New Aquatic Race Proposal: Vhiyra - polychaete humanoids

The Vhiyra are a new sentient for the topazial sea i've been working on for quite some time. There are many storylines, interactions with other races and characters already bouncing around in my mind. and a rich history of struggle, success and evolution that lead to the creation of the evolutionary tree. I have some concept art as well, but i will see how everyone takes to them and if all goes well ill release the art as i finish subspecies and character and descriptions.

species size and body types (the "t" modifier stands for tubed, which just means its a view of the vhiyra when inside their tube)



Evolutionary timeline



General anatomy based off type c




its quite a long description as polychaetes have alot of seldom heard of structures and functions, lol nevermind a magical giant humanoid polychete.

I may try and condense the information a bit later on.



(EDIT: since i have since found out that Vurma is a city in sweeden) im not sure how i missed that while i was doing my name research on google since its so obvious as its the first thing that comes up when searching the name. my mind must have drifted into a false sense of originality and not bothered to check or somthing lol.

Vhiyra has become their official name!

well here it is! and if you see any spelling, grammatical or logic errors i may have missed, their identification would be welcome.

---------------------------------------------------------
VHIYRA
Vhiyra are a class of sentient beings with tauric bodies consisting of a humanoid body from the pelvis up and a form similar to that of polychaete worms below the pelvic area. Although always keeping within a standard body plan, depending on their species, their form, size and ecological niche can vary greatly.

Since the arrival of the Vhiyra on Felarya many millennia ago, the original ancestral race has diversified into many subspecies. Allowing them to have a representative in nearly all marine environments, and even some freshwater locations. Depending on the species the size of mature Felaryan adults can range from tiny lengths of a few inches to extreme giants of lengths nearing a quarter mile. Although some species of Vhiyra are among the lengthiest lifeforms of Felarya, they are nowhere near being the most massive, as their bodies are typically long but have very little girth.


PHISIOLOGY

Vhiyra are characterized by long segmented bodies lined laterally by bristle like structures. More primitive vhiyra bristles are unrecognizably small compared to the rest of their bodies, usually these almost bristleless variants instead have a cloak like structure called a vestment on anterior part of their worm body. This structure can move in a ripple motion to propel themselves slowly though the water for slow.

Vhiyra that rely primarily on filter feeding have ciliated plume like structures or radioles growing from the base of their humanoid torso giving them a anemone or flower like look and are often mistaken for Actiniaes. All plumed species of vhiyra have the ability to filter feed using the microscopic cillia on their feathery plumes, radioles or hair to extract organic material from the water. Larger species can absorb prey up to 5 inches in length, simply through contact with their ciliated surfaces, which for any swimming tiny or other small creature presents an extreme danger. Species capable of doing this have special chemical sensors that can recognize if any young (who start out very small in some species) of their own type have wandered too close and will not be absorbed as food.

Hair on a vhiyra is not simply a dead outgrowth as it is on most creatures, instead it is constructed from the same living material as their plumage thus making it slightly prehensile and acts as both a respiratory and filter feeding surface. Because their hair can be used to provide nourishment to their bodies it is usually kept quite long to maximize the absorptive surface area. Even the more carnivorous species who lack plumage still hold a bit of the ability to filter feed through their hair to an extent.

Some species use the cilia on their plumage to collect bits of hard material from the sea floor which they use to cement together into tubes. This is done using a special secretion released from plumed areas that solidifies once contact with the plumage is lost. The tubes they build are anchored to the sea floor and encase the entire length of the vhiyra up to their humanoid torso. The tube is not attached to their body and is simply a casing which allows them the freedom to leave at any time. However these structures are regarded as home, and for a 500 foot vhiyra to build another one at a different location to encase her entire body can take quite a few weeks to build and her soft body will be exposed during that time. It is possible to break up their tubes into portable pieces and re-cement them back together at a new location, but this is also quite a hastle. For these reasons tube building vhiyra, especially large ones stay sedentary most the time.

Some tube builders have learned to make evenly segmented tubes that allow the structure to flex like an acordion allowing for free movement around their anchor point. Some have even created lightweight tube designs that enable them to swim while encased by pushing water through the gaps in the segments and out the end of the tube. Each segment is held in place by the bristles along the side of the worm portion of the body so that the segmented parts do not float around randomly and movement is controlled. Tube builders have relativley soft bodies in comparisson to free-living Vhiyra, allowing them to retract and lengthen themselves a good percentage of their normal length. This comes in handy when needing to compress fully into their tubes to hide from any threats.

