Xtal

Xtal has a slender, athletic taur body with a long, thing tail. Their feet have 3 large claws, while their hands have 5 fingers. They have a round head with a small mouth, atop a long, thin neck. They have red eyes, and teal/emerald skin.

As a Qereren, Xtal has sharp crystalline growths protruding from parts of their body. Theirs specifically are located on their tail, the sides of their legs, their cheeks, and the front and back of their head.

Xtal was born on Qaliodeo-δ, a planet whose surface landscape consists only of vast frozen plains, and whose inhabitants thrive underground.

Qereren societies have rigid hierarchies. They have no concept of blood families; rather, an individual belongs to a clan or a guild based on their skills and community contribution.

In their early childhood, Xtal was thus removed from their biological parents' care, and placed under that of a warrior guild. There, they rapidly became a proficient spear wielder; but they still felt lonely. Being a sensitive individual, they quickly learned to hide their feelings in a society that deems laughter to be an offensive display of expression, among other things.

The Federation has already long established commercial relationships with Qaliodeo-δ, regarding rare mineral resources emerging from the planet's delicate geothermal balance. But around Xtal's late 20s, the Federation pushed for new, aggressive deals, claiming unreasonable shares.

The Qalio government rejected all compromise, and the Federation withdrew... before returning after a mysterious wave of "incidents" that halted all mining activities, putting countless worker guilds at risk.

Though the treachery was obvious to all, the Qalio government had no solid proof to rely upon, and no amount of it would've sufficed to sue the Federation in any capacity anyway. Defeated, they could only accept the Federation's new deals, lest the worker guilds would have certainly starved.

The entire population became poorer. Xtal's lifestyle went from humble to straight up miserable. For many years, they wondered why no one had protested against the Federation. Surely, a general strike would've had some effect. But Xtal could only conclude their society's values, which promoted restraint above all, was the actual obstacle that prevented their peers from yelling, rioting, and reclaiming their lost dignity.

Xtal promptly left their peers, disheartened by the ease with which they accepted their new life. Becoming a mercenary, they participated to various small-scale operations against the Federation, before being hired by Winter.

Xtal is today, along with Hinguru and Luz, one of Winter's closest friends and subordinates, as a member of SINKO. As part of their objective to bring down the Federation, they're hoping to restore their homeland's honor, and prove to its citizens one can, and in fast must rebel against injustice.

Qereren crystals grow slowly, but continuously; they must be regularly shaved down, cut and/or sharpened. They also have a sensory function, allowing one to perceive subtle vibrations and pressure changes.

Qereren forelegs have unique knee and heel joints that can bend in both directions, enabling one to use them as arms or legs equally.

Xtal borrows their shortened name from track #1 of Aphex Twin's debut studio album, Selected Ambient Works 85–92.