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Description
The Temojin are unique among the races of the Citadel for two reasons. Firstly, they are capable of absorbing and storing ambient magic in pouches on their face and chest, though they cannot use these stores. Secondly, their inability to use their magic is due to genetic tampering by a progenitor race. The races of the Citadel have traced this tampering to tens of thousands of years ago, where the Temojin seem to have been pushed from a race that could store and use small amounts of magic, to bio batteries.

The Temojin absorb magic through the tendrils on their head and store it in the sacks on their face and chest. The manaplasts, which are the organelle which pulls mana from the environment are concentrated in the brightly pigmented edge of the tendrils. They are, however also distributed throughout the epidermis, similar to melanocytes in ponies. Those with larger tendrils can absorb more magic, even from skin-to-skin contact with other magic users during times of magic starvation. In the past, a determined Temoji could unleash their stored magic, at the cost of their life. This results in an uncontrolled burst of destructive magic following the rupture of the mana sacs. In the distant past, wars were fought with willing sacrifices. Over time, they became less willing, though the damage was still contained by how much the populace was willing to allow before overthrowing rulers perceived as throwing away the lives of their people for no gain. However, during one such conflict, a team of scientists determined that by draining the mana and channeling it through a tool, the magic could be used without killing the user, and wars spiraled out of control. At the time of first contact, the planet of Saipie had only recently reached a state of relative peace, at a technological level equivalent to ours, but powered by magic. The races of the Citadel introduced runestones to Saipie, which allowed interstellar travel and an accompanying exponential jump in technology, as it no longer needed a Temoji to actively fuel it. As they sank more and more mana into runestones and offworld travel and development of new magi-tech products, they gradually began to notice a lessening in the manastorms of Saipie. Temojin scientists concluded that magic levels were slowly being drained, and that Saipie was not replenishing them. This caused panic and uncontrolled growth and expansion into neighboring systems with high Energy deposits or magic which could be easily purified to be compatible with their technology. Only a united intervention by the rest of the Citadel races prevented all out war between the Temojin and their nearest neighbors, though many fear they are just biding their time.

The Temojin are a troubled race, and many fear they are planning an aggressive push to other worlds to secure more magic for their rapidly growing civilization. They are also stereotyped as magic-vampires, due to early space voyage failures, where the Temoji would literally drain the rest of the crew of magic. This draining is both painful and inefficient but non-fatal, and the non-magical crew members spread the tales all out of proportion. Most Temojin factions, including the ruling one, wants their civilization to stabilize before further colonization. Mages are the only group of Temojin who can safely spend any time in space, as they can store enough magic that they are not in danger of having to draw it from others during the journey, should the rune-stone supply run out. Thus most Citadel natives have only seen a mage, and assume them to be typical of the Temojin.

The Temojin still retain some traces of amphibious nature, including webbed feet. They have a prehensile toe on each foot, and four fingers on each hand. Each Temoji has two facial mana pouches, a collar, and another pair on the lower ribs. When empty, they appear frilly, but when full they are taught and shiney. They are very sensitive, so are never covered. The tendrils are similarly sensitive, so are not often pierced or pulled back. They have V shaped pupils, and only modest color vision. They do however, see polarization well. Females tend to be more speckled than males, and have longer tendrils on average. Otherwise, males and females are distinguished by pheromones and a polarization pattern which is not visible to most other races. Clothing is intricate and varied, but all Temojin wear a tabard with either familial or career signifiers on it. They don't like wearing shoes, due to the webbing. Their skin comes in a wide range of colors, similar to ponies. They have yellow sclera and a range of eye colors. They have a beak rather than teeth, and apparently lack a sense of taste, and have only a rudimentary sense of smell. Due to their metabolism depending on magic, they don't need to eat much food, but still need to ingest nitrogen, carbon and water. They have the ability to sense magic, which is perceived through their tendrils, though this wasn't obvious until they traveled off of Saipie.

