* External Appearance
Described as ‘turkey sized’ and ‘shorter than a Venlil’ by SpacePaladin in the discord, fan consensus bumps that up so center mass is roughly level with mid-thigh or hip on a human, putting the top of their body at roughly 3ft 6in, or 107cm. Given their long neck, the top of their head would reach just below the heart of a Human, putting the average Krakotl, standing tall, at around 4ft tall, or 122cm; art example 4. Clearly avian, they are covered in feathers of ‘tropical colors’ and their beaks share the same vibrancy; the majority of their legs would be scaly and bald due to mostly aquatic native lands, which I will expand on later. Feather color and pattern would differ significantly from one to another, though SP15 clarified they are on a blue/grey spectrum as a general average. Differences in the beak would be more subtle though equally unique in fine detail. Feather structure is fairly typical of waterfowl, smooth and largely hydrophobic, but they would have accent feathers in hidden parts of their underwing and head-crest, used in courtship such as dancing, as well as long rigid tail feathers used for body language and as a colorful threat or courtship display; see example 5 for especially tail feathers, and examples 3 and 2 for head crests, especially 3 for threat display.
Their home is described as swampy, explaining their well known mainly-algae diet, though after Cilaney’s Interview, it is revealed that the Krakotl were the first Gentle’d species, and they “were scavengers, who would occasionally go for fish as well.” This would imply biological qualities that would process meat, capture live aquatic prey, and live in these same areas as these foods. Nishtal is described as swamp and marshland, which lines up with the aforementioned conclusions from their diet; I will go one step further and say these swamplands mostly featured tall trees and shallow waters, though this appears to be the consensus among the community at large.
After Gentling, the Federation mostly fed the Krakotl algae, but when Kalsim shared his field rations with Arjun, he mentioned the presence of fruit, berries, nuts, and bark. While bark is a little unusual, the other items are well within expectation for an avian’s diet. With such a comparatively broad diet, their beak would be very generalist, though with a sharp hook at the end to cut and tear meat. Art examples 1 and 2, linked above, are good references.
In such an environment, dry dirt would be a precious commodity and largely taken up by plant life, forcing the Krakotl to nest in higher branches. This, combined with the hidden dangers of aquatic predators, would pressure them to develop flight-capable wings especially suited to quick ascension, Wing Assisted Incline Running, assisted leaping, and pouncing. More than a few Fanfics have described the Trees of Nishtal as being especially tall, so I will postulate that Nishtal’s gravity is slightly less than Earth; no more than the difference between Earth and VP, though negative.
A lower gravity would allow foliage to climb to incredible heights, possibly even to air thin enough that it cannot support flight; this would pressure the Krakotl to develop arboreal traits alongside avian traits. A few notable fanfics such as Wings of Freedom and Pack Bonding (NSFW) have described Krakotl climbing vertically where their flight fails, so this would fall within consensus.
Given this, in addition to the description by SpacePaladin via discord that their primary manipulators are hands on wing’d arms, we can conclude that their hands would have strong gripping ability, as well as inward-curved talons to grip bark, possibly with locking wrists; see art examples 1 and 3 linked above. Locking wrists also sets a good precedent for climbing/flying hybrids, as flexible arms make for poor flyers. Their wrists and elbows would instinctively lock when balanced upward pressure is applied to the under wing, allowing for downflaps to catch air and keep them aloft. This would cause them to have very limited flexibility in their shoulders, arms, and wrists, though one does not need such flexibility to manage civilization or fly a spaceship, and technology and tools would accommodate farming and building. Entirely possible, but humans would be better suited for nearly any form of labor. I will clarify, this is directly against canon: in ch43 Kalsim comments on the Takkan surgeon, "though I found his kind much clumsier than Krakotl surgeons." No matter how you shake it, surgery requires significant dexterity, which this assessment explicitly states they lack. This is a reasoned conclusion of earth precedent, and compromises made to accommodate their ability to both fly and use tools.
