Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- xtauh:start [2021/11/10 20:34] – ↷ Links adapted because of a move operation shyriath
+++ xtauh:start [2024/01/25 09:51] (current) – shyriath
@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 ====== Xtauh ======
-The species known as the **xtauh** in [[language:imperial:start]] (both singular and plural) are a species of intelligent dragon that might be considered the second-ranking [[species:start#Enenkalar|sapients]] on [[Avishraa:]] and the creators of its most advanced civilizations. Though not as numerous, as technologically advanced, or as organized as the [[takma:|takmar]], their environmental flexibility and self-reliance have stood them in good stead.
+The species known as the **xtauh** in [[language:imperial:start]] (both singular and plural) are a species of intelligent dragon that might be considered the second-ranking [[species:start#Enenkalar|sapients]] on [[universe:mikurmiya:avishraa]] and the creators of its most advanced civilizations. Though not as numerous, as technologically advanced, or as organized as the [[takma:|takmar]], their environmental flexibility and self-reliance have stood them in good stead.
 ===== Numerical characteristics =====
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 ===== Taxonomy and evolution =====
 ==== Ancestry and relatives ====
-The closest living relatives of the xtauh are a species referred to in [[avishraa:place:Brightness]] [[language:imperial:start|Imperial]] as the [[takma:|takmar]], from whom they began to diverge some eighteen thousand cycles ago. Though neither of them recognize the relationship, they remain genetically compatible enough that interbreeding is occasionally possible, though extremely risky. These two species are together classified as the [[species:clade:takmin|takmins]].
+The closest living relatives of the xtauh are a species referred to in [[geography:sekhaa:region:brightness]] [[language:imperial:start|Imperial]] as the [[takma:|takmar]], from whom they began to diverge some eighteen thousand cycles ago. Though neither of them recognize the relationship, they remain genetically compatible enough that interbreeding is occasionally possible, though extremely risky. These two species are together classified as the [[species:clade:takmin|takmins]].
-The ancestors of the takmins diverged some 74 thousand cycles ago from those of the [[species:clade:dvidalin|dvidalins]], a mostly bipedal clade. The third known sapient species, the [[orghysh:]], are dvidalins, though there are also a number of non-sapient dvidalins scattered throughout [[avishraa:place:Sekhaa]]; few of these live in territories inhabited by the xtauh.
+The ancestors of the takmins diverged some 74 thousand cycles ago from those of the [[species:clade:dvidalin|dvidalins]], a mostly bipedal clade. The third known sapient species, the [[orghysh:]], are dvidalins, though there are also a number of non-sapient dvidalins scattered throughout [[geography:sekhaa:start]]; few of these live in territories inhabited by the xtauh.
 ==== Variations ====
 Xtauh have a much higher variability in skin color than humans do, even within the same population, and it is relatively common for children to be a different color from either parent (see [[xtauh:Scales and coloration]] for details). The physical races that make up the xtauh species, therefore, tend to be defined based on other factors, though some colors are more common for some than for others.
-There are, broadly speaking, three major racial types.
+There are, broadly speaking, four known major racial types.
-  * //Wasteland:// Short, rangy and long-muzzled with slightly oversized wings. They tend toward higher proportions of browns and yellows, with some oranges and reds and very few whites. They tend to predominate in the marginal lands of the southern and central [[avishraa:place:Brightness]]; because the southern edge of this range overlaps with takma colonies in the river valleys, most xtauh encountered by the takmar are of the wasteland type.
+  * //Wasteland:// Short, rangy and long-muzzled with slightly oversized wings. They tend toward higher proportions of browns and yellows, with some oranges and reds and very few whites. They tend to predominate in the marginal lands of the southern and central [[geography:sekhaa:region:brightness]]; because the southern edge of this range overlaps with takma colonies in the river valleys, most xtauh encountered by the takmar are of the wasteland type.