Other races do not enjoy the aggressive ambient magic on Saipie, so they don't have many magical visitors. Non-magical races may visit, but even though they cannot sense it, long-term high level magic exposure can be toxic, and even deadly. As such, most races visit only briefly, and mostly on business. Some unicorns, however, have set up a joint university to study the impact of high background magic on a variety of spells. They have also worked with the Temojin mages to refine the wands they use to channel their mana, as well as to increase the efficiency of their magi-tech, to try and conserve it for the future.

Figures of note:
High Mage Vivax - She is the leader of a sect of mages called "Followers of the Steady Path," and was elected to be one of the ambassadors of her people to the Citadel. Her group believes in a measured and slow expansion coupled with the refining of current techniques to slow the loss of mana provides the best future for her people. Vivax is outgoing and friendly, and works hard for the best interests of her people. She does what she can to turn the opinion of the other races, as well as to secure peaceful solutions to the currently contested colony worlds of the Temojin. She, and other of her sect, wear a runestone on their hand as an indicator to other races that their mana draining is under control. Over time these runstones have become an indication of moderate Temojin, who do not believe that conquest is required to secure the future of their race.

Honored Goa-tej - Goa-tej is the only non-mage member of one of the oldest ruling families of Saipie. As such, he is respected, but considered largely harmless by the rest of the Temojin. He has such low mana stores he cannot leave Saipie, and he views the lowering magic differently than a mage would: he considers the loss of ambient magic to be an extinction-level crisis for his people. As such, he has been funding the borderline terrorist group the Arcane Expansionists. They travel to worlds with high Energy deposits and steal and stockpile them. Lately they have also been claiming credit for the massacre of alien colonists on worlds with magic compatible with Saipie. He is funneling his family's money into this cause, but he is not yet publicly associated with them. He has heard rumors of a new magical artifact with unparalleled power, and has begun discreetly looking into it.

Pronunciations: Temojin - Te-mo-gin
                    Temoji - Te-mo-gee
                    Saipie - Sigh-pee
                    Vivax - Viv-ix
                    Goa-tej - Go-ah-tesh

for Earthsong9405 's contest. This idea got a little out of hand ...

Description
The Temojin are unique among the races of the Citadel for two reasons. Firstly, they are capable of absorbing and storing ambient magic in pouches on their face and chest, though they cannot use these stores. Secondly, their inability to use their magic is due to genetic tampering by a progenitor race. The races of the Citadel have traced this tampering to tens of thousands of years ago, where the Temojin seem to have been pushed from a race that could store and use small amounts of magic, to bio batteries.

The Temojin absorb magic through the tendrils on their head and store it in the sacks on their face and chest. The manaplasts, which are the organelle which pulls mana from the environment are concentrated in the brightly pigmented edge of the tendrils. They are, however also distributed throughout the epidermis, similar to melanocytes in ponies. Those with larger tendrils can absorb more magic, even from skin-to-skin contact with other magic users during times of magic starvation. In the past, a determined Temoji could unleash their stored magic, at the cost of their life. This results in an uncontrolled burst of destructive magic following the rupture of the mana sacs. In the distant past, wars were fought with willing sacrifices. Over time, they became less willing, though the damage was still contained by how much the populace was willing to allow before overthrowing rulers perceived as throwing away the lives of their people for no gain. However, during one such conflict, a team of scientists determined that by draining the mana and channeling it through a tool, the magic could be used without killing the user, and wars spiraled out of control. At the time of first contact, the planet of Saipie had only recently reached a state of relative peace, at a technological level equivalent to ours, but powered by magic. The races of the Citadel introduced runestones to Saipie, which allowed interstellar travel and an accompanying exponential jump in technology, as it no longer needed a Temoji to actively fuel it. As they sank more and more mana into runestones and offworld travel and development of new magi-tech products, they gradually began to notice a lessening in the manastorms of Saipie. Temojin scientists concluded that magic levels were slowly being drained, and that Saipie was not replenishing them. This caused panic and uncontrolled growth and expansion into neighboring systems with high Energy deposits or magic which could be easily purified to be compatible with their technology. Only a united intervention by the rest of the Citadel races prevented all out war between the Temojin and their nearest neighbors, though many fear they are just biding their time.

