TfT – Sentient Species – Siij

Siij

Physical:

Barely qualifying as sentient, the Siij are a blight on all they come in contact with.  The Siij straddle the line between animal and plant.  Though they are free thinking and mobile, they grow from a rooted, tree-like queen.  They are birthed from pods that grow on her limbs, dropping to the ground when they are ready to hatch.

Social:

Their society is run completely on instincts that override any free thoughts that might interfere with the program. Their life cycle is based on a tribal-wide occurrence that happens every year or so.  A new Mother will split and once fully grown, (within a month) will begin to walk.  During this mobile stage the Mother never communicates.  On the birth of a new mother, the tribe sets apart the bravest and strongest members for the Journey.  When the new Mother starts to travel, her entourage follows and protects her.  They never know where she is going or how far it will be before she settles down and morphs into her next life-stage.  Once she does, her legs turn to roots, and her arms to limbs.  At that point the new tribe begins scouring the surrounding area for meat to feed her.  They also strip bark and leaves, devastating the environment.  As they destroy the area around the Mother they are forced to send out envoys further and further to sustain their tribe and its replenishment. As they are in constant conflict with any civilization they come near, they are very competent warriors.  

One very unique feature of the Siij is their huge variance in physical appearance.  Deformities are common and accepted.  Every individual finds some niche in the tribe to fill.  Being omnivores, every size of Siij can hunt something, even if it’s just worms.  If a Siij is born with no legs, he could get lookout duty, or grooming duty.  Many are born with four legs and no arms.  They are useful for dragging back large prey and carrying weapons or rations.  

Their language is rudimentary, mostly composed of clicking and rasping sounds.  It could be described as dried palm leaves scraping together.

Individual jobs are bestowed based on ability, need, and the intelligence of the nutrients affecting their growth.  For example, a tree that is fed enough humans will start producing Skilled Hands, Siij that can craft rudimentary tools, skins, baskets, etc.  All tribes have Chanters, which tend to be the smartest and act as coordinators and battle chiefs.  They have powers similar to the Mother Tree, to emit hormones and scents that manipulate the Siij under their command.

History:

Siij originate on Talifar from a meteor that bore a Mother Seed.  Siij are an artifact of an unknown alien intelligence and serve an unknown function, though ecological warfare seems likely.

Statistics: