Réoux are essentially sheep-folk, and are the only race who are considered 'alien,' due to their origin not being on Draconem. They’re tall and have fur, as well as horns that are longer in rams and shorter in ewes. Their eyes have horizontally slit pupils, though are on the front of their face rather than sides (like live-stock sheep), and they have a dental structure consistent with carnivores. Réoux are second-class citizens amongst the empire, where over 90% of réoux live, slaves with draconian laws that prevent any meaningful manner of uprising. They are kept hungry, tired, and quiet. No réoux is permitted to wield a weapon of any kind, so many practice hand-to-hand in secret. If any sort of martial prowess is proved in front of the wrong people, the offending ram or ewe is put to death immediately, executed somewhere public in various different painful ways.

Among colonists, réoux males and females are called rams and ewes, and their offspring are lambs. In their own tongue, of which most is lost (though they maintain an accent still), the terms are instead réo'ton (male) and réou'vis (female).

Spirituality and the Long Dream

Their tails, which are naturally long and tufted, as well as having profound spiritual importance to their culture, are docked when they are young, not dissimilar to actual sheep. It is rare to find a réoux who is sovereign, and even rarer to find one without their tail docked. Because of the genetic reliance on their tail for balance, lambs have a notoriously bad sense of balance and stumble, trip and fall incredibly often, until they grow more used to steadying themselves into adulthood. 

One of the few slivers of their culture before their colonisation involves their greatest spiritual belief, The Long Dream. When réoux sleep, they do not simply dream of nonsense. They awaken in The Long Dream, where their colours are shifted. Their bodies become a dark hazy blue, striped with bright, glowing neon shades of cyan, orange, red and sage. The patterns are genetic, and traits from parents can be pinpointed on their lamb as a result. However, those with their tails docked (which is the vast, vast majority of réoux) have dimmed colours, the brightness less than halved and their glow altogether vanished. 

No one but the réoux are known to be able to enter The Long Dream, but many consider it a palace of solace, either to meditate and let time pass by quickly until morning, or to wander, to wonder, and to explore the various floating islands of the realm.

Origins on Khelsereia

Khelsereia is the name that Feder'feld colonists believed that réoux had for the planet. This, like many things at the time, was a misunderstanding. The original name is apparently lost to time, but it is known that Khelsereia means ‘hollow place,’ an apparent reference to the valley that réoux people had first met Feder’feld colonists. Very shortly after being met, the réoux were enslaved and their settlements were razed.