Ausuvir

In the Great Game, a move made after a mere decade of thought is considered to be hasty.
~ Inscription on the "Lord of the Shifting Board"

Out of all Ikona subspecies, the Ausuvir are the most elusive and least understood one. This is in large parts due to their characteristic affliction, which initially turns them into barley sentient blobs of slime before slowly hardening into an adamantine outer layer that traps the Ausuvir inside of their own bodies.
While the thought of being eternally confined to a prison made from ones owe dried phlegm and pus would be regarded as a fate far worse than death by most other species, the Ausuvir downright rever this state of being, to the point that their culture is primarily focused on the quest of becoming the most pulchritudinous living statues in all of Cenorad.
After archiving their dream of being turned into a monument of beauty all Ausuvir that have been fully petrified proceed to do what every group of highly narcissistic perfectionists would do; they fight each other in a world-spanning conflict in order to determine which is the most beautiful of them. Yet in sharp contrast to every other conflict ever fought in Cenorad, the so-called "Great Game" of the Ausuvir has far more in common with a regular board game than an actual war.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The bodies of the Ausuvir are primarily formed from a pestilent mass of pus, ichor, and slime. The only parts of their bodies that hint at their descendence from the proud Ikona are their dark blue-lipped mouths and yellow colored eyes, which freely float within the slimy mass of their bodies.
Given the extensive shapeshifting capabilities, that arise from the unique composition of their bodies one would assume it would be a rather pointless exercise to try and attempt to describe the species in greater detail, as they are simply able to take on whatever form they please. While this assumption is mostly true for infantile and adolescent Ausuvir the slowly progressing hardening of their bodies brought on by their affliction further and further decreases their shapeshifting capabilities as they increase in age.
Due to this older Ausuvir are rather limited in their possible appearance until they are forever locked into a single unchanging form. While the possibilities for the appearance of this final form are almost unlimited, so do most of them resemble a humanoid shape that is generally reminiscent of the appearance of other Ikona species.

Genetics and Reproduction

Unlike the other Ikona subspecies, the Ausuvir only rarely infect other species with their affliction in order to create more of their species. Instead, they almost exclusively reproduce through an asymmetrical division of their bodies into two unequal parts. The larger of the two parts retain the overall shape and hardness of the original, while the smaller piece reverts back into an unformed, infantile state.
While this type of rapid reproduction would theoretically allow the Ausuvir to produce hundreds if not thousands of offsprings within but a few months, they are in fact the least numerous of all the Ikona subspecies. The reason for this is that the Ausuvir rarely reproduce at all, given that the splitting process is excruciatingly painful and requires them to bequeath one of their eyes to their "offspring", which given their prideful nature is an act they prefer to avoid.
Yet in certain circumstances, an individual Ausuvir is able to enter a so-called Oisivid sateirbe ("Splitting Frenzy"), which results in them splitting into dozens of offsprings within a short period of time, though not all of the offerings produce via this method are able to develop into mature Ausuvir and instead remain stuck in their infantile state.

Growth Rate & Stages

As their affliction progresses the Ausuvir transit through four distinct growth stages, which can easily be identified based on the "solidity" of their bodies, their overall shapeshifting abilities and the degree of their sapience.

Suduar ("Unformed")

The infantile form of the Ausuvir, which is little more than an amoeboid lump of putrescent slime, which contains two piercing yellow eyes and a blue-lipped mouth. In this form, the Ausuvir possess very little in the form of sapience and therefore generally act solely on their instincts. Multiple Suduar often clump together with their siblings in order to form large shambling masses, referred to as Shogras.

Ateas Rovil ("Hair of Blue")

The adolescent form of the Ausuvir, which consists of small pieces of solidified scab surrounded by layers of liquid slime. While in this form the Ausuvir possess their most extensive shapeshifting capabilities, as the small pieces of hardened scab grant them just enough in the way of stability to take on more complex forms without restricting the overall shapes of their bodies.
The name of this stage is based on the silky dark blue hair adolescent Ausuvir develope and which coincides with their notable increases in sentience. Out of all the four stages, the Ateas Rovil are the ones that most commonly engage in "self-division" and are therefore also the stage most likely to develop a splitting frenzy.

