Difference between revisions of "Aurian"

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Akram al-Kazi, a legless Ar Ait Aurian.

Aurians, named after Balistria's goddess, Aura, are a diverse race of reptilian humanoids who were once the dominant species of Arcturia. While generally bigger, stronger, and faster than their less evolved brethren, aurians do share similarities with snakes such as a flexible lower jaw, similar locomotion movement for Aurians with snake-like tails instead of legs, and capability to produce venom. Their bodies consist of a larger brain capable of more precise, faster execution for their strong, agile bodies. In addition, most aurians are capable of infrared-sensitive receptors, allowing them to "see" the radiated heat of warm-blooded species.

Aurians are a cold-blooded species, thus making it difficult for them to adapt to cold climates around the world. Furthermore, they generally suffer from poor senses in comparison to other species, are more vulnerable to diseases as well as twice as likely to suffer from mental illnesses or disorders, and are highly aggressive and emotional in nature.

Several variants, or ethnic groups, of aurians exist in the form of "[INSERT HOMELAND ISLAND NAME] Ait Aurians" of which six exist. While each ait aurians possess unique characteristics, they are able to breed with other aurians, thus creating several sub-ait aurians in the already diverse aurian race. However, aurians coming from such unions are often looked down upon in their society.

The Aurian Anatomy

Stelahl aurian Basheer al-Greiss, a world champion in wrestling.

Aurians are ancient, omnivorous reptilian humanoids and thus have more snake-like characteristics than human ones. The average aurian male stands at around 5'8" to 7'2", weighs between 135-235 lbs, and appears bulky in stature. The females are just slightly smaller, standing between 5'6" to 7'0", weighing between 115-170 lbs, and have a more athletic stature than the males. Aurians are bigger and taller than other species mainly due to the fact that strength is highly focused and valued for survival as well as one of the main ways to attract a mate.

Inheriting a head larger than other species, aurian brains function with the same competence as the human brain although with several differences such as the visual usage of infrared and stronger emotional responses. Aurian skulls have a flexible lower jaw, allowing for devouring whole preys although the omnivore aurians have teeth to chew and break up their food. While their eyesight is rather lacking, aurians are able to make it up with infrared-sensitive receptors from their forked tounges. Interestingly enough, aurians do have noses capable of smelling despite the forked tounges acting to smell. Aurians usually have a pair of long, visible pairs of fangs able to use venom. The strength and effects of the venom vary from each ait aurians, and thanks to having their own venom glands, there have been several efforts to find a cure for the different venom lurking in the aurians.

Aurians are entirely covered with scales of various shapes and sizes. The scales act as protection for aurians, aid legless aurians in locomotion, and allow moisture to be retained within. Aurians periodically molt their scaly skins and acquire new ones to replace old, worn out skin and allow aurians to naturally grow. Aurian body markings and colors may vary, but the main skin colors, such as blue chasm or red ros aurians, rarely change. Colors are determined genetically by different traits carried by both parents.

Aurians are pentadactyly with two hands of four fingers and one thumb although aurians can have three fingers and one thumb. While fingers may vary in appearance according to genetics, it would seem that they universally serve as very sharp claws in close combat. Still, they're dexterous enough to be capable of complex motion necessary for accomplishing difficult tasks. If aurians are born with have legs, feet tend to vary according to each ait aurian and genetics.

For legged aurians, tails are generally anywhere from 2 - 8 feet long on the common adult aurian while legless aurians are 6 - 9 feet long. Aurians tails are used for balance which gives them an advantage in certain situations, and in addition, their tails are also useful for swimming, using their tails to propel themselves as they glide through the water although this is mainly important for Qraz Aurians. However, it has been documented that aurians commonly use their tails to strangle one another in combat and even hold various weapons. Aurian tails are also capable of exposing their user's emotions such as slamming their tails on the ground to express anger or making curls to show a sign of happiness. Aurians are regarded to be more dangerous when a tail is completely still as it conceals their true emotions and thus true intentions.

Aurian Aits Variants

Purple - Ar Ait, Blue - Chasm Ait, Yellow - Qraz Aits, Green - Zuls Ait, Orange - Stelahl Ait, Red - Ros Ait, Map of the Aurians Homeland Islands.

While aurians share enough characteristics to be able to breed with other different aurians, each ait aurian are radically different from each other due to separate evolution on adapting to their respective isolated islands. This is mainly due to either mountain ranges preventing migration movements or their cannibalistic water relatives, the Qraz Ait Aurians, who preyed on anyone swimming in the waters around the aurian islands. It should be noted that the aurian social hierarchy is organized by the following from highest to lowest: Ar Aurians, Chasm Aurians, Stelahl Aurians, Ros Aurians, Qraz Aurians, and Zuls Aurians. Sub-Ait Aurians positions may vary according to their parents but are generally frowned upon.

