The Bestiary

My species.

Sat, 26 Nov 2005 18:55:53 GMT

Kalnab is the planet Legacy takes place on. It has many animals some that were thought to have been myths and whole new species that did not exsit on Old earth.

Zaberox: Normally a gentle giant and wouldn’t attack unless provoked. They resemble the oxes of old earth except they have a single horn on there nose which resembles a saber.

Razorbird: The beast has silver feathers and a huge eagle shaped head large silver wings that appear to be metal like, and ox shaped body with four long legs and silver talons attached to the ends. Its has a long tail

Hullo new here

Thu, 24 Nov 2005 17:55:52 GMT

Hello im sort of new here and working of a 26 chapter novel called "legacy" which has variations of some sepecies and whole entire new ones as well. er um well bye!

Foundation Database Entry for Species ZL748

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 07:24:37 GMT

Chrre'k

Wed, 10 Aug 2005 02:58:13 GMT

I apologise if this is disorganized, I didn't really have the patience to organize everything correctly.

A Picture
Chrre’k (sing.)
Chrre’n (pl., adj.)
Chrr’p (youngling less than 5 months old)

Anyanan, lives in jungles & forests

Litter - A number of younglings born to one mother at one birthing time.
Batch - The collective number of younglings born to every mother in the troupe at one birthing time

Herbivores; eat mostly fruits and nuts.

Jhunglen-type: 3-3.5 feet tall, 16-20 feet long. Bigger boned and stronger than their colder-climate counterparts, the Forres-type. Males’ colors tend to be more neon.

Forres-type: 2-2.5 feet tall, 8-10 feet long. Leaner and more nimble, much faster than their larger relatives. Males’ colors tend to be more dull.

Tail is prehensile, sides have two rows of small but sharp shark tooth-shaped ridges. Can wrap tail around objects and pull away quickly, causing damage and pain. Tails are generally 2-2.5 times the length of body.
Ears are stiff but still flexible enough to fold on themselves without breaking- though this causes great discomfort.
Usually medium-to-dark grey in color, transitioning to black in gradually narrowing stripes on tail. Males have random, rounded markings on back, usually bright shades of yellow, green, or orange, which get brighter in mating season. Mane is same color as bright markings. Females’ manes are black.
Paws are designed for climbing and leaping in trees. Arboreal; excellent climbers and balancers, can leap from branch to branch on separate trees with ease. They live in the uppermost portions of the canopy, above where major predators can catch them and below where powerful flying creatures can snatch them from the trees. Against the types of predators that are found in their section of the canopy, they can hold their own in a group, but once they fall below, nearer the ground, they are easy prey. They are very fast and very adept in the trees; top running speed on flat ground is 50mph, in the trees can reach up to 60 if the branches are in ideal condition and frequency. They are very intelligent and can use tools like the Earthen otter to break open especially hard nuts or fruits.

Takes Five months to reach sexual materity, nine months to reach full size. Males will take up to a year to reach their full muscling.

Behavior:

They live in large troupes of up to 30 members and make nests out of branches and broad leaves.
They Lay their eggs in these nests, which are clustered together for protection and guarded fiercely by every member of the troupe.

In the troupe, younglings are fed regurgitated fruit, which has been digested into a mushy liquid state. The parent or babysitter that supplies the juice will regurgitate it into a cup-like leaf or nutshell to make it accessible to the toothless chrr’p. This continues until they are a month old; after this, they begin to eat progressively harder foods while their teeth develop.

Young males (5 months - 1 year old) leave the troupe with the other matured males in their batch and form a bachelor troupe until they are roughly one year old. These bachelors travel without destination, establishing heirarchies within the group and competing with each other for the right to mate with any in-heat female they come in contact with. Eventually, when the time for the female exodus comes and they merge with a group of second-heat females (females that have had only one litter and have come into their second heat), they find a spot suitable to make their nests in and there they establish a permanent territory.

Young first-heat females (virgin chrre’n that have not yet had a litter) usually leave their family-troupe when they come into heat to find bachelor males to mate with. The mating process ends after a week, after which time the female returns to her family-troupe. The older, more experienced mothers teach the new mother how to care for and raise its litter. Once the mother’s first litter becomes independent of her, the now second-heat females leave the troupe together and form a new troupe with a group of bachelor males.

Other than their first-heat mates, Chrre’n mate for life.

Lone chrre’n without a troupe are only allowed to become a part of an existing troupe if that troupe’s members are sick, old, or few in number.

Foundation Database Entry for Species G347

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 16:15:15 GMT

This one took me a while, but it's finally done.

Mon, 08 Aug 2005 01:57:58 GMT

Research Team Gamma-M has returned confused, disoriented, and complaining loudly about the new coffee blend I packed off with them, but they've brought me a very comprehensive report on a newly-discovered species. The xenobotanist was apparently bored enough by the flora (Earth-standard, nothing exciting) to dig out the recording equipment and catch some footage of one of their traditional ceremonies for me. This might even warrant shelling out the money for a decent brand of coffee for their next trip.

...Nah. They work better when they have something to gripe about, anyway.

To my fellow researchers, I present the Ja'in. (Link opens in new window.) If you want to check back in a few days, I'll be adding a picture to the report.

Hikmat padded quietly through the village, pausing by one house to watch fondly as a trio of children played together. They squabbled noisily, the little male pulling on one sister's tail and then shrieking in protest as the other pounced on his back and started gnawing on his ear. Their mother stepped out of the house, managed to dodge their attempts to drag her into their play, and then stopped and genuflected respectfully to Hikmat. The old ja'in grinned at her, mouth open wide and tongue lolling. "Have you given them their milk-names yet? They seem old enough."

Straightening, the female glanced down at her pups again with a look of maternal pride glowing in her eyes. "Not yet. Would you like to make a suggestion, honored Hikmat?" she asked respectfully. This mother was a newcomer to the pack, having come from a neighboring pack to join her mate here. Hikmat did not require the same level of respect that her neighbor Faruq did.

"Call the male Ghassan," Hikmat advised. Naming a first litter was always hard, and it was even harder for males, since a milk-name shouldn't sound too boastful. There were more female names that touched on beauty rather than strength. "It will not be mocked as he grows."

"Thank you, honored Hikmat," the female said gratefully, stepping back and dipping her ears again. Hikmat nodded, smiled, and moved on.

She was old, and she knew it. Her bones creaked during the cold nights, and only the plentiful prey, which made hunts short, kept her from falling back during the hunt. But her name meant "wisdom", and it was that which her pack valued, not her strength as they would with a male leader. A wise pack leader was all well and good, but Hikmat feared that her pack went too far. She was ready to take the Long Walk, but she could not do that until a younger, stronger ja'in won the gold sash from her. There were many promising adults in the pack, but none seemed willing to move against her. Foolish!

Leaving the dusty ground at the center of the village, she continued out towards the savanna, grass soft against her paws as she wandered away from the pack. A pair of older children trailed after her, and Hikmat couldn't help a chuckling growl of amusement as she heard a belated yip back in the village. Some young adult had just realized that his charges had scampered off. Ignoring all three as they chased after her, she dropped to all fours and broke into a ground-eating lope, racing towards the nearby watering hole. More of the pack would be there than in the village, in this heat. That was the other problem with her age - she couldn't enforce discipline anymore.

As she reached the edge of the water, Hikmat stood upright again and slowed to a stop, letting the younglings catch up. Surveying the ja'in lounging around the watering hole with a disapproving eye, she prepared to voice her irritation.

Before she could speak, a flash of dark honey-colored fur caught her eye, and the old female spun about just in time to grapple with a younger, smaller male. Her teeth bared in a snarl, but her yellow eyes flashed with excitement. It seemed her pack wasn't made up of complete fools after all. And Roshan was a good, strong youth, a suitable leader for the pack. Assuming he managed to defeat her, because strength could not always beat cunning, and she would make him work to prove himself.

Hikmat let the male bowl her over, then continued the movement into a roll, pinning him to the ground. Reacting quickly, Roshan raked his claws down her face, and pushed her away when she instinctively moved to shield her eyes, rolling from underneath her and springing to his paws again. She rose immediately, before he could press his advantage. They both stepped back, circling each other, and Hikmat eyed Roshan for signs of weakness or an opening. Blood dripped from her muzzle, but while the gashes stung, they were neither deep nor dangerous.

