Tar'et
The Tar'et are one of the three founding species of The Concord of Mutual Disdain. They are large creatures measuring up to 12ft in height from floor to their highest point and even longer from mandible to tail.
Physiology
They have hard chitin armour that covers most of their back and heads. They possess great fins that make them very wide and a long thin tail that grants them some dexterity, but nowhere near the extent of human hands. They possess 6 pairs of legs. Four pairs are attached to the front of their fins and two pairs are attached to the rear of their fins. They possess two eyestalks with eyeballs at the end that are capable of moving independently from each other and see in a much wider light range than the human eye. Their great size grants them great strength and they are very heavy, easily reaching a tonne.
All of these physiological traits are designed for underwater movement as, like the Queltl, the Tar'et are an amphibious species. Unlike the Queltl however they are far more adapted for living in the water than in land. Their chitinous legs are useful for clambering and maneuvering underwater with the assistance of buoyancy but are not sufficient to hold their entire weight on land. As such they are very slow moving on land as they have to pull their full weight along. They do not possess the physical capability for human speech and require translation devices to be understood.
It is not yet clear how old Tar’et can live for. For most of their history they have lived to around the 200’s before succumbing to conflict with the Queltl as the older warriors were the most experienced and thus most needed on the battlefield. As such none of the species lived long enough to die of old age. Since the cessation of hostilities however the Tar’et have enjoyed a much longer lifespan, regularly reaching over 400. While for the Queltl many generations have passed since their conflict with the Tar’et the majority of the Tar’et population are only a generation or two removed. With some rare veterans of the conflict still living now well into retirement. On the other end of the spectrum Tar’et children differ from Human and Queltl children as they are precocial. As soon as a Tar’et is born it takes only a matter of minutes or hours to adjust and be fully capable of movement on their own. Born at 6ft tall the price of this biological advantage is a long pregnancy, taking two to two and a half years to complete. They are also only capable of having one Tric’ket (baby) at a time. These factors in addition to only reaching sexual maturity in their forties are what keep the species at such small numbers compared to humans and Queltl, even after such an extended period of peace.
Size comparison compared to humans
History
One of the founding species of The Concord of Mutual Disdain
Organisation
Given their independence from birth Tar’et are less social than the Queltl or humanity. Their groupings were often a result of fighting for survival before the concord as single entities were much easier targets for the far more numerous Queltl. As such since the establishment of the Concord the Tar’et social groups have often split up over the passage of time, not through malice or conflict, but merely to experience more solitary life. There are certainly some Tar’et who have adjusted to more family oriented living but the lack of need to care for children beyond education means that many Tar'et do not live in family units. Rather groups that do form are often done so over politics, hobbies or other mutual interests.
Culture
For a species that is so long lived age often comes with a measure of respect. When peers can have centuries of experience more than their compatriots it is very likely that they will have more knowledge than their younger peers and Tar’et are often willing both to teach and listen. Whilst the Queltl and humans often like to make haste and get things done quickly Tar’et are more inclined to take their time and have measured responses. Partly as a consequence of seeing the younger species rush around so much the Tar’et often view themselves as a guiding hand to the other species of the concord, seeing the other species much like the inexperienced members of their own.
Among their own species the most common consequence of adjusting to life in the Concord has been the adoption of transportation aids. The assistance needed to walk in oxygenated spaces has had wide reaching impacts on Tar’et culture. In addition to the respect shown towards experience and age the manner of mechanical assistance is often seen as a status symbol among the Tar’et. Rather than investing in houses or clothes to show off status or personality Tar’et culture is reflected in this apparatus. By personalising their apparatus Tar’et express their individuality and wealth. The cheapest and least respected versions are a simple set of large mechanical legs attached to the front pair of biological legs on their fins. More expansive sets will include a much smaller set of mechanical legs attached to the point where the tail connects to their abdomen. Whilst the large front mechanical legs are usually controlled by the front biological legs these hind legs are usually entirely mechanical or automatic. For the most extravagant and well off set of assistance Tar’et will have mechanical legs for each set of their own in addition to the hind legs. Whilst other forms of mechanical assistance are available such as hover-tech the majority of the Kardakouk population of Tar’et prefer the use of mechanical legs. On Jääaika the use of legs is still the fashion but they prefer the use of wooden legs as they were historically all that were available to them in the time of lost contact.
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