Most vhiyra are relatively slow swimmers or crawlers, faster than sea slug girls but not able to keep up with mermaids and chlaenas. there are exceptions to this in vhiyra with fin like bristles who are capable of short bursts of speed. However, even for the slow moving vhiyra, when their bristled bodies are anchored to a solid structure or the ground they are capable of lightning fast thrashing or retracting movements. for tubed or burrowing vhiyra, this means a speedy retraction into their home and for predatory ones it means being able to snatch up a passing meal in one second flat.

All Vhiyra also have two tentacle like appendages extending from the top and bottom of each ear and are anchored behind the ear to the head. The bottom one is oral in nature, having a sort of esophageal track, making it like a proboscis that leads to the back of the mouth. These oral tentacles have ciliated plume structures on the end that mimic the structure of the plumage on the body. Some species simply use them for filter feeding while others use them to catch and ingest large prey. These structures also act as a sensory organ by "tasting" chemical changes in the water.


In regards to the upper tentacle, in most species it is little more than a short extension of the ear, acting as a sensor for detecting pressure, temperature and current changes in the water, as well as electrical signals emanating from the bodies of other creatures. In some Vhiyra the top tentacle grows long and the oral tube shrinks to a vestigial size. Long non oral tentacles tend to grow a barb or claw on the end and are relatively more muscular than oral tubes. Whether oral or non oral, when these tentacles grow long they develop a scaled protective covering to protect against severing.

Felaryan vhiyra share a common ancestry to a giant abyssal species who survives quite easily in the immense pressures and pitch darkness of the deepest trenches of the Topazial sea. Because of this ancestry all vhiyra possess versatile eyes that can adjust to see anything from the shortest ultraviolet rays to the longest infrared waves. Some who are genetically closer to the ancestral race can even see x-ray and microwaves. The pressure resisting ability is somewhat present in most Vhiyra allowing some close descendants of the ancestral race to descend to great depths quickly without injury or need of deep magic. However the ancestral race themselves lack the ability to leave their abyssal zones of extreme pressure without sustaining damage.


INTERNAL ANATOMY

Vhiyra have no hard bone structure or exoskeleton, save for a few hard plates around the brain and supporting the face, and instead support their form and movement through muscle and a series of internal hydraulic chambers called the coelom filled with a special hydraulic fluid Some species also use these chambers to regulate internal pressure when decending through different pressure zones. This is done by taking in water from outside and mixing it with a concentrated form of the hydraulic and compressing it to create a higher pressure inside than their surroundings thus maintaining their form. However this porous system does not fare well out of the water and causes them to dry out rather quickly. This prevents them from travelling great distances on land as a Chlaena could, any land travel is slow and usually done during a heavy downpour.

Most vhiyra have a Crop and gizzard digestive system instead of a true acid producing stomach. The crop in vhiyra is similar in shape to the stomachs of other giant predators but does not do any digestive work, it is simply a storage compartment for food taken in through the mouth. The real work takes place in the gizzard area, the gizzard of the vhiyra is a lengthy pre intestinal tube lined with large modified cillia. In the first part the cillia are highly muscular studs that compress together and relax in rythmic motions, squeezing the life from any still live prey in a similar fashion to a pythons coils, once assuredly deceased prey is reduced to particulate matter by the more serrated cilia in the later portion, making it ready for absorption in the intestine.

Death comes quie quickly to any prey swallowed alive once entering the gizzard area and is a much less painful fate than being digested by the stomach acid typical predator. However being in the crop of a Vermichete is still quite "unnerving", as a group of humanoids here would be pulled down one by one into the gizzard. Rather than be all digested at once.

Digestive track layout varies slightly from species to species, generally the larger the typical prey size of the sub-species the more pronounced the crop and gizzard area is. A bacteria eating or filter feeding variant may just have one long intestine, while one who feeds on relativley larger creatures will have a large crop and gizzard. Filter feeding vhiyra with a pelvic plume also have a network of food carrying vessels that attach to the base of the plumes that carry tiny prey and particulate matter caught in the plumes directly into the intestine.