He pounced again, with almost no warning, but her experienced eyes caught the ripple of muscle under fur just in time for her to dodge a pounce that would have ended the battle then and there. She snarled and lunged at him, sinking her claws into his shoulders, but he actually pulled her closer and then tangled his legs around hers. His spurs scratched furrows down her lower legs as they toppled together onto the ground. Hikmat bit and scratched and fought not to be pinned, but youth and strength slowly but surely won out. Roshan was too determined to be dissuaded by a bit of rough treatment, and he cleverly guarded his weak points. In a flash of teeth and fur, the old ja'in suddenly found herself on her side, held firmly to the ground with the male's jaws clamped gently around the underside of her throat.

"I yield," Hikmat snarled loudly enough that the watching pack could hear her, and Roshan bounded backwards on all fours before rising upright. He didn't try to help her up, which she was grateful for even as she eased herself to her feet. She was not badly injured enough to tolerate that humiliation, whether he'd defeated her or not. Quiet joy sang in her heart. The heavy burden of leadership would finally fall upon another's back, and Roshan was one she might have chosen for the position herself if she had any say in the matter - no small thing, when she'd known for a while that she was weak enough for any ambitious youngling to defeat.

Reaching down, Hikmat carefully undid the knot that held her gold sash around her waist. Shaking the creases out of the fabric, she stepped towards Roshan and tied it ceremoniously around him. Blood dripped from a claw-mark on his chest to stain the bright fabric, joining the red left by her own injuries. A sash never survived long before needing replacement, but now was not the time to cut a new strip of cloth. "To you, Roshan, I pass the responsibility of pack leader. Bear the burden with strength and wisdom, young ja'in, and be never remiss in your duties. All that you are belongs to the pack, and the pack repays you with its obedience and respect." Hikmat paused for a moment. Her next words would be the most important, for a name was a deeply personal thing. "The pack recognizes you as its leader, Aziz."

Barks and yips rang out around the watering hole, and Aziz grinned at her briefly before bounding away to answer them. Within moments, he'd started up a loud howl, and those present automatically trailed after him, still in full voice, as he headed back towards the village. The whole pack would know by the end of the day. And they already followed and obeyed him instinctively. Yes, this change had been a long time in coming, but everyone had realized that it would someday arrive. Hikmat knew, as she padded quietly after Aziz, that he must have been consolidating his authority well before he challenged her, to avoid facing any attacks right after his victory. He would be a good pack leader, and she had no qualms now about preparing to take the Long Walk. The pack's members were indeed fit to supply its needs.

Berserker Aya

Tue, 02 Aug 2005 03:36:08 GMT

A new addition to the spectrum of Kumayakies.

A picture to illustrate

2nd gens are a result of gene tampering by feeind geneticists. The new form of Aya began to appear gradually on Anyana, wreaking havoc on the entire planet, as they are virtually undefeatable in battle and extremely successful in hunting. These 2nd gens have incredible healing systems, knitting together a moderately deep wound in a matter of seconds. This makes for a virtually indestructible opponent in a one-on-one battle.

Anatomy note from the creator:
That funky tailblade can fold and expand, much like the dorsal fin of a fish. Spifftastic. <3 And SecondGens still retain [modified] anger stages, like the original Aya.

2nd gens can cross with regular Ayas and form very powerful, sonic fast hybrids. These hybrids often have erratic, unpredictable, or even multiple personalities, making them highly unstable.

2nd gens and 2nd gen hybrids are very succeptible to disease and genetic defects. Often, a high percentage of a hybrid litter will have fatal defects or mutations that either stunt or hinder the cub's growth or kill it.

2nd gens and hybrids have comparitively short life-spans compared to the average Aya, living only about 30 years before their bodies began going downhill. This process takes from 3-10 years, depending on the individual.

75% of all hybrid Ayas born will be sterile. A small percentage (Less than 2%) will be sterile and hermaphroditic. 25% of sterile hybrids will have no gender at all and no reproductive organs.

2nd gen Ayas have earned the name Berserker Ayas for their incredible insatiable tempers. 25% of all Berzerkers will be insentient, and these are often much more persistent (even to the point of death), but also easier to outsmart and outmaneuver.

If I come up with any more, I'll prolly keep you posted. ;) No stealie the pic, please.

Snapshot Meme!

Fri, 17 Jun 2005 02:47:25 GMT

Participating in sun_huntress's Snapshot meme with two things I wrote for the original Snapshot meme. I figured y'all might like to read 'em. :D

Character: Ghelthtizh
Species: Articine
[very] Short Description: Essentially huge wolves, 20-25 feet tall, they live on Anyana's arctic continent Minshky. Known for saving the lives of lost wanderer/traveler/victims and also known for their fierce defensiveness of the others in their pack/family group. Their fur is thick and can be as long as 6 feet. They're usually white, sometimes they have grey wolvish markings, and have a sort of tribal but elegant culture.

It was dusk, the period between daylight and darkness, a time of transition between the creatures of the day and the creatures of the night. A gentle but thick snowfall fell from the thick grey clouds overhead, coating the gently rolling hills with a blanket of thick powder. Few beasts lived in this cold area of arctic wilderness but others lovingly called it their home.

One creature flailed desperately through the deep snow, its thick coat of white fur dampened by light blue blood, melted snow, and the thick, stringy saliva that froze solid on the outer layers but still remained cold and wet near the beast's skin. It was a juvenile articine, barely more than a year old and still unwise to the ways of arctic predators. Exhaustion wracked its frame as it struggled through the nearly 15-foot deep snow, leaving a hot blood trail behind him, melting deep pockets in the powder before freezing solid.

Fear darted through its frantic eyes at the thought that the Hunter might still be stalking nearby, his heart pounding rapidly and making its wounds bleed all the more. A question arose in his weary mind. Why did the giant beast leave he, its would-be prey, with such sudden haste? The creature had had the pup in its massive jaws but without warning dropped the keening male into the snow without flourish and dissapeared into the storm.

Forest green eyes half-lidded as a sudden wave of fatigue washed over his body. He was running out of blood; that much was certain by the large amounts of blue liquid being left behind in the erratic trail of foot- and body-prints he was leaving. The youngster was about to give up; his family group's cave was several miles away from what his homing sense was telling him, and he had told no one he was leaving- in fact, the pup had been planning on running away for some time and had left nine days ago. He'd hitched a ride on a passing eagolf's back and they had had to take shelter from the sudden storm that had formed quickly over the rolling hills of Minshky, Anyana's only arctic continent. After being laid up for three days in a snow cave the articine had dug out for shelter, a beast the likes of which the male had never seen before found their den and quickly made short of the poor eagolf- a fate the articine would have been lost to had the creature not let him go.

A sudden movement, a flash of white in the distance caught the cub's attention and he immediately curled up in a tight ball, covering his face with the long fur of his tail, becoming a mere lump in the rolling hills of white. Soon, he knew, the thick snow would cover his body and erase nearly all evidence of his existence- except for the scent of his blood left behind for any creature with a sensitive sense of smell to find.

He heard a distant snort and felt the wind currents around him shift. There were several creatures nearing him, and by the difference in the wind patterns he could tell that they were slowly surrounding him. Panic welled up in his throat and he silenced a whimper instantly, forcing his body to refrain from trembling as it so wanted to do. Even the slightest movement would reveal his position and spell his demise; he could not afford to even breathe.

After several moments of tense waiting, he could tell that the creatures were within ten feet of him now; he knew that he was doomed. A puff of warm breath melted the snow that was caking on top of his head and instinctively the pup remained motionless.

A rough nudge by a broad muzzle knocked him over and sent him sprawling across the snow. He knew his cover had been broken, and he opened his eyes expecting to see a monster that would be sure to eat him.

A familiar furred face, canine in composition and covered with a dense coat of hair looked back at him, two blue eyes squinting through the snow that caked onto its eyelashes. A grunt, and the massive articine sat down on its haunches, towering above him and blocking the snow's descent like a wall. It huffed satisfactorily, though on its lupine face was a mixture of a scowl and a look of concern.

"Ghelhtizh," came a bass masculine voice from the 24-foot beast. "Learned your lesson, have you? Consider yourself lucky to be alive- but unlucky that we have found you." Now a group of five others gathered around him, sitting back on their haunches and looking down with disdain at the pup. Now another voice spoke behind him, this one a light tenor.

