| Plural | Detlimsper |
|---|---|
| Adjectival | Detlimsian |
| Other names | Zanjakko (Alaminn) |
| Classification | Regional endothermic reptile |
|---|---|
| Body form | Symmetrical quadrupedal tetrapod |
| Locomotion | Terrestrial |
| Height range | 2.75m - 4m |
| Weight range | 140kg - 180kg |
| Metabolism | Very slow |
|---|---|
| Biochemistry | Carbon-based |
| Respiration | Aerobic |
| Diet | Carnivorous |
| Native | Raljikka |
|---|---|
| Population | 362 million |
| Distribution | Kingsward planets, primarily Raljikka |
| Common languages | Kötaden |
|---|---|
| Social behavior | Hierarchical prosocial |
| Political status | Kin |
| Adolescence | 100 to 200 years |
|---|---|
| Adulthood | 200 to 400 years |
| Geriatric | 600+ years |
| Average lifespan | 500 to 700 years |
Overview
Detlimsper are a quadrupedal sentient species with enormous lithe and serpentine bodies covered in a mix of often lustrous scales and thin silky fur along their backs. This fur can often grow thickly throughout their heads and faces, giving the impression of a mane and adding to their leonine facial features. Atop their crowns they often have cranial bone growths typically compared to horns or antlers of other species, although detlimsper as a species can have horns that vary greatly in appearance. Some will have pointed horns that arch back or around their short pointed ears while others have split tines that branch out from the base of the horn.
The species as a whole is often regarded as isolationist and not inclined to interact much with outsiders with a variety of factors generally thought to contribute. Chief among them is that the detlimsper have drastically different anatomy to even other quadrupedal Kin in Ealdremen, with significantly longer bodies and a resulting difficulty in fitting in spaces made for other species' use in mind. Sociological differences between other species are thought to also lead to the detlimsper being more isolated than other Kin, as detlimsper typically live in hierarchical societies with clearly defined social roles and rankings relative to one another. Not only can this influence how other cultures perceive an average detlimse, it also means that many detlimsper can struggle to integrate into cultures without similarly explicit hierarchies and explicit codes of social behavior.
Etymology and other names
Detlimse is thought to originate from an archaic Kötadan word for populace, dzjatlintser, of which many languages native to the detlimsper have cognates. Modern linguists suggest that this word, and many others, were subjected to Morish conditioning that caused the language to lose sounds difficult for native Morish speakers to pronounce. However, surviving Estvoldian historical records indicate that Morish speakers had little direct contact with the detlimsper during initial contact. As a result, it is unclear how Morish conditioning may have come to influence the various languages spoken by the detlimsper; it is possible that other languages known to have been greatly influenced by Morish, such as Alaminn, may have in turn passed on similar alterations to their neighbors long after Estvoldian explorers left Raljikkan territories. Alternatively, these shifts may have occurred during the Millennial Calm when interstellar trade and contact became much more common. Proponents of the Millennial Calm-era theory are quick to point out that detlimse languages sometimes bear markers of Nicta-slio conditioning, including in the very word detlimse possibly shifting from ending with a typical archaic Kötadan -er plural to -e, a sound common throughout Nicta-slio.
Alaminn has long called the detlimsper zanjakko, likely derived from their traditional homeland of Zaman affixed with the typical Alaminn suffix -akko used to denote populations or people.
Distribution
Because of their enormous size and relatively slow rate of reproduction, detlimsper are not particularly populous outside of territories they have historically claimed throughout Raljikka. Even within these territories, their populations are relatively stagnant year over year.
There are an estimated one to two million detlimsper living throughout the Ealdremen system outside of the planet Raljikka and around 360 million within Raljikkan territories, and approximately 320 million of these individuals live within the detlimse-controlled nation of Zaman.
Biology
Detlimsper collectively have a quadrupedal posture and gait, and their bodies typically exhibit bilateral symmetry. Examples of asymmetry on either side of a detlimse's body are often regarded as anomalies or are developed after the individual's birth.
