Ialy

• Ialya (pl.) / Ialy (sing.)

Basic Information

Anatomy

Short, heavy-set hominids with powerful jaws, two rows of teeth, and venomous quills along their back and shoulders. Ialy quill placement is sex-dependent, with females having longer and more promininent primary quills, as well as two or more rows of secondary spines. Male ialya are genrally smaller, with shorter, thicker quills, comparatively smaller teeth, and slimmer jaws.

Genetics and Reproduction

Ialya are mammals and the species is genetically predisposed towards multiple births, with up to four children being common. No more than one of the young will be male, giving the global ialy population a female-to-male ratio of approximately 5:2. New-born ialya are small (2-3lb), blind, and entirely dependent on their parents, but grow rapidly, gaining up to 4lb every month during the first year. Ialy families traditionally share childrearing and feeding responsibilities, with siblings and even adult children pitching in to help care for and nurse newborns. Due to the pressures of raising a litter, ialya are able to delay development of implantated embryos, allowing them to stagger births to allow for the greatest chance of survival for their own young. Undeveloped embryos will eventually be reabsorbed into the body, and a pregnancy delayed in this manner is usually smaller than average.
The largest single-male litter on record is seven children; although large (6-8) bimasculine litters have been documented, they are presumed to be the result of an excessively delayed previous pregnancy.

Growth Rate & Stages

Ialy young open their eyes around six weeks old, and usually start complimentary feeding at four months old, transitioning entirely to semi-solid foods at 8 months. At this age, there is already a notable difference in size between sexes, and parents must ensure that the stronger and more agressive females do not steal food from the male. Experiments in raising males away from their natal siblings have found that isolated males consistently fail to meet developmental milestones, even when raised with an all-male sibling group, and suffer increased health issues and even food sensitivities in later life. The smaller stature of males is not attributable to reduced food in infancy, and parents will often unconsciously over-feed male offspring to make up for this presumed deficiency.
The skin and hair of ialy children are dramatically marked in high-contrast stripes and bright coloured, indicating to their historic predators that they are poisonous, with fully-developed venom glands. Quills develop during late childhood and the warning markings begin to fade, a process which completes with the onset of adolescence. However, ialya retain their distinctive marking on their extremities throughout their adult lives.

Dietary Needs and Habits

The Huswat name for ialya translates to 'eats all', and the species is renowned for their ability to consume almost anything. They are opportunistic omnivores, and have a robust digestive tract that can manage matter that other omnivores find indigestible, including nut husks, shell, bone, fur, and hair. They can and will eat non-food items, despite their poor nutritional value, and known to ingest toxins of varying potency for recreational and spiritual purposes. The prevalent belief that this consuming poison enhances their innate poison are unfounded. Ialya follow a feast-famine eating pattern, and are able to consume several pounds of food in one sitting and may be quite comfortable eating only once or twice a week.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Ialy are extremely social and a traditional society comprises a number of intermarried matriarchal familiy units with multiple generations of related women living together. Young men normally leave home upon reaching adulthood and form loose bachelor groups before they find wives. Traditionally, they would be expected to move in with their wife's family.
Same-sex attracted men may remain in a 'bachelor' group indefinitely, although some historic ialy families are comprised entirely of men in same-sex marriages and adopt young men into the family to continue the line. Men adopted into these families who divorce and go on to marry a woman would join their wife's family in the traditional manner. Same-sex attracted women generally remain with their family until marriage. Normally, one woman one would join the other's family, adopting a pseudo-masculine role, but in cases of small families where the absence of one member could cause the unit to destabilise, the two families may merge.
Ialya who do not fit comfortably within a defined gender role often join organisations that function as a 'found family' such as artistic, religious or academic communities, and/or integrate into mixed-species communities.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Originating in Ophoné and spreading outwards across islands and land bridges, ialya can be found worldwide, although their comfortable range excludes the most extreme cold regions.

Symbiotic and Parasitic organisms

Symptomatic host of Therianthropy

Civilization and Culture

History

Ialya evolved in the forests and rainforests of Ophoné. Historically nomadic, indigenous ialy communities move between several regular campsites during the year, foraging and hunting as they travelled, with small family groups exploring between the islands by boat. Having already made landfall on Erwā, they became the first sapient species to make contact with the precursors. Known then as 'beast men', they integrated readily into precursor society and travelled with their new colleages on voyages across the new landmass, meeting the first representatives of the yutaaq nations in the Western Isles. The three species integrated, formed multi-species alliances that lasted beyond the decline and subsequent extinction of the precursors, and yutaaq and ialy continue cohabiting into the present day.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Ialya are genrally gregarious, socially inclined and co-operative. They get along very well with other sapient species, especially yutaaq. With the benefit of their natural defences, ialya are extremely relaxed in the company of alien species and tend to adopt a species-agnostic approach to community, forming the backbone of many budding cosmopoloi.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Ialy

Genetic Descendants

• Ialy
• Magen

Scientific Name

bæga brandlearð

Lifespan

80-90 years

Average Height

Female: 1.4 - 1.6m (4′7″ - 5′3″) Male: 1.3-1.5m (4′3 - 4'11″)

Average Weight

Female: 60-75kg (9st 6lb - 11st 11lb) Male: 50-65kg (7st 12lb - 10st 3lb)

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

High contrast markings indicate to potential predators that ialya are both venomous and poisonous. Most promininet in infancy, these marks remain throughout an ialy's life.
Colours vary by region, with white-on-black being most common, but urban ialya are known to dye the non-black sections according to fashion trends or personal expression.