Assunait

The Assunait are an aquatic race hailing from the world of Nuathiss of the Thalarmindhos cerulean.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Due to 90% of Nuathiss' surface being covered in ocean, the Assunait first developed as a fully aquatic species and only later did they adapt to a more amphibious, but still mostly oceanic lifestyle.
While Assunait have a distinctly humanoid body shape, their morphology still very strongly shows that they have evolved from an octopus-like mollusc ancestor. Their bodies are less sturdy and softer than those of other bipedal species, with strong yet flexible cartilage instead of bones supporting most of their malleable bodies. This becomes even more apparent in water, where the humanoid form becomes nearly unnoticeable as their soft bodies make use of their molluscoid character fully to propell themselves through the depths with remarkable speed and ease.
Assunait have four fully developed flexible arms that are seemingly mid-way between human arms and mollusc tentacles. Their hands are somewhat sturdier, but still fairly soft, ending in two fingers and a thumb, with palms covered in suction cups. From the back of their shoulders, laterals and shoulderblades, two up to six pairs of smaller, less developed tentacles portrude backwards, reaching anywhere from half and arm length to twice the arms length of an adult individual. The longer and more developed these tentacles are, the more useful and controlled they become, with the half-arm length tentacles being fairly weak, incapable of grabbing and moveable through effort only in limited ranges of motion, to the longest tentacles being fully functional as limbs and as strong or even stronger than the arms.
The legs of the Assunait are the firmest limbs on their body. Whilst still not adapted to long stays outside of water, they are sturdy enough to move short distances unassisted and end in transformed and hardened foot-like endings. 
Despite being able to breathe air thanks to their small, but fully developed lungs, the main crux of their stay on dry land is their reliance on constant moisture. To this end, in their natural state, Assunait can only last for at most half an hour on dry land before risking dehydration and complete organ failure due to overheating.
Assunait are monomorphic and outside species cannot tell the males and the females apart. The average specimen is about two meters tall when standing on land, whilst their soft bodies expand by 10-30% in the water.  Although they lost the octopoid ability to change their skin color and pattern to hide in terrain, they still retain a wide range of patterns and colors that change based on their mood and feelings, instead of being a conscious camouflage. They range from warm and earthy tones, like creams, beiges, yellows and browns, to the most common range of blues, purples and greenish-blues.

Genetics and Reproduction

Assunait are monomorphic and gonochoric and reproduce sexually between male and female. Their gonads are located in the same places as those of humans. Arousal is triggered through physical contact and the sexual organs are joined only shortly during insemination.
The female develops 10-30 eggs, most of which do not survive to hatching, with about 1-5 hatching on average.

Growth Rate & Stages

Assunait have a highly developed ability to move and control their bodies from birth, but their mental capabilities need more time to develop, usually 1-2 years, with around 80% not developing sentience at all. These animalistic Assunait are called Kessunait and usually range in intelligence from an octopus to an extremely advanced animal. What happens to the their Kessunait offspring is up to every parental couple and there is little to no judgement in Assunait society in regards to handling them after birth. Some adopt them as their children and consider them a part of their family despite their lack of sapience, others adopt them as pets, whilst others let them out of their homes to either live as animals in the wider ocean or live communally in the greater Assunait community as something resembling strays or neighbourhood pets.
After developing sentience 1-2 years into their lifespan, Assunait development becomes remarkably fast. Their bodies grow to adult size in about 4 more years and their minds develop fully within 6 or 7 years, after which they are a full adult.
Adult life lasts for about 20 to 30 years, during which Assunait start families and develop personal and professional lives much like other species. Their short lifespan and fast metabolism makes them naturally learn fast and adapt well to new circumstances and as such they are often seen as geniuses and prodigies, mastering in months what others do in years.
At the end of adult life, the Assunait starts to age rapidly and the crossing into elder age is very dramatic and easily noticeable. Usually, once this stage begins, the Assunait has about 4 to 6 months of life left, 8 being the rare maximum. In the span of these few months, the specimen ages the equivalent of 50+ decades in human years and dies, rapidly degrading both physically and mentally.  Many Assunait choose to swim out into the ocean and die in the wilderness when their old age commences instead of burdening their family with caring for a quickly degrading elder and making them suffer through the rapid change to their family member. More often than not, it is also seen as a way to safeguard one's dignity by finding death of their own volition whilst still physically and mentally capable.

