Fractal

The Fractals, or the  ᚓᚍᚑᚁ ᚃᚏᚕ    (lit. earth-born) in their native tongue, are a gemstone-like race of beings that formerly resided on Bota Magna. They trace their beginnings to the Earth and Rock Agori Tribes of the original Spherus Magna and have since returned to their reformed home planet.

Early History
The Fractals' ancestors were the Earth and Rock Agori that intermarried between each other to form a so-called Cave Tribe. Though more or less tolerated by the two original populations, the burgeoning population of the new Tribe began to swell and the Cave Agori found themselves more comfortable in a place they could call their own home. As they grouped together, they became more and more independant from their former masters, the Elemental Lords of Earth and Rock.

The Cave Agori most likely would have settled down in the mountains north of the area called Gatherer's Ridge on Bara Magna had the Great Shattering not torn apart the planet. Though the they holed themselves up in whatever mountain crevice they could find to avoid the War, many perished anyways due to the Shattering itself. Those who remained were stranded on Bota Magna where they would retreat deep underground, fearful of the surface-roamers' doings.

Biology and Anatomy
The Fractals, though having evolved from Agori, have no organic tissue at all due to their mutation. In place of muscles, skin, and organs, gems make up the entirety of their inner body. They have a few mechanical parts left from the Agori ancestors, mostly gears or sockets at their joints. A rising trend are implants. Some Fractal warrior have elected to graft armor plating, often to their lower legs or shoulders.

Over the many millenia, the Fractals have grown in height. Early Fractal records seem to note that the early Cave Agori struggled to reach the top of caves, and were often injured in cave-ins after failing to secure the ceiling. The modern earth-born averages about 1.4 bio, slightly shorter than a Toa.

Another curious attribute is the Fractals’ general lack of sexual dimorphism. Although the Cave Agori, of course, were entirely capable of sexual procreation, the Fractals are not. Genders as other races understand it do not truly apply to the Fractals, though they do identify themselves as one of two sexes. “Male” and “female” Fractals are rather similar to each other. Both are fairly slender, with stockier lower legs. A Fractal’s body is many times more dense than an organic being’s, so their smaller frame allows them to better withstand the higher pressures, minimizing the surface area of body that is in contact to the heavy atmosphere. Height between the two gender is also rather similar, the “males” about 0.1-0.2 bio taller. Luckily, radically different hairstyles allow the average surface-roamer differentiate between Fractals.

Fractals, being entirely made of crystal, do not have hair or fur in the sense some Bota Magnan or Mata Nui species did. However, crystal sheets do grow on top of their head and are extraordinairly easy to shear and shape. Though worthless to the earth-born, as they are not considered living gems, they are treated semi-valuable gemstones by other races. These “growstals”, as traders have nicknamed them, grow about an inch every year.

Coming back to the point of procreation, the Fractals do not truly reproduce, as they do not have any sort of DNA. Instead, genetic material and patterns are stored in the minute differences in an individual’s Fractal’s crystal habit (the general shape of a single gem in a Fractal), cleavage (how a Fractal breaks apart), and crystal matrix (how a Fractal’s gems are arranged). For a young Fractal to come into being, two Fractals must break. One small crystal is taken from each, powdered, and then, depending on the original crystals, are taken to one of three incubation chambers. For harder gems, the “dust” is put inside a lava press. For gems of middling hardness, they are also taken to the lava press, but are removed soon after and are placed under a salt spring. For those of low hardness, they are immediately taken to the salt springs. The third location is for the three aestivating Fractals. All three are taken to the lava press, removed shortly thereafter, and then buried in an icy cave. These processes can take anywhere from a few years to a few decades.

