Gwate
Basic Information
Anatomy
Gwate have very few traits that are shared between them given the high adaptability of their species and the mutation-forward nature of their growth. What can be said of them all is this:
they are all mammalian, and they are all bipedal.
they are all mammalian, and they are all bipedal.
Biological Traits
Gwate do not have typical biological traits other than being mammalian in nature and being bipedal.
As they mature, Gwate choose their own traits through a process that, apparently, involves exploring one's own nerve endings and shaping "dream-flesh" like putty.
Genetics and Reproduction
Gwate do not pass down genetic traits, nor do they reproduce sexually. Instead, Gwate who wish to reproduce with one another participate in building a tlāxannu ("young-home") together. They build the tlāxannu with their hands and do not use magic or tools to aid them.
When the structure is completed, the Gwate parents then force themselves to vomit up a thick, matter-rich substance that is only produced for this particular reason, called nuxi. This nuxi is then used as the basis for a slurry made of Iunic flesh and the blood of the parent-figures.
The whole mixture is covered with a bone dome lid, and the parents seal it closed. The dome remains for approximately eleven months in this closed state. During the twelfth and thirteenth months, the dome begins to crack and break, and in the fourteenth month, the Gwate young emerge as defenseless larvae, having emerged from the slurry-mixture. The nuxi both parents provide reacts with Iunic flesh to allow the prototype material to solidfy into bare, traitless, squirming children.
Growth Rate & Stages
Gwate begin lives as featureless small grubs that can fit in the palm of the hand, and they are gestated externally, in a meat-rich thick slurry which is prepared by the creche's parents and community.
When Gwate individuals emerge from the slurry, they are defenseless, small, and pathetic things. Within fifteen days of being born, Gwate larvae go through their first metamorphosis, spinning a chrysalis around themselves and emerging with a particular trait; the trait is common to all members of their birth-creche (for example, Qayn's creche is identifiable by their gilled throats). As the Gwate grows, they go through this metamorphosis numerous times, each time adding more and more mutations to themselves. A Gwate mutates up to eight times in their life. When asked how they decide on mutations, Gwate are largely unable to answer, chalking the phenomenon up to a sensation of guiding and "feeling" their way through their personal evolution.
When Gwate individuals emerge from the slurry, they are defenseless, small, and pathetic things. Within fifteen days of being born, Gwate larvae go through their first metamorphosis, spinning a chrysalis around themselves and emerging with a particular trait; the trait is common to all members of their birth-creche (for example, Qayn's creche is identifiable by their gilled throats). As the Gwate grows, they go through this metamorphosis numerous times, each time adding more and more mutations to themselves. A Gwate mutates up to eight times in their life. When asked how they decide on mutations, Gwate are largely unable to answer, chalking the phenomenon up to a sensation of guiding and "feeling" their way through their personal evolution.
Related Organizations
