In fact a group of several related species, “Kyran” is simply a Compact designation for the biological/sociocultural grouping of these species. The name is derived from a transliteration of the name given by Kyrans for their origin: Kyr. It is not known if Kyr is a planet, a star, a star cluster, or even an ancestor species or concept. Cryptic explanations from Kyrans themselves have at times suggested any or all of these definitions.
The known Kyran species are thought to be members of a single clade, most analogous to the dinosaurs of prehistoric Earth, and similar species discovered in the fossil record of the melakeen homeworld Nalak. Kyran social organization seems based in large part on species, such that members of each species appear to play designated roles in their respective societies, with examples of individuals straying from these roles vanishingly rare. The Kyran names for these species and their roles are not known; Compact designations are derived from their observed social roles.
The four confirmed Kyran species are the Pterochids, Stepharchids, both a ruler/warrior caste; the Argotids, a soldier caste; and the Ischeronids, a worker caste. Three species believed to be from the same clade as the other Kyrans are the Smergonid and Sklekarid, possible additional worker castes, and the Epheuronid, which may be an engineer or scientist caste.
The highest known level of Kyran social and political organization is referred to as the clan in Compact nomenclature, though this label is somewhat inappropriate in its traditional definition. Kyran clans may comprise millions or billions of individuals, and most members appear to have no kin relationship to one another. However, the ruling castes of each clan are closely kin-related, and it is from these ruling families or houses that the clans derive their names. Each known ruling house seems to be comprised exclusively of members of one or the other ruling species, either Pterochid or Stepharchid—Clan Harag is ruled by Pterochids, Clan Rhyllok by Stepharchids, for example. Cooperation between clans ruled by opposite species is extremely rare; constant warfare is more the norm.
Indeed, warfare has been nearly the only form of interaction between the Compact races and the Kyrans, since humans first encountered them in the mid-23rd century. The continued survival and relative technological sophistication of the Kyran species insist that warfare cannot possibly be their sole cultural and political occupation, however central it clearly is to their dominant cultures and belief systems. However, like a cosmic inverse of the reclusive ara’, they seem completely uninterested in peaceful coexistence with aliens, or even other Kyran clans, instead pursuing violent confrontation of varying degrees whenever possible. Only vague cultural and pseudo-religious explanations for this behavior have been offered by the Kyrans themselves, leaving the Compact races, particularly the Free Worlds Republic, to grapple constantly but blindly with the Kyran threat.
Much of the Kyrans’ most advanced technology seems to have been pilfered or otherwise derived from that of other species they have conquered or warred with over the centuries. Indeed, Stardrive was only acquired from humans after several border conflicts with the FWR; prior to that, and unique in known galactic history, the Kyrans pursued the conquest of neighboring stars and alien peoples solely through the use of sublight generation ships, displaying an extraordinary commitment to warfare and conquest.
Thanks to their inability to match the technological development of their Compact adversaries, the Kyrans remain a constant, but manageable, threat to galactic peace. Given their vast numbers and apparently inveterate aggression, many analysts fear that were all or most of the Kyran clans to unite under a single ruler, they would become an existential threat to the Compact. However, constant internecine warfare among the Kyrans suggests this possibility is remote.
