Twerfung

The Twerfungs (//, singular "Twerfung") were a species of s indigenous to the world of Korzen.

Biology and appearance
Twerfungs had blue-gray skin and hair in shades of yellow, from bright sunshine to deep goldenrod. Despite this, they were more immediately distinguishable by their compact heads. A Twerfung's head was roughly half the height of a 's. Twerfungs' brains were located in their upper chests; as a result, their faces held only mouths and eyes, which were roughly the size of their Human equivalents. However, Twerfung eyes were on short stalks with projected a few centimeters forward from their faces, rather than being protected in eye sockets. The eye stalks could rotate slightly and independently, allowing Twerfungs to broaden their uniocular fields of vision while reducing binocular vision. However, the eye stalks were not as mobile as those of or Heshoos. Twerfungs did not have Human-like noses, but flaps on the sides of their necks (three on each side) which vaguely resembled gills, through while they inhaled and exhaled. They could also inhale through their mouths.

Because their brains were located along with heart and lungs in the chest cavity, Twerfung had larger and more expansive sternums than Humans, and correspondingly shorter upper ribs. Their lungs were slightly smaller relative to other humanoids, and a healthy breathing rate for a Twerfung was faster than that of a Human.

Twerfungs reproduced sexually, and females carried their young for roughly eight standard months before giving birth. Twerfungs reached physical maturity around twenty standard years.

Society and culture
Perhaps as an evolutionary holdover from their ancestors' time as prey, the Twerfungs preferred designs in their personal spaces to be complementary, with all elements fitting well with one another. Twerfungs who thrived in chaos or situations involving numerous stimuli were sometimes viewed as oddities by their fellows, although their ability to perceive slightly larger fields of vision than Humans accurately made them good soldiers and pilots if they could learn to process it all.

Like more conventionally-eyed humanoids, among Twerfungs, focusing both eyes directly on a subject signified full attention and interest.

Twerfung all had three names, which were hyphenated when written in or. The first was inherited from the male parent, the second from the female parent, and the third was a personal name. As an example, Chom-Res-Suub and Lith-Tar-Thim were the parents of the Centurion Res-Tar-Khad; the matronym was the one passed on. Consequently, all full siblings shared two out of three names; Res-Tar-Khad's sister was Res-Tar-Shey.

History
The Twerfungs evolved from omnivorous scavengers and minor predators on Korzen, and their biologists believed the species' distinctive eyes evolved to help them better process threats. Similarly, evolutionary lines which featured brains inside the skull and larger heads died off, largely due to predation by species which struck from the trees in the Twerfungs' ancestors' swamp and forest habitats; a brain in the chest cavity and a smaller head presented a smaller target, and resulted in less damage if the head was struck.

When the Tetrarchy of Mezlagob arrived centuries before the, the Twerfungs were in the midst of a second industrial era and still divided among many nations. Unified under the Tetrarchy's dominion, Korzen was initially brought into the fold as a vassal world, but eventually promoted to full membership in the Tetrarchy. Some Twerfungs who could stomach the onslaught of information served in the Tetrarchy military. The species was largely loyalist during the Great Liberation, but most accepted the reality of defeat after the Capture of the Vall`to sector, and Korzen surrendered without a fight.

In the galaxy
Most Twerfungs who found excessive stimulation taxing preferred to stay on Korzen, or, if they relocated, moved to worlds with similarly temperate approaches to life. Those Twerfungs who thrived on stimulation often excelled in the Glorious Armada of the Golden Empire; Eis-Phob-Noor was a Twerfung ace of the Royal Starfighter Corps and a recipient of the Hero of the Golden Empire. The Twerfung Res-Tar-Khad was a Centurion who served as a Royal Guard to Tariun Sakaros.