"There are strict rules concerning runaways, Gheltizh- this you know, as you have seen the punishment given to your youngmates. You will be no exception."

Now the first male stood, his six-foot-long fur rippling in the storm's wind. "Bring him," he rumbled. "The Duke will berate him harshly."

One of the other articines scooped up Ghelhtizh in its long, furry tail, picking him up off of the ground and wrapping around the pup like a burrito, essentially protecting him from the wind and restraining him in one effortless motion.

The juvenile male's ears drooped as the search party began a fast gliding run over the snow, their massive paws running atop the powdery surface like snowshoes. He knew his fate- a harsh beating, a forced fast. He would be exiled for a time from the group, though carefully kept under guard to prevent another escape. The process would take over two years, during which time he would be made to endure merciless insults and shaming taunts by the pack and fed a convict's diet of stretched hide and tasteless melted blubber.

He sighed. Even after the exile and seemingly endless teachings on commitment and loyalty by the Priest, he would be marked as a traitor for the rest of his days. He began to question his motives for leaving; he had known other younglings that had made their own attempts at escape, and few had been successful. He'd been instructed to give the 'traitors' the silent treatment and had been reprimanded for even glancing at one of them. The articine way of life was strict, but once a pack member had finished the teachings, they had an irreplaceable family group that would never leave their side.

But was the strict bringing-up worth it?

Ghelthtizh would never know; he had been marked as a traitor for the rest of his days and would never receive the benefits of such a guardianship.

He was an outsider now.

Species: Klyt
Short Description: Sort of a very small, delicate gryphon beast, but with bird feet on all four legs and canine-esque joints. Its tail is long and sturdy, with a heart-like "tailspade" at the end. They have long, thin wings, and large ears. 2.5-3ft tall with a 10-12ft wingspan. Live in huge groups called a klittre. (Anything vital I left out? lemme know!)

The tawny little creature gave an angry shriek as a brick red male spun in midair and knocked the apple-sized nut she held out of her claws with his tailspade. The juvenile klyt chattered at her tauntingly, his black eyes mischievous and his ears splayed in a kliytian grin. The female flattened her ears and clicked her beak at him, eyes narrowed and wings thrashing the air furiously as her prized possession tumbled several hundred feet to the jungle floor.

With an outburst of rage the female snapped her wings forward and tucked them in close to her body, sending her lithe frame in a very tight backwards flip and sending her bony, spaded tail lashing forwards to connect with the taunting male's chin with a resounding crack. She'd been careful to be sure that her tailspade hit him on its flat side so that it would not cut through his jaw but instead sent him fluttering backwards and down, shrieking from pain and surprise.

Instantly the rest of the 200-strong klittre erupted in a shrieking cacophony, some scolding the overly-defensive female for her retaliation and some scolding the mean-tempered male for causing the female to lose her hard-won prize.

The female clicked at him angrily, watching him. Sulking, the adolescent flattened his ears and threw a few squalling insults at her before begrudgingly going off in search of another nut to give as a peace offering to the female.

Triumphant, and her dominance established over the younger red, the tan chirped a few choice insults of her own at him before swooping downwards and landing on a nearby branch, watching for his return as he would soon be bringing her a nut of equal or greater size as a sort of peace offering. Her son, the ornery red male, needed quite the discipline to keep his obstinate youthfulness in line. And she still had the knack for it.

Project: Photo Album [Conception; entries 1-3]

Wed, 15 Jun 2005 21:48:50 GMT

Inspired by my own Snapshot Meme, I've decided to compile a "photo album" of my species listed here--or, more accurately, of all the species on that list that I haven't featured in major stories, novels, art, or role-playing before. (I.E., no Korat Snapshot.) The photo album will feature the aforementioned minor species with a link to and summary of their description and a short, less-than-1000-words writing "snapshot" to just get a feel for and give an impression of the race. This will help me feel out the species' depth/attributes/aura and will also help me hammer out some slight details, whether culturally, mentally, or physically.

I'll start off P:PA with three entries.

Species: Shrarr(s)
Character: Audii, young adult, silver-ticked black female.
Scene: Upon reaching adulthood and abandoning the constant brawling of third-year adolescence, Audii finds herself expected by her peers and elders to hunt for the clan's cubs; however, she aspires to be something better than a mere huntress and resents their limitations.
Words: 352

The air was thick with the scents of life--rain-slick foliage, humid heat typical of the jungle, brightly-colored birds and lizards, preybeasts in the distance, and predators nearby. It was a melting pot of all she knew, all she'd ever experienced--and all she hated.

Audii stalked through the dense tropical forest, toned and corded muscles rippling unseen beneath silver-ticked black fur that was pressed sleek against her proud, well-shaped body. Small nostrils flaring and stiff bat-like ears twitching, the dark huntress exhaled growlingly, the displeased noise grating with serrated teeth against the smoothness of dripping leaves and sodden flowers. How dare they? she snarled to herself, angry thoughts wringing a louder and more threatening growl from her throat. One lash of a whip-like, twenty-five-foot-long tail decapitated an unfortunate tree-flower, the tall sapling toppling as though struck by lightning that had somehow pierced the layered canopy.

They think I am nothing but another newly-grown rarran. They think I can be nothing but a hunter. Dark red fury, the color of blood, highlighted her words as they blazed in the darkness of her mind. Curving claws dug into the thick, loamy soil, tossing pawfuls of it behind her with each pounding stride. The feel of the soft, damp earth was comforting in a way, and she reveled in burying her claws fully in its familiar, pungent expanse even as such receptive flesh spurred her anger.

Some well-trained part of her primal mind noted the presence of potential prey half a mile distant, but the young Shrarr ignored such alerts and instead powered her sculpted frame through brambles with two-inch thorns. Demi-intelligent fur, long and shaggy and wiry, shifted and rippled to break off each poison-tipped thorn before the venom could pierce her thick hide. They dare think I am like them! She stopped, surrounded by briars that would have killed any beast other than what she was, and threw her powerful muzzle to the unseen sky and screamed her fury to the creatures of the world.

The thunder of wings as the birds fled the trees drowned out the echoes of her cry.

--------------------
Species: Aluben
Character(s): Kyarin, an adult male in the early prime of his life.
Scene: Kyarin, an outcast and a prophecy come to life among his race, walks among a Welphie and Kiforn gathering.
Words: 428

Every thrashing time, a creature snarled in the privacy of his own mind, long ears flattened tightly to a sleek skull. Proud and tall and outwardly emotionless but for his swept-back ears, the Aluben warrior was passing through a gathering of Welphies and Kiforn--just taking the shortest route from Point A to Point B--and they were all eyes. Not a single one, not even a Kiforn, was ignoring him; he could feel their gazes raking his pelt like invisible, yet almost tangible fingers. All too acquainted with the keen sense of smell that the other races possessed, Kyarin forced himself to remain icily calm and aloof--hostility in his scent, anger pheromones in the air, would offend or provoke those gathered. As he moved, neck arched to hold his long snout level and high, maintail slung casually low and legtails swept against his sculpted torso, he knew they were staring at his fur.

Typical Aluben males were reddish, or brown, or black, or grey, while females were lighter colors like gold, copper, white, cream, silver, or golden-red. Some Alubens had markings, usually flecking or shading, but most were a solid color. His pelt, however, was unique--and every Aluben knew the instant they saw him. Deep rust-red was smeared across his shoulders, muzzle, and hips; his shins and paws and ankles were coal-black; iron-grey mottled with earth-brown across his flanks, neck, and tail; his stomach and throat, unfortunately, were a female's colors, dappled in silver and pale gold. Thank the gods that Welphies and Kiforn had never heard the alubi myths; they stared because he was pretty, not because he was prophecy. But other Aluben, they knew...

Powerful muscles flexed in a spasm as gentle claws raked lightly through the red fur on his haunch--the Aluben warrior whirled, the scythe-bladed hindtail that extended from his hock wrapping instantly around a welphan forearm. The young lupe flinched, gold eyes wide and startled to find his arm captured in a painless but inescapable grip, his free hand tugging on the loop of leanly muscled legtail that bound him. "Peace to you," Kyarin hissed, his meaning very clear in his calm but pointed tone, as he unwound his hindtail from the adolescent's arm, hardly a hair out of place on either of them. No one touched him and lived--had the welph been an Aluben adult, Kyarin would have killed him. But he would kill no child and no welph, so his unnervingly dark gaze left the pup's face and he began walking again.

