Rosea Testudines

Rosea Testudo (singular) or Rosea Testudines (plural) are semi-aquatic humanoids earthworms, usually mistaken for turtles due of their appearance, that are secretly raised by the Underground Merchant Facility. They main job is to cultivate and harvest the Underground Merchant Facility´ crops in order to reassure their species survival. Due to the way they are raised by the Stella Flos Cibum, they don't tend to question or disobey very much the things that were taught to them, and that is why no Rosea Testudo has ever discovered the truth about the Underground Merchant Facility to date, which is the year four thousand thirty six.

Basic Information

Anatomy

The Rosea Testudines have a large and oval head, two long arms with four-toed hands, two short legs, a broad torso and waist, and two tails twice the size of the torso. Their skin is slippery and sticky, and it's main function is allowing them to breathe in the uncovered areas of the head, arms and legs; in addition, this skin is segmented into rings, which contain ganglia that serve to prevent infections produced by ground microbes that stick in their body due to the consistency of the skin. They have a skeleton that allows them to walk on two legs during of 6 hours at most, but their bones are weak enough to be broken by a strong blow in the exposed areas of their body. They also feature a light exoskeleton on the torso and its two tails, and a thick exoskeleton on the jugular, shoulders and fingers. Their organs are very fragile and easy to break if they consume hard objects; their organs are transparent, but they usually turn a green color because they consume mainly Viridi Coccymelum, a fruit with high degrees of dye. Their tails are located on their head and back, and the Testudines Rosea use them so they can maintain balance while walking on two legs and routed themselves when they drag themselves across the floor; in extreme situations, the Rosea Testudines can use their tails to defend themselves against their attackers, but they run the risk of breaking their exoskeleton and losing their balance after attacking. The rigid exoskeleton of its fingers functions as claws, which allow them to cut any type of plant and some small trunks; while the hardest exoskeleton is located in the jugular and shoulders because the heart of the Rosea Testudines is located in that region of their body. And as for her voice, this species is only able to speak in a tone of voice, which is very squealing and grating, it´s even capable of making any creature deaf if she screams loudly; but this can also affect her, as her eyes are very sensible and unprotected; plus, they have weak vocal cords that are easy to tear, so using this defensive tactic is only used as a last measure. Because the brain of the Rosea Testudines can regenerate, the only way to kill them is to destroy their heart.

Genetics and Reproduction

The Rosea Testudines are a species that reproduces asexually during its Vissen phase by using an organ known as "Cell Gestational Sac". This organ is found in the chest of the Rosea Testudines and uses most of the body components of this species to create cells and develop them into eggs; due to the high use of nutrients and minerals, the Vissen need to consume three times their usual food during the nine years of gestation of the eggs. After the eggs have formed, Cell Gestational Sac will begin to transport these nutrients into the egg in order to create a fetus and develop it until it reaches its Villa phase. Because each egg weighs around forty-five kilograms in its Villa phase, they will crush the fragile organs of the procreative Vis, killing it in the process. After the death of the Vis, the eggs will store the remaining nutrients remaining in the procreator's corpse and the Villae will continue to develop within them for another three years. If they were born in nature after the Villae reached their Vēlla phase, the Vēlla would break their eggs and tear the Cell Gestational Sac in order to enter the esophagus of the Vis and leave its mouth; but because the Rosea Testudines are in the custody of the Stella Flores Cibum, the Villae are removed from the corpse of the Vis before getting out of their eggs so they could be studied and monitored until they reach their Vēlla phase.

