#drekol

[speculative-world]

a middle aged drekol named letak, they are part of the crew of a freelance multipurpose transportation vessel known as the voidray, they are the sole survivor of a tragic engine failure and still suffer the effects of it decades later, this is the first art of the new drekol design, alongside the ap i will be updating currently existing drekol to be in their newer design, just like the ap with new information

[voidspace-bubble]

writing the snippet of king reading the history book in young blood old souls in hedezhoop [heteziform script specifically] heres what i have so far

"The Boiling Isles, born from the flesh and bones of a fallen Titan. This original magic was so potent, all life on the Isles evolved to wield magic too."

"the hot water continent, brought [to] life [of] meat [and] bones from [a] dead beast. [this] first magic was [so] powerful, many life from [the] continent changed [for] wielding magic"

"[particle for important] hot water continent, moving life meat,bones from dead beast. first magic was powerful, many life from continent changed [use]tool magic"

"dre k'toz zluto drebotuh ubzoozhoob tregul ezhuk,bazhe bul bukud pagut. goh kretodpezd tagled bogre pazhod tregul bul dreboteh upsozhoob bepezd kretodpezd."

"dɹ̠ɘ kʔtɑz zləto̞ dɹ̠ɘbɑtəɦ, əbzʉʒʉb tɹ̠ɘgəl зʒək,bɐ̞ʒɘ bəl bəkəd pɐ̞gət. gɑɦ kɹ̠ɘtɑdpɘzd tɐ̞glзd bo̞gɹ̠ɘ, pɐ̞ʒɑd tɹ̠ɘgəl bəl dɹ̠ɘbɑtəɦ əpso̞ʒʉb bɘpɘzd kɹ̠ɘtɑdpɘzd."

im still working on hedezhoop romanization but im pretty content with this one

[speculative-world]

anyone want knowledge on ◗ta, drekol, and ap during this hiatus? feel free to ask one or more of these questions with the specified sophont[s]

Alien Questionnaire - A Biological Perspective

A while ago, somebody linked me a very comprehensive worldbuilding questionnaire. For most aspects of a fictional society, it was great, but I noticed it assumed that anyone using it was making up a fictional human society, or at least a society of beings very similar to humans. As such, there was almost nothing in the biology department, which to me is one of the best parts! Thus, this questionnaire was born.

These questions are designed to help people worldbuild from a biological foundation. As such, the questionnaire only touches lightly on other aspects of a fictional society, and is more of a jumping off point. I wrote it with the aim of using it to develop aliens, but it should be suitable for any project with non-humanoid species, such as sapient terrestrial animals.

Have fun! I'd love to see your answers :)

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General Anatomy How many limbs do they have? Do they have limbs at all?

What are their primary manipulators? Where are they located? How does this affect their tool use, building ability, etc?

What kind of body covering do they have, e.g. hair, scales, feathers? How do they clean it? Do they shed this covering constantly, or all at once at certain times? 

Can they maintain a constant body temperature? If not, how do they deal with changing environmental temperatures? 

What kind of habitat do they live in? Both specific habitat, and broader such as on land vs in water.

What adaptations do they have for living in this habitat?

What kind of creature did they evolve from?

What are the similarities and differences to their closest living relatives? 

What resource(s) is the most necessary and urgent for them? E.g. for many animals, but not all, it’s water.

What are some common mutations? E.g. eye colours, ability to digest lactose in humans.

What injuries or illnesses are considered disabling? 

How is their healing ability? Can they regenerate? If they can, is that limited to certain body parts or a certain number of times?

Senses What senses do they have? E.g. sight, smell, electroreception, etc.

How good are those senses?

Which of their sense/s do they use the most in everyday life?

How might this choice of sense impact the way they interact with the world? 

Can they detect things that Earth creatures cannot? If yes, how and why?

Movement  How do they move? Do they walk, crawl, fly, etc? 

If they have multiple modes of movement, which is preferred, and why?

Which part/s of their body do they use to move?

What is their speed and endurance like? 

How agile are they? 

Do they rely mainly on their own bodies for travel, or do they use pack animals and machines? 