No word was spoken until he left the crowd.

--------------------
Species: Drakka
Character(s): Krrkt, a Drakkan intelligence agent.
Scene: Krrkt receives and passes along a message in the middle of a Drakkan workday.
Words: 357

"Mssr!" A pause, the thump of booted talons loud against corrugated-metal walkways. "Mssr Krrkt, the reports are in." An ugly but all too familiar face poked in the doorless entryway cautiously, compound eyes deep blue and glinting with curiosity. The male was white and slender and overwhelmingly offensive to look at--Krrkt snarled when she half-turned and caught sight of his pale features. "Sshkt," she acknowledged brusquely, then hissed loudly as the male didn't move. "Get out of my sight, you maggot!" The small male squealed and ducked away, his boots clamping down the hall with renewed haste.

Krrkt turned back to the computer console and, lower hands tucked against her rounded belly, reached out one huge upper-hand to link her station over to her captain's station. "Mssr? This is Krrkt." No answer for a long moment, and she felt her impatience growing--but she knew better than to inquire again. A few minutes passed before the click of a response shuddered out over the link: "Msssssr Krrrrkt," the gravelly voice practically purred, a sickening fluidity to the words. "How can I help you?"

The atypical courtesy of a higher officer to her inferior was nauseating. "Reports are in, Mssr," Krrkt snapped, concise and neutral in her own grunt-click voice.

"Is that all, Mssr Krrkt, valued intelligence agent?"

"Sshkt."

Thankfully, the comlink clicked off, and Krrkt exhaled and attempted to loosen her clenched jaws. A distant pain in her abdomen brought her ruby gaze downwards, and she withdrew her lower-hands' four-inch claws from the outer layer of her flesh, a few drops of dark blood seeping forth--tense, too tense. Her captain's new secretary was unnerving--too important a position to allow a male to serve, so it was a female, and no female took well to doing menial paperwork and answering calls.

Shaking her head slightly, the dark-skinned Drakka resettled her clawed hands on her gashed stomach and lowered her mainhands to the console. More work was to be done yet. But, by the nesting caves, sometimes she felt like a slagging male with all the tedious drudgery of processing intelligence reports that came her way!

Well, I've put off introducing myself long enough.

Tue, 14 Jun 2005 17:31:21 GMT

I have well over a hundred species in various universes, but they're all in my head, which is why I haven't put any of them up on this community yet. I've decided to start working on that. To start off with, while I have many, many different universes and worlds, there are two main ones that I'm going to focus on to start out with. I think I'll describe each of them briefly, because when I put up my species descriptions, one of the info-bits on them will be their universe and planet/region. I'll be doing plenty of critters from other places, too, or ones that don't even have homes yet, but these are the ones with large populations. I'll also add (very incomplete) lists of the creatures from these two that I have the most solid information on.

Rhian
This is a "world" in the same sense as Tolkien's Middle-Earth - it's not one planet in a galaxy, it's just a single, flat world. Quite literally, as the creation story behind it makes clear that the entire universe is a pocket-universe about half the size of our solar system. It's my primary magical world. All the creatures on it were created by the driving life-force of Rhian, the Kao or earth-spirit, which drove the creation of plants and lower animals while "asleep", "woke" for about three hundred years during which it designed and created the 100+ sentient denizens of Rhian, and then went back to "sleep" again. Everything in the landmass of Rhian proper was deliberately designed by the Kao and has a soul directly connected to it, as its physical manifestation is buried directly beneath the Rhian Valley at Rhian's center; there are also sentient creatures beyond the Western Wastes and Eastern Sea, and a few from the Northern and Southern Wastes, that were not deliberate creations of the Kao but were a sort of spill-over and therefore tend to resemble the creatures it DID create. These spill-over creatures include the humans, the only ones to migrate to Rhian en masse, who are in similar in design to the four First Races and are believed to be the spill-over from the First Races' creation, and the spill-over creatures have no direct connection to the Kao and only a trace of its power in their souls, which has various effects on them (the most obvious to the Rhian races being that: A) they aren't absorbed into the Kao when they die, and therefore, like non-sentient animals, have no way of living on after death, and B) they can handle refined metal, tanned leather, plastic, and other things that burn the flesh of Kao-connected races [anything that's been dramatically altered from it's "natural" state, basically]). Spill-over sentients are not viewed very kindly by the Rhianese, as they aren't fully considered "people" (point A) and can be very dangerous (point B). There are also two races from other dimensions running around - the Kigo and the Ruhonnu - that have been "translated" into forms that can survive in Rhian by the auspices of the Kel (sort of like minor gods, but I'll describe them as a seperate race when I get to them because that's what they're considered to be). The large majority of the creatures of Rhian, though, were the Kao's conscious works. A lot of them - particularly the ones created before the Kao really got a handle on this whole creature creation thing - have major design faults that are supplemented by magic. *coughElasicough*
- Kaori
- Kaolin
- Elasi
- Aleri
- Kel
- Ruhonnu
- Kigo
- Saen
- Kruyshev
- Kaisol
- Illuni
- Tocken
- Harrach

The Reality-verse
Not a very good name, but this place is my purely scientific universe, a science-fiction version of our galaxy. I've forced myself to work on this one entirely without magic, though I do have another deus ex machina for races that wouldn't logically come about through evolution - the Haithians (or Hait'dien, or Hach-en, or whatever you call them in whatever language you choose to use), a highly advanced species with a talent for genetic engineering that likes to hold competitions for creating/influencing more primitive races or worlds, with points for beauty, subtlety, survival ability, adaptability, etc. I'll write them up first so it makes a little more sense. The one thing you'll have to watch out for in this one is that, because I don't know enough about stars to pick good ones to make the right conditions for my various worlds, you won't see any stellar systems with names you recognize. You can still assume that some of them have species, though, maybe even a species that I've created, because the various galactic organizations all follow the same convention for naming star systems that have sentient species in them. You ask the sentient species what they want their world to be called, then everything else is based off of that. So our system isn't the Sol system, it's the Terra system, with the sun being Terra Prime and Earth being Terra III, and we're Terrans. (If we had a double-star system, the larger sun would be Prime and the smaller sun would be Terra Beta.) If there were more than one race in the star system, the more advanced one would be allowed to name things, but the less advanced races would be allowed to call themselves their own name (and while their homeworld would go down as the official version in the star charts, the lesser race's influence would dictate what name was commonly used). There are many, many different galactic organizations, from the loose Terra-Nori alliance (which nominally includes their colony worlds, but no other species) to the Forum (which includes nearly ten thousand worlds); there are also alliances such as the Nine-Star League and single-race colony-empires such as the Empire.
- Haithians
- Aphstians
- Nori
- Xalatians
- Jevarese
- Elarans
- Metagons
- Valari
- Valencians

static crackle This is your moderator speaking.

Mon, 13 Jun 2005 05:09:03 GMT

Nice to see we have some new folks! You guys are welcome to introduce yourselves and tell us about your species/cultures/worlds, if you'd like. Or you could lurk. That's valid, too. =B

But, I'm giving into the urge to stir up a little bit of discourse. With a meme. Which isn't, say, required, or anything. ~~Don't hurt me.~~

The Snapshot Meme: Every xenobiologist has at least one favored species that they study more than others. And then there are species on the sidelines, lingering in your peripheral vision, begging for some attention. This meme is calling them from the wings and onto the stage! Post a description of this species, as detailed or as concise as you'd like, along with a 100 to 1000 word "snapshot" ficlet depicting a moment in an individual's life. If the description and/or ficlet is more than a few paragraphs, please place it under an lj-cut. Or, if you're more of an artist than a writer, draw the species!

Hey, I'll play nice and do this, too. =D

Species: Shrarr(s)
Character: Audii, young adult, silver-ticked black female.
Scene: Upon reaching adulthood and abandoning the constant brawling of third-year adolescence, Audii finds herself expected by her peers and elders to hunt for the clan's cubs; however, she aspires to be something better than a mere huntress and resents their limitations.
Words: 352

The air was thick with the scents of life--rain-slick foliage, humid heat typical of the jungle, brightly-colored birds and lizards, preybeasts in the distance, and predators nearby. It was a melting pot of all she knew, all she'd ever experienced--and all she hated.

