Srimuns

Srimuns are native to the planet Throil orbiting a red star called Sudge. Their bodies are probably best described as being T-shaped snakes. On their head they have a sort of beard, which conceals small pincers they can use to hold things (though coiling tails around things is also used for less delicate work). Srimuns have two eyes, which are on retractable stalks, as well as two mouths, one for breathing and speaking and another for eating.

Over the course of nine-thousand years the Srimuns rose from simple hunters to develop cities and spread to all the other habitable valleys on their world. They developed submarines to travel their depths and computers to store their information and communicate. Wars were fought and, though they never split the atom, they developed many powerful weapons. Srimun society rose to some pretty nice heights, but then went into a decline. Srimuns had become too dependent on their technology. They no longer farmed, hunted or built things on their own. Cities were falling into disrepair and young Srimuns were not being trained in the necessary skills to maintain the technology. It was at this point that the Ugder first arrived on the planet. Had they arrived only a few generations later, they may have found only the remains of the Srimun.

First contact with the Ugder went extremely well, the language barrier being the biggest challenge. Embo Bount was one of the first Srimuns to meet the Ugder, the closest thing to an linguist on the planet in their days of decline. For whatever cultural reason, Embo and the others had no innate fear of the alien outsiders, so the efforts to learn to communicate with these strange beings went very calmly in face to face meetings. In time, the Srimuns learned to approximate Ugder speech (though the Ugder are unable to reproduce the sounds of Srimun languages) and the two species have been at peace ever since. Embo has gone on to visit the Ugder homeworld as an ambassador on many occasions.

With the arrival of the Ugder, knowledge in things like science and technology came back into vogue on Throil. Tuss Kubba, once a youngster who was content to wile away the days playing games, has now become devoted to researching the old sciences to learn the ways of the high-tech ancestors.

After being taught the ways of space travel by the Ugder, the Srimuns colonized the planet Nush, which is another world in their system. Bebb Lemb is one of the colonists there. Because Nush is much further from the sun than their homeworld, the Nush Srimuns live in heated and artificially illuminated tunnels below the surface. Bebb runs the colony’s machinery for converting surface ice into potable water.

A Fact About Srimuns: Srimans have domesticated a species of animal that somewhat resembles a flightless bird. These creatures are used both as pets, and also as steeds, which the Srimuns ride by coiling themselves around the beast’s torso.

Universe: Narsidon

The Wenwehhek

The Wenwehhek are a species that dwell in the many rivers of the planet Duvvked, a world of almost perpetual rain that is teeming with life. Although they are adept at swimming, the Wenwehhek are air-breathers, living in nests that line the shores of the planet. They have two paddle-like feet and four little appendages on the “chest” that they use like fingers. A blowhole on their head allows them to breathe even when wading almost entirely into the water.

Rappuko is a teacher at a Wenwehhek nursery. The Wenwehhek lay eggs in communal nurseries where teachers raise the pupae, determining what their ideal use in society should be, and teaching them what they need to know to do that. Rappuko cares pretty deeply for her pupal pupils, and tries to set them up with occupations that will make them happy. But if everyone just goes into the jobs that they will enjoy, who is going to do the crappy jobs? Rappuko is going to make someone unhappy, or else society itself could be doomed.

Aflicksh is the type who constantly wants to talk about how great he is to anyone who will listen. Unfortunately for Aflicksh, he isn’t so great. For instance, he tries to tell people he can swim faster than anyone in the local river system, but he can’t. He has actively avoided many challenges to race and prove his speed, but he never accepts them. “I haven’t got to prove anything to you,” he says. The same thing goes for Aflicksh’s claim that he is the loudest yeller on the planet. He likes to say it, but never seems to have the time to prove it to anyone. It seems like that might be an effective way of deflecting the issue, but really it has gone on long enough that nobody think Aflicksh is anything but a jerk. That includes Aflicksh, though. He’s so sick of putting up with his own lies, but coming clean at this point would be so embarrassing that he can’t do it. He’s just fully committed to being the big jerk who talks about how great he is.

Creditt is the loudest yeller on the planet. He doesn’t know it, though. He played yelling games when he was younger, but never at a professional level, so even though he knows he was good, he has no idea that he’s the best. It doesn’t really come up much in his job, which is to clear rivers that have been blocked by mudslides.

A Fact About the Wenwehhek: The Wenwehhek don’t really eat for pleasure. Feeding is remarkably casual for them, accomplished by just resting their heads on the surface of the river, with their open mouth in the water, and waiting for small animals to drift in, then snapping the mouth shut. In strange circumstances, like an emergency trek through one of the planet’s rare non-rivered areas, they might fill a bowl with water and food to recreate this, but usually eating is just a matter of taking a break and stopping off at the closest stream for a minute.

Universe: White

Niftari

The Niftari are a species that lives on a planet called Carasteranak. They are a furry, slow-moving species that walks on hooved back feet and the elbows of their forelimbs. They are very solitary creatures and, once they leave their litter, they only join with other Niftari for the purpose of mating. Any natural predators the Niftari once may have had were gotten rid of in earlier times, so now Niftari are free to leisurely wander their planet occupying their time as they like.

