Sarlok - 5 Major Subspecies

Sarloks are a sapient bipedal species with traces of reptilian and mammalian traits from a distant unnamed world now long destroyed. They were the only sentient species on their world. Their world was often referred to as Sarlok and in a similar fashion, their main city was Sarlok City. That city now resides south of Chrailis on Mashapaloopa near the coast within the caldera of an ancient volcano.
There are at least five different subtypes of Sarlok, each filling specific roles in the society. It is believed that at some time there might have been a sixth subtype that fulfilled a role similar to that of a queen in a beehive.
The great artificer Perlachio came to their world believing it to be the source of the destruction for his adopted homeworld. For thousands of years, he existed on the world and eventually became known as the God King to all of the Sarloks as he built his great machine designed to repair the rupture of the worlds. He would end up disappearing before his final machine was initialized into its final phase.
During the time of his reign, the destruction of the Sarlok world continued and grew. By the time he finished his great work, the world of the Sarlok was no more, now existing as a myriad patchwork of thousands of other worlds each having been deposited like a piece of garbage on the heap which would eventually make up the Sarlok homeworld.
Perlachio had also realized his mistake, the world he built his great machine on was the wrong world. Perlachio's last known act was to send the finished remains of his machine deeper into the breach with hopes it would eventually find the true source of the rupture. What became of him is unknown.
Unable to save their world, he sent what he could of the Sarlok capital city with it, in hopes that once the machine was activated, it might save the remnants of his precious followers.
All Sarloks have similar qualities. All have a vague elvishness in their appearance in general build, especially around the face, with almond-shaped eyes and pointed ears. The noses are generally slender and their chins are elongated giving the face a long look. While they all have long straight hair, none possess any facial hair. Despite the elvish appearance, there are some goblinoid characteristics in their appearance. The ears are further upon their heads than a typical elf, their skin has a greenish hue, their mouths are wider with pointed teeth and a wider, and their almond eyes are further apart sitting under a pronounced orbital bone, giving them a dull look.
All Sarloks have a fine layer of scales over their torso, upper arms, and legs. Their most reptilian aspect is their lack of temperature regulation. While their body creates some heat, they generally remain the temperature of their surroundings. Part of their innate magic is their ability to not overheat when they get too hot. When they get too cold, they simply slow down and will eventually fall into a temperature induced hibernation. Even from freezing conditions, when warmed up, they recover as if nothing had happened.
Each of the five types of Sarlok occupies a distinct position within their society creating five different castes. It is somewhat instinctual for each one to remain in that position. When a Sarlok does show an inclination to move beyond it's defined status, there is seldom much resistance. Especially for those of a lower caste moving up. If they show the ability to move up, they are often afforded the chance to do so. How much of this is Perachio's influence is unknown as few records exist of their society before he arrived on their world. There are strong hints that the society he discovered upon arrival was primitive and nomadic.
Danders are the lowest caste. The shortest of the Sarloks, they are also the strongest, with squat builds and bulky muscles. As a rule, most danders are of limited intelligence, having rudimentary language skills. They also have low willpower, more content to do what they are told as long as they are fed and cared for properly. When a dander is set to a task, they can be prone to performing that task to exhaustion if not told to stop. They typical dander lives about 35 to 40 years of age.
Pernots are the second caste. These are the basic craftsmen, the commoner of the Sarlok society. When several danders are present, a pernot is likely the one organizing them. More intelligent than the danders, they are still unimaginative. They tend to be great at performing routine tasks, despite the skill level. As such, many of the skilled trades like blacksmith, carpenter, mason, and surveyor are held by pernots. The reptilian scales on pernots are the most pronounced of all the Sarlok, covering even their faces and ears. Their average height is about five and a half feet tall. They are the only Sarlok with claws instead of finger and toenails. The typical pernot can live well into their fifties.
Madrons are the third caste and are generally the leaders, planners, thinkers, and managers of the Sarlok society. They are the tallest of the Sarloks with slender elongated arms and legs. Their long legs along with a shortened torso and waste give them an odd gait as they walk. Vestigial wings also exist on their backs. They can spread these wings out and will do so for temperature regulation. Speculation exists that when the wings are extended, there was some form of sensory input also gained for the Madrons. Madrons can easily approach a century in lifespan.
Sullies are a fourth caste and tend to be knowledge keepers of the society. They have eidetic memories and are prone to song, dance, and storytelling. They are the creators and artists within their society. Possessing the longest faces, their chins dip down deep over their neck and upper chest. They possess the least vocal range, each of them singing or talking with a deep base. All sullies die at age 34 if they have not died due to disease or accident beforehand. It is not from old age, it is just a biological clock. Sullies revere this time in their lives and will often hold celebrations up to and leading to their death.
Verros make up the final caste and fulfill the role of hunter and guard. Later they would become the military as the Sarlok world became more inundated with hostile attacks from other worlds. While not as stout as a dander, they are close. Their musculature is more that of a runner and indeed, they can exhibit amazing feats of endurance, running for hours on end. In the ancient world, before it was destroyed, the verros were the primary messengers of the tribes. Verros are the shortest lived of the Sarloks. Verros seldom live past their teens, with about 22 or 23 being the upper limit.
Possibly the most unique aspect of the Sarlok physiology is their breeding cycles. All Sarloks are either male or female, with both sexes represented equally in all the castes.
Danders breed only with danders and this usually produces a dander. Danders will only breed when the temperature is near 80 degrees. Once in a while, a verros or a pernot is born to the union. When this happens, that child is adopted out to a family of verros or pernots. Danders understand this need and do not feel a loss when a child is given up, in fact, it is usually viewed favorably by the parents as this is somewhat of a status symbol. The same couple of danders who produced the verros or pernot are more likely to do so again as opposed to any random couple of danders, indicating a genetic component to this happenstance. Perlachio also speculated that there might be a temperature variant involved in whether a pernot or verros was conceived.
The verros are short-lived and seldom breed themselves. Two verros will produce a set of triplets, all verros. Verros tend to communally raise all their children, another aspect of their lifestyle and short life spans.
Pernots are sterile with each other. While they will pair up, most have no children. The only pernot children come from when two danders have produced a pernot, which happens about one in twenty times.
Madrons will only mate with other madrons. Though a couple will remain together for life, the female madron is only fertile for eight years of her life. Madron's always produce sullies. During that time, she will give birth about twice a year with about every fourth birth being twins. Madron's raise large families and always rear their sullie offspring. As a madron's lifespan is over double that of the sullies, it is common for the madron mother to outlive all of her offspring. For this reason, when a madron child is adopted into the family, the madron parents will unquestionably favor it over any of its sullie siblings.
Sullies, despite being both male or female, do not breed nor do they have any inclination to mate.
Interestingly, it is not unheard of for various caste members to breed outside their caste.
Danders are always infertile with any of the other caste.
A male verros and a female pernot will occasionally produce a madron, however, they usually produce a dander of greater than normal intelligence. This is the only union which produces a madron. Due to this, if the madron population starts dwindling to low, the madrons will start parring up verros and pernots.
A male pernot and female verros always produce a normal dander.
The only true taboo seems to be for a madron to mate with any other caste besides another madron. If any offspring of this illicit coupling exists, it is never talked about.