A Field Guide to the Karak
Jan. 2nd, 2009 11:50 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
aithneStorm and I are working on something new starting next week, and this is me writing down what I know about our centaurs. This is a continuation of a project that is going to take us years to complete that started with the drow epic.
Anyway, meet the Karak...
The Karak
The Karak are a race of people who live in a continent that is roughly analogous to South America in its size, geography, latitude, and relative isolation. Their continent is home to a class of vertebrates, Class Duophrenii, that resembles mammals in most features--bilateral symmetry, mammary glands, giving birth to live young, and being endothermic--but differs radically in others. These vertebrates are six-limbed, have two to three hearts depending on the species, have a specialized brain structure that involves brain tissue located in two distinct locations in the body, and specialized lung development.
Class Duophrenii is part of Infraphylum Gnathostomata, being disqualified from Superclass Tetrapoda because they have altogether too many legs. Most scholars believe that Class Duophrenii split off early from the rest of the vertebrates, but have remained close enough genetically to pick up some of the more useful mammalian innovations.
The Karak are apex predators, dominating the landscape they live in much like humans dominate theirs. Evolutionary pressure in the form of larger (now extinct) predators caused their evolutionary path to be largely parallel to humans--developing sophisticated communication and then language, complicated social structures, and technology. They are highly intelligent, at least the equal of humans in some areas and surpassing them in others.
They bear a superficial resemblance to the mythical creatures humans know as centaurs.
Anatomy
From the outside, Karak resemble goats, llamas, or horses with a human-like torso where these creatures would have necks and heads. At their largest, they stand 5 feet at the mid-limb shoulder and 10 feet at the top of the head. A small adult will be about 3 feet at the mid-limb shoulder and 6 feet at the top of the head.
Four of their limbs are optimized for locomotion. The largest Karak have bodies that resemble horses and are built for efficient motion over long, relatively flat distances. The two smaller strains that resemble goats or llamas are built for the mountainous regions, and are efficient climbers.
The torso is deeply connected to the lower portion of the body, with an extremely flexible spine and rib-like bones to provide structure. Karak torsos are built to stretch and contract easily--if the Karak is moving quickly, they will contract their torso (bending the spine in a U-shape towards their tail) and use it to counterbalance the motion of the body. The torso is flexible enough that a Karak can behind it forward and tuck their head between their mid-limbs. The largest Karak can attain ground speeds of 40 miles an hour at a sprint and are comfortable moving at 30 MPH canter or 25 MPH pacing gait (similar to the tolt gait found in Icelandic horses) for up to six hours at a time.
The only vital organs in the torso are a secondary heart, small lungs, and approximately half of their brain; there are also sensory organs located in approximately the same locations as they are in humans. A Karak skull bears some resemblances to the skull of a large cat or a baboon; their eyes are large and face forward, their muzzle features large nostrils to facilitate getting air to their lungs and a long jaw. Their teeth suggest that at one point the Karak were obligate carnivores who are evolving adaptations to a diet with more vegetable matter; they only have one set of true molars.
Their ears are set low on their heads and are mobile, able to direct their hearing.
The uppermost limbs of the Karak, their arms, are very strong. Four collarbones brace the shoulder joints, which are ball and socket joints with a significant degree of freedom and the ability to lock an angle of arc for maximum leverage. The arms are made of two bones, with one modified hinge joint between them.
Karak hands are six-fingered, with two thumbs, one on either side of the palm. This means that there are two pincer grips on each hand. The four non-thumb fingers have a significant degree of independence from one another. Each finger has a partially retractable claw that, without trimming, can become very sharp.
The mid-limbs and hind limbs are built to carry a heavy but balanced load; both back sets of limbs terminate in a modified, two-toed foot with a hoof at the end. In the larger Karak, the two toes that make up the foot may be nearly fused together. Karak legs are sturdily built, and overall the ideal is a balanced body and leg that allows for maximum efficiency in walking, running, and working.
