The Souls of Serpha

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Circling around the star Saiph in the Orionis galaxy, is a planet called Serpha. The size of our own Jupiter with an atmosphere similar to our own.
62 % nitrogen, 16 % methane, 22% oxygen, hydrogen, carbon dioxide, helium, xenon, argon, and h20.
This spells out a lighter gravity than we see here on Earth, a darker red sky, and tropically warm climate. The weather has seasons as it rotates around the sun. A blazing summer and spring with little difference between the two, a mild autumn, a rainy season during winter with little snow except for on the polar caps. The atmosphere’s high level of methane turns into liquid and comes down as rain.
Most of the planet is covered in water. More islands than continents populate the surface. Calling this place home is a race called the Serphan.

They appear to be humanoid ranging from average human height to seven feet tall. Unlike our own race there is little variety aside from their height. Eighty five percent of their population is blonde, leaving ten percent brunette, and five percent red. Blue, hazel, grey, green, violet, and even pink eyes are more common than brown. Owing to the low light atmosphere tan and dark skin is never seen here. When skin pigments do differ from Caucasian, they tend to have an ashy pale complexion.

If you take a closer look, you can see the subtle physical differences between them and us. Their ears are pointed at the tip but not elongated as our elven myths. Their torso is also longer, likewise their fingers. Their toes have a slight flesh webbing.

Inside the body we see just how alien our extra terrestrial neighbors really are. The pupils do not dilate to take in light, instead they constrict to give out light. This flash light effect works with their bodies bioluminescence system. Inside the chest where the human heart is, rests an organ called the orumantliainlustro. This works to create and pump the chemical luminol into their blood system. When a Serphan breathes in oxygen a chemical reaction occurs with the luminol and creates light, radiating not only from their eyes but from their skin as well. Working with their illuminating heart, are two smaller hearts kept further down the chest. These cardiovascular muscles pump blood through the body. The rib cage extends down just as far, protecting all vital organs.

Another interesting quality of this race is it’s ability to telepathically communicate and manipulate energies. They can not send messages on the level of having a long distance conversation, but they can feel exactly what the other person is feeling. In this way they can express their emotions.
Before they greet one another they share a friendly intent. Being able to sense motives makes for a more comfortable conversation.
If the emotional state becomes unbalanced this shows up through the skin. They physically turn color depending on the problem. This is a warning sign, telling outsiders how to approach the problem.

The manipulation of energies exhibits itself through telekinesis and altering physical drives. Their culture is wary of touching, because through touch they can cause another to go to sleep, to have more energy, or even die. Death does not often occur this way, yet if a person is in need of replenishing energy, it is not uncommon to whither a plant.

Despite being cautious of touch, shaking hands does occur between close friends. When this happens you are always expected to clasp just below the other’s elbow and never hold on for longer than one downward pull.

Someone is considered more approachable if they keep their arms folded over in front of them. This shows they keep to themselves and have no intention of becoming a threat.

Their lifespan is exceptional. Though they are susceptible to disease and physical harm, if left unharmed they can live well into the thousands. At first their childhood goes fast, reaching puberty at fifteen or sixteen. They slow down at twenty and will not see another growth spurt until the forties or fifties, when they reach full height, if they have not already.

Both men and women wear a garment known as the togatus, resembling a cross between the european toga and the eastern kimono. Made up from two separate pieces of cloth it is traditionally worn by folding the larger cloth over the body six times. The first fold is from the back over the right shoulder, the second over the left shoulder. These are pulled back around and over the arms making sleeves. It is then tied twice over the wrists. The smaller cloth is wrapped around the hips and tied. The skirt helps to hold the togatus in place along with completing it’s elegant look. Though this style can be altered where the sleeves are not worn but drape down the back, it is considered taboo to leave the skirt absent.
Styles can range from simple un dyed fabric, to elaborate colors and designs.

The titan ocean makes seafood and fruit considered the most important part of a well balanced diet. Tea is also important, as it is considered sacred, and used in religious ceremonies.
Fruits, vegetables, and meats, tend to be eaten raw and served chilled. Few things besides bread and soup are cooked.
For most dishes you eat with your hands, but for recipes that are messier, this becomes impractical.

When an eating utensil must be used they pick up what is known as a vorocateia or “eating spear.” They resemble long chopsticks with a small blade at the tip used for stabbing into the food. Turn one sideways and it can cut fillets or steaks in the same way we use a knife and fork.
When eating soup, it is acceptable to first drink the broth and then use a vorocateia to finish the solids. If a bread crumbles, you are expected to shake the crumbs off and into a bowel, preventing mess.

