Cyern Aarseth
Active Member
"Fly and filter"
- Intent: Extend and explore Axiar Mellifers' wildlife.
- Image Credit: Rhuni by LisaCunha.
- Canon: N/a.
- Links:
Axiar Mellifers
- Name: Aquatus volanta. Melluswing Glider.
- Designation: Non-sentient.
- Homeworld: Axiar Mellifers.
- Language: Kinetic Communication. No verbal tongue.
- Average Lifespan: 80~90 years.
- Estimated Population: Planetary. Melluswing Gliders have been introduced to some other planets as part of atmosphere healing and filtering projects. However their presence outside of Mellifers is still too reduced for this classification to be bumped to Scattered.
- Description: Melluswing Gliders are impressive creatures with smooth, humid skin in bright colors of the blue and coral scale. With an aquatic appearance and graceful, slow movements the Melluswings a beautiful sight to see.
- Breathes: All, as long as there is an atmosphere present (aka. cannot live in vacuum)
- Average height of adults: 1,6m ~ 1,8m.
- Average length of adults: 4m ~ 6m.
- Skin color: Blue and coral in varying shades.
- Hair color: None.
- Distinctions:
Another physiological distinction of the Melluswing Gliders are the tissues housing smaller organs present just beneath their skin. This organs act much like repulsorlifts and are "charged" during the time the Melluswing is exposed to sunlight, allowing the creature to hover and move in the air despite its large size and weight. The development of such structure is meant so that the Melluswing has access to the higher areas were air is more aplenty. Melluswings, unlike any other creature, have been known to ingest and utilize almost any known gas (both in air and dissolved in water), including those that are harmful to other species, converting and excreting through their skin the resulting residues in the form of oxygen (mainly) and carbon dioxide. This means a Melluswing could potentially live solely from air as long as there is a sun and gases apart from oxygen and carbon dioxide, the only ones not employed in its anabolism (synthesis of complex molecules that, in the case of the Melluswing, offer nutrition and sustenance).
If lacking enough air to sustain itself (due to being in a very pure atmosphere or having been unable to fly and filter) the Melluswing can feed on aquatic micro-life (similar to plankton) and occasionally smaller fish.
- Races: N/a.
- Strengths:
Living Air Filters: Melluswings actively restore an atmosphere to a gas balance ideal for the development of carbon-based life. Since they - Amphibious: They can live both out in the air or underwater.
- Protected by Melliferi law: This gentle creature is loved and cherished by the Melliferi and harming one is a national crime.
[*]Weaknesses:
- Thin skinned: Since they do not have natural predators (seeing as how they function so differently they don't offer much nutrition to other species), they do not have to compete with any other species for nourishment and they form pair-bonds for life, the Melluswing does not have any reason to now how to defend itself nor of being able of taking a hit. These flying giants are easy to kill.
- Slower than maimed turtles: They don't actually fly despite the famous Melliferi saying "Fly and Filter". They hover, and they do so very slowly.
- Photo-dependent: In order to hover and have access to plenty of air, they need to be or have been exposed to a potent source of light so that their organs have "charge" enough to deny gravity and lift their fat-rich, heavy bodies from the water. If they do not have access to light or some sort of damage is done to their organs (repulsor-gland illness, for example) they are left unable to make their daily incursions into the atmosphere and filter the air they so love.
- Diet: Ideally the Melluswing Glider does not eat and creates the molecules it needs through a series of complex chemical reactions derived from the ingestion of air combined with other molecules their body produces. However, if they are unable to filter air, they can eat underwater micro-life (like plankton) and smaller fish.
- Communication: Soft wing and tail movements, clicks, whistles and pulsed calls.
- Technology level: Non-existent.
- Religion/Beliefs: N/a.
- General behavior:
Melluswing form bonded pairs and thus have the same mate for life. If their mate drifts away they will look for it incessantly, producing what the Melliferi know as "crying calls" and if their mate dies, they will most surely follow them into death due to heartbreak.
Melluswings have inhabited Mellifers since ancient times and saw their species proper infinitely when the Dari, the ancient sentient species of the planet, started polluting the air in an incessant manner. They developed their filtering systems and hovering organs and went up into the air, making profit of the sickness of the atmosphere while trying to return it to its healthy state. Many speculate that were not for this development of the Melluswings, the planet would have reached a point past salvation before the Essedari could have done anything about it.
This is the reason why today they are so loved by the ruling species of Mellifers and serve as inspiration to them and all their ecological development.