Traits
Fractals have a few unique abilties, their near-immortality being the most widely researched by the other races. They are unable to wear Kanohi and while certain Fractals are able to generate electricity and liquid metals, and a very select few can even control heat, these are not elemental powers and Fractals cannot use elemental energies.
 * Pseudo-immortality: Their ability to theoretically live forever is what defines the Fractal. Though a Fractal may break, so long as enough of its crystal fragments are recovered, they can be carefully pieced back together.
 * Mineral hardness: A gem's hardness directly translates to the overall physical strength of a Fractal. While even the weakest Fractal is as physically strong as a Glatorian, those with a mineral hardness of 8 or over are often as strong as a titan or even two.
 * Mineral attributes: Depending on what sort of gem a Fractal is made of, they will generally take on some of that gem's physical properties. The Kyanir and Synna, are prime examples of this. As Kyanite can have different hardness when cut either horizontally or vertically, the Kyanir and also change their hardness depending how they are put together. Cinnabar produces mercury, and so can the Synna. Negative attributes, such as poor heat retention or susceptibility to acids, also come to the forefront.
 * Refractory Night Vision: Despite not having mechanical eyes, Fractals have near-perfect night vision. This in itself is a bit of an anomaly as subterranean creatures are often blind. The only explanation for their incredible eyesight is the energized protodermis that mutated them; No other organism shares this independantly developed optic system. As a Fractal's eye is a giant, spherical prism, light will bounce many times within before the image is finally processed, despite having no rods or cones. This refractory eyesight, however, does have a shortcoming. While seeing objects at a distance has no problems, close-up objects end up getting mirrored due to their optic system. This explains why, for example, a sign in the Fractal language is read left to right, but any small text is read right to left.
 * Electricity Generation: Two of the Quarzen subspecies are able to periodically generate mild to strong electric jolts, typically around 100 to 450 volts.
 * Thermokinesis: The third form of Quarzen, the Citrees, are born with the ability to radiate constant heat. Very, very rarely, they are able to directly control this heat with their thoughts.
 * Poison Generation: Two subspecies of Fractals produce poison, each making a different kind. Malacytes create copper sulfate, while Synnas secrete mercury.

General Tendencies
The Fractal tend to join together in communities number between one to three hundred. There is an estimated twenty-five of these villages, with one shrine-village serving as an unofficial capital. The Fractal are a mostly agrarian society, in surface-roamer terms. Though they do not

Enemies and Predators
As Fractals do not eat anything, they are therefore technically at the bottom of the food chain. They are a strong race, however, and fear few creatures, save for the most dangerous.
 * Giant Cave Nematode: The distant, most likely mutated, cousin to the common earthworm. While the Nematodes only eat loose mineral-rich rocks, bacteria, and other small mammals, they still pose a threat to the Fractals due to their destructive burrowing and acidic waste byproducts, namely hydrofluoric acid. The Fractals avoid slaying these beasts, mainly because they have proven very difficult to wound, and have relied on Malacyte poison to ward off these huge worms.
 * Igneous Roc: A large bird-like creature, comprised of molten rock, standing thrice as tall as the average Fractal. The Igneous Roc has been speculated to be biologically similar to the Citree: Both have no internal organs and both radiate intense heat, the Roc producing enough energy to melt the ground where it stands. An incredibly dangeous predator, the Roc does not actually eat Fractals. Rather, it collects them, attempts to true-break them, and use the shards to line its nest, often a dormant lava pool. There have been stories where the Roc was not able to completely break down a Fractal. Fighters from several villages would band together and slay the creature in hopes of recovering their fallen brother or sister.
 * Quicksilver Mole: Though small and seemingly harmless, these moles constantly secrete mercury to aid slipping through cracks. These creatures pose an extreme threat to the Fractal. Though originally not common enough to warrant any notice, their numbers have increased recently and only the Synna are able to safely handle the mammal. The only problem is that the Synna, too, are decreasing in number as the Fractals desperately shun them due to their poisonous properties.

Hierarchy
A Fractal's standing in society is decided upon a great multitude of factors and while there are those held in higher regard, it is very worth nothing that Fractals tend to see much of their kind as equals as they are not an abundant species.