Vhiyra are not particularly picky eaters and will eat most any creature that can fit down their throat, predatory vhiyra species also have an ability to stretch their mouths wider to swallow larger prey although not even close to the extreme extent that a Naga can.


SEX DIFFERENCES AND REPRODUCTIVE HABITS

Unlike most worm like creatures they are not hermaphroditic and have a more advanced male/ female sex system. Typically in the larger, filter feeding and sedentary species the difference in size between the sexes is great, having a small male and large female. While more predatory species who are usually more mobile tend to have little difference in size based on sex.

It's a common trait in sedentary species where the female grows extraordinarily long for the males to barley surpass human size, barely passing 15 feet in length. The females in these cases have an egg pouch in their naval about two times larger than the stomach of a typical giant predator. It is in here that her mate will retreat to as a home for as long as they are together. This is also where the sexual receptacle is as and is where the eggs will be deposited and hatch. Pouched vhiyra also have the ability to form a mental link with their mates in their pouches when males connect their tails to a secondary port near the sexual organ. Allowing them to know each others thoughts and process information twice as fast. this port is often used in conjunction with intercourse allowing them to understand each others pleasure creating nearly perfect euphoric highs. Because of this soul sharing ability pouched vhiyra are known for their eon long monogamies.

The pouch area is surrounded by an extremely strong array of muscle and hydraulic chambers, protecting the undeveloped young from outside pressure changes, usually the pouch is filled with a nutritious, fluid that aids healing and growth that is also rich in oxygen. Because of its oxygen richness, if a giant pouched Vhiyra were to fill the chamber only half way up with fluid, the remaining air space would be breatheable because of the oxygen release and theoretically be able to support air any small air breathing life form in the pressures of the deep sea. the fluid also glows with slight blue light illuminating the inside of the pouch. whether the fluids properties are entirely scientific or have magical properties is not known .

Sexual practices among species with more equally sized sexes and no pouch, is either is carried out through external fertilization (where the eggs are carried on the outside of the body or left to float in the water in wait for male insemination, or most in some cases, intercourse using external sex organs

In nearly all cases concerning vhiyra the young start out at a very small, almost planktonic size. Usually never any more than an eighth of an inch, and are produced in broods ranging from 100 to 50 000 young. For unprotected young the planktonic stage can be an extremely dangerous and testing time, and in the case of free floating young a great amount are consumed by other creatures. however these extremely small young do not develop much of a consciousness until about a year old sparing them from the terrors of miniscule life. The start of their second year is when they begin to surpass their planktonic state and rapid growth toward their adult state commences. there are exceptions amongst the more mobile and predatory species who produce less, but larger, more developed young.


MAGICAL ABILITY
All vhiyra have an inbuilt ability to sense and tap into the primordial magic of Felaryas ley lines. However most of them are not trained to recognize this ability. To them, locations rich in ley magic simply give them greater comfort and ease of life, as their bodies as an involuntary function use the ley magic to amplify their biological functions and abilities. This quickening healing and regeneration time beyond normal Felaryan standards and allowing for more available energy for physical activity and in some cases, for those who posess it, the amplification of bioluminescence.

Ley line connectivity is more much more pronounced among tube dwelling species who are surrounded by their tubes that attach to the Felaryan seabed and are made up of Felaryan silt and sand. Free swimming species can still sense ley lines quite well. But are more influenced by it when in contact with the ground. This ability to sense the underlying foundations of Felaryan magic in its soil and ley lines combined with their natural sensory equipment avails them an extremely good predator sense although most of them use it more to their defence being filter feeders.

This connectedness to the streams of primordial magic also avails them a sort of anti magic ability similar to that of Felaryan insects. In areas crossed by Ley lines the bodies of Vhiyra naturally convert any coded (effectual) magic used against them back in primordial magic and release it into exterior ley currents. For example something like fairy shrinking magic would effect them initially, but would start to gradually dissipate immediately the same would be true of a curse. However those spellcasters aware of the workings of ley magic can alter their spell to compensate for the dissipating effect. This anti magic effect does not apply to magic converted into another form of energetic potential such as heat in fire spells or kinetic in earth spells.