Ar Ait Aurians

Chasm Ait Aurians

Second to only the ar aurians, chasm aurians surprisingly hold themselves to a higher esteem than even the ar aurians themselves. Often well known for their aristocratic attitudes and an eye for shiny items, chasm aurians are also famed for their king cobra-hoods (which inflates their already huge ego), red eyes with concentric circle patterns resembling a large spiral, and their beautiful blue skin color.

Stelahl Ait Aurians

Famous for their strength and dedicated work ethics, the Stelhal aurians, often known as the Brutes of the ait aurians, often take on the majority of roles involving physical labor. Known for their black, grey, and orange colors, spikes decorating the bodies, and their massive, numerous muscles, the Stelahl orginated from a large mountain range in their island.

Ros Ait Aurians

Originally third in the aurian hierarchy, the Ros aurians fell from grace when the aggressive stelahl claimed third place through sheer determination and hard work against the passive Ros artworks and music. Nethertheless, the Ros aurians continue to maintain a certain degree of respect as they were vital to the development of aurian culture. Known for their red skin color and black and white body markings, the Ros aurians home island is similar to the chasm aurians amid a few differences. It should be noted that unlike other ait aurians, Ros aurians do have a mutation that would allow for them to grow another seperate, fully functional head although the chances of a Ros aurian developing such a mutatation is 1 out of a 10,000.

Qraz Ait Aurians

Zuls Ait Aurians

Since the Zuls are often seen as the black sheep of the ait aurians for their home environments, appearance, and abilities, they are ranked at the lowest social position and are thus subjected to numerous discrimination and racial violence as well as false accusations. Zuls aurians are characterized by their 'ugly' green colors, four yellow eyes, and having a similar king cobra-like hood as the chasm aurians. They inhabited a warm, toxic island filled with acidic lakes, muddy grounds, and only the many trees and vines growing amid the acid along with what few animals live there. Due to such a place, the green Zuls have not only have evolved to have high immunity against both acids and toxins, they also have the most deadly venom out of all the ait aurians mainly due to the severe hallucinations it induces when a victim is exposed to it. In addition, they have evolved to have another pair of eyes to give the Zuls superior eyesight when compared to other ait aurians in order to better identify potential camouflaged prey as well as mates. This was greatly needed as the warm environment rendered their infrared capabilities almost obsolete.

Sub-Ait Aurians

While a Sub-Ait aurian's position varies according to their parents, the hybrids are generally frowned upon in their society as they're seen tainting the pure aurian bloodlines while messing with the natural order of the aurian hierarchy. The Sub-Ait aurians may inherit the unique abilities of their parents, but as a consequence of being mixed, the strength of the abilities are reduced in half. The appearance of the Sub-Ait Aurians mainly takes on the physical traits of the mother while the father influences the skin color, eye color, and body markings of the child.

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Aurian Anatomy

Saif and Turki el-Aboud, a double-headed Ros Aurian.

The agile aurian form is mainly built for brute strength, but it is also capable of great speed if strength is sacrificed. Because of this, aurians have greater stamina, endurance, and even durability than other species. Aurians possesses sharp claws that can act as deadly close range weapons. Aurians can also use their bodies/tails to strangle as well as inject or spit out venom to unsuspecting enemies. Aurians, being cold-blooded, have a slow metabolism which means they would need less food to eat, making them more energy efficient than warmblooded counterparts, and are capable of not eating any food for long periods of time. An interesting note to make is that aurians can use infrared-sensitive receptors from their forked tounges, allowing them to "see" the radiated heat of warm-blooded species. Lastly, aurians are hypoallergenic, meaning that they won't cause allergic reactions.

As a consequence of being cold-blooded, aurians have a weaker immune system than their warm-blooded counterparts, they have to depend on their environment to warm them up, and in cold environments, they are sluggish while harsher cold climates are simply uninhabitable for aurians. Some scales of aurians are not used for camouflage and can expose their presence should they be hiding. Compared to other species senses, aurians are extremely poor in terms of sight, hearing, and smell. They're highly vulnerable to both diseases and especially mental illnesses. Aurians are more likely to be driven by raw emotion rather than reasonable logic.

While aurians are vulnerable to a majority of mental diseases, the most common and often deadly afflictions are mental disorders such as schizophrenia. The disorders usually affect aurians the older they get or if they simply inherit it from genes. The common disorders are dubbed 'evil disorders' and include psychopathy, narcissism, and psychosis to name a few. While modern medicine and vigerious treatments have been enacted to reduce the number of aurians affected, mental disorders have continued to plague aurians as criminal activity related to both aurians and disorders continue to dramatically rise.

The common life expectancy for aurian males is 95-150 and females 100-170.

The Aurian Body and Culture

Qraz Aurian Aseela al-Faris and Zuls Aurian Ismad al-Bangura painting together.

