Faaraantecs

The Faaraantecs (fa-ran-teks) are a species of intelligent mammals from the cold, forested planet Aecbur. After obliterating another species, the Lyo, in a lengthy interplanetary war, the Faaraantecs have since become sworn pacifists, trying their best to avoid getting into conflict.

Biology
Faaraantecs, by the strictest of definitions, are canine creatures. They share certain physical traits with Terran wolves, having a coating of thick, dark grey fur, large ears and motion-sensitive front facing eyes. The most unique facet of Faaraantec biology, however, is their bone structure. The hind legs of a Faaraantec are around 3 times as large as their front legs, and have considerable power behind them that allow Faaraantecs to leap forward with incredible speed and cover large distances quickly. The paws on their hind legs are also much simpler compared to their front legs, which have finely attuned graspers that allow the Faaraantecs to manipulate objects. Faaraantecs that want to move slowly have to "creep" forward with their front and hind legs, essentially pulling themselves along the ground.

Beyond their strange physiology, Faaraantecs have no particularly odd features concerning their biology. Like most canine mammals, they have excellent hearing and highly attuned eyesight, which make it easy for them to spot prey among the dense forests of Aecbur. Though they are mostly carnivorous, the Faaraantecs were able to acclimate to an omnivorous diet as part of their rise to sentience.

Homeworld
Aecbur is a heavily forested world, covered in large patches of coniferous Kloinber trees. These trees appear to be the only species of large flora on the entire planet, having out-competed every other species of tree thanks to their rapid rate of growth and rock-solid bark. Since Kloinber trees are able to be grown in almost any environment, and make excellent low-cost building materials, they have since been transported and grown on countless other Coalition border worlds to be used by new colonies. Aecbur's global biome is similar to the tundra environments found on Earth. It is cold, but not too cold so as to prevent life from forming. Snow is commonplace throughout the entire planet, and many smaller bodies of water towards the north and south poles are permanently frozen over. Aecbur has oceans, though they are somewhat small compared to those found on Earth. There is not a single land mass on the entire planet that is not covered in a forest of Kloinber trees, even islands possess them.

Aecbur became much less forested following centuries of industrialization by the Faaraantecs. In order to make room for their cities and farms, large portions of the Kloinber forests had to be cut down. Since they reproduce so quickly, these holes in the forests usually didn't last for long. As a result, most of the facilities on the planet are completely enveloped in forest, making road construction and cross-city travel very difficult.

After their war with the Lyo was complete, the Faaraantecs were quick to clean up the environmental damage caused both by enemy bombardment, and by their own exploitation of the environment during the war. Craters were filled in, huge siege shells were collected and disposed of. Even some of the radioactive fallout created by nuclear weapons used in the war was forcibly dispersed through the efforts of the Faaraantecs. Though Aecbur was never truly restored to the state it originally was in, its ecosystems have, for the most part, been brought back to their original strength.

Psychology
One of the most important factors that shaped late Faaraantec development was their war with a species living a neighboring planet in their system, the Lyo. Ever since their late industrial period, the Faaraantecs had been keenly aware of the existence of the Lyo, but beyond that, they knew nothing. Even though both races eventually gained the ability to contact each other, they chose to remain silent, which only helped to build tensions between the two species. That all changed when the Lyo launched their first space probe to the far reaches of their solar system. The Faaraantecs, upon detecting the launch, believed the Lyo were in fact testing some sort of interplanetary artillery that they would eventually use against the Faaraantecs. They immediately directed all of their available resources towards building interplanetary artillery of their own, and eventually constructed a working cannon that they fired towards the Lyo homeworld of Thradge. After about a month of travel, the shot impacted the planet, indicating to the Lyo that the Faaraantecs were in fact hostile and prompting them to build artillery of their own. What followed was over 50 years of back and forth interplanetary shelling, with both sides trying to build more powerful cannons to destroy the other with. Though neither race ever gained much of an advantage, the Faaraantecs were eventually able to end the war with the use of a special warhead that thinned the entire atmosphere of Thradge to the point where the planet surface was cooked by the rays of their star, and the entire Lyo civilization along with it.

The Faaraantecs eventually sent probes to Thradge to see if their experimental weapon had worked. The astonishing amount of destruction they saw shocked the entire species, making them immediately regret using it. The truth was that the Faaraantecs had never had any personnel grudge against the Lyo, and were actually very amiable creatures. They had just reacted to what they perceived as a threat and continued to shell the Lyo for fear of being destroyed themselves. The realization that the Faaraantecs were the original cause of the war made their entire race take a solemn vow to never perform any acts of aggression towards another species again. They completely changed their ways, cleaning up their planet and removing as many artifacts of their war-torn past as they could. The Faaraantecs became dedicated, laid-back pacifists, and they would continue this way of life for the rest of their foreseeable history.

The Coalition, likewise, has become very interested in old Faaraantec history, and has expended a great deal of resources in attempting to dig up portions of this lost history. The Faaraantecs, in their attempt to transition into a new lifestyle, forcibly removed many parts of their society that reminded them of their old ways of life, much to the dismay of Coalition xenohistorians. It is suspected that, before fighting against the Lyo, the Faaraantecs were a proud and nationalistic race, albeit very paranoid. These traits left their cultural dynamic after the war, paving the way for the calmer, more peaceful Faaraantecs known to the Coalition. At the request of the Coalition, the Faaraantecs have reluctantly turned some of their ancient interplanetary cannons into museums for people to learn more about their ancient history.

Despite what many people may think, the Faaraantecs managed to integrate into Coalition society extremely well. No longer afflicted by xenophobia, they were quick to join the Coalition and receive the benefits of doing so. This was before the Coalition had engaged in any major wars with other species, so the Faaraantecs had expected them to be a peaceful institution. When the Coalition intervened in the Zoxian-Syluxian War, the Faaraantecs began to have second thoughts about joining them, but they weighed their options and decided to stay. Over time, the Faaraantecs began to doubt the Coalition's motives based on their overzealous military prescence and unforgiving policies towards non-incorporated species. This is what ultimately led to them disbanding from the Coalition and joining the Kiracian Commonwealth when the Galactic Revolution began, even though they were still betraying their ancient moral codes of extreme pacifism.