Their feet would also be similarly taloned, though more developed to hold thick branches or perches. Confirmed in chapters 47, 48, and 50 in the core story, Krakotl crew were provided with a 'perch', implying a specialized seat for avians. From this, we can conclude that Krakotl legs and rumps are structurally different enough as to make what would be Federation Standard seats unsafe for Krakotl crew. Without the pressures to both climb and fly, their feet would retain a significant amount of dexterity, and would likely serve as auxiliary manipulators when their hands are insufficient; as well, since their long neck allows their beak similar maneuverability, watching a Krakotl solve a difficult puzzle would be quite a show!
Given their aquatic diet, their legs would be long enough to keep their body off of the water, and their neck long enough to bring their beak back to it; as such they would have a similar overall shape to a flamingo or crane. Having such a long neck would prompt several novel sleeping positions, including laying their head on their rump like a swan, tucking their head under their wing especially while upright, laying long and flat like a young owl, or laying their neck on a support, such as a cuddle buddy or specialized bed or lounge.
Krakotl also have stronger coloring and patterning in the UV spectrum, and can perceive these differences naturally (confirmed in Ch47 of core story), though strong UV light such as Blacklight can make these clearly visible to humans, and garishly vibrant to Krakotl. While all of their plumage is more vibrant in UV, only certain parts are UV Luminescent; the differences are fairly minor in natural lighting as from sunlight, but concentrated UV such as Blacklight can give a ‘glowing’ look to these patterns.
Krakotl do experience sexual dimorphism, though it is very minor to the human eye: visible differences favor the males with a longer neck, meatier fingers and toes, and broader beak, while females have an overall larger body. Again, these differences are measurable but very minor, and a human could easily mistake one gender for another. In the Ultraviolet Spectrum, however, differences in sex are much more apparent. Females have larger color blocks of a similar color to their natural plumage though more vibrant in UV, arranged in layers on and in line with their wings, and blotted coloring on their upper and lower neck, while the majority of the neck is one color. Also, the under-wing of a female is lined with thick swirls, with a large blot in the center. These swirls are intricate enough to be a unique visual identifier from significant differences in favorable lighting, and may be used for simple communication across long sight-lines. Tail colors are frequently solid-colored feathers of striking shades, though instances of spotting and fine striping in individual feathers are not uncommon. Color blocks or blots are more common on the head, face, and beak of females, while striping and streaking is more common among males.
Males’ UV coloring can be several shades off of their natural plumage, and feature much more complex patterning over their outer body, favoring geometric patterns, though some may have more 'feminine' curves. Males' underwing pattern is not notably different from their outerwing, serving as the most obvious difference between male and female. Fine detail on their wings and tail are very common, most commonly striping but spotting or blotting are also known mutations, with color blocks along their body and spine. A Male’s neck would be lined with fine stripes, in line with their air sacs and syrinx; I will describe these organs in the next section.
Among both sexes, these stripes and blots do not need to be uniform, straight, or level, as organic patterns are made by chance, not by an engineer. As a Krakotl ages, their feathers may dull, along with their UV vibrancy, though their UV luminescence would be the first to go. Coloring one’s self with such inks would be a known practice, though seen with the same feelings as a human combover or fake tan: a vain attempt at forestalling age.
As a living creature, the Krakotl are not immune to several unusual mutations such as gigantism, dwarfism, albinism and melanism, as well as other more avian-specific mutations I'm not aware of. While albinism and melanism would change their plumage coloring, design would still be present if difficult to perceive. UV patterns among albinos would be quite faint, likely requiring specific lighting or angles of view to see well. Melanism would cause their plumage to assume much darker shades, including all-black, but earth precedent does not preclude exceptions; some variants may be mostly black with patches of natural color, or overall several shades darker of natural hues. UV would likewise be difficult to perceive among the Melanistic, though instead due to the patterns lacking definition, appearing as blurred clouds, some places so dispersed their form cannot be defined. Vitiligo would appear as whole feathers turning stark white in patches, though their UV pattern would be unaffected besides color. Heterochromia would affect eye color only, feathers would be unchanged.
