Jaleeria (Jah-leer-ee-ah)
What is this world? Jaleeria is a world of lush vegetation and sacred forrests, a world of two worlds, upper and lower, both at odds and forever intertwined. High up in the whistler trees, the winged Jaleerians live their lives taking care to avoid the domain of the lumbering, ground-dwelling Snatchers who once hunted them almost to the brink of extinction. You see, Snatchers consider Jaleerians a delicious delicacy, except for their fairy-like wings, of course. Those are mounted and displayed as trophies of the Snatchers' hunting prowess, but I digress. Long ago the fragile tapestry of life on this world was almost ripped to shreds but then a great truth finally began to dawn in the minds of the Snatchers and Jaleerians alike: all living beings are intertwined in the delicate balance of nature. Snatchers need zsa-zsa trees who need whistler trees who need Jaleerians, all stitched together in a never-ending circle. But don't assume that this means everyone lived happily ever after. There are still "incidents" and anyone who ventures across the line is considered fair game. Now is not the time to speak of such things though. Today is a day of celebration. It's graduation day and a whole pod of young Jaleerians is zig zagging across the sky cheering with youthful exuberance, all except one that is. TZ sits alone perched on a branch watching her podmates in their delighted revelry. Sure, it's nice to be graduating, she thinks, but what difference will that really make anyway? She'll still be the weird one. People will still think there's something wrong with her and maybe they're right. Why doesn't she ever feel the ties of podship? The others are so interconnected that they're practically one being. So why is she so different? Her mother always says that it's because TZ was born off-world. She's always lamenting about how she ruined her daughter's life by not getting home before her birth. If only she had done this or that differently, her daughter could have had a normal life. If only…..but TZ has a plan. Soon she'll make her escape. There are plenty of worlds out there just waiting to be explored. Who knows? Maybe she can even find one where she can just be who she is without feeling like a freak.
History
Long ago there were several native humanoid species who made their home in the lush forrests of Jaleeria and formed symbiotic relationships with the trees. Unfortunately, many of them were quite vicious and aggressive, constantly waging war with one another. The few who were more peaceful and intellectually inclined evolved defensive strategies to rise above the violence and protect themselves. The winged Jaleerians did this quite literally by taking flight to make their homes high up in the towering whistler trees where the other ground-dwelling humanoids could not reach them. There they lived in peace while the battle raged on below for more than an age.
Eventually the lumbering, ground-dwelling Snatchers, who resemble a slightly less hairy version of Sasquatch with the disposition of a hungry bear and the claws to match, wiped out all the others and became the dominant sapient species. Then they turned to the sky and set their sights on the Jaleerians who they decided were very tasty when properly seasoned and cooked.
The Snatchers used their emerging technology to gain access to the Jaleerians' treetop villages and hunted them for sport. The Jaleerians fought back as best as they could, trying to find a way to rid their world of these vicious brutes, but they were no match for the Snatchers and were soon brought to the brink of extinction.
The sacred forrests of Jaleeria are alive in a way that goes beyond what we normally think of as plant life so several species of trees were already lost when the humanoid species that they shared a symbiotic relationship with perished. Then, as the number of Jaleerians dwindled, so did the number of whistler trees which caused many of the smaller more plentiful zsa-zsa trees, sacred to the Snatchers, growing in and around the whistler groves to wither and die too.
There were wide spread shortages of food, shelter and resources and it became obvious even to the Snatchers that the ecological balance of their world was in danger of collapse. They would have to curb their voracious appetite or risk destroying their world so an uneasy accord was struck. The Snatchers would remain on the ground and stop actively hunting the Jaleerians. However, any Jaleerian who ventured down too low was still considered fair game.
In time the ecology stabilized, new species of plant life emerged and the forrests of Jaleeria began to thrive once again. The Jaleerians, however, have never completely recovered. Even though they are no longer in danger of extinction, they are still vastly out numbered by the Snatchers whose parliament is recognized by most other worlds as the official global government. To this day the Jaleerians are not considered people on their home world so they have no rights. They have been appealing to other worlds for support in their quest for independence but so far to no avail.
TZ by Alex the Creatrix
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