Karak skin is tough and covered in short hair; longer hair grows from their head down to the shoulders of their mid-limbs. They also have a tail that is used much like horses use their tails, for balance, communication, and shooing insects. Like many mammals, hair condition is a strong signal of overall health. A healthy Karak's hair will be glossy, and his mane and tail hair will be long and shiny. Matting, tangles, dullness, and short mane and tail are signs of ill-health or poor nutrition--or even long-term emotional upset.
Karak hair comes in many colors, ranging from black to reddish dun to roan red to white, and most are striped or spotted.
Internal Organs and Systems
Karak circulatory systems are designed with a good bit of redundancy; their primary heart nestles near their brain in the middle of their body, protected by bony shields. Their secondary heart and lungs, in the center of the upright torso, provides additional blood pumping support and feeds the half of their brain that is located in their heads. The secondary heart and lungs are driven by separate pacemakers; the secondary pacemaker, it is thought, responds not to nerve signals from the other heart but by the rise and fall of blood pressure, timing its beats by sensing systole and asystole. It is also possible for the secondary heart and lungs to shut down temporarily with little harm coming to the Karak. Shutdowns can be triggered by the torso being twisted into a configuration that prevents the lungs from inflating, shock, or a sharp drop in blood pressure.
The digestive system resembles a large cat's far more than it does a ruminant's, with one stomach. Karak are capable of eating large amounts of food at a sitting, and their bodies are very efficient at processing and storing proteins and fats. Too much roughage in the diet can cause Karak to lose condition and drop weight very quickly. The stomach is located between the midlegs, and a satiated Karak will look pigeon-breasted, much as a human might look a bit bloated after a large meal.
Possibly one of the most interesting parts of Karak anatomy is their nervous system. All of the class of six-limbed creatures have two separate brains, generally one in the head and one near the tail; usually, one is the main brain while the other is a cluster of nerves with some brain tissue that operates as an adjunct medulla, assisting with coordinating movement. Karak, on the other hand, are genuinely two-brained. One brain resides in their head, and seems to largely serve to gather and process input from their sensory organs. The other resides in the center of their bodies, shielded by two bony "wings" that are a modified ribcage, sheltered by dura mater and anchored by meninges. This brain contains many of the structures one sees in mammalian brains, including medulla, cerebellum, cortex, and hippocampus. Almost all higher brain functions are controlled by this brain. This is where the name of Class Duophrenii comes from -- "two-minded".
The spinal cord is a bit different than mammalian spinal cords, since it not just connects the brain with the peripheral nervous system but also includes specialized nerve tissue that resembles the mammalian corpus callosum more than anything else. This nerve tissue has much lower latency than the Karak's usual nerve tissue and the only signals that are carried on it are communications between the two brains.
Despite their two brains, Karak have a single cohesive personality, experiencing no more personality splits than a mammal with two brain hemispheres. If the spinal cord and corpus callosum are both severed between the two brains (difficult to do anything but surgically or by illness, since large arteries and veins run alongside the spinal column and a Karak whose spinal cord has been severed will quickly bleed out) the Karak will be blind, deaf, and unable to speak. While the upper brain will continue to function and may in time develop the ability to think and speak, that brain will always be unable to control any part of the body below the sever.
Reproductive and elimination organs are located in approximately the same place they would be found in mammals. Females have breasts located on their torsos; when they are not nursing, their mammary glands shrink and flatten, and it's possible to not be able to tell a male Karak from a female at first sight (though it is always distinguishable on first sniff, which is how Karak tell male from female).
Karak eyesight is very good, especially in low light. Like felines, their sight is optimized for seeing even the smallest of movement. They are somewhat color-blind, particularly along the red-yellow-green continuum. Their hearing and sense of smell are excellent.
Life Cycle
Karak are born mostly blind and deaf, with an excellent sense of smell. They are largely helpless for approximately ten days after birth. Once their eyes and ears open between five and days of age, they begin to move on their own, and will be standing and walking ten days after birth, and climbing and running by twenty days after birth. They are usually weaned after three or four years. A Karak child will be dependent on its family for about sixteen years after birth, until puberty. This is a very long childhood, one of the longest of terrestrial creatures, but Karak long ago evolved to have very few young and take care of those young very well.
