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Author Topic: On the Kyatu  (Read 4147 times)
Jubal
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« on: June 20, 2010, 09:20:47 am »

On the Kyatu and their Habits
By Kyir, of Karuk College



Kyatu are very small - the above drawing shows their height by comparison to a Fubarnii - but live in huge family clans of fifty to a hundred individuals. They will build large communal nests; the construction very much depends on the species, but they are usually very large and protected from predators in some way. The Kopa are at least four times as numerous as the Sempa; the sempa have no claws, only finger-stubs, and are usually fat with many babies. Each one has at least three Kopa, who will build and defend the family's private area of the the nest, help build the main nest structure, and most importantly gather fungi and food; the Sempa are utterly dependent on their Kopa feeding them. Both genders have blood-rich tissue along the forehead, used for mating displays as Kopa try to compete with their fellows for the honour of mating the female (this is done purely by display; I have never witnessed Kyatu fight one another). Their claws are used for nest-building and hunting.

Kyatu are some of the commonest creatures in the Empire, and so are often considered pests. Their nature as small beasts - possibly closer to the Devanu than Fubarnii, though they exhibit no propensity to eat meat or indeed anything other than fungi and occasionally invertebrates - means that many Fubarnii consider them extreme pests and will go to some lengths to get rid of them. Others keep individual families of Kyatu as pets (though keeping whole colonies is only practiced by a few engineers – even I have not tried this, preferring to study the ample numbers of colonies nearby).

The known species of the Kyatu are:

Common – Kyatus kyatus
The common Kyatu build heaped earth burrows, and are common across the central Empire, into the Setir foothills, and through the Casani territories as well. The common Kyatu mound is on the bottom right of the picture (the badly-drawn creature in the middle is a Fubarnii Herder for scale).

Red-Faced – Kyatus rougua
The red-faced Kyatu is similar in habits to the common, but unlike it the blood-rich mating tissue covers the whole face. The red-faced Kyatu are only found in the Casani lands; they are slightly smaller than a common Kyatu and faster runners – a necessity as the blood-rich facial tissue means that facial damage is very serious.

Snub-nosed – Kyatus naralonius
The smallest variety of Kyatu, naralonius builds its nests in tree-branches in Naralon forest. They mostly subsist on tree-crowing fungi, and weave great branched nests around trees as well as digging into the bark for safety (and garkrid grubs).

Imperial – Kyatus dimorius
The Imperial Kyatu are so named because of the huge colony of them living in the Imperial caves of Gar Loren – they are still pests, but have been there for so long that they are considered property of the Emperor. Imperial Kyatu live in many other places across the Empire too, preferring caves to live in rather than digging new burrows.

Marsh – Kyatu moerasi
Common around Larigal and the lakes of Etarl, the Marsh Kyatu weave nests of reeds and rushes on top of a large floating expanse of reed and twigs. They eat garkrids mostly due to a lack of fungi, and have webs between their claws that allow them to be capable swimmers. Unlike other species the colony builds a central woven dome to store dead garkrids that other members of the colony can eat.

Stone-Clawed – Kyatus ferox
From the Setir mountains, stone-clawed Kyatu are the only species to eat any meat. They hunt down other small creatures in packs of ten or so, and are also very, very vicious fighters if their nests of piled rocks are disturbed.

Creat Crested, or Builder – Kyatus brandlinii
The greatest constructions of the Kyatu are built by the Great-Crested Kyatu. These creatures, living mostly around rivers, can both tunnel, weave or build stone and earth piles, and their nests tend to be a bizarre mix of all three. They are the most gregarious of the Kyatu, living in colonies of eighty to over a hundred, and eat a wide range of fungi and garkrids. Their nests are usually sited on riverbanks, as they can swim well to catch food much like the Marsh Kyatu.

Colour Version;

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Carcharoth
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« Reply #1 on: June 20, 2010, 10:54:22 am »

Very interesting entry!
Are they hairy or smooth skinned? What is their tail like?
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Jubal
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« Reply #2 on: June 20, 2010, 12:07:27 pm »

Some have short fur or stubbly fur, some have none, I think. The Common Kyatu has short fur and a dragging, hairy tail (more useful in the Sempa, who uses it to help cover and brood her eggs). The Marsh, on the other hand, has no fur and a much shorter tail which helps it in swimming.
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