Dun

Plant People

Duns are green-skinned plant people, slightly taller than humans. Their heads are completely bald, which is due to their unique ability to photosynthesize (hence their green skin). Duns are capable of limited autotrophy- they can go for days without eating real food thanks to their ability to absorb energy from light. Additionally, they are aerotolerant anaerobes; while humans must breathe oxygen, duns breathe carbon dioxide. Duns also have wide, outward facing ears that are parallel with the horizon. This helps them cover more surface area when it comes to absorbing light.
Dun skin cells are filled with a mixture of phycoeythrin, phycocyanin, chlorophyll and carotenoids, allowing them to absorb an exceptional range of light wavelengths. The prevalent pigment is beta-chlorophyll, leading to their green appearance. Dun blood is coloured yellow, due to it being filled with a high concentration of phycoerythrin- this allows duns to absorb light of higher wavelength that may penetrate deeper into the skin while shorter wavelength light is absorbed by beta-chlorophyll at the epidermis. Interestingly, there have been cases of duns born with genetic defects that alter the composition of photosynthetic pigments in the cells. While this may only have a very small impact on their actual photosynthetic ability, the biggest change is their skin colour, which can range from a stark purple to blood red.
Duns have stronger immune systems than humans, allowing them to remain immune or survive diseases that are typically of high mortality. Thanks to this, duns are able to endure far deadlier injuries without as great of a risk of infection. There is a common misconception that duns have rapid regeneration- this is untrue, and likely stems from the duns' ability to suffer severe injury without infection.
Duns grow formations on their skin similar to how humans grow body hair. Dun skin is usually soft and feels identical to humans, but on the outer forearms, front of the shins and in males, on the chest they can grow bark. Referred to as dunbark, these growths have helped ancient duns have an innate form of armour to protect them from wildlife and in armed conflict. In the modern day, many duns opt to shave portions of these growths off (which is as painless as it is for a human to shave their hair) in order to take on a more refined, clean-cut appearance. Other duns wear their dunbark as a medal of honour to make their ancestors proud.
Adult male duns grow wood-like horns almost akin to antlers from their heads. Similar to bodily dunbark, some duns may choose to whittle these down for a more sophisticated appearance. Some duns are incapable of growing these horns, or lose the ability to, very similar to how humans can develop baldness.
Female duns will grow a vine-like, grassy mane from their scalps that resemble human hair. These thin, fine vines help provide increased surface area for photosynthesis, aiding dun women who are pregnant. Female children also grow this hair, however only sexually mature dun females will grow flowers along the vines. These flowers serve no reproductive purpose like in proper plants, instead only serving a purely beauty oriented purpose. Colour and shape of these flowers is related to genetics and are unique between individuals.

Civilization and Culture

History

Duns originally lived in a large community just North of Modwuk River, East of Fleshflayers’ Swamp. There they enjoyed a dense, lush forest with plenty of space to raise their families and make their living. They were isolated from most of the world at first, but slowly accepted foreign visitors for trade and knowledge exchange. However, many Duns and their communities were displaced when human towns began to spring up around an excavation site, which quickly encroached on Dun lands. The humans at first promised that their colonization was only temporary, but as the newly formed Destral only grew, it quickly became apparent that that was no longer the case. Fortunately for Duns, they have managed to successfully reintegrate into civilizations across Legere, most commonly found in Phovezila, Destral, Southwest Walwhite and Northeast Walwhite. Sadly, much of Dun history and olden culture have been lost following the collapse of the original Dun inhabitation. Only the opportunistic Dun bandits occupying the Northern shoreline of the Modwuk are the closest witnesses to their ways.

Lifespan

150

Average Height

1.7 m

Average Weight

62 kg