Ghoul
Ghouls are one of the many species of sapient animal that live on the Dark Planet Evermare. Ghouls are large, hyena like reptilian lizards with pitch black scales all over their bodies, a thick tail to help them keep balance as they run, and fairly large, sharp teeth to intimidate along with strong jaws to put said teeth to good use. Ghouls have large and somewhat sharp shoulder blades along with bright red eyes that can through the night.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Ghouls resemble reptilian hyenas in terms of general body shape, though they lack fur in any shape or form. They have an incredibly prominent shoulder blade that is often coated in scales that can make it even resemble a shark fin. They have only earholes with no visable ears from most onlookers, they have incredibly sharp claws that can tear through targets and even give it extra thrust as they run. They also have powerful jaws that once helped them bite through the bones of prey.
Biological Traits
Female ghouls are often leaders of their groups and even within hunting groups while male ghouls often just act as assistants for the former, making up the majority of hunting groups and acting as guards for the pack.
Genetics and Reproduction
Ghouls reproduce sexually. They do so regardless of the time of the year unlike many elementals, although, they do have a preference for late winter/early summer. They lay eggs after aproximently 2 weeks after conception, which then hatch after around a month and a half.
Growth Rate & Stages
When ghouls are first born, they are quite small, a little shorter then half a foot and struggle to walk which they learn to do after only a few hours and have thin, rat like tails. Their claws come in at around age 5. At around 8, their tails start to grow thicker along with their scales. They are considered adults by 18.
Ecology and Habitats
Ghouls live in Evermare, mostly in it's grassy plains. They once dug up small hills to form dens to act as homes.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Ghouls are carnivores that eat only meat, in their primal pasts, they once were incredibly aggressive and would chase down their prey until they could no longer run, making for an easy target. The once hid any spare meat inside their dens.
Biological Cycle
During Evermare's summer, Ghouls would gather in their packs and spend their times near/in their homes, the parents rising their cubs, only certain ghouls went out into the forests to hunt for the pack. During Evermare's Fall, Ghouls became active, regularly leaving their homes and interacting with other species for fun, often battling others for fun or collecting dead leaves for winter. During Evermare's winter, Ghouls would return to their homes to protect themselves from the cold, stuff their dens with dead leaves to help insolate the dens better, then hide inside them until Evermare returns to either it's summer, or rarely, it's spring.
Behaviour
Ghouls tend to be aggresive or at least easy to anger, they tend to gather in packs of around 15-20 led by a matriarch. They often spend their time within forests when not in grassy plains. If irritated, they will cause their saliva to foam and bubble as to mimic rabies and scare off any attackers. If they become especially angered, they may enter a blind rage and mindlessly maim everyone and everything around them, during this state, ghouls will likely injure themselves and not realize this until they snap out of it, once they either destroy their target, or become completely exhusted.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Ghouls live in matriarchal packs. When they used to go out to hunt, they would send out designated hunter ghouls out, mostly male often with a few female ghouls to lead them. Said hunting packs often have scouts, female ghouls that look out in case of danger. Male Ghouls raise the pups as the mother ghoul will leave shortly after giving birth to become leaders for the male ghouls. The mother ghoul may return once her children have reached puberty to help train them into either hunting in packs if male, or being scouts for said packs or hunting pack leaders if female.
Facial characteristics
Ghouls have faces like Hyenas, though they lack visable ears and instead have only earholes.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
They prefer to live in grassy plains near lakes and forests as to give them acess to water and once food, though they now prefer being near forests because it was what they got used to.
Average Intelligence
Around 100 on the human IQ test.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Ghouls have a keen sense of smell that were once used to track targets. They have a keen senes of sight, seeing with ease in Evermare despite the near endless night.
Civilization and Culture
Beauty Ideals
Ghouls find beauty in large shoulder blades, sharp claws as well as generally fit bodies.
Gender Ideals
Female Ghouls are idealized as being leaders, keeping the males of the group moving along and in order while male ghouls are idealized on focusing on their strength and loyalty to female authority, either in serving as hunters, or protecting and raising their pups while the mother is away.
Average Technological Level
Like all sapient animals, they use modern phones and the technology needed to work said modern phones.
Common Etiquette Rules
Staying loyal to one's pack (should you be a ghoul yourself), along with holding all female ghouls in authority with high respect.
Common Taboos
Like all sapient species, relationships with other species is seen as something as bad as incest.
History
Ghouls were an incredibly domient species among the dark elementals and remain numerous to this day, though their power was mostly lost to the Maras.
Interspecies Relations and Assumptions
Ghouls are generally fine with other species, though, their relationships are a tad sour when it comes to light elementals, the more proud of which tend to see themselves as better or above dark elementals. They are often seen as shady and dodgy by other species though, especially due to certain ghouls forming aggressive packs in cities. Despite their rough past together, Ghouls and Maras get along fairly well in modern times, having likely first grown close hundreds of years ago due to both having matriarchal socities. A fair amount of ghouls even work in the Rave Yard.
Scientific Name
Noxa Ventari
Lifespan
80 Years
Conservation Status
Least Concern
Average Height
18 In.-22 In.
Average Weight
100-120 lbs
Average Length
26 In.
Average Physique
Sleek and fit.
Body Tint, Colouring and Marking
Black
Geographic Distribution
Related Ethnicities
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