Terrian Evolution

Well, I could grind my brain against the wall with my commissions, or I could take a short break and do what I set out to do once a month.

Besides, it's something I enjoy, and I could use something to pick me up a little.

September's Alien of the Month: Terrians

Species Information

Homeworld: Terria
Terria, from a distance, looks very much like earth. It's the details that vary and up close no one would would mistake the two. Terria has less gravity. Not by much, but enough to have an impact on their physiology. It's the world the species uses mostly for government, trade, entertainment and prime real-estate. The climate has been balanced and there isn't a bad place to live on it. There is some snow, sometimes ... somewhere. Mostly rain. One of the most visible differences is the trees. The planet is covered in a kind of tree, as tall as many human sky-scrapers, called the Great Ferengele. They live in the tree trunks, on the brances, and even in sprawling terraced houses on top. The planet isn't without constructed buildings, but those are fewer and farther between - though they are most often pyramids or reminiscent of ancient Earth temples and nearly as tall as the trees. The tall trees require a lot of water which the planet supplies in the form of huge rivers, often several to a continent. It's a fantastic planet to visit. Come for the foliage ... stay for a hundred other reasons ... mostly because Terrians realize just how lucrative tourism is when it's done right.

Their homeworld is one of what used to be hundreds of planets (100,000 years ago). Now they are down to about 13.

Size: They average at around 7'5".

Intelligence: Roughly human equivalent.
Terrians live a very long time and have a long time to learn whatever they want to learn (within reason). So next to a 50 year old human, a middle aged terrian would seem smarter. It's not true. They've just had more time and the expectations put on them in regards to their education (which starts very early and never really stops), is much higher than it is for the average human.

Language: Terrian
Most terrian clothing comes complete with a translator unit, so language isn't much of an issue for them. They do like to learn the languages on their own time as a matter of pride.

Their own language has a lot in common with ancient Earth languages. They would be more at home listening to Sumerian than they would English.

Lifespan: 30,000+ years
They figured out all that aging business generations ago. But they have found that even the most impressive measures give out in the end. One very unique feature of their lives is that they have a counter when they reach a certain age. At some point, something goes off in their minds and they know they are down to their last 500 years.

Psychology:
Terrians are moody, intensely competitive, and aware of whatever advantages they have. But on the other hand, they are as prone to just as many good moods, tend to keep the competition with themselves or at least within their own species, and are very understanding of other species' shorter lifespans and other differences. They say the best way to get a terrian to do something is to bet them they can't or to put them in contest with one of their competitors to see who can do it best. Even if you know they can, or you have no intention of going to their competitors, just saying it is enough. They can be real suckers when it comes to that kind of thing.

They're hard workers, but they play just as hard, are both indulgent and demanding of their children, and while they do have some antiquated and silly traditions and social rules ... they are the first to recognize how antiquated and silly it really is.

When asked to describe Terrians as a whole, Travis Isola of New Veneto said "they're douchebags! The lot of them! But they're the good kind of douchebag. You remember that kid in school who was good looking, rich, smart, and popular? But despite all of that, this kid was still nice to everyone. Every school had one ... two if they were lucky. And this kid was a douchebag because, try as you might, you couldn't hate him. You wanted to. He gave you every reason to carry a huge envious chip on your shoulder. But there was that time when you were in the hall upset about something and he stopped, listened, and actually cared. After that day he'd always nod to you in the hall. You knew this was one fortunate popular kid who would never stoop to bullying you. Terrians are this kid. You want to colonize that planet over there, but the sun is inhospitable? Well, we have star-seeding technology. Here you go! The travel time between your empire and ours is too long to create a really solid relationship? Then have this! It's a quantum gate thingie! Now you can get here in no time. See you soon! They're so pretty, and they have so much, largely because they are an *old* civilization, and you want to hate them for it. But you can't because they're just too damn nice about it. Douchebags."

Physiology:
Terrians are tall by human standards and aren't mammals so they don't tend to carry extra weight. They are used to slightly less gravity, which gives them all a tall, slender look (which some athletes offset with an advanced musculature). The downside to this is that they aren't as strong as humans and are more breakable under force and blunt trauma. They have solved this problem by wearing armor ... all the time. It's light, form-fitting, made out of materials that would have made historical armorers cry on their anvils. They wear armor like humans wear jeans and tee shirts.

The spines on their arms are multi-purpose. At one point in their history, the spines were a part of wings. Today they are used for breathing, as gills ... for those who can. Terrians evolve quickly and are somewhere between their avian and aquatic states (as illustrated above from left to right: Post-avian, terrestrial, and pre-aquatic. All were hatched in the same generation). The spines are ticklish if touched the wrong way, so terrians don't like it when others mess with them. (Only with permission.) They are also unofficially used as a measuring stick for how attractive someone is.

Their bright colors are genetic, and most of their clothing and furnishings are made to match. This is an exact science for them because they are more sensitive to color than humans. We have 3 color receptors in our eyes. Terrians have 12.

Other:
The three pictured above are Meren, Asha, and Janus ... all of whom have been in my galleries before. They were just really good examples of some of the limited diversity of the terrian people.

They have a long and complicated history. When humans were still living in caves, terrians had reached the high point in their civilization, and had paid for their complacency with their near extinction. They are only alive today through a loophole in time and space., and the are aware of exactly how lucky they are.

Much has been made of the similarities in appearance and physiology with humans. This is explained by the theory of panspermia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pansperm… and the idea that humans and terrians came from the same place and evolved differently over the years. How much a crashed terrian had to do with the formation of human civilization is yet to be determined. Some say he gave us everything, he says it wasn't as dramatic as all that. What we do know is that this refugee (later discovered to be Pharaoh Anton Xalveria) crashed on earth in 4000 BC after fleeing the destruction of his people, and didn't get away until the 1950's when someone was finally able to fix his ship.

(On a personal note: It's been said, many times, that terrians are "too good". I've made them too pretty, they have too much, and they live too long. It's true. But you really can't say anything of terrians that isn't true of elves. These are my elves ... in a manner of speaking. If you're okay with elves ...)

Other pictures of terrians:
Yegor Merentah (Meren, on the far left above):


Asha Reshwet (above, center):


Janus Mewitar-Sha (above, right):


Anton Xalveria and Nada Merentah (Meren's sister):
(Unfotunately, Nada's thumbnail code doesn't work for whatever reason. Way to go, DA! fav.me/d5ykvlr


Characters, species, story, and art (C) *NuisanceBearEull