* Natural history

Natural history (u/browneorum)

Arxur bear some similarity to Earth crocodyliforms, however their advanced terrestrial state supports the notion that they have not occupied a semi-aquatic ambush predator niche for tens of millions of years. For an arxur-like sophont to have evolved, a string of evolutionary pressures and subsequent adaptations must have occurred:

1. Movement onto land: A full terrestrial occupation would have been the first feature to have occurred. The crocodile bauplan is an evolutionary success story, emulated first in stem-tetrapods like Tiktaalik and Panderichthys ~150 million years before the first crocodilian. Their traits include a. eyes and nostrils placed high on the head to be vigilant whilst remaining beneath the waterline, b. a large, flattened skull filled with interlocking or pronounced teeth to trap prey, and c. a strong, paddle-like tail for aquatic movement.

All of these traits, whilst useful in the water, become hindrances on the land, but the face and head would be the first to change. Looking up is useful when you’re looking up at prey, but your vision would be better spent on eyes that can see where you’re going. Binocular vision, the ability to effectively gauge distance, would be most effective in a terrestrial predator. A large, flat skull could work; amphibians get away with it (keeping in mind that they are all aquatic, too), but such an animal becomes limited in that it can only eat what it can fit in its mouth. Most large carnivores tend to favor a longer, narrower snout that maximizes bite force and gape without compromising visual or olfactory capability. It also widens the zygomata (the cheekbones) for a stronger bite, and incidentally, frees up the back of the skull, allowing the brain to grow; the first tentative step toward sapience. Good comparisons would be baurusuchids, canids, and theropod dinosaurs.

The appendages would also have to change; the paddle-like tail would be reduced in favor of stronger, larger, more mobile limbs to move about on land.

This may seem like a colossal undertaking, but it is actually the most probable to occur. Populations become isolated all the time; all it would take is one river drying up over a prolonged period, one little pond that ran out of food, and the selection to move away from the water would take hold. Such changes have occurred in Earth’s history before; crocodiles have done so on a number of occasions, and indeed, one would be remiss to not point out that the entire tetrapod transition effectively occurred in this way. To use that metaphor fully: an Arxur is as different to their crocodile-like ancestors as early reptiles were to amphibians.

2. A more active lifestyle: But moving onto terra firma came with new difficulties. Where a crocodile is effectively a mouth in the river that waits for prey to come to drink, early Arxurids had to seek out their prey. Pursuit predation would not have been their earliest form of prey capture, as their anatomy would still be carrying a fair amount of aquatic baggage. Ambush would have remained their primary means of hunting, but their bodies would have to adapt to a different style of predation.

The primary means of prey capture by a crocodilian predator is a strong bite, inflicting major lacerations, shock, and bleeding, whilst dragging the weakening prey into the water, where it is drowned. Simple, brutal, effective. But moving out onto land compromises this, making escape from a slow-moving reptile more likely. Moreover, the crocodile can no longer rely on the water to drown its target, so if the first bite does not subdue the prey, it will escape. As well, ambush is made more difficult by the lack of water; a crocodile is a big, strong animal, but it is well hidden, no less, in the one thing a prey item cannot be without. If Arxurids were to survive, they would need to be able to actively catch their prey. Here, the changes would be subtler from the previous stage, more focused on the internal anatomy.

Firstly, the limbs must become more nimble, stronger, and capable of a longer stride. Crocodiles walk plantigrade (heel to toe, as humans do), and can move at great speed, but this is ineffective for a cursor. Their distal portion of each limb must be made longer, preferably with the extension of the digits into a digitigrade stance. A long, well-muscled tail, such as the early Arxur possessed from their crocodile-like ancestors, would become less flattened paddle, more thickened counterbalance.

Secondly, the loss of any impedance to the movement of the pelvis relative to the torso. True quadrupedal cursors, such as cheetah or greyhounds, maximize the length of their strides by stretching and shortening their mid-sections between each footfall. Early Arxur would not have been moving at such high speeds, but they would have still possessed gastralia (belly ribs) in their mid-sections that would have slowed them down considerably. Gastralia gotta go!

