Elsässisch

"I wondered why Elsässischen live the shortest of all species. Then I realized we have the highest death rate since we get involved in the most dangerous crap when no one else will. How did we fucking get to this planet?"

Emilia Hertz

Basic Information

Anatomy

Elsässischen are bipedal, semi-digitigrade humanoid canines with five digits each on two paw-like hands. They are covered in fur of various patterns and lengths, have tails of different shapes and lengths, snouts with slightly different structures, and ears that are either erect or floppy, depending on their Race and age. Physiologically, there is little difference between male and female members of the species- the only differences are their genitals and females can lactate while males cannot.

Biological Traits

Elsässischen have a wide variation of height and weight between each race. Even within a race, there is a lot of variance in height and weight. Therefore, the data below is not fully representative of the Elsässisch species.

Race	Avg Height (cm)	Avg Mass (kg)
Dane	220	150
Doberman	213	120
Shepherd	215	138
Hound	207	140
Retriever	182	95
Husky	173	86
Bully	159	84
Terrier	140	76
Wolf*	229	168

Genetics and Reproduction

Elsässischen reproduce sexually with an average mating time lasting forty minutes. After seven months of gestation, Elsässichen will deliver a litter of one to nine pups- four on average.

Growth Rate & Stages

A newborn Elsässisch pup, born with almost no fur and closed eyes, quickly grows into their younger child body within the third year of their life.
Adolescence starts at age 11-13, where physical transformations- such as the thickening and coarsening of fur, muscle growth, and voice changing- tend to exist before behavioral ones- such as heightened instincts, hierarchical positioning/pack formation, aggression/challenging, and the desire to mate. An Alsatian adolescent is taking in a lot of new information and is malleable enough to restructure themselves into something with great potential.
The finalization of their physical and psychological traits occurs at age 24-27 when they become set in their ways and can only enhance what they have. Learning new things both in body and mind is much more difficult. If they haven't already, they will have children during or just after this time.
Things start to slow down around age 65, and deterioration is usually rapid- Elsässichen do not tend to age well in mind or body. Old age is usually marked by cognitive decline, muscle and bone atrophy, tumors, greying and patching of fur, and loss of perception. Evolution-wise, Elsässichen were not meant to last as long as modern medicine allows them to, so this sudden decay of life is the result of a body that
An Elsässisch is lucky if they still look good enough for an open-casket funeral.

Biological Cycle

Elsässischen have a thin summer coat and a thick winter coat, both shedding to make room for the other to grow during the earlier halves of spring and fall respectively.
There is also a noticeable increase in sexual activity during the spring, but it mainly exists for larger races such as Danes and Dobermans- and was such the case for Wolves.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

A majority of Alsatians' IQ falls within the range of 90 to 110, and they have good fighting instincts to pair with it. Despite claims, there is no evidence to support the idea any one particular race of Alsatian is more or less intelligent than the other.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Elsässischen have an acute sense of hearing that widens the range of frequencies they hear and how far they can listen to a sound. They also possess an incredible sense of smell that enables them to recognize and track individuals and detect changes in someone's biochemistry.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

As names have no perceived gender, any Alsatian could have what other species perceive as a masculine, feminine, or gender-neutral name.
The middle name of a pup is traditionally the first name of the parent of the same gender, or at least a version of it. For example, if a father's name is "Mikael" and the mother's is "Katherine", all of the male pups would have "Mikael" or some variant - such as Mike, Michael, or Michel - as their middle name while the female pups have "Katherine" or some variant - such as Kat or Katrina.
Surnames are traditionally passed down the female, but the idea of either combining/hyphenating surnames or simply having the couple decide is becoming more widespread.

Culture and Cultural Heritage

There was an ancient practice where an Alsatian could wear the fur of those they killed in combat like a coat, or display it as a tapestry- this was especially true of the early Wolf from which modern Alsatians evolve. Although seen as barbaric nowadays, some cultures still uphold this tradition, but only if said combat was a duel or ritualistic in some fashion.

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

The Alsatians are no stranger to war, and it is in fact mandatory in most of the states on Hundenwilt for all citizens to perform military service for at least three years, after their secondary education. Even those with a disability must serve- they are just limited in the jobs performed. Such a tradition has carried over to the Alsatian-dominant states on Phylios.
It is common for an Alsatian couple to produce at least one litter of pups, and it is frowned upon if you have no pups to call your own. As time went on, it became more acceptable for adoption to occur. Combining this with gamete manipulation- a decreasingly expensive procedure to gestate a litter in a lab regardless of the parents' sex cells- has allowed couples or single Alsatians of any and all types to have children.
There is no law or rooted tradition saying interracial couples can't exist or are frowned upon- however, the occasional racial purist is inevitable. One will notice that these couples and their pups, sometimes called "mutts", are rare, likely due to the simple comfort of familiarity with the same Race.