Caste System
The Fractal caste system is somewhat lenient. While everygem is assigned a position at birth and is expected to fulfill that duty, nothing stops them from learning new skills. In fact, those with talents in multiple fields are always welcome. In addition, there is no administrative or ruling caste. The eldest Fractal takes a semi-figurehead position for his community, with the eldest male taking precedence. Lastly, the worker's caste is a fairly loose grouping; All Fractals are expected to fulfill village duties.
 * Sculptor/Sculptress: The undisputed top caste is reserved for those learned in the chiselling and repairing of crystals and is the only caste that a Fractal cannot be born into. As immortality plays a large part of Fractal philopsophy and way of living, is it the Sculptor's Guild that mends any broken Fractal. Though any Fractal can becomes a sculptor, many of those who do are born with a certain degree of natural talent. Though most villages usually have one, smaller ones must rely on a travelling sculptor.
 * Fighter: Note: The remaining castes are often seen as more or less equal in social standing.


 * Defender: The majority of Fractals can become defenders, so long as their mineral composition is hard enough. Their primary duty is to protect not just those in their village, but any Fractal in real, perceived, or implied danger.
 * Scout: Scouts are often paired with a defender to patrol and guard the other citizens. Like defenders, almost anygem can train as a scout. Though they often serve as lookouts, their most important duty is to recover the shards of a broken Fractal so that they may be put back together.


 * Artisan: The largest caste, the artisans encompass all crafters, such as the stillmakers, the stoneweavers, the Inventor’s Guild, and the explorers, those whom we call miners.
 * Architect:
 * Worker:
 * Merchant: The final caste is the most well-documented, simply because they are the Fractals most likely to venture aboveground and do business with the surface-roamers. Not all merchants are keen on leaving the deep underground labyrinthe, however. The merchant caste occupies a special niche within Fractal society as they are intertwined with all the Guilds. As such, over the years, the Merchant’s Guild havs slowly expanded and now deals with certain bureaucratic duties.

Major Subspecies
The Fractals are well known for the staggering diversity within their population. The race has come to embrace their many differences, for the most part. Some issues, especially with the Synna and between the hibernating and aestivating veins have yet to be resolved. The earth-born use the word  ᚅᚔᚓᚖ   ( lit. vein, as in vein of ore ),  which translates to "family" or "clan", to describe each variant of gem.