Audii stalked through the dense tropical forest, toned and corded muscles rippling unseen beneath silver-ticked black fur that was pressed sleek against her proud, well-shaped body. Small nostrils flaring and stiff bat-like ears twitching, the dark huntress exhaled growlingly, the displeased noise grating with serrated teeth against the smoothness of dripping leaves and sodden flowers. How dare they? she snarled to herself, angry thoughts wringing a louder and more threatening growl from her throat. One lash of a whip-like, twenty-five-foot-long tail decapitated an unfortunate tree-flower, the tall sapling toppling as though struck by lightning that had somehow pierced the layered canopy.

They think I am nothing but another newly-grown rarran. They think I can be nothing but a hunter. Dark red fury, the color of blood, highlighted her words as they blazed in the darkness of her mind. Curving claws dug into the thick, loamy soil, tossing pawfuls of it behind her with each pounding stride. The feel of the soft, damp earth was comforting in a way, and she reveled in burying her claws fully in its familiar, pungent expanse even as such receptive flesh spurred her anger.

Some well-trained part of her primal mind noted the presence of potential prey half a mile distant, but the young Shrarr ignored such alerts and instead powered her sculpted frame through brambles with two-inch thorns. Demi-intelligent fur, long and shaggy and wiry, shifted and rippled to break off each poison-tipped thorn before the venom could pierce her thick hide. They dare think I am like them! She stopped, surrounded by briars that would have killed any beast other than what she was, and threw her powerful muzzle to the unseen sky and screamed her fury to the creatures of the world.

The thunder of wings as the birds fled the trees drowned out the echoes of her cry.

A creature I dreamed up.

Thu, 12 May 2005 06:46:32 GMT

Being that I am running a game of D&D, I decided to create an interesting monster that lay in your average dungeon crawl. It was the beginning of the campaign... new players, new game. I just wanted to give them your lah-dee-dah run through to see how they worked together. As it turns out, they made it much more interesting and complex than I ever imagined a dungeon crawl could be! I had to make some things up along the way. But here's the monster I created. Not really a monster persay, but stats away!

Creature Name: Syltheris (No relation to slytherin, and anyone who says it shall be beheaded)
Description: A syltheris resembles, as a base, a large serpant. However, it's tail grows right into an almost humanoid torso. The two arms are spindly, with long fingers, similar to the arms H.R. Gieger's standard aliens, with the exception of the talons which end these fingers. It's head resembles the skull of a dragon, and though it is covered with flesh, it's so taught that it doesn't seem to be so. Where eyes would normally be there are only hollows, and two huge, batlike ears are set to either side of it's head. They're particularly hardy, and covered with a tough, blackish-green hide. These creatures are, for all intents and purposes, blind. They use echolocation (natch), as a means of locating things. In a fight, for anyone who's D&D savvy, these creatures also have a skill called "blindfight"- essentially meaning that it's other senses are sharp enough to make up for it's blindness. These creatures are cold blooded, but function well as long as the temperature is above freezing. (They're magical, I don't need to explain this. ;) ) It's magical features include the ability to become partially ethereal, complete regeneration from any state, and to communicate telepathically with any other syltheris. It's eating habits seem a little unorthodox; it uses it's ability to become partially ethereal to reach into another creature's skull and pull the brain out. However, this is largely instinct/ habit, based on the way other creatures on their home plane are built, and thus the way they've been forced to eat there. They don't come from earthly realms by any means; moreover a plane of darkness I've yet to develop. Also, Syltheris don't so much reproduce, since they can't be destroyed, except for by magical means, and thusly have no need. Light-based magic is the only thing capable of harming a syltheris. And by light, I do mean LIGHT. Beams. Bulb. LIGHT.
Skills and the Like: Syltheris can learn magical and combat skills, as per normal. Favored magics are trap-magics and favored combat skills are based on polearms. (They are, after all, full equipped for a close-range mellee without having to learn a weapon. ;) )
Limitations: When a Syltheris is forced or summoned out of it's home plane, it has relatively little means of figuring out the cultures of the world it's been tossed into. They have no language, and are limited to telepathy only with one another, and so it almost never seems to be making an attempt to communicate. And neither do the creatures of another world seem to be communicating with it, since Syltheris consider vocal communication the fodder of "lower" animals.

I've not figured out much about their culture yet, but it wasn't important to the game. I'll take suggestions/ discussion on that. :) I think it'd be very interesting to have the PC's later found out that they slaughtered a very intellegent, but simply very confused animal.

Obligatory Introduction Post.

Thu, 12 May 2005 03:22:26 GMT

Uhhhm - hallo, I'm Heather. Just joined a couple minutes ago. I'm working on a fantasy graphic novel - I always feel weird calling it that, it sounds so pretentious - that heavily features an ark's worth of mythological creatures.

One of my favorite pasttimes is taking prexisting mythological creatures and reworking them so that they are more physiologically realistic. Currently (as in right this moment, in fact) I'm working on centaurs, since one of my main characters is a centaur. Elves and merpeople/nagas are another two of my favorites to tinker with.

If you haven't seen the "documentary" about dragons on Animal Planet, I highly recommend it. It's got some very interesting tidbits about how a creature like a dragon could manage flight and fire-breathing.

Yyyep. That's about it.

Species List

Sat, 30 Apr 2005 19:34:15 GMT

Well, to kick off my participation in this community, I present to y'all my own list of my species. I estimated somewhere over 50 when I took a meme on kekks based on our species, and boy, did I underestimate.

I have 155. XD! Over three times as many as I'd roughly guessed. Awesome. So here they are, in no particular order. Whee!

Monameo
Grenbile
Ribontil
Aliconama
Unimara
Unimia
Kokimundo
Tukitunaya
Domatira
Horbunmo
Gawanita
Calibuma
Munayaki
Gomagon
Rukayak
Shukakaki
Runaya
Komakucamonk
Ramshori
Clei
Alanee
Taigren
Piglee
Flailo-Tahnee
Twitop
Feeind
Seani
Razorleaper
Snalut
Zantarag
Snike
Instrubird
Scriew Snake
Quoam-Ina
Jootoo
Cheuzeei
Aguaina
Faina
Five-Spot
Liox
Taika
Neela
Polan
Tolo
Ono-Kalli
Zelock
Slider
Gripper
Florec
Chauperi
Chible
Antali
Lantali
Articine
Prodacot
Eletrida
Eagolf
Jenkala
Dudli
Dracai
Perro-Cabeza Ceballo
Oztin
Ranyot
Firebird
Cliffjat
Anitiga
Duschje
Zenii
Mi'ataji
Shonat
Elijane
Ojita
Khochete
Yliu
Cusantja
Riishat
Sorianth
Gniji
Wuntianu
Sau T'iaj
Tag Series
Tikcklar
Junt
MiniDino
CarniZee
Neek
Alna-Heely
Long-necked Saltag
Short-necked Saltag
Bluecac
Gloob
Ciridiri
Raikashi
Bri
SeaDragon
Dai
Dai Racer
UniFlame
Chinko
Gira
Anacondai
Hoverglob
Kumayaki
Mancaw
SpotterPup
Rubhordoli
Kababir
Scrobla
Upsfla
Cebuu
Seachi
Herost
Terloo
Docofi
Scortia
Sedobl
Gereshne
Orntheloperi
Wucalaar
Peloneg
Roupbi
CyFi
Modetail
Bujaws
Lacam
Spearfish
Wolvi
Beatig
Fivibre
Merhorse
Blafalo
Gaja
Terror
Quaglet
Li'tan Selii
Korayat
Li'tan Munchat
Duronder
Denizi Izjan
Cogiltri
Grrahlt
Zhahk
Slypten
Hrrazketh
Tripinn
Rhiiper
TimberCat
Gaji Fujiaju
Klyt
Znitre
Jhnitigahghtet
Tianichen
Aviolfine
Twerdle

*wipes brow*

Edit 5/3: Finally fixed that broken tag. ^^;;; Sorry about that, guys.

Species Links

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 05:31:39 GMT

The Terolian Species Archives [note--not all are mine. each species is copyright their respective creator.]

These species are fairly set in stone with some possibility of later tweaking/expanding.