During childhood, a Karak will learn from her family group not just how to survive but also the cultural teachings and ideals of her particular strain. Children are expensive for Karak, both in attention and in the sheer amount of food it takes to fuel development of body and brains.
After puberty, the newly minted Karak adult will usually start looking for a mate and a family. (There are those who delay pairing for some time, though, especially if they have something occupying them that leaves them with no time for children.) Marriage customs vary, but once a mate is secured, a female will often be pregnant on her first or second heat cycle after she takes a mate.
Karak females are seasonally polyestrous; they will cycle about every six weeks during late spring and through the summer. It is considered lucky to conceive in the spring. Likely, this is because a spring conception means that the period of pregnancy that is the hardest on the female's body will coincide with the season of most abundantly available food, early fall. Coupling usually only happens while the female is cycling; when a female is out of cycle, she's not interested. A Karak female will usually have only two or three children in her life. They do not cycle when they are nursing, and there are also methods of birth control used to control fertility when children are not desired.
Both male and female Karak decline in fertility when they reach late adulthood, at about 45 years old. Females usually stop cycling entirely about age 60, and both sexes lose interest in coupling around then (though long-established pairs and families will stay together). Karak generally die of one of the several illnesses of old age by about a century old.
Illnesses of old age are largely neurological and include "the drift", which is when an elderly Karak's brains get a bit scrambled and they drift into a gentle, delusional haze and stop eating. The drift is the most gentle of these illnesses; others can push a Karak oldster's family to mercy killing, which is still accepted practice among most Karak cultures. The other organ that is often affected by old age is the kidneys, which are often subject to damage from periodic periods of fasting. Death from kidney failure is generally swift and unexpected.
Culture
Karak have had a largely stable culture for several thousand years. There are four main languages, five if you count the "secret" religious language. There are three main "races", as well--the Eo (hunters), the Gla (traders), and the Pra (priests). The Eo are large, dwell in the sweeping plains in the wide valleys, and resemble horses. The Pra are the smallest race, dwell mostly in the high reaches of the mountains to be close to the gods, and resemble goats. The Gla are between the Eo and the Pra in size, and of the three races move most freely between mountain and valley. Their bodies resemble llamas.
Each race has its own language and culture, but there is an understanding, explicitly codified in the Karak religion, that the three races are part of a greater whole, and like their pairs of limbs, none functions well without the others. The Karak pantheon is headed by a sun god and moon goddess that all Karak honor, and there are many local gods who vary in power and influence. One of the main duties of the Pra is to determine the names, powers, and needs of local gods, and give advice on, for instance, how best to appease the god who controls a local spring that has stopped flowing. Pra are also able to call on the power of the gods, and use it for the benefit of their people. There are strict limits on the uses of the gods' power, and the gods themselves will punish misuses.
The basic unit of Karak society is the family. Families consist of 4-10 paired adults, whatever children may be being raised collectively by those adults, and assorted elders if those elders have had enough of their own family die that it makes sense for them to be supported by their children. These families form in early adulthood and are usually lifelong. Monogamy is the expected norm, though among the Gla there is a tradition of polyandry when females are scarce. Homosexual behavior is not particularly taboo, but it is considered childish (since Karak will often form very strong bonds with others of their own sex during childhood; these bonds are often the basis of families).
While all three races are cross-fertile, the difference in size alone can make things difficult for those who pair outside of their race. The only pairing that will be genuinely disapproved of is of a female with a much larger male. Since too-large babies are the main cause of death in childbirth for Karak, females are enjoined to choose males that are smaller than themselves. This can leave the largest male Eo without mates. Otherwise, should (for example) a female Eo and a male Pra pair off, there are positions and apparatus to make coupling possible, and though the pair will be teased, their choice will be generally respected. Children of a cross-race pairing will generally resemble the larger of the two parents, though they will have some characteristics of their other parent.
