Phase 2:Nyale Kin'toni Clan

History

Psychology

Biology

The Nyale have been adapted to the extreme heat, violent dust storms, and freezing nights of the Inawar Barren Lands. They are long, tall and slender of build, adapted to have an high surface-area-to-volume ratio in order to have the most passive cooling possible while resting in their shaded dens. It also lacks fat and muscle, meaning it lacks insulation and means they are prone to slowing down or even freezing solid in cold environments. The skin is ash black in color, and with h dense, leathery keratin plating.

This very dark color means they absorb environmental heat incredibly fast, means they overheat quickly during the day unless they burrow deep enough. The hair is coarse, wiry and white in color, growing in an thick, insulating cap on the skull in order to deal with the thermal heat in the cave ceilings during the day. This hair is poor camouflage in dark terrain. The eyes are silver in color, with an thick, semi-transparent nictitating membrane for sweeping away fine sand and dust from the eyes.

These eyes are prone to overload from too much light during full moons and from light such as torches. The ears are long, and heavily vascularized in order to act as a form of biological radiator to cool the circulating blood when resting. The nose has elongated nasal cavities that are lined with tight, moisture-trapping tissues and dense cilia in order to filter out the fine dusts that is carried in exhaled moisture being recycled. The teeth are deeply grooved with wide, flared capillary channels that are adapted for the thick, dehydrated, low-water blood of desert prey.

These teeth, having such wide capillary channels, means they are prone to cracking if they hit hard things such as bones or keratin plates on hides. The claws are wide, flat and shovel like, for digging underground burrows deep for escaping the deadly glare of the sun. These claws, are blunt and therefore are poor climbing tools or weapons. The feet are very wide, with splayed, leathery-padded toes in order to act as snow shoes for the shifting sands. It also means, on hard ground, they lack agility, speed, and lateral balance.

The Renal System has been adapted to precipitate metabolic waste, turning it into dry uric acid crystals. This means they save 99% of the water they intake. To suirve the seasonal droughts, they are able to go into a deep, comatose torpor state underground for weeks by using specialized hormonal glands. This torpor also slows their healing to the extent of a zu'aan like healing rate while torpid. The kin'toni in this state are able to wake in a flash to deal with attacks if found. In this state, they do not defalcate or urinate.

Around the thickened blood vessels, there is a layer of f dense, gel-like lipoproteins to protect the organs from external ambient heat. The body has an iron-binding matrix that has been heavily changed in order to store hyper-condensed, oxygen-rich hemoglobin in their cells so that they can survive hours without skin-respiration while buried under the sand. They also have an form of modified mitochondria that create a large amount of specialized heat-shock proteins to deal with the great heat of the barren lands.

Culture

Government

Military

Religion

Miscellany