Querequian Youngers
The Querequian Youngers are a long exinct species originating on the planet of Querequia to spinward of the Bubble. They are of historical importance as one of the ruling species within the Querequian Cultures. The planet of Querequia was unusual in being the home to two contemporaneous sophont species of roughly equal intelligence (the other being the Querequian Elders).
Basic Information
Anatomy
The Querequian Youngers evolved from a species of small furry carnivores with sharp claws, keen eyes and ears and fierce brains who hunted a number of smaller seed eating species in the forest lands of the continent of Dlaxoth on the planet of Querequia. They retained these cat like attributes as they developed a more sophisticated social intelligence.
Genetics and Reproduction
The Querequian Youngers were vivaperous, a somewhat unusual method of reproduction in the ecology of Querequia, where oviperous life forms predominate. The gestation period of the females averaged two hundred and twenty days but the young were incapable of independent hunting until they were five or six years old, and were protected by a family group throughout that vulnerable early childhood. Usually this consisted of the mother and father but cases of adoption and single parenthood were not unknown.
Behaviour
The Querequian Youngers had a reputation for independent thought and quick incisive action, carried out with cold blooded efficiency. They made good explorers since they were more happy to operate in isolation and could be more discrete than the bulky pack mentality of the Querequian Elders.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
When they were "discovered" by the Querequian Elders, the species had already spread from the continent of Dlaxoth to Hlactar and a number of island groups but they had yet to reach the continents of Zendobar or Umcanto. Their range was greatly expanded by their contact with the Elders. They went on to spread thoughout the whole region controlled by the Querequian Cultures.
Average Intelligence
The Querequian Youngers had a quick intelligence honed by hunting. Sometimes they accused the Querequian Elders of being as slow of thought as they were at lumbering around the plains. Perhaps it is true to say that the Elders thought more deeply but the Youngers thought more quickly. Collectively the two intellegences seemed to complement one another within the Querequian Cultures.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
The vision of the Querequian Youngers was especially sharp and their hearing was also very acute.
Civilization and Culture
Average Technological Level
It was often said (particularly by the Querequian Elders) that the Youngers depended on the Elders for their technology and undoubtedly they benefited from the more advanced science possessed by the Elders when their nascent civilisations first came into contact, but it is not correct to assume that the Youngers made no contributions to the collective knowledge of the Querequian Cultures. In fact they rapidly caught up, and their scientists made many important discoveries.
History
Cat like in many of their behaviours and in their general appearance, the Querequian Youngers were more social and less solitary than earthly cats and came together in clans where their natural intelligence was honed and refined through the development of language and writing. They had already begun to use tools and created a complex system of hunting laws which gave proper consideration to the preservation of prey, spreading into the continent of Hlactar before the Querequian Elders first encountered them.
It so happened that because they filled different ecological niches, there was no direct competition between the two intelligent species of Querequia and that proved to be very important because they were able to establish mutually beneficial trading agreements and knowledge transfer arrangements. In due course, the Youngers would spread into the galaxy and would, for more than one era, rule over the Querequian Cultures as they assumed control over ever wider areas of the local spiral arm.
Instinctive hunters, the Querequian Youngers also became good military strategists and warriors and fulfilled this role within the Querequian Cultures to the extent that it was necessary. It is probably fair to say that when the Cultures needed to be more aggressive, the Youngers were in command, whilst the Elders acted as leaders in more peaceful times. Since the Querequian Cultures were at peace for the majority of the time they held control, the Elders were typically in authority, but not always.
Common Myths and Legends
The Querequian Youngers, worshipped two spirits they called "She Who Hunts Unseen" and her brother, "He Who Speaks For The Prey". According to their oldest stories, "She Who Hunts Unseen" showed their ancestors how to hide, how to pounce and how to make a kill, whilst "He Who Speaks for the Prey", taught them the meaning of language and what it meant to manage the population of the creatures they hunted with respect so that they would not be driven to extinction. Although later generations often adopted a more secular stance, the place of these dual guardians in the religious life of the species never quite went away.
EXTINCT
Lifespan
60 years
Average Height
1.8 metres
Average Weight
80 kg
Average Length
0.4 metres
1.2 metres (including tail)
Geographic Distribution
Querequian Younger 02 by DMFW with Midjourney
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