Inactive
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To sub a species for future RP.
- Image Credit: Dela Longfish
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links:
- Name: The Shaal
- Designation: Sentient
- Origins: Zaathru
- Average Lifespan: Around 120 years
- Estimated Population: Rare
- Description: The Shaal are a humanoid species distinguished by their horns and tails. Their silver blood contains mercury, exposure to which is toxic for humans and other similar species.
- Breathes: Type I
- Average Height of Adults: 1.4 - 2.1 meters (4.7 - 7 ft.)
- Average Length of Adults: N/A
- Skin color: Virtually every color of the rainbow, though skin appears to have a grayish cast where blood is concentrated.
- Hair/Fur color: Varies; some races do not have hair, or only have hair/fur on certain parts of the body. Hair is usually black, gray, or white.
- Distinctions: The Shaal are generally humanoid in appearance, but with horns, tails, and cloven feet. Males of the species tend to be bigger and have larger horns. Shaal blood is metallic in color and often compared to quicksilver - an apt description, given its high mercury content.
- Races: Too many to get into. Suffice to say, they can come in many different colors. The size and shape of their horns and tails are also quite diverse.
- Force Sensitivity: Standard
- Quick to Adapt: Of all the native sentient species of Zaathru, the Shaal have been the fastest to adapt to new things, such as modern technology. Many are quite intelligent and mechanically inclined.
- The Strong Crush the Weak: A physically fit Shaal is roughly three times as strong as a human of similar physique.
- Quicksilver in Their Veins: Shaal blood contains mercury where humans have iron. Their blood is toxic to humans and many other species, with exposure (such as their blood coming into contact with bare skin) causing symptoms such as seizures, loss of motor control, cognitive impairment, memory loss, coma and death.
- Barbaric: Shaal civilization would be considered brutal by most galactic standards, with a warlike culture that participates in sentient sacrifice to their deities.
- Horns: The horns on top of their heads can pose problems for both health and practicality depending on their size and weight. While it is considered a badge of honor in many Shaal cultures to grow them out as much as possible, a Shaal who cuts their horns will likely have an improved quality of life.
- Better the Devil You Know: Similar to the Devaronians, the Shaal are likely to encounter immediate distrust and hostility from other species in the galaxy due to their "demonic" appearance.
- Diet: Omnivore; will eat anything that isn't poisonous to them.
- Communication: Verbal; the Shaal have their own language.
- Technology level: Below Galactic Standard
- Religion/Beliefs: The Shaal follow a polytheistic religion with a main pantheon of gods and goddesses, along with various other minor deities and nameless spirits. Certain individuals may be accepted as the "avatars" of these deities and worshiped as their earthly incarnation. The Shaal practice sentient sacrifice to appease the deities and spirits. Depending on the nature of the deity and variant cultural norms, the sacrifice may be chosen from among criminals, sickly or weak newborns, or volunteers. They undergo a ritual purification process before they are slain, with their body and soul offered to the gods.
- General Behavior:
- Social Structures: The Shaal are a warlike people, favoring aggressive expansionism. The leader of a tribe is called an usul, a title which means "the strongest of all". Most Shaal cultures emphasize strength overcoming weakness.
- Childhood and Maturity: Shortly after birth, newborn Shaal are inspected by a village shaman. If the child is deemed too weak or sickly to survive, they are either sacrificed or enslaved. (Though this practice is dying out in some areas.) Those who are deemed fit are taught to fight from a young age, and may even participate in battles. They are encouraged to compete with other children in games. Upon reaching maturity the Shaal are expected to give back to the community which raised them, whether by protecting it as a soldier or becoming a craftsman.
- Combat and the Hunt: Since farming is considered work fit only for slaves, the Shaal have glorified hunting as an exercise in freedom. Hunting parties regularly gather to track and kill game, with all able-bodied members of the community participating. In larger settlements, the hunting trip may last for several days at a time.
The Shaal are native to Dagda, one of Zaathru's two moons. At some point in the distant past, their species moved from Dagda (which is now desolate and inhospitable) to Zaathru, where they have lived ever since. Their total population now outnumbers the native Zaathri.
While the Shaal claim that the various ancient ruins that dot the planet were created by their ancestors, there is much stronger evidence that the Zaathri are descended from those who built the vast desert complexes and strange technology. But following a great cataclysm, their civilization crumbled and they were reduced to a much more primitive state. In present times, the Shaal and the Zaathri are on hostile terms, with the former enslaving members of the latter species or waging war against them.
