Imuenan (Ih-mway-nahn)
The Imuenana, the indigenous species of the planet Imuetaal or Ithud (as the IUS calls it) or Puetanonee IV, generally prefer colder temperatures in alpine, tundra, or arboreal environments. They are digigrade with skin in a variety of jewel tones, and geometric bioluminescent patterns on their face and other areas of their skin, which is tougher than the skin of many other species. They have no ears, but sense vibrations through their forked horns and have sensory organs on the side of their heads that sense atmospheric changes.
Imuenana are set in opposition to the Interstellar Unitary State, and much of the IUS refers to them derogatorily as Lesser Devils of the Ninth Ring. The IUS also fearmongers that they eat any other sentients that come to the Puetanonee system.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Imuenana have four limbs, the upper of which they more commonly use to manipulate the world around them. Both their arms and feet are capable of grasping, though the arms (upper limbs) are more dextrous. Each hand and foot has six fingers/toes, including two opposable thumbs. They also possess prehensile tails used to balance themselves and to be more secure when climbing.
The number and placement of their horns varies by ethnicity, but each Imuenan has a pair of fleshy atmospheric sensors on the side of their head. Horns also have ridged patterns which are unique to each Imuenan like a fingerprint, and scans of their horns can be used as identity verification.
Imuenana have bioluminescent patterns on their skin, the most complex ones on their face. These patterns develop primarily over the first 20 years of life, and greater detail or complexity is a result of stress in that period. These patterns are generally used for basic non-verbal communication or self-identification.
They have clawed hands and feet and sharp teeth suited to cutting through flesh.
Biological Traits
Skin tone and bioluminescent pattern are determined by genetics, and patterns in such align generally with tribe divisions.
Imuenana are generally without strong sexual dimorphism - the range of height, weight, horn and tail length, and others are all the same for all sexes, though the mode of each may vary.
Genetics and Reproduction
Imuenana are potentially fertile at all times of the year, and have between 1-3 children each time. More than three is highly abnormal and poses a threat to the parents' health. Gestation is internal, and during the period of gestation (approximately a year), gestating parents will only rarely, if ever, set foot on the ground while other members of the tribe provide for them. Premature birth by 3 months or more is very risky and has a low chance of healthy or living children. Late birth by more than 4 months can be difficult for the parent, and often requires open-section birth (surgical removal of the children).
Growth Rate & Stages
- Children can be brought on hunts, trading trips, and other adult endeavors at the age of 10.
- Their bioluminescent patterns cease to change at the age of 20, though they may extend (past the hairline, around the jaw, etc. until the age of 40 or so).
- Between the age of 35 and 45, an Imuenan's horns will be fully developed and their growth, while it will continue, will slow to about a millimeter every 5 years.
- Generally speaking, Imuenana are social adults at the age of 40.
- Imuenana lose the ability to reproduce some time late in their third century.
- Most Imuenana live between 250 and 350 years, though it's not unheard of that they might live up to 400.
Ecology and Habitats
Imuenana prefer cold environments with lots of opportunities to climb - arboreal, tundra, and alpine regions are preferred. Within these habitats, Imuenana are near-apex predators, and they keep the population of other species in check through their hunting. Though Imuenana prefer to live and work in social groups, they are capable of taking down animals several times their size independently, thanks to their sharp claws and thick skin.
Dietary Needs and Habits
They are omnivorous carnivores - though they can survive without fibers and plant matter, they absolutely require meat. Imuenana generally hunt in groups of four to ten, using blades, traps, bows, spears, and occasionally guns, though they usually reserve guns for border disputes or incursions from the IUS. Once prey is brought down, it is divided into two uses: immediate meal and long-term storage, which involves the smoking or similar preservation of the meat and its storage in a buried compartment.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Divided into ethnic groups generally referred to as tribes, with lower-level communities called ushiid (by the Oshraal tribe), which are also known as "tribe-villages" when translated.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Imuenana possess the ability to echolocate using their horns, which is also how they hear. The structure of their horns makes it difficult to concuss or otherwise affect them with sonic weapons, though they don't enjoy them. These horns also allow Imuenana to communicate with subsonic 'rumblies.'