Hibernating Species

 * Diamante (10): The Diamante are a fairly diverse vein but are relatively rare. Since diamonds are one of the hardest known minerals, this translates to great physical strength. In addition, they are impervious to any and all acids. The Diamante also conduct heat better than any other gem, allowing them to withstand both open fires and high temperatures. However, diamonds are also rather brittle. As such, Diamantes need to take care to not sustain too many injuries or they will break.
 * White Diamante: The White Diamante, as one can guess, are made up of transparent diamond. Both the Fractals and the sureface-roamers treasure the rare white diamond so a good portion of the White Diamante have become merchants, their brilliant luster often attracting surface-roamers. White Diamantes are by far the most fragile among the Diamante. While some of their number have become defenders, they take extreme care.
 * Yellow Diamante: The Yellow Diamante are the most common of the Diamante family. While they lack the striking brilliance of their White cousins, they still possess the hardness and strength shared by all Diamante. Yellow Diamantes are far less brittle and are highly valued as defenders and there are several Yellow Diamantes who have served as such for thousands of years.
 * Black Diamante: The Black Diamante are not only the most rare form of Diamante, they are also the most rare type of Fractal. The least brittle of the Diamante, their strength in battle is unparalleled to the degree that they are considered to be something far greater than even defenders and are called upon when grave danger threatens.
 * Corunds (9): The Corunds are well-known for their striking colours and have two main variants. Despite their high hardness, durability, and resistance to acids, most Corunds choose the life of a merchant or explorer, rather than a fighter.
 * Rubea: Red Corunds are known as the Rubea. Rubea are known to specialize in selling Fractal mining equipment, a valuable commodity to the surface-roamers.
 * Saphri: All other Corunds are grouped under the common name of Saphri. The majority of Saphri are blue, though there is the occasional green gem.
 * Beryllis (8): The Beryllis have an above-average hardness but are fairly brittle, nearing the point of a White Diamante. In addition, unlike the Diamantes and Corunds, they are susceptible to hydrofluoric acid, a byproduct of the fairly common Giant Cave Nematodes that roam the caves. As such, they usually take on all duties other than a fighter's or explorer's. Unlike other veins with multiple forms, Emeraude and Aqiua take on completely different roles in Fractal society.
 * Emeraude: Any green-hued Beryllis are called Emeraude and as their name suggests, they are comprised of emerald. Emeraudes are some of the greatest inventors within the Fractal race and have made countless breakthroughs and discoveries over the years.
 * Aqiua: The Aqiua, made from the eye-catching icy blue aquamarine, have honed their skills as artisans. In fact, the Stoneweaver's Guild is roughly two-thirds Aqiua. Those that do not belong to the Guild still support it in some way or another, either as a worker cultivating rocks and crystals, or by refining raw materials for the stoneweavers.
 * Quarzen (7): The Quarzen are the most common of the Fractals, their numbers being as such due to the ever-present White Quarzen. With both average-high hardness and resistance to acids and heat, the tough Quarzen form the backbone of the Fractal race.
 * White Quarzen: The most common gem. White Quarzen, made of quartz, can be found in any caste, being equally suited for the vigourous routine of a fighter or the delicate manuevers of a sculptor. White Quarzen are also one of two variants able to naturally passively generate electric charges. As such, a fair number of the them have become speciallized workers, storing up their energy to power important machinery.
 * Thystia: The Thystia are made of an uncommon form of quartz, the striking purple amethyst. The Thystia, over time, have also evolved to generate electricty. Like their White relatives, Thystia are suited for various tasks but many choose the life of a fighter, often a scout. Thystia scouts train themselves so that they can send out strong electrical jolts to incapacitate creatures.
 * Citree: The Citree are comprised of the orange citrine and are somewhat rare. Citree are a special type of Quarzen and are formed when a young Quarzen is able to produce electricty at a young age. The heat from the generation transforms then into a Citree and they then lose this ability. Instead, they produce heat. A Citree can even indirectly set an object on fire by focusing its heat on it. This thermokinetic ability is very rare, usually seen once or twice every several centuries. For the most part, the Citree play an integral role as explorers. They constantly radiate heat so that their fellow Fractals can continue to work in cold areas.
 * Kyanir (7 or 4): The Kyanir are unique gems able to withstand great pressure, high temperatures, and most acids. Made of the curious light blue kyanite, these Fractals are the only gems that can change their hardness. When they break, they can actually choose how their crystals are realigned and this determines them having a low or high hardness. When they choose to align their crystals vertically, they exhibit far greater strength with reduced agility. Horizontal crystals allow for extremely precise motor movement while increasing their brittleness and tendency to break. Kyanir who choose to have a high hardness make good defenders while those with low hardness are often trained to become sculptors.
 * Agatis (6.5): The Agatis were once the most diverse vein, with nearly as many variants as there were other subspecies. In addition, every single Agatis was uniquely patterned.  Though they had the numbers and versatility, they were inferior to the Quarzen in nearly every way: they, too, had average hardness and resistance to heat. They could, however, be damaged by hydroflouric acid. As such, many Agatis exposed themselves to high heat, removing their colouration, turning them jet-black. These false Kuronis intermingled with the natural Kuronis, who were the only Agatis to truly find a niche among the Fractals.
 * Kuronis (6.5): Kuronis are made of a type of black agate called onyx and make up the vast bulk of the Agatis. Kuronis were well-known for their scouting abilities as their mineral outcroppings were entirely opaque and black, a unique trait among the earth-born.
 * Sardonis (6.5): The only other form of Agatis that did not choose to blacken themselves. The Sardonis, made up of the reddish-orange mineral sardonyx, are the only modern-day gem that exhibit unique bandings on their minerals. Many of the Agatis, save for the Kuronis, were originally of the worker caste which made them the only gem family where most were workers. Instead of exposing themself to heat, the Sardonis instead spent years attempting to find some sort of breakthrough. At last, several of their kind discovered a systematic approach for hollowing out new caves, leading to the founding of the Architect's Guild. Many Sardonis would later became prominent inventors and architects.
 * Lazuli (5.5): The Lazuli are not actually made of Lapis Lazuli, as many surface-roamers assume. Rather, they are made up of the deep-blue Lazurite, the primary component of Lapis. They accept the moniker of "Lazuli" anyways, as the name has stuck. Though they are fragile, break easily, are easily damaged by various acids, and are overall a rare vein, the Lazuli have made themselves known as the most successful merchants of the Fractal race. It is they who occupy much of the Merchant Guild bureacracy. Lapis lazuli is also desired alongside diamonds and corundum by those on the surface, so the Lazuli also regularly venture aboveground for business.
 * Obsydia (5): The Obsydia, composed of obsidian, are a special vein. From their very beginnings up until now, they occupy a very specific niche within the artisan caste that no other gem has been able to enter: blacksmithing. All tools that the Fractals use are made of obsidian. Coupled with the Obsydias' high tolerance to heat, one of the highest among all veins of Fractal, and their high density, they are perfect for their assigned duties.
 * Malacyte (3.5): The Malacyte, made up of the opaque, green, malachite, are one of the two main poisonous Fractals. Without training, Malacytes will continually produce copper sulfate, a poison to many organic species. Fractals, are, of course, immune to this. In addition, in the presence of acid, Malacytes will produce this poison at an almost uncontrollable rate, at which point they become a grave danger. Due to this unique propety, many Malacytes becomes special fighters despite their low hardness. They are paired up with scouts to essentially poison an area to dissuade dangerous creatures from coming too close to a village.
 * Synna (2): The Synna are the other type of poisonous Fractal. They are comprised of cinnabar, a bright red crystal. They have the lowest hardness out of all the major veins and produce liquid mercury as their poison. Unlike the Malacytes, whose poison does not harm Fractals, mercury is deathly lethal to all, save the Synnas themselves. Synnas, with training, can be a very useful asset, but many do not make it to this stage as a young Synna continually produces mercury, making it very difficult for a non-Synna to train.  A mature Synna can use their mercury as a deadly weapon, flinging it with frightening strength, speed, and accuracy. Therefore, senior Synnas are greatly treasured.  This poison also makes it extremely difficult for a sculptor to repair a Synna. Whenever a Fractal comes into contact with mercury, any part that is covered with the poison must be permanently shorn off or the mercury will slowly eat away at their body. Unfortunately, Synnas are rare, not because their comprising gem is, but because many are shunned by other Fractals and are then true-broken after being exiled. There are currently two active Synnas wandering between the Fractal villages, hoping to find young ones of their own kind before they are exiled from their home.