Unfortunately for the vhiyra the constant flow of primordial magic through their body also interferes greatly with their own casting of spells. The constant in/out exchange of Ley magic tends to carry with it the first part of a spell while still attempting to compose the rest. It's like trying to write sentence with an eraser following close behind. So by the time you get to the end instead of " Ala-Kazam" you get "azam". For this reason vhiyra tend to be lousy wizards or mages of rule based magic. This erasure of magical codes usually results in nothing being produced at all, the spell blowing up in their face or a completely unexpected spell no matter how much they practice.

Although vhiyra have the potential to become powerful Ley magic users they usually focus on honing their natural survival abilities. Only a few have really delved into the control of Ley magic, but those who do put great effort into it often become legendary individuals. Vhiyra have actually developed more of a reputation for involving themselves deeply in Thaumaturgy, earning themselves titles as witches, shamans and Priests, are usually out for devious or clandestine purposes. but there are the odd ones who act simply as an oracle or messenger for benevolent beings.

---------------------------------------------------------

some of my source material and refrences


for A

for B


for C

for D

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm1UkqAYHM8

for G


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3US_Qi1-fA

for E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCarFwY-ZME

for F



for H


for I



http://www.starfish.ch/c-invertebrates/annelida.html

and of course the wiki page

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polychaete

Wow, this clearly had an amazing amount of time put into it. I'm genuinely impressed. It's a very creative idea too.
Perhaps we could work together to help flesh out this biome a bit - I've always been captivated by deep-sea life like this. It actually reminds me of my deep sea mermaid idea (not, that's not a shameless plug, I really think these two go together).
So would any varieties be liable to eat an unfortunate human diver they encountered?

P.S.: Maybe "wormaids" or "vermaids" could be a name idea. "Vermians" also could work.

oh ! the deep sea mermaid illustration was yours? interesting. i liked its scientific layout. but i think a more head on view of the face and body might help a little more with communicating the idea. i like the idea although there is already the "abyssal mermaids" who are featured on the Sea Depths wiki page, although im feeling that your mermaid would live to even greater depths than those would.

yeh i definatley have an interest in mapping out and developing some visual references for the sea in general. and i will be having to go into some more detail regarding the absolute depths of the sea trenches in connection with some of my "Vurmas". and any sentient living in those depths would have to deal with the super giant predators said to live there. which in the case of vurma "A" is to be highly communal along with massive lengths and hard tubes.

I think if i do attempt to show a bit more of the absolute depths i would still keep it sort of mysterious and haunting with many unknown and haunting creatures

i like vermians the best out your suggestions

lol wormaids is pretty comical but i dont think i want to relate them to mermaids at all.

maybe i can set up a poll if more people put forth some more name ideas and the community can vote on it if this idea of mine catches on.

in regards to the vurmas predation of human sized sentients, i have some notes that i had already written up that i can share.

LOW THREAT

A= highly unlikley to eat anything other than bacteria, which they form into cakes and other dishes, seasoning them with toxins released from undersea vents and detritus, pretty much anything gross on the bottom of the floor they have made various culinary concoctions from.
lol. the point being they are used to eating slimy, mushy, toxic stuff and their digestive track is adapted to suit just that, having just a long intestine suited for absorbing particulate matter with no stomach/crop and gizzard to digest larger prey. They could definatly eat somthing as large as a human but after just one, despite their size, they would feel very full and tired, like we do after eating a really tough stake. although actual humans are unlikley to come into contact with them since they live only at the bottom of the deepest ocean trenches in deathly pressures, and if a small sentient did make ti down this deep these vurma would probably be more curious and hospitable if anything. offering their visitors a meal of bacteria cakes , which are usually not much of a condolence to weary travellers.

C= this species is the first evolution wise to have a crop and gizzard system so they are perfectly capable of eating human sized creatures but the gizzard in this species is still quite small and their limit seems to be 3 human sized creatures at a time. they usually rely on filter feeding for most their needs and eating small non sentients. to actually get yourself eaten by them typically you have to get on their bad side. although during their "pregnancy" their hunger increases and they tend to be more willing to eat sentients.

its important to note that A and C have very small males only slightly larger than humans so the giant females are quite used to treating smaller creatures as people.

B= they are human sized themselves so they are really only a danger to tinies.

