“Ferref arose from the nest of heavy blankets and spares of ripstop weave that were last nights dress for revelry and hunt. He could barely spare enough energy from the grogginess and it's accursed weight to reach from the shelter into the freezing air of his own bedroom and take his meds. It was finally enough to brace into the light, a blinding intrusion until his feet dragged him into the bathroom. ”
“Violet eyes glared back at him. Ferren missed them among the sea of crimson and gold the hunting party attracted; The Berserkers that lifted and beat their prey to death, the little Voyager dancers that artfully slashed throats. Then there was the sole him, tackle and bite and tear. At least the abhorrent amount of alcohol soothed social anxiety around the weekly revelry of his kinsman.”
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| Drhuvs Overview | |
|---|---|
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| Home System | Once Allura, now Drhen |
| General Characteristics | |
| Average Height | Varying by breed, general average: 180cm~ |
| Average Weight | Varying by breed, general average: 60kg~ |
| Life Cycle | Child: 0-10, Adolescence: 10-18, Adult: 18-50, Senior: 50+ |
Sourcing from a terrible apocalypse and an unlikely survival, Drhuvs have forged a pocket of space into a isolationist sanctuary for their ravenous and rich people. Only now have they set their eyes beyond the Black Wall they constructed and to the greater galactic community, even if many Drhuvs find themselves in waters where they are no longer a predator.
Whether to mark territory with their claws, weave elaborate lies with words and aromatic mimicry just for the thrill of drama or to learn what they had never really wondered about, Drhuvs have left their confinement. Full crews or a single pilot are escaping the Black Wall to forge their new legacies, for hunt, for glory or for the Collective.
The Drhuvian Collective has just recovered from a second great civil war 60 years ago. The orcish Berserkers had rose against the control of the Drhuvian council and declared total war, starting a decade long war that nearly destroyed the Homestead and Voyager state. It ended with a hard fought victory, the death of a once beloved Berserker king and temporary martial law still debated to be complete subjugation and prejudice. Though diminished, the stark contrast between the three breeds and recent war still carries great tension many ignore due to knives and leverage held over each other.
Though this tension would have boiled over given the time, the discovery of extraterrestrial species (excluding the Senti) has turned the national focus from the growing suspicion and paranoia to the possible threat or treasure another species holds.
Drhuvs were born from the experimentation of a now ascended Precursor, Isomeria. Originally intended to be the source of strength and vitality for the now hyperspace witch, her children's dirty technology has hidden them from her sight.
Though originally created, evolution has largely guided the rest of their genetic lineage. For instance, the presence of a nicitating membrane to protect from dust and sand has begun to weaken and has even been found to be outright missing in new generations.
Drhuvs are first and foremost hunters. Despite the accommodations of a modern and comfortable life, they have yet to shake primal instinct and biology; they have instead chosen to integrate their gifts with society.
Though alien at first glance, many organ systems and parts of Drhuvian anatomy and physiology are not terribly different from that of a human. Composed of many of the same elements of other mammals and humanoids, Drhuvs mostly begin to differ to uniqueness at the integumentary system, respiratory system and digestive system.
Drhuvians have a fairly unique Integumentary system, first and most notably their skin and lack of hair. Drhuvs do not have the soft stretchy skin of humans, instead having a thick layer of a slightly stretchy leather coated in lanolin. This thick skin does not sweat.
Due to their leathery skin and inability to sweat, the Drhuvian comfortable temperature window is shifted largely down and is between 45~ degrees Fahrenheit (7 Celsius) and 65~ Fahrenheit (18 Celsius). However, the general area of risky heat and cold is past 80~ Fahrenheit (24 Celsius) and 15~ degrees Fahrenheit (-9 Celsius) respectively.
There are two exceptions to the general rule of leathery skin. Drhuvs have thin, human like skin at the tops of their heads (due to their skull parts needing to come together, over time skin will harden) and at the genitals. These are also the only areas where Drhuvs have hair.