Susoitibma Amrof ("Aspiring Form")

The adult stage of the Ausuvir, which consists of a viscous slime mass that is partially encompassed by patches of dried mucus, which strongly reduce their shapeshifting and self-division capabilities. As if to compensate them for the loss of these abilities, the Susoitibma Amrof are the first state that reaches full sapience, which enables them to utilize their remaining skills to their fullest potential.
The name of this stage is based on the fact that the Susoitibma Amrof acts as a type of transitional stage between the ever-changing bodies of the lower stages and the eternal bodies of the fourth stage, which instills them with a deep-rooted desire to model their own bodies into a perfect pose, before transitioning into the everlasting shapes of the fourth stage.

Suerua Suproc ("Gilded Ones")

The fourth and final stages of the Ausuvir, which consist of a small core of tar-like slime that is fully encapsulated by an adamantine, golden skin formed from hardened pus. While this petrification of their bodies prevents them from ever again changing their shape or creating further offspring, it also grants them incredible physical durability and more importantly a near unrivaled mastery over the currents of the Yellow River, as they literally become living totems of microbial energies.
Thanks to this massive increase in shamanic powers the Suerua Suproc are able to boost their innate River-Gliding ability to such an extent that it enables them to move in short bursts of incredible speed. As these bursts rarely last more than the tiniest fraction of a second this type of movement is for all intense and purposes a type of short-range teleportation instead of a regular movement.

Ecology and Habitats

While they lack the adaptability of the Agsimer, their innate resilience allows the Ausuvir to inhabit nearly every environment. Nevertheless, they generally favor warm and wet regions, which are full of microbial activity, such as tropical swamplands or the sewage systems of sprawling cities.

Dietary Needs and Habits

And I thought my palette of consumable foods was impressive. I guess it is back to the operating table for me. Gonna have to implant me one of these ripper-stomachs, Hepara keeps on talking about.
~ Ventarcilus "All-Feaster" Astgastaer, Prince-Gourmand of Anostos

The Ausuvir are able to eat nearly all non-magical materials found in Cenorad if given enough time. This includes every conceivable type of organic materials, such as bones, wood or shells and many types of inorganic substances such as rocks, metals or glass. Given this wide array of possible food sources, it is no wonder that concepts such as disgust, repulsiveness, and inedibility are completely alien to them and even the idea of starvation is regarded as a joke rather than as a real threat.
Ausuvirs that reach the final stage of their lifecycle use the energies of the Yellow River to cultivating a wide array of microorganisms within the still liquid parts of their bodies, which they then consume in order to sustain themselves.

Additional Information

Social Structure

The society of the Ausuvir revolves around the Aela Sucifingam ("The Great Game"), which is a chess-like board game that spans the entirety of Cenorad. In this greatest of games, the Ausuvir themselves are the meeples and each and every one of their movements have an impact on the overall game, though given that only fully hardened Ausuvirs are eligible to partake in the Great Game their movement options are rather limited.
Although the specifics and subtleties of the Great Game are only known to those playing it, the general gist of the game is that the spacial position and facing of an individual is highly important for their specific rank within the games elaborate ranking system. As the social standing of an Ausuvir is directly tied to his rank within the Great Game, even the smallest of mishaps or minute lapse in concentration could spell doom for one of the participants.
While each and every Ausuvir possess an individual rank within the Great Game, the rough social classification of their society is generally based on the role and standing an individual possesses within one of the various Sisethnys ("Set") that participate in the Great Game.
These "Sets" are groups of Ausuvir that banded together in order to maximize their chances of success within the Great Game. Yet while the members of a specific Set are technically allies, they nevertheless might decide that the noble sacrifice of one of their "valued" compatriots might be inevitable in order to further the goals of the Set, by for example allowing themselves to reach a more advantageous position.