H= at 4 inches long lol not likley

MEDIUM THREAT

I & D = have well developed digestive systems and the males are half the size of females, so they can relate less to small sentients. although they have large arrays of radioles used for filter feeding they can also use them to catch larger prey using the cillia that run their length. although they are constantly filter feeding it only keeps them moderatly satisfied and they get no taste from this method of feeding. Eating larger prey gives them much more energy plus they find most small sentients quite delicious. so its not uncommon for these to go out of their way to swallow a few humanoids for lunch.

HIGH THREAT

F & G= they are specifically adapted for a carnivorous way of life and have no filter feeding equipment so they rely entirely on scavenging or hunting prey. (F) are bottom dwellers that cannot swim at all, they are more likley to scavange since they are quite slow crawlers, but they do have an ability to thrash the front part of their body around very quickly while the back remains on the ground. this allows them to catch any passing prey that wanders to close. (G) are fast swimming vurma who will chase down their prey. and are highly predatory and only scavange in absolute deperation.
both of these species have appetites and crop/stomach capacities comparable to that of a naga. they also have the ability to open their mouths wide to injest slightly larger prey though not to the same extent as nagas do. they posess pointed teeth that they more often use to grip large prey from escaping their mouth rather than for biting through flesh. however this is still an option for them.

E= the most dangerous and well known vurma to small humanoids of the felaryan mainland. They posess huge crop and gizzard systems that extend down into their worm portion, with crops capable of holding nearly 30 humanoids at a time!. They are most common in shallow waters along rocky shores, river deltas and even stagnant freshwater locations such as the great marshes, ponds or the malyra men. luckily they are also detritus feeders cleaning gross stuff from the water, so they usually only consume between 15-25 human sized creatures should the opportunity appear, which actually..still isnt much of a consoling thought. many of them greatly favor the part of the Motamo river that runs by the Mycoria forest for all the delicious fungal sludge and spore material in the water that they suck up with their oral tentacles. they find fungoids absolutley delicious and will somtimes creep their tentacles up on the land in hopes of catching a few, although they tend to try and not look at their monstrous appearances and simply toss them in their mouths as fast as possible to get on with the deliciousness. they are also known to often eat gerridis.
although both gerridis and fungoids can grow to larger sizes, these vurma have no probelm expanding their mouth and esophagus to swallow individuals up to 25 feet.

Well now. This is certainly a new idea with ALOT of effort put into it. I love it, I love every single part.

Nicely done and nicely presented. There's just too much for me to praise here.

thanks! the world of Felarya is really somthing unique. i personally see it like an anthropomorphic BBC nature documentary \(planet earth, blue planet etc.) . and its inspired a creativity in me that i haven't used for a long time, so i really want to see Karbo's world and the contributions of everyone else continue to grow and succeed. so yeh i did put some serious research (both of the real world and of Felarya) into this and tried to make them so they complement the life forms and terrain they interact with and to not negativley effect or take over any one else's ideas.

plus i love studying natural systems so it was a good opportunity to learn some more about a class of animal i had no knowledge of before this.

next i may put up the description and illustration of their homeworld to explain some of their traits before i start on individual subspecies descriptions and illustrations.

It's a very nice work here !  You attention to detail is stunning and it makes for a very interesting and really unique species
There are many traits I really like here,  such as the bacteria cake ( that one is cute XD )  Their relation to primordial magic is really interesting as well. I can imagine colony of them forming along Ley lines ^^
Very nice job !

hey thanks karbo. i was looking over the use of primordial magic in the wiki and there wasn't much creatures who can interact with it directly so i figured this was a good opportunity to expand it a little. and since polychaetes themselves are very ancient creatures, dating wayy back before the dinasaurs, i thought it would make sense to tie them in with primordial magic.

yeh they probably would have large populations along ley lines .
but i was thinking that some varieties would do equally well in areas in magic poor areas that instead have large supply of food. for instance species E that has a large presence in the mycoria forest area who feast on the fungal material and slime. but somwhere like stillmoon pond that has a great network of ley lines would proably be a good location for the tiny freshwater variety (H).

i see their relationship with magic being more supplementary than necassary as it is for faries, as faries use magic constantly for supernatural activity such as size shifting, and i always thought that their wings operated not only on the air based lift they generate but on a slight magical anti gravity effect as well, sort of like how the faries fly on the tinker bell movies, now that i think of it thats probably how they fly silently enough to sneak up on prey, imagine a giant Melany approaching beating her wings like a bee to fly, would probably sound like a fleet of helicopters! although i suppose she could sneak up in a shrunken state.