The four feet of a detlimse all bear three toes each. These long toes are clawed and are ill-suited for manipulating objects or grasping something without causing damage to it. Detlimsper have digitigrade stances, likely as an adaptation to their enormous sizes and resulting weight to enable them to still move quickly in short bursts of speed. The undersides of a detlimse's foot are further cushioned by fat deposits lined with sensitive scales and cartilage called sensory plaques, which enable the detlimse to sense pain or other sensations acutely. It is thought that the fat deposits help absorb the shock of a detlimse's weight on their limbs while running or jumping, and their long toes assist them in balance.
A detlimse's eyes are at the front of their faces, and they have notably keen eyesight. The average detlimse is capable of seeing large enough objects (about half a meter tall) more than 5 kilometers away across flat terrain in daylight, and especially keen-sighted detlimsper can see up to 6 kilometers away. Their senses of smell are similarly acute; detlimsper can generally smell pungent enough odors up to 8 kilometers away. Their external ears are more sensitive than those of other reptilian species, which tend to have internal ears, and detlimsper are especially adept at picking up low-frequency sounds or in triangulating the direction of a noise. The long whiskers of the detlimsper are also sensitive to vibrations in the air, which can further assist them in detecting sound.
Detlimsian bodies are long with hundreds of vertebrae that give them their famous physical flexibility similar to serpents, and a detlimse can generally bend their body in any direction so long as the vertebra is not attached to less flexible bones like the skull, shoulder blades, or pelvis. In contrast to some views that detlimsper do not have anatomical distinctions between their necks, bodies, and tails, vertebrae associated with their torsos all have ribs while vertebrae part of the neck and tail do not.
A detlimse's tongue is lacking in taste buds or other means of acquiring non-tactile sensory information compared to many other species. In particular, they lack receptors for detecting sour or bitter tastes almost entirely, and their senses of taste for salty, sweet, or savory flavors are overall less developed than other Kin.
Although detlimsper are mostly ectothermic and require external sources of heat to maintain their body temperature, their heads display regional endothermy and can maintain higher temperatures than the rest of their bodies. The manes around their heads and along their backs extend or contract to assist in regulating the detlimse's body temperature.
Detlimsper grow slowly but do so throughout their whole lives, even once they are considered geriatric and experience mental decline or other traits associated with aging. Younger adult detlimsper, or those belonging to smaller subspecies, will generally be around 2.75 meters tall while detlimsper six hundred years old or older will be closer to 4 meters tall. A detlimse's height will generally be proportional to their lengths, usually at a 2.5:1 or 3:1 ratio in favor of their length. Their weight generally ranges from 140kg to 180kg.
Physiology
The guts of detlimsper are likely adaptations from an evolutionary lineage of scavenging; it is thought that their large sizes and low endurance would have made the ancestral detlimse poorly-suited for catching live prey, as they would struggle to pursue prey over long distances or get close enough to catch prey in a short burst of speed or in an ambush. Detlimsian stomachs bear acid much more corrosive than other Kin, and detlimsper are consequently found to be resistant to diseases or bacteria that other carnivorous species may succumb to from eating "spoiled" or "rotting" meat. Under the theory of detlimsper being historical scavengers, their sharp teeth and claws were not adaptations for catching and killing live prey, but for cutting through already-deceased corpses with tough hides. This is further supported by their sensitive eyes and senses of smell, which would perhaps enable the ancestral detlimse to notice corpses from far away and minimize energy consumption in locating food.
Locomotion
Detlimsper have a quadrupedal symmetrical gait at slow speeds, moving each limb roughly the same amount of distance each step and moving one side's limbs in unison before moving the other. When they run, their gait becomes asymmetrical. They have digitigrade feet and use all four limbs to move and are naturally land-based in their locomotion. An average detlimse in good health can maintain a running speed of about thirty to forty kilometers an hour depending on their size. Smaller detlimsper tend to be capable of greater bursts of speed. However, regardless of size, a detlimse can typically only maintain this speed for about five to ten minutes depending on the individual's fitness and training.
Generally, detlimsper are too heavy to climb for any sustained amount of time; their relatively short limbs struggle to keep maintain their full weight on vertical or near-vertical surfaces. They are relatively adept at swimming, where they tend to "slither" through the water like aquatic serpents with minimal movement from their limbs. This method of aquatic movement enables a detlimse to make quick turns in the water relative to other non-aquatic Kin.
