Sev'laya

The Sev'layas (//, singular "Sev'laya") were the native sentient species of Keliso. They were well known throughout the Golden Empire for their bestial appearance, creativity, and fierce loyalty to the Empire.

Biology and appearance
Sev'layas had a centaurish appearance, with hairy lower torsos and four legs which ended in apelike feet which could grasp objects as easily as their hands. This, combined with their strength, allowed them to climb very easily. Their bodies had skin which ranged in color from dull orange to waxy yellow, and they had thick hair in clumps on their bodies, including armpits, elbows, chests, and the backs of their hands.

Sev'laya males tended to be well-muscled and strong, with broad builds; female Sev'layas were somewhat weaker, although their builds were just as full. Female Sev'layas had four breasts.

Sev'layas gave birth to live young, and broods anywhere between one and three were considered common.

Society and culture
Due to their climbing ability, the Sev'layas had built a society which functioned as easily vertically as it did horizontally. Sev'laya buildings were often constructed to multiple stories, with ropes or cables suspended from the roofs. It was common to see doors opening to empty air on second or third stories, with only a cable dangling nearby. The Sev'layas also built structures into cliff walls and gorges. Allegedly as a consequence of their unusual approach to movement and construction, the Sev'layas were regarded by many other species as being open-minded and creative in the face of obstacles.

Most Sev'layas made no attempt to shave their hair. Indeed, a flowing and luxuriant beard was seen as a sign of power and manliness among Sev'laya males, while a wispy or patchy beard was a symbol of weakness or impotence.

Each Sev'laya nation was ruled by a hereditary prince or princess, with varying degrees of real power; in some they reigned as monarchs, while in others they were mostly figureheads at the command of legislatures. The ruler of each nation would elect one of their number to be Prince Regnant of Keliso; the Prince Regnant had the power to adjudicate disputes between nations and condone military action against a rogue people. Over time, this, too, became a mostly ceremonial post, although the Prince Regnant still had substantial, little-used power.

Sev'laya families were viewed in three stages – youth, adulthood, and old age. Youths were expected to learn from their elders, who were generally relieved of societal duties. The elderly, in turn, mentored their young relations and kept house for their children. The adults, meanwhile, handled the business of society. As a consequence, Sev'layas were often closer with their grandchildren than with their children.

As Sev'laysa aged, they were expected to relinquish work responsibilities and civic duty in favor of the rising generation of adults. Sev'layas who continued to have active lives, other than the regional and Regnant royals, were viewed with some suspicion and disapproval.

History
The Sev'layas evolved as a gregarious people, with tightly-knit familial groups banding together for mutual protection from predators. Their societies first evolved in forests, where the Sev'layas could flourish as well in the trees as they could on the ground, and could confound predators unique to one element.

As time wore on, the Sev'layas built cities, though they retained their fondness for structures going up and down as well as lengthwise. As war and strategy advanced, Sev'laya cities were designed as labyrinths, with only their native occupants able to easily understand anything. The Palace of the Prince Regnant, originally designed as a fortress, was said to be so complex that only someone born in it would ever understand it, and then only upon his deathbed. Treason became an essential part of warfare, and rich prizes were offered to Sev'layas who could act as guides to invading armies while hideous penalties were prescribed for traitors.

Some time in the centuries between 503 BBY and 95 ABY, the Iscali of Iscandar discovered Keliso and made contact with the Sev'layas. Though Sev'laya technology had evolved to the digital age, the Sev'layas nontheless embraced the new technology of the Iscali and established a trading relationship with the Iscali themselves and with the other society they had contacted, the Vuuls of Yin. Sev'laya governments attempted to control the importation of high-technology Iscali weaponry, aided by the Iscali and undermined by many of their own people.

In 95 ABY, Rin Sakaros and the Golden Empire arrived on Keliso, having already recruited Iscandar and the Iscali colony world of Tershin. The Sev'layas again embraced change, and the Prince Regnant submitted to the Queen. The Sev'layas were particularly intrigued by the Force, of which they had no previous knowledge, and idolized Rin, her brother Tariun, and her apprentice Keltrayu. Keltrayu himself was fond of the Sev'layas and their homeworld.

Many Sev'layas volunteered to serve in the Glorious Armada of the Golden Empire, and many fought in the Great Liberation. When Keltrayu was killed at the Battle of Tizgo V, the Sev'layas mourned him, and when Rin discussed the idea of building a monument to him on Keliso, the Prince Regnant immediately surrendered land from his own private holdings for the purpose. The Sev'layas joined the Massassi in building Keltrayu's Tomb, and its presence on Keliso was a source of great pride to the species.

In the galaxy
The Sev'layas were widely known as supporters of the Golden Empire, and had a particular and reciprocated fondness for Centurions of the Order of Keltrayu. The Centurion Cora Convarion, one of the Shest Minor Seven, was a Sev'laya, and her death was lamented throughout Keliso with an entire year of public mourning.

Appearances

 * "It Takes Only One"