Ithklur
| Ithklur | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Base Information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification | Carnivore/pouncer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Status | Minor Race | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Locomotion | Walker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Terrain | Rough | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Body Form | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confluence | Humanoid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bio-Identenoid | Alien | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Size | 2.4 meters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 200 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Culture | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Languages | Ithkluri, Gurvin (language) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Social Structure | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Technological Epoch | TL:10-12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Psionic potential | Standard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Origin World | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Homeworld location | Tryylin (Extolian 2514) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UWP | AA87865-A
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| Primary Star | F2 V | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Atmosphere | Dense | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Off-world presence | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Zoetic individuals | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reference | Aliens of the Rim 47-80. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Canon | Yes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Also see | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Ithklur of Tryylin (Extolian 2514) are a technologically sophisticated Minor Non-Human Race with a humanoid appearance.
They are noted as playful and exuberant, yet shockingly effective warriors. Most famously, they form the military caste of the Hive Federation, and are considered a Hiver client race.
Physiology & Environment (Ecology)[edit]
The Ithklur are big, carnivorous bipeds. They are superficially lizard-like, warm-blooded, and mass about 200 kilograms. They reproduce sexually and have two genders, but apart from their primary sexual characteristics, there is no significant difference between males and females.
The Ithklur have two hearts (one arterial, one pulmonary), a short digestive tract, and a highly efficient urinary system.
They have a good sense of smell with a useful directional component, and an infrared sense organ. Centered in the face beneath the eyes (where the nose is in Humans), it relays its information to the visual cortex where it is integrated with the visual spectrum data. Otherwise, Ithklur senses are comparable to a Human's.
Their skeletons, joint articulation, and limb proportions are very different from a Human's. Ithklur cross sloping or rough terrain in a semi-crouch, using their arms as much as their legs. They have sharp, needle-like teeth and functional claws on both hands and feet.
Their skin is lightly scaled, blue, green, or an intermediate blend/combination pattern. Skin color holds no social significance for them, although they do appreciate its lovely aesthetics. Of course, the Hivers -- who like phenotype conformity -- keep trying to encourage the eradication of one hue or another, but without success.
Reproduction[edit]
A female Ithklur gives birth after a 17 month gestation to a well-developed infant able to walk and eat solid food. The child does not exit through the pelvic girdle, but through an anterior opening in the abdomen.
Psychology & Philosophy (Mindset)[edit]
To an Ithklur, Vargr plunder is a walk in the park; Aslan warrior spirit is the babbling of a toothless child. Other races make such a fuss over violence - why not just do it and enjoy it?
To the Hivers, the Ithklur are their trained, elite shock troops, lovingly perfected by millennia of manipulation and social engineering, no finer tool has ever been fashioned.
But as far as the Ithklur are concerned, they have the Hivers just where they want them. Who wants to be a boring taxi driver anyway? If the Hivers want to pretend they're in charge, what does it really hurt, so long as they leave the Ithklur alone?
Who is manipulating whom?[1]
Philosophy[edit]
The Ithklur are unusual in that intelligence and violence appear to be innately linked; Ithklur have no qualms about violence and enjoy testing themselves in combat. Unlike many warlike cultures, they are not at all belligerent; they generally fight without malice, no matter how intense the battle. Exuberant combat is paired with great emotional control. Most Ithklur seek spiritual enlightenment via the philosophical life path of Dikrah Sonnie, the "Tetramerous Way"; so called as it divides life into four different social roles or "paths": the Facilitator, Guardian, Explorer and Seeker.
The Tetramerous Way is symbolized by a tetragram, the four paths represented by arrows which merge in the centre to rise as a pyramid out of the surface. This rising of a third dimension out of a two-dimensional figure demonstrates the ascent into a new mindstate accomplished by the proper synergy of the four paths of Ithklur nature. The tetragram is therefore an inherently three-dimensional object; it can't be placed on flags, but can be embossed onto armour and vehicles.
Theology[edit]
The Ithklur believe in a supreme power, called "the ultimate concern". An Ithklur's devotion to the Tetramerous Way serves to constantly keep the individual properly oriented to the eternal, becoming a willing, joyful instrument of the ultimate concern. This divine power is sometimes referred to as an individual, but is also spoken of simply as the ground of all existence, without having a personality ascribed to it. The Ithklur have no belief in an afterlife per se. Rather than a place to aim for, the eternal is a force they wish to live in accord with.