Sucaba Xer ("Board's King")

Commonly the oldest and most powerful member of a Set, the Sucaba Xer are the rulers of their respective Set and dirigent the actions of their subordinates on the basis of elaborate and complex strategies that often take multiple decades in order to come to fruition. Given their role as the supreme commander of an entire Set, they themselves rarely move at all, though given their enormous shamanic power their mere presence is enough to deter any opponent from moving within their vicinity, which in itself is a valuable strategic resource. The size of this area varies between Kings though it is commonly multiple miles in diameter.
A noteworthy subset of the Sucaba Xer are the so-called Sulos Xer the "Lone Kings", which are individuals of immense power that don't belong to one of the various Sets and instead partake in the Great Game all on their own. Given that they managed to survive the Great Game for numerous decades or even centuries, their powers and strategic aptitude generally surpass even those of the Set-Kings.

Idul Aniger ("Game Queen")

The Idul Aniger act as the second in command to the Sucaba Xer and are often of somewhat similar age and power to their sovereign. While each Set usually has only a single "King" many of the larger Sets possess two or more "Queens" that often varied considerably in their respective power. Their main role within the battle plan of their Set consists of enforcing the will of their king on the various lesser pieces beneath their command and add the necessary power and threat to a move in order to force a rivaling Set into making an unfavorable move.
Besides their sheer shamanic power, the main reason why a Queen is so exceptionally dangerous that she is able to force the hand of an opponent, is the so-called Suiger-Sep ("Queenly pas"), which is a special type of movement that allows a Queen to attach herself to ceilings and walls and furthermore enables her to "float" on water. This form of extensive 3D-movement sets her apart from any lower pieces and basically forces an opposing Set to counter the threat posed by her with their own Queens or even their King, as any other pieces stand no real chance of stopping let alone defeating an enemy Queen.

Ollepsa Rosruc ("Drifting Runner")

Out of all pieces within a Set, the Ollepsa Rosruc are the most mobile pieces, as they are perpetually moving at a constant speed of a few centimeters per month, which in the eyes of the Ausuvir is regarded as breakneck speed. They archive this type of "rapid" movement by drifting upon the currents of the Yellow River, while simultaneously creating a slippery film of slime beneath their sockets, which drastically reduces fiction and also enables them to scale steep cliffs.
They primarily act as recons and skirmishers for their Set, given that their great mobility usually allows them to outmaneuver or at least outrun the lesser pieces of an enemy set. Furthermore, they are also able to quickly respond to enemy counterattacks and pluck any gaps in the defenses of their own Set that might have arisen during such an occasion.

Eratlas Seque ("Jumping Rider")

Eratlas Seque are experienced members of a Set, which still lack the power for the rapid and precise movement of the Ollepsa Rosruc. Instead, they traverse the "World-Board" by channeling their shamanic powers for an extended period of time, before traversing multiple miles within the blink of an eye.
These "jumps" generally allow them to bypass the pieces of other Sets, which can open up numerous advantageous options in the following turns, though given that the Eratlas Seque are unable to jump in quick successions, it is crucial for their survival that they make sure that their target location is outside of the threat range of an enemy piece.

Sotsuc Sirrut ("Guardian's Tower")

The Sotsuc Sirrut act as eyes and ears of their Set, by constantly reading the currents of the Yellow River in order to map and register the movements of rivaling Sets. While they are able to move relatively quickly, they lack the finesse and experience of higher pieces to make precise and complex movements, which often results in them bumping into various objects.

Suvon-Rotluc ("New Pawn")

The lowest rank within a given Set, the Suvon-Rotluc are composed of Ausuvir that only recently finished their hardening process. Given their lack of experience and lackluster mobility skills, they are generally ordered around by higher pieces, which rarely care about the fate of their pawns, as long as they are able to strengthen their own position.
Due to this each and every pawn tries to increase their rank within their Set as fast as possible before they can be spent in the power games of their superiors. While most Suvon-Rotluc only ascend to the rank of Sotsuc Sirrut or Eratlas Seque within their first few decades, some exceptional individuals managed to reach the rank of a Queen within the same time.

