The Sylesi were an advanced species native to the Gamma Quadrant who began relations with the Federation in the late 24th century, after the Dominion War. (Star Trek: Brave New Worlds)
Intergalactic relations[]
Because of their large birthrate, they had many colony worlds. The Sylesi had good relations with their neighbors(minus the Dominion). Also, they had absorbed several other races into their empire when it became clear they could defend them from the Dominion. The Sylesi were compromised with formidable starships, but they fought only as a last resort. They had many trade agreements with races outside their empire. They were also highly respected by other species.
While the Sylesi were just as deep into the Gamma Quadrant as the Nor'Shizi, they were practically on the opposite side of the quadrant from them. Even though the two races were quite spatially removed from each other, they had occasionally come into conflict: mostly over exploring territory "claimed" by the Nor’shizi. There were also rare instances when a Nor’shizi vessel had ended up within the Sylesi borders.
Government[]
The government was Imperial, but with a council of some kind. Their leaders had traditionally been very close to their people. It’s not at all uncommon to find the ruling class mingling with the ordinary citizen.
Technology[]
The Sylesi specialized in translation and communication devices. They had a very efficient transporter technology and disruptor-type weapons. They had strong enough defensive/offensive abilities to have repelled several attempts by the Dominion to take them over. These cost the Dominion dearly and they were eventually deemed too much of a risk to try again. A strong warp drive as well as impulse engines.
Biological Information[]
Blood[]
The Sylesi blood was iron based, but looked like unrefined hematite (i.e. sparkly).
Heart/lungs[]
- 6 chambered heart, 2 double lungs
Face[]
- Eyes - shaped like those of the Eyelash Viper with a vertical slit pupil.
- Imperial - metal flake silver in color; lesser nobles- in appearance like multicolored gems such as Candied Jade and Opal.
- General population - sparkly like faceted solid colored gems. Eyelashes and lids, no eyebrows. Also have nictitating membranes.
- Skin - scaled and colored like heated titanium.
- Hair - any available color with metallic highlights
- Ears - no external apparatus only small indentations, perfectly good sense of hearing
- Nose - a smooth, flat wide-ended oval with slits for nostrils. Also have heat pits.
- Sight - regular vision plus with the heat pits they can see heat. This enables them to see well in the dark.
- Mouth - cobalt-blue forked tongue, slightly narrower than a human’s; hinged fangs inset into the roof of the mouth, remaining teeth mostly sharp and pointed with some molars; venom glands, 2 types of venom- 1 that is injected and kills quick and 1 that is spit and blinds as well as causes extreme pain. Can hold their breath for quite a while.
Communication[]
While the Sylesi had good hearing, they had no vocal chords. They were able to make hissing sounds. With no verbal speech the Sylesi developed into strong telepaths.
Body[]
Their upper body was humanoid, blending into a snakes lower half. The Sylesi had two arms. The Sylesi also were scaled all over, shed skin and eyes cloud over during shedding time. There were tougher, larger scales on the lower body and small fine scales on the upper torso, head, and arms. They had normal humanoid hands (4 fingers, 1 thumb), but no finger nails; instead they had small lizard-like claws.
- Height/length: 4-5 ½ feet from ground up, 5-7 feet on ground.
- Weight/build: 210-300 lbs. All muscle and not much fat, slender.
Life span[]
- 200 of their years, equaling 4800 earth years.
Children[]
While they were an egg laying species; once the young had hatched, they suckle. There was usually anywhere from 7 to 20 in a clutch. Eggs hatched in ½ a month (146 days). The Imperial eyes always breed true, even if interbred with lesser nobles or commoners.
Cultural/Environmental Information[]
Time[]
- 1 Sylesi year = 24 Earth years
- 1 year = 8760 days 1 year = 30 months 1 day = 20 hours
- 1 month = 4 weeks 1 week = 73 days 1 month = 292 days
- 4 seasons, the new year begins with the first day of Berus.
- Spring
- Berus
- Anilius
- Corallus
- Mackloti
- Spilota
- Elegans
- Naja
- Spring
- Summer
- Aspis
- Saslowi
- Eryx
- Sebae
- Nasuta
- Coccinea
- Lecontei
- Vulpina
- Getulus
- Aurora
- Zonata
- Alterna
- Summer
- Autumn
- Cerastes
- Casarea
- Alvaezi
- Morelia
- Elphe
- Scalaris
- Erpeton
- Autumn
- Winter
- Latasti
- Causus
- Aspera
- Viridis
- Winter
Architecture[]
The Sylesi style of architecture was that there were no angles in sight. Corners were almost non-existent as the architecture was all done in curves. There were also no stairs ever used; only ramps.
Cities[]
On a Sylesi world, cities were in fact double layered cities; whereas they existed above and below ground at the same time. During the hot summer months, the Sylesi would use the underground levels to avoid the heat. During the rest of the year, they would use the above ground levels. Many cities were built both into, and on mountains.
- Capital City: Ylen
E.T. communication[]
The Sylesi could "‘path" to other species but would only do this with that species‘ permission. Otherwise they wore a headband that looked like jewelry, but is, in fact, a translation device used to convert their mental speech into audible sounds. Unlike most examples of computerized speech these devices used to sound identical to normal spoken language and was different for each individual.
Planet[]
Land/water[]
- 70% water, 30% land. 9 medium continents.
Sky[]
- Purplish and slightly dimmer than earth. Greenish blue sunsets/rises.
Gravity[]
- Slightly higher than Vulcan normal
Atmosphere[]
- Slightly higher than Earth normal oxygen content.
Temperature[]
- Equal to or greater than Vulcan normal with tropical humidity.
Diet[]
- The Sylesi ate mostly meats (poultry, fish, etc.), eggs, some fruit; NO veggies. Milk, water, fruit juices and liquors made from fruits. They would raise a 5-horned goat-like animal for milk. Mostly they cooked their food, but for ceremonial occasions prepared delicacies best served live.
Unique plant life[]
- There were many different types of bio-luminescent plants that gave off glows in the cool color spectrum (blues, greens, purples). Their plants gave the night side of the planet a rather eerie look.
Activities[]
The Sylesi were fond of swimming and very good at it. They liked all kinds of instrumental music, and liked lots of water sports. They were a very competitive species. Early on in their history this took the form of battle games that varied from single combat to large groups. There was every possibility that you could be injured, maimed, or even killed in these games. Over time these games toned down to more ritualistic fighting where no one was actually injured. The most popular of these "fights" involved 2 long curving blades, a variant of utilizes 1 long blade and one shorter one.
Roads/vehicles[]
There was no use of cement or tarmac as they would be hard wear on scales. Paths and roadways were carpeted with a dense layer of springy moss. They had no wheeled car as vehicles moved on an air cushion; also they had shuttlecraft like vessels.
Clothing[]
- Multi-layered tops made of a very light silk.
Furniture[]
Like their architecture, they preferred curves to angles. Only tables were raised ground level. Most furniture(beds, chairs, couches) consisted of cushions of various sizes.
Background Information[]
- The Sylesi was created by a player in the RPG Star Trek: Brave New Worlds. She also based her character, Yelesi Maticora, on the same species.