Thirdly, the teeth would have to change. All Terran reptiles have homogenous dental morphology, i.e., their teeth are just replicates of one another, most often simple pegs. Simple pegs are perfect for holding onto something, less so for cutting it up. Carnivorous reptiles (theropods, varanids, mosasaurs, etc.) all possess/ed flattened, serrated teeth. It is possible that Arxur may evolve further differentiation of their dentition, but on Earth this is a trait solely found in mammals. If such a change was to occur, the most probable justification would be an adaptation to a broader diet at this stage.

The final adaptation would be the next strong movement of the Arxurids away from animals and toward true sapients. Terrestrial predators must be able to strategize in a way their ancestors did not need to. They must take better stock of their senses, gauge the likelihood of injury and success. Many hunting animals are quite intelligent, but working alone can only get you so far. The next adaptation is probably the greatest yet, and requires a trait generally considered un-Arxur.

3. Group cooperation: Socialization; the act of interacting with others, of being social. All animals practice some form of socialization; dispute of territory, displays, and mating are all essential to an organism’s survival, and all require some ability to communicate. Modern Arxur are complex social creatures; this much is evident from their behavior alone, but it is also a prerequisite to building a society. An Arxur who lives alone, no matter how intelligent, dies alone. They have no one to talk to, to share ideas, or songs, or art with. In short, they build no culture, and that clearly is not the case. At some stage in their evolution, they must have developed some capacity for cooperation.

Pack hunting would be the most sensible assumption; a group of Arxurids could bring down larger prey than one alone or permit the rearing of offspring whilst others are away. But all this comes with profound implications. On Earth, packs are family units, built around mating and/or dominant individuals. It’s a sensible strategy; if I can safeguard others (even better those who share genes with me) then they will safeguard me. This makes a lot of sense, obligately enforcing group cohesion around shared communal bonds. This, we should also recognise, is the start of empathy. As the American anthropologist Margaret Mead purportedly said, 'The first sign of civilisation is in the setting of a broken femur.'

Some subtle physiological changes would occur to facilitate socialization. Individual recognition would be paramount; is this my brother, my lover, or my enemy? Unique color patterns, perhaps around the eyes, would be a good starting point. Specific vocalization is also found amongst pack animals and would be a strong driver of cognition. Here, a positive feedback loop could take hold; more interaction leads to more complex socialization, and with it, greater cognition that then adds to the strength of subsequent interactions.

At this point, an Arxurid is equivalent to a hominid in human evolution, akin to a great ape.

4. Manual manipulation & bipedalism: One of the earliest questions in human evolution was whether or not our brains grew before our bodies did. Early australopithecines provide a clear answer: Lucy stood upright like a person but had a brain no bigger than a chimpanzee’s. The Arxur face a similar question; what came first: manual manipulation or bipedalism? On the face of it, it seems like a simple question; they clearly stood upright so that they could use tools. But this is a circular argument, where the effect is also ascribed to a cause, so we must look deeper.

The most reasonable argument would be prey/carcass manipulation. Where mammals have specialized teeth to help break down a big meal, reptiles tend to be more… violent with their food, having to toss their heads around and swallow big chunks. If the teeth are remaining more reptilian and dedicated to feeding, with only some heterogeneity, then having some dextrous, mobile hands makes sense. Most predators restrict the forelimbs to grappling with prey, using the head to deliver a killing stroke. Arxur would likely still do this, but having a strong set of hands might be selected for if they began hunting larger prey, as socialization would supply.

Thus, alterations to the pelvis and lower back would be needed, as well as anchorage of large muscles in the thigh and tail. This would result in a stiff-seeming but strong lower section. Motion at the elbow and the ability to pronate/supinate the hands would be critical, but must be balanced against any impact to their primary (quadrupedal) form of movement. The shoulder would have to remain quite restricted to allow this; an Arxur probably couldn’t raise its arms directly upward (as in surrender) or draw a bow.

