Zithir (Quental view)

(The creatures I'm writing about belong in he same world as the planets cryolith, Behemoth, Cauldron, etc., hopefully for a future mod.  To make things a bit more interesting, I'll try and describe the three species involved from each other's point of view, although the "Human" perspective will be the most basic.)

First Sights

Our scouts had a hard time spotting the Zithir, but what they saw did not look too challenging.  The Zithir were small, and fragile when attacked, but always seemed to dodge attacks and avoid scouting parties.  The Zithir also learned very quickly to tell when our scouts wanted ot fight, and when they did not, even before we had spotted them.

Further contact with the Zithir convinced our scouts that the Zithir were thinking, and over time we discovered ways of communicating with them.  Many Zithir were angry over our scout's attacks on their own scouting groups, but more peaceful contact was established with them.

The Zithir, at first glance, are greyish to dark colored creatures,shaped like grunts or some laborers, but much thinner.  Their heads have large lobes, and several tentacles, which we have learned are used for their psychic abilities.

Mental Abilities

The strangest abilities of the Zithir, not seen in any other creature in this system, are the abilities to see into the past and future, and to sense emotions of nearby creatures.  With these abilities, the Zithir can sense incoming dangers, coordinate smaller groups in a way not seen anywhere else, and talk to others from the past.  Everything the Zithir do relies on these abilities.

Dominance

Zithir do not use dominance pheromones in the way we do.  Instead, the ability to read emotions allows small Zithir to work together without any need to know who has dominance over who, and these can shift from time to time.  In larger Zithir groups, some members appear more respected than others, and a few are considered far inferior, but Zithir do not attempt to determine everyone's place in relation to each other outside these special ones.  Many decisions are still made by sharing thoughts and emotions, usually during special large gatherings where they can focus their mind reading abilities.

As far as we can tell, Zithir defer to members of their society known as "archivists" and "prophets".  Archivists maintain records of previous Zithir events, and communicate regularly with Zithir from the past on present issues.  Prophets are unusually skilled at sensing the future, and Zithir turn to them to see how different decisions will turn out.  Most major decisions Zithir groups make are influenced by at least one of these, and/or communing, to choose a course of action.

Far inferior to other Zithir are the "unconnected ones", Zithir who have lost their mental abilities.  The position of these Zithir within their societies shocked the Quental who saw them, as the unconnected ones are not merely seen as less dominant, but are often cut off from the rest of Zithir society, with only some family support given, and no change to perform some roles and show themselves to be useful again.  Zithir who have encountered the unconnected ones describe the constant fear and uncertainly experienced by those who loose their abilities, and it seems that other Zithir avoid these unconnecteds to escape these constant and strong emotions.  The revulsion and desire to avoid the unconnects is sensed by other Zithir, and spreads throughout their society.

Building and Production

Zithir building and production relies heavily on their mental abilities, and on their prophets and archives.  For smaller scale production, craftsman rely on archives and shared information to learn their roles.  To try something new, craftsman must rely on trial and error, using their ability to sense the future to test possibilities, and using trial and error on the ones that seem workable.  For larger projects, the Zithir rely on prophets to sense farther into the future.

Zithir cannot modify their bodies to better perform tasks, and the bodies they have are very fragile and heal poorly, so they must use unusual tools and techniques to do physical work.   To avoid injuries, Zithir laborers must excercise for a long time before working, and must use their future sensing abilities to avoid accidents.

Conflict

Zithir do not fight often, but when they do, they are highly destructive.  Feelings of hatred and anger during a war spread rapidly through their society, and the desire for violence overwhelms other thoughts that might slow Zithir soldiers down.  The Zithir do not merely kill soldiers, but in most wars, attack nonsoldiers as well, and many settlements have been utterly destroyed by Zithir attackers.  Of our own forces win battles against Zithir, they continue to fight for a long time, and only when highly demoralized will accept a loss to the Quental who fought them.

Zithir soldiers are highly fragile, even with strength training, but they are excellent at avoiding attacks and striking weak spots due to their ability to sense the future.  Our own soldiers often are greatly frustrated at the inability to hit Zithir, but once a hit occurs, the Zithir falls hard.  Zithir also can sense and target leaders, or more dominant soldiers, in combat, further disrupting enemy armies.