Ordoht
A diverse collection of amphibious beings who harbor a near compulsive obsession to study and exploit the world, and people, around them
Biology
The Ordoht aren't really a singular species. They're a collection of sexually compatible specimens which all developed sapience around the same time. Basically like if humans (homo sapiens) shared the earth with neanderthals, habilis, erectus, naledi, etc., and didn't kill each other or lose their speciation.
Morphology
The Ordoht are vastly amphibious, capable of living on both land and in water (and requiring some degree of both for comfortable habitation). In appearance, most have frog-like or salamander-like features. Their skin colors have a vast range but most remain in hues of blue, green, or purple. Though red, yellow, and orange are not rare. Ordoht skin is usually mottled or dappled, but some have lighter pigmentation on their ventral side. One unifying feature across all Ordoht is the presence of a "third eye", which in reality is a primitive pigmented light-sensing spot located on their forehead. Some Ordoht have a fourth and fifth eye located above their primary eyes.
Most Ordoht have a human-like visage with a flat face and lack of snout. Some, particularly the salamander-resembling species, do have snouts and protruding faces. The head of an Ordoht typically has some sort of adornment, whether tentacled, crested, finned, or haired.
Ordoht spawn in large groups, but most do not reach adulthood either due to illness, or in nature, predation. Regardless, Ordoht communally raise their young. The concept of parentage does not really exist, as spawning pools generally make identifying one’s young impossible.
Ordoht are dichogamous. They are born as either sex, and can develop into the opposite sex later in life, typically in response to changes in populations of either sex, though Ordoht medicine has developed to the point where Ordoht can experience the transition after a minor battery of pharmaceuticals.
Some Ordoht skin is coated in poison. This poison, while not typically lethal unless someone has an allergy to it, is quite painful and disgusting to ingest.
Ordoht have two stomachs. The first is dedicated to digesting fibrous or starchy food, and the second breaks down everything else.
Diet
Most Ordoht are herbivorous. They will readily eat eggs or other animal byproducts, but their digestive system is not designed to process meat directly. They have a strong distaste for it and will often be made sick by consuming it. They are capable of processing cellulose directly, meaning they can eat grass and leaves without issue, but they prefer starchy vegetables, nuts, tubers, or fruits.
History
Millenia ago, the Somnolant sealed themselves away in vast trans-dimensional vaults. These ancient bio-computers are partially housed in extra-dimensional pockets, offering a vast amount of computational power to house the billions of virtualized consciousnesses that make up what’s left of the species that once called themselves the Ordoht.
Arising on a warm swamp world, the Ordoht were a semi-aquatic culture representing a vast number of diverse species. Shunning artificial intelligence, the Ordoht grew complex bio-computers to control their vast industries and infrastructure. After centuries of technological and biological innovation, the Ordoht soon built for themselves a society free from scarcity and strife.
But such an age wouldn’t last for long. With security came explosive population growth, and soon the Ordoht’s biological meddling would come to be their undoing. A von Neumann probe, developed as part of a larger effort to colonize systems beyond their own, malfunctioned and began to terraform the Ordoht homeworld. It began assimilating and repurposing the homeworld and its inhabitants into something completely unrecognizable, and notably, hostile.
The coming days were dark, with over 76% of the Ordoht’s population succumbing to the probe. Those that survived did so by relinquishing their material bodies and joining vast virtual bluespace networks sealed deep away in secret vaults where the probe and its pawns could not reach. There they would slumber for years, their virtual resonances endlessly entertained and sustained by simulations generated by the bio-computers that, in part, led to their demise. These individuals came to be referred to as the Somnolant by the Ordoht who shunned such drastic measures.
The remaining Ordoht fled on seed ships sent outwards from the Ordoht home system. Of the 13, only 3 would reach their destination, a world pre-seeded with a functional von Neumann probe. The rest would succumb to the probe’s minions, malfunction, or enemy action. From the ashes of a once prosperous people rose a new order. Their culture, retaining the name of their predecessors, carries on into the future as a player in the galactic community. Primarily dealing in biotechnology, the Ordoht have heavy sway in the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. It is speculated 48% of all produce grown in the Drift can trace its lineage back to Ordoht biotechs.
Modern Culture
Monarchy
Modern Ordoht society seems regressive by galactic standards. Most Ordoht live on one of three core planets known as the Three Kings. Each King is ruled by a Prime which form a triumvirate with the other two Primes. On their world, the Prime’s word is law. Primes organize their rule by delegating duties to Bishops. Bishops are rulers of groups of Ordoht Monasteries, which act as cities and towns. These groups could be considered nations or countries. Bishops are elected by the rulers of the Monasteries under their control known as Abbots or Abbesses. An Abbot is elected by the 14 eldest members of the monastery. At each level, a ruler has total control over their subjects. The monarchy is absolute.
Sociology
Life for an Ordoht typically involves the pursuit of a field of study. Most Ordoht have the luxury of picking their field of study, though an Abbot retains the right to pick specializations for their subjects. A field of study does not just include research, but also work and development. An Ordoht farmer, for example, not only studies their craft but also develops farms and works them. The lowest rung of Ordoht society is the homunculus. Homunculi are non-sapient organic constructs developed by the Ordoht to fulfill specific duties. They are completely organic machines and fulfill similar roles. Building on the previous example, a farmer Ordoht might employ a tractor homunculus to pull a plow made of sinew and claw. Outside of computational homunculi, homunculi are not believed to possess notable intelligence. Homunculi are less so genetically engineered beings and more true machines made out of organic parts. For the most part, when interacting with homunculi you wouldn't be aware that the machine is actually alive. Not until it bleeds or requests food.
Traditionally, Ordoht wear visage masks made of metal, plastic, wood, or resin. Each mask is typically tailored to the Ordoht wearing it and serves as both a form of identity and a badge of office. The mask of an office does not change unless it is physically destroyed or lost. When a new Ordoht assumes the position, they inherit the mask and moniker from its previous owner. The names of the three Primes have always been Odonah, Heshul, and Forsyno. When an Ordoht assumes a new identity, they undergo the rite of oblivion, which casts their previous identity from memory. They never remember who they were.
Two large concentrations of Ordoht study are in biology and physics, particularly with a focus on the manipulation of gravity. The first anti-gravity devices were of Ordoht design, and Ordoht typically employ gravity manipulation in their tools and technology.
Ordoht fashion is quite dated by human standards, appearing very similar to medieval or renaissance garb. Varied but muted colors, quilted fabrics, frilled collars, big floppy hats, etc. Casually they wear tunics or robes, but most will wear more complex designs as a symbol of status. The style is not limited to european designs and extends to designs reminiscent of african and asian design.