But this is the final push, and with the ability to alter your surroundings, strong binocular vision, social and communicative skills, and a growing brain, the Arxur would have been well on their way to sapience.

* External Appearance

The average Arxur is described as standing head and shoulders above the average human. Assuming, more for simplicity than accuracy, measured at the top of the head with good posture, that the average human stands at 6ft even or 183cm, this would place the average Arxur around 7ft or 214cm tall. However, several times in-story they are described as hunched over as if ready to pounce; understanding this, they would stand up to 8ft or 244cm tall with good posture. They have an overall humanoid structure: Two arms, two legs, one head, and a meaty tail; best used for balance, but could also be a bludgeoning instrument should the need call for it. Clawed hands made for grasping and clawed feet made for sprinting and pouncing.

As obligate carnivores, their bodies would be better suited to hunt and capture things that fight back for their survival. To hold fast to something that is trying to escape, they would have well developed gripping muscles and claws that would curve toward the palm.

Thank you u/Browneorum for helping me figure out their claws! Described as 6-digited, with four clawed fingers flanked by two clawed thumbs on each hand and foot. Injuries on humans and Federation alike have mentioned long gashes, so the claws would be long and thin, with a micro-serrated slashing edge. These injuries have also described disembowelment and impalements, implying great length and slight curve; I would compare this to a cat claw, though straighter and 20-30% of the length of the digit, similar to a bear claw. A sapient creature capable of civilization would have an enlarged brain, so the Arxur skull would become taller and wider to accommodate it, as well as forward-facing eyes.

They have grey coloring over their whole body, however as a living creature, they would still be susceptible to albinism or melanism, though these may be cause for elimination by Betterment. The largest visual difference between individuals would be bone structure and Scale patterning. The exact location and quality of scales on their body would be determined by genetics, healing, early development, and even lifestyle, which would lead to patterns that are unique from one individual to the next. Scales would be different across their body, from nearly skin-like on creases and joints, to harder scales on belly, chest, neck, and pads of hands. The hardest scales would be found on the back of their neck, top of head, outside arms and biceps, and spinal column, and would be hard enough to protect against biting and slashing especially, with limited protection from low-yield munitions. Citing Earth precedent, Reptiles of all sorts shed their skin as they grow or heal, and I feel the Arxur are no different. As their hide is so different across their body, they would have different manners of shed depending on the quality of scales. Hard scales like those found on the spine or outside arm would come off in Schutes, described as rigid keratinous flakes of the whole scale, while soft scales in high contact areas like inner joints would slough off in thin sheets.

Scarring appears differently on different parts of the body: hard scales such as back and arms would require deep cuts to scar, and what was once one hard scale would become two; these scales are rarely in high-movement areas, so this aberration would not cause any issues. Soft scale areas, like the face and underarm, would create scale-less scar tissue and discolor darker. Given this method of healing, personal adornments would include mutilation such as tattoo, piercing, and scarring, though would appear very differently from humans. Tattooing would be done on the soft skin under and behind the scales, and would largely be used to emphasize scale patterning. Piercings would be most used on the face, and never hard scale, as it would fall off after damage or shed. Their scaled body would be more resistant to small arms; pest killers such as birdshot would be a strong irritant, but military or home defense grade munitions would still be very effective.

Scarring would be permanent evidence of some kind of violence, and so would be a mark of respect, though the type of scar and its location would have specific meanings. Scars on the back would be a sign of cowardice, and may be intentionally inflicted by a superior as a mark of shame. To lie about your scars would be a severe breach of trust overall, and to self-inflict scars that mimic the marks of combat is extremely dishonorable, and may be grounds for ostracization.

Arxur display Sexual Dimorphism, although markedly less than humans. Being such an antisocial creature they would develop the need to be independent, which would curtail the evolutionary need for the sexes to specialize; essentially, they have no stressors to look different, so they would look very similar. Humans, being adept at identifying small details, may eventually learn these differences, but it would be very difficult, and many may never get it down.

