The Gorimians
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Contents
Synopsis
The Term used by Myriad to refer to a race of amphibious beings that created the synthetic beings known as The Created.
Biology
The Gorimians evolved from generations of prey animals, featuring a 240 degree vision range. Their heads have a frog-like appearance, with gills down the neck and sides of the abdomen. While omnivorous, their mouths feature a series of teeth meant for grinding food, giving the impression that they were once primarily herbivores. They stand at an average of 4.8 feet (146.304cm) and weighing in at around 140 pounds(63.5kg), The Gorimians are not the most impressive race physically. While they would appear a bipedal race, most of their weight is located in their tail, which is used both to propel them quickly through water or to strike enemies who advance on them. Their legs are double jointed with feet similar to those of a duck mixed with a lizard. Their frail-looking arms feature extensive webbing between the elbow and hip. Their primary way of movement through the water is to spread their arms out, tuck their legs in, and whip their tails side-to-side rapidly, with subtle movements of the arms to assist in turning and altitude adjustment. From above, a human would likely mistake them for a large ray. This change of appearance was used by ancient Gormians as a type of camouflage to impersonate highly poisonous creature known as a Hionax. A well fed and exercised Gorimian can reach speeds of up to Sixty-Two knots per hour, however the average (and woefully overweight) Gorimian usually moves at around twenty-seven, at full exertion.
On land, most Gormians are significantly slower, moving at a slow gait in a hunched position, encumbered by the weight of their tails. Some Gorimians, however, have been born with more ability to move on land. This has led to two 'sub-species' of Gormians: Ocean and Beach. The difference is largely in weight distribution, the later having stronger legs than tails.
Females are typically longer than males, but feature less vibrant patterning.
By Gorimian standards, their equivalent of a meta would be fit and exercised individuals, usually of the athletic classes.
Reproduction
Like humans, The Gorimians will typically mate for life. Unlike humans, the Gorimians reproduce through exterior fertilization of a cluster of around ten to twelve eggs. These eggs are then placed within a safe 'tank' where they then hatch in relative safety and without the fear of them swimming too far from the parents. Once they develop past their fish-like state, they are removed from the tank and live with their families, barring their oldest siblings, who is sent to the Homeworld's 'House of Nobles'.
Homeworld
The Gorimian Homeworld is Approximately Eighty Seven percent water. Its gravity is slightly heavier than earth's. The key aspect of the planet is its high temperature; lying just slightly out of the 'comfort zone' of the planet's star, its landmasses are nearly inhospitable to anything but sturdy plant life and some reptilian species. As such, the Gorimians either live deep in the ocean, or on the shores. The waters of the homeworld are calm, making small coastal settlements possible, though the 'big cities' are located deep below the surface.
The Gorimian Kingdom is located mostly in the Triangulum Galaxy, with two small colonies in the Andromeda Galaxy.
Culture
The Gorimians have a class based society, often determined by ones genetic disposition. When a cluster of eggs are hatched, the fasted and/or oldest spawn are typically separated from their siblings and moved to a separate, community tank. These offspring are then raised in a different manner than the common spawn, and are educated for political,scientific or leadership roles. The common spawn serve more remedial jobs, ranging from construction to cooking.
The Gorimian Royal bloodline however, was founded at the dawn of their Civilization, many years ago. The fastest royal spawn is usually put (at hatching) into an arranged marriage with the fastest noble spawn (of the opposite gender, naturally) to produce the best royal offspring when they become of age. The 'soldier' class was rendered obsolete with the existence of the Created, although the 'Guardian' class still exists. The Royal King and Queen will each choose a single protector who will guard them until either die. In the case of the former, a new guardian is chosen. When the later dies, the guardian either returns to or enters the nobility class.
Anyone can be moved to the guardian class, making it the only way to move from being a commoner to becoming a noble, although this is rare. The only way for a noble to become royalty is to be arranged from birth to marry a royal spawn.
The classes are as follow, from lowest to highest:
Outsiders. Colonists. Commoners. Athletes. Soldiers. (obsolete) Nobles and the Created. (The Created share the same 'spot' as the Nobles.) Royalty.
Class Struggles
There have been disputes between classes, though rarely does it lead to civil unrest. The Gorimian Royalty prevents The Created from giving the colonists any immediate protection outside of shield generators, forcing them to build their own defenses and support their own militias. Commoners and Nobles rarely share the same opinion. The Nobles harbor resentment towards the Created, who they feel are stealing away the benefits they believe are their birthright; having replaced their roles in law enforcement and many technological fields. This has increased even more since the new King and Queen both asked two Created 'Juggernaut' units to be their Guardians, an unprecedented event that caused shock to pour through the kingdom.
