kyre, and its entire solar system was very rich in resources, and the UFIS wanted to claim ownership over this strategic location. They drove the Khyrian away from Kyre, back into deep space again. The Khyrian - righteously so - have never forgiven the UFIS for this, and has been raiding UFIS ships ever since. This event has been known within UFIS as the Khyrian Mistake, where in their conquest they created their own enemy, and was a catalyst for major reforms. But that's little consolation for the Khyrian...

They have been pirates ever since, and it seemed to be their only way of living. However, after Earth entered the galactic scene, the first hints of change started to appear. The Terrans, unlike other powers, seemed to treat the Khyrian without hostility, after first contact with them where the Terrans were helping a stranded Khyrian ship. After more encounters between them, this didn't seem to be a fluke, where the Terrans would often offer to trade, saving the Khyrian the trouble of raiding. With the news spreading of friendly Terrans, some hope is growing within Khyrian society that maybe there will be a way out of piracy...

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I may have to draw more of my aliens species for reference. So first, I'd like to start with the space pirates of this universe, as they're a key species in this world.

Drawn in InkScape