We have, for the time being, finished looking at the planet Gurx. We will return, but for the time being our gracious educator, Nibnassin, is leaving us to do other thing. Hopefully we understand the Strondovarians and their homeworld better now than we did when we began.

In contemporary Strondovarian culture, there is no especial weight given to goodbyes. Already an unsentimental people at the best of times, Strondos are now millennia into society in which suspended animation and space travel are commonplace. A friend or relative may go to sleep for a hundred years and not be seen again. But while they may physically be distant, so long as we keep them in mind, they are still with us in a way. And while living minds can only remember so much, the Knowledge Bank will remember us all forever.

I am nearing the end of my current series of posts about the planet Gurx, but I still have a bunch of drawings of animals from that world, so here’s one last post of them just to use them up:

Sooashoo

Sooashoo are related to Twooay, but are not eusocial like them. Instead, these are solitary animals who only come together when it is time to mate. During their lives they travel far and wide, but they are driven to return to their place of birth when it comes time to mate, resulting in mass migrations to certain points in Gurx’s oceans that attract the attention of many predators.

Gudiv

Gudiv are ubiquitous across Grux, and have been for long enough that they are enshrined in the myth and idiom of Strondovarian culture. Gudiv primarily prey on corpses, and breed in them as well, so Strondos consider them signs of death and a metaphor for one being forgotten as time goes on. As such, they’re not popular.

Bweggel

Bweggel are cave-dwelling creatures that are completely sightless and rely on overdeveloped Rel that allow them to hear, smell, and even feel the slightest of air movement in the pitch dark environments. Bweggel grow to be about 30cm tall on average and have a gecko-like ability to climb walls. They tend to live near the openings of caves or near underground streams, which are locations where they might find small Vootuph to prey upon.

Gethaihiti

A small Vootuph species that live in the grasslands, Gethaihiti are notable for a mating ritual in which the two interested parties impregnate one another and then fight to the death so only the strongest of the two will get to raise the next generation. Strondovarians consider this to be highly humorous, since no matter how “strong” the resulting generations are, Gethaihiti are still just little bugs.

Emoaisa

A massive form of seagoing Lapaouger, the Emoaisa are ambush predators that hang out near watering holes waiting for some unsuspecting land creature to come by for a drink. The Emoaisa’s forelimbs are adapted into strong grasping appendages that pull their prey into a set of barbs and clamp down, making it nearly impossible for the victim to struggle free before being drowned. They have been known to, on occasion, make the mistake of attacking some piece of Strondo technology like a boat or a robot, which doesn’t end well for anyone.

Iveakkia

A pretty standard Glounaph species, Iveakkia are large and live in massive flocks (though their numbers are much lower now than they were before the Strondovarians industrialized the planet). Iveakkia mate for life and put more care into raising their offspring than most other Glounaph. They are extremely clever and have been observed using tools.

The Strondovarians have plenty of kinds of vehicles, including wheeled ones, flying craft, and boats. We’d recognize all of that here on Earth. But one of the most popular kinds of conveyance on planet Gurx are what we’d call “Mechs” (and they’d call “Strenyacav”). You know the ones: armoured machines that are like big robots with a living pilot. Strondos love those.

One element of Strondovarian technology, relevant not just to the mechs, but all electronics and machines designed by Strondo culture: it’s all designed to be modular and universally compatible. Parts and components can be salvaged and reused with easy. And planned obsolescence would make designers into pariahs. All this, combined with the generally lackadaisical Strondovarian attitude toward possession of material goods, has resulted in a culture of mech pilots that have their own unique custom designs, but don’t specifically own their own mechs. When they need a mech, they’ll grab the nearest available one and quickly modify it to match their preferences. Often this is done simply by bringing the mechs into large hangars that perform the customization based on the pilot’s profile as it is registered in the Knowledge Bank. In a way, this makes mechs the largest reactive devices a Strondo is likely to use.

This is a pretty standard Personal Mech as one might find being used by security forces. Designed for a single pilot, they can probably fit a single passenger if they’re not specced so heavily that there’s no room left. In addition to security or combat, single-pilot mechs will often be adapted to roles such as construction or exploration of dangerous areas.

The standard design of a Personal Mech is made to emulate the exoskeletal Vootuph species found on the planet Gurx, and as such will occasionally be referred to by the names of such species if the resemblance is enough that the Strondos find the comparison funny.

This second example has a body plan much more like that of a Strondovarian, and is much more massive in physical size, standing as they do around 50 metres tall on average. While they’re often designed so that a single Strondo can pilot them, to operate one of these to the full extent of its potential usually requires two or three pilots working together in the cockpit.

These massive machines have peaceful uses, they have much more room for transportation of passengers for example, but they are generally designed for combat. On planet Gurx, it is now rare for combat of this sort to be necessary, but every city has several such mechs waiting for a day when gigantic fighting machines may be needed.

Once again I’m seeking to speed up the process of working through all the Gurxian animals I’ve drawn by posting a bunch of them that aren’t connected by any single region.

Iakeab

A species of nocturnal predator that hunts in the dense forests of Gurx, the Iakeab are stealthy creatures with excellent lowlight vision and a tendency to grab onto their prey and just hang onto it until it tires itself out. Iakeab like to build nests in the rotting remains of vegetation.

Uuggovoau

Uuggovoau are a grasslands species that has specialized in eating nests of smaller animals, especially small Vootuph that live in tunnels in the dirt. Their claws are perfect for digging open the tunnels and they can insert their long Rel to catch their prey.

Simauginis

Living in the shallow waters near shorelines, Simauginis are soft-tissues filter-feeders that walk along the sands in the day, and burrow into it at night. If they are divided into chunks, each can grow into a full-grown Simauginis over time. This, and their rapid reproductive rate, makes them a plentiful food source for a variety of predators.

Otyanoa

Large, aquatic creatures with eyes on stalks, the Otyanoa are docile and often farmed by Strondovarians in cooler oceanic regions. It is generally assumed that Otyanoa would be extinct if not kept by Strondos, so they’re treated as an example of the Strondos’ mastery over shaping their planet.

Tesses

The flying Vootuph species called Tesses fill the same niche on Gurx that honeybees do on Earth. They fly around collecting the Gurxian equivalent of pollen and turning it into a honeylike substance called Vaumian. And yes, there are Strondovarians who care for Tesses colonies to farm that Vaumian, the Gurxian equivalent of beekeepers.

Imbaukla

Another predatory species from the dense forests, the hindmost limbs of the Imbaukla have curled forward into limbs used to move the detritus that gathers at the forest floor to flush out smaller animals to eat. Imbaukla are tall creatures, standing as high as an adult Strondovarian, with eyes that can move independently to help them spot prey to grasp with their sticky Rel.

Oaushaue

A flightless species related to the Glounaph line, the Oaushaue are nearly endangered and now only exist in captivity. This has made all three-hundred and seven remaining Oaushaue extremely notable and they are prized possessions of famous individuals and organizations. It is good luck for the Oashaue, at least, that their captors want to take care of them, lest they lose their status symbol.

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.