Eliminatory functions are considered private, as is coupling. Facilities to take care of the former are built separately from living quarters, often on a site chosen and blessed by the Pra as having a god who will help with speedy breakdown of waste. A pair of Karak, when the female is cycling, will often leave their home for a few days to "work it out". If weather or circumstances mean they cannot leave, they will withdraw as much as they can.
Karak residences are invariably one-storied affairs, and architecture and materials depend on what's available locally. Usually, residences are used most heavily in the winter; sleeping indoors when it's warm out is unpleasant for them.
While the Karak have no nudity taboos, they do adorn themselves. Though their land has abundant gold, to them the metal is ugly (having a moldy greenish cast due to their color-blindness) and they do not use it in jewelry or otherwise. Metal adornments are usually made out of bronze. Adornment customs vary significantly between the races, and they are constantly changing. A Karak may braid their mane and tail, pierce their ears and nose, dye or paint patterns on their bodies and hands, wear feathers and bells, or use oil to shine their hooves. Both males and females will often habitually wear the skins of creatures they have killed, especially if the pelts are unusual or somehow sacred. Even how they move is considered adornment; the flying pace gait is considered to be the height of beauty in motion among the Eo, and with the Pra scaling seemingly impossible cliffs gracefully is very attractive indeed.
While war among the Karak is rare, when it does happen both males and females will fight. Battle is a large-scale hunt, and rather than two sides coming together in one large conflict, there will be countless small fights. Battles will last several days and often the winner is difficult to determine.
The Karak are governed by a group that spans the three races who have largely inherited the duty to rule. Their government bears little resemblance to a traditional monarchy, since the rulers are not noticeably richer than their non-ruling counterparts, and there is only the bare minimum of support structure in place for them. Ruling is considered a thankless task, since it requires endless judging of conflicts between Karak individuals and families.
Karak evidently developed and then largely abandoned writing as a technology; remnants of signs that signify words can be found in many of their decorative designs, but only the Gla have kept the knowledge of what these signs mean alive. The Gla do write, but they share their writings only with other Gla. Otherwise, the Karak culture is largely oral. Children learn by listening to parents and elders teach, and watching what they do.
At the time of this writing, the Karak have never come into contact with any of the many other cultures in their world.
This is about to change.
Anyway, meet the Karak...
The Karak
The Karak are a race of people who live in a continent that is roughly analogous to South America in its size, geography, latitude, and relative isolation. Their continent is home to a class of vertebrates, Class Duophrenii, that resembles mammals in most features--bilateral symmetry, mammary glands, giving birth to live young, and being endothermic--but differs radically in others. These vertebrates are six-limbed, have two to three hearts depending on the species, have a specialized brain structure that involves brain tissue located in two distinct locations in the body, and specialized lung development.
Class Duophrenii is part of Infraphylum Gnathostomata, being disqualified from Superclass Tetrapoda because they have altogether too many legs. Most scholars believe that Class Duophrenii split off early from the rest of the vertebrates, but have remained close enough genetically to pick up some of the more useful mammalian innovations.
The Karak are apex predators, dominating the landscape they live in much like humans dominate theirs. Evolutionary pressure in the form of larger (now extinct) predators caused their evolutionary path to be largely parallel to humans--developing sophisticated communication and then language, complicated social structures, and technology. They are highly intelligent, at least the equal of humans in some areas and surpassing them in others.
They bear a superficial resemblance to the mythical creatures humans know as centaurs.
Anatomy
From the outside, Karak resemble goats, llamas, or horses with a human-like torso where these creatures would have necks and heads. At their largest, they stand 5 feet at the mid-limb shoulder and 10 feet at the top of the head. A small adult will be about 3 feet at the mid-limb shoulder and 6 feet at the top of the head.
Four of their limbs are optimized for locomotion. The largest Karak have bodies that resemble horses and are built for efficient motion over long, relatively flat distances. The two smaller strains that resemble goats or llamas are built for the mountainous regions, and are efficient climbers.
