Kerestian

The Kerestians are a race of mammalian humanoids hailing from the planet Kerest. The Kerestians evolved into savage hunters of great cunning and skill. They are tall, powerfully-built humanoids with convoluted ridges on their foreheads. Two thin strips of hair grow in a strange double widow's peak from the ridges, and the strips continue down the Kerestian's back. Their nose is defined by a single, vertical slit above their mouth, and a row of breather tubes run along their cheekbones. Their small ears are little more than holes located at the base of the skull, and are surrounded by folds of skin. The breather tubes were once used for long-range, high-frequency communication, but that ability was lost over time. They are known as methodical, deliberate hunters, and are thought to be humorless. However, a recent discovery of a Kerestian colony ship turned up ancient members of the species suspended in time. When they were revived, these colonists showed none of the current Kerestian violence or deliberateness. It had been surmised that the harsh conditions of the planet Kerest forced subsequent generations of Kerestians to evolve into the vicious hunters they are today. They had mastered repulsor lift technology and sub-light space travel before Kerest was nearly destroyed as its sun began to convulse and contract. Kerest was reduced to a frozen wasteland. This caused the ancient Kerestians to "devolve" into barbarians and hunters. Their technology subsequently reverted to stone-age levels.