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I made the dragontaurs after all
Dec. 15th, 2021 08:36 pmThe Stewards are an odd race, because they became intelligent during a transitional stage. Their ancestors were land-dwelling, and had they continued to be mere animals, they would have eventually become sea-dwelling. Now they build their homes on land, hunt their prey in the ocean, and are somewhat ungainly in both.
The pre-Stewards were caught out by the start of an ice age. As their prey on land died out, those most capable of surviving the freezing water discovered that some fish still remained. Rather than swap their scales for fur, or develop some blubber, they acquired a more . . . surprising power. Stewards can control the movement of particles such that colder particles move away and warmer particles move in close. They can stay warm in the coldest of winters, create a stream of warmth in the water behind them to rocket forward, and even flash-boil fish.
Stewards have long bodies with six legs, the front two of which double as arms. In water, they tuck in their limbs for better hydrodynamics, looking rather like Chinese dragons as they “fly” through the water on their heat-streams. When they actually swim, they’re quite slow, since they have legs instead of fins.
On land, Stewards can take a curve-backed stance to carry objects and use tools, with four legs on the ground and their arms in the air. This “centaur” pose is an awkward adaptation, and Stewards have a well-developed chiropractic industry. Where possible, they just use saddlebags.
Stewards are one of the few known races to be dominated by a single religion. They believe in a Divine Mother who uplifted them and gave them their heat powers, then left them as stewards while she brought her wisdom to other worlds. By her command, they minimize pollution, don’t overfish, and keep the ecosystem in balance. They say they will be “made anew” when the Mother returns, freed from both want and conflict.
(A question. What else do you know of in this galaxy that brings peace to its followers and grants them strange powers?)
Stewards can create machines that remain in motion indefinitely until removed from their heat radius, and generate more energy than goes into powering them. Builders and Nomads already break the laws of thermodynamics, so whatever. In this galaxy, reality is just a suggestion.
”Steward” is a tentative choice for the name by which other races will know them. Other suggestions include Worshiper, Swimmer, and Fisher. Some of those were rejected as non-universal—Nomads don’t have a word for any creature similar to fish, and the armor-plated Builders don’t have a word for swimming.
The pre-Stewards were caught out by the start of an ice age. As their prey on land died out, those most capable of surviving the freezing water discovered that some fish still remained. Rather than swap their scales for fur, or develop some blubber, they acquired a more . . . surprising power. Stewards can control the movement of particles such that colder particles move away and warmer particles move in close. They can stay warm in the coldest of winters, create a stream of warmth in the water behind them to rocket forward, and even flash-boil fish.
Stewards have long bodies with six legs, the front two of which double as arms. In water, they tuck in their limbs for better hydrodynamics, looking rather like Chinese dragons as they “fly” through the water on their heat-streams. When they actually swim, they’re quite slow, since they have legs instead of fins.
On land, Stewards can take a curve-backed stance to carry objects and use tools, with four legs on the ground and their arms in the air. This “centaur” pose is an awkward adaptation, and Stewards have a well-developed chiropractic industry. Where possible, they just use saddlebags.
Stewards are one of the few known races to be dominated by a single religion. They believe in a Divine Mother who uplifted them and gave them their heat powers, then left them as stewards while she brought her wisdom to other worlds. By her command, they minimize pollution, don’t overfish, and keep the ecosystem in balance. They say they will be “made anew” when the Mother returns, freed from both want and conflict.
(A question. What else do you know of in this galaxy that brings peace to its followers and grants them strange powers?)
Stewards can create machines that remain in motion indefinitely until removed from their heat radius, and generate more energy than goes into powering them. Builders and Nomads already break the laws of thermodynamics, so whatever. In this galaxy, reality is just a suggestion.
”Steward” is a tentative choice for the name by which other races will know them. Other suggestions include Worshiper, Swimmer, and Fisher. Some of those were rejected as non-universal—Nomads don’t have a word for any creature similar to fish, and the armor-plated Builders don’t have a word for swimming.