The torso is deeply connected to the lower portion of the body, with an extremely flexible spine and rib-like bones to provide structure. Karak torsos are built to stretch and contract easily--if the Karak is moving quickly, they will contract their torso (bending the spine in a U-shape towards their tail) and use it to counterbalance the motion of the body. The torso is flexible enough that a Karak can behind it forward and tuck their head between their mid-limbs. The largest Karak can attain ground speeds of 40 miles an hour at a sprint and are comfortable moving at 30 MPH canter or 25 MPH pacing gait (similar to the tolt gait found in Icelandic horses) for up to six hours at a time.
The only vital organs in the torso are a secondary heart, small lungs, and approximately half of their brain; there are also sensory organs located in approximately the same locations as they are in humans. A Karak skull bears some resemblances to the skull of a large cat or a baboon; their eyes are large and face forward, their muzzle features large nostrils to facilitate getting air to their lungs and a long jaw. Their teeth suggest that at one point the Karak were obligate carnivores who are evolving adaptations to a diet with more vegetable matter; they only have one set of true molars.
Their ears are set low on their heads and are mobile, able to direct their hearing.
The uppermost limbs of the Karak, their arms, are very strong. Four collarbones brace the shoulder joints, which are ball and socket joints with a significant degree of freedom and the ability to lock an angle of arc for maximum leverage. The arms are made of two bones, with one modified hinge joint between them.
Karak hands are six-fingered, with two thumbs, one on either side of the palm. This means that there are two pincer grips on each hand. The four non-thumb fingers have a significant degree of independence from one another. Each finger has a partially retractable claw that, without trimming, can become very sharp.
The mid-limbs and hind limbs are built to carry a heavy but balanced load; both back sets of limbs terminate in a modified, two-toed foot with a hoof at the end. In the larger Karak, the two toes that make up the foot may be nearly fused together. Karak legs are sturdily built, and overall the ideal is a balanced body and leg that allows for maximum efficiency in walking, running, and working.
Karak skin is tough and covered in short hair; longer hair grows from their head down to the shoulders of their mid-limbs. They also have a tail that is used much like horses use their tails, for balance, communication, and shooing insects. Like many mammals, hair condition is a strong signal of overall health. A healthy Karak's hair will be glossy, and his mane and tail hair will be long and shiny. Matting, tangles, dullness, and short mane and tail are signs of ill-health or poor nutrition--or even long-term emotional upset.
Karak hair comes in many colors, ranging from black to reddish dun to roan red to white, and most are striped or spotted.
Internal Organs and Systems
Karak circulatory systems are designed with a good bit of redundancy; their primary heart nestles near their brain in the middle of their body, protected by bony shields. Their secondary heart and lungs, in the center of the upright torso, provides additional blood pumping support and feeds the half of their brain that is located in their heads. The secondary heart and lungs are driven by separate pacemakers; the secondary pacemaker, it is thought, responds not to nerve signals from the other heart but by the rise and fall of blood pressure, timing its beats by sensing systole and asystole. It is also possible for the secondary heart and lungs to shut down temporarily with little harm coming to the Karak. Shutdowns can be triggered by the torso being twisted into a configuration that prevents the lungs from inflating, shock, or a sharp drop in blood pressure.
The digestive system resembles a large cat's far more than it does a ruminant's, with one stomach. Karak are capable of eating large amounts of food at a sitting, and their bodies are very efficient at processing and storing proteins and fats. Too much roughage in the diet can cause Karak to lose condition and drop weight very quickly. The stomach is located between the midlegs, and a satiated Karak will look pigeon-breasted, much as a human might look a bit bloated after a large meal.
Possibly one of the most interesting parts of Karak anatomy is their nervous system. All of the class of six-limbed creatures have two separate brains, generally one in the head and one near the tail; usually, one is the main brain while the other is a cluster of nerves with some brain tissue that operates as an adjunct medulla, assisting with coordinating movement. Karak, on the other hand, are genuinely two-brained. One brain resides in their head, and seems to largely serve to gather and process input from their sensory organs. The other resides in the center of their bodies, shielded by two bony "wings" that are a modified ribcage, sheltered by dura mater and anchored by meninges. This brain contains many of the structures one sees in mammalian brains, including medulla, cerebellum, cortex, and hippocampus. Almost all higher brain functions are controlled by this brain. This is where the name of Class Duophrenii comes from -- "two-minded".