Mythology and Religion
The most prominent religion amongst the Gorimians is the belief in a single deity known as the ' Deep Mother '. This belief is split into multiple sub-views, largely regarding the appearance of the 'Deep Mother'. The notable sub-views are as follows:
Traditionalists: Traditionalists believe was that the Deep Mother was a large creature vaguely resembling an Earth whale, that gave birth to all the creatures of the ocean and blessed them with their unique abilities...but she saw only hatred and hunger in them, except the Gorimians. The Gorimians were regarded as the last of her children and born without any special abilities, but the Deep Mother loved them for this and sheltered them within the caves at the bottom of the ocean. She granted them the ability to speak and make weapons, and with this gift she also estowed her eternal blessing before returning to the depths of the sea to rest from her hard work.
Traditionalists believe in an afterlife that is often depicted as an endless shoreline. Sinners are believe to simply 'cease to exist' and those who lived well go to the afterlife for an eternity in paradise. Translated to english, their word for afterlife is 'Perfection'. A common way of saying goodbye amongst Traditionalists (and the Gorimians in general) is 'Enjoy Perfection', meaning they wish that you'll go to the afterlife when you die.
The Deep Mother is also referred to by the name 'Vita'. Her Prophets include the first King Tah'Lonus, the Noble-King For'Mux, and the first Guardian, known as Kal'Maloc.
Reformists: Reformists mainly differ from Traditionalists in that they believe that the scientist who created 'First' and later helped First create the race of synthetics simply known as 'The Created' is regarded as one of the Deep Mother's prophets, and that their creation was sent to him in a dream by the Deep Mother.
Reformists believe that the Created who were killed in the Liberation Wars were blessed by the Deep Mother with organic souls, and went to 'Perfection'.
Revivalists: Revivalists believe that the Deep Mother is actually a sentient being of pure energy that is tied to the planet. The Deep Mother chose the Gorimians as its protector, pleasing them with intelligence and the ability to travel to other worlds to bring her light to them...they have not figured out how to transfer this light. Revivalists believe all Gorimians are her prophets, barring sinners and those who live in excess, who's souls are left unconsumed at death, denying them the ability to reach Perfection. The Created are considered tools the Gorimians use to help spread the Deep Mother's light. They do not go to Perfection.
The Deep Mother is never referred to as 'Vita' in Revivalism. Most colonists are Revivalists.
Government
The Gorimians have a mixture between a Monarchy and a democracy. When an important decision comes up, each class votes on how to act, and the majority's opinion is then passed on to the creator royalty. Each class gets one vote, although each colony gets an individual vote. These views are used to help the Royal family decide how to act and in no way decide for them. While all votes are meant to be viewed equally, the Gorimian royalty holds the Noble and Created votes higher than they do the commoner votes. Colony votes are largely ignored unless the colony has something of worth, namely valuable resourcest.
Inter-Species Relations
Non-Gorimians are never allowed to interact with anyone but the Created, who first send 'Explorer' Units to secretly watch and deem if the species in question is worthy of interacting with them. From there the race is either allowed to trade with the Gorimians through the Created, is ignored, or even attacked after being deemed a threat. No race has directly spoken to a Gorimian.
The Created: A race of AI that can transfer themselves to different forms. The Gorimians quickly formed a strong bond with their creations, which have taken up all their military and policing needs. This has given Gorimian Society a strange, almost disturbing, Utopian feel: The Created fight all of the Gorimians' exterior conflicts and execute their criminals without a fair trial.
Malvans: The first race in the Milky Way that an Explorer Unit visited was naturally the Malvans. The Malvans largely leave the Gorimians alone due to their unimpressive offensive capabilities, though an occasional trade goes through the Created. The two are similar in that their culture has become excessive and lavish, the Malvans due to become a powerful galactic force and the Gorimians due to The Created doing the 'hard work' for them.
Vojichs: (Pronounced: Vhor-gicks) A now extinct race that would have nearly succeeded in conquering the Gorimian Homeworld, if they weren't beaten back by the newly Created, who then proceeded to hunt them over the course of a millenia to extermination. The last known group of Vojich was reported dead in 9AD.
Lemurians: The Lemurians have been blacklisted by the Created, barring any future ability for them to interact with the Gorimians.
Humans: Humanity is the first race for an Explorer Unit to directly interact with them after having observed them in secret. Its referred to by Earth's heroes as Myriad.
History
Timeline (Earth Years)
300'000BC - The Gorimians begin building settlements within self-dug caves. Multiple 'schools' form together and begin developing spoken languages.
28'000BC - Creator 'Nobility' established. Creator 'Royalty' is made official, with Tah'lonus becoming the first Gorimian King. His bloodline exists to this day.
22'000BC - The Nerf, A large mammalian creature and main predator of the Gorimians, is presumably hunted to extinction after the invention of 'harpoon launchers'
17'500BC - Belief in the 'Deep Mother' accelerates, becoming the official religion of the Gorimian Kingdom.
6'000BC - First coastal settlements emerge on the shore of the homeworld's single continent.
1'500BC - The Gorimians discover a useful resource that results in their first robot. Robotics becomes a leading field for Nobles to go into. These robots are used for exploring the land and ensuring large animals stay away from their cities.