How often do they move around? Are they mainly sedentary, do they move a lot within a set area, do they migrate, etc?

Do they have different levels of mobility depending on age, sex, or other biological group? E.g. young barnacles are able to swim, while adults are anchored permanently to a surface. 

Reproduction and Lifecycle  How many sexes are there? 

Are there differences between the sexes (ignoring the reproductive system)? 

Are there different castes, such as in honeybees or naked mole rats? If so, what is the function of each caste? 

Are differences in sex or caste used to justify discrimination or hierarchy? How might these ideas differ in different populations? 

Do they have a concept of gender? If so, is gender affected by sex, caste, or some other factor?

How do they attract a mate? Do they release a chemical into the air, do an elaborate display, etc?

Does one individual try to actively woo another, or is courtship more mutual?

What do they find attractive in members of the same species?

What is the usual reproductive partnership? E.g. two individuals, one main reproducing individual with a harem, no set partner, etc. 

How long do they live?

How are young brought into the world? Live birth, eggs, spores, etc?

Is producing young a painful, dangerous process, or is it easy?

How much parental investment is there? Are there many young with little investment, or few young with a lot of investment (r vs K strategy)? Or is it somewhere in the middle? 

How many offspring are produced at a time? Think about how attitudes towards children may differ between a species that produces one or two, and a species that produces dozens or even hundreds at a time.

How do they grow? Are they born looking like miniature adults, gradually growing bigger? Do they have specific phases of high growth, like puberty? Do they have a larval phase, metamorphosis? 

How self-sufficient are they as young? Can they move around and feed themselves as soon as they are born? Do they require parental care? 

What is the usual structure of childcare? Single or multiple parents/related individuals? Communally raised? 

Is sex purely for reproduction, or does it serve other purposes?

What kind of sexuality is considered the norm? This doesn’t just refer to same/other sex pairings, but the culture around sex in general.

Diet and Foodchain What is their diet? Are they carnivores, omnivores, frugivores, insectivores, etc?

Do they feed off an unusual source, for example rocks, metals, or (in appropriate settings) something like magic or souls?

What physical adaptations do they have for this diet? 

Is their diet very restricted, or can they have a wide range of foods?

How often do they eat? What is the culture around mealtimes, if any?

Are they prey for other organisms? For each other?

If they are, how do they deal with it? Do they fight back, have barriers, or do they accept it as a part of life?

If they are hunters themselves, what is their attitude to killing other organisms? Are they respectful? Prideful of their kill? Is it completely trivial? 

If they are hunters, how do they hunt? Are they solitary or packhunters? Are certain members of the group designated to hunt? 

Are the results of foraging or hunting shared, or is it everyone for themself?

Are they parasitic, parasitised, or in a symbiotic relationship with any other organisms? 

Body Rhythms How often do they sleep?

What time of the day are they most active? Are they nocturnal, diurnal, crepuscular? 

Do they generally sleep for one long period a day, multiple shorter periods throughout, or something in between? 

Do they sleep to cope with extreme temperatures or bad conditions, i.e. hibernate or aestivate?

Do they have any biological processes that disrupt their life e.g. moulting, reproductive cycles, etc?

If yes, how does their society accommodate for these processes? Does it accommodate them at all? 

Communication What is their main method of communication? Sound, visuals, scent, etc? Think about their main sense and how this would affect communication.

What is their body language like? What small moving parts might aid their body language?

If they have multiple methods of communication, are they all given equal weight, or is one considered higher than others? 

Society How sociable are they? 

If social, what is the usual social structure? 

Are there hierarchies? How strict or relaxed are the roles?

How are disputes usually settled? Is it more common to be violent or appease the other party? 

If not social, what is the reaction to being with other individuals? Do they become aggressive or stressed? Do they tolerate each other? 

What is the usual size of a community? Do they have communities at all? 

Do they have an in-group vs out-group mentality? If so, how strong is it? This generally relates to how scarce or plentiful resources were during their evolution, and how territorial their ancestors were.

What kind of bonds do they form? 

On the spectrum of individualistic to community-oriented, where do they fall?

Do they have a strong sense of personal identity? Think about how this might tie in with the previous question. 

