Korohu

Appearance
The Korohu have six arms that descend in size from the front pair of arms to the back pair; they have two legs. Each arm has a three-fingered hand at the end, and they have four toes on each foot. The Korohu stand with a hunched posture, and they have a long tail that ends in a bony club. They stand 7 feet at the foremost shoulder on average.

There is no clear breaking point between a Korohu’s neck and its head. Korohu have one very large eye with seven elongated pupils; one large pupil in the center, with three others above it and three below it. Their mouth is located just below the eye, and consists of four prehensile lips with a circular jaw at their base.

Korohu have an extra layer of thick skin covering the flesh above their spine, as well as the top of their head, their shoulders, and the sides of their torso. The Korohu have six rows of large, hollow spines running from their neck, down their back, and ending just before the club on their tail. Every spine ends with a hole at the top, out of which steam is constantly exiting. Korohu’s skin ranges in color from greyish blue to purple.

Biology
Korohu can shoot boiling water and steam from their spines at high speeds, originally a method of self-defense against natural predators and rivals. They have a sack under each spine that holds the water, and forces the water out through the spines. The club at the end of the Korohu’s tail contains a small hollow area that connects to a spinal sack. When the sack exerts enough pressure into the chamber, the club will explode, sending bone shrapnel flying. The club grows back over a period of four to five months.

The Korohu use only their two legs when walking, although they often use their foremost arms when running, and they rest on their foremost arms when stationary.

Korohu are herbivores, eating the native plants and fungi of Waiariki. Their mouths consist of four prehensile lips that are made out of thin muscle, and a circular base containing many, individually moving, molar- like teeth. Korohu must drink large amounts of water in order to keep their spinal sacks (?) full, as steam is constantly escaping through their spines.

Korohu can withstand extreme heats with being burnt or scalded. The internal body temperature of the Korohu is kept at an average of 220 degrees Fahrenheit; if Korohu’s body temperature drops below 190 degrees, it will die.

Korohu have extremely keen, multispectral vision, due to their large, advanced eyes.

Culture
Most aspects of Korohu culture vary significantly from place to place, but all share a mutual respect for nature, and a desire to learn more about the universe.

Government
Waiariki Wakamipepga is a confederation of all the many cultures of the Korohu species. It is ruled by a council of two elected representatives from each member culture, currently standing at 704 council members. The government generally favors peaceful expansion through colonization, and promotes science and learning. Trade with other species makes up a substantial part of Waiariki’s economy, although it is strictly regulated to prevent the introduction of nonnative species to planets under the Waiariki Wakamipepga’s control.

Religion
The universal religion of the Korohu is called Uiwa Topu. Uiwa Topu is based on the visits of a space-faring race to Waiariki beginning thousands of years ago when the Korohu were just starting to form civilizations, and ending one or two hundred years ago. They came from Wairiki’s sister planet, Atua Wahi.

Military
The Waiariki military’s purpose is only to protect the confederation in the event of an outside attack or civil war, and to uphold its laws. It consists of the Planet Corps (Basically a combination of the army and police.), and the Cosmos Guard (Coast Guard in space).

History
The Korohu came into being during a spike in Waiariki’s volcanic activity. They were nomads for thousands of years, wandering from place to place, avoiding areas of more intense volcanic activity. As the planet started to settle down again, so did the Korohu. They began building villages in less active areas, and out of those villages rose cities, and out of those cities rose nations. The ancient aliens’ first visit occurred before there were cities, while korohu civilization was young. They would come down into the atmosphere, fly around for a few hours, then leave. The Korohu were awe inspired, and worshipped the visitors, eventually forming an entire religion based around them. As time went on, the visitors started coming less and less, until they stopped coming altogether. By this time, the Korohu were in the equivalent of humans’ atomic era. Many nations dedicated their resources to the invention and production of spacecraft so they could travel to the planet of Atua Wahi, where the visitors had come from. The first successful trip to Atua Wahi lead to the discovery of many abandoned cities, as well as several strange, very advanced machines…warpgates.

Homeworld
The homeworld of the Korohu species is Waiariki, the largest of three moons of the gas planet Tupuhi(Upsilon Andromedae d), which itself orbits the twin stars Marama(Upsilon Andromedae A) and Wera(Upsilon Andromedae B). The planet of Wairiki is very volcanically active, and its land surface is littered with geysers and sulfur pools. Slightly sulfuric oceans cover about 47 percent of Wairiki's surface. Due to the constant release of water vapor into the atmosphere and ever-flucuating temperatures, harsh storms are common on Waiariki.

Note: The binary star of Upsilon Andromedae and it's satellite planet, Upsilon Andromedae d, are completely real. The three moons of Upsilon Andromedae d, however, are fictional.

Colonies
Will add soon.