1'200BC - Gorimians begin to take an interest in reaching the moon after King For'Mux declares he heard the Deep Mother command him to build a vessel that would bring 'her teachings to the stars'.
8700BC - Gorimians successfully launch their first robot into space, which lands on their moon. It sends photographs for the next century before being recovered by another mission to the moon.
2300BC - Gorimians locate a nearby planet that they believe could be colonized. Multiple robots are launched into space to investigate, but none transmit any data. The missions are presumed a failure until video footage of one of them crash landing into the planets ocean reach Gorimian Scientists. Calling the planet 'Vita', The Gorimians go on to colonize three other ocean planets: Lonus, Mux, and Bret, named after great kings of old.
September Seventeenth, 1450BC - A Prototype Device, codenamed (in English) 'The Beginning of Many' or simply 'First', is created that would take control of vehicles in case of an emergency (mainly if the pilot is incapacitated.), as well as being able to transfer itself to other devices to replace its processors and boost efficiency. It begins piloting transport vessels and is considered a success.
January Sixth, 1449BC - After nearly nine hundred years, a planet's moon is revealed to hold the wreckage of the rockets deployed to investigate their fourth colony. The video footage reveals that the rockets were shot down by an unknown party. Fearing for their safety, the Gorimian Military begins funding weapons development and drafting as many commoners as it can.
March Twenty-Fifth 1449BC - Bret, the fourth planet colonized by the Gorimians, abruptly ceases all communications.
May Eighth, 1449BC - 'First' becomes self-aware, after it realized it could make mistakes when it entered a lost social media device to report its location. It secretly uses the device to gain as much knowledge as it can. It is eventually discovered, and welcomed into society. The Gorimian Militia takes a particular interest in 'First'.
July Fourth, 1449BC - 'First' is given a robotic body to use when not controlling a transport vessel, designed for use on land. It later claims that the 'Deep Mother' may not exist. There is a debate as to whether It should be considered an equal, with many declaring it a heretic and wanting it destroyed. The current King claims the 'Deep Mother' sent him a vision that First will save them from an otherwise unstoppable evil.
June Twelfth, 1448BC - Mux, the third colony, goes dark.
June Nineteen, 1448BC - Lonus goes dark. Weapons development and drafting increases as rockets are sent to investigate. They are never heard from after passing Vita.
June Twentieth, 1448BC - The scientist who created First is killed in a riot. The leader of the riot is later found dismembered and impaled upon the gates of the King's Hall. No one is quite certain of who did this.
October Nineteenth, 1448BC - The first colony, Vita, goes dark, but manages to send out a message that they've managed to stall their attackers. 'First' proposes that the same error that made it self-aware be broadcast to all robots across the homeworld.
November First, 'Awakening Day' 1448BC - After debate between The classes, The error and distress call are broadcast across the globe, causing all robots to become self-aware. The Created are born. The Gorimians and Created collaborate on weapon and ship designs to send aid to troops on Vola.
December Twenty-Fourth, 1447BC - The Created depart the homeworld and reach Volita. After their pathetic Counter-Attack, the Created begin to develop combat data, and they eventually drive out the Vojich with brutal efficiency. 'First' begins to absorb 'dying' Created and eventually becomes the Super Intelligence known on Earth as Myriad.
Feburary First, 1441BC - With the colonies liberated, the majority of The Created (considered heroes) press on through the galaxy, eradicating the Vojich wherever they find them. Video Footage of The Created cutting down children and civilians horrifies The Gorimians. Many begin to worry that the Created who remained to rebuild the colonies would start killing them. This fear dies down over the course of the next few centuries as Non-combatant Created begin work on advancements in medicine and electronic entertainment for their organic creators.
50BC - The Created declare that they have developed FTL travel, but refuse to share the methods of constructing it with The Gorimians.
09AD - The Created report that they have successfully destroyed the Vojich. Old paranoia about a synthetic revolt re-emerges, and many nobles begin trying to build a second race of synthetic allies to take the Created's place. Their attempts are found out by the Queen, who publicly orders the Created to execute them. The new synthetics are 'absorbed' into the Created Collective, and any knowledge of creating synthetic life is eventually forgotten by the Gorimians.
300AD - many Created depart from Gorimian space to search for more suitable planets for their creators to colonize. The Gorimians add five more colonies in the Triangulum Galaxy to their kingdom.
301AD to Present - The Gorimians have gained two colonies in the Andromeda Galaxy, but have hardly seen the need to expand into other planets. They have yet to interact with other races due to The Created not allowing alien ships near their borders. Their society has reached a psuedo-Utopian level in that they rely on the Created to fight their battles and enforce their laws.
Obesity is a highly common trait in all but the Athlete class, who tend to avoid the excessive living that both commoners and nobles live. With the Created assuming control over construction and enforcement jobs, the Gorimians tend to enter the culinary and artistic fields.