Ecology and Habitats

Assunait are sensitive to ecological factors and have always been keenly aware of the need to keep their surroundings clean. They have a strong sense of putting the natural order first and preserving the environment no matter how much it slows progress. Thereby they are known to have the cleanest, if somewhat rudimentary technology with an environmental impact that is practically undetectable.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Assunait are mostly carnivorous, but over millions of years have also adapted to eating plant food as an accessory to meat. However, 80-90% of their diet still remains carnivorous and requires them to herd fish, crustaceans, worms and other aquatic livestock to keep up their dietary needs without threatening to drive aquatic wildlife to extinction.
Assunait have a strong culinary culture thanks to their superb sense of taste and they love to prepare their food. They are not too familiar with heat treatment of foods due to their aquatic nature, but like to combine flavors, using a much wider variety of ingredients than other races due to having a much more developed palate thanks to taste being one of their main senses for getting to know the world around them.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Assunait are communal and generally highly dislike solitude. Therefore their society is always centered around their local community and tends to be tribal, rarely being concerned by the species as a whole or ideas of larger national or ethnic groupings.
This tribal nature has lead to some wars in the past, however, they were few, far between and ended soon after violence began. Generally, the vast expanse of their native seas caused tensions between these tribal groups to be minimal due to distance and abundance of unoccupied seafloor to expand to. 
Political system would wary from tribe to tribe, including republics, plutocracies, monarchies, etc. One common denominator, however, is the strong influence of the community even in systems with a single ruler on the throne. Cordial agreement and a focus on happiness was always the the best way to maintain one's position in a society that considers violence redundant and refuses to participate in it, so even kings sought to find the best way to fulfill the needs of the people and would naturally become more intellectual than strong, giving rise to a long tradition of Assunait philosopher-kings and spiritual leaders alongside more standard republican traditions.

Geographic Origin and Distribution

On their homeworld of Nuathiss, the Assunait would develop along the geotermally warmed ridges and shelves of the Createis fault line in the southern ocean region of Eluach and would eventually expand to all resource and food rich corners of the Greater Nuathiss World Ocean, as well as setting up enclaves on many islands above the surface.
On the Great Cerulean, they would settle in the sea of Naithetha and the adjacent lakes of Kimoena and Airasset, whilst the ones desiring closer relations with the other species of the Great Cerulean or working as emissaries and diplomats would establish themselves in the lakes and swamps surrounding the river Meitha outside of the city of Nalmerreth, known commonly as the Southern Nelmerran Wetlands or the Greater Meitha Watershed. There they would not only engage in cultural, commercial and diplomatic exchange with the drylanders, but also take care of the city's water systems and safeguard the waters from reckless polluting.

Average Intelligence

Assunait are highly intelligent, with an average intelligence higher than those of humans. Whilst their technology is advanced and their engineering capabilities great, they tend to be spiritually and artistically inclined and are philosophical and peaceful in nature. Many species see this as a waste of their intellect, but Assunait are generally satisfied with letting material development take a back seat to cultural and moral prosperity.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Assunait have relatively poor eyesight, although this can be corrected by specific surgery often taken by specimens who wish to leave their homeworld or spend more time on dry land, like diplomats, traders and various cosmopolitans who wish to live in large cities with other species. Their sense of hearing and smell are also weak compared to the other species.
Assunait, however, have a remarkable sense of touch, taste and orientation. They easily create a complex understanding of anything they touch within seconds, through their supreme ability to analyze chemical composition as well as taste anything they are in contact with.  Their sense of orientation is also superb and they are valued highly as navigators and guides.
Assunait have the ability to expell toxins and other unwanted material through their skin, which makes them difficult to poison in their natural habitat. When shedding dangerous substances this way, however, they can become toxic to the touch if on dry land, whilst creating a toxic cloud when underwater. This expulsion is problematic when wearing an older model of a terrestrial moisture suit, as it prevents them from clearing the toxins off their body and causes them to be constantly reabsorbed. Unless they can shed their suits and submerge themselves in water or wash them off their skin on land, this can lead to a relatively quick death.