Aurians normally wear little to no clothing at all for several reasons. One of these reasons is that clothes are often equivalent to a mask; they cover up the body, the main identity card of an aurian. By doing so, it serves to hide the true worth of an aurian while also covering up the pride of the individual such as their unique markings or strongly defined muscles. The second reason is related to the first in which Zuls and Qraz aurians, the lowest members of society, commonly wear clothes to hide their status. As such, most aurians avoid wearing clothes to not be mistaken as one of the low ait aurians. The only exception to this unspoken rule is the chasm aurians love for silver clothing/armor to show off their expensive fashion tastes and religious, political, or military aurian figures wearing their uniforms. Finally, surprisingly enough, aurians never really saw the usefulness in clothing; if they needed to warm themselves up, they usually retreat to warmer areas or huddle up together with other aurians as seen by homeless aurians. If they need protection against the environment, their scales serve that purpose as natural armor, and since their sexual parts are hidden until mating time, they don't run the risk of indecent exposure. However, as more and more global ideas flood into aurian society, aurians are slowly begining to wear clothes to fit in their non-aurian environment and personally express themselves.

While originally forbidden for aurian males and females to alter their bodies unless they held specific positions, the practice of modifying one's body has slowly become more and more accepted in aurian society has time moves on. A unique example of this is the rising trend of female aurians dyeing their teeth black. The reasoning behind this was that objects that were pitch black were often seen as beautiful in Balistria, but it also holds some ties to the aurian goddess, Aura, as the color was often associated with the darkness, the main domain of Aura. Tattoos and piercings are often held as significant for their religious or ceremonial purposes, and in some cases, the highest ranking aurians adorn colored gem plates onto their forehead and chest. However, this expensive practice is mostly reserved for the ar aurians.

For aurians with snake-like tails instead of legs, their tails are generally left alone as they are strongly held upon as a high status of one's position and power in aurian society. However, for aurians with legs instead, they often decorate their long tails with mostly tattoos to create their form of 'tail art', and for those that lost a portion of their tail, a blade is often inserted at the end to dually serve for both looks and self-defense. This is mostly a common practice for those in military service that have lost a portion of their tail in combat.

The Aurian Definition of Beauty

Karen Fanford, a white chasm aurian citizen of Astrania.

As with most other species, many common traits of beauty from human definitions were passed down to aurians: symmetry, hygiene, youthful appearances, and bodies capable of reproduction were examples of such traits. However, the aurians added in their cultural tastes as well. The most desirable trait for aurians was that one must have scarlet eyes as they were revered to be the same eyes as Auras. The second most desirable trait was how the longer one's fangs were, the more dominating and stronger the person was. The most popular skin colors for Aurians were often purple, blue, or red, and it should be also noted that markings resembling shapes such as stars are very rare and thus popular. Clothing may also play a factor in attraction although the effect varies for each individual.

While they share the same standards of beauty overall, some aurians, such as the ar ait aurians and stelahl ait aurians, have their own favorable beauty traits. Stelhal ait aurians generally prefer a well built mesomorphic body over the ar and chasm ait aurians slender ectomorphic body as they always preferred strength over appearances. Chasm aurians often admire silver clothing and even sets of armor as they see the color as a symbol of the moon, another of Aura’s dominions. It should be noted that silver is also seen as a status of wealth through direct connection of the Silver Palace of Aura, one of the most expensive palaces to be constructed on Urth. For the 'lesser' populations of Zuls, Ros, and Quraz ait aurians, they are always looking for someone smaller or less significant than them in order to protect them, thus making themselves feel more important than they previously were.

Reproduction and Growth

Ismad holding a Zuls hatchling.

Young aurian males and females do not reach sexual maturity capable of reproduction until around the age of twelve. Aurians are oviparous, meaning that when most females become pregnant, they will wait for an average of seven months before they lay their eggs. After several weeks, the baby, or commonly known as a hatchling, will break out of their shells and be born. Typically, at least 5 eggs/hatchlings are created out of this process. When born, the hatchling, having more development compared to other species infants, will immediately begin to walk or 'slither' around, be able to partially see, and have a possibility to even start speaking, but it will take several more years for them to be fully developed mentally and physically. Their set of teeth have already fully grown in due to being in the egg while their fangs continue to grow as time passes by.

As the aurians bodies continue to grow and grow every passing year of its lifespan, the body begins to slowly deteriorate at around the 'higher' ages, but the mind starts to decay on a faster scale and more likely to develop mental illnesses. Old age is delayed due to aurians annually molting. Aurians also begin to become more and more sluggish and even struggle to stand up straight after becoming older. Near the end of their lifespan, aurians usually become senile and then evolve to be brain dead.

Aurians and Other Species

Aurians consider most other species to be inferior to them, both culturally and in fighting skill, and have been known to be extremely violent against such 'weak' species while justifying their actions. While there is a lack of social and racial equality in the aurian hierarchy, all aurians, even the lowest of low and sub-ait aurians, consider themselves all offsprings to Aura herself, and, therefore, have a higher position in the world. Since aurians hold themselves in such high esteem, they demand absolute respect and obedience from other non-aurians, and failure to submit to their will have commonly lead to first-degree murders and even darker outcomes.

Evolutionary Theories