Roin'esh

Characteristics

The Roin’esh are one of the few remaining client species in the Malvan “Empire.” They’re a humanoid species with brownish-grey skin, small eyes, short, fine hair on their heads and backs, and a series of distinctive vertical furrows on their foreheads. But appearances can be deceiving — the Roin’esh are natural shapeshifters and can look like virtually any sort of humanoid you can imagine (some can even flawlessly imitate another individual, though not down to the cellular level). A few are even more powerful, with complete mastery over their forms. They can turn into animals, objects, and sometimes even raw substances (like water or fire), not just humanoids. This is why the Malvans keep them enslaved; they consider the Roin’esh’s powers endlessly entertaining in many ways.

Connection to the Malvans

As of the Earth year 2011, the Malvan “Empire” consists primarily of Malva and about a dozen star systems near it, most of whom have extensive Malvan colonies that are hundreds of thousands of years old. Only two client species — the Roin’esh and the nearly extinct Thrull — still consider themselves a part of the Empire (the Thrull out of apathy; the Roin’esh reluctantly).

The Roin’esh, for their part, bitterly resent having to serve the Malvans; they want to chart their own course in the Galaxy and found their own empire (something they’re convinced they could easily do). For decades they’ve been spying on the Malvans as best they can, hoping for a chance to strike a decisive blow and earn their freedom. Whether the Malvans are aware of this and are simply toying with their slaves for the sake of amusement, or genuinely aren’t paying attention, remains to be seen.

Despite the fact that they have no need of it, the Malvans still permit slavery. Slavery was common hundreds of thousands of years ago on Malva, and has never entirely died out, though it’s much rarer today than at any point in the past. Some Malvans simply prefer to have some tasks performed for them by a living being rather than a robot.

Slaves are typically acquired for the Malvans by bounty hunters, though some people volunteer to become slaves for the chance to live on Malva. A slave market is held every month at the City- Palace, and less frequently in some other locations. As unique beings, slaves are valuable economic commodities, the subject of much bartering and dickering. Roin’esh slaves are particularly desired by many Malvans, since they find their shapechanging powers amusing.

Place of Origins

The Roin’esh homeworld is called Taroindar. It’s a borderline terrestrial world with harsh climatic conditions that make life difficult (which may be why the Roin’esh evolved shapeshifting abilities). Many Roin’esh cultures were once characterized by a nomadic lifestyle so they didn’t overuse scarce resources, which often led to fierce competition for valuable territory. Today most Roin’esh live in cities, the harshness of their environment ameliorated by their own and Malvan technology.