Chapter 69 confirmed the Arxur have slit pupils, which is well founded by examples on earth; every animal on earth with a slit pupil is an ambush predator. On earth, the eye color of ambush predators, namely crocodilians, are largely based on the need to camouflage and tend to have very little variance. Crocodilian eyes normally range from a drab orange/brown to forest green, though albinism and melanism can shift that to bright orange or jet black respectively; given the Arxur’s primarily grey coloring, I will conclude that the average eye color is majority tan or grey.

I prefer u/Browneorum’s interpretation of early life in Offspring , and conclude that Arxur hatch from a hard-shell egg, and spend early life quadrupedal; this is also supported by the scene in Ch59 in which 'One Arxur pounced from all fours, and dragged [Sovlin] by the arm out into the open.' Though to reconcile the understanding that adult Arxur can chase down most prey species while on two legs, I will conclude that Arxur develop bipedalism through puberty by hormones changing the shape of the pelvis to accommodate the new joint structure.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

* Internal Biology

Arxur are obligate carnivores, almost twice the body mass of the average human, and warm blooded. Looking at earth precedent, there are not many terrestrial warm red-blooded obligate carnivores that have more body mass than Humans, but one of which is the Tiger, who averages 100.40F or 38C internal body temperature. I feel this is a very reasonable conclusion for the Arxur, and will be incorporating it into my stories. Compared to the average human running at 98.6F or 37C, Arxurs would be very warm in comparison.

As they have claws that are adept at quickly subduing their prey, they would have less pressure to change their teeth, making them most adept at tearing flesh and breaking bones rather than capture. This would look markedly similar to a crocodile’s, though with several exceptions: The teeth would develop a narrower profile with serrations, as opposed to the straight pegs of crocodiles, as well as pointed molars at the back of the mouth adapted to breaking bone and shredding meat. With these, whatever they eat would look like corned beef by the time it gets to their gullet.

Arxur are unusual in that, true they are obligate carnivores, but they are also plant matter averse, in that they cannot digest any quantity of plant matter, of any kind, without suffering some level of gastro-intestinal distress. This would mean that sugars are nearly absent from their diet, and combined with the high fiber of raw meat, their teeth would be largely very clean; though the possibility of cracking or chipping one’s tooth still exists. Culturally, this would mean that Dental care is only at an emergency level rather than maintenance; and, given Betterment’s propensity to drop someone at the first sign of 'weakness', dental care would only be provided to the most effective hunters or most powerful leaders.

* Socialization

Arxur are described as inherently antisocial in that they become aggravated and tired from the extended presence of others. This is at odds with the idea that, before Federation interference, the Arxur were at a technological level roughly even with Humans in the late 1900’s, which would place them at the start of their information age; this information is canonized by the Wiki.

Walking the line of 'social but not really' implies an individual may have one or two others who they trust, if not enjoy the company of. These may include: mated pairs, clutchmates, parental figures, mentor figures, or long time acquaintances, but it is established that Betterment, established after first contact, has been trying to breed out empathy and social structures, forcing reliance on the government and Betterment.

This would not halt the odd 'friend' in their lifetime, but these relationships would be only barely more than surface level, enough to feel regret at their passing, and would significantly affect the acquisition of a mate. Pairings would be largely set up by Betterment, though whether or not you are allowed is determined by an application and vetting process that the prospective parent initiates. If you are found wanting, you will not be allowed to procreate. Those with favorable traits would be allowed to breed, but the constant need for hunger-crazed raiders would make child rearing impossible in the field. As such, the vast majority would be raised in institutions separated by age groups and/or population, whichever is more pragmatic. If the children have a concept of 'mother, father, brother, sister' it would only be a gendered understanding of caregivers and friends; who laid you, who hatched you, and who you hatched with would have little or no bearing. Same-egg twins are a possibility, if rare, which may give reason for a closer, long-term relationship.

In such a heavily caste-based meritocracy, those who prove themselves effective at what they do would be afforded special privileges such as the opportunity to raise their young directly; Chief Hunters raise their young to be Chief Hunters, Prophets raising Prophets, and so on.