Social Organization[edit]
The Ithklur are generally happy to leave decision-making and logistics to the Hivers, their "drivers" who take them to places where they can pursue spiritual enlightenment and mayhem. The mainstream Ithklur are unquestionably loyal to the Hive Federation and yet simultaneously are the most irreverent of the member races, delighting in irritating their Hiver "bosses".
Within their own society, Ithklur are considered to be either "elementary" or "enlightened". All Ithklur began life as elementaries, existing solely as finite physical beings with no true appreciation of the eternal and their place within it. Often romanticized as unpretentious and innocent, life as an elementary nonetheless gives way to Enlightenment, which occurs when an Ithklur becomes aware of his or her true nature, meaning an understanding of one's strengths and weaknesses, and how those characteristics are to be used in the service of the universe.
When two Ithklur have a disagreement, the usual method of resolution is to find another Ithklur to act as a judge -- typically a complete stranger. Both sides present their case to this judge, who must render his opinion in a firm, unambiguous manner. The decision is then binding on both Ithklur, and nothing more is said about it.
Sports[edit]
"Games":[edit]
All Ithklur have a favorite "game" (distinct from sport), which is essentially an amusing activity designed to annoy Hivers. Unlike sports, Ithklur games are almost always the subject of betting, usually in the form of a pool to predict whose game will noticeably irritate the Hivers first, or how long it will take a particular Hiver to respond to the needling. There are two games that are engaged in to some extent by almost all Ithklur:
The first is to insist on assigning a gender to all Hivers they work with, and to refer to them in a consistent fashion as either male or female. This will usually get a response from any Hiver sooner or later. The nature of the response is immaterial -- its fact is sufficient.
The second is to deliberately speak Gurvin as poorly as possible. When required to deliver reports in Gurvin (usually to Hiver officials who cannot understand Ithkluri), they commit as many breaches of grammar, double entendres and malapropisms as possible, explaining that they find the language too difficult. This will either make the Hiver's jobs more difficult or force them to allow the Ithklur to speak their own language.
It is strongly implied that Ithklur have "games" for other major species, including Humans. (See: San*klaass Cap).
Botany[edit]
Many Ithklur appreciate botany, albeit in an unusual fashion. They are fascinated by the results of controlled breeding and crossing of flowers, because the more they can appreciate the trouble that was undergone to create a unique hybrid, the more pleasure they get out of undoing it, breeding the flowers back into generalized varieties. Ithklur are also prone to engage in an activity called "freeing the flowers", which involves tearing down obstructions to the free spread of these plants, such as garden fences and walls.
Language[edit]
See: Ithkluri (not its actual name, but Humans often call it this)
Naming[edit]
Ithklur are commonly named for positive emotions and objects of beauty, particularly flowers and plants. When Ithklur regularly come into contact with Humans, these names are typically translated into their closest Anglic equivalent. These translations could be literal or figurative. For example, the same Ithklur name meaning "pure" could be rendered literally as the Anglic Pure, or figuratively as Catherine or Karen; the Ithklur name meaning "bright" or "brilliant one" could be translated as Bright, Brilliant, or Clarice; the Ithklur "Just" or "Just One" could be rendered as Justice, Justin, or Zadok; the Ithklur name meaning warrior or soldier could be translated as Warrior, Defender, or Harvey, and so on. In the case of flowers, sometimes these names do refer to the same particular species, but sometimes they refer to analogous species from the Imperial sphere. This results in names which incite Human sniggering, particularly in the case of male Ithklur named Heather, Rose, or Daisy. Needless to say, this isn't advised.
Astrography[edit]
This race is primarily located in the following areas:
Homeworld[edit]
The homeworld of this race is:
World Listing: 1105[edit]
Significant communities of this race are known to exist within the following systems and worlds:
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References & Contributors (Sources)[edit]
- Dave Nilsen, Loren Wiseman. Aliens of the Rim (Game Designers Workshop, 1995), 47-80.
- Dave Nilsen, David L. Pulver, Andy Slack, David Thomas. Alien Races 3 (Steve Jackson Games, 2000), 24-27.
- Martin Dougherty, Hunter Gordon. Gateway to Destiny (QuikLink Interactive, 2004), 31-32.