Living on such little land space you would presume it would become overpopulated, with poorer classes being in the majority. The government has developed a solution to this potential problem. There are no volunteers in the military.
A person finds themselves in service one of two ways. The first, is economical distress, the second is a death in the family.

There is only one government known as the council, broken up into four sections. The council keeps track of every individuals financial status through a kind of internet system. When someone’s income falls below a certain point, a draft for service becomes automatic. Once in duty they are never free to leave and belong to the council. The government always tries to find a use for them, even if it is only bottom of the barrel work. The bright side for this poor fellow is that he is given food, shelter, and clothes. His survival is ensured.

Draft by death occurs when an orphan is involved. Even then it depends on if a family member is willing to adopt them. If the closest next of kin can not or will not become the caretaker, the government is forced to step in. The orphaned child is sent to a military training school where they are molded into the ideal solider. Children born to military parents are not forced to employment. When they reach legal maturity they have the status of a free civilian. However, if they reach bankruptcy, they can find themselves back where they started.

Despite such a strict almost communist rule, they tend to be peaceful. Their army is more for defense than offense. Technologically advanced in space travel, weaponry, robotics, and a science exclusive to the use of energy fields. If moved to action they have the potential for global disaster.
Instead, they use their knowledge to collect information about foreign planets and species. All this information is stored inside the council’s library. Based on what they know, they decide who to aid in galactic war, when to stay neutral, and yes, when to go to war.

As there is only one government, there is only one language. They speak a form of Latin that should not be too difficult for a linguist of Earth to learn. Being experienced space travelers they have numerous techniques in learning the language of other species and teaching their own.

But how did such life start? On Earth we know evolution took billions of years.

If you ask them how their world was created you will receive an answer mingled in history, science, and myth.

They believe themselves to be the product of a different planetary race called the Carians.

The Carians found their world devoid of life. They decided to clean the pollution and regrow vegetation. This wasn’t as much a sign of goodwill but an effort to extend their own empire. The Carians populated Serpha with their own genetics, being a humanoid bird-like race they evolved over time into various species. The Serphans believe these races to be their elders. These elder species grew up fast, achieved technological wonders, then in theory went extinct.

Religion says it was the elders who created them, plucking a star from the sky and casting it into the ocean. When science and history is compared to myth, it is possible an ancestral race worked to reconstruct their dna to better evolve and adapt to a biologically foreign planet.

On Earth evolution began in the sea, it might have been built that way to start on Serpha.

In the library they have historical records of being under Carian rule and rebelling to become an independent nation. This was the start of the council. Yet could this be propaganda left over from a government past, used to keep the people under their rule?

Like the ancient Romans and Greeks, the Serphan worship a pantheon of goddesses and gods, overseeing the most important parts of their lives. The most revered is a feminine goddess Serephina, mother and protector of all life. It is forbidden to pray to her for things to come into your life. She owes nothing more than what she has given.
It is Serephina who decided to create them. The myth says she was the only elder to have never died. She left the world to wrap her arms around it and protect it from evil. When one prays they should pray to keep her company. She is depicted as a beautiful woman with a pair of wings always kneeling.

Next in the pantheon is Maibe, a green goddess with six pairs of wings and six hands dancing. She is the opposite of Serephina, representing death. Though she escorts a soul when it dies, she does not lead it to the afterlife. In their long lives they hope for no heaven or continuation of their conscious mind. Maibe crushes their souls into ashes and scatters them out into the universe, creating the stars.

The husband of Serephina is a god of war and masculinity known as Jostus. He looks like the Serphan having no wings. An athletic youth with his head bowed on his sword. This posture symbolizes that he knows when to fight and when to be at peace. Both men and women pray to him for help on timing matters in their lives and overseeing the pregnancy and birth of a male child.

Iri is the husband of Maibe and he is the god of hope. An older man with expressions of torment on his face. He allows others to find hope within themselves by absorbing their pain. Prayers offered to him center around hard times and grief.

Conculous is the only deity with no gender. Depicted as androgynous and sexless it governs lust and love. In general, single people keep a small idol on their person until they are married. Besides asking for a partner they might also pray for help in marriage.