Growth Rate & Stages

The Vīllae The first phase of the Rosea Testudines is the Villa (singular) or Vīllae (plural), which starts from birth and ends at the age of three. They are named in that way due to the fact that the Rosea Testudines are the only inhabitants born in the Underground Merchant Facility, so they call them "village" in Latin. In this phase, the Villa are inside a sphere-shaped egg , which is filled with a substance with high levels of nutrients and minerals, a substance that the Villa absorb with their skin in order to continue developing. Their egg has a height of twenty centimeters and weighs around forty five kilograms. The Vīllae uses their time within the egg to develop their internal organs, and their development can be calculated by looking at the position in which they are inside the egg, because the Vīllae complete a turn to the sense of the clock once they finished developing. After the Villa consumed most of the nutritional substance, it will break the sphere with its extremities due to the lack of space, thus transcending to its Vēlla form. They are taken care and supervised by the Stella Flos Cibum Scientist in the Incubation Room. The Vēlla The Vēlla are the second phase of the Rosea Testudines, which begins at the age of four and ends at the age of eight. They have a height of between thirty and sixty centimeters, and weigh about forty kilograms. They were named in that way because of their tendency to crawl on the ground, which is why they were called "rustic" in Latin, "rustic" in the sense that the Stella Flos Cibum consider that habit as a sign of "lack of social graces or polish". The Vēlla are taken care of by the Stella Flos Cibum Caregivers; and during this stage of their life, they are educated to understand Latin while being taught not to speak or to touch the faces of their caregivers, because if some Vēlla were to disobey them, the mentioned Vēlla would discover that the Rosea Testudines and the Stella Flos Cibum don´t belong to the same species, so the Stella Flos Cibum would have to kill it to keep the secret. Their hands are still developing during this stage, which is why their fingers will end up separating at the age of seven and the exoskeleton of their fingers will finish forming at the age of eight. They spend most of their free time in the Library of the Underground Merchant Facility, as they like to learn stories with the help of the Stella Flos Cibum Scientist that work there. The Vīcī A Vicis (singular) or Vīcī (plural) are the third phase of the Rosea Testudines, which begins at the age of eight and ends at the age of eighteen. The Vīcī measure between sixty and one hundred and ten centimeters, and weigh about sixty kilograms. The reason why they are called that way is because "Vicis" means "change" or "alternation" in latin, so they call them like that to indicate that they are in the transient phase between a Vēlla and a Vis. At this point, the Vīcī are able to follow all the rules and indications of the Stella Flos Cibum to the letter, reason why the Stella Flos Cibum designate the Vīcī to cultivate and care for the plantations of the Underground Merchant Facility. Their fingers finished developing, so they use them to cut the stems and weeds of the plants they have to take care for. The Vīcī's favorite activity is carpentry, which is why they tend to make tools, furniture and ornaments at the Workshop of the Underground Merchant Facility during their free time. The Vissen A Vis (singular) or Vissen (plural) are Rosea Testudines in its last phase, which starts at the age of eighteen and ends at the age of thirty, making it the most extensive phase of this species. The Vissen usually measure between one hundred forty and one hundred and eighty centimeters, in addition, they have a weight of around eighty kilograms. The reason why they were named that way is because they are the strongest version of the Rosea Testudines, which is why they were called "force" in Latin. In each litter of Rosea Testudines, only one of them is allow to become a Vis and will be the one who will fulfill the role of giving birth to the new litter of Rosea Testudines. They are the Rosea Testudines with more education in the Underground Merchant Facility, since at this age, the Stella Flos Cibum decide to take off their mask and start teaching them how to speak Latin. Since they are being educated by the Stella Flos Cibum, the Vissen are been lied by been teached that both the Rosea Testudines and the Stella Flos Cibum belong to the same species with the only difference that the Rosea Testudines are inferior because they are born without hair nor a deep voice; the reason why the Vissen are told those lies is to prevent them from beginning to question why the voices of their Caregivers are different from theirs when they start to learn to speak. They tend to hang around the Public Baths of the Underground Merchant Facility due of them usually being dehydrated by the heat of their clothes.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Each Rosea Testudo has to eat at least thirty kilograms per day, no matter the fase they are in, or else they will die. The Vēlla haven´t yet correctly developed their digestive system, so they can only digest a single food, so once they eat their first meal, their digestive system adapts to that food and they can only eat that food throughout this stage in their lifes. In the Underground Merchant Facility, the Stella Flos Cibum usually decide to feed the Vēlla with Viridi Coccymelum, because it is a plant that produces abundant fruit. If a Vēlla consumes another type of food, it will get intoxicated and die if it doesn´t receive a stomach lavage. By this point, the Vīcī are able to eat more types of foods from the type of food they were previously consuming in their Vēlla phase; for example, if their main food was a plant, then they will be herbivores until they finish developing their digestive system, and if their main food was some type of meat, they will be carnivores until they finish developing their digestive system. This means that the Vīcī of the Underground Merchant Facility are able to eat Viridi Coccymelum, Fuchsia Gingiberi and Fragum Aurantiaco. The Vissen become omnivorous at this stage of their life because their digestive system finished its development. Due to this, most of the time they are fed by the Stella Flos Cibum with the meat from the traitors of the Underground Merchant Facility as a measure to reduce costs.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