Aestivating Species

 * Xandrite (8.5): The Xandrites are made up of the strange alexandrite. Depending on the ambient light, a Xandrite may appear as green, red, or even other colours. Like the other aestivating species, Xandrites are greatly resistant to both cold and hot extremes. They themselves are impervious to most acids and start off as being less brittle, but their breaking chances increase the longer they go without rest. Despite this flaw, the Xandrites are by far the strongest and hardest of the winter Fractals. They are often born as defenders and scouts.
 * Seraphin (3): The Seraphins are comprised of the beautiful, deep green seraphin, a gemstone marked with pale yellow feather-like markings. The Seraphins are eseentially the quartz of the aestivating species, though more fragile. They notable durable for a low-hardness gem, however. They are resistant to high and low temperatures but are attacked by sulfuric acid, a commonplace occurence in underground cavities. Their low hardness and low tolerance to a common acid locks out Seraphins from becoming fighter and explorers. Other than those two castes, Seraphins make up the bulk of the other social duties, such as trading on the surface, or specializing as a stillmaker.
 * Antarctix (2): The Antarctix are quite possibly the most strange out of all the Fractals. The mineral Antarcticite melts at warm temperatures. As such, these Fractals can only assume a solid form during the winter months. They have an extremely low tolerance for heat, but thrive in the cold, so much so that they actually become tougher and stronger, rivalling the raw power of a Black Diamante during the coldest days. Antarctix do not truly belong to a caste, as they perform various special duties no other Fractal can do, but a fair number of them become explorers.

Trivia

 * The original concept of the Fractals, then called the Crystaliens, was for ChineseLegolas' dream game he tried to work on in high school.