mayi

The mayi (/ma'ji/^listen are a minor species in the Sora, living mostly on the realm of Akash in the Kamakari Mandate. An ant-like species, they live in large underground hives on their home realm's Plane of Fire.

Physical Description

The mayi are a smaller, lighter species, measuring around 4' long on average and weighing around 80 pounds. They have a thin exoskeleton covering their bodies, providing them structure and some level of protection. They resemble large ants, with four legs that emerge from the base of their thorax, a few inches above the joint with their abdomens. Each leg is thin and ends in a long, flat foot that is divided into five segments. These segments contain small hairs which allow them to grip the walls of their underground hives. Their single pair of arms are much higher up, around their "shoulders" at the top of their thoraxes, just below their heads. They are similar in length to their legs, though they end in a three-fingered hand.
Their abdomens vary greatly in size, with males having small, reduced abdomens which are roughly shaped like a watermelon. Female abdomens tend to be a fair bit larger and dependent upon caste, with worker abdomens up to a foot and a half in length, and soldiers nearly twice that long and featuring a stinger at the tip. Queens are many times the size of other mayi, being almost five times longer and weighing almost 2000 pounds. Regardless of caste, mayi stand flat against the ground, with a posture similar to a lobster.
They do not have much in the way of a neck, with their round heads being attached to their torsos by a small, pivoting joint. They have two large, compound eyes which sit on the sides of their heads, with three smaller simple eyes at the center of their head which primarily detect light. Their antennae are long, growing up to two feet long, and thin with a joint around the middle. Their mandibles are short and strong, able to chew even tough foods, though they are not much use in biting.
Mayi from the same hive are all the same color, though different hives can vary greatly. Most mayi are some range between charcoal black and reddish-brown, though rare hives are a yellowish color, possess stripes of black and some other color, or have a dark torso with a lighter abdomen.

Senses

Unlike many other burrowing species, the mayi do not have the ability to see underground. However, their antennae are extremely sensitive to vibrations and scents, allowing them to maneuver in their burrows with ease. Without their antennae, they are unable to smell at all, and the rest of their bodies posses much less tactile sense. Thus mayi are highly protective of their antennae, much as most other species protect their eyes.

Life Cycle

Unlike the ants they resemble, mayi have males and females in roughly equal numbers. Most females are infertile workers; only one in around 10,000 is able to reproduce. All males are fertile, however. When a new queen matures in a hive, she will depart with a small number of attendant workers and search for another hive. When she nears one, she will release powerful pheromones that will drive most of the males in the foreign hive into a frenzy. They will swarm out of the hive to the young queen and mate with her while her attendants protect the event. It takes several days for the pheromones to dissipate, at which point the males will calm and return to their hive. The queen will depart with her attendants to find a site to burrow into the ground.
The attendants will dig into the ground, but due to going several days without food or water are generally fairly weak. Over the coming months their numbers dwindle to around a tenth of their original population. The queen will consume the bodies of the dead to survive, as the remaining workers will be too busy protecting and expanding the hive and tending to the hundreds of eggs the queen lays. These eggs hatch within half a year, producing small, weak larvae. They feed on the dead attendants and what little food can be scavenged. Over the course of a year, they grow into the first generation of workers for the hive. They will be stunted and weak for the entirety of their lives, but there will be enough to begin hunting and farming for food.
Now able to eat properly, the queen will grow quickly, doubling in weight every year until she reaches her full size. The remainder of her children will be able to have a normal life cycle. These eggs take a year to hatch, remaining larvae for 5 years as they eat and grow. After this time, they will pupate for roughly a month, transforming into full grown mayi. They live for around 80 years, remaining hale and healthy for the remainder of their lives. Queens live much longer, up to 300 years.

Diet

Mayi are opportunistic omnivores, able to eat virtually any sort of plant or animal matter in some capacity. However, they tend to prefer nutrient and energy dense foods, such as nuts, sugars, mushrooms, meat, and cheeses. Young hives mostly participate in hunting and gathering for food, but once they are established they quickly begin farming and raising livestock. Hives near bodies of water will fish to supplement their diets. Seafood is considered a delicacy among the mayi.