Drhuvs have retractable claws in the ends of their fingers. These claws must be sharpened, unlike the claws of, for example cats, that need to be shed to regain their sharpness.
Drhuvs do have, due to the dusty environment of their home planet, nictitating eye membranes to protect from sand and other particulates when necessary. This trait has begun to fade and be devolved in more recent generations.
For Drhuvs, the respiratory system is relatively important in day to day life and their history. Most notably, Drhuvs have a very advanced Jacobson's organ and olfactory system that allows them the ability to almost use pheromones as a second tongue. Naturally, of course, they understand and can manipulate their own pheromones as if a second language.
More interestingly regarding this ability, Drhuvs can learn and mimic another species pheromones. Originally, this mimicry was to lure prey with their mating pheromones into an easy ambush. This ability has also been utilized outside of this main purpose for a silent standard of communication and other manipulation of species, pest and alike.
As part of this ability, Drhuvs also have a very keen sense of smell. Additionally, they can purr, either on command or as a reaction.
Other than these, their respiratory system is not much different than that of a human.
The Drhuvian nervous system is not wildly different from a human. It consists of all the same parts and similar placements of said parts. However, many of the similar functions of the nervous system work significantly differently.
Drhuvs are creatures of elevated subconsciousness. Where human consciousness is a production of heavily filtered senses and instincts, Drhuvs are still burdened and gifted by their primal and simple mind. They would not be able to hold a civil society where it not the introduction of medication that helped filter the instinctive mess.
This results in, using humans as a baseline, a people much more impulsive than usual. There are also certain some key behaviors more or less programmed, such as an uneasy and nervous response to a deep claw scar on the stomach inflicted by another person or an attraction towards partaking in a family group reminiscent of a pack.
More interesting, when a Drhuv is unmedicated and is not resisting instincts, can and will devolve into nothing more than an bipedal animal. Though feral on the surface, will still retain plenty if not all of the personality and regular habits of the afflicted.
One last interesting characteristics Drhuvian nervous systems possess is superior low light vision, allowing great sight in the dark though at the cost of some color saturation and an almost grainy filter in the dark.
The Drhuvian digestive system is not largely different to that of a human on a surface level. However, a large difference functionally is that Drhuvs are obligate carnivores. Whilst they are able to consume plants without issue, their bodies are unable to synthesize certain vital nutrients as well as fully digest plant matter. (Think: Corn in human stool)
At the mouth, Drhuvs have a unique arrangement of teeth. Using the human mouth as a reference:
Drhuvs have elongated canines in place of the lateral incisor, first and second premolar at the upper jaw. What would be the lateral incisor takes the place of the canine. The lower jaw is largely unchanged save for elongated lower canines.
In addition, Drhuvian tongues are a one to two inches longer than that of a human. Additionally, their tongues have small papillae that make them more rough. Although, along with the unique dental architecture, a Drhuv mouth may seem crowded; genetics have allowed for wider jaws that accommodate the extra features.
Drhuvian stomachs and intestines have the capability of fully digesting raw meat with little issue or negative effect, granted it were not beginning to decompose, due to a higher-than-usual stomach acidity.
Outside of these organ systems, Drhuvs do not deviate much from a base humanoid.
Drhuvs are created through the process of sexual reproduction through the same methods as humans. However, Drhuvian gestation period lasts for approximately 25 weeks and is not different in process to other mammals, just faster.
Drhuvs undergo four main life stages:
For reference, 70~ years is equivalent to 100~ for a Drhuv.
This lifespan is affected by diet, health, etc like every other species. Outside of these factors, the only way to extend a Drhuvian life is through technology or connection to Isomeria.
Drhuvs are oxygen breathing carbon based life forms. While they are suited for desert climates and subterranean living if needed, they have become accustomed to Terran habitats and long-term living aboard inter-stellar vessels.
As for the population, Drhuvs are numerous. Ranging into the hundreds of billions, though smaller than what it once was. This population is almost entirely condensed within the confined of the Drhuvian Collective. There have been a few wanderers who renounced their citizenship and voluntarily banished themselves to escape the Black Wall.
