Lorath Physiology

The lorath are a humanoid monotreme species notable for their white hair, grey skin, black feathered wings on their back, and golden eyes. As the lorath have different castes, this page will contain information pertaining to each caste as well as the species as a whole.

• Come in three unique flavors.
• May have greater than human physical capabilities, minor shape-shifting, or greater than human cognitive function.
• Resistance to psychoactive substances, and a greater capability to cope with those that do affect them.
• Immunity to spicy food.
• Small wings while generally useless for flight hit fairly hard.¹⁾

After copulation and successful internal fertilization, an egg begins to form within the female lorath over a period of three to four months during which the egg develops, expands, and forms a hard shell. Following development the egg is laid by the female and is then incubated and cared for by the parents as a shared unit for six to seven months while the young matures within the egg. After the six to seven months have elapsed and the young is done maturing within the egg and they begin the process of breaking free over a period of a few hours. The specifics of this development are affected by the parents' caste, genetics, and if of the lmanel caste aspectation; additionally the temperature, humidity, and local conditions of the egg after it has been laid has an impact on development making precise developmental times impossible to determine broadly, though lorath medical professionals are capable of assessing the development of an egg on an individual basis.

Upon hatching a lorath is developmentally equivalent to a human of three or four years old. Freshly hatched lorath are typically capable of self-locomotion within the first week of life, and are able to speak with some mastery within their first month of life typically becoming fluent within their first year.

Lorath then physically mature over the next several years becoming a fully developed adult at… At which point they typically begin having children of their own driven by a strong maternal instinct.

Modern lorath have a natural longevity of 250(?) lorath years²⁾, however modern lorath medical science is capable of indefinitely extending the modern lorath's lifespan. Due to recent turbulence in the history of the lorath however, individuals approaching 200 years of age are quite rare.

All lorath have a humanoid body type with a general vertical symmetry. Their body is designed to stand with an upright posture their head sitting upon a neck connected to their wide-hipped torso which is flanked by two arms transitions into a pair of muscular legs. A secondary pair of limbs is anchored to their upper back hinting at their avian evolutionary heritage taking the form of, typically small, wings.

As a species lorath typically have athletic builds with few members of the race developing excessive fat deposits, with the notable exception of the chests of Lorath women which on average exceed human women in size.

• Fyunnen: At a glance average members of the Fyunnen House posses a lean, athletic build much like that of a martial artist with additional notable muscle development in the hips and thighs. While most Fyunnen are not overtly muscular when at rest, it is easy to see the movement of their musculature when in motion, and the source of their strength becomes truly apparent when actively engaged in a task that requires it. Additionally Fyunnen females are notable for possessing busts above the norm for their species.
• Lmanel: As a result of the genetic bonding of the Lmanel house, there is no true average body type for the caste, with individuals taking on physical attributes mimicking those of the animal they are bonded to. As such members of the caste may be thinner, softer, or physically intimidating relative to the lorath average with no obvious trends. Like the Fyunnen house some Lmanel are known to have notably large busts well above the species norm.
• Occhetian: Being more cognitively inclined, the Occhestian House is the closest to the human average with thinner, less physically imposing builds being prevalent throughout the caste. Despite their lack of physically centric attributes the caste's belief in a healthy body promoting a healthy mind lends to Occhestians being quite fit and often well suited to running.

Naturally every lorath possesses two arms, each one starting at a shoulder connected to the torso, a single elbow and wrist connecting to a hand which features four fingers and a thumb.

The two legs of the lorath body start at the pelvis and travel down to a forward facing knee forming the thigh. Past this point the lower leg connects to an ankle attached to a plantigrade foot with five toes of descending size from the inner most to outermost. The leg muscles of a lorath are notably well developed and are almost universally quite large compared to the arms.

The final set of limbs consists of a pair of black feathered wings which are anchored to a ball and socket joint present in the back of the lorath's rib cage near the smaller shoulder blade structures which attach to the arms. Each wing features a skeletal structure comparable to the arms with an 'elbow' and 'wrist' joint. Long fused 'fingers' form support for the wings. It is notable that in most lorath individuals the wings are much too small to provide flight, as well as the density of the bone material providing too much weight leading to the wings being safely be considered vestigial. Despite this if trained lorath wings can provide some utility as a secondary pair of limbs, and at the very least can be used for striking in self defence.

