A Brief Overview of the Shrilloh and Wur'ruryi
Wur'ruryi, as it is known in the whistling tongue of its natives, is one of several largish moons orbiting a gas giant in the habitable zone of what is now known as the
Wur'Oroh System, centered on a burnishing F-class star some 700 light years from
Sol. A dry, hostile place, its minute ocean -negating the modulating effect of a world ocean- and subjection to tidal and radiological influences from its fellow moons and the gas giant itself (known as
Wur'lwo) has lead to extreme temperature variations: hot summers and cold winters; sodden, humid coasts and dry, lifeless deserts. Due to this climactic extremism, where life did evolve it was decidedly robust.
Researchers are fairly confident that the
Shrillohh'heyalogh (or
Shrilloh for our purposes) evolved from large, amphibious and omnivorous coastal grazers, and an extant subfamily of aquatic grazers not dissimilar to sea cows and manta rays seems to confirm this hypothesis. Preying on small fish and cutaneous species, as well as sea grasses and coastal shrubbery, it appears that the earliest sign of tool use was likely some kind of netting to trap fish in their undersea burrows. They soon evolved to their current state; large, broad and erect, four legged with two low arms and a large, gaping muzzle between. With large, surveying eyes, prominent ears and two slits on the front of their large craniums, by which they whistle to one another. They also have a wide electroreceptive organ at the crown of their head, adding a secondary form of communication and giving the Shrilloh an excellent sense of direction.
Civilization in earnest began in the moon's eastern hemisphere, which was far wetter in these times. Written records do not survive, and it is unclear if any written language existed at this time, but evidence of large stone monoliths and sand-logged dockyards point to a maritime civilization of some magnitude. A climactic collapse, brought about by mismanagement of water resources, would cause a westward migration that became the basis of their earliest religion, an ecologically bent faith, and so began the common period of the Shrilloh around the Juro Ocean (or
Juro'hlilah as they call it). Due to its aggressive proselytization, the small size of Wur'ruryi and a lack of geographic isolation necessitating the emergence of rival religions, the faith -termed '
Nyila Wur' or 'World Care'- is by far the largest and accounts for the majority of the moon's 12 billion inhabitants.
Although the Shrilloh have had divergent politicisms and philosophies on a regional level, two predominating forms of organization emerged that have sustained themselves long term: the regional confederacy of city states and communes, and the desert nomads. The former consist of large urban agglomerations about the coasts and 'green' areas of Wur'ruryi, dominated by regional councils and occasionally monarchies, or a form of semi-direct democracy in the case of communes. Here citizenship is a fluid concept, as nationalism is not an especial force on Wur'ruryi, and so the Juro'hlilah has long been an interconnected and largely frontierless society. The worst punishment a Shrilloh could suffer is to be banned from a particular city. The latter nomads have long traveled the harsh deserts of the eastern hemisphere and occasionally the icecaps, first using enormous, crablike creatures to carry their burden and in modern times caterpillar tracked fortresses. They would extract resources from the desert in temporary or seasonal mines, journey to the Juro'hlilah, and sell their bounty to the city states. Ironically for being nomadic, they have a far stronger sense of sovereignty and are much more monarchical and chauvinistic, and many nomadic invasions have formed the basis of historical empires around the moon's single ocean.
When Humanity discovered the Shrilloh, they had already colonized the other moons of Wur'lwo and enslaved an emergent sapient species on one, the
Ylhala (literally 'slaves') and were exploring further afield. The Ylhala, though beyond the ambit of this piece, are a far smaller, variably hexpodal species on a small and more temperate moon that appeared to be subjugated three hundred years after the Shrilloh's first successful space flight. There appeared to be some greater impetus to colonization of interplanetary objects among the Shrilloh than Humanity, initially, as perfectly habitable planets were visible to the naked eye on a clear night. Though their treatment of the Ylhala is questionable, interstellar policy determines that Humanity may not intervene in the political affairs of a sovereign species, and the Wur'Oroh System and a garden of neighbouring stars have been cordoned off for their own use. That being said, there is a small population of about twenty thousand humans and other protected sapients throughout the system, often as attaches, anthropologists and scientists. Shrillohs outside the Wur'Oroh System are not especially common, in part due to their size compared to every other sapient species in the
Stellar Shura (the next largest species, the
Uxtr, are less than half their size), but they are occasionally found piloting their own convoys or working in tertiary roles.