Anyway since the Vurma only use it to supply additional energy for needs that could be met through eating they would do fine away from ley lines, but would probably be much more voracious eaters in such magic poor areas.

my current view of ley lines which i used in is that they are similar to high voltage electrical lines, having an area of extreme potential and directional flow down the center, but emanate a feild around them similar to the electromagnetic feild except magical instead. and this is what determines the magical density of an areas soil. so i see them as not really a united force but rather dependent on one another. Im not sure if this is exactly fitting the current felaryan model, so if there are any magic specialists out there who can point me in the right direction it would be appreciated.

lol and with that deep sea bacteria eating variety, i imagined them having large areas of "farmland" where they grow thick sheets of bacteria on the sea floor, enough to easily feed even the most massive of them.

You've clearly put a lot of thought and work into this; impressive! I'd say they fit in nicely.

thanks french snack I've relly enjoyed going through everyones felarya related works and i think the world has some real potential so im putting my all into whatever i contribute, plus is a good opportunity to hone my creative processes.

heres the discription of the vhiyra homeworld plus a concept sketch of it from space and below the atmosphere



HADEOS - VHIYRA HOMEWORLD

Hadeos is the homeworld of the original ancestral vhiyra species that arrived on Felarya many millennia ago. It is an entirely oceanic planet plagued with a continuously turbulent atmosphere, Storms tens of kilometers high cover the skies in a thick blanket preventing all light from the systems star from entering leaving it in complete darkness save for the frequent lightning strikes and burning meteors . Hadeos' oceans are extremely volatile as well and heave consistently in massive swells, much of which exceed 1kilometer ( 3300feet) in height.

The deathly tumult of this planet is caused by its being in a solar system that has still yet to mature. The protoplanetary disc is still very present and the planet is under constant bombardment by meteors. However because of the thick atmosphere (which is about 10 times that of earth) most material is burnt up before reaching the ocean below. The heat from their friction against the atmosphere further agitating the storms in their violence. Many large meteors still make it though, striking the ocean's surface with tremendous force and fueling the raging sea. Still the planet has another layer of defense. the ocean is on average 50 kilometers (about 31 miles) deep, and in certain trench areas up to 80 km (49 miles) deep. This further shields the planet's surface from being broken up by the impacts. how this planet acquired such a vast amount of water so early in its development is a complete mystery.

Hadeos would seem to be entirely incapable of supporting life, but It is within the great depths of its ocean that life has emerged. The energetic potential of the radioactive elements of the early solar system and the copious undersea volcanoes of this world, rather than being a destructive force, has become the base energetic source for the creatures who live here. This being true all animals here have an extreme tolerance for both heat and gamma and other damaging radiation.
The creatures here have curiously evolved with a strange set of organic chemicals and cell mechanisms not only impervious to the effects of harmful radiation highly present in this solar system but in some cases actually use these extreme frequencies of Electromagnetic radiation to conduct a process similar to photosynthesis. Creating energetic chemicals that fuel the planets food chain.
Some species, instead of being completely blind as most creatures are here for the complete absence of "visible light", have instead evolved extremely powerful eyes capable of seeing anything from gamma to radio waves. To many a native of the planet the sea floor is luminous with radioactive material and infrared from the many underwater lava flows.

For such a dark world it would be expected that Bioluminescence would be rampant but it is actually quite rare and has only evolved relatively recently in the planets recent history. The appearance of this trait was synonymous with the development of complex social behavior in few species that required a more expedient way of communication to facilitate the demands of this social complexity.
Despite Hadeos being an entirely oceanic planet, fish like creatures are non existent here, vertebrates in general are unheard of . All life here exhibits fractal biology, radial symmetry or strange or wormlike symmetrical creatures even giant single celled amoeba like creatures can be found here. Bottom dwelling creatures form the majority but there are a few swimming varieties but all life stays clear of the upper 10 km of the ocean. Much of these creatures, even without Felaryan gigantism are large enough to swallow or absorb a human whole. It is possible that much of the strange monstrosities in the deepest parts of the Topazial sea and Dark Claw reef and the may have come over through a dimensional connection to Hadeos.