Without the influence of Betterment, Arxur would pair as convenient and the mother would raise the young to self-sufficiency, which would be a very young age compared to Federation species, at which time the young would either leave or be ejected from the ‘family’. There would be instances of many-mother groups to raise large clutches as a collective, and this behavior would have laid the foundation for being raised by Betterment. For the father to contribute to rearing is not unheard of, but very unusual. Throughout their evolution the father would have very little incentive to stick around, leading to a preponderance of ‘fusion-fission’ relationships. This would mean that, Pre-Betterment, their cultures would be largely matriarchal, with larger groups possibly led by a mated pair including a committed father. Post-Betterment would make the ‘leader’ the Prophet and those who represent them, regardless of gender.

* Reproduction

Arxur lay eggs, though only when prompted by fertilization. They lay in clutches of 2-4, though larger and smaller clutches have been recorded, with the same chance of magnifying as the human chances of twins, triplets, and so on; as well, multiple viable embryos in one egg is a known phenomenon, though very rare. Of the eggs laid, at least one is always fertilized - though not necessarily viable - and at least one is always an infertile self-replicating yolk of amino acids and proteins, which serves as a source of food for new hatchlings.

I believe the Arxur feel desire, and pursue the sensations brought about by intimacy. Arxur do not have a breeding cycle, rather their need is prompted by external environmental factors: high ambient temperature, high humidity, and the feeling of prosperity, plenty, and safety, i.e. well-fed; other factors may contribute including trust, vulnerability, or dominance. While this may prompt arousal, breeding behaviors are prompted by touch of specific erogenous zones on their body, such as neck, sides, belly, and underside of the meat of their tail; these areas become discolored due to blood flow during arousal, and become extra sensitive. Setting up these triggers would eventually develop into a mating ritual involving the preparing of a nest to create a safe space, gathering and gifting of food or other trinkets to prove the ability to provide, and dancing to stimulate erogenous zones; these rituals would have carried all the way up to First contact, and artifacts of it may exist post-Betterment. During arousal, contentment, or the aforementioned foreplay rituals, an Arxur will frequently, but not always, make long deep body sounds, comparable to but different from purring.

Arxur are equipped with a cloaca, which disposes of excrement, provides and receives reproductive material, and deposits eggs. Though a key difference is that the vaginal canal, which receives reproductive material and passes eggs, is a separate canal that branches off of the main cloaca. The walls of a Female Arxur's cloaca are coated in a specialized protective mucus which serves as lubricant during intimacy and egg laying, and a protective barrier from pathogens during waste disposal. The vaginal and cloacal walls are highly textured to allow for expansion, though the surrounding flesh is interlaced with musculature for passing stool, eggs, and moving her legs. Given such potential for muscular control, a female has the capability to use these muscles to encourage, or discourage, insemination, though not all individuals may practice this. As well, it would be possible for the female to use this control to decide who inseminates them, by guiding the male into their non-reproductive canal.

A male Arxur's reproductive organ remains in their body also as a branch off the cloacal canal, except arousal fills the surrounding area with fluid which inverts the canal to a penetrative organ, emerging from the cloaca and appearing very smooth and tendril-like. The sex is given form by fluid pressure, meaning it would be only as rigid as needed to perform; this would allow significant flexibility in both form and size, allowing a wider range of size compatibility than a comparable human would be capable of, provided preparation and patience. Upon presentation, the organ emerges coated in a different mucus than is present in females, the specific composition works to eliminate and replace the mucosal membrane of the female, allowing for and increasing the likelihood of successful insemination.

Human precedence tells us that mating technique is largely a cultural and personal influence, which means that the high-competition low-survival environment of Betterment fosters a violent and one-sided experience. Some may enjoy this, some may hate it, but it is all they know. Their biology allows for gentler affections, they receive stimulation from it and some may prefer it, but few may be familiar with the experience.

* Language

The core story mentions growls, hisses, clicks, and low reverberating tones; fan writing does the same, so we already have a very solid consensus. Because of that, I'm going to focus on more unusual parts.

