Genta Candidates, Part 3

Today's candidates, the Nekora and the Srenkarr (or Shenka as they are globally known) join the others as possibilities for a minor race to be featured in Hierophant. We hope you enjoy discovering them as much as we did! Thanks go, as always, to those who submitted them.

With four left after them, it seems that this will be a 5-part series, one which we would like to finish within one week before opening the polls.

And now, presenting...

Nekora

While the Nekora are visually striking… they resemble Earth caracals, long-eared quadrupedal felines, but with beautiful, expressive feathered crests and tails… it is their unique food source which has drawn the attention of scholars and researchers worldwide. Though their bodies seem designed for hunting in a wooded environment (they are master tree-climbers and can fan their tail and limbfeathers for limited gliding), their prey consists of only one thing: emotions.

The Nekora feed on the emotions of others. Exactly how is not known, and the Nekora themselves cannot explain it. But somehow, if a Nekora senses a creature experiencing strong emotion, the Nekora can feed off of that energy, siphoning it to sustain their own existence. Their “prey” will feel the emotion drain away, though they may or may not sense it as unusual, and no sign is given that the Nekora was to blame. This has resulted in some very interesting situations, both positive and negative, and the Nekora are greatly beloved by some, who regard them as a beautiful and stabilizing force, while others fear them as “emotional vampires”.

Both views are warranted. In support of the first, a formerly vicious and unstable warlord who took on a Nekora as a pet became an even-tempered, fair-minded leader under the Nekora’s influence, while the Nekora grew fat on the consumed rage and hate, a perfect symbiosis. Another Nekora, hungry for positive emotions, surreptitiously engineered a lasting social environment of kindness, love, and understanding in an isolated research outpost, and while the Nekora consumed some of those positive feelings, more than enough were left for everyone else. In support of a more negative view, starving Nekora have been known to torture animals occasionally so they could drink deeply of their fear, and while most Nekora find positive emotions to be tastier and more filling than the alternative, a few have developed a taste for hatred, and enjoy creating it in others.

While they are undoubtedly Gentas… they can easily solve visual problems, understand spoken languages (with practice), respond positively and negatively to questions, and even learn to write… Nekora do not speak any language, and the word for their species is a Luxa invention. Telepathic species such as the Draak can communicate with them easily, and have noted that they are gifted conversationalists in mind-speak, and non-telepathic species can often somehow “feel” what a Nekora wishes to communicate, but this is a very inexact science. They never share information about their own biological processes, including reproduction, and die very quickly in true captivity, even if exposed to strong emotions. They cannot feed off of the emotions of other Nekora or of the ORO, and the Luxa have devoted considerable resources to learning more about them with little concrete success so far. Excess energy from their meals is stored in their feathers, which are shed from time to time in lieu of more common forms of waste elimination.   Their physical beauty and tendency to foster positive emotions in their personal vicinity has made them very popular with some, and a few enterprising Nekora have even built things like restaurants and amusement rides to encourage emotions of satisfaction, excitement, and more for them to feed on. 

Still, many other Gentas distrust them deeply, not wishing any other being to reach inside their hearts and eat their emotions under any circumstances. Their unusual prey also makes certain elements of Nekora psychology and behavior quite alien to most biological species. The Luxa, who dogmatically view emotions as negative, see them as a positive force, and openly encourage them to feed on any and all strong emotions within themselves, but the Tapa, who are normally quite tolerant and welcoming of other Gentas, fear the Nekora greatly, as emotions are sacred to them and the idea of another being stealing away their feelings is terrifying. Some unconfirmed reports of those who regularly consort with Nekora growing physically weak or even aging more rapidly than normal further confuse the issue.

Nekora culture is a subject of its own; they use a language of claw-marked “runes” to communicate with each other, and enjoy the pursuit of the arts in their own time. Those who have established long-term relationships with them invariably love and trust them, counting them among their dear friends, though their detractors claim that the outward Nekora veneer of kindness and love of all beings is an insidious blind. They tend to live alone and no family groups have ever been witnessed, but they do seek each other out on occasion and are only lightly territorial. The only certainty is that their very existence is controversial. Are they beneficial moderators, or ingenious energy vampires? Time will surely tell.

Shenka (Srenkarr)

Not much longer than a meter, these lizard-like beings are coated in brownish scales occasionally flecked with spots of red, green, and blue. Their most distinguishing feature is their three prehensile tails, which they can operate independently or coordinate and combine into a single three-fingered “hand” of great dexterity. These are not true tails… the Srenkarr spine does not divide, in common with every other vertebrate… but the three long growths of flesh and muscle proceed from the end of the spine, giving it a divided appearance. Their maws are slightly slender and pointed, and filled with needlelike teeth. Their forepaws feature elongated taloned digits, allowing them some amount of manual manipulation, though their “tails” are far more agile.

The Srenkarr home island, now known as Shenkalo, was once known to the Luxa as Tri-Spire Island. Three immense towers of unknown origin, assumed to have been built by the Originals but having a markedly different architectural style, dominate the center of the land, and Srenkarr culture and history have unfolded almost entirely in their shadow, both literally and figuratively. The Srenkarr dislike direct sunlight, and tend to stay in the shade; those who brave “The Bright” to gather food or accomplish great things are socially honored for doing so.

Omnivores who favor mixtures of meat and fruit for their sustenance, Srenkarr enjoy practicing martial arts as their main cultural pastime. Tail-wrestling, duelling (sometimes with five weapons at once, one in each tail and forelimb) and more are practiced with gusto, and while serious injuries are rare, every Srenkarr, male or female, wishes to be highly-ranked in the local fighting scene. This provides both exercise and motivation, counterbalancing their otherwise peaceful lives spent in the shade of the towers. Females are culturally discouraged from mating with low-ranking males, but otherwise reproduction is a fairly free and casual affair, with children raised communally.

Compared with other Genta species, the Srenkarr demeanor is somewhat blunt. Their spoken language is easy to learn, and they always tell the truth, even when that truth is potentially hurtful, embarrassing, or inconvenient. “Guileless” is a term often applied to them, and by and large, the stereotype holds true. Everything is stated directly in Srenkarr culture, including things most other Gentas tend to hide or soften such as the appearance of others, hatred, or sexual matters. They don’t seem to understand the concepts of deception or diplomacy.

Srenkarr religion revolves around a “Perfect Being” who created the Towers, and of whom each Srenkarr is a tiny shard. The general belief is that this mighty being, generally like themselves but winged and long-necked, divided itself into the Srenkarr to share itself with the world, though different nuances are common to individuals. When they encountered a Draak, some believed it was the Perfect Being returned at last, while others believed that the Draak-Kin, and all other beings, are simply other manifestations of the Perfect Being, and others still believed that the Draak-Kin were demons from another world come to destroy their unity and way of life. This has caused a major rift in their society, and each of the three Towers now hosts a different faction living in its shadow. For the first time in hundreds of millennia, war is brewing among the Srenkarr, and given their fascination with and skill in fighting, it has the potential to be destructive indeed.

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