Welphies [Thaizi]
--Welphies ((alt. page))
--Welphie+Kiforn Picture
Kiforn [Thaizi]
Alubens [Thaizi]
Antrans [Antra] ((includes Qynes, Niyias, Vaes, siolriols, dires, treecats, serovi, & chings))
Hajrars [Eral; Nishao Kalimns; Emeracore System]
Olashi [Lavana]
--The Olashi Chronicles
--Olashi Generator
--Olashi Spacecraft Generator
Nila [Lavana]
--Nila Generator
Drakka [unknown]
Adochi [Raobe']
Minor Species [Lavana] ((includes Eleis, Chitters, Preda Bens, & Quomai))
Masi [Lavana]
Siyymns [Lavana]
Tioasm [Lavana]
Taroks [homeless; Aibla; Lavana]
Jhee [Aibla]
Atsuden [Aibla]
Nihiks [Aibla]
Sirlivi [Lavana]
Oroya [Shakala]
Wolvens [Lavana]
Maeqeli [Aibla]
Xerachinians [Xerachin] ((includes Brakken, Shelk, Kragr, Numini, Rahjen, & Dehz))
Reykahrs [Juma]
--The Valley of Kabisyr RPG ((unopened))
Semyma [Juma]
Khrebum [Juma]
Bhrithum [Juma]
Tuatha (Runners) [Vytha]
--The Tuatha Chronicles
--Runnerspeak
--Vytha
Formoria (Fishers) [Vytha]
--Fisherspeak
Arduinna (Hunters) [Vytha]
--Hunterspeak
K'anta [Poc'n]
--K'anta Generator
Meures [unknown] ((needs revamping!))
Night Cats [Lavana]
Tyvars [unknown]
Shrarrs
Wolf & Cat Shifters [Alasa-ca / Rummaen]
--The Shifter Chronicles
--Wolf Shifter Generator
--Cat Shifter Generator
--Wolfin & Cattin ((languages & dictionaries))
Spiders [Ayunrak]
Asao [Jhey]
Imorat [Aibla; Lavana] ((needs revamped/deleted?))
Jumuhr [Khraen] ((needs revamped?))
Muhrarr [Aibla] ((needs revamped/deleted?))
The Original Nine [Lavana] ((includes Night Cats, Snow Cats, Shugarays, ~~Sky Tigers~~ Sky Cats, Infernios, Fettis, Erauqs, Kiyis, & Maned Heifias))
Shaltyras [Aibla] ((needs revamped/deleted?))
Nonsentients [Lavana] ((including Byrgs, Chitters, Clatts, & Eleis))
Various [Lavana] ((including Non-Maned Heifias, Vemehs, Ajoite'is, Trahes, Foruques, Gizirs, Leasheas, Alineos, Tlaemaes, Iczas, Dragon-Snakes, Ayes, Nickimisses, & Eshays))
Rochoi [Racamarai]
Miesins [Racamarai]
Kat'ni [Cadora]
--Kat'ni Generator
--Cadora ((includes stories))
--Ayshu and Subishi
--Cadora the Planet
--The Continents
--Nations of Erodak
Tiquin (catfolk) [Cadora]
Kerils [Cadora] ((link not up yet))
Kyn [Cadora] ((link not up yet))
Cadoran Races [Cadora] ((including humans, demons, merfolk, lizardfolk, & Tuits))
--Demon Generator
--Human Generator
Cadoran Beasts [Cadora] ((including Trotters, Links, demon animals, & animals))
Species List [Lavana] ((needs updated--working reference only))

That's all of the ones I have online. Holy crud. I didn't think I had that many. *zonks out* =z_z;=

Korat Links & Icons

Thu, 28 Apr 2005 04:20:58 GMT

Main Korat Page
--Korat Biography
--Korat Summary
--Korat Gallery
--Korat Role-Playing Game [KRPG]
--Which Korat Breed Are You? quiz
--_korats
--General Korat Generator
----Red Korat Generator
----White Korat Generator
----Tan Korat Generator
----Black Korat Generator
----Lavanian Striped Korat Generator
----Hopean Striped Korat Generator
--Korat Writings by sun_huntress
--Korat Characters
--Korat meme:

You as a Korat! by Kusani
Name
Favorite Korat Breed and Why
Preferred Prey
Breed and Build	long-legged, toned black
Claw and/or Blade Color	blue-black
Eyes	cold, distant dark green eyes
Best At:	hunting large prey

Quiz created with MemeGen!

Korats are love.
made by sun_huntress.
art from various artists, used with permission.

---------------

Icon Teasers: A. B. C.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14. 15.

16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

26. 27. 28. 29. 30.

31. 32. 33. 34. 35.

36. 37. 38. 39.

40. 41. 42. 43.

Greetings!

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 12:22:59 GMT

Hello! I'm a new member and thought I'd say hello. Though I rarely create my own monsters, I am a biology student at heart and would love to help anyone who has realistic/scientific questions about their otherwise magical/mythical monsters. ;) Just because there's a seperate world of D&D physics doesn't mean I/we can't have fun with D&D biology.

Vygun colour charts

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 02:13:40 GMT

Everything you wanted to know about Vygun colour can be found here! This is the first section of my species bios, so it's the first thing completed. And here it is. Design your own Vygun, kiddies, it's a disturbing amount of fun.

( Hmm.. )

Spam spam spam spam.. spammity spaam! Spammity spaaaam! :spam Viking song:

Mon, 25 Apr 2005 00:21:50 GMT

Okay.. you get an earful of S'karkaavany goodness. How do you think they're coming?

What I still need to do:
- look over the dang thing and check for extraneous wrong bits (I started it a long time ago)
- make a colour table with the titles for the 'breeds'
- make an aging table
- recalculate heights and weights
- include the anonymity factor in culture
- work on 'weaknesses' and diseases
- redraw wings, show the middle section's smaller
- show how wings are folded
- probably some other stuffs.. XD

Name – S’karkaavan
Plural – S’karkaavan
Descriptive – S’karkaavan
Pronunciation – (SKAR-kuh-VAHN)

Sentient? - Yes

Height at Shoulder –
Unfurled Denim: 9’7”-10’
Furled Denim: 7’8”-8’
Unfurled Males: 8’5”-9’8”
Furled Males: 6’-7’
Unfurled Females: 8’-9’6”
Furled Females: 5’6”-6’6”
Height at Top of Skull – Just add about one tenth of their unfurled shoulder height to reach the head height.
Weight – Ranging from 60-100 pounds. They’re very lightweight despite the masses of muscle in their backs, feet, tails, and legs – this muscle isn’t like on Earth creatures and weighs little.
Lifespan and Aging – Anywhere from 9500 to 10000 Earth years. It depends highly on the individual. Monks are ‘eternals’. After they complete an average of five thousand years of training, the higher monks will perform the Service of the Breaking. They find the monk-to-be’s birthplace in time and… erase it. But, it’s still there. (Confusing, no?) This casts the individual into an eternal state. They are infused into the Vortex itself, able to move through it, and are at all times aware of its weighty presence. They were never born and for that reason will never die, converted into a raw state of bound matter and energy that exists for all time. Normal S’karkaavan progress through their infant state in several Earth years, and for two thousand can be compared to human 3-7 year olds. The next thousand is devoted to what a human would call the preteen days – ages 8-12. 13-17 is completed in a rapid period of change that gets them through ‘puberty’. There is much chemical imbalance and development in this five hundred year period, especially in the fifty years or so in the middle. Then there is five thousand years of young and middle adulthood, with the last few thousand set aside for the aging adult and with only a hundred or so years of being a real elder (human-wise, 87-90 or so).