In each litter of Rosea Testudines, it is decided to sell one of the five Villa as a decorative element, and in order to do so, the nutritional substance is extracted from the sphere and replaced with formaldehyde, thus killing the Villa while preserving the sphere intact. One of four Vēlla is sold to a scientific laboratory or nature reserve. One of three Vīcī is sold as a pet or slaves since, unlike the Vēlla, the Vīcī have experience in manual labor and are smart enough to obey orders. The work of the Vissen is to organize the other Rosea Testudines in the Three Plantations and check the quality of the fruits in the Quality Control Checkpoint before it is transported to the Three Storerooms.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

The Rosea Testudines don´t have eyes or noses, so they mainly rely on echolocation to locate their surroundings; the Rosea Testudines snap their tongues or collide their two tails to produce sound waves to use their echolocation, although they can turn quite well just by using their ears, since these are uncovered, characteristic that make them susceptible to earing diseases. But despite having these methods with which to use their echolocation, the Rosea Testudines prefer to use their palms to guide themselves through their envirioment, not only because in this way they can support themselves on a surface to gain balance, but also because they clap their hands against the wall or flor in order to make low sound waves without getting unwanted attention from a predator. The Rosea Testudines can also detect their weather with their skin so they can find sources of water to use to hydrate themselves or avoid desert areas.

Civilization and Culture

Common Dress Code

The Vēlla use a muzzle, a circle painted on their torso and a pair of gloves. Both the muzzle and the gloves are made with the leaves of Fuchsia Gingiberi, so they have a Bordeaux color and a rigid and hard consistency, like plastic, which can irritate the skin of the Rosea Testudines with friction. The Stella Flos Cibum put these muzzles on the Vēlla to discourage them from speaking because of the roughness of the muzzle while being tight; if a Vēlla doesn´t attempt to speak during a year, the muzzle will be permanently removed as a reward, but if a Vēlla were to speak without using its muzzle, it will be executed with the Crusta Compresses. The gloves have the function of protecting the hands of the Vēlla during their development; they are also wide enough so that the material with which they are made wouldn´t rub the hands of the Vēlla, and in addition, these gloves have holes so that the skin of the hands can breathe. The circle is painted with paint made with the pulp of Fuchsia Gingiberi, which makes the cicle have a fuchsia color; this symbol helps the Stella Flos Cibum to distinguish the Vēlla from the Vīcī. The Vīcī wear earmuffs, mouth covers and an X symbol on their chest. The earmuffs and the mask are used to prevent the microorganisms from entering the organs of the Vīcī throught their moths and uncovered ears meanwhile they are taking care of the plants in the Underground Merchant Facility; both objects were made of Fragum Aurantiaco´s leaves, which gave them an orange color and a soft consistency, like velvet. The symbol on his chest was salmon-colored and is painted made with the pulp of the Fragum Aurantiaco, and it served to differentiate the Vīcī from the Vēlla. As a way to compensate for the differences between them and the Stella Flos Cibum, the Vissen are forced to wear fur costumes and adjust their voice using a retractable white strap. The fur they use ia extracted from the skins of Stella Flos Cibum traitors or political criminals of the Underground Merchant Facility; these clothes are very hot and cover most of the exposed skin that the Rosea Testudines use to breathe, causing the Vissen to be dehydrated most of the time and for their skin to turn a somber shade. The strap is made with the white husks of the Viridi Coccymelum, which gives it a smooth and resistant texture, similar to leather. The strap serves for the Vissen to tighten their vocal cords in order to simulate the deep voice of the Stella Flos Cibum; for these straps to be efficient, the exoskeleton has to be removed from the shoulders and jugular, and to prevent another exoskeleton from growing, a chemical is placed on their skin, which produces hives in the new exposed area; and because in the area where the strap is located are important organs and because the skin of the Rosea Testudines is weak, it is usual that some Vis will die to destroy their internal organs by excessively tightening the belt of the straps.

Scientific Name

Homo Lumbricidae

Origin/Ancestry

Inquisicio Ex Gemma

Conservation Status

Most of the Rosea Testudines were killed during the fall of the Inquisitor Ex Gemma and only a few Vīllae were able to survive, and six months later a Stella Flos Cibum collector named Mole accidentally rescued one of these Vīllae, and since then Mole´s descendants and several other Stella Flos Cibum take care of the surviving Rosea Testudines in exchange for them working for them in their plantations. To protect them, the Stella Flos Cibum breed them in the underground Underground Merchant Facility, where they are fed and supervised twenty four hours per day by the Stella Flos Cibum Caretakers, the Stella Flos Cibum Scientist teach them latin and check their development, Stella Flos Cibum Guards regulate the Rosea Testudines´s population and watch over the rest of the Stella Flos Cibum, and the Stella Flos Cibum Merchants distribute them to scientific laboratories and natural reserves all around the world.