Hormonal polymorphism
Detlimsper display no hormonal polymorphism across sexes, and it is generally difficult for even detlimsper themselves to distinguish a detlimse's biological sex from sight or scent alone. They generally are considered to have three sexes; though an individual will only belong to one at a given time, it is possible for an individual to shift from one to another over the course of their lifetime. These sexes are categorized as adult detlimsper that can produce sperm, adult detlimsper that can produce eggs, and adult detlimsper that can produce neither.
Reproduction
Compared to other Kin, the seemingly convoluted means and rare circumstances by which detlimsper successfully reproduce is thought to be a major inhibitor of the species' potential to rise to greater political power in any broad sense. Detlimsper take many years relative to other species to even be biologically capable of sexual reproduction. Though they are fully-grown before this point, detlimsper that are biologically capable of producing eggs will not do so until they are approximately two hundred years old, with some being as old as three hundred before this occurs. Before this stage in their lives, they are indistinguishable from both detlimsper that are capable of producing sperm, which generally begin to do so around one hundred and fifty years old, or detlimsper that are incapable of producing either sperm or eggs. Further complicating the matter is that some detlimsper are capable of producing both, though not always at the same period of their lives, and it is generally not known if someone can or cannot until it "happens".
Of these distinct "sexes," about fifty percent of all detlimsper are generally capable of producing sperm, thirty percent are capable of producing eggs, almost twenty percent never produce either throughout their lifetimes, and the remaining detlimsper will produce both at some point during their lives. It is thought that the "infertile" detlimse subset is a leftover adaptation for overall population control when such an enormous species would put strain on the environment and result in intense competition even among relatives for survival; siblings or older offspring of a previous clutch could assist in tending to a nest of eggs without adding further to a crowded population.
Detlimse eggs have porous soft shells surrounded by a jelly-like substance and must be laid in freshwater, where they are externally fertilized. The jelly dissolves as the shells harden, a process which can take several days. During this period, the eggs are especially vulnerable, and they must be monitored even if laid in a controlled and enclosed environment, as the slightest deviations from survivable temperatures can kill the eggs near-instantly. Because detlimse eggs are externally fertilized and can be fertilized for up to several days after being laid, it is relatively common for a given clutch to have multiple parents, and some eggs may grow twins that have different parents. The eggs then take approximately five hundred days to hatch from fertilization, and in modern times, eggs are often removed from the water within a few days of their shells hardening. While there is no immediate detriment to eggs remaining in water "longer" than strictly necessary, detlimse parents or other tenders of such eggs typically find caring for the eggs easier if they are on dry land.
Unsurprisingly, many detlimsper have taken to artificial means or assistance in reproduction to improve the success rates of reproduction. It is common for detlimsper to store eggs or sperm in repositories built to house either element and then wait for an opportunity to use a controlled environment to fertilize the eggs; in situations where it may be desirable for a given clutch to have multiple parents, these controlled environments can also ensure fertilization occurs in desired percentages (such as fifty percent being fertilized by one parent and fifty percent by another). These facilities are expensive in "social currency" and have lengthy waiting periods, however, and they are may be inaccessible to less eminent[2] detlimsper.
Related species
Although scientific research on the species is limited especially in the realm of genome sequencing, the kurmatti species is widely thought to be related to the detlimsper on account of anatomical similarities. Kurmatti, like detlimsper, have meters-long bodies covered in scales and fur, and have historically occupied similar ranges to the detlimse people. However, kurmatti have multiple gaping jaws along their serpentine forms and ravenous, all-consuming appetites to match their grotesque forms. Translated records from the Millennial Calm suggest that the kurmatti are a relatively new species, or at least newly acknowledged, as reports from around 3462 CGC comment on them being "unseen except by the detlimse [sic] before the 3300s". Under the assumption that this report is both correct and translated accurately, it is not clear at what point the detlimsper were aware of the kurmatti, though the description of the kurmatti loosely aligns with pre-Estvoldian beliefs of detlimsper exiled from society, modernly understood to be detlimsper who lacked "eminence," the detlimse concept of social status and position, and how those two concepts correlate to the ability to manipulate magic.
