Rixin (Steryxin)

Rixin, a saurian species descended from Deinonychus raptors, were artificially introduced to their home planet long ago by the Alfar during an early stage of the Alfar's own spacefaring civilization. This fact was only discovered by modern-day Alfarian archaeologists after extensive research. While the motivations behind transplanting the Rixin's distant ancestors can only be speculated upon—whether altruistic or purely scientific—the undeniable fact is that these raptors originated from the planet later known as Terra, millions of years in the past.

Despite the impossibility of determining a precise timeline, this intervention effectively sheltered the creatures that would evolve into the Rixin from the extinction event on Terra, which occurred within a few thousand years of their removal. Freed from the constraints of their original world, the Rixin evolved undisturbed on their new home for tens of millions of years, eventually becoming a spacefaring civilization and spreading across the stars.

Valuing independence foremost, Rixin also prioritize the betterment of their clans. Inter-clan conflicts are frequent but typically manifest as social and political tensions rather than open warfare. Political maneuvering, covert character assassination, and strategic subterfuge are preferred over lethal methods that might lead to retaliatory carnage and the eradication of entire clans.

The seemingly cutthroat nature of Rixin socialization has led outsiders to stereotype them as untrustworthy. In response, members of this species assert that they can be trusted to exhaust every option short of resorting to violence, which they see as a personal failure to outmaneuver an opponent. Death, the definitive end to any relationship, is considered a last, desperate resort, as a corpse is a finite source of wealth compared to the possibilities presented by a person provoked with the proper motivations. Rixin prioritize the acquisition of important information and social influence, understanding that whispered words can be leveraged for greater potential, security, and prosperity than any specific material resource: a hull full of gold weighs nothing compared to a clandestine affair threatening to be leaked.

In their focus on knowledge and information, Rixin have developed a unique cultural approach to hero worship. They revere individuals, both living and deceased, whose actions and impacts have proven exemplary for their species, not only in success but also in failures. Rixin believe that all can learn from and aspire to emulate great deeds; however, it is just as (if not, arguably, more) important to learn from the missteps of others, so as to not repeat them - and in doing so, become similarly immortalized as an idolatrized fuck-up.