While these Planet Gurx posts have been about the planet, Gurx, Strondovarian culture has expanded far beyond that one world. The majority of the Strondovarian population lives on other worlds or space stations. Gurx is still important to Strondo culture, but few see it as the place to be. Today we’ll look at some individuals who were born on Gurx, but left, for various reasons.

Kisilib

Wounded in an accidental explosion that killed most of their friends and family, Kisilib left Gurx to find new meaning in life. Living for a time on Doaphean, then on a space station near the New Gurx construction, and now works in a relay station on a planet in the Briagrog system. Kisilib has not yet found the new meaning they seek, and still pines for times long passed with lost loved ones. We can only hope things improve for poor Kisilib.

Pegelleb

Pegelleb is a murderer. This has earned them the title “killthinker” (“Agiihit” in Strondovarian language), which is a Strondovarian who resorts to violence to solve problems, which in Strondo culture this is downright shameful and is seen as indicating an inability to think. If a Strondo isn’t clever enough to come up with useful solutions, instead needing to rely on destructive impulses, they are considered too flawed to be of any real import. The only thing that keeps individuals like Pegelleb from being completely removed from Strondo culture is that their crimes make them somewhat Notable and so other Strondos can gain esteem from capturing and imprisoning them. Pegelleb is currently kept in captivity on a prison space station run by a famous team of Strondos who keep as many killthinkers locked up as they can.

Leafhearer

An extremely rare case is the Strondo now known as Leafhearer (if we translate from the language of the Rootfolk). Leafhearer has forsaken Strondovarian culture and left Strondovarian space altogether to worship the Rootfolk. Seeing those enemies of the Strondo species as examples of strength and ruthlessness, Leafhearer has joined a special unit of “aliens” who serve Rootfolk interests (with varying levels of desire to be there), and has show loyalty that has impressed their new masters.

On a mountain in the foreground, a Pholbunu tries to keep still to avoid a passing Ougliahai. On a lower mountain a handful of Ealpaia are gathered.

Ealpaia

A white-furred Aehubar not too distantly related to the Strondovarians, Ealpaia are larger than but nowhere near as intelligent as their cousins. As omnivorous pack animals that live in small packs, they are highly territorial and have been known to chase away even Strondovarians who wander too near. As such, Ealpaia are a symbol of aggression in Strondo culture.

Pholbunu

Although the primary diet of the Pholbunu is vegetation that grows on the lower parts of the mountain, these small creatures often climb higher to travel greater distances when migrating, and to build little stone nests during the mating season. This puts them at risk of being snatched up by predators who operate in the skies above, but Pholbunu have some of the strongest hearing of any creature on Gurx and that helps to keep them aware of their surroundings.

Ougliahai

Unlike their more populous herbivorous relatives, the Tessen, Ougliahai are predators that dwell in the skies near mountains. Sensing the world through echolocation, the Ougliahai have venomous spittle that they can rain down on a target, paralyzing and killing it, allowing the predator to float down and eat. This is an expensive evolutionary advantage, so they have to be eating almost nonstop, and if they prey on creatures too low in the mountains, there could be other predatory creatures that sneak up on the feasting Ougliahai while they are eating and make a meal out of them.

At this point we’ve covered a lot of the animal life that can be found on planet Gurx, and we may have seen some of planet’s version of plantlife along the way, but we haven’t focused on it. Here’s where we remedy that:

For the most part, the type of life forms that the Strondovarians classify as “Aataa” have roots that they use to anchor to soil, and extract nutrients and water, and many can use photosynthesis. They are as similar to the plants one would find on Earth as anything on Gurx.

Ovauep

One of the most common kinds of Aataa on the planet are the Ovauep, which have petal-like leaves on top of a large bulb. In addition to taking in sunlight, the leaves will, when in the presence of moisture such as rain or dew, react by forming a sort of funnel to help the plant drink it all up through its top. The Ovauep uses this moisture to make a kind of “juice” that seeps out of its sides to attract animals who drink it. This juice contains the Gurxian equivalent of pollen, which can travel via the animals to mingle with other Ovauep and allow for reproduction.

Aeklay

Found mostly in batches alongside rivers and streams, Aeklay are essentially straws that draw moisture from the wet soil to produce a fruitlike bulb that, when matured and pollinated, will dry up and blow away in the wind usually falling into the water that will wash it to some other wet soil where it can begin again.

Aeossolay

Similar to the Ovauep, the Aeossolay attract animals with the promise of a meal and will send them away with pollen. There are some differences in technique here, though: the meal of an Aeossolay is not juice, but a nut-like substance that is, by most accounts from Strondos, quite delicious. But don’t get too greedy, because if an animal digs in too deep (where the food is softer and easier to eat) while the plant is hungry, it can trigger the Aeossolay to release a chemical that will paralyze and digest the animal.

Aishiaro

Considered beautiful by Strondovarian culture, the Aishiaro are an ancient form of Aataa that grows in a sort of layer-cake form. Each year, a new tier of the Aishiaro grows from the middle of the last, building up and up until the time comes for it to release a cloud of spores, which are followed by the beginning of next year’s tier.

Ooabbi

Located on the dark floors of the Gurxian forests, the Ooabbi are named something close to “blinkers” for the bioluminescent patterns they use to attract their prey. Like the Aeossolay, these are carnivorous Aataa, but they do it with poisonous pollen-juice that can drop a victim dead near-instantly when it comes into contact. Luckily for the Ooabbi there are some species of small Vootuph flying about the forest floors that love to scavenge and are immune to this poison, so these Aataa can still pollinate and reproduce effectively even as they pile up corpses around them.