Drhuvs are obligate carnivores. While being able to eat plant matter without issue, their bodies can not fully process the food and will require these nutrients to be sourced from meat. This leads to a very meaty diet with plants usually used more for taste than nutrition.
A large part of typical Drhuvian diet is the consumption of raw or partially cooked meat. Due to the ability to eat raw meat without adverse affects due to a more intense stomach acid, their culinary interests have evolved accordingly. In some cases, Drhuvs prefer the satisfaction and enjoyment of hunting for food and eating it on the spot over a cooked dinner.
Drhuvs have a very large biological variation due to being separated into three different breeds. These breeds and their combinations (with some though of how color mixes) are easily distinguished by their eye color.
Berserkers are the tallest and largest of the three Drhuvian breeds, having originated from warlords and titans. They can range from a lower range of 177cm and 60kg all the way to the upper range of a staggering 203cm and 80kg without being abnormal. This breed will naturally act on their impulses with aggression and sharp emotional lash and typically hail from the Berserker state, being recognized by the variations of red in their irises.
Voyagers are the smallest of the three breeds, being the maintenance rats and stealthy assassins Drhuvs used to claim thousands of years ago. Their height and weight can go to the low 149cm and 45kg or the high of 170cm and 60kg. This breed is naturally more cunning and dexterous than their brethren, loving to show off. This is made only more apparent by the golden eyes the purer Voyagers have.
Homesteaders are the middle ground. They are as not large and muscular as the Berserkers, nor as wiry and agile as the Voyagers but possess a greater intelligence than both. Their height is comfortably between the other two breeds, from the lowest 165cm and 60kg to an advantageous 193cm and 70kg. It is easy to find them by their charismatic blue or violet irises.
These breeds are the main biological variation Drhuvs have, offering little else more than say, a human.
Drhuvs are driven largely by their sub-consciousnesses and instincts. As previously stated in the Nervous System section, the Drhuvian brain does not filter nearly as much sensory input as humans do. Along with being created and only having approximately three-thousand years to evolve from their initial state, their minds can sometimes be no more than animals.
With that being said, this does not necessarily mean that they cannot be civil. The introduction of medication has been the main reason the Collective has maintained stability for so long. While it is not ultimately required for a single Drhuv to remain civil. Concentration and training with combating instinct and act-first-think-later urges can help prolong civility and suppress their animals minds entirely (this is rare and more commonly an effect of a connection with Isomeria).
Outside of this, Drhuvs are largely moved and motivated by dedication to a unit, regardless of how large, small or obscure. They want to be part of a group and typically fall into pack-like family structures. This can sometimes be much more broad than the surface level, it's not uncommon for a Drhuv to look at their nation or breed or even squad as their pack or group that they dedicate themselves to.
What attracts members of this species to others? Who are they attracted to? Do they feel love and, if so, how is it different (or the same) as humans?
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Drhuvs have two languages, the modern Drhuvian language and the father language Alluran.
Drhuvian originated from Alluran and was designed after the Last Call so that Drhuvs could have a more civil and information dense language applicable to digital communication. It has harsh tones and most of the language is spoken sharply through the throat, new learners will frequently have hoarse and raspy throats.
Alluran is the language Drhuvian originated from, now the combat language of the Berserkers. Where Drhuvian has some breaks in it's growls and rough vowels, Alluran does not. Additionally, Alluran is almost exclusive to Drhuvs due to it's reliance on pheromones to allow information dense enough to communicate complex ideas.
Pheromones are not technically a language, but Drhuvs can learn and speak the scent signature of other species similarly to that of a language as well as their own pheromones. These can be utilized as simply as another form of body language or as a method of holding full, silent conversations.
Drhuvs have two distinct types of names: a birth name and a given name. Given names are typically earned through great actions or reputation and will replace a birth name in common use and are usually a noun or adjective. These given names are usually tailored to the person or action that earned them the name. Birth names, however, are typically short, rarely reaching past two syllables.
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