While their eyes have not been described in detail in canon, earth precedent tells us they probably have circular pupils and irises, with pigmented sclera; the sclera is well hidden, as the iris takes up the majority of what is visible. The Iris is colored by Melanin, and would follow a similar brown/gold spectrum as humans. Rare mutations could push more orange or red. Albinism would remove all pigment, allowing us to see a dark violet color, matching their blood. Earth avians set a precedent of having largely immobile eyes, relying on their flexible necks to adjust their view.
* Internal Biology
Starting from the top and working down: earlier we established that Krakotl eat fruit, berries, nuts and bark, and the Cilaney Interview confirmed they ate decaying flesh as a scavenger, as well as implying they caught and ate live fish. Like most avians they lack grinding teeth and strong jaw muscles, so they would have a Gizzard to help process harder foods like nuts and bark.
Krakotl are warm blooded, colored a dark violet, and as with any warm-blooded creature they experience blushing. These appear in shades of blue to deep purple, most visible on the sides of their neck, just under their jaw hinge, at the space where their neck meets their body, along their under-wing airsacs, and for men along their pubic slit; more on that later.
While mammals and reptiles tend to have tongues that are long enough to clean lips and nose, very few avians on earth share this trend, so Krakotl would have a tongue only as long or shorter than their beak, structured to encourage the modulation of sound and passage of food. Given their varied diet, the tongue would have to be very multipurpose; with that in mind, I posit that it would be fairly muscular, to modulate sound in its beak, but also high soft surface area, possibly with keratinous filaments, or even just long papillae.
Above their beak are two lateral vents, appearing to disconnect the space where the beak meets their skin. These vents, which meet just within the skull, serve as a high-capacity trachea and houses their scent organ. This trachea, and the separate esophagus, pass through their highly flexible neck. The trachea bifurcates to dual vocal organs called collectively the syrinx. As in earth examples, the syrinx allows significant control of sound, which we will return to when we speak on relationships, and later language. The respiratory system would remain bifurcated, protectively surrounding their vital organ cavity, with tubular airsacs filling the space under where their wing meets their body. Longer than they are wide, the tubular air sacs can be quickly inflated and deflated to emphasize plumage along their breast and under their wing; used most especially during courtship dances. These also allow them to carry rich air to the thinner atmosphere of the Nishtalese upper canopy.
Returning to their digestive tract. Their esophagus would first meet their stomach just behind the syrinx to coat their food with digestive fluids; sufficiently coated, they would then pass to the Gizzard, which uses powerful muscles and hard mineral nodules to break up their food, returning to the stomach to introduce additional digestive fluids as needed. These nodules are naturally created within the body, comparable to gallstones but on purpose. Once masticated, the food continues its journey through one or more absorptive organs similar to human intestines, before exiting in the normal way. Given their 'scavenger' background, I believe their stomach acid to be noticeably stronger than humans, though not as strong as Earth carrion birds; their diet is far less specialized than vultures, so would not require such extremes.
Additionally, Krakotl keep a Crop at the forward of their throat, just below the point where their neck becomes their head. The evolved use of this organ is to hold and pre-digest food for hatchlings; as such, it produces a minor digestive fluid. Not as strong as stomach acid, this would be comparable to human saliva. The amount produced is influenced by several factors, including unusual mutations which may cause the over- or under-production of such, but normally whatever comes out would be well covered, but not soaked.
* Relationships
On earth, intersex and transgender are far more common among avians, some species more than others, and I believe the Krakotl follow this trend; noticeably more common than humans, but still a minority. As well, such complicated mutations involving coloring of plumage would make instances of 'feminine' markings on male-sexed persons and vice versa relatively common, leading to a laissez-faire attitude toward gender definition. This overall fluidity would carry over to preferences, and the gender of one's partner may not be of consequence to pairs not seeking to produce. Krakotl have a concept of monogamy and 'belonging to someone', but they have a stronger emphasis on emotion and compatibility, rather than physicality.
Courtship is a means of entertainment, and bonded pairs may find companionship outside of their relationship. There is a sense of accomplishment in finding a partner outside of your relationship, and there is a sense of losing when your partner succeeds. This would cause high emotions, but is also seen as a part of a relationship. This is a significant culture clash compared to humans, and would be the source of serious strife without good communication between partners.
