Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Who Are The Chuhuac?

Sherawl showing its two rings.
Resembling the Dromaeosaurs of the Earth's prehistoric past, the Chuhuac are a species of warm-blooded saurian aliens hailing from the world of Sherawl. The name Chuhuac is a simplification   in the common language of the greater galactic community, the actual tonal and vocal pronunciation being a distinctly saurian sound with avian overtones. Properly pronounced, the species name sound something like, "CHOO-Hwaaaaa-k-k-k". The word starts with a low, guttural chuffing sound that trails into a low keyed whistle and ends with a three beat clucking/clicking sound in the back of the throat.

The exact origins of the Chuhuac are unknown, even to the species themselves. According to their historians, they were "nested" upon their home world of Sherawl by a great Star Mother who laid her celestial eggs on the world where she would watch over them until they hatched and then disappear into the stars. This myth and archaeological evidence would indicate that the species is not native to the planet but rather was seeded or came to the world of their own volition eons ago.

Examinations of the archaeological evidence indicates that at the time of the first signs of culture on the planet, the technology level of the world was actually much higher than it currently is but, declined suddenly and then had to work its way back to its current level. Culture also seems to have dwindled and then rekindled itself, suggesting that perhaps the Chuhuac did indeed come from some other place but for whatever reason were not able to maintain a society. 

The history of this saurian species mirrors that of most intelligent species with the notable exception that occasional bursts in the species' development occurred as bits and pieces of ancient technologies were recovered from the various ruins of their ancestors. Discovery, war, famine, enlightenment and near apocalypse are recurring themes throughout the thousands of years of continuous growth from their clouded past. Dating technology indicates that Chuhuac habitation on Sherawl may date back tens of thousands of years farther than their recorded history. Unfortunately none of the artifacts recovered from the original "nesting" sights has revealed any definitive data on where they came from or why they came to the planet or even if it was their intended destination.

The modern Chuhuac are an advanced culture with high level of technology that includes a mastery of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, intergalactic travel and a host of other sophisticated sciences. A part of the greater galactic community, the Chuhuac possess energy weapons as well as force field technologies and have vehicles that use gravitic drives both in military and civilian applications. Though they do trade with other species, these saurians are mostly insular and distrustful of outsiders. This has led to more than one conflict with neighboring systems including a nearby collection of systems populated by various saurian species known to the Chuhuac as "The Prey Worlds", a name that is accurately indicates the relationship between the Sherawl and these other worlds.


Image from public domain sources.

7 comments:

  1. Fantastic History!! Man I need to work with you on a Rogue Space stat line for this race!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chris,

    Any time you want to work on something, let me know.

    -Eli

    ReplyDelete
  3. You've been reading Robert J. Sawyer, haven't you. Anyway, great mini idea, keep up the good work!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I can honestly say I haven't but it sounds like I should :). You have me intrigued. What titles do you suggest?

    -Eli

    ReplyDelete
  5. Heh, I never replied to that. "Far-Seer" and its sequels "Fossil Hunter" and "Foreigner" are about sapient small tyrannosaurids who live on a moon of a gas giant somewhere, and discover their ancestors and other dino species were brought there by a sort of celestial energy being to save them from the K-T extinction on Earth. Honestly, I don't like his other books as much, but those three are amazing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Allison,

    Thank you for getting back to me on that. I have not heard of these books before.

    The idea is very similar to the idea I had, though I was rather tongue-in-cheek-ly insinuating that Earth's prehistory was not what we think it was and that these dinos had developed a culture before the K-T extinction that allowed them to save themselves. It seems to be a common idea in one form or another, so I cannot take credit for any great originally.

    I left it vague because I rather enjoy allowing people room to speculate and create. Ultimately, these are just miniatures and will be whatever the players want them to be.

    -Eli

    ReplyDelete