Sehk

The sehk are a non-spacefaring semiamphibious race. They live in small communal city-states. These city-states along with the Central Commune form the Unified Sehkan Community. The sehk are a religious, agrarian, environmentalist and simple people. They are the ancestors of the Gol Sehk.

Biology
The Sehk (Zetans) are a semiamphibious species that live on Old Zeta of the Zeta Reticuli star system. They are asexual and are born from "The Mother."

The Mother
The Leur (mother) is a large mass of flesh, similar in appearance to the bleeding tooth fungus. The original mother resides within a large watery cave. The outlying Sehk States have smaller, younger Mothers grown from cuttings from the original. The origin of The Mother is unknown, and a majority of citizens believe it was created by the gods, others believe it was engineered and introduced in an event similar to The Visitation, an even smaller amount believe it naturally developed. The Mother is seemingly asexual and does not require fertilization.

Average Citizen
Young sehk emerge from The Mother after an eight month gestation period. They begin life similar in appearance to very large tadpoles. Caretakers aid the young in their progression to maturity. This role mainly entails guarding the cave and watching over the young and maintaining their health and nutrition. It takes approximately 4 years to mature to physical adulthood. At this point, they stop growing, causing little difference in the appearance of adults and children. Adult sehk have grey skin ranging from light to dark. They have large angular eyes with very large pupils and no irises, instead they have a series of nictitating membranes to control how much light enters. They have flat noses with two nostrils and thin mouths often formed in a neutral ^ shape. They do not have teeth, instead having bony ridges similar to frogs. They are herbivores.

Lifestyle
The next 10 years of their lives are spent in schools, learning about communal roles, science, history, and life skills. At the age of 14 they begin a four year training period, giving a more hands on experience with communal roles, a chance to evaluate which communal role they want to uptake. At the age of 18 they decide their lifelong communal role. Adults can apply for a communal role switch every 5 years. There are two main groups of communal roles, religious roles and labor roles.

Labor Roles
The labor roles are most common within the communities, and are not limited. Farmers tend to crops, mainly the nutrient rich mosses that make up most of the sehk diet. Scribes record historical and religious text. Couriers carry messages/packages between city states and members of the USC. Builders and architects design and build buildings, primarily made out of a material similar to adobe. Doctors treat illnesses and wounds within their city state, although there are a few extremely skilled travelling doctors. Artisans create tools, clothing, and artistic works. Lastly, are the miners. They dig up metals. Members of the laboring classes are elected to speak with the Mother's Appointed.

Religious Roles
At the lowest level are the Followers of Mother. They reside within their local lowest chamber, and study sehk history, science, and sehk religion for a minimum of six years before permanently joining the Devout-Disciples of Mother. The Devout-Disciples of Mother research history and science. Unlike the Followers of Mother, the Devout-Disciples of Mother are devoted to discovering new information. They preform experiments and actively question older beliefs. The Mother's Appointed are a group of 5 Devout-Disciples (one from each city state.) They meet every six months to discuss the well being of the USC and discuss roles and societal structure.