I will emphasize, this is the overall average. There are many individuals who find the game tiresome, and would place great value on committed loyal relationships, sometimes even leading to heartbreak within relationships of their own species.
Such fluidity and flexibility would make Krakotl the most likely to have interspecies relationships, whether physical or emotional. A significant minority, but not nearly so slim as human queerness.
Courtship rituals are very important to Krakotl dating culture. The most common and reliably effective is dance, allowing the opportunity to flash your feathers and show your moves, but gift-giving and demonstrative actions are also very effective. Krakotl would find themselves comfortably at home in human clubs of all stripes, but Blacklight Raves would be especially intense.
Krakotl of all ages decorate themselves aesthetically. Paints, dusts, dyes, and oils are well known, but just as common are decoratives like False Feathers. These may clip, tie, hang, screw, or plug to an anchor near the base of a feather; these may include the feather itself, a worn scaffold of a variety of materials like string or chains, or even permanent implanted anchors. These decoratives can be a variety of things such as fabrics, metals, synthetic feathers, real feathers that have been dyed, or more recently lights and noisemakers.
As much as they love to party, it's a young'n's game. Krakotl that we would consider middle-aged would find the whole matter exhausting and juvenile, though there is a lively makeup industry for those not ready to move on. With such a heavy trend to 'settle down' monogamy and reproductive pairs become more important as they age, reducing the percentage of non-reproductive pairs as the age demographic climbs. They are still present, and in greater percentage than ~2020 humans find themselves, but still trending down as the population ages.
Marriage is a legal arrangement, recognizing the indicated persons as one legal unit, with shared resources, permissions, and status; multi-partner 'families' are not unusual, and are called Nests officially. What humans consider 'married', i.e. a long term committed relationship, is a personal matter and not involved by the government. Stepping out of, or somehow damaging these relationships has no bearing on the Nest in a legal sense, though may still be a valid stated reason for separation.
* Reproduction
The Krakotl are a dual sex species, there are clearly defined male and female organs and configurations. However, as with all living things, mutations and variants may blur these lines. As well, just as with Earth Avians, such mutations would be much more common among the Krakotl, but only as compared to humans; the frequency of such mutations would still be a very slim minority of the Krakotl whole.
I conclude that the Krakotl feel sensations in the stimulation of reproductive organs, and consider these to be good feelings. I believe they also pursue these feelings recreationally, whether or not the need to produce offspring is present. Krakotl do not have a season, nor specific triggers. They have Urges and seek to satisfy these urges with a partner, making social gatherings with the intent to mate, called Lekking, a common pastime with dedicated venues being a thriving industry; a human comparative would be parties, bars, and clubs. The most common courtship ritual would be to dance and posture, using flexing and inflating of airsacs to emphasize vibrant plumage which normally remains hidden. Following through with the act in these places is not uncommon, but considered inappropriate and may be grounds for forced removal.
For these Detail Dives, I try very hard to find the meeting place between Real World Examples, Prominent Writer Consensus, and What Is Interesting to read, write, and draw. I’m afraid I was not able to find a satisfactory intersect of these goals, largely because real world avian reproductive anatomy is fucking weird; which makes logical sense given the hyper-specialization required to make flight of any kind possible by evolutionary pressures. Because of this, I will show no preference for any story, anatomy, or writer input, and invent something Completely New, which fulfills my own needs for story and believability. I would be honored if writers use my suggestions, but as they have no basis in anything, I encourage writers to do what they feel is best to convey the story they need to tell.
The first oddity is that the Krakotl developed reproduction that preferred hanging from the side of a vertical surface, being the mega-flora trees of Nishtal, using their climbing claws to hang by during the act and allowing partners to face themselves. This is supported by the climbing pressures we mentioned earlier, itself supported by powerful talons on their wing manipulators. This is also supported by the conclusion that Female coloring and UV patterning is more complex on the inside of their wing, advertised during courting dances, and advertising ‘readiness’ while hanging, as well as complex patterning on the back of males, advertising ‘occupied’.
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Both male and female have a cloacal vent, but only in female specimens is this involved in the reproductive system. This cloacal vent is located under and just behind where their legs meet their body; the opening would aim just forward of plumb while in a relaxed seated position on a perch. This opening is the end point of both their digestive and reproductive system, though these systems meet just before the opening itself.