Subspecies
Native to the Ijan Khezzem state of Zaman is the ijanten detlimse subspecies, also known short-handedly as simply "ijanten" in many languages. Ijanten detlimsper are noticeably smaller than members of the main detlimsper species and tend to have less full manes, but more pronounced horns relative to their size. Unique to this subspecies is that their eminence tends to correspond to the luster of their scales; other detlimsper have no correlation between scale luster and their social standing in society.
Sociology
Eminence
Integral throughout virtually all detlimse cultures is the concept of "eminence". Eminence is a measure of an individual detlimse's power and responsibility in their community. While outside cultures may associate eminence with leaders with absolute authority, eminence can come from different roles in society and manifest in different ways, and a detlimse can be a follower to someone else while having eminence over others. It can be said that eminence is not a linear hierarchy but is most often a web of varied connections and responsibilities. From eminence, detlimse societies stratify themselves and maintain a strict order with linguistic cues to make one's position in not only society, but in the context of the people they are speaking to, abundantly clear. For someone to improve their standing in society, they must earn it by occupying higher roles of responsibility and thus gain eminence. These ascensions through society are often regarded as slow even by detlimse standards, let alone those of shorter-lived species; anything "too fast" is a disruption of society and tends to result in a societal loss for the detlimse moving too quickly in accruing eminence, as their community will "see through" them and rebuke their right to rule. However, a rare few detlimsper are shrewd enough to navigate these social pitfalls and achieve their goals in relatively short spans of time, and it's often only with historical distance that anyone realizes how rapidly someone rose to power.
Universal to eminence is the correlation with the ability to manipulate Chrono; more "eminent" detlimsper have inherently superior magical ability and potential, and they lose this ability if their status in society dwindles or if they leave their community. While not every detlimse will inherently respect a non-detlimse capable of utilizing magic, those capable of casting spells tend to have an easier time of integrating within a group of detlimsper.
Notable cultures
Zaman
The Raljikkan nation of Zaman is the most prominent and populous country (or territory of equivalent importance and power) to be both governed by the detlimsper and to have a detlimse-majority population. Zaman has not been governed by a non-detlimse individual in any capacity since the end of the Second Imperial-Alliance War in 3045 CGC; prior to this, there were a few periods of history where the country was subservient to other major political powers such as the Alamír Empire. Because of this, Zaman has a history of staunch independence and refusal to rely on other nations except on their own terms. It is said that to do business with Zamanites, it's necessary to make it seem like it was their idea to begin with, as they are likely to perceive anything else as a show of disrespect at best and an attempt at seizing power at worst. On the other side, Zaman has a historical tendency of absorbing smaller nations or incorporating other countries into their own; if they make frequent use of a country's resources through trade, they are likely to try to gain political power over that nation and make it part of their own. Zamanites do not associate themselves with terms such as "empire," though other countries (particularly those they subjugate) are unlikely to see it in the same way even if Zaman does not go to war to secure the resources it seeks.
Biosociology
Neurological scans have suggested that detlimsper do not have developed amygdalas compared to even other Raljikkan species, which is thought to be a contributing factor to their seeming natural towards social harmony.
Linguistics
Languages originating from or widely spoken among the detlimsper tend to change slower than their counterparts in other species with language. A contributing factor to this is naturally the average lifespan of a detlimse. Because of this, their populations tend to maintain words, phrases, or even entire phonemes long after they've fallen out of use elsewhere, even when compared to speakers of the same language in neighboring regions. The linguistics of even an individual detlimse, let alone a whole community, can be sometimes seen as a temporal snapshot of eras where there are no living members of other species.
The flat and long tongues of the detlimsper enable them to produce a variety of sounds, and their mouths have lips similar to many mammals (in spite of detlimsper not being mammalian themselves). Because of this, their languages have sounds more comparable to languages spoken by mammalian species. In particular, several of these sounds can be observed in the word detlimsper itself, where P and M are sometimes thought of as telltale signs of a "mammalian language" by linguists. In addition, detlimsper have deposits of fat pads around their vocal cords that give them a great range in sound frequencies, some of which cannot be heard by certain species, and they can vibrate their vocal cords similar to a purr. This quirk is thought to be the source of detlimse-originated languages often being tonal in nature; their ears can detect a variety of registers and frequencies, and their vocal cords are more capable than many other species in producing such sounds.
