Phase 2:Ustsulunt Kin'toni Clan

History

Psychology

Biology

The Ustsulunt are adapted to the claustrophobic, pitch-black, multi-tiered forest canopy of the Risold Dark Grove. They are extremely elongated, gracile, and light-boned of build. The spine is highly flexible, the limbs hyper-extensible. They are adapted for leaping and swinging in the dense tree branches. This hollow boned, hyper light skeletal structure leads to be a very low impact resistance, meaning if they fall and hit the floor or if they are hit by an blunt attack, their bones will shatter.

They have skin that is an matte, light-absorbing obsidian black in color. This skin has irregular, velvet-textured patches adapted to mimic tree bark and damp patches. Having soft, velvety skin also means they lack dense keratin protection, making the skin easy to tear from rocks or blades. The hair is deep, shadow-maroon in color and it grows in long, ultra-fine, silk-like strands. The hair grows down the spine and acts as sensitive wind-current detectors, allowing them to navigate the dense foliage in the dark.

The eyes are immensely large, with pitch black irises and an ultra-wide pupil dilation capacity. These eyes have a highly developed tapetum lucidum to allow for sights even in the darkness. Like other dark adapted clans, they are sensitive to light and go into neural shock if exposed to light. The ears are long, pointed and very mobile, able to rotate interdependently. These ears act as a form of sonar via tracking the sounds of the clicks they make. The nose contains hyper-developed chemoreceptors inside wide, flared nostrils.

These are able to detect the smell of blood, even in decaying forest vegetation. The teeth are long, slender, and curved backward. These teeth are adapted for the fast prey of the canopy. Being thin and curved, they lack the strength and cross section in order to crush bone, meaning they rely on cutting into the blood vessels. The claws are long, deeply hooked and adapted to act as natural climbing irons. These claws can pierce and lock into the bark of the giant trees. The claws are so hooked though, they cannot close their hands fully.

This means they cannot use wield traditional tools and weapons. The feet are adapted to be highly prehensile. These feet have opposable big toes and rough, high-friction leather pads. These allow them to walk on the tree limbs and grasp branches well, but making flat ground prone to twisting their joints, and them clumsy and slow due to an lack of lateral ankle stability. Inside, they have lymphatic filters containing large amounts of heavy-capacity cell clots. These are able to isolate, encapsulate, and break down the common toxic spores they breathe in.

The blood vessels are adapted to have responsive contraction valves for moving the blood quickly to the brain and core, such as while they descend quickly up or down. These also leas to localized blood pooling and deep tissue bruising if they stay still for too long, requiring them to keep moving to for the blood to flow properly. They also are able to run on highly efficient anaerobic pathways, used for healing themselves while hidden under leaf litter or in hollow tree trunks.

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