While the specific ranges of lorath height vary greatly between the three castes the species is noted as having adults ranging between 4' and 9' on average giving the lorath species a large variety of physical form in height alone. The average weights of an individual range from 100lbs for the smallest adults to 800lbs for the largest with some variances for different dietary practices and varying levels of physical fitness.

It is notable that in the lorath species the female is typically larger than the male both in height and muscle mass.

• Fyunnen: Females within the Fyunnen House are typically quite large, with none existing below 175cm (5'10“) and a maximum of 270cm (9') having been regularly observed with the average sitting around 210cm (7'). Males are typically shorter though they maintain the caste minimum of 175cm (5'10”) however they rarely reach 240cm (8') in height with the caste average for men sitting around 188cm (6'3).
• Lmanel: The Lmanel House is the most difficult of the castes to quantify as the genetic bonding process³⁾ usually has an impact upon the height of the individual making some individuals much shorter, or taller with no clear average. Despite this Lmanel can be safely assumed to exist within a range of 60cm (2') to 450cm (15')?
• Occhestian: Females and males of the Occhestians House are largely homogeneous with a shared average height of 165cm (5'6) and with some rare individuals reaching 180cm (6').

• Fyunnen: Owing to their size, as well as increased muscle and bone density of members of the Fyunnen House, females are rarely found below 90kg (200lbs) with individuals ranging up to 550kg (1210lbs) in the tallest and most muscular individuals. Males of the house being smaller typically range between 86kg (190lbs) and up to a maximum of 360kg (800lbs) at their tallest.
• Lmanel: Due to the impact of genetic bonding with animals upon individuals of the Lmanel House, the weights vary wildly between individuals, however it is unlikely that a Lmanel will weigh less than 23kg (50lbs) or more than 2300kg (5060lbs).
• Occhestian: Not featuring any natural musculoskeletal enhancements or quirks members of the Occhestian house typically range between 45kg (100lbs) at lightest, and 90kg (200lbs) at the heaviest.

Lorath naturally have smooth nearly hairless pale grey skin. Due to their prolonged time spent beneath the surface of their planet all lorath are born with a sensitivity to sunlight which irritates their skin in direct contact, as well as leaving them prone to damage from UV radiation with extensive exposure.

Most lorath have hair which grows on in abundance on the the tops, sides, and back of a lorath's head, keeping off of their ears and the majority of their face save for their eyebrows and eyelashes. Male lorath like male humans are capable of growing full beards. As a result of five millennia spent underground the lorath species has lost natural pigment in their hair and as such all lorath have naturally white hair.

Lorath have two evenly spaced eyes on the front of their head flanking a bridge which leads down to their nose, a structure with two downward oriented nostrils. Beneath this is a single horizontally oriented mouth typically sealed by lips with a pink cast due to the thinner skin. The mouth proper contains a mirrored set of teeth on the top and bottom jaw surrounding a short prehensile tongue. On the left and right side of the head slightly below lorath eye level is an ear the exact shape of which is determined by the individual's caste.

• Fyunnen: Members of the Fyunnen House are easily identifiable by the 5cm (2in) of extra height to their ears which tapers into a point. Otherwise the ear is structurally similar to that of a human's ear superficially.
• Lmanel: The Lmanel House is known for their unusually long ears, which is nearly as bestial as their spirit. The shape of the ear is a long tapering triangular shape which terminates in a trio of triangular spikes. Some have suggested that the Lmanel ear may be an exaggerated example of a feline ear.
• **Occhestian:* For the Occhestian House the ears are rather unassuming being much like those of the Fyunnen house, though lacking the extra pointed feature, instead having a curve like that of the human ear, though the lobe of the Occhestian ear is fused to the jawline.

Lorath have fairly good sight, with three color receptors and a separate set of cells for low light monochromatic vision. Their eyes have an iris which is most often golden in coloration restricts the light allowed to pass through the lens to be interpreted by the retina of the eye.