Gestures in a detlimse's communication are often related to the posture and position of their head or tail. They emote little with their eyes and, beyond overtly hostile threat displays such as snarling, tend to also not use their mouth shapes for non-verbal communication.
The most common counting system among languages that come from the detlimsper is base-4. It is thought to be derived from them having four total limbs, though it is also possible that this counting system was the result of historical contact with doerons, which most often use base-4 counting systems across their languages. That detlimsper do not use base-3 or base-6 counting systems — related to their three-toed front feet, analogous to the hands of bipedal species — suggests a biological "blindness" or disinterest in using their feet for anything other than locomotion.
Social status
As a whole, there are no detlimse nations that are presently allied with a major political power. It is popularly held that the detlimsper have no interest in such an allegiance because they would need to "submit" to powers above them. In the past, various detlimse cultures had associations with the Alamír Empire and eventually the Nazdrovie Pact, where they tended to occupy fringe parts of society due to their dramatically different anatomy and much greater size than the other species within either faction. They struggled to integrate into these factions' center of power or meaningfully participate in the interstellar warfare that dominated these eras. As a result, detlimsper rarely rose to positions of importance during these stretches of history, and these historical periods are regarded as eras of "unimportance" for the detlimse species, as even the most powerful members of their society were subservient to others and consequently lacking in eminence.
Detlimsper who have a great amount of eminence and occupy high positions of power in their society tend to be frustrated in interactions with concepts of "power" in other cultures, where a detlimse's power does not always translate adequately. These cultural misunderstandings are known to occur frequently, and special mediators are often on hand when important detlimsper are meeting with counterparts in other governments or societies.
Alamír Empire
As a Raljikkan species, the detlimsper have a shared history with the Alamír Empire. When the Empire was first formed, the detlimsper initially did not agree to the alliance and wished to remain autonomous and handle the colonists from Estvoled in their own way. When the imperial forces started to show success in driving out the Estvoldians, various detlimse nations took this as a sign of proven power and allied with the fledgling faction. As the Alamír Empire grew, the detlimsper did not feel their power was growing in relation to it, and they soon forsook the Alamír Empire for the Nazdrovie Pact when the opportunity arose.
The detlimsper have not allied with the Empire in any great numbers since its reformation in 4142 CGC, and to date not a single government under detlimse control is officially affiliated with the Empire. A relative few detlimsper as individuals view the revival of the old empire as "rightful eminence" and follow it.
Nazdrovie Pact
The detlimsper were part of the Nazdrovie Pact from the Second Imperial-Alliance War, but unlike many other nations that made up the group during this part of history, every detlimse nation withdrew officially from the Pact when the Alamír Empire dissolved. They have not since sought to rejoin the Pact, and the Nazdrovie Pact's own attempts at courting the detlimsper back have been called "token" at best and "insulting" at worst.
Gerualdi Union
Individual detlimsper are sometimes drawn to the Gerualdi Union notions of societal stratification by wealth and status or rankings and roles within corporations. Such detlimsper tend to be regarded as unconventional but diligent workers, and their long lives often result in detlimsper eventually rising to the top of whatever corporate hierarchy they have found themselves in. However, there are just as many detlimsper who hold contempt for the Union's structure, viewing it as equally possible for the "undeserving" to rise to positions of high power and remain there. In spite of this attitude, the often-esteemed detlimse members of the Union mean that detlimsper overall have a positive reputation within the Gerualdi Union, and other detlimsper hoping to rise the ranks in the Union tend to benefit from this association.
History
- ↑ Detlimsper is the proper plural form of detlimse, but informal plural forms according to other languages may be used, or the word detlimse can serve as both the singular and plural form of the word.
- ↑ Eminence is a recurring concept in many societies that are comprised of detlimsper. It is rare for a detlimse to not be familiar with the idea. It can be most concisely defined as a representation of a detlimse's responsibilities in their community, which, when satisfied or even exceeded on a consistent basis, grant the individual greater social currency and access to resources. See Detlimse#Eminence for more information on the concept of eminence.