Climate
Wur'ruryi is particularly alien in terms of climactic evolution, and better resembles the Devonian or Carboniferous than the Anthropocene. These climates have been grouped accordingly for easy identification and categorization.
Fogland
The 'wettest' biome of Wur'ruryi, it is typified by large, roiling mats composed of vining, tuberous and radicle flora that form a dense canopy that traps and distributes moisture and absorbs solar and radiological energy (radiosynthesis is a commonality among Wur’ruryi’s flora). It rarely reaches above the upper leg of the average Shrilloh, though sometimes tuberous growths will form more vertical clusters akin to forests. At night, when it cools, excess moisture will often dissipate into steam or fog, hence their name.
Veldt
Veldt bears little resemblance to the African safari that shares the same name, and is merely termed as such due to the plethora of large animals that dwell upon it, such as the charging
Wyllo and the enormous, yet fragile grazing
Tiyahara. Veldt is typified by multitudinous, thin vines that drape the ground in lieu of grass, small agglomerations of the same plantlife that composes the aforementioned fogland and a number of taller plants that are the only flora that could adequately be described as trees. It also possesses many rivers and hydrological features, drawn both from the excess of the neighbouring fogland as well as the many mesas that punctuate Wur’ruryi.
Grist
Grist might best be described as a form of prairie, and is dominated by a single exceptionally light and hardy groundvine that behaves more like a grain than a scandent stem, swaying in the wind rather than crawling up trees. It is also the traditional pastureland of most Shrilloh pastoralists, where herds of
Vohf, furry hexapods the size of mammoths, are raised and harvested. This practice remains even in modern times, and owning a herd (as well as Ylhala attendants to said herd) is seen as a sign of wealth.
Tableland
These enormous, raised mesas are a surprisingly temperate region. Rain collects atop them and so fuel the Veldt below, while mossy rock-fields dominate the Tableland itself, threaded with hardier varieties of the Wur'ruryi vine, many scurrying creatures, and intermittent clusters of giant flowering plants. Many house historic cities and monasteries, which served as bastions against nomadic invaders throughout history, and quite a few have been hollowed out into enormous subterranean cities.
Brush
Sparse but not necessarily water-starved highlands between the desert and wetter regions, the brush has traditionally served as a borderland between the desert nomads and the coastal city states. This has translated into vast, uninhabited tracts in modern times, and it is known to house many runaway Ylhala and the occasional Shrilloh criminal (and there is some suspicion among Shura observers that felonious humans may have found their way there as well). Biologically the brush tends to be dominated by something akin to succulents and cacti, as well as burrowing animals and scavengers. One such scavenger is the only land-based subfamilial relative of the Shrilloh themselves, a crawling ray of an animal, which can be unnerving due to their resemblance to their more sophisticated cousins.
Desert
This is perhaps the most recognizable biome to Humanity, being largely composed of rolling sand dunes or salt flats as far as the eye can see. However due to the greater presence of more exotic minerals as sodalite and silicate these dunes can range in colour from red to green to blue and beyond. It is occasionally punctuated with oases and mining stations, or tracked with the mobile fortresses of the nomads, but is still vast and forbidding. Most wildlife is some form of flying animal or snake, though there is the large crablike
Shwereh that have traditionally served as beasts of burden for the nomads, though this is for sentimental reasons in modern times.
Dryland
Prior to the icecaps themselves there are great, barren tundra, with thinly stretched plantlife and tarnished ponds forming what little life can survive in these extreme climates. Not much life exists here, except for woollier relatives of the Vohf and Wyllo and a few smaller scavengers. Unlike the Brush and all its legends and runaways, however, which is somewhat livable with the right equipment, the Dryland at either pole in almost wholly inhospitable.
Radiosynth
The coasts of the Juro'Hlilah, particularly at the equator, are full of clamouring mangroves of vines and twisting plants each attempting to simultaneously reach for the sky and into the depths of the ocean. This is in order to maximize their exposure to radiation, both from Wur'lwo and the radionuclide infested waters, so that they may undergo radiosynthesis. This at once collaborative and competitive environment has lead to all manner of plant life in the radiosynth and they have long been farmed for what may be described as fruits, sweet meats and a plethora of crops which demarcate the typical city state diet. However, the radiosynth is completely toxic to humans even with genetic modification.