The spinal cord is a bit different than mammalian spinal cords, since it not just connects the brain with the peripheral nervous system but also includes specialized nerve tissue that resembles the mammalian corpus callosum more than anything else. This nerve tissue has much lower latency than the Karak's usual nerve tissue and the only signals that are carried on it are communications between the two brains.
Despite their two brains, Karak have a single cohesive personality, experiencing no more personality splits than a mammal with two brain hemispheres. If the spinal cord and corpus callosum are both severed between the two brains (difficult to do anything but surgically or by illness, since large arteries and veins run alongside the spinal column and a Karak whose spinal cord has been severed will quickly bleed out) the Karak will be blind, deaf, and unable to speak. While the upper brain will continue to function and may in time develop the ability to think and speak, that brain will always be unable to control any part of the body below the sever.
Reproductive and elimination organs are located in approximately the same place they would be found in mammals. Females have breasts located on their torsos; when they are not nursing, their mammary glands shrink and flatten, and it's possible to not be able to tell a male Karak from a female at first sight (though it is always distinguishable on first sniff, which is how Karak tell male from female).
Karak eyesight is very good, especially in low light. Like felines, their sight is optimized for seeing even the smallest of movement. They are somewhat color-blind, particularly along the red-yellow-green continuum. Their hearing and sense of smell are excellent.
Life Cycle
Karak are born mostly blind and deaf, with an excellent sense of smell. They are largely helpless for approximately ten days after birth. Once their eyes and ears open between five and days of age, they begin to move on their own, and will be standing and walking ten days after birth, and climbing and running by twenty days after birth. They are usually weaned after three or four years. A Karak child will be dependent on its family for about sixteen years after birth, until puberty. This is a very long childhood, one of the longest of terrestrial creatures, but Karak long ago evolved to have very few young and take care of those young very well.
During childhood, a Karak will learn from her family group not just how to survive but also the cultural teachings and ideals of her particular strain. Children are expensive for Karak, both in attention and in the sheer amount of food it takes to fuel development of body and brains.
After puberty, the newly minted Karak adult will usually start looking for a mate and a family. (There are those who delay pairing for some time, though, especially if they have something occupying them that leaves them with no time for children.) Marriage customs vary, but once a mate is secured, a female will often be pregnant on her first or second heat cycle after she takes a mate.
Karak females are seasonally polyestrous; they will cycle about every six weeks during late spring and through the summer. It is considered lucky to conceive in the spring. Likely, this is because a spring conception means that the period of pregnancy that is the hardest on the female's body will coincide with the season of most abundantly available food, early fall. Coupling usually only happens while the female is cycling; when a female is out of cycle, she's not interested. A Karak female will usually have only two or three children in her life. They do not cycle when they are nursing, and there are also methods of birth control used to control fertility when children are not desired.
Both male and female Karak decline in fertility when they reach late adulthood, at about 45 years old. Females usually stop cycling entirely about age 60, and both sexes lose interest in coupling around then (though long-established pairs and families will stay together). Karak generally die of one of the several illnesses of old age by about a century old.
Illnesses of old age are largely neurological and include "the drift", which is when an elderly Karak's brains get a bit scrambled and they drift into a gentle, delusional haze and stop eating. The drift is the most gentle of these illnesses; others can push a Karak oldster's family to mercy killing, which is still accepted practice among most Karak cultures. The other organ that is often affected by old age is the kidneys, which are often subject to damage from periodic periods of fasting. Death from kidney failure is generally swift and unexpected.
Culture
Karak have had a largely stable culture for several thousand years. There are four main languages, five if you count the "secret" religious language. There are three main "races", as well--the Eo (hunters), the Gla (traders), and the Pra (priests). The Eo are large, dwell in the sweeping plains in the wide valleys, and resemble horses. The Pra are the smallest race, dwell mostly in the high reaches of the mountains to be close to the gods, and resemble goats. The Gla are between the Eo and the Pra in size, and of the three races move most freely between mountain and valley. Their bodies resemble llamas.