Sutruc Rosul ("Inchoate Player")

A catch-all term to describe all Ausuvirs which so far haven't finished their hardening process and are therefore not yet eligible to partake within the Great Game. As the Game is the central point of their culture, the Suerua Suproc waste barely any thoughts on those that are unable to partake within it, which means that most Sutruc Rosul are forced to fend for themselves until they have been fully petrified.
Some lucky individuals might be cared for by another Ausuvir, though these examples are rare and never happen without an ulterior motive on part of the caretaker. The most common of these motives is the acquisition of a loyal ally for the Great Game, which can be easily sacrificed in order to further the position of the individual who raised him.

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Given their similarity in appearance, it is not uncommon for infantile Ausuvir to be mistaken as Faries of the Yellow River, which has occasionally caused some practitioners of the Shamanic Arts to attempt to use them as Totem-Spirits.
While these attempts often have dire consequences for the unobservant shaman, some Ausuvir decide to play along and stick with their mistaken identity. Given that the Ausuvir are themselves powerful Yellow Shamans, each shaman that manages to maintain a good relationship with their shapeshifting companion is almost guaranteed to archive great feats.
These strange arrangements generally only last for a couple of years before the Ausuvir abandon their partner in order to begin preparing for the Great Game. Though in some cases they might produce a single offspring that aids their shaman in their stead after they have turned into a Suerua Suproc.
While the assistance of an Ausuvir is doubtless a great boon for any Yellow Shaman, members of short-living species should familiarize themselves with the tale of Galatea's Embrace in order to be aware of the fate that could await them should their assistant become too attached to them.

Facial characteristics

While in their unformed state the Ausuvir are able to shape their faces into any form that they desire. As their bodies begin to harden their options get more and more limited until their faces become a petrified mask -called the Surim Seicaf ("Marvelous Countenance")-, whose appearance may range from beautiful over bizarre to grotesque.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Here I stand and I shall not yield.
~ Inscription on the "Valiant Tower"

Ausuvir that are not yet fully hardened preferably live in areas that fit their preferred habitats, which makes them a common sight within the tropical regions and wetlands of Cenorad. With the recent expansions of the Vitreous Empire many Ausuvir decided to leave their swampy homes and settled within the extensive sewer systems of the Empire's gargantuan cities.
Fully hardened Ausuvir can be found all over Cenorad as their geographic position is vital for their position within the Great Game. While most of these Gilded Ones are located in remote areas such as the grounds of rivers and lakes, beneath the dunes of deserts or at the top of mountains, some placed themselves in the graveyards, fountains or art galleries of cities and villages, where they are commonly mistaken as pieces of ancient or modern art.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

In regards to their mundane senses, the Ausuvir possess rather poor eyesight -by the standards of other Ikonas at least- and lack a traditional sense of hearing. Instead, their entire body is covered in a plethora of highly complex chemical sensors that grant them a sophisticated sense of smell and taste, which far surpass even the already impressive gustatory perception of other Ikonas and enables them to literally "see" their environment in colors of odors and flavors. Additionally, their bodies are also very sensitive to touch, vibrations and air movements, which makes it nearly impossible to hide from the perception of an Ausuvir without magical means.
Their extrasensory capabilities allow them to read the currents of the Yellow River, which enables them to perceive nearly every type of microbial life within their surroundings and "read" the intestinal flora of other creatures. Similar to the Agsimer the Ausuvir are also able to infect other species with parts of their own bodies in order to perceive the environment from their position. Given the virulent nature of the Ausuvir these infected only survive for a couple of days or weeks before succumbing to one of the countless pathogens growing within slime of the Ausuvir.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Within the pustulent mass of their bodies the Ausuvir purposely cultivate a sheer mindboggling amount of microorganisms, which the use as energy sources for their shamanic spells and also as a portable food source.
Furthermore, these bacteria also serve as a potent deterrent against all but the most vicious of predators, as the magically enhanced pathogens of the Ausuvir are commonly able to overcome even the powerful immune systems of carrion eater. When threatened younger Ausuvir therefore commonly spray a would-be assailant with a torrent of virulent fluids.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

The Ausuvir don't possess a name in the traditional sense, as their Rodo-Oge ("Aroma of self") can neither be spoken nor written down. The reason for this is that the Ausuvir use the unique chemical fingerprint of an individual in order to identify them, which possesses so many nuances and subtleties that most languages are just not able to adequately describe them.
Ausuvir that decided to partner up with a Yellow Shaman often take on an actual name, to ease communication between them and their partner. Depending on the relationship between them and their shaman, they might also carve this name into the hardened shell of their bodies in order to remember the time they spend with them.
Suerua Suproc that are located in or close to the settlements of other species are often given descriptive names, which are based on the appearance of their "Pose".