While their early roots were aquatic, nothing about their interaction or environment implies a current-day need for an aquatic environment, indicating they have evolved to be almost entirely terrestrial; this means they would have to keep their mouths from drying out with the use of lips, making their mouths appear closer to a lizard than a crocodile. These lips would not be as nimble as a primate, so lip-based sounds like Buh and Puh would still be very limited; if they exist at all. Though Ff sounds, as they do not require fine motor control of the lips, would be very easy, and would modulate to a Vv sound when backed by a hum or growl. Having a mouth full of carnivorous teeth is not conducive to easy speaking, so I believe they rely heavily on deep body sounds and glottal stops, with most if not all mouth sounds being some form of S. Given this, I believe their first oddity is that they don't use their mouth to speak much, if at all; the vast majority of their sounds would be coming from one or more voicebox-like organs deeper in their body.

This is supported, albeit obliquely, by the fact they eat their meat raw and in large quantities. It's probable that to avoid choking on food, their breathing and speaking pathways are separate from their digestive system; very different from humans and most creatures on earth.

As early water-land hybrids, they would have evolved to communicate through dense mediums, which may include dense air, as their dense bodies imply a high-gravity world. Since sound doesn't carry cleanly through dense mediums, they would have evolved long, strong sounds, originating deep within the body. They may have used this as an intimidation tactic, especially in conjunction with a harmonic medium. This tells me they would use long tones, possibly using a drone as an emotive, modified by glottal stops, clicks, and hisses. With that in mind, their vowel sounds would be open-mouth Ah Eh EE OH.

Nearly every creature on earth with a tongue, has one long enough to clean their entire mouth, as well as their nose and/or eyes, and I believe the Arxur are no different: their tongue would be long enough to clean their nose above the tip of their mouth, and as their snout is so long, would also be long enough to clean their eyes. A tongue like that would be very good at RR and SS sounds, but unable to make a complete seal on the upper palate, making N sounds nearly impossible. Common consonants would be Ff, K and G. Hard X would be more exotic but well-utilized, and modulated to a Zh or J sound when followed by a vowel sound. Guh would be common at the start or end of a word, but rarely both, while most S and Th sounds would have a strong lisp to them. Zee sounds would originate largely in the body, but modified by a Ss sound in the mouth, resulting in a very breathy soft J sound.

Thank you u/ImaginationSea3679 for your comments on the Arxur written word, I will expand on it here. Given their use of a drone along with additional sounds, I believe the Arxur indicate their drone with a horizontal line across their phrases, not unlike Devanagari, which is one of several scripts developed in India; whether the drone line is above, below, or through the phrase is not relevant and I leave to the writer how it is positioned, or if it is standardized at all. They would have symbols on these lines that represent broad concepts, such as 'Prey' or 'Danger', then modify these concepts using marks that represent phonetic sounds. These phonetic sounds would create the word that is heard and convey the full meaning, tense, plurality, and other specifics of the word and its use; as a visual example, ' P̷̓͠r̵̽̌e̸̒͌y̴͂̀ ' would be 'Venlil' and ' Ṕ̶͝r̶͒̓e̸̊̚y̷͊͐ ' would be 'Gojid'; notice how the base word, or glyph, is the same but the accents change to give precise meaning. Rather than developing a writing implement, I believe they largely use their claws, so the language would feature mostly lines while also taking advantage of depth; visually, I’m imagining a cross between Japanese and Yautja from the Predator franchise.

Finally, as they mostly use their claws to write, I believe that class would also determine how an individual writes; the higher castes would show their superiority with sharper claws, so a lower-class would have to use the blunt of their claw.

* Names

Please see my Arxur Name Post for a list of Arxur names from canon as well as fanfic. Following my spoken word observations, we are seeing a lot of sharp consonants such as K, T, and G. Duo-syllabic is again very common, but I’m also noticing a strong leaning on S sounds, giving the names more of a hiss behind them. As to naming conventions, it would make the most sense if the young were named in honor of things their name-giver, whether parent or caregiver, found important to them. Though as opposed to the Venlil, the Arxur would have a stronger focus on accomplished leaders, hunters, and soldiers.

