The Kod Kod

Planet Kodron is in Universe Silver, the universe with the Space Gods known on Earth as the Astrolympians. Those Space Gods, obviously, are not merely tied to Earth, but are representative of concepts all through the universe and their presence is noted even by the intelligent people of Kodron, called the Kod Kod. In fact, whereas on Earth these gods are considered mythical, the Kod Kod consider them to be scientific fact as concrete as the concepts they personify.

The Kod Kod are purple-skinned bipeds with two tentacles where humans have arms. They are taller than humans on average, but are spongy, which makes them much lighter and physically weaker. The planet is not very geologically active, having only one continent and few mountains. As a result, there is very little variation in Kod Kod culture overall. The Kod Kod are nocturnal and sleep outside in the daylight, their skin photosynthesizing light as they rest.

Living in a settlement along the Eastern Shores, Voggle Kod is a very average citizen of Kodron. He spends the days hunting for this world’s equivalent to fish, then selling any that aren’t needed to feed his family. This is the single most common occupation on the planet and is seen as good wholesome work. Voggle lives near a temple to the Space God of Hunting and makes sure to sacrifice at least one fish from every haul.

Teya Kod is a soldier in the Devnan Army, a force serving directly under the Space God of Discipline, who makes her home on this world. The God of Discipline likes planet Kodron because there are few actual wars that could make her army fall into chaos. As it is, soldiers like Teya are just people who like strict routines and rigorous self-improvement programs. They are much more likely to help out after storms cause damage than to get into combat.

Negma Kod is a worshipper of Constelli, the Space God of Intelligence. Negma’s mission is to learn as much as possible, expanding her mind to allow Constelli’s consciousness to partner with hers. Others in this field of worship, who have successfully opened their minds to sufficient limits, now run the greatest scientific laboratory in this universe, which is especially good for a species that has not yet made contact with other worlds.

A Fact About the Kod Kod: A two-sexed, the Kod Kod are able to determine the sex of a gestating infant by regulating the temperatures to which the expectant parent is exposed. This method has allowed generations to be made up more prominently of one sex, often as a reaction to the previous generation being prominently the other.

Universe: Silver

Knowing Swimmers

The natives of the Oceans of Planet Doiva call themselves “Knowing Swimmers” because, as far as they are concerned, they are the only thing swimming on their world that is intelligent. This aquatic species is three-sided, each side having an eye, gills and two of their total six limbs. They have only one brain and a mouth located at the centre of their mass of limbs. They may appear the same to us, but each side is actually devoted to a different purpose (intellectual pursuits, social interactions, and biological needs such as reproduction and eating), so it is usual for them to turn the relevant side to a task at hand. That said, each individual has a dominant side which they default to and that can determine their personality.

To Knowing Swimmers, what one does is the supreme indicator of who they are. Their occupations are so important that it becomes the name by which they are known, and as such they can have multiple names throughout their life. It also means that a lot of individuals can end up with the exact same name. This is somewhat mitigated by the small size of social groups on this world (Their names here are translated into English).

Food Grower is dominated by the intellectual side. For years this Food Grower was Youth Educator in one of the larger cave systems, but that life eventually became tiring. Youth Educator wanted some less stressful work, and found as a farmer in a smaller cave. Food Grower has not given up scholarly pursuits, though, and occasionally goes out of the way to seek out historical relics and study them as a hobby.

The Knowing Swimmers don’t experience sound the same way that humans do, so they haven’t got music like ours. They do, however, enjoy having sound vibrate through them. The job of Sound Finder is to look for new kinds of vibrations and bring them to the people. The invention of metal on this world was originally popular more for the vibrations it could facilitate than for what it could build. In other ways it is a lot like a musician on Earth, and this Sound Finder, being very successful, has become something of a celebrity whose name precludes others being given the same name. A Knowing Swimmer going into the same occupation now would more likely be called Sound Seeker or some other name.

While they call themselves the Knowing Swimmers, some of them know more than others. Most of the population don’t even understand that there is more to the Planet Doiva than its oceans, let alone that there are other worlds out there. But those in charge do know, and they don’t want the masses to be made aware. They employ agents such as Secret Keeper to prevent sensitive information from reaching the public. The existence of ones like Secret Keeper are not a secret, though. In general the Knowing Swimmers seem to be okay with the idea that there are things they are better off not knowing.

A Fact About Knowing Swimmers: The Knowing Swimmers lay eggs in batches of about a dozen at a time, but usually only one or two of those eggs will make it to life.

Universe: Blue

Zezwek People

The planet Zezwek is occupied by an otherdimensional invasion force. Only a generation ago, the Zezwek people were spread over the planet, various nations and cultures and tribes. They are a herbivorous species who, in most of their cultures, were ruled by councils of elders. Then the Efmons came. A family of mystical warlords from some other cosmos, the Efmons conquered the world fairly easily. Towwa Efmon, who resembles a Zezwek person, has been put in place as Master of Zezwek and all the varying cultures have been united as one under their rule, as slaves.

Though the Efmons used force to conquer the planet and to maintain their hold against uprisings, they ultimately don’t want the people of Zezwek to remain slaves. The Efmons want loyal subjects. With that in mind, they now work very hard to convert the locals to the worship of their dark god Thalamaya. Given that they have visible mystical powers on display, many locals are willing to go along with it.

Ning Wayva, is a convert to the Efmons. Ning fought against the Family when they first arrived on the planet, but after the locals were defeated, the Efmons allowed Ning a chance to serve in a new army to keep the rebellious Zezwek locals under the Efmon thumb. Ning is especially excited about the Efmon’s promise that someday the army will be strong enough to seek out other worlds to conquer.

