A blog dedicated to the fictional universe in which resides the planet Karya, an otherwise high fantasy world that is analzyed through the lens of science fiction.
Run by a Goblin with a Problem (27, she/her 🏳️⚧️, DNI if you cannot communicate in good faith)
Welcome, new traveler of the Chaos! I know you may have lots of questions. You may not know where you are, you may not know where to go. Allow me, then, to introduce myself; I am Gobb'ola Mawwick, and you've stumbled upon my little study away from home. Where is my home, you ask? Why Karya, of course!
Stay a while, and feel free to peruse my grand library! The answers to your questions can easily be found, just look through the various sections to learn about my homeworld. If you don't see something that is listed, don't hesitate to Ask the Librarian (me!).
Enjoy your stay, traveler, and safe journeys on your future travels through the Chaos!
The Library's Catalogue:
Gobbi's Lessons: Learning the Basics of the Karyic Universe
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AAAAAAHHHHHHFSLKDLHSDF someone else made art on a couple of Project KARYA's animals for me!!!
I'm so happy, just absolutely amazed:
Marshstriders, a fish's or frog's worst nightmare in Karya's marshes, swamps, and rivers
Made by u/OutrageousLock7443 on Reddit; if any of you have accounts over there I highly suggest following them. I absolutely adore their art style, and their own worldbuilding shows great promise!
Arriving early for the mating season, two blue-tip coners (Acanthoceras glaucocheirus) inspect each other in preparation for a potential courtship ritual from the male (left).
Hi, y'all! Project KARYA is a sci-fintasy setting in the works, in which, as I describe, "various iconic tropes found in fantasy and folklore/mythoi are viewed through the lens of science fiction"; the worldbuilding project intends to fully theorize "realistic" ways in which a variety of things from fantasy settings could exist, if they were to exist in a science fiction setting instead.
Today, I wanted to share a depiction of one of the 2000+ species that are unique to the titular world of Karya: the blue-tip thorn coner (Acanthoceras glaucocheirus), one of the eighteen species of Acanthoceras, in the clade Ceratopoda. Ceratopods, otherwise called "coners", are modern descendants of what are known as "ammonites" on Earth; they are the most basal group of cephalopods on Karya, and are the sister group to the nautili and the clade Coleoidae, which consists of ("hollow") squid, octopi, cuttlefish, and the uniquely Karyic bone squid (modern belemnoids). Coners have retained the external shell ancestral to molluscs, and they have taken a wide variety of shapes depending on the lifestyles of any one genus. Exclusively marine in nature, coner species are typically found no deeper than 500 meters from the surface of the water, and live in both open ocean as well as in more coastal locations; none are found further north or south past approximately 37 degrees in latitude, while their coleoid relatives prefer the colder waters beyond this point. Coners exhibit a wide variety of diets, with tentacle shape and size changing between genera being reflective of this.
Thorn coners (genus Acanthoceras) derive their names from the pointed projections that ring around and run along the length of their shells; it is believed these evolved to protect the coner against jawed animals that could be injured from attempting to bite down on them. They're found exclusively around equatorial regions of the globe, mostly located in coral reefs but a few species have recently been discovered in a handful of isolated seagrass plains. They are relatively small and can usually be held in one hand (with care being taken not to hurt oneself on the spikes), with individual species having shell sizes ranging between four and ten centimeters. The genus feeds almost exclusively on different species of shrimp, their two tentacles being able to dart out rapidly to grab their elusive and nimble prey. Male thorn coners retain some of the color compounds found in the exoskeletons of the shrimp, and over time develop more vivid base skin colors than female thorn coners; skin saturation is theorized to play a role in determining fitness of potential mates for breeding purposes.
As a whole, coners are rather valued by fishing cultures, both for their flesh which is prepared for a multitude of delicious delicacies, as well as for their shells which are often used in part or wholly intact as decorative pieces. Thorn coners and other smaller species of coners typically have their shells converted into either earrings or necklaces. Sometimes, the interior of the shell is further hollowed out and has a tiny wood, glass, or copper clapper inserted inside of it, turning it into a small bell. Dyes and engravings are often employed to help accent the natural shape of the shell; in the case of thorn coners, their spikes will sometimes have spirals carved into them, wrapping around from the base to the tip as a show of craftmanship on the maker's part.
Like what you see? Feel free to ask questions and/or provide positive criticism! Want to know more about Karya's life forms? Then I heavily suggest reading The Full and Comprehensive List of Unique Karyic Organisms! I'd be happy to talk about it more to those who are interested :3 if you also have any questions pertaining to Karya's thorn coners and their relatives, please feel free to ask!
An Omorian strider stops in a winter-touched muskeg for a quick bite to eat. Unbeknownst to it, danger lurks just out of sight...
Context
Hi, y'all! Project KARYA is a sci-fintasy setting in the works, in which, as I describe, "various iconic tropes found in fantasy and folklore/mythoi are viewed through the lens of science fiction"; the worldbuilding project intends to fully theorize "realistic" ways in which a variety of things from fantasy settings could exist, if they were to exist in a science fiction setting instead.