The Temojin are a troubled race, and many fear they are planning an aggressive push to other worlds to secure more magic for their rapidly growing civilization. They are also stereotyped as magic-vampires, due to early space voyage failures, where the Temoji would literally drain the rest of the crew of magic. This draining is both painful and inefficient but non-fatal, and the non-magical crew members spread the tales all out of proportion. Most Temojin factions, including the ruling one, wants their civilization to stabilize before further colonization. Mages are the only group of Temojin who can safely spend any time in space, as they can store enough magic that they are not in danger of having to draw it from others during the journey, should the rune-stone supply run out. Thus most Citadel natives have only seen a mage, and assume them to be typical of the Temojin.

The Temojin still retain some traces of amphibious nature, including webbed feet. They have a prehensile toe on each foot, and four fingers on each hand. Each Temoji has two facial mana pouches, a collar, and another pair on the lower ribs. When empty, they appear frilly, but when full they are taught and shiney. They are very sensitive, so are never covered. The tendrils are similarly sensitive, so are not often pierced or pulled back. They have V shaped pupils, and only modest color vision. They do however, see polarization well. Females tend to be more speckled than males, and have longer tendrils on average. Otherwise, males and females are distinguished by pheromones and a polarization pattern which is not visible to most other races. Clothing is intricate and varied, but all Temojin wear a tabard with either familial or career signifiers on it. They don't like wearing shoes, due to the webbing. Their skin comes in a wide range of colors, similar to ponies. They have yellow sclera and a range of eye colors. They have a beak rather than teeth, and apparently lack a sense of taste, and have only a rudimentary sense of smell. Due to their metabolism depending on magic, they don't need to eat much food, but still need to ingest nitrogen, carbon and water. They have the ability to sense magic, which is perceived through their tendrils, though this wasn't obvious until they traveled off of Saipie.

Other races do not enjoy the aggressive ambient magic on Saipie, so they don't have many magical visitors. Non-magical races may visit, but even though they cannot sense it, long-term high level magic exposure can be toxic, and even deadly. As such, most races visit only briefly, and mostly on business. Some unicorns, however, have set up a joint university to study the impact of high background magic on a variety of spells. They have also worked with the Temojin mages to refine the wands they use to channel their mana, as well as to increase the efficiency of their magi-tech, to try and conserve it for the future.

Figures of note:
High Mage Vivax - She is the leader of a sect of mages called "Followers of the Steady Path," and was elected to be one of the ambassadors of her people to the Citadel. Her group believes in a measured and slow expansion coupled with the refining of current techniques to slow the loss of mana provides the best future for her people. Vivax is outgoing and friendly, and works hard for the best interests of her people. She does what she can to turn the opinion of the other races, as well as to secure peaceful solutions to the currently contested colony worlds of the Temojin. She, and other of her sect, wear a runestone on their hand as an indicator to other races that their mana draining is under control. Over time these runstones have become an indication of moderate Temojin, who do not believe that conquest is required to secure the future of their race.

Honored Goa-tej - Goa-tej is the only non-mage member of one of the oldest ruling families of Saipie. As such, he is respected, but considered largely harmless by the rest of the Temojin. He has such low mana stores he cannot leave Saipie, and he views the lowering magic differently than a mage would: he considers the loss of ambient magic to be an extinction-level crisis for his people. As such, he has been funding the borderline terrorist group the Arcane Expansionists. They travel to worlds with high Energy deposits and steal and stockpile them. Lately they have also been claiming credit for the massacre of alien colonists on worlds with magic compatible with Saipie. He is funneling his family's money into this cause, but he is not yet publicly associated with them. He has heard rumors of a new magical artifact with unparalleled power, and has begun discreetly looking into it.

Pronunciations: Temojin - Te-mo-gin
                    Temoji - Te-mo-gee
                    Saipie - Sigh-pee
                    Vivax - Viv-ix
                    Goa-tej - Go-ah-tesh

for Earthsong9405 's contest. This idea got a little out of hand ...