Civilization and Culture

Average Technological Level

The Assunait were technologically very advanced, being able to create advanced machinery, eco-domes, skin tight yet high-tech environmental suits with flexible circuitry and many other advanced technologies. Their advancement was limited to be along certain technological lines, however, excluding technologies focusing on warfare, spacefaring, industry, artificial intelligence, etc. due to their traditional way of life and philosophical principles.
After the Awakening, most of their technological knowledge survived, but is now being rebuilt using a new set of values, incorporating elements and technology of the other Stranded races in order to adapt and thrive quickly in the new, alien world they found themselves in.

A very important facet of Assunait technology is their means of thriving in a terrestrial environment. They use bionic braces ending with flexible prosthetic lower legs to make their bipedal locomotion as effective as that of their terrestrial counterparts. Their most pressing issue and most important solution, however, pertains to their need for constant moisture. To this end, they wear full skinsuits when on land, that not only prevent them from losing moisture through their skin, but also trap and shed toxins and impurities from it, allowing the water to be safely reabsorbed into the Assunait's body. To aid in this absorbtion and ensure a 100% effectiveness of reusing bodily fluids, the Assunait also ingest specifically designed water retention pills that allow them to reabsorb all water they shed.

Common Dress Code

The Assunait wear various decorative strips of waterproof fabrics and other water-proof decorations in their native oceans, focusing on these clothes remaining unintrusive and freely flowing underwater.
When out of water, most Assunait tend to dress amazing well, most often in colourful, elegant robes of various seams and materials over their skinsuits.

