Discovered on an unassuming world in the galactic far-east, the Praku’s positioning a scant five hundred AU from the edge of space kept them hidden throughout countless successive periods of trailblazing, only to be inadvertently stumbled upon by merchants over the last year. In humble orbit about a waning yellow giant, their home is covered completely in meadows, streams and occasional outcroppings of shale - it is a beautiful planet and the only one in the system. Possessed for the most part of a highly introspective demeanour, a Praku is a huge almond shaped lump of stone who juts from out of the ground in one of a panoply of bizarre angles. Because of this there are some individuals who are facing completely upside down. Despite loving to bask in the quiet ambiance of the fields, they are capable of projecting their voices into booming sonority so that they can communicate with their closest neighbours, who might be a few metres or entire valleys distant. Needless to say they are completely incapable of locomotion but don't seem too bothered by the fact, uncaring for the most part of what might exist outside of their own personal slice of the countryside. Communication between friends is very sparse, with the Praku professing that they respond only after having thought long enough to be satisfied with their response. Certain conversations can take years if they’re subject matter is impenetrable enough, and their plodding cadence, although charming and unceasing, definitely doesn’t quicken up anything. Despite having had untold aeons to advance their philosophical beliefs (essentially the only calling available to their people), they are peculiarly naive in the field of sociology - having puzzled over the workings of the natural world without ever once considering that there might be life elsewhere.
Hewn from out of stone at some point in the long forgotten past, they are smoothed very carefully and seem to be the result of talented craftsmanship, varying occasionally to be stubbier or thinner and with countenances oriented along different axes. Simple stylistically, their faces are fashioned each in the resemblance of a certain emotion, imbued with very subtle indicators as to the exact depth of feeling that is being portrayed - apparently on the whim of their creator. Often set in mirth or anguish, they are just as frequently carved in imitation of a totally incalculable emotion. Affecting a disquieting visage to an observer who has never inhabited such a foreign state of mind. There seems to be no correlation between the disposition of the individual and the expression which they are locked in, although it might just be difficult for us to read the emotional cues that they employ. Perhaps they are very evidently of one temperament but the signs are just too imperceptible to pick up on. In general their personalities appear uniform to off-worlders, although the fact that each specialises in a very particular aspect of natural science might imply greater personal difference than initially speculated. It is possible that some bias against the innate creative capabilities of an artificial species has factored into this on the behalf of researchers. Despite being spread out across the whole surface of their world, each Praku seems at least peripherally aware of the existence of all the others of their kind, when prompted musing how in the distant past they needed assistance in deciphering a specific query, and how their conversation had to be relayed by hundreds of interstitial messengers. Interestingly as one visiting crew discovered, they are adept at mimicking any sound that they hear. Likely this has eliminated a tide of misinformation which otherwise would have proliferated in a planet spanning telephone game.
Perplexing to researchers, the Praku were unstartled by the first emissaries of galactic civilization to descend from space, accepting their arrival stolidly and without any fanfare at all. Quickly though word spread across the planet and before long messages were being relayed from distant individuals asking to meet the newcomers in person. Today there is a special affinity which exists between the two parties, sharing the land and coming to terms with each other's alien psyches. There are even plans in motion to gather up some of the most adventurous Praku in great nets and to ferry them through space so that they can experience the wonders of the galaxy for themselves. A striking resemblance has been drawn between their stone faces and the stylised masks worn by the followers of _______, created in emulation of artworks that she herself is said to have made. This has fostered a burgeoning interest amongst her disciples to learn more about this most distant of planets, and has even sparked many rumours that she might have come to the place in the distant past to escape the rigours of divine responsibility (as she has been known to in the past). In the popular imagination the Praku were the subjects of a years-long retreat which she spent crafting each of them to her liking, very slowly and carefully. It could be that this is how come certain Praku exhibit such befuddling emotions, and might hold a key toward understanding the headspace of the gods.