Colouration – S’karkaavan come in shades of black, white, ‘dust’, dark green, and golden brown, along with various blues, russets or rusts, indigos, greys, and regular browns. ‘Dust’ is a word used to describe a dark, greyed golden-yellow. They’re generally bi-coloured, with a base of one and markings of another. Sometimes a third will sneak into the mix, or even a fourth; these are not particularly uncommon. The usual colouration is with the base colour covering the entire body and markings consisting of a spine-stripe, patterns on the membranous wings, layers of both colours in the feathers, a mixture of stripes and spots or rosettes across the body, and a banded tail. However, all types of incredible and gorgeous markings have been seen on S’karkaavan. Each one carries genes for many different colours and markings that are not expressed, but are so in offspring. Eyes can be any colour, literally, though it oft consists of a base colour with a darker or lighter shaded circle of such around the edge of the iris. Often the irises will even change colours, starbursts of other hues radiating off the slit-shaped pupil. On most S’karkaavan, this happens when kesstraida are vibrating or during periods of very active cerebral activity or mental chemistry, though some learn to control it and can form hypnotic, fluctuating patterns of colour. The plates that run down their chest are generally a darker shade of the base colours. Though S’karkaavan experience little actual emotion, the colour of the starbursts seem to coincide with different moods.

bright red or reddish orange hatred, fury
dark blue-purple sadness, angst
white shock
paler-to-darker eye hue, then back again general kesstraida use

Temperament – A one-word summation would be introverted. S’karkaavan in general do not socialise outside a very trusting and very small group of friends. They love their space and can spend very long tracts of time merely living life alone, in reflection. Every S’karkaavan has a highly capable mind and body, which they keep very toned. They’re creatures of equilibrium, sophistication, and contemplation. If you ever need a mentor, a S’karkaavan will be a good bet. Their tempers last for incredible expenses of time, but they can and will snap if one pushes them to the end of their very long rope. And when that happens, chances are the one who does the infuriating will die. This long-lasting passiveness does not mean that S’karkaavan have weak personalities, however. Many are willing to stand up for their cause and love a good, long, friendly argument to expand their horizons and sharpen their minds. They have a sense of pride and like to be right, but they are humble enough to accept when they are wrong. Most S’karkaavan are something of skeptics when it comes to the human ideas of ‘magic’; telekinesis, mind reading, etc, when there is no explanation for it. However, they are more than willing to believe if evidence is offered to them.
External Description – S’karkaavan are svelte, long-limbed creatures with a total sense of balance and grace. Their basic torso structure is built humanoid, though about half as broad. Their legs are, when fully extended, would be about twice as long as a proportional human leg. However, each has two knees that can lock like a human’s does, as well as an ankle that can bend in either direction. Here is a simplistic illustration of the legs and ankles.

S’karkaavan feet are… massive. Immense. Vast. Big, basically. On a small female, they can lock around a cylinder with a circumference of four feet and hold it for a very long period of time. The feet are built very heavily and robust, capable of carrying the individual for long periods of time and over great expanses of rough terrain. They are comparable to an avian foot crossed with that of dinosaur. Each has three long toes and a thumb set further up on the ankle, with a large, deadly talon on each. The claws are unretractable, and the shape, size, and sharpness vary greatly between different individuals. S’karkaavan walk on the balls of their feet, and they have a very long, fluent gait that can carry the faster ones up to two hundred miles per hour for short bursts, and all can maintain a steady run of seventy to eighty. However, S’karkaavan are best adapted to a slow, ambling walk where their balance is utterly perfect and that they can retain for weeks without rest. (This, of course, is ignoring sustenance needs.) S’karkaavan hands are humanoid in build, despite being much larger and longer in proportion, with narrow and almost gaunt fingers. Each digit is equipped with a short, sharp, slightly-curved, retractable talon. S’karkaavan do not have fingerprints. Their palms and the undersides of their fingers, when they are born, are totally smooth and pulled taught over the bones and muscle. As they age, the skin loosens up and gets the quality of leather. S’karkaavan arms are humanoid, though the very small bulk is in the upper arm. The lower is thick, but extremely hard and bony. S’karkaavan heads are very elongated versions of human ones, with larger skulls. There is a larger gap between a normal, plain-looking nose and thin, somewhat wide lips. Each greyed tooth is sharpened, and the canines are especially elongated. Their eyes are long and narrow, with slit-shaped pupils and broad, circular irises. There are no eyebrows, but heavy, malleable ridges of flesh and cartilage that take their place. S’karkaavan ears are massive and very flexible, often whipping madly about even when the individual is still. Two sets of small, sharp horns curve behind from the jaw line, and another pair are located above the ears. Here is a profile image of the head. The only hair on their bodies – excepting feathers – is that on their skull, which resembles a human’s hair, but is often rougher and more naturally ragged. Note that many S’karkaavan hold an ‘effeminate’ look.
(N/A for revampage)
S’karkaavan have tails that act as an extension of their spines. These tails are hugely muscular allover, especially at the base. They’re extremely thick and long, tapering down to a point. Despite their lumbering, dinosaurian appearance, the tails have an incredible flexibility to back up raw power. They can easily hold themselves aloft with their tails and can carry up to eight-ten times their body weight easily with them. Sometimes a S’karkaavan will have a ridge of spikes protruding from the spine that run down their tails. About half the females, one quarter of the males, and all of the denim have this trait. The spikes aren’t particularly big or sharp, but add a nasty bite to the already vicious tail. The spikes don’t grow right from the vertebrae, and can be flattened or lifted with the right muscle tension. Perhaps the most important part of a S’karkaavan are the wings. There are four of such entities, two feathered and two membranous. The smaller pair are the avian set, which are located higher up on the shoulders and are closer to the stomach side of the body. The much larger membranous pair are set lower, and provide the main power behind the flight. These wings are have something unlike the traditional arm structure this type is based off. Instead of two ‘arm segments’ like on a human’s arm, there are three. Here’s a simple illustration.

The joint labeled 2 can only bend in the direction shown, but number 1 can bend in that direction or the opposite. The small membrane spanning across joint 1 can be tensed when in the position shown above to disallow straining, but once let slack, the wing can easily bend the other direction.
Here’s a very much so simplified illustration of the membranous wing fully extended.

