Creature:Tal'po
From GamingSteve Wiki
Tal'po (Talan) pn. A conjugation of the words for home and dwelling that means "Home-Dwellers," the name the Tal'po call themselves.
Height: 7-8 ft, Variation Common
Weight: 200-400 lb
Body Features: The Tal'po are a bipedal reptilian species with large tusks emerging from their skull beneath their mouth. They are hairless and their hearing device is a system of internal bones and fluids inside of their gasping appendages. They also have a long vestigial tail left over from its purpose as a counterbalance during evolution.
Government: The Tal'po are part of an Empire ruled by two Tal'roks, or "Home-Rulers." These rulers have absolute power for the duration of their reign, which last 2 years. Every two years every citizen of the empire must vote for a noble family. The top two noble families then choose a member to become Tal'rok. The only thing the Tal'roks may not do is to undergo diplomacy that would harm their own people and change the laws regarding Tal'rock election.
Disposition: The Tal'po are generally a mild species, but have several primitive instincts, due to their long genetic history of being carnivores. In recent years they have begun to experiment with non-meat foods due to severe depopulation of several major species on their home.
Architecture: Most Talan homes are based on a similar design. Tal'po construct most buildings with a slight dome curvature that end in a slightly rounded top. This is their recreation of the natural curvature found in their tusks, which they take great pride in. Recently, they have continued to improve upon their methods, realizing that their simple method of ancient tree-bark "huts" were actually structurally reinforced by the inwardly curving style. This has made their buildings able to withstand most earthquakes on their home moon, due to their minor energy.
Home Moon: The Tal'po evolved on a small moon, orbiting a large planet with similar climatic conditions. Their moon is called Tal, or "home", and the planet is called Na'po, or "New-Dwelling." The moon and planet have Nitrogen-Oxygen atmospheres, and a temperature range from 40 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. This name for the planet is a relatively recent change, it previously being called Harput. Both the planet and the moon have atmospheres livable by the Tal'po, and the gravity of the planet is only twice that of the moon, due to the moons dense mantle. In the last few Rashks (The time it takes for the the planet to revolve around their star) they have began to migrate to the planet. Many build domes that dampen the gravity using new technology, but many before them gained honor for their family by venturing out into the gravity and constructing new villages and towns.
Religion: The Tal'po have become less religious in recent years, but have a sort of tribal tradition caused by their ancestral ties. The most prominent religion was that of the tribes on the side of Tal facing the planet. For thousands of years the Talan tribes believed the planet was a god in the form of a great mirror, reflecting back an image of their home with which to judge themselves; It was thusly called Harupt, or "[That Which] Reflects". During the day, the planet's night side would be showing and low in the sky with the sun above, leading to the belief that the sun, Su, was the ruler of the gods, and Harput bowed before even him each day. At night, the planet would fill the top of the sky and its day side would be showing. They believed that this is when they were judged, and those that were judged too old to do good were taken to the sky, which filled with points of light they believed to be the gods and their ancestors looking in judgment upon them alongside the great mirror. On the side of the moon that didn't face the planet, the population was sparse and their beliefs diverse, so when the planet-facers came they were quickly assimilated, leaving little history of their beliefs.
Measurement of Time: most of their time, like ours, is based on the movement of the heavens. Below is a list of their measurements and our equivalents: -Sura (360 Days): The time it takes for their planet to completely orbit their star. -Fortagh (90 Days): One fourth of their celestial (year). -Rak (30 hours): The time that it takes: 1. For their moon to orbit the planet once, 2. For their moon to rotate completely once, and 3. The time it takes the planet to rotate, though they didn't know of this until the space era. -Forta (3 hours): One tenth of their celestial day. -Sa'Tak or Sun-Time (5 minutes): One thirtieth of their celestial hour. -Moment (1/2 Second): Represents one moment in time.
Schedule: The Tal'po day lasts for 30 Earth hours, the time it takes for their planet to rotate, and the moon to rotate and make one full revolution around the planet. There is exactly 15 hours of light and 15 hours of darkness on any one day. The most interesting feature is that every day in their 360 year, the time of sunrise and sunset move forward by 5 minutes. By the time half of the year has passed, what was previously day is now night, and what was previously night is now day. It reaches a certain time of sunrise and sunset, always 15 hours apart, only once per year. They call the time when the first 15 hours are light and the second 15 darkness the first point of equality, and they call the first 15 hours of darkness and the second of light the second point of equality.
Ship Design: The Tal'po ship design is strongly influenced by their building style, based on curvature akin to that of Tal'po tusks. The below image is that of the survey ship to first enter the Tal'po Wormhole.
Language: The Tal'po speak by expanding and contracting muscles in their esophagus and on the roofs of their mouths. Their dialects tend to include guttural sounds and sharp clicks. Their language is very basic and function, comprised of much fewer words than others; it has even been called the Jang polar opposite. Their words tend to revolve around concepts, with less emphasis on part of speech, as it is usually implied. One example is the word po. It can mean "dweller of" (Tal'po means Home Dwellers) or "dwelling" (Na'po means New Dwelling). This makes their language on of the easiest to learn and makes more successful diplomatic transactions. The one downfall of the language though, is its inability to be perfectly clear in reference to legal precedants. This makes it necessary for legal documents to be long-winded, in order to prevent loopholes, and this dissuades many Tal'po from studying law.