Distribution

The mayi are native to the realm of Akash and do not exist naturally on any realms outside there. A small number have emigrated off-realm, but they have not systemically migrated to other worlds. As such, they are mostly contained to the Fire Plane on Akash, an arid land characterized by sprawling deserts and arid savannas, with high levels of volcanic activity. They live in large underground burrows, protecting them from the harshest heat. Those mayi who have left their homes have not indicated any discomfort in different climates.

Culture and Society

Mayi society is ordered and highly structured, with clear hierarchies organized in an imperial bureaucracy. This bureaucracy is centered around the imperial hive, typically the largest and most powerful hive on the Fire Plane. The queen of this hive is known as the Imperial Mother and though she holds no political power herself, she is held in high reverence by other mayi, treated virtually like a deity. From among her offspring is selected an emperor (which, despite the name, can be male or female of any caste), often through a series of exacting tests and trials. The emperor reigns supreme until death, at which time the succession rituals take place to name their heir.
The imperial hive is responsible for maintaining the sacred fires of the Fire Plane. These fires directly influence the fortunes of the Fire Plane. If they burn hot from high quality wood, then crops will grow freely and hunts will be bountiful. If they feed on inferior fuel, then famine and pestilence will grip the land. As long as the imperial hive can keep the fires blazing, they can retain their power, with the Imperial Mother replaced by one of her daughters when she dies of old age. However, should the flames go too cold, other hives can attack and take the sacred fires for themselves. Such an occurrence is not uncommon, with most imperial hives lasting no longer than the lifespans of three Imperial Mothers.
Any hive that has survived for more than three generations of queens is known as a noble hive. These noble hives have proven to be strong and long-lasting, often quite rich and prosperous. They often contain hundreds of thousands of mayi, with multiple queens, typically all fairly closely related (being descendants of the original hive-founder). As with the imperial hive, one of these queens is considered the "primary" queen and it is from her brood that the hive lord is selected. Almost all imperial hives were once noble hives and maintain their structures, simply in an elevated manner, once they ascend. Noble hives are comparable to the large cities of other species, engaging in commerce and industry, often specializing in certain goods or products.
All other hives are called common hives and range from a few hundred to a few thousand mayi. Some can be fairly prosperous, others destitute. Most are in the middle, behaving much like small villages, living difficult but otherwise uninteresting lives.

Names

Because most hives are all one big family, mayi only have personal names. When needing to differentiate two mayi with similar names, they often prepend some descriptor such as "Big Xui" and "Little Xiu". Names are non-gendered.
Names: Ai, Chao, Guan, Hei, Fen, Jao, Kua, Lu, Rui, Shao, Tai, Xin, Zhu

Gender and Relationships

Mayi genders are mostly broken down by the caste. Queens are mostly relegated to laying eggs and being the centers of worship and devotion from their children. Worker females have the widest range of roles in society, simply due to the fact that they can range in size a great deal. Those workers in the soldier caste tend toward more physically demanding labor, though they still have fairly free reign to follow their own proclivities. Males can take up pretty much any role as well, though since they are smaller and somewhat weaker than workers they often follow more religious or administrative roles.
Romance doesn't exist among the mayi. Friendship as experienced by other species is rare as well. Most mayi relationships are defined instead in terms of respect, honor, loyalty, and deference.

Appearance and Dress

As they live on the Fire Plane, the mayi are used to very warm climates. While their underground hives are a fair bit cooler than the surface, they must venture out enough that it influences their clothing heavily. Most mayi wear thin, light clothing and loose robes. Clothing is unisex, with no difference between the castes. Instead, clothing tends to be differentiated mostly based off hive status. Common hives often wear simple tunics and skirts, while noble hives can wear very elaborate robes and headwear.

Relations with other Species

Mayi are the primary sentient species on the Fire Plane, thus they tend not to deal with other species very often. Their interactions with others are mostly limited to small amounts of trade across their borders with their neighboring planes. They have a somewhat antagonistic relationship with the congmuoi of the Earth Plane due to frequent past conflicts over sacred wood for the mayi's sacred fires. With the somewhat recent connection of Akash to the Sora, the mayi have been exposed to a wider reality. While they largely haven't emigrated off world, they have experienced outsiders more often and generally treat them well, if not with any particular enthusiasm.