A S’karkaavan’s body is mostly covered in a tough, hairless, pebbly skin. After a while, familiar folds crease like leather, and this can be seen in older individuals. The top of the hands and feet, membranous wings’ arms and fingers, and tail are all covered in literal scales, which are extremely tough and hard, though tiny to preserve movement. Jointed plates run down the stomach, 'crotch' area, and the insides of the thighs, as well as spanning across the chest. These plates aren't quite as hard as the scales and little to no flexibility is lost for their presence.
Internal Description – S’karkaavan musculature is decidedly subtle. Instead of the bulky muscles that most creatures have, S’karkaavan have sheets of tough, stringy muscle that’s very compact. One with undeveloped, weak, or muscles looks very similar to one with toned or powerful muscles. In the latter case, however, the muscle is far more compact. The only place where there is bulky muscle is in the wings and tail. That doesn’t mean it’s different, however; it just means that the layers have been added on top of one another for so many layers, it gets very massy. Another point to make – S’karkaavan muscle, unlike human muscle, is very lightweight, enabling them to retain their buoyant nimbleness. The bones are more supple than solid, flexing under pressure if it’s needed. S’karkaavan don’t generally need very strong bones due to their small weight. The slight elastic quality is highly useful out in the field. The brain cavity is larger to fit both a highly-advanced and intricate brain as well as mass amounts of kesstraida, which are stiff hairs sticking into the cavity from the skull, covering its insides. S’karkaavan have two very large lungs, which are more elongated down and up rather than out. Each has three hearts, three separate bloodstreams. The two larger hearts are responsible for the right and left sides of the body, and are located above the lungs, protected by many levels of thick, corded muscle. The third heart is much smaller. It controls the blood flow in the skull and neck alone, and is located nestled in a small bone cage beneath the tongue, between the sides of the lower jaw. This is the most important heart; it nourishes the kesstraida and brain. S’karkaavan blood and muscles are varied shades of a dark blue-purple-grey colour. The upper bloodstream has more contrast between the grey and blue-purple bits. S’karkaavan have extremely low metabolism. Their lower hearts beat at about ten times per minute, and the upper heart is constantly fluctuating between ten and thirty. Their body temperature is usually very cold, about forty degrees Fahrenheit. S’karkaavan have a stomach that consists of three tiny chambers. Each chamber has a maximum diametre of roughly two and a half inches, with the first chamber slightly larger then the middle, and the last smallest of all.
Senses – Their eyes are well-honed, and can detect motion incredibly well. From a distance of twenty feet, they can spot ants moving on a similarly-coloured wall, no matter how slow. They can also see into the infrared as well as ultraviolet ranges. Their sense of hearing is dominant and can perceive an electrifyingly extreme range of frequencies, much wider than that of any Earth animal. Also, in a medley of sounds, they can pick out the differing frequencies and isolate them in their mind. This can also be done with smell and taste, though those senses are not as honed in the normally interpreted use of the term. S’karkaavan, though they enjoy a sophisticated palette at times, generally only ‘taste’ by drawing air, food, drink, or even other materials if need be past two small organs running along the sides of the tongue, one on either side. They can pick up any subtle, underlying flavours easily by doing this. The same is done with scents. S’karkaavan noses are equipped with a much larger number of smell-receptor pores than humans and can effortlessly determine between very similar scents. Their sense of touch is greatest on their feet. The series of flat, powerful scales on the bottoms of their feet can be retracted into the foot, revealing the rough, leathery skin. Some S’karkaavan will make use of the incredible sense of touch on the bottoms of their feet and callous it slightly to protect it. Also, some portions of the upper wings’ membranes are sensitive, close to the hand-joint and running along the sides of the fingers. All S’karkaavan have something of a sixth sense, though mainly monks and wanderers make the best use of it, and can use it to a much more powerful degree. This is the detection of pure, raw mental energy – brainwaves given off by living creatures. Plants give them off to a lesser degree, somewhat, but S’karkaavan chiefly use energy-detection to ‘read’ things that don’t emit brainwaves. In most cases, the brain is cushioned by a layer of saltwater that the brainwaves don’t emit through easily. S’karkaavan are one of the only species that can detect such incredibly weak frequencies. With the use of kesstraida, which are like stiff hairs coating the inside surface of their skull, they can produce similar frequencies as brainwaves. Moreover, they can use their kesstraida to emit a certain vibration that will bounce off other waves and return to the S’karkaavan in the form of a nifty package – in essence, reading the other wave in a single, easy swipe. From the wave they can determine the preferred language of the creature as well as base information about it that is always carried in a brainwave – unguarded thoughts, gender and possibly age and name, etc. Though S’karkaavan might learn all these things, they will rarely use them until they ask, as they’ve found that many creatures think it intrusive. S’karkaavan can, therefore, make use of ‘telepathy’ and are very highly aware and empathic.
Breeding – S’karkaavan breeding is a touchy subject. They hate breeding – it brings no pleasure to them and is something of a grueling process. Their long lifespan and high adaptability lets them stick around for lengthy amounts of time, so the process of producing offspring is not first and foremost. However, since S’karkaavan are rather curious and will try anything once if it makes sense, many will have between three and four total children through their lives, with large amounts of time in between each. There is only one egg produced by each breeding, though it is always successful. They get no diseases through mating. When a pair decides they wish to procreate, they will often join hands and take flight, bodies tightly against one another. The colder the air is, the better. Sex organs are internal, located where a human’s intestines would be, but are highly minimal. Some S’karkaavan surgically remove them. The male’s penis will emerge from a genital slit at the base of the tail. It arches forward. The female has a similar slit, though it is a duct that leads to the uterus. Mating is the traditional ‘insert slide A into flap B’ process, and the actual mating lasts for only seconds before the two withdraw. The female will develop an egg and lay it over the course of a human year. She tends to it further for five more years before it hatches and starts its life. What are denim, you ask? Denim are S’karkaavan that are born with no reproductive organs. Most will have traces of gender that they lean towards. When monks go through the Service of the Breaking, they are automatically sterilised. Many go through the surgery to remove their sex organs and sew up the genital slit. Natural denim aren’t nearly as numerous as males and females, but tend to be much larger.
Subspecies – Primal S’karkaavan

Home Planet – Querevandere
Habitat – Originally a nomadic peoples. The S’karkaavan were a single, unified ‘pack’ that roamed over Querevandere, dominating the frigid ice caps and tundra, mountains and foothills of all types, and were the only non-aquatic sentients to roam over the vast seas. There were very few S’karkaavan to start with. Only maybe a hundred or so that founded the entire species. They settled in mountain caves and in cliff sides when their long-lasting desire to travel finally was soothed, where they developed their highly advanced technology and spread into the galaxy. Now, S’karkaavan still inhabit these clean and efficient cities, though many live on other worlds. And for some, who roam to the far corners of the universe, the wanderlust never died…
Diet and Digestion – S’karkaavan bodies are lengthy and highly compact, though a small amount of sustenance goes a long way. They’ve omnivorous, eating both meat and plant matter. A S’karkaavan’s stomach acid is extremely potent. Food remains in the various chambers until it is broken up into individual molecules – sometimes even down to atoms or subatomic particles. S’karkaavan stomach acid actually deadens the charge of these particles, by binding loose particles of the acid to them. The cells can then make easy use of the raw material. For this reason, S’karkaavan technically could eat and make use of anything, but organic material is much easier because the molecules can be used, and it doesn’t have to be broken into subatomic particles and then reorganised into desirable packages. Cellular processes take a long time to work through, but are exceptionally proficient. The energy released by them is hundreds of times as effective as human output, and S’karkaavan have little to no waste. Waste material is broken down totally, then ejected outside the body as subatomic fragments from tiny ducts covering the skin. S’karkaavan enzymes function best in extremely cold to cool temperatures.
Weaknesses/Diseases – A main weakness is heat. Very hot temperatures lead to excessive chemical reactions, which puts a huge strain on them as well as depletes their food energy supply. S’karkaavan stomachs are small. However, this can sometimes give bursts of power and energy.

Cultural Notes – S’karkaavan aren’t social creatures, usually having a small group of friends. Very often they’ll only have one to three other S’karkaavan in this group, and it isn’t limited to just others of their species. Young ones, who are more open than adults and have larger groups of friends, will oftentimes participate in mind games and play fight with one another. These are not only fun exercises, but it prepares them for the more rigorous training that they’ll subject themselves to in the future. Since S’karkaavan generally read people they meet instantaneously, they’ll know the pattern of brainwaves and can emit a series of vibrations that attack an unprotected mind like a jackhammer to an egg. Such noises can drive one insane, cause permanent brain damage, or, in very extreme cases, simply overload the brain and pop the nerves. Even if they don’t use that much force, they can stun one enough in order to render them senseless before tearing them open with vicious talons. The main S’karkaavan hub is a city called Sinosleios, or Nucleus, in the mountain and cliffside caves by the largest and northernmost ocean of Querevandere. The city is not the largest, but it has the most S’karkaavan to other sentients ratio of all known municipalities. It serves as the scientific and artistic centre of Querevandere’s solar system, but is very hard to get to. Some don’t even acknowledge its presence.
Language(s) – S’karkaavan are never monolingual. Each and every one of them learns at least several other languages in their lifetime. Their kesstraida allow them to produce noises that their rather feeble vocal chords can’t. Most other Querevanderein sentients call the S’karkaavan language the tongue of intellect, and indeed it’s used largely in Querevanderein science. S’karkaavan themselves merely refer to it as the S’karkaavan language. It was invented only to easily converse with other species and for writing, as most contact between S’karkaavan happens through pulses of sound from the kesstraida.
Religion(s) – Secular. The S’karkaavan monkshood is not a religious entity. The ideas of magic and gods never took hold in S’karkaavan society in the Years of Voyage (the very long nomadic period in their history) and after this, their society became rooted in science. Some hold a mild disdain for the idea of gods and religion, though none ever outright deny the existence of such, as it cannot be yet proven.
Family Life – S’karkaavan don’t have a marriage process. When they mate, they are linked for life. It’s as if sharing their bodies makes them share their brains. The mental connection between a S’karkaavan and any other brainwave-emitting creature becomes much more powerful for a mated pair. They spend the rest of their lives together, or at least in contact. It is not unheard of for a S’karkaavan to have more than one mate, and all three sharing the heightened union. A young S’karkaavan’s brain is the first thing to develop. The S’karkaavan equivalent of a three year old acts like a human thirteen year old. They’re insatiably curious, delving into their schooling and exercising their minds and bodies extensively. Adults treat children like adults, and it’s not uncommon to see advanced arguments passing between child and parents. Adults, however, do require a certain amount of respect from young, which is always given. Children recognise older S’karkaavan’s experience and larger databases of knowledge. The S’karkaavan equivalent of puberty is a period of massive amounts of slightly unstable development. In this period, the individual’s childlike inquisitiveness peaks. Most deaths, excluding old age, happen in this timeframe due to excessive nosiness and muted common sense. After puberty, a S’karkaavan is considered an adult and will leave their protective parents.

Side Notes – S’karkaavan normally stand with a profound hunch to their shoulders and a stooped head. Their knees are also considerably bent. This is their relaxed, furled state. When a S’karkaavan unfurls, they lift their wings from their shoulders and hold them behind, straightening the back and stretching the legs slightly. This gives them additional height.

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