Ger'Kvay
An old anthropologists thought experiment taught in many moral philosophy classes involve a conversation between a wergerf, a ger'kvay, and a goblac to discuss which race has had the most woe in history. It is common for the students and professors alike to sympathize with the ger'kvay.
Native to Tes, in the hot Koo desert, ger'kvay remained hidden beyond a treacherous landscape for millenniums. When discovered a few hundred years ago, the Tessi Empire reacted with bewilderment and amusement. They believed them to be intelligent lizards mimicking human behavior by wearing scraps and wielding hunting tools, but not as a sentient species. Unable or unwilling to recognize the hisses and snaps of their captives as pleas of freedom, they took them as pets, treating them with the same cruelty many large predators received when taken in similar fashions.
Within a few decades of capture, many people began noting that their long-lived pets were much smarter than any other pet anyone had owned, and they soon realized that they were self-aware creatures. Conditions worsened as they were stripped of their pet status and forced into slavery.
Years of abuse continued until the near-modern age. As the movement to free the goblacs reach global fervor, similar demands were being pushed to the Tessi empire to release the ger'kvay. When sanctions and boycotts became real threats, they caved, granting the ger'kvay freedom. Instead of rehabilitating the race and attempting to find them a place in the world, Tes rounded them up and shipped them back to the wasteland that was the Koo desert.
Modern ger'kvay live in Tes, still in the Koo desert. They are considered Tessi citizens, but do not get their status honored. Tes largely ignores their portion of the country, only intervening when other nations attempt to improve the ger'kvay situation.
Basic Information
Anatomy
With an advanced reptilian body, the naturally quadrupedal ger'kvay can transition up-right into an effective standing stance, allowing them to manipulate tools and interacting with the world in a more complex manner.
In their natural form, they stretch out nearly 7', females usually being slightly bigger. Thick bodies are reminiscent of crocodiles, with legs positioned more under than their distant relatives, giving them a faster, more agile movement. Keeping balance, a thick, rounded tail follows behind them.
Each leg ends in agile limbs, shaped surprisingly similar. Their hands have opposable thumbs, their feet have near-opposable thumbs capable of gripping most surfaces and tools. Each digit, though short, is strong. On the tip of each finger are short claws.
Ger'kvay heads are small compared to their large bodies, but long, averaging 16" in length. The snout is short and wide, with a large jaw that can open up significantly. Their teeth are small, sharp, and constantly recycled. Starting on the brow, females have small bumps that ride down the spine. In males, frills that flush with vibrant colors replace the bumps.
Both male and females are covered in beige scales. On their tops, darker spots speckle in a uniform pattern. These spots continue down their sides in less frequency, disappearing entirely on their bottom side.
Male frills typically stay the same shade as their bottom scales, but can be flushed into a bright and vibrant red. Typically an indication of heightened emotions, it is not conscious but can reflect a wide range of emotions that range from joy to anger.
Genetics and Reproduction
As a reptile, ger'kvay do not possess the same sense of companionship as the mammalian counterparts. Exhibiting an asexual behavior for most of the year, during the late autumn, the breeding season will begin.
During the breeding season, males actively compete for a female. Once a male wins a females attention through displays of prowess, they will non-sexually couple. This coupling will look to others as a very long-lasting cuddle, but the bonding pair are actually communicating on a chemical level. Necking and licking are used to facilitate this communication.
A pair-bond is semi-monogamous. Each partner will defend their "ownership" with each other, but will often attempt to second-pair with another member. If a second mate is found, a "dirt bath" is often used to remove the scent of the second partner.
During the bonding, ger'kvay will attempt to breed for the duration of the season. If successful, the female will deposit her eggs in a communal nest. Couples will generally break their bond at this point.
Females will lay broods of 1-14 eggs, averaging 8. Temperature differences dictate the gender ratio, with males often outnumbering females almost 5:1. Eggs incubate for approximately 6 months before hatching.
Young hatchlings are energetic. Mental and emotional development is slow initially as their bodies grow. Hatchlings are kept together in various nests for 2 years, until their physical growth has slowed and their brains begin rapid development.
At this point, ger'kvay are sexually mature and can mate, but most will not get their first bonding for several years as larger more established males outcompete them.
Ecology and Habitats
The Koo Desert of Tes is a large, dry landscape. On the outside of the region are flat lands dotted with rocks, shrubs, and various water-retaining plants. Closer to the coast, the landscape becomes much rockier, with crevasses and low hills and plateaus.
