Name: Guwaghaii, 'Collective of the Mountain Peoples'
Picture and/or physical description: Huge (the average adult being 20 Meters tall) quadrupedal beings similar in shape to gorillas, albeit lacking a head, and legs ending in club-like feet. Rather than a head, their upper body ends in a stump containing a pair of sockets (for sight) and nostrils. Their internal organs, including neurological and cardiovascular systems, lie inside their skeletonless bodies, separated only by tissue and muscle rather than bone. Guwaghaii lack skeletons as their exterior consists of an extremely durable exoskeleton, giving them the appearance of mobile monoliths. Their mouths rest on their underbellies; to eat they lower themselves down, open their armored carapace and suck in whatever food they have found. They also communicate orally, with tonal, guttural words that boom from their mouthplaces.
Racial characteristics:
- Tough Exoskeleton: Guwaghaii posses a tough, almost metallic exoskeleton, which protects them from both otherwise deadly creatures and their rough mountainous habitat. The downside to this is their lack of any sort of agility, moving at a turtle pace. In cases where they must resort to fighting, they usually strike at the ground to send rocky debris flying at hostility.
- Herbigeovores: Guwaghaii subsist on eating plant matter, as well as minerals-rich rocks, for nutrition.
- Exponential Growth/Long Lifespan: Guwaghaii start out life the size of a pebble, but continue to grow as long as food is around. This leads to the oldest and largest Guwaghaii being over 32 meters tall and nearly four-hundred years old. The "natural" death of a Guwaghaii, if it makes it past 300 years of age, comes as a result of them being too large to move and support themselves, inevitably succumbing to starvation and exhaustion.
- External Reproduction: Guwaghaii reproduce similarly to frogs. A female will lay a batch of eggs, which any nearby male can fertilize.
- Fast Learners: Being tough and big will not be enough to get you by on a harsh, rocky world. Guwaghaii are not necessarily smarter than other sentient beings, but they do pick up on ideas from both the environment and each other at a notably speedy rate.
Racial Biography: The Guwaghaii species came about as a result of billions of years' worth of chemical reactions with rocky structure, which at some point resulted in a biological outcome. The Guwaghaii are patient giants, lacking the agility to excite or fight amongst temselves. They enjoy the company of each other and other friendly life, such as the Hibwutai, a flying bovine-like creature that coexist with the Guwaghaii, nearly to the point of domesticity. The Guwaghaii prefer discussion and chatter to angry screaming, and frequently even engage in harmonic singing with each other.
Location: A diverse planet, ranging from sweeping plains, to vast jungles and sweeping deserts. Typically, these biomes are seperated by a large body of water, resulting in each landmass having its own ecosystem. The Guwaghaii inhabit a Northern island landmass defined by rocks and littered with alternating mountains and valleys. They know nothing else of the planet, besides the surrounding ocean.
Technology:
Tribal Era - Masonry