Valdermercan Biots
The oceans of Valdermera are home to many unique species. Among them are the symbiotic biots - a crustacean like creature that need a living 'host' in order to survive. In the wild, they can be found linked to with a number of different species, all of which are 'boundary' dwellers - that is animals, not fish, which live in the sea, but need air to breathe.
'Domesticated' biots are found among the Keftui - the island dwellers that harvest the seas and the ruins that lie beneath them. An islander bound to a biot earns the title of 'Tal' and is highly respected among the islanders.
Initially, the islanders harvested wild biots for their eggs, allowing newly hatched creatures to choose and bond with their manuan hosts. Eventually, the Tals learned how to breed their biots and now there are strict ceremonies that control the bonding process. TheTal jealously guard precious eggs, only bestowing them on their own children, or very, very privileged apprentices. The egg hatches into a miniture biot that seeks out a host, planting a living ‘probe’ that enables them to physically link to their hosts and create their unique alliance. They can share blood (thereby enabling the deep diving, as the biot provides extra oxygen to the host) but also exchange emotions and ‘feelings’ that enable a primitive communication between them.
Biots have only a minimal digestive system of their own. Their bond is a physcial one, created through the implantation of the 'probe', enabling a direct connection with both blood and nervous systems. The biots are 'fed' when connected - but they are capable of independent movement, withdrawing from the connection to walk or swim away from their hosts. In the wild this enables them to remove parasites and deter predators - for a Tal, this makes their biot a welcome companion that assists them in many ways, This includes enabling extremes of deep diving, as the biot provides extra oxygen to their host.
Biots share far more than blood - their link extends to empathetic experiences, both experiencing and influencing thoughts and feelings. A bonded biot is very loyal to their host, but can live independently, detaching themselves (and re-attaching) to their ‘probe’ limb. If a host is killed, they can live on for some time, but cannot reattach (the probe is only grown within the egg.) They may transfer loyalty to a child of a Tal, especially if they are hosting a newly hatched biot.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Biots are similar to some large land crabs, having a shield shaped carapace, but they come with eight pairs of legs and a long, prehensile tail that assists them when free swimming - and helps them maintain their grip when physically bonded. They scuttle like spiders when on land, with their tail rolled up like a scorpion.
Genetics and Reproduction
Their eggs are laid from an organ halfway down their tail, allowing them to be anchored along the underside of the edge of their carapace. They are hermaphrodite, but not self fertilising - a mating pair will exchange sperm with each other, and the Tal encourage their own biots to mate with wild ones to maintain their genetic diversity.
Additional Information
Geographic Origin and Distribution
Wild biots can be found in both salt and fresh water, but are more common in the equatorial regions which are home to the Keftui islanders. Some of the larger oceanic species migrate to temperate and even ice waters in the summer, and this appears to have no effect on their biot riders, which happily endure extreme conditions (heat, cold, pressures at depth) with ease.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Their empathy with their host appears to persist away from the physical bond, suggesting that they possess a level of extrasensory perception - a possibility supported by evidence that they can warn their host of danger, such as the presence of a lurking Stinger that they could not have seen using normal senses.
Origin/Ancestry
Legend has the Biot being gifted to the Keftui by the power of the Emperor - it is far more likely that they were originally bio-engineered, possibly by the Keans of the first Empire, or second Empire scientists using Kean knowledge to do so.
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