User:Dante the Ghost/Sandbox

Makes sense.

Overview
The chemoautotrophic are an ethereal, almost angelic species. Standing approximately three-and-a-half meters high, they are primarily confined to the watery depths of the subglacial oceans of Titania, and are said to resemble glowing angelic creatures of the night.

Anatomy and physiology
Physically resembling the anthropoi—apart from being thinner—their primary characteristics is a pair of vast, membranous wingspan up to six meters connecting to their arms, ending at the wrist. Smaller secondary and tertiary pelvic fins aid in maneuvering. They lack anal fins. Possessing a two meter long "tail"—actually their digitigrade hind limbs pressed close together—ending in twin vertically forked fins similar to a Thresher shark's they can move swiftly when desired. While these "two tailed" fins are mistaken for feet they actually hidden at the base with four clawed and webbed toes.

Instead of hair they have a long cartilage "wing" dividing into forked membranous fins and extend outward a little ways; this connects to their dorsal fin heterocercally. Extending from this connection is a single dorsal fin that divides in two when it reaches their pelvis. Their arms are humanoid and end in four, webbed fingers. These are extended when in motion.

Crystalian blood is in color, and they "breathe" hydrogen. This process is inefficient compared to oxygen-breathers. Their bioluminescent skin is studded in mottled light bluish-green patterns and can change colors. In addition to camouflage or luring in prey, this bioluminescence is used for communication. It is soft to the touch, almost like statin, with small electrical impulses jumping at contact. Their humanoid faces, while smooth and nearly featureless, possess two pairs of eyes, a mouth, and a protuberance which resembles a nose. Gills are located about the neck. The eyes are colored either cyan, magenta, yellow, green, purple, or related shades thereof. They also communicate via echolocation.

Crystaliens possess little sexual dimorphism and generally resemble anthropoi females with minor physiological differences; "sex" is instead recognized as a social function, with three different "female" genders recorded and one "male". Monogamy is unknown, likely because of the disparate ratio between the different types. However there is a definitely sexual aspect to their reproductive cycle—any of the three female types can be fertilized by the male, and once this is accomplished, she goes and lays thousands of nearly microscopic eggs near or within crevices, and then abandons them once done. This kind of fertilization may account for the disparate eye color and sizes. Crystaliens live for typically four hundred Titanian years because of their slow metabolisms.

Uniquely, the Crystaliens communicate not only through color-coded patterns and echolocation but telepathically. They possess a organ in their frontal temporal lobes which allows them to somehow communicate via the mind. This is poorly understood. Touching one's skin would establish contact yet they can communicate effortlessly with individuals they have never seen before.

Life cycle
Crystalien birthrate is low owing to their long lives.

Each Crystalien begins as a tiny microscopic "egg", resembling a seed crystal. When the Crystalien female is fertilized she lays thousands of egg groupings between twenty to thirty inside rock cracks and crevices for protection. Most of these do not survive, crowded out by their faster growing siblings as they absorb and synthesize nutrients directly from the water. Those that do survive cohere together for mutual protection and warmth. They change and transform rapidly over time, extruding so much energy they melt their way into the rock, rooting inside. Eventually this collated crystal reaches half a meter in size, and resembles a rhomboid capped by two pyramids.

Then they become dormant, storing their gathered energy for a final metamorphosis, growing at a steady rate to preserve as much of this stored energy as possible. During this time their telepathic abilities begin to mature and they experience the passage of time in a dreamlike state. They may stay in this form for many Titanian years. When fully mature they "awaken" and emerge from their protected place, now a small crater, and pull apart. Nearly sixty one centimeters long they reach out telepathically to the rest of the Crystalien civilization and are retrieved by a young adult. They then enter Crystalien society.

When death comes the dying Crystalien, white and nearly colorless, is bound in a chrysalis, their wings covering them. The funeral is a solemn affair, everyone who has known the departed attending the "burial"—mentally, they watch the soul fading from the body until it is an empty husk, and the funeral ends.

Culture
Despite living underwater the Crystaliens nonetheless possess a marvelous culture. In addition to communicating via the colors of their skin and echolocation, Crystaliens have a musical language of haunting beauty. Each song is filled with complex, melodious symphonies which communicate every emotion possible to one another. Due to their telepathy, they have a richly preserved culture, allowing for an individual's achievements to live on enshrined in racial memory.

Courtship is a very involved process for the Crystalien species. The male would approach a certain "female" with a mixture of singing and fluidic dancing. The female could either respond favorably or not. If the latter, the male moves on to another. If the former, she answers in likewise manner, dancing in intricate patterns while singing in harmony, unison, or dissonance. These courtship rituals can last for many months of the Titanian year, as time is reckoned, and are largely dependent on the participants' skill in wooing the other.

While lacking fire—and thus, conventional technology—this did not prevent them from building an elaborate network of Hive cities and nests around strategic hydrothermal vents, usually located on mountains or plateaus. Similar to insects, the Crystaliens meld together rock and a waxlike substance they secrete to form bubble-like buildings with multiple chambers branching outward. Reefs which form around vents often become part of these interconnected buildings, blurring the difference between artificial and natural, and it is not uncommon for a nation-state to be made up of one gigantic city. Entrances are located in the ceiling of the building, with windows unknown, and internal entrances are usually wide to accommodate many swimmers; certain "plants" and animals are cultivated as light sources for more cavernous buildings.