Today, I wanted to share a depiction of one of the 2000+ species that are unique to the titular world of Karya: the Omorian strider (Megalodromeus omoriensis), descended from a species of non-avian dinosaur called Dysalotosaurus karyaensis. Growing up to seven-and-a-half meters in length, and topping the scales at over a metric tonne, it is the largest species of Megalodromeus, as well as the largest of the entire clade Microdromidae; it is also among the largest extant dinosaurs living on Karya. The Omorian strider is common grazer in the more rugged regions of the planet's polar continent from which its name comes from, most usually found in cold wetlands and expansive tundras. They are covered in a feathery coat that is a mottled brown during the summer, but turns an off-white during the winter to aid in camouflage. Their massive bulk and generalist diet made it an ideal species for several auran (equivalent to "elves") cultures to domesticate as a utilitarian animal, resulting in the domestic strider (M. domesticus) that is most commonly used for meat, its semiannually-shed pelt, and as a beast of burden.
Like what you see? Feel free to ask questions and/or provide positive criticism! Want to know more about Karya's life forms? Then I heavily suggest reading The Full and Comprehensive List of Unique Karyic Organisms (found on pinned page)! I'd be happy to talk about it more to those who are interested :3 if you also have any questions pertaining to Karya's striders and their relatives, please feel free to ask! Bonus points if you found what's stalking the strider ;3
In the waters of a murky mangrove wetland, a minnow makes a fatal encounter with a rosy mangrove scylder (Paluscuta rhodoptera), as the latter ambushes the former with extreme precision. Also called the pink paddler. It is an arthropod that exists as part of the clade Natarescutidae, which in turn are a part of the larger ancient clade of animals known as Nycholaniidae. All member genera bear a common ancestor in the thylacocephalian Clausocaris karayensis.
"Scylders" as a whole are synonymous with the subclade Natarescutidae within the nycholaniids, and possess the most plesiomorphic features of all nycholaniid subclades. These invertebrates are mobile, swimming through the water column quite freely and with a high degree of speed and agility in comparison with the only other subclade of mobile nycholaniids, the far more clumsy and aimless Spherostracosidae, or "orblings". The largest species of scylders don't grow any larger than a half foot in carapace length, with the average scylder typically being between one and two inches. All scylders start out their life cycles as benthic larvae, burrowing through the substrate and consuming any available organic matter. Depending on the genera and species, they may either keep their detritivore lifestyles, or they slowly adopt more predatory lifestyles; carnivorous scylders typically hunt for small fish, shrimp, worms, and shelled molluscs.
Mangrove scylders, in the genus Paluscuta, reside in the warmer waters of Karya's tropics. As their common name suggests, they reside in wetlands dominated by mangroves, almost never leaving the confines of the submerged roots; the sole exception to this is during the mating season, in which the scylders move into exposed water with full moonlight at night. They actively hunt minnows, using their needle-like front limbs to pierce through the body and immobilize their prey, all while the small foremost appendages pick apart the flesh in small enough pieces for the mouth to swallow. Mangrove scylders are often an important staple food for a variety of cultures, being harvested in large batches during the drier winter months for Cajun broil-esque meals. The rosy scylder in particular is somewhat prized for their flashy, pink, paddle-like limbs, which are often dried and then strung on a necklace as basic jewelry.
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Tbf, even when I first saw your PFP, I knew it couldn't be the person I was thinking about, and I was suffering from "Generic Actor Face Syndrome" (GAFS, if you will)...that being said, I did initially think it was Andy Bernard from the US's version of The Office:
During a Karyic sunsrise, as a few fishermun haul in their net with some fish in tow, a tapered leviathan (Cetiasaura acuminata) approaches to get a closer look at these strange visitors to its world. Tapered leviathans are one of the three species of leviathan in the genus Cetiasaura. Despite the whale-like appearance, they are in fact reptiles and not mammals; descended from the mosasaur species Clidastes karyaensis, the genus is part of a larger clade of mostly marine animas, Aquavenatoregidae. Taking up the niche that would typically be occupied by large baleen whales such as minkes, blues, and humpbacks, leviathans have similarly adapted a baleen-like structure that has replaced their teeth, allowing them to gulp in an assortment of microscopic organisms into their mouths before sieving out the majority of the water; specialized organs allow for them to further filter out excessive salt from their bodies via the cloaca. Leviathans, being squamates like lizards and snakes, have retained the forked tongues of their ancestors, which allows for them to taste for chemical changes in the waters they travel through; this comes in handy for determining whether or not a bloom of microorganisms would be safe to consume.
Tapered leviathans are the northern-most species in the genus Cetiasaura, residing in coastal waters just past the northernmost tropical latitude. They are also the leviathan most likely to be encountered by non-Cetan sophonts, having historically been spotted by fishers in waters as shallow as fifty feet. They are notable for their muted-green hue, and lack any dorsal patterns unlike the wider-spread common leviathan (C. cetiasaura) or the southern leviathan (C. australe) which is the largest extant animal on Karya. Rather skittish, they will avoid large groups of sophonts or their vessels; however, tapered leviathans have been known to approach lone vessels or divers out of curiosity and investigate them.