Major Organizations

Midas' Fist

The most powerful of all Sets, whose members all belong to the top players of the Great Game. The members of this Set are easily recognized by the iridescent golden glove that they wear over their right fist. Besides being highly successful Midas' Fist it also one of the largest Sets, with a total of 173 members.

Smiling Angels

A relatively young set, whose members are primarily located in or beneath the cities of the Vitreous Empire. Their Poses often feature angelic aesthetics, such as wings and halos, which together with their characteristic smile is the reason for the name of the Set.

Aureate Horrors

Out of all Sets, the member of the Aureate Horrors possess the most grotesque and horrific shapes, which combined with their "fast-paced" playstyle has earned them a spot in the boogymen stories of various cultures.
Dozen of people have actually been scared to death by the members of this Set when they for example suddenly appeared directly in front of them or worse yet manifested themselves at the side of their beds in the middle of the night.

Beauty Ideals

Beauty unfazed by the teeth of time.
Perfection exalted for all eternity.
Triumph waiting at the conclusion of an endless game.
~ Inscription on the "Victorious Queen"

The beauty ideal of the Ausuvir is defined by three concepts, known as the Muivirt Odutirchlup ("Threefold constraints of Beauty").

Eternal Beauty

This concept embodies the idea that true beauty is never tarnished and therefore is unaffected by the passage of time. Due to this, the Ausuvir regard everything that is ephemeral or that shows signs of aging as imperfect and fundamentally flawed. In sharp contrast to their Ikona ancestors or other Ikona subspecies, the Ausuvir rarely view these things as hideous or abhorrent. Instead, they often mourn or pity the decay of "Flawed Beauty", as they are aware that unlike them most items and creatures are unable to resist the teeth of time and are therefore bout to one day fall apart.

Everlasting Perfection

The concept of Endless Perfection summarizes the insanely high standards to which the Ausuvir hold their physical forms once the petrifaction of their bodies begins to interfere with their shapeshifting abilities. Given the irreversible nature of this process, this is rather understandable as every flaw and impurity within their form will remain visible for the rest of their potential endless life, which to the Ausuvir is a fate worse than death.

Endless Triumph

The last of the three beauty defining concepts, this concept represents all the glory that can be archived by winning the Great Game and therefore is the prime motivator for the Ausuvir to partake in it. So far no Set or individual managed to archive this state and given the steady influx of new players and the fact that the Game was designed as a form of never-ending entertainment it is very unlikely that this will ever happen.
Yet the impossibility of a goal has so far never stopped any of the various Ikona subspecies from at least attempting to reach it. And as fully formed Ausuvir have all the time in the world and barely anything other to do than to play the Great Game it is all but impossible that they will ever hold in the pursuit of victory. Besides the thrill and mental strain of the Great Game is the only thing that prevents them from going insane, given that they are eternally trapped inside of their own bodies.

Gender Ideals

Given their shapeshifting abilities and the complete lack of even vestigial sexual organs, the concept of sex and gender are generally unknown to the Ausuvir. Nevertheless, some Sets prefer a gender-specific aesthetic for their various members, like for example the all "female" Set known as the Harmonic Muses.