The vaginal canal is located just under and in line with the digestive tract, swooping low and attached to their ribcage, meeting their womb. This cavity is longer than it is wide, developed for oblong eggs. The ovum are attached completely to the outer walls of the womb, and disperse their eggs through the thick membrane of the womb when hormonal changes cause the membrane to be more porous. The cloacal opening and the vaginal canal have sensitive nerve endings running its length, along the space where the men’s baculum would be; we will speak on that later. Stimulating these areas causes the over-production of lubricating fluids and muscle contractions along the length of the canal.
The Male sex organ is a rigid appendage that is held within the body at rest, and presented from the body by specific muscle contractions. Its rigid form is maintained by a stiff cartilage, which humans know as a Baculum, upon which spongy tissue grows after puberty. The organ emerges from a long slit, longer or just as long as the member, averaging 5 to 6 inches, though mutations may make the slit shorter than the organ, requiring medical intervention to extend the slit. The spongy tissue does itself engorge, as any tissue would in high blood flow situations, but the bulk of the volume is taken by several lymphatic sacs along the length. These sacs are lined with flaps of thin flesh, which flare when the sacs are filled with fluid. Given the significant surface area gained, it is theorized these flaps assist in removing reproductive material left by other competitors.
These flaps, as well as pressure upon the lymphatic sacs, are the primary source of stimulation of the male sex, though the area around and within the slit are popular for use in foreplay or same-sex activities. Upon climax, seminal fluid is launched from the tip of the organ, in an attempt to get the material as close to the womb as possible. Given the nature of lymphatic sacs, the organ remains active and sensitive for some time after final stimulus or release, which would allow for longer sessions with the goal of multiple partners. Whether the Krakotl attached to the organ has the endurance or wherewithal for such ambitions is a personal matter.
Krakotl lay eggs when fertilized, and only rarely without, normally triggered by hormonal imbalances. They lay in clutches averaging 1-2, though larger have been recorded; the largest clutch in Federation record was 10, of which only 7 hatched successfully, and this number is considered highly unusual. Eggs are fully hard within a day, and hatch within two to three months.
Children reach sexual and emotional maturity, by human reckoning, at a similar rate as most federation species, roughly 3-4 years faster than humans. I mention this because several stories such as Perfectly Planned etc, Death of a Monster, Innocence and more besides, establish that the Federation employs what humans would consider 'children' into positions we consider inappropriate, such as Soldiers and Exterminators. As heinous as this is, I believe this is a powerful storytelling driver, and will incorporate this into my stories.
* Language
The wiki confirms they have one of the largest vocal ranges in the galaxy, ranging from deafening screeches to melodic harmony. This implies they share similarities with Songbirds: I enjoy this interpretation and what it implies for language, and so will follow this.
As mentioned earlier the Krakotl have a Syrinx, long neck, and several air sacs, leading me to conclude they have the widest range of possible phonemes and possess the most natural ability at mimicry. With practice, a Krakotl will be able to create 'close enough' for any sound in any language I can readily conceive of.
But a native language develops organically as a species develops, and as with most things, even language follows the path of least resistance. That is to say, their native language and sounds would only be as complex as is needed, and would not utilize their full vocal ability.
Such potential for complexity would tend toward a language that builds on itself, similar to latin or german, and by extension english. Several small sounds with their own partial meaning or context smashed together to create a new meaning; ‘meaning’ itself being a great example, ‘-ing’ being the process of ‘mean’ which is the purpose or intention of something. Audibly, this would create a language that sounds very fast and modular, with several repetitive cycles as tense and identity change.
As far as sound, the first sounds to develop would be loud sounds as they call and respond through the marshlands. Screeches, squawks, titters and chirps, all originate in the syrinx at the base of the throat, creating a significant reliance on glottal stops, hisses, and hums. These sounds would be modified in the upper throat by simple orifices to create Rr Ah and Oh modulations. They would have sounds that function the same way we use P’s but created by audibly closing their beak for Snap and Clack sounds. A well practiced human would mimic these using our familiar T and K sounds.
