Chupian

A WIP for funsies by Sarc.

A species created by Sarcopholacooda involved in the 'Echoverse' or otherwise 'Sarcverse' in quests Team Port Echo, HURON, The Vitruvian, and titular Chupian Date Quest.

An adult chupian male (left) and female (right)

CHUPIANs are a sentient species originating from the planet ALP DAGA in the Milky Way galaxy. They are distinguishable by their tall stature and similarity to Earth canines and camelids; such that they grow long necks and tails throughout their adulthood. They live in high areas--typically in settlements on the banks of mountains; their fur coat can help withstand wet and below-freezing temperatures during the winter solstice. They peacefully prosper among the rest of the galaxy as healers, mediators, and recreational workers and hold a seat in the Vaal-Gaar Constellation, a united federation of species.

History & First Contact

Chupians are the seventh species to be officially recognized by the Vaal-Gaar Constellation after its establishment, succeeding imortans and preceding tripods. However, their involvement with outside species has been recorded before the United War against the tripods, before the Constellation was formed to prevent another galactic conflict. Chupians volunteered in the United War as soldiers and, more importantly, healers and guides to safe havens. Their home planet was out of reach of the constant push of the tripods, allowing allies to retreat. There are several memorials and historic camps where troops rehabilitated.

Chupians were discovered by the gortians.

Biology & Physical Characteristics

They're like dogs but llamas.

Fur and Skin

Hydrophobic fur. Skin tightly knit. Chupians are fast swimmers.

Growth and Physiology

• Short necks as infants, long necks as adults.
• Thanks to innovation in medicine and knowledge shared between outsiders, the life expectancy of a chupian can reach 120 (terran) years. Evolution, unfortunately, had not accounted this longevity in such a short timeframe and their continuous growth of the spine can lead to many geriatric problems.

Sex, Orientation, and Relationships

• Human-like genitals
• Marriages happen, however relationships are more often open than closed. Chupians live in a predominantly matriarchal hierarchy, although males have their own small roles and hierarchies within the household and businesses. Royal subjects of the female sex can appoint males to sire their children, and will negotiate with the wife of the candidate despite what say the male has.
• All orientations are accepted between sexes/genders. It's also common in art and music for straight cisgender chupians to describe their love to individuals of the same sex without hinting sexual relations. Chupians may also describe the appeal of sexual intimacy with the same sex to be completely separate from actual practice. Outside species may handwave such confessions as 'no homo' but a chupian does not typically use such fallbacks.

Breathing and 'Lungwater'

Due to the overabundance of moisture in breathable air, most native fauna have adapted ways to prevent drowning from gradual accumulation of water in their lungs. While short visits to Alp Daga is safe, outsiders may experience discomfort in breathing within a decade of residence. Chupians have special thin fibers lining the inner walls of their lungs--their function is to collect moisture and transfer to a special sack separate from the organ. When this water-sack is full, the chupian may regurgitate to either spit out excess water, or even safely drink it, hence lungwater is commonly used to describe the fluid. While unappealing, it is generally safe to drink by other species in case of emergencies--as recounted by a lost Daatuteph excursion when a chupian offered his lungwater to save the life of a dehydrated traveler.

The secondary function of lungwater may originate from an ancestral reflex to blind predators during their animalistic stage. An additional chemical was added to further confuse and disorient the enemy, often by enlarging the blind spot or inducing visual migraines while the chupian escapes. Since then, the gland has been on its way to a vestigial status--although some individuals retain its potent.

Regurgitating water is an instinctive trait, and witnessed in newborns.

Culture & Society

Chupian colonists have a rebellious nature, having been raised in an environment that shares many ideals and cultures of other species. While such nature can be innovative in its own right, it doesn't omit destructive acts against the Constellation itself, such as the formation of the Nor-Nanhaal terrorist group.

Religion & Spirituality

There are many personifications of basic elements and ideals, but chupians have made personifications of very specific roles--such example being a god of 'the feeling you get when listening to nostalgic music or the beauty in realizing how small one's self is compared to the vastness of the universe'. While religion may be abundant, listed here are well-known figures. A majority of personifications are depicted as female, although there are male personifications however few.

• Ce'sil the Psychopomp Goddess: Not quite the goddess of death itself, she merely guides souls to their end. After death, a chupian will walk beside Ce'sil down a long hallway as an infant, watching portraits of their life while each step ages them by a year to the door of oblivion. It's often taboo among children to avoid hallways leading to shrines of Ce'sil.
• Goddess of fur and beauty: the fluffiest goddess of them all
• Goddess of snow and rain
• Poekkilope, the God of Frisson: The goosebumps, nostalgic, realization, or choking feeling such as when one listens to beautiful music, or experiences existential quandaries such as one's place in a vast universe. He's often depicted with happy tears staining his cheeks.