Relationship Ideals

United in filth, bound by fate.
~ Inscription on the "Putrescent Lovers"

As most Ausuvir are forced to fend for themselves for the entirety of their unformed life, it is no wonder that they maintain their solitary nature in their fully petrified form and primarily cooperate with the other members of their Set in order to strengthen their own position.
Some Ausuvir hower decide for various reasons to more permanently bind themselves to another member of their species, which results in the creation of a so-called Erenopmoc Italleco ("Combined Piece"). Given that these pieces combine the shamanic powers of two or even more Ausuvir, they generally possess far greater powers than other pieces of comparable age and experience. At the same time, they are much more difficult to move as the Ausuvir that form them have to perfectly synchronize their powers or risk tearing the piece apart.
In even rarer cases an Ausuvir might also decide to form a Combined Piece with the member of another species. While this act doesn't increase the shamanic power of the Ausuvir it often greatly enhances the aesthetic of their Pose, which to the Ausuvir is even more important than raw power. While most creatures that are embraced in such a way generally perish due to hunger or thirst, some (un)lucky individuals are actually kept alive for decades or even centuries. If an Ausuvir is particularly attached to their cohabitant they might also decide to turn them into an Ausuvir to prevent them from succumbing to the teeth of time.

Average Technological Level

While the Ausuvir possess basically no technology of their own, they are some of the most powerful Yellow Shamans in all of Cenorad, which enables them to fight even against highly technological advanced enemies, as even the most sophisticated of technological marvel is useless if the individual operating it is turned into a stinking pile of toxic ichor.
The thing that sets the Ausuvir apart from other practitioners of the Shamanic Arts is a special technique called "Vortex Casting", which enables them to cast shamanic Dan'chas with frightening speed, while also maintaining an accuracy far exceeding those of other shamans. This difference in casting skills is actually so substantial that many shamans use the phrase "faster than an Ausuvir" as a means to exaggerate an already overblown statement.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Behold the Gilded Tranquility.
~ Inscription on the "Screaming Mute"

Given that the Ausuvir both lack a sense of hearing and functioning vocal cords it is no wonder that they don't possess a spoken language. Instead, they communicate via various chemical substances that they expel from their bodies. Older individuals are furthermore able to manipulate the currents of the Yellow River in order to communicate over great distances.
While they are capable of learning other languages and even mimic the voices of basically every creature in Cenorad thanks to their shapeshifting capabilities, only Ausuvir that partnered up with a Yellow Shaman make regular use of this immense potential.
In regards to their written language, the Ausuvir primarily used Omres in order to add inscriptions onto their Poses, though inscriptions written in other languages have also been found. Some Ausuvir also possesses multiple inscriptions in various languages on their hardened exteriors, which greatly aided in the translations of Omres into other languages.

Common Dress Code

While they would definitely be able to fit into nearly every item of clothing, the Ausuvir rarely every wear anything at all. Instead, they simply change parts of their bodies into shapes that closely resemble clothing.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

Given that both the Suerua Suproc and Susoitibma Amrof are generally solely focused on the course of the Great Game and the fact that the Suduar are barely sentient, any and all parts of their culture which are not a part of the Great Game are coined by the Ateas Rovil.
As each Ateas Rovil is mostly on its own, there is little in the way of overall cultural development, as most are content with just crawling around within their chosen piece of festering marsh or blighted sewer. Some Ateas Rovil however instead decide to wander the world in order to discover new shapes and forms, which they could utilize for their Pose.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Erepicca Oitisop ("Taking of shape")

The single most important activity within the entire culture of the Ausuvir, the Erepicca Oitisop is a decade long process of intense thinking and meticulous shapeshifting that results in the creation of the Sidnarg Oitisop ("Grande Pose") of an Ausuvir, which is the name given to their final shape that they will retain for the rest of their life.

Ritual of Dissolution

This ritual allows the transformation of a member of another species into an Ausuvir. Given that it is rarely used, very little is know about the contents of the ritual, to the point that even many Ausuvir are unaware of its existence.
What is know about this ritual is quite terrifying, as it apparently involves the painful dissolution of the individual into a single-cell soup over the course of multiple months or even years.

Aitnafni Earbenet ("Childhood in Darkness")

A rather nasty custom performed by some Sets, the Aitnafni Earbenet involves the nidation of an unformed Ausuvir into the digestive, the respiratory or urogenital tract of a larger creature. There it will feed off mucous secretions, waste materials, and the local microflora until it is old enough the leave its host. Depending on how much an Ausuvir has hardened before attempting to leave its host, this emergence can become rather messy.