* Architecture

Pre-Betterment architecture would focus on single- or double- person living, with a sprawling layout. Cities would look very different, with very little if any living spaces around working spaces. Public transit would be essential in such a sprawling civilization, but it would have a strong emphasis on compartmentalizing and overall privacy. Keeping with my assessment of limited parentage, child rearing facilities would be located closer to the cities while adult civilians would live further out. These facilities would eventually be owned and run by The State, but until then would function as community daycares, with new mothers and elder mothers tending the young of the community as a whole. There would also be friend groups, small communities of more familiar females that raise each other’s clutches outside of this system.

Post-Betterment, architecture would quickly shift to being state-sponsored and utilitarian. Minimal material, built to last, with little regard for aesthetic. Community child rearing would become required, and done totally by The State. Being a Matron would become a profession rather than a calling, recruited by Betterment based on their ability to train rather than to raise. These matrons would then select apprentices, possibly from the young they raise, to be their helpers and eventually replacements.

While pursuing brutal efficiency, Post-Betterment Arxur would condense their housing, while still compartmentalizing further; this would cause stress and tension, instigating competition and establishing dominance, all of which would further the goals of Betterment in a merciless ‘survival of the fittest’ mentality.

This brutalism would extend to their war machines, which is also shown in canon, with sharp angles and every open space sporting additional armaments and/or shielding. As they transition to a raiding-based society, their average life would push into space, using capital ships to house and train new Arxur, while sapient-cattle farms provide cushy living for those with powerful friends or family.

* Artistic Expression

Pre-Betterment, artistic expression would both revel in and deconstruct the world around them. Having predatory eyesight allows understanding of fine detail, so there would be a thriving photorealism movement. Having binocular vision would also give them more appreciation of a three-dimensional space, so they would have a stronger focus on statues, friezes, and wall reliefs; with such a strong sense of smell, they would also incorporate novel materials in their art, both 3d and 2d, to lend another depth of sense. Some Arxur, especially those trying to process the horrors of their world wars, may expand into surrealist or expressionist techniques, but this movement wouldn’t gain ground before the rise of Betterment.

Betterment would pull the focus of their art away from the self and push it toward the Glory of Arxur-Kind, and the perfection of the Prophet. Leaning hard into photorealism, any new artistic works, including statues and carvings, would venerate the Prophet and depict battle scenes, likely fictitious, triumphing over anything that would not be ‘Arxur’; visually, I’m imagining Renaissance Catholic, mixed with Soviet propaganda, with a hint of the ultra-violence of Warhammer 40k.

* Faith

Pre-Betterment, I can see their faith leaning one of two ways: either leaning into the Christian Colonial ideal of mastery and dominion over their world and its bounty, which would lay a solid foundation for the racial superiority espoused by Betterment. Or, having a reverence for death, and its place in the cycle of their world; understanding that they and everything else must kill to live, and being thankful at every meal to be the one to win this struggle.

Post Betterment, the atrocities of the Federation gave a unifying enemy to the Arxur, and they unified behind a single individual, Laznel, who became the Prophet. Outlined in ch39 by Captain Coth, Laznel was a genetic scientist who posited that certain bloodlines had a higher chance of being stronger, or smarter, or other beneficial traits, and submitted this theory under the article Betterment; we the reader, would recognize this as Eugenics. While Laznel’s theories had gained ground pre-first-contact, it wasn’t until after the Federation tried to Gentle the Arxur that these philosophies became commonplace. Laznel, the Prophet, gave the blueprint for the Perfect Arxur, something every Arxur should aspire to be like. The Prophet Descendant is the top of every level of leadership, including being the head of Betterment, which translates to the top leader and interpreter of their faith. The Prophet Descendant and Betterment use this belief to guide Arxur behavior and enforce what we would call Brutal Darwinism to try to craft the next Perfect Arxur.