Skizan

From the Source World Ghosts series.

Desipite a long history of cooperation between humans and Skizan, little regular contact and a significant barrier to communication keep these beings a mystery. Indeed, few humans have visited Skizan worlds despite the millennia of cooperation that has existed since the Pictimoni Incident. Nonetheless, considering the immense gap that exists between humans and every other sentient species, the Skizan are in fact the closest humans have come to discovering an intelligent species with a society, biology and civilization so similar to their own.

The Skizan homeworld is a closely guarded secret so as to protect it in case such information was to fall into Pladjini hands. However, the Planet of Skiza is rumored to exist in an outer arm of the galaxy, perhaps just beyond the borders of Kahrahdma and the Trennon Starfields. Indeed, the Solustrans who rule Kahrahdma are recognized as the defacto emissaries to the Skizan since most Skizan contact is usually initiated through them.

Those that have visited Skizan worlds tell of a civilization that is peaceful and stragely beautiful. Typically, they tend toward smaller, less-dense worlds than humans, thriving in thin atmosphere and low gravity and capable of withstanding wild temperature extremes. They are quite social and are known for their graceful movements and for balancing their bodies in contorted poses. Unlike humans, their cities and spacecraft are built of non-living material, but they do rely on genetically engineered technologies to a significant degree. They also share the ability to harness the Belemyolan to shift space.

Biology
When standing upright, the Skizan average 3 meters tall. They have two long, sledner legs that sprout from their shoulders and end in quite large three-toed feet. Below these shoulders, an ovoid thorax hangs down with four tiny arms at the ends and two rigid flaps on top. These flaps are actually its breathing organ. Rising from the shoulders, Skizan have long, thin necks, which their equally long, snouted heads grow from. Near the top of these heads are two glassy eyes and at the ends of their snouts are four tentacles, which are used in addition to the hands at the ends of their thoraxes to grasp objects with. The tentacles are also sexual organs. Skizan have been seen in numerous colors and patterns, ranging from pink to gray to sky blue and white, but all tend toward the same shape and dimensions.

History
Humans and Skizans first made contact in the Pictimoni Incident during a raid by the Pladjin against the Pictimonese. After witnessing a Skizan vessel attack the invading Pladjini vessel, humans soon befriended the Skizan and a long relationship of mutual defense soon ensued.

At its peak, the human-Skizan alliance culminated in several coordinated assaults against the Pladjin in the Eos, eventually driving them back to Pladjia, essentially ending the Pladjini Wars. During the following Age of Recovery, human-Skizan relations faded in importance, but regular contact was maintained, especially by the Solustrans.