Zkorbs
Brariic: Iiklal
The Zkorbs1 were an ancient species of sapient insectoids who once inhabited the area around Mt. Æjat in central Dragonía and, later on, the Island of the Sacred Stone off the eastern coast of Dakrúzú Peninsula far to the south.
For the next four hundred years, they wandered into the Múlíat Mountains, where the Zkorbs came into contact with more sapients but were unable to establish a new home there, as the natives felt threatened by their presence and thus drove them further southwards in the Dakrúzú Peninsula, until the Zkorbs managed to cross the Derkniss Sea and settle down on a large island there. They named it Nerg-zka-úl.
Over the next millennia, the Zkorbs built a new system of hives, far larger and more elaborate than back home, and thrived for the most part in the isolation, until the island was hit by a meteor in 12.500 b.Dr, which destroyed a few hives and damaged the rest. Zkorb civilization experienced a slow but steady decline after this event, as the remaining queens came to the conclusion that the impact was an attack on their hives and promptly tried to isolate their homes even more from the outside world.
Over time, the xenophobic attitude lead to more drastic actions, such as killing all the livestock -as the animals had originally come from the outside at some point-, closing access to tunnels where fish was caught and, finally, isolating the hives from each other. The last Zkorbs, overcome by malnutrition and disease, died out at the end of the third century a.Dr.
Top-bottom: Guard, farmer, tunneler, diver, nurse, queen.
The latter formed one of the subgroups of labourers (túak-Zzkorb), the others being divers and nurses, and were responsible for digging new rooms and tunnels, repairing those that collapsed and clearing rubble, using both their tough, shovel-like hands or by spewing corrosive liquid from their mouth.
Divers and nurses both inhabited the lower levels of the hive, the former worked in fisheries or -along the coast- tunnels that opened into the sea to harvest fish and other seafood, while the latter were responsible for tending to the eggs, larvae and pupae in separate pools.
The Zkorbs1 were an ancient species of sapient insectoids who once inhabited the area around Mt. Æjat in central Dragonía and, later on, the Island of the Sacred Stone off the eastern coast of Dakrúzú Peninsula far to the south.
History
The first Zkorb societies appeared around 35.000 b.Dr, at the end of last ice age, around Mt. Æjat in central Dragonía, based around a few hives encircling the mountain. Around 20.000 b.Dr, they encountered the theropod-like Brariians as the latter expanded their territory closer to the mountains to sustain their growing population, which resulted in a millennium of conflicts between the two people, culminating in the Zkorbs' exile from their homeland.For the next four hundred years, they wandered into the Múlíat Mountains, where the Zkorbs came into contact with more sapients but were unable to establish a new home there, as the natives felt threatened by their presence and thus drove them further southwards in the Dakrúzú Peninsula, until the Zkorbs managed to cross the Derkniss Sea and settle down on a large island there. They named it Nerg-zka-úl.
Over the next millennia, the Zkorbs built a new system of hives, far larger and more elaborate than back home, and thrived for the most part in the isolation, until the island was hit by a meteor in 12.500 b.Dr, which destroyed a few hives and damaged the rest. Zkorb civilization experienced a slow but steady decline after this event, as the remaining queens came to the conclusion that the impact was an attack on their hives and promptly tried to isolate their homes even more from the outside world.
Over time, the xenophobic attitude lead to more drastic actions, such as killing all the livestock -as the animals had originally come from the outside at some point-, closing access to tunnels where fish was caught and, finally, isolating the hives from each other. The last Zkorbs, overcome by malnutrition and disease, died out at the end of the third century a.Dr.
Appearance and abilities
Distant relatives of Ázelans in the northeastern Múlíat Mountains, Zkorbs generally shared a number of features with other insects in some ways, such as having segmented bodies, an exoskeleton and six limbs, and differed in others, in particular they had a form of lungs instead of breathing through spiracles, and lacked antennae. They relied mostly on sight, hearing and -after settling in southern Dragonía- the ability to sense arcane energy of nearby beings to navigate the hives.
Zkorbs were divided into several distinct varieties, each suited for different roles within their hives. They were easily distinguished by their size and shape of their body, head and limbs, as well as different blue and pink patterns on their exoskeleton.
Queens were the only Zkorbs that could lay eggs, each oval in shape and roughly the size of a watermelon, which were moved into flooded tunnels deep within the hive. The larvae were tended to in shallower pools until they formed pupae, which were transported into dry chambers where new Zkorbs would then emerge and finally be led by guards to different parts of the hive to work.
Queens could live up to around 340-60 years, after which one of the princesses would take over and transform into a new queen.
Zkorbs were divided into several distinct varieties, each suited for different roles within their hives. They were easily distinguished by their size and shape of their body, head and limbs, as well as different blue and pink patterns on their exoskeleton.
Queens were the only Zkorbs that could lay eggs, each oval in shape and roughly the size of a watermelon, which were moved into flooded tunnels deep within the hive. The larvae were tended to in shallower pools until they formed pupae, which were transported into dry chambers where new Zkorbs would then emerge and finally be led by guards to different parts of the hive to work.
Queens could live up to around 340-60 years, after which one of the princesses would take over and transform into a new queen.
by Lappalingur
Society
After settling on the Island of the Sacred Stone, Zkorb civilization consisted of dozens of massive hives dotting the coastline and Úzk-kvúat Lake on the northern part of the island, all linked by a series of underground tunnels. The inhabitants of each hive were divided into five castes and three subcastes, based on the different varieties they belonged to. The Zzkorb-dí-zkan or queen lived in a large chamber at the top, with several princesses or Zzkorb-dí-kiz inhabiting their own rooms on the floor below. The central floors of the hive were used for growing fungi and raising livestock for food and tools (the latter which were sometimes fashioned from large roots growing through the walls), and were primarily populated with farmers or Zzkorb-dí-kvet, along with smaller groups of winged guards (Zzkorb-dí-ezúk) and stout tunnelers.The latter formed one of the subgroups of labourers (túak-Zzkorb), the others being divers and nurses, and were responsible for digging new rooms and tunnels, repairing those that collapsed and clearing rubble, using both their tough, shovel-like hands or by spewing corrosive liquid from their mouth.
Divers and nurses both inhabited the lower levels of the hive, the former worked in fisheries or -along the coast- tunnels that opened into the sea to harvest fish and other seafood, while the latter were responsible for tending to the eggs, larvae and pupae in separate pools.
Culture
Art
Architecture
Zkorb hives were enormous, semi-subterranean structures, built from a mixture of stone, rammed earth, clay and the acid produced by tunnelers, with different sections and levels connected by a network of twisting tunnels, while on the outside they resembled large hills. These structures have been slowly deteriorating since the Zkorbs died out, and the largest ones have already collapsed.Cuisine
Zkorb diet consisted mostly of various kinds of mold and other fungi, especially before being banished from central Dragonía, along with numerous different creatures that were domesticated over the millennia following their settlement to the south, including earthworms, giant beetles, millipedes and fleas. Fish and other seafood was harvested as well, though most of it was fed to larvae or consumed by divers and nurses, as it spoiled quickly.1Original icelandic: Zkorbar, singular: Zkorbi.
EXTINCT
Origin/Ancestry
Central Dragonía
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