The greatest concentrations of life exist at Hadeos' polar regions, as the equatorial zone receives a great degree more of a battering by meteors falling out of their ring orbit around the planets middle. If compared to earth, the danger zone separating the north from the south would spread from Florida to the most southerly regions of Brazil. The equator itself is a virtual underwater hell where even under this great ocean the crust would be so battered that its constantly on the verge of being molten. Needless to say this constant bombardment leads to very hot ocean temperatures an average of 60 degrees Celsius (140 farenheight) And highs of 300 degrees celcius (572 farenheight) at the equator with the sea floor reaching temperatures around 1000 Celsius (1832 fahrenheit), the only reason the ocean isn't evaporating rapidly is because of the immense atmospheric pressure. The vhiyra evolved in the southern habitable zone and none have ever crossed over this deadly equatorial area to know what creatures exists in the northern half.

Hadeos has formed relatively late in the history of its galaxy from an especially massive supernova that was rich in heavy elements. so it is possible that its its sand holds large quantities of gold and platinum. But attempting to enter the planet's atmosphere even with an immense spaceship is almost as suicidal as trying to enter a gas giant's and would be taxing on even the strongest force-fields. Then there's the issue of making it through the pressure and torrent of the massive ocean. Hadeos has two moons that may contain similar valuable material but these are still quite dangerous due to the protoplanetary disc raining down death from above and their extreme surface temperatures.

Most space going vessels stay clear of this system entirely. It may be possible to enter the ocean depths through Lydus but you better be ready with some awesome technology or deep magic. It goes without saying that this world would not even be considered as a candidate for the Galfam-Abh MURCOWIH if humans were ever to discover it.

Are those captions in the corner the songs you were listening to when you drew that?
Also, when are you going to post this stuff on DA? I want to collect some of it.

oh ya they are music is a huge part of of most anything i create so i usually make a record of what i was listening to so when i go back to the sketch in the future i can replay the songs and get myself back in the same frame of mind as when i created it and recall the full meaning of what i was trying to communicate, i usually erase them and just give them a mention when im posting, but this was just a quick sketch.

ya i used ...

1)Gods gift -from Evangelion 3.0
for conceptualizing the view from space
and the turmoil of the sea and atmosphere.

and
2)chozo ruins - (from metroid prime)
3)earth temple - (from windwaker)
for the discription of life beneath the waves.

lol im going to probably do a big devart update this week , i just have a few more sketches that need cleaning in photoshop and then ill probably put em all up at once.

and up next for the vurma is the description of the ancestral species

hey, im back with some more vurma stuff, here goes the description of the ancestral species

ABYSSAL VHIYRA

Abyssal vhiyra are the ancestral species from which all other vhiyra evolved. They arrived on Felarya at the end of the Beasts of the Past era by what was probably a dimensional whiplash connection to their homeworld Hadeos. Despite having arrived so early in Felarya compared to other sentient species these vhiyra decided to stay in the depths of the Topazial sea and continue their lives as if they were still on Hadeos where they had always lived in the complete darkness and pressure of the sea depths. thus they remained completely unknown to the rest of the world and still to this day are seldom known. Abyssal vhiyra have use a language that is half spoken half communicated through light. To facilitate this they have four bio-luminescent patches under their eyes and small patches running the length of their curled ears. Using these together they flash codes to one another that along with sounds form their language. This, even when decoded by felaryas translation spell often still comes across misconstrued and can be quite confusing.

The worm portion of the abyssal vhiyra bodies resembles that of a giant tube worm, having a long slender tail and a wavy flattened vestment structure closer to the anterior end Females possess a red plume structure that wraps around the base of their humanoid torso while the males lack this feature entirely. Both male and female long scaled oral tentacles with a plumed structure on the end resembling the females torso plume. however male's tend to be shorter and with a more rigid plume, stiff enough to use as a sort of shovel. Their skin usually pale to the point of being pure white because of their life in the darkness, their iris is either a silvery grey or deep red or something in between. These vhiyra live exclusively in only the deepest trenches of the Topazial sea, usually seeking out volcanic areas to colonize around but also colonizing along ley lines.

