Shrey

History
Shrey is the largest planet in the Zhen cluster, and the hottest due to its relatively close proximity to its star. The landscape is covered by gigantic fungal-forests intermixed with brackish swamps. The sentients who exist on this planet have erected massive tunnel cities beneath the dryer regions of their planet. "Shreyens" travel in high speed waterways that cover the entirety of their underground territories. Energy is harvested from artificial bioluminescent sacs, clone-grown in labs. Very rarely will a Shreyan venture up to the surface of her planet, save for a once in a lifetime pilgrimage. The surface is covered by very dangerous predators, most of which have adapted perfectly to dominate their hunting grounds. The Shreyen monopolize the "tunnel-fish" industry, selling this high-demand luxury delicacy across the clusters. Tunnel-fish are only found in the Shrey underwater passages that wind beneath the planet.

Shreyen's are the remnants of an ancient servant race, long estranged from their former masters. They are a robust people, standing on four legs. Their arms extend to the ground before them, and aid in expedient locomotion. Their features have been described as the hybrid between a humanoid and a spider-crab. They are generally wary of out of system visitors, and more than one ill communicating diplomat has disappeared from their fungal-forest floors. Almost all attempts to recover a trace of said lost individual has ended in failure or tragedy as a result of the planet's predators. It's almost as if the trespassers were never there at all; a mystery that has confounded intergalactic authorities for decades.

Shreyan's live in a theocratic society governed by a high priestess. Sheyens commune on a daily basis with an omnipresent deity (Shalaem), reachable only through meditation. The culture is separated by clan villages, which are essentially commune sectors within the cities. Every clan has a spokesperson, who meets with the other clan-members to discern the will of Shreyen in times of conflict. They serve as consulars to the intermediate who is the high priestess; her word is absolute. In recent times, these clans have begun to splinter; new clans are forming rapidly with differing sentiments than their elders.

Some speculate that it was originally the Shreyen who revolutionized bio-spacecraft, even though it was the parent-world (Zhen) in the cluster, who mastered this technology (at least on a mass production scale). Out of cluster colonization has recently become a priority of the Shreyen people, due to the fruition of one of their age old prophecies. They anticipate the cluster's way of life to end abruptly, and 22% of the population has left their home planet in hopes of fulfilling their peoples destiny. And nearly 40% of the population expresses that they will leave in exodus from their planet before their deaths. Most of these spiritual refugees have ended up on Aundit, beginning to tunnel into some of the lower depths of the factory ruins. The extent of their discoveries, is at this time, unknown.

For those clans who have chosen to remain on the planet, trade has become a primary focus. Shrey has a massive export economy; some of the natural wares from this planet fetch an impressive prices on an exotic market. Shreyfer is a narcotic plant found naturally in the brackish surface waters of Shrey. Cultivated beneath ground, this water-weed is utilized for its entheogenic properties by the Shreyans. Out of cluster it has maintained popularity as a recreational substance. It has yet to be decriminalized anywhere in the clusters (including Shrey).

Moon(s): Brindle & Xan (both inhospitable)

Imports: Construction & Mining equipment

Exports: Ore, Spices, (illicit) Shreyfer, Tunnel-fish