I think Krakotl's native language would make most use of hard K, soft R, and a few L variants, as well as Zh or Jj sounds pulled from deep body. Pure Ss would be difficult, rather shifted to Sh, produced in the back of the beak. Their vowel sounds would mostly use Ah Oh and EE. Rounder sounds like OO would be possible, made by full-throat resonance, but may produce a tonal call as a side effect.
Their written language would also have similar trends to english and german. They would have an alphabet, around the same length as english, but they would use this framework to combine letters in novel ways to create new sounds; such a modular language would also have no need for accents, each letter would be its own glyph. In this way, the Krakotl can also write more languages in their native script than most species.
Given our earlier assumptions that they nested in tall canopies, they would have developed writing on wood. Talons would be more readily available than writing tools, and given their strength exhibited by Jala’s swoop, they would be sturdy enough to mark the wood as desired, instead of needing to account for woodgrain. The strong curve of ‘talons’ would be difficult to make omni-directional marks with, so I believe they would make straight marks in line with the position of their claws. Given their need for something like a thumb, I believe both lateral and vertical marks to be utilized. In conclusion, it would look fairly similar to Viking Runes; aesthetic runes, not historical. I am aware the linked image is not historically accurate.
* Names
Please check my Krakotl Name Reference for specific examples. Seeing a lot of sounds that we spoke about in the earlier section; but this was intentional, so I’ll leave the discussion of sound aside and move on to culture. With such a modular language, the Krakotl have the flexibility of naming their children after abstract concepts, things the parents enjoy or symbolize something important to them, names of important people, or even sounds of things they enjoy. I personally headcanon that u/Braquen ‘s Krie was named after their parent’s first lekking call.
Given this flexibility, and the process of laying and hatching, I believe that the Krakotl don’t name their children until they get a sense of their personality, which may even happen as early as in the egg. Until that time, they would have names like First Laid, Second Laid, and so on. Not much more to say on this, so I will move on.
* Architecture
Most detail was provided in u/Cheesypower ‘s Wings of Freedom and u/MackFenzie ‘s Shoot Your Shot: Algae Blooms . I enjoy these interpretations and will lean into them, as well as earlier conclusions on their native habitat. Also confirmed in Ch48 and clarified by SpacePaladin in discord, the Krakotl have Floating Stilt Cities on the water.
As we discussed earlier, the megaflora of Nishtal would set the stage for tall habitations. Early history would have these trees housing several families, or one large family, on a single tree for several generations. Initially these would start as built nests, then move into natural hollows, then with the advent of tools carved hollows would allow them to build below the canopy into the trunk. As time moved on these trees would become villages, then neighborhoods; the pressure to share resources and populace would have these villages coalesce into cities and towns spreading over several canopies.
Their early ancestors would start off gathering mushrooms, moss and lichen in their early habitations, eating the grubs and pests they find would be an early introduction to carnivory, which would allow them to move to the omnivory established in canon by the Cilaney Interview. With the establishment of communities and primitive farming, the Krakotl would approach a point where they no longer compete with local wildlife, and start to assume command of their local areas. As they fortify themselves from dangers, or remove them entirely, they would expand their habitats to the water level and establish permanent production along these waterways.
With safety on the ground assured, their habitats would continue shifting waterward as the abundance of resources would outweigh the now smaller risk. Old families may have kept and continue to keep their canopy homes, but Krakotl born on the water tend to keep a few wingbeats from the ground for most of their lives.
This access to arable land and potable water would turbocharge their farming practices and assure their dominion over the area, which would allow the development of true cities. From here on their history would look very similar to humans, but their megaflora trees would continue to stand proud. Trees of this size, surrounded by their similarly sized brethren would be exceptionally difficult to kill with primitive technology, even with genuine intent; this would have significant implications on their art and culture, which I will expand on in the next section.
Lacking the established infrastructure for such a population migration, public areas such as Lekking Grounds, Forums, or Markets would continue to exist in the hollowed trunks of their ancestral homes, but as expansion continues these would shift to wider habitations rather than taller; over time material advancements would gradually shift this back to verticality.