Each race has its own language and culture, but there is an understanding, explicitly codified in the Karak religion, that the three races are part of a greater whole, and like their pairs of limbs, none functions well without the others. The Karak pantheon is headed by a sun god and moon goddess that all Karak honor, and there are many local gods who vary in power and influence. One of the main duties of the Pra is to determine the names, powers, and needs of local gods, and give advice on, for instance, how best to appease the god who controls a local spring that has stopped flowing. Pra are also able to call on the power of the gods, and use it for the benefit of their people. There are strict limits on the uses of the gods' power, and the gods themselves will punish misuses.
The basic unit of Karak society is the family. Families consist of 4-10 paired adults, whatever children may be being raised collectively by those adults, and assorted elders if those elders have had enough of their own family die that it makes sense for them to be supported by their children. These families form in early adulthood and are usually lifelong. Monogamy is the expected norm, though among the Gla there is a tradition of polyandry when females are scarce. Homosexual behavior is not particularly taboo, but it is considered childish (since Karak will often form very strong bonds with others of their own sex during childhood; these bonds are often the basis of families).
While all three races are cross-fertile, the difference in size alone can make things difficult for those who pair outside of their race. The only pairing that will be genuinely disapproved of is of a female with a much larger male. Since too-large babies are the main cause of death in childbirth for Karak, females are enjoined to choose males that are smaller than themselves. This can leave the largest male Eo without mates. Otherwise, should (for example) a female Eo and a male Pra pair off, there are positions and apparatus to make coupling possible, and though the pair will be teased, their choice will be generally respected. Children of a cross-race pairing will generally resemble the larger of the two parents, though they will have some characteristics of their other parent.
Eliminatory functions are considered private, as is coupling. Facilities to take care of the former are built separately from living quarters, often on a site chosen and blessed by the Pra as having a god who will help with speedy breakdown of waste. A pair of Karak, when the female is cycling, will often leave their home for a few days to "work it out". If weather or circumstances mean they cannot leave, they will withdraw as much as they can.
Karak residences are invariably one-storied affairs, and architecture and materials depend on what's available locally. Usually, residences are used most heavily in the winter; sleeping indoors when it's warm out is unpleasant for them.
While the Karak have no nudity taboos, they do adorn themselves. Though their land has abundant gold, to them the metal is ugly (having a moldy greenish cast due to their color-blindness) and they do not use it in jewelry or otherwise. Metal adornments are usually made out of bronze. Adornment customs vary significantly between the races, and they are constantly changing. A Karak may braid their mane and tail, pierce their ears and nose, dye or paint patterns on their bodies and hands, wear feathers and bells, or use oil to shine their hooves. Both males and females will often habitually wear the skins of creatures they have killed, especially if the pelts are unusual or somehow sacred. Even how they move is considered adornment; the flying pace gait is considered to be the height of beauty in motion among the Eo, and with the Pra scaling seemingly impossible cliffs gracefully is very attractive indeed.
While war among the Karak is rare, when it does happen both males and females will fight. Battle is a large-scale hunt, and rather than two sides coming together in one large conflict, there will be countless small fights. Battles will last several days and often the winner is difficult to determine.
The Karak are governed by a group that spans the three races who have largely inherited the duty to rule. Their government bears little resemblance to a traditional monarchy, since the rulers are not noticeably richer than their non-ruling counterparts, and there is only the bare minimum of support structure in place for them. Ruling is considered a thankless task, since it requires endless judging of conflicts between Karak individuals and families.
Karak evidently developed and then largely abandoned writing as a technology; remnants of signs that signify words can be found in many of their decorative designs, but only the Gla have kept the knowledge of what these signs mean alive. The Gla do write, but they share their writings only with other Gla. Otherwise, the Karak culture is largely oral. Children learn by listening to parents and elders teach, and watching what they do.
At the time of this writing, the Karak have never come into contact with any of the many other cultures in their world.
This is about to change.
