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DOMAIN
Sharhastian Domain
CLASS
Species
SPECIES
Sharhastian
AUTHOR
Devin Deng
LAST UPDATE
September 1st, 2021
The Sharhastians are an airborne race of hexapods originally hailing from the gas giant Sharhast. They are a hive race headed by sophont queens, who have formed the current unifying government of the Sharhastians, known as the Sharhastian Alliance.
The Sharhastians were born on a gas giant orbited by many moons. At times, these moons would enter the atmosphere, forming great plains that rise far above the inhospitable core. These continent-sized land masses would stir the primordial soup as well as introduce various elements not commonly found on gas giants such as carbon and oxygen. This provided suitable conditions for life to emerge on Sharhast.
Sharhastians have a body template similar to that of octopuses in the sense they have a central brain but large bundles of neurons in other portions of their body. They possess six, four-sectioned appendages that can flatten themselves to form a method of flight. Two of these act as arms while the other four act as legs. This centaurian adaptation was developed to enable them to face the strong winds around Sharhast. These appendages end in four fingers oriented in a cross configuration. The arms’ fingers are longer or possess higher dexterity for better manipulation. They possess wide heads meant to capture a large array of sounds and have highly complex vocal chords, allowing them to replicate nearly every possible sound. Four eyes are spaced around their head so as to enable them to see in every direction. They also have four sacs which are inflated with lighter-than-air gasses and are used in tandem with their flattened limbs to assist locomotion. The fronts of their bodies are covered in wrinkly skin so as to reduce drag during flight.
Queens possess two additional sets of limbs that are dedicated to flying to search for suitable hive sites. Their body has a rear portion that never stops growing to facilitate drone accumulation.
A hive begins with a single fertile queen. This queen travels to a suitable platform where it deposits a series of workers. These workers and the queen hunt for food and work on the beginnings of a hive nest. When the hive reaches a suitable size, drones will begin to be produced. The drones will then permanently attach themselves to the queen, undergoing a morphological process that converts them into a womb and ovipositor. It is not uncommon for allied queens to send hosts of workers and drones to each other for both communication and genetic diversity. Over time, the bodies of the males pile up and the queen is rendered largely immobile. At this stage, it relies on its workers to complete all tasks not relating to birthing. If a hive queen dies without a suitable replacement, the workers would construct a cocoon filled with Royal Agent, within which a worker will enter the cocoon and emerge as a queen.
Queens secrete specific pheromones and possess multiple sets of vocal chords to relay commands to workers. This means that the workers are mentally independent but can carry out very specific commands of the queen. Workers swear genetic fealty to their queens, but workers born from allied queens who have shared drones can follow the commands of multiple queens.
Floaters drop their spores in a gel medium that gets evaporated when entering a certain depth of the atmosphere. Sharhastians were able to domesticate floaters and harvest this gel from them. This is due to the gel having geriatric properties. This valuable nature has led to floaters achieving a position of reverence, with some being even worshipped as gods. Many wars have been fought between queens over floater colonies and this substance.
While all Sharhastians could be considered sophont, they are entirely subservient to their queens. As a result, the majority of technological, societal, and cultural development hinges on queens. Princesses are educated by their mothers before proceeding on their nuptial flight. These two factors combined have forged queens that are highly davincian in nature, trained to be savants of various sciences and arts.
One of the cornerstones of Sharhastian culture is music, which was primarily used as a method of storing information before writing was invented. The Sharhastian’s affinity for music and sound has led to many queens developing auditory weaponry. One example of such a weapon is the resonance spine. This is a needle-like weapon that generates sonic vibrations that are used to not only decrease drag but also offer better penetration of armor.
A ritual duel between queens could take the form of choristry, where either themselves or the best chorister of their hive would compete. The best chorister, who is deemed by a group of adjudicators, would receive a predetermined spoil.
In the ancient times of Sharhast, Skada Chaheyo was the ancient art of choristry adapted for war. Complex chants and melodies allowed choristers to shake the earth, summon plagues, or bless bodies with strength.
Princesses are educated by their mothers before proceeding on their nuptial flight. These two factors combined have forged queens that are highly davincian in nature, trained to be savants of various sciences and arts.
Many religions have been seen in the various Sharhastian cultures and societies. Some of these include the Floater Worshippers, the Disciples of the Blue Sky, and the most prevalent one, Children of the Chord.
One of the most potent and widely available energy sources on Sharhast is lightning. As a result, wildlife such as skyfish, have developed a method of harnessing this energy to fuel biological processes. The Disciples of the Blue Sky developed as a response to this natural phenomenon. This was a faith that worshipped the signature blue lightning found on Sharhast. They also worshipped the various skyfish that consumed lightning, seeing them as avatars of lightning gods. They would follow the skyfish around, which in turn followed the perpetual storms that dotted the planet.
Ancient Sharhastian warfare utilized a variety of combined arms tactics, such as the application of combat minstrels in tandem with aerial lightning strikes from the backs of skyfish.
Due to the high-density atmosphere of Sharhast, piercing weaponry was favored over slashing and bludgeoning weapons. This is due to there being less surface area on stabbing weapons, therefore having less drag. Ramjet lances and resonance spines are as a result used extensively.