History

Wolves, the First Elsässischen

The earliest known type of Alsatian matches what more recent history calls a Wolf, existing 615,000 years ago. They were nomads who spread around the hostile world of Hundenwilt, pushed and pulled across the lands by changing seasons, natural disasters, the migration of animals, and groups splintering off. They used their natural strengths to survive: claws and sharp teeth, impressive strength and speed, fur to regulate temperature, and an unchallenged ability to coordinate. Slowly but surely, with each mutation spurring evolution, Wolves learned to create tools to change the land and weapons to defend themselves - the oldest spear carbon dates to about 440,000 years ago. The bones, scales, and hides of hunted animals became their armor and clothes.
It is currently held that these ancient Alsatians were naturally aggressive, but also protective, an evolved necessity millennia ago to survive against flora and fauna that would kill them just as well were they not careful. They used their natural size and numbers to take down large and hostile prey with great ferocity, easily claiming their role at the top of the food chain. A few old paintings even depict a single Wolf hunting and killing animals far larger than them, and this Wolf is seen as a great and powerful warrior. There also exist paintings and evidence in certain barren plains areas that Wolves in conflict, or during times when food was scarce, would challenge each other to duels, with only one making it out alive more often than not. The winner would sometimes skin the defeated Wolf and wear that hide, a fang, a jaw, or something else as signs of both the winner's prowess and reverence for the defeated.
239,000 years ago, the different splits of the Wolves began competing for territory as hunting and migrating grounds, marking parts of the world as their own and killing or scaring off those who invaded it. Splits of these different groups created even smaller groups sometimes in primitive "civil wars" for the territory, often resulting in a group vanishing. About 25,000 years ago, some of these groups stayed in more permanent areas as they found the resources they needed to live were easily accessible, settling in oases, near rivers, in grasslands, forests, and many other regions of the world. Their physiology also changed with where they lived- Wolves in desert regions grew thinner fur and evolved to retain more water; Wolves in snowy mountain areas grew thicker fur and/or began to store fat more effectively.

Alsatian Empires and the First Breeds

The modern Alsatian first came from the Alsatian Wolves who spread around the world of Hundenwilt. They evolved into several dozen races thanks mostly to geography, creating different tribes. Unlike the dominating and aggressive Wolves, these tribes would use their strength to protect others, ensuring they were the ones who were hurt first and not the weaker members of their tribes. Wolves would band tribes together under their rule and eventually create different feudal states from these tribes. Most of these kingdoms were constantly at war with one another as various families and dynasties of Wolves fought to control more tribes- sometimes resorting to burning out entire tribes from existence. Things eventually settled into eight large feudal empires with Wolf nobility. Different 
The Hirt kingdom was growing to be the most powerful of the feudal states, using the strength of the tribes collectively known as the Shepherds. Meanwhile, in the snowy and wide expanse of mountain forest regions in Hundenwilt, a loose group of tribes in the Sybirien empire had a bit more autonomy under Wolf rule due to the general unruliness of the Husky.
After several centuries of being used in the Hirt kingdom's wars, the Shepherd tribes revolted, overthrowing the rulers that used them. When they heard the news, other revolts spread across the different kingdoms; the Shepherds assisted them in their uprisings. The Husky group observed, but did not participate, instead only providing temporary refuge to any Alsatian who came in, should they prove in need. Several years later, any Wolves left either went into hiding in remote areas or simply died out due to unsustainable numbers. Wolf genes occasionally exist in a few members of different tribes around the world. The feudal states split into smaller states made up of different tribes, with some tribes breaking off to either join tribes they were once "rivals" with or keep as much of their individual identity as possible. Only the various Shepherd tribes stayed together, becoming a de-facto authority known as the nation of Schafer to assist in settling disputes between the new nations around Hundenwilt. The Husky group did not recognize Schafer's authority, however, keeping mostly to themselves except for trading resources- which was hard in a snowy mountain forest- and providing refuge. The latter sometimes leads to tension as criminals would seek asylum in the Husky territory, but more often than not the criminals would either be denied asylum or do something that would cast them out of Husky territory.

New States and New Conflicts

Various forms of governance were created from the new states, each possessing different distributions of power and authority. Monarchies, oligarchies, democracies, republics- they and more existed, and with different laws. They took different directions in their society, technological focus, and diplomatic relations. Some of these differences presented opportunities for mutual benefit, while others created conflicts of interest. Schafer, meanwhile, used its power to keep states from strongarming others into unfavorable treaties and provide assistance- by themselves or through other states- to states who needed it. A few of the tribes of Schafer even specialized in their diplomacy with other nations, such as the Caucasian tribe with the Danish nations and the Collie people with different Houndic tribes. Only the Germanic tribe could properly relate to the ever-growing and tightening Husky nations.
After over two centuries of advancement and skirmish, different states felt that Schafer was overreaching their authority and meddling in affairs that weren't their concern. They were afraid Schafer was becoming like the Wolves they fought against, but now on a global scale. What's more, technology and society advanced faster than any government could keep up with, bringing out even more conflicts of interest on what to do. Schafer responded by diverting resources to more strict enforcement of international laws and keeping larger states in line with tighter regulations. As a result, smaller states either fell apart under ineffective governance or were absorbed into the influence of larger ones. It was only then the isolated Husky states became more involved in international affairs, most notably the nation of Siber made of tribes under the Siberian tribe.
The most troublesome state with a history of bullying smaller nations was Apolda, headed by the Doberman people and the tribes stemming directly from them. Schafer had no trouble with keeping them in line in the past, but as the world advanced faster than Schafer could handle, Apolda steadily grew in power
[Genocidal wars erupt in different states]

Genocide and Wulfsyndrom

[Wulfsyndrom, War of the Wolves, Wulf Integration Protocols]

International Cooperation

[Global Alliance] [Space Programs --> Phylios]

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Alsatians are wary of new species when first meeting them, but after getting to know the new people, they will either happily work with them in mutual prosperity and defense if they prove themselves of great strength; be their suzerain if they are weaker but show great potential; or conquer them outright if they deem them a threat... or prey.
They are willing to trade their martial services for money or residency- and they are of very excellent quality.

Scientific Name

Hunden Weise

Origin/Ancestry

Dane, Doberman, Shepherd, Hound, Retriever, Husky, Bully, Terrier, Wolf (extinct)

Lifespan

82 years

Average Height

183 cm

Average Weight

114 kg

Average Physique

Alsatians tend to have a toned musculature, especially due to many states mandating basic combat techniques for all citizens. The average Alsatian can run 27 km/h (7.5 m/s), although there is a good variance between races.

Related Organizations

• Milizstein
• Olinovs
• Vargjägaren Skrå