The planet Carasteranak is smaller than Earth but its gravity is actually stronger owing to its unique makeup. Also, its days and years are both much longer than Earth’s. In most ways it seems like a very slow-paced world.

Vennis is a clockwork maker. The most advanced technologies of Carasteranak are clockwork masterpieces and Vennis’s are quite advanced among these. Though Vennis has created many things, the last several years have been spent on the latest project: a vast, complex device that can do complex mathematics, which Vennis suspects will make it even easier to calculate the best way to make still more complex clockworks.

Beodsom is an expert at mixing ingredients (plants, fluids, etc.) to create powerful potions of medicinal value. Though they are an asocial species by nature, Niftari “medics” like Beodsom are wont to track the scent of others who smell sick and give them potions to make them well again. There is no exchange of goods or currency for this (or for any other occupation on the planet), and the only reward the medics get is knowledge that they have helped others, and respect for doing so. These rewards are enough, though.

Igidup is an explorer. Though Carasteranak is small, and almost all of it has been traversed by Niftari of the past, no maps were ever kept. That means that every new place Igidup reaches is new to Igidup, at least. There’s little danger in exploring either, so it really is a nice quiet life.

A Fact About the Niftari: Niftari eyesight is such that they have never seen the stars in their sky, except the one around which their planet orbits. Still, they are a contemplative enough species that the idea of other worlds with other life has occurred to them, at least on a theoretical level.

Universe: Silver

Tkrkvts

The Tkrkvts are a species that live on a moon of a gas giant planet they call Vvk. They have not yet realized the cosmological position of their moon world, but think of it as just the area “Under Vvk” so that is what we must call their world. There are many larger species Under Vvk that would potentially be predators of the Tkrkvts, were it not for the fact that the Tkrkvts have evolved to be extremely poisonous. It can still happen that a Tkrkvt will be eaten, so they absolutely do not think of themselves as the “top of the food chain” of their world, but the fact that predators will almost always die afterward gives them the impression that they are, in a way, being avenged by the universe, so they must be some kinda special.

Tkrtk lives in the largest city-hill Under Vvk, amid a massive bustling population, and Tkrtk wouldn’t have it any other way. An active go-getter, Tkrtk is always seeking out new ways to help out the city-hill. A lot of the rest of the population thing Tkrtk is an idiot for that. (City-hills being, basically, hills that have been hollowed out and turned into cities, of course. They live in those.)

Hrkrtr has gone missing. Nobody Under Vvk is sure where Hrkrtr has gotten to. Ain’t nobody seen Hrkrtr in years. It’s weird. Of course, we know that Hrkrtr was abducted by aliens, but you can’t expect the Tkrkvts to know that. They haven’t even thought up the idea that there places other than Under Vvk. Anyway, Hrkrtr eventually made friends with the aliens and now travels with them. It’s fine.

Crsytk is a nomadic plumber. The vast pipe system of the Tkrkvts is probably their most advanced technology, so the plumbers are well respected, but few in number. Crsytk and fellow plumbers will often travel vast distances to whichever part of the world they are needed. They’ll be honored guests in the home of those they are helping, and their coming will be big news in the area around. It’s all very nice, but Crsytk has an ulterior motive for travelling, Crsytk is trying to locate the Tkrkvts who killed a plumber years ago, and who got away with it. Crsytk will get revenge even if it takes the rest of time.

A Fact About Tkrkvts: Though the Tkrkvts have a vocal language (one which incorporates noises made by scratching at the ground), they also possess the ability to mark things with a pheromone-like system. Because of this, no form of written language has ever been produced. Instead, they have worked to develop methods of saving pheromone-information by applying it to materials that will sustain it for generations.

Universe: Green

Skwivs

The Skwivs are a large snail-like species who have abandoned the shells they evolved with in favor of robotic shells with arms and legs and stuff. They call their planet “Skwivda” and the world is make up of numerous city-states, most ruled by monarchs who have inherited the role from progenitors. There is a near-constant state of war on the planet, with the city-states sending battle parties to raid each other as a matter of course. In addition to stealing wealth from each other, the taking of slaves remains a common practice.

Vukpuk is a warrior for one of the world’s richest armies. At the start of the warm season, the army leaves their city state and begins wandering the lands raiding whatever cities they happen to come across until they return home in time for the cold seasons with all their new wealth. Every third year of such service, the warriors get the option to stay home as guards, but Vukpuk has never taken that option, preferring the life of a wandering pillager.

Leckvar is a shell builder, designing robotic bodies for use in special circumstances. That includes bodies designed for mining or deep sea travel and so on. While that is rewarding work, Leckvar’s real passion is creating “soul shells”, which is what Leckvar calls shells intended for the ghosts of the dead to wear to return to the world of the living. There has not yet been any sign that soul shells will work, but that does not stop Leckvar.

Burgsel is a slave who is forced to work as a medic/shell repairer for a wandering army. Though Burgsel hates having to care for slavers, the other option is death, so Burgsel does the job as well as can be expected, all the while fantasizing of finding a way to take down the whole army all at once.

A Fact About Skwivs: All Skwivs have an inborn sense of proximity to others of their kind. A Skwiv can tell innately if another Skwiv is nearby, or if a crowd is in the distance in a particular direction.

Universe: Silver