They also have atmospheric senses that take in barometric pressure, ambient moisture, electricity, altitude, and other things.
Their sight is adapted to darker environments, and their eyes 'glow' in bright environments to keep potentially harmful light from damaging them.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
It is typical (though not ubiquitous) that Imuenana have names used within their ushiid (puushiid), popularly called hunting names outside Imuetaal, and names used with people who are not from their ushiid (puuntar), popularly known as trading names. Both puushiid and puuntar have no gendered differences, though puushiid are generally longer and more culturally meaningful (referencing poetry, myths, and history) than puuntar (generally the words for material things, like stones or trees, or words meaning things in the theme of 'hidden,' 'safe,' and similar). Imuenana do not have family names, though they may use village names as differentiators.
Puushiid | Puuntar |
---|---|
Gikriil (mischievous, naughty person) | Liin (sapling) |
Naddar (homebody, unadventurous person) | Sang (shadow) |
Noruuk (large predatory bird emblematic of wisdom and power) | Don (hill) |
Seedalaaskol (a large, carnivorous creature that attacks Imuenana) | Taraal (hidden) |
Bunataarmin (annual diplomatic feast between villages of one tribe) | Banaat (unseen) |
Tiinnamuun (winter festival of light) | Iit (mouth) |
Kikinaal (first snow marking the beginning of winter) | Kalal (mountain goat) |
Unaalmak (archetypal heroic mythic protagonist) | Staan (mountain) |
Ylsangun (shapeshifting trickster spirit who invented writing) | Tom (stone) |
Beauty Ideals
Generally, symmetrical facial patterns and horns are considered the height of beauty in an Imuenan. Larger features are also considered attractive: larger noses, large horns, and bold and thick facial patterns are particularly favored.
Major Language Groups and Dialects
Group | Language(s) | Where Used |
---|---|---|
Silaat / Yunaal | Far West Forest | |
Tikipuk / Polimov / Vanuvut | Northeast Tundra and Ice Floes | |
Naniona | Eastern Lowlands | |
Apparan / Finno / Kohhali / Ottirgon / Vittironon | Eastern Volcanic Archipelago | |
Aireze / Oilas | Far West Stone Spires | |
Deddalish | Western Continental Plains | |
Willit / Uellad / Yelledt | Equatorial Islands | |
Garvold / Kerfult | Northwest Caves | |
Zet / Sitten / Shadd | Midridge Mountain Range |
Common Dress Code
Imuenana generally cover themselves almost completely, though not their hands and feet. They are careful not to dress in a manner that impedes their movement - their clothes may be slightly loose, but they wear no dresses or skirts and nothing that would fall past their wrists or ankles unless the end of the sleeve is wrapped tight. Imuenana generally choose to dress in colors that match where they live, though they commonly dress in grayscale due to the fact that they prefer to live in places with a great deal of snow.
Imuenana generally keep their hair long and wear it loose or in braids.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Imuenana do not, as a rule, trust other species. They are wary of incursions from the IUS, and rarely trust that any non-Imuenana is not there to establish a foothold in the Puetanonee system and steal. They conduct trade through the Distal Port in their system and strictly control any landings on-planet in their system, and are decisive in their response to invasions. However, it is difficult for them to leave the Puetanonee system due to the IUS control beyond it, and they much prefer to safeguard what they have already secured than risk losing it.
Lifespan
250-350 years old
Average Height
1.35-1.6 meters.
Average Weight
40-70 kilograms.
Average Physique
Imuenana are typically muscular, particularly in the upper body, and many in the colder climates have thick fat reserves on their bodies. In the slightly warmer, arboreal areas, Imuenana are much leaner.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Jewel tones ranging from yellow-green to purple, in some cases darker, with facial patterns, when non-luminescent, of the same, though generally lighter, colors.
Geographic Distribution
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