History

Assunait society has existed for hundreds of thousands of years, with recording history becoming common some 20 000 years ago. Despite their intelligence and high activity due to a quick metabolism, Assunait society always took its time to develop, due to both the fragility of the oceanic ecosystem and the lack of competition and outside stimulus due to isolation from other groups.
Thus, the greater Assunait civilization didn't have a large amount of remarkable events, such as the humans, with most of their development taking place in philosophy and culture instead of technology and exploitation of natural resources, which advanced slowly and gradually, with a strong focus of moving forward slowly and responsibly instead of as quickly as possible.
As such, the Assunait were still not spacefaring up until shortly before Thalarmindhos' collapse. They rarely looked up to the starts and focused instead on the watery void that was their native environment. This, however, changed when they were discovered by a large galactic empire that apparently ruled over dozens of systems and several species in the space outside of Nuathiss. These Allatraxid, as they called themselves, offered the Assunait a place in this great collective, but the leaders of the molluscoid species declined. 
Respecting their sovereignity and seeing nothing valuable on Nuathiss, the Allatraxid emperor established rudimentary communications with the major groups on the planet and left, promising no further interference from the empire unless asked for. Many Assunait however became fascinated by the prospect of travelling the Great Celestial Ocean and would start new cultural movements focused on space travel, the stars and other, exotic worlds out in the void and young engineer would start to ponder and experiment with spacecraft, inspired by what  secret the endless void might hide from their tiny piece of the universe.
These efforts were rarely lauded by most of the adult generations, with many considering these efforts to be not only heretical to their traditional way of life in the ocean but also a disruption of the natural, slow pace of Assunait society - the speed with which the young were developing new technology and dreaming about material things and exploration was indeed unprecedented. 
The breaking point came when the first effects of the new way of industrialization became felt in the environment. The reckless haste with which some Assunait sought to shoot towards the stars caused damage to the fragile ecosystems of Nuathiss and has sent the entirety of Assunait society into an outrage against the young would-be pioneers. All spaceships, spaceports and voidcraft technology under development was stopped, confiscated and destroyed by force, in a manner very foreign to Assunait society. The crisis however, required decisiveness and the possible, yet hugely exaggerated environmental threat was averted. Assunait society was forced to conform to tradition and the young had to obey. However, this episode has introduced new, therefore rarely seen ideas into the seas of Nuathiss. Ideas of dissent, generational strife, ideas of exploration, prioritized technological advancement, unhappiness with the slow, harmonic life in the ocean, a call to action and moving forward with the vision of becoming a part of a vibrant galaxy bustling with proactivity.
Unbeknowns to the Assunait, the Allatraxid empire was on the brink of collapse. Internal strifes and crime, until recently hidden under a veneer of control and order boiled over when the empire encountered a vicious outside foe - the United Viistraal Systems. This collection of many subjugated species, assimilated into the violent and aggressive framework of their conquerors, proved more than a match for the seemingly mighty empire and a string of defeats unraveled the might intersolar state.
With organization and order in shambles, the imperial space not taken over by the Viistraal became fractured between petty kings, crime lords and streches of lawless space filled with pirates plundering the now helpless imperial worlds.  It wouldn't take long until the Assunait would feel the sting of these predators as well.
Soon, ships started to drop onto the planet and would start stealing what quickly became the most valuable resource in shattered post-imperial space - clean water. Draining ocean water and polluting it in the process, the pirates would not only ignore the Assunait's requests for cessation and offers of compromise, but would happily use the natives as targets for live target practice. The youth's repressed calls to action start to sound again and no tradition could stop them in their tracks now.
Soon, the Assunait would start mounting a resistance, commiting their intelligence fully to develop weapon systems and cunning amphibious tactics to counter the pirates superior firepower and combat expertise. Soon, a guerilla war would grip the exploited parts of the planet and the Assunait would fight the pirates at great cost to their lives in defense of their homeworld.
Eventually, the planet would be deemed too hostile for the pirates' liking and many would start leaving, allowing the Assunait to focus on the ones that refused to give up the prospect of easy riches. The greatesr breaking point came when a young warrior-philosopher, Vees Naidhess Kalambhe, would find himself in command of the Assunait forces in an ever-growing climactic battle against the mighty Righaros Compound. Whilst the battle went on for ours and the fortunes were ever shifting, the natives eventually managed to defeat the pirates and purge the greatest enemy force and presence off the planet. In the face of this monumental victory, most of the pirate ships followed suit and abandoned the planet. It would seem like the Assunait would finally know piece for at least a few generations, before the Viistraal arrive.
But the Viistraal would never arrive.
Within months of their victory over the pirates, the world started to change. The waters would flow in ways they never did before, entire reefs would vanish, collapse or distort as if bent by an invisible godly force. Soon, Assunait settlements also became affected. Many would turn to the gods for help whilst others would feverishly start rebuilding their space program, believing that the planet was about to collapse.
However, it was not Nuathiss collapsing. The universe itself was about to die.
The Awakening hit the Assunait hard. Their entire world was gone, drained of water and shattered beyond recognition. Most of their kin was gone too. Only few remained, stranded on dry land, among the shattered remains of what must have once been Nuathiss. Vees was one of them and as he regained his senses, he would see a sight more dreadful than anything he had seen before: They were stranded, with no water in sight, among giant rocks that obscured the land around, with only one feature visible above their shattered forms: A gigantic eldritch creature, a true horror of a scale that could never live on Nuathiss, with its enourmous jaw opened wide in what must have been a final scream before death struck it down from the skies. Vees knew that whatever happened, they were the only survivors and it was his responsibility to save them by finding water as quickly as possible.
Leading them through arid plains and temperate forest, the Assunait would lose hundreds more in the short, but deadly trek, until discovering water. Finally submerged, Vees would find that his whole planetary civilization was reduced to a mere four hundred Assunait, stranded in a new, alien world.
The Assunait continue to explore their new circumstances and rebuild their civilization piece by piece. Establishing relations with other Stranded species and learning about the Awakening and what has transpired, they are determined to build a new harmonious future on the Great Cerulean and reinvigorate the ancient spirit of their diminished species in order to survive long enough to make it happen.

Lifespan

30

Average Height

1,9 - 2,2 meters

Average Length

2,2 - 2,5 meters when expanded in water; largest specimens can reach even 3 meters in water

Average Physique

Whilst extremely capable in water, Assunait are vulnerable and out of their element on dry land and require a lot of technological aides to thrive among the terrestrial races.

Geographic Distribution

• Nuathiss

Related Ethnicities

• Kessunait