What are the main things they derive identity from? Occupation, gender, family ties, etc?

Do they have names? If yes, how are these names formed? Are they given by another party or chosen by the individual?

Have they domesticated any creatures? If so, what do they use these creatures for?

Do they have any unusual relationships with other creatures on their planet (beyond predation, parasitism or mutualism)?

Do they produce art? What are their main forms of artistic expression? Think about how this will be linked to their main sense(s), communication method, and/or primary manipulators.

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GLOSSARY Primary manipulator: Main body part used to manipulate objects, e.g. hands in humans, trunks in elephants, feet in parrots.

Sedentary: Inactive, staying in the same place.

Caste (reproductive): A group within a species with differences in body type and reproductive ability.

Symbiosis/Mutualism: Interactions where both parties benefit, e.g. cleaner fish getting a meal in exchange for picking irritating parasites off larger fish.

Aestivate: To become inactive during hot or dry periods, usually involving being sealed in mucus or soil e.g. lungfish, snails. 

Reproductive cycle: Regular hormone fluctuations that affect an animal’s fertility or attitude towards breeding. The cycles can range from months to years and can include things such as antler growth in male deer, heat cycles, and menstruation in humans.

[grox-empire]

One of @speculative-world's drekol from memory. Because why the fuck not

[speculative-world]

A piece inspired by a small story currently in the process of polishing describing the most tragic event in Letaks life called Locked Fates

alternates and the full image in the eye under the cut

[speculative-world]

the drekol representative in the ◗ta empires empirical court and political leader of lotred, the matriarch, is a desertborn drekol, and wishes to be favoured by the empress, almost idealizing her, she will stop at no length to be on the empresses good side

[speculative-world]

the matriarch, the current diplomatic spokesperson of drekol and lotred in the ◗ta empire, shes been the matriarch for about 20 telluric years, and is very dutiful to the empress and will defend her decisions to the end even if it disadvantages her and her people, she is currently trying to enforce zhutaform script in hedezhoop literature and on lotred as a whole

[speculative-world]

heres some description of ath and lotred as per the poll

Lotred: A superficially earth-like planet, from a view of the planet and not the life on it that is, Lotred is home to a bouquet of organisms which blur the lines between flora and fauna, having organisms which are highly mobile but photosynthetic, or highly sessile and heterotrophic, and a full range of organisms inbetween, Lotred has a higher amount of silicate than earth does and this effects almost everything in Lotreder biology, the main flora of Lotred is composed of high amounts of organic silicate glass, and certain organisms have skeletons composed of calcium silicate, the terrestrial fauna of Lotred is a mix of tripodal primarily megafaunal organisms with exoskeletons, and bipedal primarily smaller endoskeletal organisms, Lotred is home to the Drekol, Lotred orbits around an A-type star and has a ring system as well as two moons of similar composition and size Ath: A rogue planet with a subsurface ocean, Athian organisms are divided into many groups, two primary faunal groups are a group with a skeleton derived from muscles which can adjust depending on the pressure around them in order to keep their body relatively intact even in low pressure environments, four tentacles, five eyes, and ray-fin like fins, and a clade of snail like organisms with 8 eyes, 3 mantle skirt like structures they use for locomotion, two mouths, and usually a shell which they can retract into which can close on them, the snail like organisms function as a multiple major "floral" clade of chemotrophs, Athian "plants" are jointed yellow thermotrophs which riddle hydrothermal vents alongside other "floral" clades of snails, Ath is home to the Ap, Ath has 4 moons of varying size and 2 of them have a handful of moonmoons

[voidspace-bubble]

fun technology my universe has for handwaving physics purposes

a stellar sustainer, a device powered by a muno crystal [basically magic] which can make a star last billions of years longer than it should have [specifically for drekols home star which has a maximum natural lifespan of one billion years]

habitation/EC suit, a suit that can be either designed for a specific species or adaptive for any species which lets carbon based life survive in boron compatible environments and vice versa

planetary EC, a large satellite like machine which in 48 hours of charging can adjust the compatibility of a planet

planetary sustainer, a device which can keep a planets core from cooling down [specifically for ath which is a rogue planet]

