Ialy

Anatomy

Ialy have somewhat hyaena-like heads, with a short muzzle, large nose, and large, rounded ears. An ialy’s jaws can open to a near-30° gape and are capable of crushing bone.

Their arms are long, reaching their knees, and their hands are large, and five-fingered, with blunt claws at the end of each digit, which early ialy used for digging out extensive warrens or shallow “scoops” to rest in. These structures allowed ialy to sleep in safety, with only their venomous quills exposed to predators.

Ialy are adapted for the subtropics: high humidity, warm to high temperatures, and high rainfall. They have a layer of waterproof fur all over their bodies and are fair swimmers, but more comfortable on land.

Sex differences

Male ialy are about 10% smaller than the females, with comparatively smaller hands and slimmer jaws, but they are still capable of using their teeth to crush bone.

Ialy quill size and placement is sex-dependent, with females having more, longer, and thinner spines, but males having more potent venom.

Reproduction

The species is genetically predisposed towards multiple births, with three to five pups being common. No more than one of the young will be male, giving the global ialy population a female-to-male ratio of approximately 5:2. New-born ialy are small (0.5-1 kg), blind, and entirely dependent on their parents, but grow rapidly, gaining up to 2kg every month during the first year. Families traditionally share child-rearing and feeding responsibilities, with siblings and even adult children helping to care for and nurse newborns. Due to the pressures of raising a litter, ialy are able to delay development of implanted embryos, allowing them to stagger births to allow for the greatest chance of survival for their own young. Undeveloped embryos will eventually be reabsorbed into the body, and a pregnancy delayed in this manner may contain fewer pups than average.

The largest single-male litter on record is seven children; although large (6-8) bimasculine litters have been documented, they are presumed to be the result of an excessively delayed previous pregnancy.

Growth stages

Ialy pups open their eyes between six and eight weeks old, and usually start complimentary feeding at twenty weeks, transitioning entirely to semi-solid foods at 8 months. At this age, there is already a notable difference in size between sexes, and parents must ensure that the stronger and more aggressive females do not steal food from the male. Experiments in raising males away from their siblings have found that isolated males consistently fail to meet developmental milestones, even when raised alongside other males, and suffer increased health issues and even food sensitivities in later life. The smaller stature of males is not attributable to reduced food in infancy and carers often unconsciously over-feed male offspring to make up for this presumed deficiency.

The skin and hair of ialy children are dramatically marked in high-contrast stripes and bright coloured, indicating to predators that they are poisonous - they are born with fully-developed venom glands. Quills develop during their second year and the warning markings begin to fade as they mature, becoming less noticeable past middle-age.

Diet

The Huswat name for ialy translates to ’eats all’, and the species is renowned for their ability to consume almost anything. They are opportunistic omnivores, and have a robust digestive tract that can manage matter that other species find indigestible, including nut husks, shells, and bones. They can and will eat non-food items, despite their poor nutritional value, and are known to ingest toxins of varying potency for recreational and spiritual purposes. The common belief that this consuming poison enhances their own venom is unfounded.

Ialy naturally follow a feast-famine eating pattern. They are able to consume several kilos of food in one sitting and may be quite comfortable eating only two or three large meals a week.

Perception and sensory capabilities

Ialy are widely considered to have poor eyesight, but this is a misconception. Their vision is attuned to movement and some ethnicities tend to be colourblind, making their eyesight poor in comparison to a yutaaq or a kana’ōnah.

Sight is a secondary sense for ialy; their primary sense is smell, with professional trackers able to trail people from multiple kilometres away.

Symbiotic and parasitic organisms

Symptomatic host of therianthropy.

Social structure

Ialy are extremely social and a traditional society comprises a number of intermarried matriarchal family units with multiple generations of related women living together. Young men normally leave home upon reaching adulthood and form loose bachelor groups before they find wives, though this may not occur in small families where the absence of one member could cause the unit to destabilise. Traditionally, a man would join his wife’s family but, in small and/or unstable families, the two family groups may merge.

Women generally remain with their family; in same-sex relationships, it is usually the younger woman who adopts a pseudo-masculine role and joins her wife’s family. Men in same-sex relationships may remain in a ‘bachelor’ group indefinitely, although some historic ialy families are comprised entirely of men in same-sex marriages who adopt young men into the family to continue the line. Men adopted into these families who go on to marry a woman would join their wife’s family in the traditional manner.

Ialy who do not fit within a defined gender role often join organisations that function as a ‘found family’ such as artistic, religious or academic communities, and/or integrate into mixed-species communities.

Geographic distribution

Originating in Ophoné and spreading outwards across islands and land bridges, ialy can be found worldwide, although their comfortable range excludes the most extreme cold regions.

Behaviour

Although they have reputation as carrion-eaters, ialy are highly efficient hunters. Historically, they would use spears coated with their own venom to inflict wounds on their prey, they would then back away and trail their prey over several kilometres until they can finish it off or it dies of blood loss.

While gigafauna predate on all sapient species, ialy evolved in an environment with a number of natural predators; a stereotypical ialy is, therefore, cautious and risk-averse, but can become extremely aggressive when cornered or when defending their clan.

Ialy reassure and reinforce social cohesion through mutual grooming, with hairdressers and barbershops being major social hubs. Grooming is used to repair relationships after an argument or may be substituted by gifts such as combs and perfumes.

As a social species, ialy have a range of sub-vocalisations geared towards maintaining the status quo. Baby-talk, comprised of chirps, purrs, chirrups, and squeaks, is used to show affection even between adults, while clicks and hisses show disapproval.

Civilisation and culture

History

Ialy evolved in the forests and rain forests of Ophoné. Historical ialy communities move between several regular warrens or campsites during the year, foraging and hunting as they travelled, with small family groups exploring between the islands by boat. Having already made landfall on North Erwa, they travelled across the new landmass, meeting the first representatives of the yutaaq nations in the Western Isles. The two species integrated, formed multi-species alliances that has lasted into the present day.

Common etiquette

When meeting a group of ialy, it is considered polite to greet the oldest female first, regardless of her social position or rank within an organisation.

Bathing and hygiene have a significant social role in ialy-led cultures. To prevent the spread of disease within a warren, an ill or infectious member is expected to isolate themself where possible and, in return, they may expect the rest of the community to provide for them during their convalescence. To knowingly spread disease or do harm to the community is taboo.

Ialy tend to be strongly community-orientated and many cultures consider it antisocial to pursue individual desires to the detriment of the group. Care of the elderly, vulnerable, and infirm is a social duty.

Common culture

Acquiring and eating food have particular significant in ialy festivals, and a festival is considered a success if the guests do not need to eat for several days thereafter. Although ialy cuisine is often inedible to other species, their focus on sociability means that they adapt it to be as inclusive as possible.

Many milestone celebrations, from naming ceremonies to funerals, feature special foods eaten only at that time. It would be unacceptable to eat these foods outside of these events.

Inter-species relations

Gregarious and co-operative, ialy get along very well with every other sapient species, especially yutaaq. With the benefit of their natural defences, they tend to be relaxed in the company of alien species and adopt a species-agnostic approach to community, forming the backbone of many budding cosmopoloi.

Ialy are often appointed as ambassadors to alien species as they excel at recognising individuals by scent, if not by sight.