Given their disgust of anything that isn’t herbivory, as well as petrifying fear of the idea of predators, the Federation would discourage the continuation of water-level settlements. Using human colonial knowledge, one effective way would be to paint the water-borne as lesser or below the tree-borne, introducing the start of a caste system. The core story, and most fanfics, do not touch on any manner of class or caste, so it is reasonable to conclude these walls may have dissolved in the 1000+ years of Federation assimilation.
With federation influence, as well as modern and Federation material sciences, the Krakotl would return to their arboreal architecture, building upon the trees, while still using ancestral carve outs for their same purposes as public venues.
In the modern era, Nishtal cities have businesses, public areas, and civil infrastructure housed within the great trunks of their mega flora trees. Residential housing would be surrounding the canopies, built attached onto the trunk below, as well as built atop the branches within and above. Federation technology, as well as industry at ground level, would make consistent updrafts of warm air, which would assist the populace in reaching higher portions of the city with less effort. With the need to accommodate other federation species, elevators would also be very common, built onto the sides of the great trunks or freestanding within.
* Artistic Expression
Looking at their very intricate personal colorings and courting rituals, they would depict what stands out against the noise, and further contrast it with the nature around it. They would have an appreciation of form and try to understand it by carving deadfall of smaller flora.
With an omnivoric past, scavenger especially, they would have an abundance of long lasting material to create with: bone. Given their penchant for self-decorating, pre-metallurgy Krakotl would create extravagant jewelry with bones and clay as the basis, accentuated by brightly colored things such as gems and opal.
Given their vibrant habitat of swamp and marshland they would have ready access to plant-based colorant, and use them to create paints, dyes, and powders. Their use of dyes would be present, though underutilized as their early materials don't easily accept dyes; feather, bone, mud, and plant matter. Far more, and far earlier, their use of powders to decorate themselves and their habitations would be very complex, using stencils, presses, and blow reeds to allow for very intricate designs. As well, these powders could be added to wet mud and brick to color their homes. Not long after, they would add these powders to liquid mediums and create paints, using shed feathers as implements to paint more detailed works.
By the time of Federation First Contact, they would have a very vibrant artistic movement touching on many different disciplines, but after first contact personal identity would be a strong driving force. A thousand years is a long time, and I have every confidence they would have rediscovered many of their earlier artistic forms, but carvings would be seen as predatory due to emphasizing the effectiveness of their natural weapons, and the use of bone would be completely suppressed in all forms.
* Faith
I will start with canon information on Inatala and Maltos, then move on to headcanon theories.
There are not many references to faith, for any species, in the core story. What follows is the most detailed information on Inatala and Maltos, referenced in Ch51, from Kalsim's POV. Given it's detail despite brevity, I will copy the full excerpt here:
"Given how many galactic religions were organized against predators, it could be that Terrans saw hunters as deities. The Krakotl’s farming goddess, Inatala, brought plants to the universe to feed her children. Predators were considered a perversion of her natural order, who turned to Maltos, the god of violence, out of greed. Our reality was the eternal struggle of good and evil.
I strayed from the faith once I became an extermination officer. The priesthood had a way of twisting the goddess’ teachings; none of it matched with their written beliefs. Maltos wasn’t an inhibitor of empathy, but merely an agent of destruction. We had seen that predators were violent and greedy, while not without some positive qualities."
I commend SP on his skill in giving such wonderful detail in such a condensed space, this is enough to leave on its own.
But I will mention that, confirmed in The Interview, Inatala is a faith that was influenced, or invented wholesale, by the Federation as a method of control. Looking at our Colonial history, we can infer that the best way to invent or take control of a faith is to build off of what already exists.
The presence of a dichotomous faith, and their history of omnivory, leads me to believe they may have had a focus on the cycle of life and possibly rebirth in their pre-federation faith. Their funerals may have been to let the body flow downstream, to rejoin the marsh and be remade within it. Their weddings would have been a celebration of their role within the cycle, and their love a reflection of it within their lives and communities. The antagonist deity, Maltos, would have been seen as a facilitator of the end of this cycle, and Inatala the beginning. Federation influence would have twisted Maltos to be the end of all cycles, the end of everything, and Inatala the levy against the crashing wave.