-  * //Sunset:// On average, taller and stockier than wasteland xtauh, and with wings more similar in proportion to those of takmar. They tend toward higher proportions of reds, oranges, yellows and whites and fewer browns. They are the predominant race in the northern Brightness and the grasslands beyond it, as well as along the eastern slopes of what the xtauh call the [[avishraa:place:Refuge Range]]‌. As these areas are the most thickly settled of the xtauh habitats, sunset xtauh make up a majority of the total population.
+  * //Sunset:// On average, taller and stockier than wasteland xtauh, and with wings more similar in proportion to those of takmar. They tend toward higher proportions of reds, oranges, yellows and whites and fewer browns. They are the predominant race in the northern Brightness and the grasslands beyond it, as well as along the eastern slopes of what the xtauh call the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Refuge Range]]‌. As these areas are the most thickly settled of the xtauh habitats, sunset xtauh make up a majority of the total population.
-  * //Mountain:// They have a build stockier than that of the sunset xtauh, but the size and wingspan of the wasteland xtauh, a shorter muzzle than either; the population is mostly browns and oranges, with some reds but very few yellows or whites. They predominate in the far eastern Brightness and the adjacent mountains known as the [[avishraa:place:Nest of the Sun]]‌; there are rumors that they have also crossed the mountains into the rift valleys and settled there.
+  * //Dunscale:// They have a build stockier than that of the sunset xtauh, but the size and wingspan of the wasteland xtauh, a shorter muzzle than either; the population is mostly browns and oranges, with some reds but very few yellows or whites. They predominate in the far eastern Brightness and the adjacent mountains known as the [[geography:sekhaa:region:Nest of the Sun]]‌; there are rumors that they have also crossed the mountains into the rift valleys and settled there.
+  * //Highland:// Like dunscale xtauh, they have a very stocky build and relatively short muzzles, but a size more similar to that of wasteland xtauh and a proportionally short wingspan. They are relatively dark in scale color, with a very high preponderance of browns and reds with few other colors except as accents. Though relatively numerous up until the Imperial era, few highland xtauh remain in the current era, after long attrition due to competition with takmar in the same region.
 As with human races, the boundaries between them are not distinct and there are many areas where considerable mixture has occurred.
@@ Line 77: / Line 78: @@
 ===== Ecology and habitats =====
-Xtauh are almost entirely restricted to the continent of [[avishraa:place:Sekhaa]]. Although they enjoy being immersed in water and are good swimmers, they [[xtauh:behaviors#thalassophobia|fear being on or in water that is too deep or too far from land]], and have not developed watercraft more advanced than rafts and shore-hugging barges. Their highest population densities are in north-[[avishraa:place:sekhaa#central_sekhaa|central]] and [[avishraa:place:sekhaa#northern Sekhaa]], on the grasslands that lie north of the [[avishraa:place:Brightness]], but they can generally be found - either alone or interspersed with takmar - anywhere on the continent between 10° and 60° north, and occasionally further north and south.
+Xtauh are almost entirely restricted to the continent of [[geography:sekhaa:start]]. Although they enjoy being immersed in water and are good swimmers, they [[xtauh:behaviors#thalassophobia|fear being on or in water that is too deep or too far from land]], and have not developed watercraft more advanced than rafts and shore-hugging barges. Their highest population densities are in north-[[geography:sekhaa:start#central_sekhaa|central]] and [[geography:sekhaa:start#northern Sekhaa]], on the grasslands that lie north of the [[geography:sekhaa:region:brightness]], but they can generally be found - either alone or interspersed with takmar - anywhere on the continent between 10° and 60° north, and occasionally further north and south.
 The xtauh are environmentally flexible creatures, able to tolerate a wide range of temperatures and climates. Although they do not do as well with low temperatures as humans do, they are much more comfortable in arid climates; unlike the takmar, who die relatively easily away from water and humidity, their bodies conserve moisture relatively easily and their dominance of the deserts of the Brightness is due largely to the fact that the takmar cannot follow them any significant distance from the river valleys. Also unlike takmar, they do not require immersion in water for their health; they will bathe in it if there are sufficient quantities around, but in the desert they typically roll in sand or gravel to get clean.