Eaiel

The eaiel are a species that reside deep within the submerged caverns. They are tiny and fast, able to move through the tunnels and crevices of their home. They have excellent spacial memories, able to map hundreds of miles of winding and overlapping tunnels in their mind. Coupled with their innate sense of direction, an eaiel never gets lost.

Behaviour & Communication

The Eaiel are isolationist, though they are not solitary. They co-habitate their enviroment with deep kuuyikar, though there is little interaction between the two. Among their own species, the Eaiel live in small yet tight-knit communities, with "towns" of around one hundred people. They communicate through a system of body language and occasional vocalisations, a system incredibly different from most other languages on Etharai.

Anatomy

Eaiel have bright orange skin, which is slightly bioluminescent. They have dual fins on their backs, which have been said to resemble wings. They have neither arms nor legs, simply a long tail that is highly flexible and can contort into many different possitions. Their heads contain many long, thick strands of flesh that they do have fine motor control over, which allow them to grasp onto things and use tools. They are able to retract these strands to a minor degree, which is useful when travelling through smaller cracks or crevices. It also reduces the drag generated from them, and so allows them to swim with slightly less resistence when evading predators.

Ecology

Eaiel are hunted by the slithersharks native to the area, and so make their homes and communities in areas that can only be accessed through thin passageways that the sharks cannot get through. When an eaiel must travel between two settlements, they try to remain close to small nooks that they can quickly hide in should one appear. The eaiel primarily eat deepcoral. They keep glowfish as livestock and pets, harvesting glow ink for various applications.

Matilda Placeholder by notahumanhand

Geographic Distribution

• Submerged Caverns