An island with a rich mountain range known as Puraflora, is dedicated to the gods. Here there is a holy garden, where large statues of the entire pantheon are kept. They are said to reside here in council. When someone is struggling with a crisis they make a pilgrimage to visit the gods and hear them speak. Incense and other offerings are given here. In effect it is one massive temple.

Knowing the holy structure, it’s easy to see why they are a female dominated society.

Choosing a mate more often than not is left up to the women. A man never asks a woman out on a date, it is up to the female to make the first move. Likewise it is she who suggests when to marry. During a wedding it’s customary to give the bride and groom flowers.
Deciding on a time for sex is mutual, as the male produces viable semen in cycles. When pregnancy is an impossibility they instead choose sex for pleasure. When the seed is fertile they will copulate for procreation or wait.

Earthquakes are not uncommon on Serpha and it is clear the residents are prepared for them. Taking a walk through a typical residence, you would notice rooftops resting on the ground. Houses are built under the soil to prevent damage during the earth’s movements.
Steps lead down to a door where you can enter. Inside is furnished, with small sofas made more for reclining than sitting. For most things Serphans prefer to lie down, if you want to sit, you are more than welcome to the floor.
Essential rooms for a dwelling are: the pool room (generally the biggest room dedicated to swimming and bathing), the kitchen (kept simple with an electrical hearth for cooking and a wall spout for washing food), the bedroom (where many choose to put religious alters so the god will watch over the sleeping), the toilet room (it is considered unsanitary to relieve your bowels where you bath), and of course the living area. Decor is similar to human taste. Paintings, wall furnishings, carpets, pillows, none are uncommon.
Since houses are built underground there are no windows. Realistic scenic views are projected on the walls for an open feeling.

Since they have adapted to seeing in the dark, their houses do not hold much extra light. What extra light they do hold, are from the luminous rock most houses tend to be fashioned from, and any bioluminescent plants the owner decides to keep.

These creatures are logical and artistic, this shows in both their architecture and recreation.

Bathing and swimming can be considered a recreational activity. They are also fond of music and anything that will challenge their dexterity. Popular instruments repeatedly favored by musicians are piano, drum, and syntho-pad.

A syntho-pad is played by bouncing balls in different rhythms on various synthesizer pads that imitate other sounds. It takes a tremendous amount of skill to create a simple melody, much less master.

A common game played by school children is called bridge. One child has to walk over a group of hands, cupped before them like a bridge. As the child walks forward those behind run up front, trying to keep the bridge up as long as possible. This is known to be a good game to create trust between peers.

Much to the parent’s dismay, their young adult may choose to spend their free time playing inside virtual reality. Some things are universal.

The biggest holiday on Serpha is the festival of rain. Part of the fun is that you never know when it is going to happen. After a rain shower a community gets together to hold a parade. People dress in costume and start dancing down the streets. Those who by chance come across it, often join making the parade bigger. The dance usually ends when everyone is exhausted. After a good nap a feast is prepared to end the celebration.

The school structure for civilians is simple. The elder classes teach the younger ones as they learn. This goes on all through graduation until someone chooses a career. A classroom is not divided by age or grade level. However, it does get to a point where you will see young adults and teenagers break off from children. There are designated teachers, but the aid of the students is beneficial for them.

When a Serphan dies their bodies remain luminescent for one day after death. During this period the facial features become distorted due to the amount of luminol trapped under the skin. It is impossible to talk a priest or priestess into cremating the body during this time. They believe it is this point in death that the spirit of the deceased is leaving. When the body is no longer glowing, they burn it and scatter the ashes to the wind, while reading a poetic passage concerning the goddess Maibe.

As we look up at the night sky, our eyes overlooking the dim little star they call their sun, we never wonder what will happen to them. Let us take a moment now, to ask the question, what will come of their world?
Is it possible for an earthquake to cause the ocean to flood every living thing on land? Is it possible for the planet to fall out of orbit and drift far from the sun, causing everything to freeze? Serpha itself has no apocalypse theories, no book of revelations. They do what they can to survive, but if death is inevitable, such is the way of the cosmic dance.

When the hand of the goddess plucked the star of life from the sky, and cast it into the ocean, we were given no soul. When Serephina looked down and saw her mistake she vowed we would live an eternity in recompense. Gods are fools in the eyes of mortals. A physical body does not wish to live an eternity. Death grounds our souls into oblivion and from the ashes of our consciousness form new stars. In a way life goes on, and in another there is pure rest. Weep not for a life past. Whatever is to be let it be.

Recieved Second Place in the "Create a Culture"  Contest