The dentition of the lorath is composed of sixteen molars, four canine, and eight incisors split between the upper and lower jaw evenly and cradled by gums. The interior of the mouth features a short prehensile tongue, salivary glands, and mucous membranes covering the interior surfaces of the lips, cheeks, and palate.

The lorath species is capable of a wide range of nuanced taste comparable to that of humans, however they are unable to detect capsaicin and it does not interact to any great effect with their physiology.

Vocalizations made by lorath are produced by running air past a structure designed to resonate at varying frequencies as dictated by muscular action, this sound is then modified by the position of the tongue, jaw, and lips to produce a wide range of sounds in a variety of registers.

As a whole lorath sensory perception is comparable to that of humans, the primary difference being the lorath's inability to taste capcaisin.

The lorath skeleton is notable for its composition having formerly been a hollow light weight structure comparable to that of avian species, however over time the density and composition of their bones has changed making them incredibly durable relative to bones of a comparable weight. The most obvious deviations in the lorath skeletal structure however are visible in their pelvis, and femoral bones which are larger than human counterparts, and the additional limb structures of their wings.

Anything of note here?

Lorath brains are located in their skulls. Notably lorath as a species learn incredibly quickly and remain mentally flexible throughout the course of their lifespan with an extremely small population of defects and illness as a result of the lorath eugenics and medical programs. Lorath brains are better able to deal with psychoactive compounds than most species and can tolerate doses of many compounds which would be lethal for humans.

Lorath are omnivorous eating a wide variety of organic matter sourced from plants and animals as well as select mineral compounds⁴⁾. Metabolism is comparable to humans? Lorath due to the presence of high quantities of psychoactive compounds present in almost all flora and fauna on their planet have an impressive tolerance for such substances.

Resistance to viral, bacterial, parasitic, and foreign material exposure was emphasized in the lorath breeding program making the lorath hardy against both diseases native to Lor as well as those which are compatible with their biological chemistry that is encountered on foreign worlds.

Lorath are as a whole a relatively intelligent species with a cultural emphasis on understanding lending to millennia of scholarly development in conjunction with their species wide eugenics program which has cultivated the species to be capable of rapidly assimilating, understanding, and applying new knowledge. This is most apparent in the rapid technological advancement of the lorath from an information age society to an interstellar superpower in only half a decade of their time.

As a whole lorath have a community-centric outlook working toward the betterment of the lorath people as a whole and taking pride in their work knowing that they build a better future not only for themselves but more importantly for the future generations to come. This leads to the lorath being a very tight knit and self-inclusive species, seeing themselves as being part of a while rather than individuals.

Interactions with other sentient species in their history however has bred a distrust into the lorath that causes them to display a cooly polite front toward other species.

While the precise outlooks vary from caste to caste, the lorath as a whole tend to be open towards other lorath, even those which they are not close to. This lends to the lorath as a people being willing to help one another even without pre-existing social bonds, as well as having a willingness to form new social bonds by mingling with others.

On average lorath will seek to spend time with those whom they are familiar with greatly enjoying social interactions within their lives sharing labor, ceremony, or relaxation together with equal desire. This lends to the lorath as a people rarely choosing to spend time in solitude as most times it is better to spend their time in the company of others.

Magic has been a large part of the Lorath's society since it's early conception, being viewed as one of the Goddess' gifts and carefully cultivated, studied, and maintained. As such magic is fairly prevalent in lorath society and is experiencing a renaissance after a brief 'drought' in which the lorath people were cut off from magic.

Due to the eugenics program of the lorath ensuring physiological consistency, only the Occhestian caste are capable of naturally manifesting psionic abilities, however lorath medical science is fully capable of enabling psionic capability in those not born to it.

Deformities and defects in general are rare in the lorath population. They are typically only found in instances where an egg was neglected or otherwise poorly cared for. As such lorath that hatch with deformities may bring social and governmental scrutiny upon the parents as the source of the deformity or defect is determined and corrected.

Additionally, mutations in the lorath population are extremely uncommon due to the species wide eugenics program, medical screening during gestation, and widely available gene therapy. In the unlikely even a mutation occurred and was identified the lorath would most likely correct it with medical procedures and corrective gene therapy.