The rocky eastern area of the Koo Desert is where most ger'kvay call home. They use the ravines to access the low water-table and escape the sun during the day. Their hands and feet making climbing over the rocky walls and cliffs easy, but ropes and ladders are more common with pulley systems used to raise water up high.
Ger'kvay have difficulty adjusting outside of these environments. Their skin is ill-suited for wet environments, easily becoming infected without careful monitoring. Anyplace much cooler then where they developed leaves them lethargic and slow.
Only a few places in the world have actively attempted to make their cities or buildings ger'kvay friendly, and the unique physical necessities of their bodies make them ill suited for traditional employment outside of their culture.
Dietary Needs and Habits
As carnivores, ger'kvay survive mostly on meat, but consume a small range of soft fruits and berries as well. Most ger'kvay need to consume about half their weight in a sitting, done about once a month.
To accommodate their higher population, they practice small-scale agriculture, keeping berry and fruit-bearing plants protected from other animals and raising small lizards and mammals to eat whole.
Hunting is still done for larger prey, with the hunting parties favoring ambushes and traps to catch them.
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Ger'kvay are dichromats without rods in their eyes. Though their eye-sight is quite developed compared to other reptiles, they are consider red-green blind, possess poor night vision, and can, in general, see half the distance of the imperial races.
Hearing is also much less prominent in the race. With a frequency range only 20% that of a human, they are deafened to many of the higher pitches other races perceive. Taste as well is muted compared to humans, but is used to help scent the air.
Like many reptiles, the ger'kvay use smell, amplified with their tongue, to distinguish what is nearby. Their sense of smell is complex enough, and powerful enough, sense an approaching being in the desert from five miles out, or find one particular being in a busy city within a block of themselves.
This sense of smell is also a major indicator of emotion, with chemical signatures being released from the upper chest and throat to communicate with one another. Necking is a common method of communicating with distraught individuals.
In addition to these senses, in their pads, ger'kvay have extra nerves specialized in feeling movement. The sensitivity is strong enough to sense an approaching vehicle before it can be heard in a relatively mild terrain.
Civilization and Culture
Naming Traditions
At hatching, each ger'kvay is assigned a number, painted on their backs, and watched as they grow. When they leave their nests, they are assigned names by the caretakers based on their attributes.
Amending this are the generation names, with each generation named after the year as reckoned by the chief. The years cycle through twenty different plants and animals before cycling again.
When tribes meet to trade or migrate, they use a tribal or village name, which comes from various origins, but often relates to the geography of their home.
All these names are extremely difficult to speak for other races, and will often address them in their own native tongue.
First Names
Warrior, Feeder, Striped, Toothed, Gazer, Climber.
Generational Names
Falconbrood, Rabbitbrood, Scorpionbrood, Flowerbrood, Milkbudbrood, Viperbrood
Tribal Names
Bent-Waters, Pointed-Rock, Red-Dirt, Shadow-Garden.
Example:
Bright Deerbrood of Deep-Well
Major Language Groups and Dialects
The ger'kvay language, called Gervay, is shared by all tribes, with dialects that can become quite different on extreme ends of the region. The language is mostly oral, with only a simplistic written form.
Other races cannot speak Gervay without tools to mimic the hisses, snaps, and guttural noises associated with the language. Many translators rely heavily on these tools, using them like instruments to keep the conversation flowing.
Ger'kvay are equally unable to speak the language of any other race, as of yet. With their thin tongues, large maws, and nasal cavity different from the other races, most can only manage a few words, with difficulty. Some have learned how to listen and read other languages, but this has been the extent.
Interview on Knowing the World Today
"As controversial as it is, I actually do support the Albanian 'Relocate and Rehabilitate' project. The ger'kvay have been abandon and have grown distrustful of the world. Tes wants nothing to do with them, and worse, seems to be against anyone else helping them. Alban has restored, modernized, and lifted the wergerfi, without destroying their culture. If we could do the same with the ger'kvay, the world would be richer for it. Imagine that future for a moment. A future where your team could have more than just humans and elves with a couple rare local-only races. A truly beautiful and global world."
Population
~ 20 million
~ 20 million
Lifespan
60 years
Average Height
5'
Average Weight
180 lbs.
Average Length
7'
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