Common Taboos

Hecticness, rash decisions, and impulsive movements are regarded as dilettantish by the players of the Great Game as they are the sing of those that lack the strategic foresight to plan for all eventualities.
This complicates relations with other species quite a lot given that the Ausuvir have a vastly different sense of time. To them, any attempted conversation whose length cannot be measured in months is no conversation at all.
While Ausuvir that have yet to become fully petrified are considerable more fastpaced than the Gilded Ones, they nevertheless are rather slow conversational partners, often taken multiple minutes to answer a single question.

History

When our affliction manifested itself for the first time, we thought ourselves fortunate, as while others were torn apart by tumorous blades or devoured from the inside, all we had to care about was a new coloration of our skin, hair, and eyes.
As time went on new symptoms appeared, yet we didn't care, for we found zestfulness in the softness of our skin and the new flexibility of our limbs. When rumors of rashes and oozing wounds began to appear, I ridicule the ones that began to doubt the nature of our burden, for no disease could ever hope to overcome a species as magnificent as us.
While the events of the past few months have prompted me to reevaluate this statement, I doubt that such an act would be worth the effort, for it would only fall upon decaying ears. Besides, I recently disgorged the remains of my festering vocal cords, so I have no voice left to state the obvious.
~ Personal recording of a pre-Dissolution Ausuvir

Given the near total lack of written records and oral traditions within their culture, very little is known about the history of the Ausuvir. The few bits of information that are available stem mostly from the members of a specific Set known as the Sutroh-bo Mueaport ("Garden of Monuments"), whose members portray and reference various noteworthy events from the history of the Ausuvir and their Ikona ancestors, such as the Founding of Murref or the Exodus from the Fields of Shattered Stars. As many members of the Garden are known for the extravagant style of their Poses the historical accuracy of these portrays is highly debatable.

Disolving with the Sickness

While the Second Spring initially only caused minor inconvenience to the first Ausuvir, such as a recoloration of their skin, hair, and eyes, they soon realized the full extent of their affliction as they began to develop more and more serious symptoms. Besides an ever-increasing rate of fatalities caused by various infectious diseases, the first Ausuvir began to suffer from a slowly advancing liquidation of their own bodies.
While the few records that were written during this time, are practically soaked with the terror and disgust of the first Ausuvir, modern Ausuvir view this time period highly positive and sometimes even outright envy the first Ausuvir for being able to experience the "Dissolution of Imperfection".
The reason why modern Ausuvir view the events of this time period in such a positive light, is the fact that in their eyes the dissolution of their bodies allowed them to escape from the flawed design and restricted shape of their original bodies, which in turn enable them to shape their bodies into the magnificent statues that they are today.

Liquified Minds

As the Dissolving Sickness not only dissolved the physical bodies of the Ausuvir but also their mind, it is no wonder that even the eldest members of the species don't possess any memories of the time period, which followed the outbreak of the disease. Due to this, the time period is also known as the "Unkown Days" and still remains a blank spot within the history of the species.

Reclamation of Sapience

Following their involuntary transformation into barley sentient lumps of slime, it took multiple decades for the Ausuvir to hardened their bodies and minds to such a point that they were once again recognizable as members of a sapient species.
While the rough time scale of this monumental event is known, the fact that each and every Ausuvir that was around during the Unkown Days is convinced to have been the very first individual to reclaim his sapience makes the task of accurately dating this event basically impossible.

Struggle for the Eternal Shape

After the Ausuvir had managed to once again reclaim their sapience, they soon noticed the slowly progressing petrification of their bodies, which understandably freaked them out, as the memories of their Dissolution still lingered within the depths of their reformed minds.
Yet in a mixture of grim endurance and plain hubris, they soon began to see their petrification not as a curse but as a blessing, for it would allow them to turn themselves into beacons of Eternal Beauty if they managed to model their formable bodies into the most beautiful shape imaginable before their petrifaction prevented any further shapeshifting.