The Federation enforces a mono-culture, so the presence of other faiths pre-contact is very likely.
As mentioned in the previous section, megaflora such as described would be exceptionally difficult to kill with pre-industrial technology, even with genuine intent. Given this and their reliance on them for housing and safety, they would have a deep reverence for these trees and an ingrained sense of permanence, leading to a faith rooted in these trees. This faith would have emphasized that everything comes and goes, but these mighty trees have been here longer than history, and will remain long after all else is dust. This faith would teach that everything passes, that all ends, but you are The Tree of your life, and you will remain in spite of and because of everything that clings and carves at your bark. Their funerals would emphasize that the memory of the dead remains, and that their effect on their world will long outlast the flesh and bone mourned by those they leave behind. Their weddings would be a celebration of the permanence of their devotion, and a challenge to existence that this union will stand against all it faces.
You will notice that these faiths each have a level of reverence for the dead. These facets would be suppressed, or even labeled as a Death Cult by the Federation, leading these faiths to be targeted for cultural assassination. Whether or not these exist in some way post human first contact, they would be a slim minority with Deep family traditions to keep it alive.
Thank you u/Towerator for detailing your homebrew faith in discord! This creation myth, as is, is recounted in its pre-contact context. After Federation influence, this story and the surrounding faith were significantly altered to assume the framework stated above in the quoted excerpt.
The Universe began with the hatching of the Cosmic Egg, from which Irrik, the Creator, was born. Irrik gathers their Shell Shards to make Irrik-An, Nishtal's orange dwarf primary, and Irrik-It, a red dwarf in distant orbit of Irrik-An, averaging 100 AU. Irrik then plucks a few of its feathers which become planets, one of which being Nishtal, and leaves to create new stars. Irrik, while extremely powerful, has no interest in life. However, while Irrik made the largest shards into heavenly bodies, smaller shards found Nishtal and infused it with life using Irrik's power. Soon, this life grew to resemble its Creator, and the first Krakotl were born. These new Krakotl sought more Shards, appearing as sacred Diamonds, to sustain themselves. Ages passed before a young huntress, Inatala, finds a Great Shard, which held immense power. The shard merged with Inatala, creating the First of the Four Gods. Her ascension caused Inatala to become prideful, so she assumed dominion of the world. She amassed an army, and conquered all that was as she sought Great Shards. She succeeded, but in doing so she discovered another Krakotl, an old man named Maltos, had found the Shard first. Maltos refused to use it for fear of what he could become. Instead, Maltos worked to help those hurt by Inatala's conquests, or give them their final mercy where he could not.
Inatala soon found the city where Maltos hid. So many were lost to protect the Shard, that Maltos considered breaking his vow to use the Shard. Instead, he came across a young chick who, despite being fatally wounded, kept her hope. It was at that moment Inatala cornered Maltos and the child. Maltos used the Shard on the dying child, to spare her life, at the cost of his own. The child, Rakim, became the Second God. Maltos accepted death, just as he accepted the death of many others. Inatala was shocked by such a selfless act, and stopped to listen. Maltos and Rakim showed Inatala the scope of her devastation, and Inatala was horrified. She swore upon the stars that she will never raise her weapon against the Innocent again, and gave her Great Shard to Maltos, who became the Third God. Rakim leaves the new friends to heal the damage Inatala had caused using her newfound godhood. Inatala then roamed the world while meditating on Maltos’ words. She searched for a way to temper the Krakotls’ greed of Shards. After another age, she found a fourth Great Shard. She was tempted to use it selfishly, but resisted, and instead gifted it to a woman who sought to understand nature, Illem, and she became the Fourth God. Illem, in her wisdom, knew that to end the Krakotl’s greed, they must have a new way to thrive; blessed by the Shards but inextinguishable. So, she took the last Shards and seeded them to trees to make Fruit, and threw them to the waters to make Fish. And so, Rakim taught the Krakotl Mercy. Maltos taught Justice. Illem taught Life. And Inatala taught the evils of Temptation, and the virtues of Succor.