Yoescu (Millennium Era)

History
Yoescu have had a long and checkered past on New Luna. Over twenty thousand years ago, they evolved in a symbiotic relationship with a species of psionic fungi known as Thole to create a single intelligent race which ruled supreme on New Luna for over nine thousand years, with a rich tribal culture. For reasons poorly understood, sometime around 8500 BCE the Yoescu planned a rebellion from the Thole, literally burning all traces of their culture to the ground and committing suicide attacks to drive the Thole into extinction. The Yoescu race dropped from a high of over 1 million souls to just under ten thousand, and the loss of the Thole lowered their intelligence significantly, until they were little more than semi-intelligent savages.

By the time humans arrived in the 27th century, little semblance of their old cultural ways existed, though they had long learned to cope with their limited intelligence, developing a tight pack culture and relying on each others' psionic abilities in a sort of mental net to in some ways replace the increased senses the Thole had provided. The humans knew them as little more than very intelligent monkeys who were able to use their picture-based telepathy to help the humans survive on New Luna.

In June of 3006, a single living Thole was found buried in the New Luna ice cap, and everything changed for the Yoescu. Now relegated to the status of 'pet' and 'nuisance' to the occupying Lunites and crowded out as the Lunites slowly encroached on the Yoescu's territory, some sort of pact was formed between the uncovered Thole and the Yoescu. When the government of New Luna fell to the Phyrrians during the Phyrrian War, the Yoescu stole two of the Thole's 'children', cultivating the fungus until, in 3232, the entirety of the Yoescu population were reunited with their former symbiotes.

Integration was slow and long-won, and the new Yoescu symbiote owes much of its smooth integration to the Qua communities on New Luna, who backed the Yoescu when no one else would. Yoescu were recognized by New Luna as a sentient race in 3448, and given equal rights in 3449. In the 41st century, they number at almost 800,000.

Culture
Yoescu in the 41st century are a deeply passionate people, and a disproportionately high number of them choose careers in the arts. They can often come off as earthy and vulgar, and many a speciesist joke has centered around them being little more than animals, being heavy drinkers, or being penny-pinchers. But they have proven time and again to be a soulful and life-loving group, and few can match the high, reedy tones of a Yoescu orchestra or the breathtaking psionic imagery and rich, clean voice of a Yoescu psidiva.

Biology
Yoescu are born around 2-3 inches long, and eventually mature into a 20-26 inch tall and 40-60 inch long (including the tail) bipedal frame reminiscent of a monkey. They have three races: the Polar with thick white fur, the Mountain with thick black and brown fur, and the Sea with thin brown and green fur. Their slightly blunt, ferret-like heads have round, circular ears and are slightly plastic-looking with a mottled purple and brown 'skin' that covers the head and neck, trailing down the spinal cord to mid-back. They have brown, amber, green, blue or lavender eyes. Their tails are fully prehensile (as are their feet), and clothing made to fit them typically takes these facts into account. Each finger and toe of a Yoescu has a thin, hard black claw on it like a dog's. The inside of their mouths is typically a spotty mix of black and pink, and they have many small, sharp teeth.