The First Move

It is unclear at what point in time the Ausuvir realized that their affliction would in fact not lead to a complete petrification of their bodies, but instead only petrified the outer layers of their bodies, which left a still living core of viscous slime in the center of their fully hardened exterior. And while the idea of being slowly turned into a statue in the pursuit of Eternal Beauty was more than acceptable for the Ausuvir, the idea of remaining a conscious statue for all eternity was most definitely not.
And so they began to develop the Great Game as a means to keep themselves entertained and mentally active, while trapped within their own bodies. While the modern iterations of the Great Game have only very little in common with these first primitive versions, it is still based on the same principles as the First Game itself.

Historical Figures

Midas, the King in Gold

The Sucaba Xer of Midas' Fist, Midas is one of the most powerful and most successful participants of the Great Game. While other Ausuvir regularly praise his exploits or envy his strategic mastermind, many species fear and loathe him as the creator of "Midas Touch", which is a magical disease that traps those that contract it inside of a rapidly hardening shell of blood and ichor.

The Chidwun Horror

Assumed to be either the Queen or the King of the Aureate Horrors, this Ausuvir possesses a Pose of such a grotesque and terrifying nature that is presumably able to mentally scare or even outright kill all those that look upon it. While no actually fatalities caused by this particular Horror have so far been confirmed, few are willing to risk mind and life in order to confirm that the mind-shattering appearance of the Chidwun Horror truly exists.

Common Myths and Legends

The Motionless Win

A tale about a mythical individual known as the "Unmoving King" that supposedly won against an entire Set of Ausuvirs without a single movement and instead allowed the "overhasty" moves of its adversaries to be the architects of their undoing.

The Story of Galatea's Embrace

A highly popular story, that tells the story of a Yellow Shaman known as Pumayyaton and his Ausuvir partner Galatea. While the story initially describes one of the best relationships ever seen between an Ausuvir and Non-Ikona, it comes to a rather tragic end when Galatea mistakes a piece of dirt on Pumayyaton's face as an early sign of aging.
Fearing for the Eternal Beauty of her beloved partner Galatea decided to encase Pumayyaton within her hardening body mass in order to protect his failing beauty from the fangs of time. Sadly her panic causes her to artificially speed up her hardening process, which prevents her from ejecting Pumayyaton once she realizes her mistake.
Now forever bound together both Pumayyaton and Galatea go insane either due to being buried alive within a tomb made from scab and pus or due to the fact that Galatea's artificially hardening prevented her non-petrified body mass from comforting her partner, while she watched his sanity slowly erode away. Given that Pumayyaton belonged to a rather long-lived species it took numerous centuries until he was finally released by the specter of death, at which point Galatea lost the last remaining sparks of her sanity.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

What could possibly happen if I touch this piece of...art?
~ Presumably the last thoughts of a foolish adventure

While young Ausuvir occasionally interact with the members of other species, so are these interactions generally only of a transient in nature, as most Ausuvir simply lack the incitation for the prolonged dealing with Non-Ausuvirs.
The exceptions to this rule are of course the Ausuvit that decided to not melt the flesh of a Yellow Shaman that accidentally mistook them for a Phleg and instead chose to bond with them. But as can be seen, with the Story of Galatea and Pumayyaton these interactions have their very own risks attached to them.
Ausuvir that completed their Sidnarg Oitisop are generally far too focused on the Great Game to even acknowledge the existence of other species and additionally possess such a different perception of time that a conversation with them is all but impossible.
Nevertheless, should any person interfere with their movement in the game or even tried to move them around, they will mercilessly retaliate with all of the shamanic power at their disposal. Whole villages have been wiped out by the diseases created by the Ausuvirs, for daring to interfere with the Great Game.

Theme song

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Ikona

Lifespan

Biological Immortal

Average Height

Flexible

Average Weight

Unformed Ausuvir: 50-100 kg
Fully hardened Ausuvir: 110-170 kg (Combined pieces can be even heavier)

Average Length

Flexible

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

The unformed parts of their bodies are of a sickly yellow color. Harden areas take on a metallic-golden coloration.