"Water-temples" are unique buildings that are not located in any city or dwelling except for the High Temple, but rather scattered about the subaqueous landscape, hidden within fields of swaying seaweeds or exposed on flat plains of sand and mud. Neuromancers live in solitude, meditating on their religion, occasionally coming together for certain rituals or to welcome a novice, and sometimes meeting with another non-Neuromancer.

Crystalien society is divided up into multiple pods or clans varying in size, with some reaching up to several hundred thousand individuals. Each clan is distinct from the other by utilizing specific melodies and frequencies, and color patterns, to identify and unify their members together. A distinct hierarchy is therefore present within the clans, with certain individuals overseeing newly matured young, engaged in songs, or attending to the biological mother of the group in a court. This mother is the equivalent to an anthropoi queen.

The only individuals not part of a clan are the Neuromancers. Exclusively male these live in solitude, meditating on their religion, occasionally coming together for certain rituals or to welcome a novice, and sometimes meeting with another non-Neuromancer. They live in and around an isolated dwelling called a "water temple". The only exception to this rule is the High Temple located in the largest city, and the Neuromancers within.

Governmental structure
Each clan is ruled by a single female, attended to by a court of lesser females, usually her direct daughters; and her consort, the male who has directly captured her attention multiple times. Each clan may live alone, either on the move or within their own community, but several clans have been known to group together to form a superclan. To effectively lead such a massive organization potential leaders would contend with one another in non-hostile ways until only one is left.

A more complex form of government free of kinship ties was needed when superclans started living in the same area around a hydrothermal vent, forming large cities naturally, leading to disputes over resources. Eventually the present monarchical feudalism was settled upon:


 * Clan
 * "Superclan"—any number between two or three to thousands
 * City—several superclans
 * Court—four cities
 * Tribunal—seven Courts

Each clan would be ruled by its biological mother. Each superclan would be ruled by whomever is worthy and well-respected by the group. Cities would be governed by females called "lesser Queens", Courts would be overseen by "minor Queens", and Tribunals, the ultimate Crystalien collective, would be ruled by a "Greater Queen". The Crystaliens term this "the Hierarchy of Hierarchies". Nearly every position is held by females though it is not unheard of for males to be involved. The ratio is usually one King to three hundred Queens.

Each lesser Queen decides matters pertaining to her city, advised by the clan-mothers and superclan representatives, while minor Queens handle the task of managing their Courts, making decisions at the local level and resolving disputes in courts of law. Minor Queens handle the regional affairs, resolving disputes between different cities, while last of all is the Greater Queen and her Tribunal, who handles inter-Tribunal relations and acts as the highest court of law should something require her attention.

Occasionally, when matters of grave import come about, a number of Tribunals will meet together as a council. These often are to the resolution of mass resource claims, predator migrations needing to be diverted, or—rarely—to address an aggressive Tribunal. Wars are not common, but they are deadly, long-lived, and traumatic for generations to come.

While not entirely unheard of, this is a rare occurrence. Females generally are the ones who govern, as the female/male ratio is three to one and coupled with a low birthrate. If a clan mother is killed or dies without a replacement her consort will step in, and a male may even be considered to lead a superclan.

Religion
The Crystaliens believe in two deities, or entities, virtually foreign to the anthropinos ’ conception of God, called the Gods of Light and Dark. According the Crystaliens the Gods of Light and Dark are all that existed or ever would exist. The universe is a commingling of their attributes, with the Dark having the greater contribution while the Light is more concentrated; thus they—and the universe itself by extension—are eternal. They are neither evil nor good but simply are.

The universe, according to the Crystaliens, is a dark and lonely void filled with beings who create their own light. Those with enough generated light are able to see “the Path", a concept or ritual belonging to their beliefs that is apparently a guide to transcendence and enlightenment. When one has tread upon the Path for long enough they would begin to comprehend the "Oversoul", an eventual unification of the entire Crystalien species into one entity, united yet separate. This is considered to be a nascent “god” to one day take its place in the mysterious pantheon of the twin Gods of Light and Dark.

Opposing them are what the Crystaliens call "evil spirits", failed creatures who strayed off the Path by material lust and temporal preoccupation, allowing their light to grow dim, and are alone and friendless. These seek to prevent others from journeying along the Path, and prevent the Oversoul from forming out of spite and jealousy. It is rumoured that their chief was once a powerful Crystalien religious leader who fell into the eternal darkness and grew to hate the light.

Neuromancers
These mysterious individuals are separate from the Crystalien Hierarchy of Hierarchies, serving as priests and bishops for the Crystalens spiritual needs. They live alone within water temples that are set apart from the busy cities. They seldom enter the mental networkings except in great instances, and when they do, grave portents are afoot. Situated in the deepest center of the largest city the High Temple is where the new Hive Monarch is crowned by the Elder Neuromancer, attended to by all of the Neuromancers. That is the only regular exception to their rule of solitude. These are all exclusively male.

Their ranks are as follows, from lesser to greater:
 * "Novice"
 * Neuromancer
 * Master Neuromancer
 * Adept Neuromancer
 * Arch-Neuromancer
 * Elder Neuromancer

They meditate on their place in the world and in the Path. They guide others along the Path, dispensing wisdom when they choose to "speak", which is rare; mostly they communicate via mental impressions. They occasionally glimpse the Oversoul and its coming place in the divine pantheon, and wrestle with the "evil spirits" that threaten to stray themselves and others from the Path into darkness.

Neuroprophet
A mysterious being, known only through myth and legend. It is uncertain if they are the Gods of Light and Dark or, as their name suggests, messengers of these entities. The Kōnerian Expedition has never seen one and infers by acciocation.