The younger generation, such as Sussun Kutt, have grown up under Efmon rule and don’t know anything else. While the cultural norm for the species is a respect for elders, the Efmons have been trying to introduce an attitude of youth-worship. Sussun Kutt, being loyal to the Efmons, has been promoted as the world’s first celebrity idol. Instead of being like successful elders, the Zezwek youth are told that this is how they want to act, this is who they want to be. As with so many similar situations on Earth, this is having an adverse effect on Sussun, the idol themself.

Keggish Durge was once a respected elder in their nation. Keggish wants nothing to do with these strange beings who claim to be from another world. Keggish leads a resistance that makes their base in caves near one of the planet’s shipping ports. Keggish lost an eye in a fight against Wabatose Efmon, but that has not stopped Keggish from repeatedly trying to breach the family’s portals to sabotage them on their own turf.

A Fact About the Zezwek People: If they ingest dirt, the Zezwek people can regurgitate it into a claylike substance which hardens into a strong but flexible material which is often used when constructing buildings. It is especially helpful at the base of buildings in tectonically active areas, as the material’s flexibility helps buildings withstand earthquakes.

Universe: Red

Veskadians

This tripedal species is from Veskadia, a planet much more massive than Earth. As a result, they are stout, standing about a metre on average, and very strong. They have thick scales and occasionally horns. Their arms, placed on either side of their mouth, are ideal for foraging the nuts and berries that make up their diet and plopping them right into their mouth. Veskadia is a harsh, dry world with terrible sandstorms where Veskadians must spend most of their day foraging. There are predatory animals, some willing to try to take on Veskadians, but the Veskadians build large fences to try to keep them out of their territories, which are usually valleys.

Because survival is very hard on their world, the Veskadians don’t work quite as hard to keep wounded Veskadians alive. If a Veskadian breaks their leg, for example, it is not uncommon for the others to stomp them to death. Dead bodies are left at the base of food bushes to encourage their growth.

Genedler is a young Veskadian living in one of the most strongly-fenced valleys on the planet. While residents there still have to deal with harsh weather and droughts, foraging there is easier than elsewhere, allowing more time for leisure. Genedler prefers to spend that time painting on rocks, a pastime considered wasteful by most, and which would not be possible in other valleys.

In a rougher part of the world, Rudneel is the boss. Rudneel’s valley has a river that dries up for much of the year, so food becomes scarce. Rudneel has lived through a lot of these hard periods and is now seen as an elder who can offer advice to others on how to get through. Rudneel is willing to try to keep others alive, but only if they follow the rules exactly. There’s no sense in trying to save those who make things more difficult.

And Durl is in an even rougher part of the world than that. After a storm during Durl’s childhood killed every other Veskadian in that valley, Durl is the only one left. Growing up alone, Durl doesn’t even realize that there are others still alive elsewhere.

A Fact About Veskadians: Veskadians don’t have any strong familial attachments. They give birth to litters averaging about four and the young can stand only hours after being born. Though they often remain in the same valley for life and will mingle in social groups, they don’t place any preference for family over others. They do, however, recognize close relatives by scent, which helps prevent incest.

Universe: Indigo

Giptunks

Giptunks live on a planet they call Gropkla. It is a world of lesser gravity than Earth, allowing them to grow twice the height of a human, on average. They stand upright and have a single large compound eye on their face and fine grey fur that covers their body. One each limb they have three digits, those of the feet being very short and stubby, those on the hands being longer and useful for making tools. The society of Giptunks would be seen as primitive by humanity. They are largely agricultural and small villages dot the landscape, but few large cities have arisen. There is, however, some advanced technology, both in farming equipment and in the form of flying vehicles, the latter aided by the low gravity of the world. They have also developed lasers much earlier in their development than humanity, which is nice. All manner of animals on Gropkla have been domesticated. They are used as beasts of burden, and as food, and as pest control. Very few truly “wild” species remain on land, and flying animals and sea creatures are only more likely to be free because they’re harder to tame.

One Giptunk, named Dwillsa, is trying to tame some of the sea creatures, though. With her farm located along the shoreline, she has created an artificial harbour to house a type of animal they call “rats” but which have nothing to do with Earth’s rats. The nearest comparison to Earth animals for Gropklan rats would be to call them mammalian frogs. While they are edible, they are no particular delicacy, but Dwillsa is hoping they can be made profitable anyway, if she can convince people they go well as a side dish to every meal.

As a member of the male-equivalent gender of Giptunk, Ortang is smaller than the average “female” and has blunt horns on his head. These “males” make up only thirty percent of the Giptunk population, so it is not hard for them to find mates (often multiple mates), but the existence of the horns makes Giptunk historians wonder if, perhaps, there was a time when males made up the bigger proportion and they had to fight over mating rights. To this day, male Giptunks in a fight will use their horns to try to damage the eyes of their opponents. Ortang, however, is a pacifist and is, in fact, one of those historians. He shudders to think of the violence that may have once been a common part of his species’ life.

Mavdav is a pilot. With agriculture being so important to Giptunks, there is a vast network of shipping of goods and livestock and equipment. The people who run these shipping lines see a lot more of the world than the mostly sedentary farmers. Experiencing the many different Giptunk cultures exposes them to ideas and concepts that challenge their minds and make them more open mentally. Mavdav in particular has spent a lot of time picking up concepts about plant life and created several written comparisons that we would consider scientific research. It is not unusual for her to meet other pilots in inns and compare her notes with theirs on other topics. It is in this way that knowledge spreads on Gropkla, and this is why pilots there are responsible for most cultural advancement.

A Fact About Giptunks: Giptunks wear fabric sleeves on their limbs, considering bare limbs to be ugly and obscene.

Universe: Green