It’s been a few years, but I have not stopped thinking about Gurx, the planet that is home to the Strondovarians. I have not improved my artistic skills at all since last time, and I still only draw reluctantly because there’s nobody else to draw for me. But my desire to not draw is outvoted by my inability to stop thinking about alien worlds, so it’s definitely time I dipped my feet back into the oceans of worldbuilding (also the poll on my Patreon said to do it).

To begin, it’s probably best if I go back to the beginning and get reacquainted with some of the animals of Gurx that we’ve learned about in the past. Not the beginning of the planet, but let’s say the beginning of the branch on the evolutionary family tree on which the Strondos arose:

We all know the not really accurate image of humanity’s evolution from fish to monkeyman to human and all that. But hey, it’s better than no visual at all.

Starting at the left we have the aquatic common ancestor of all modern Lapaouger animals on Gurx:

Lapaouger have a bodyplan that is defined by a six-limbed muscular system. These things were air-breathers that floated near the tops of the ocean until prey drifted beneath them, then they’d drop onto their victims and grab them with their six limbs.

Some of the modern descendants of this species that don’t follow the path toward Strondos include those who remained underwater and took over new niches (such as the Awua, Ubeelih, Thimmagg), those who developed leaping out of the water and even flight (such as Stepao, Tessen, Ougliahai), and some who now crawl on the bottom of the seas (such as Eenag).

Some of their descendants found it successful to move out of the water and onto the land, leading to these ones:

Gurx has a lower gravity than we’re used to on Earth, so their musculature proved sufficient to support them in the way the skeleton supports us (I confess I am assuming any readers have endoskeletons, I can only apologize if I leave anyone out). Their time spreading onto land came after the downfall of the Vootuph species that had dominated the planet, so the Lapaouger had a lot of evolutionary niches to move into.

One of the very successful lines that split off this branch of the family tree are the Ekkpay, who walk on their frontmost four legs while the hindmost became tools of various kinds (examples include Aunip, Seampway, Elleero, Imbaukla, Guoar, and Urloay). Other descendants from this group that didn’t lead to Strondos include some who have remained on all six limbs but with different strategies (such as Aigreeloa and Pholbunu) and some who have lost all of their limbs in favour of a serpentine style (such as Yibbeau).

But we’re following this branch down the line to the Aehubar, the group who came to focus largely on their hind limbs as “feet” and front limbs as other things.

Aehubar legs are powerful muscles intertwined in a complex manner to support more weight than you might expect, and which can bend at almost any point in the limb. Even Aehubar who do still use their middle limbs when walking will stand on their legs for various reasons such as fighting or eating food on high plants. Fur also became popular among the Aehubar, beginning for these pictured common ancestors as course spiny grows that helped deter predators, but eventually growing softer and covering more surface to help keep in warmth.

One of the most important offshoots of the Aehubar are the Glounaph, whose top limbs fused together into a single arm-like appendage with the eyes on it, and in most Glounaph species the middle limbs adapted for gliding and eventually into big leathery wings. This group includes Eklooan, Briapway, Nathaie, and Oaushaue.

Some other modern descendants of this ancestor who don’t follow the path to Strondos include some nocturnal predators (including Daembeb and Iakeab), and some more distant relations like Sesennrel, Biddooa, and the megafauna Hethrooau.

But getting closer to the Strondovarians a branch that comes from this ancestor is now call Orstraph, which translates closely to “masked animals” because of the way their leathery faces look like masks over their furry bodies. This is a very diverse group of animals with examples such as Abpeaoulee, Okkealil, Boavaie, and Oudaihib.

From the Orstraph came this type:

These are common ancestor of the Strondos, as well as all the now-extinct Varian species, and some closely-related species that do not meet the level of intelligence to be recognized as “Varian” by the Strondos (including Hotaein and Ealpaia).

And that brings us to the modern day. With their mastery of technology, the Strondovarians have become the unquestionably dominant species of the planet Gurx for the time being.

And with that all recapped, I feel prepared to start exploring still more corners of planet Gurx and Strondo culture.

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.