Here at the basest parts of the Topazial sea and under the influence of Felarya's magical field the females of the species have grown to immense sizes. The males in comparison seem to have not been affected and stay very small, seeming to have a cap on their total length at 30 feet and a torso length of 6 feet. The females humanoid torso caps normally around 90 feet from head to pelvis, past this point growth continues through the production of longer and longer worm bodies, this allowing for an extreme average total lengths of nearly 500 feet, However some older individuals have attained lengths of nearly 1000 feet .

Even with these massive lengths, abyssal vhiyra have relatively thin and weak bodies that are specifically purposed for life within the tubes they build, the only real function of their worm bodies is to contain their long intestine and has very little muscle. When outside of their tubes they are limited to very slow swimming carried out by rippling their vestment and slowly twirling their entire body.

In general, abyssal vhiyra are extremely social creatures, as communal life is absolutely essential to survival in this hostile environment filled with enormous and dangerous creatures. The giant females build their tubes extremely close to other vhiyra, the closest being members of their immediate family and friends, usually they are only an arm's reach from their closest neighbor. The small males tend to be more free swimming, not spending much time in their tube. Males who have a mate will retreat into the naval pouch of their wives either to rest or upon the first sight of danger. If they have small young the male will usher them in here as well. Single males retreat to small tubes on the sea floor beneath the shelter of their giant female relatives.

These vhiyra are usually non confrontational and pacifistic preferring to hide in their tubes rather than fight if a giant predator is lurking around the colony. However they do have one strong defense. Abyssal vhiyra not only in have a high resistance to heat but also have the ability to actually produce high levels of heat. The bio-luminescent filaments that line their oral tubes have the potential to produce massive amounts of infrared which serves as weapon to repel threats. If irritated sufficiently by the presence of a persistent predator. The giant females who would be now hiding in their tubes will let extend their tentacles float up from out of their tubes then all at once every large female in the area will begin to produce intense infrared and red light. Whatever predator is roaming too close will now receive an instant intense burning sensation all through their body and must retreat lest their flesh is cooked.

Being the defenders of the colony the women take shifts on guard duty. Scanning the darkness through their near perfect dark vision for approaching threats. The males are most often the ones who carry out child rearing duties, but off duty females that aren't exhausted from repelling a predator will also take time to play with their tiny young.

In regards to their diet, abyssal vhiyra are highly unlikely to eat anything other than the bacteria they farm on the sides of their tubes and in thick blankets on the sea floor. This they form into cakes and other dishes, seasoning it with toxins released from undersea vents and detritus that floats down from above, pretty much anything gross on the sea of the floor they have made into various culinary concoctions.

They are used to eating slimy, mushy, toxic stuff and their digestive track is adapted to suit just that, having just a long intestine suited for absorbing particulate matter, with no stomach/crop and gizzard to digest larger prey. They could definitely eat something as large as a human but after just one, despite their size, they would feel very full and tired, like we do after eating a really tough stake. Although actual humans are unlikely to come into contact with them since they live only at the bottom of the deepest trenches in deathly pressures. If a small sentient did make it down this deep these vhiyra would probably be more curious and hospitable if anything, most likely offering their visitors a meal of bacteria cakes, which probably wouldn't be much of a condolence to weary travelers of any other species.

However peaceful they may be, it is unwise for a small visitor to let their guard down when moving between the giant females. When awake they pose no threat to smaller creatures, however once they go to sleep it's a different story. Their oral tubes involuntarily search for food even when they are asleep and quickly suck in anything eatable. Usually they just collect the bacteria growing on their tube, but if any creature under 7 feet in length makes contact with the plumes on the ends of the oral tube they can be sucked down in an instant. They will be then conveyed through the tube to the back of the mouth where an automatic swallowing reflex is active during sleep. The small males and young have nothing to fear from this threat as the plumes have chemical sensors that will reject others of their species as food, but for different species the danger is very real. There's also a chance one of the women may eat you if you threaten or endanger their family as it's a good quick way of dispatching a problem, Its more likely to just get thrown out of the colony but it's probably not wise to test your luck. Most the time it's easy to get along with them even if you can't understand their language entirely, and they are more than happy to provide shelter from the unforgiving deep sea to those venturing its depths.

Musical influence:

Lord of the Rings - Concerning Hobbits