A-speed engine, a device which turns light years travel distance into a few minutes to days

quasi-glass, a sheet of a semi-solid glass like substance which appears to make a "hologram" screen possible

[voidspace-bubble]

fun facts about lotred

it's water is very rich in silicon

the taxon that has the terrestrial plants has a vascular system which functions very similarly to a humans, complete with red "blood" and a heart like structure

potriphytes very frequently produce calcium silicate for any form of tough structure, phytozoons use this calcium silicate as a second skeleton of sorts

small sea anemone like organisms populate the entire planet, filling almost every nonphotosynthetic sessile niche you can imagine as well as cniderian niches

architherium have 4 major body segments not counting their hind limb [7 counting their hind limb]

the only flying organisms are small bony organisms

the direction of the through lung on therizoans is back to front

each major terrestrial taxon of therizoans have evolved different forms of hearing and smelling, with phytozoons like drekol evolving ears in their mandibles and scent organs in the incurrent nostrils as well as a ring of scent sensitive organs on their eyestalks

phytozoons produce a fruit like ootheca around their eggs which softens as the young inside develop, usually hatching all around the same time and eating the ootheca as well as their shells

[speculative-world]

the drekol language, hedezhoop, which has a word order of SVO, this is the less popular and younger writing script, zhutaform, a postcontact script in progress of being standardized by the ◗ta empress, it is primarily written on paper and digitally, similarly to ewar it writes top-down but unlike ewar it writes left-right, written in this example are “drekol” and “hedezhoop”

[heteziform script https://speculative-world.tumblr.com/post/705491332871946240/the-drekol-language-hedezhoop-which-has-a-word]

[speculative-world]

the drekol language, hedezhoop, which has a word order of SVO, this is the more popular and older writing script, heteziform, a precontact script written on clay tablets with shards of potriphytes and pieces of molted exoskeleton, which alternates from left to right and right to left depending on the line in a sentence/paragraph, written in this example are "drekol" and "hedezhoop"

[zhutaform script https://speculative-world.tumblr.com/post/705491591628996608/the-drekol-language-hedezhoop-which-has-a-word]

[speculative-world]

most of the symbols in the heteziform script of hedezhoop

the topmost row reading from left to right and then right to left is the letters in the script, going:

pɘlɘk [p/b], tɘlɘg [t/d], kɘlɘt [k/g], sʉɹ̠ət [s/z] ɦʔɑk [ɦ], ʒʉɹ̠ət [ʒ], ɹ̠ʉdɐ̞ [ɹ̠], lʉtɐ̞ [l], kʔɑɦ [ʔ], əso̞ [ə], ɐ̞tз [ɐ̞], зdɐ̞ [з], ʉʒɑl [ʉ], o̞zə [o̞], ɘkəl [ɘ], ɑʒʉɹ̠ [ɑ], and the glyph for signifying voicedness between the two rows ɦə.

each being romanized with: p [p], b [b], t [t], d [d], k [k], g [g], s [s], z [z], h [ɦ], zh [ʒ], r [ɹ̠], l [l], ' [ʔ], u [ə], a [ɐ̞], e [з/ɘ], oo [ʉ], o [o̞/ɑ]

the middle row reading left to right is the most common forms of punctuation in the script, going:

period, comma, quotation marks, brackets, a glyph to connect a single word from lines similar to the use of - in english handwriting, an ellipsis, and a space.

the bottom row reading left to right are the numbers of hetezhoop, being a base 4 system going:

gɑɦ [1], tɘk [2], pɐ̞g [3], ɑɦɘz [0]

[voidspace-bubble]

urn: breathe basically like humans

◗ta: breathe through their pleural lungs which have 3 openings each

ap: breathe through their skin similar to telluric amphibians

drekol: breathe with through lung from back to front

[speculative-world]

a drekol named pedal, pedal lives on a middle ring colony and makes a living as a freelance mechanic, they are ma-ch's roommate and likes tinkering with their technology to help make it more compatible for an ap

[voidspace-bubble]

fun fact, since drekol talk with their through lung, which has two excurrent vents, certain skilled drekol can say two seperate things at once, this skill is more or less culturally equivalent to magic tricks