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As a fisher waits patiently by a hole in the ice for their daily catches, a coastal polar furtrout (Hyperboreotrichus litoralis). searches for its preferred prey beneath the frozen surface. Despite the common name, this fish is not an actual trout, nor is it, along with other members of the clade Nothotrichicthidae, actually furry. Nothotrichicthids are sarcopterygids like coelacanths, lungfish, and tetrapods, sharing a common ancestor with other deinostomicthid fish in the coelacanth species Mawsonia karyaensis; they are not closely related to ray-finned fishes (including real trout) at all! The hair-like growths that extend from the skin of nothotrichithids are spinules much like those on some frogfish, and typically are filled with toxins that make the fish rather distasteful, if not outright poisonous to consume. The spinules are almost always absent from the faces of nothotrichithids, and can vary in shape and size depending on the species.
Polar furtrout (genus Hyperboreotrichus) are restricted to the northern continent Omuros, within its landlocked Great Frozen Sea; they diverged from their closest relatives, drab furtrout (genus Xanthotrichus) approximately thirty-two million years BR (before the Restructuring). Two distinct populations are recognized as separate species; the above-illustrated coastal polar furtrout, and the deep polar furtrout (H. maritimus). The coastal polar furtrout is active year-round, unlike the deep polar furtrout which only comes closer to the surface from deeper waters during the winter months when the sea has frozen over. Polar furtrout specialize on hunting molluscs and polychete worms, the enlarged teeth on their lower jaws perfect for piercing the soft flesh of their prey while the shorter teeth on the upper jaw saw through the bodies and process them into smaller pieces.
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Sorry-not-sorry for not doing a poll for this one, felt the creative burst of energy independently for this one! :3
Finished illustrating the demise of our tragic protagonist before heading off to bed (kindly ignore that it is almost 3:30 AM where I live) :3
This piece features both the ruddy hippogryph (Ornithohippo rufus; left), and the common gryphon (Pennaleo vulgaris; right). A mature gryphon would be more of an equal match for a bull hippogryph, but this particular gryphon's young age and inexperience with hunting larger prey like this opponent has proven to be a fatal error. Gryphons and hippogryphs both share a common ancestor with an animal similar to the Gaiaic genus Lisowicia, and have developed marvelous keratinous structures analogous to feathers in birds despite being a synapsid; this makes them more closely related to mammals than to reptiles. While gryphons and other therrynchids still lay eggs akin to monotremes, hippogryphs have independently evolved vivipary much like placental mammals. Hippogryphs also possess spurs on each of their legs that they use as both protection against predators, and, in the case of bull hippogryphs, for interspecific fights during mating seasons.
I'm really proud of the direction my art style is progressing, and I can't wait to continue drawing more! While I work on the piece from the Tridactylocheiridae poll, I'll start making more polls for future pieces, starting with the following:
Which therrynichid genus would you like to see fully illustrated?
The hippogryph vote won, but with how many people also seem to want gryphons as well, I decided to make a compromise (and add on to my worldbuilding at the same time):
Current WIP - An Unlucky Hunt
I decided, what if gryphons and hippogryphs, two different genera of therrynchids whose lineages diverged millions of years ago, had evolved a predator-prey relationship? And, of course, it made me consider, "what would it be like if a gryphon attempted to peck off more than it could chew?"
Still a ways to go, but hopefully this should pique some of your interests :3
In the warm summer waters off the coast of some islands within the Hemfian Archipelago, a small pod of southern sea drakes (Dracana panoceana boreale). These archosaurs have truly diverged greatly from their pterosaur ancestors, being extremely well adapted for life in the water; this is in large part to their evolved ovavivipary, a feature shared with only one other species of tridactylocheirid, the sophont Dracans (Draconis sapiens). Being more closely related to dinosaurs than pseudosuchians, sea drakes are covered in a dense coating of downy coat. These feathers have evolved to both insulate the sea drake's body from the water, as well as to reduce drag as much as possible.
Across all D. panoceana subspecies, there is displayed quite a bit of sexual dimorphism; females tend to be notably larger than males, up to twice the size, but the latter's cranial crests are larger and more colorful than the former's. There appears to be a certain preferred body-to-horn ratio among sea drakes, however, more studies need to be performed.
Really enjoy making these! Can't wait to work on the next one ;3
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I'm really proud of the direction my art style is progressing, and I can't wait to continue drawing more! While I work on the piece from the Tridactylocheiridae poll, I'll start making more polls for future pieces, starting with the following:
Which therrynichid genus would you like to see fully illustrated?
A mature southern juggernaught (Sirenosuchus australis) takes a quick breath and rests at the water's surface, as a pair of unknown quetzatlatoanis (potentially Pterophis notoensis) in the distance perform an aerial ritual as a territorial display. After spending most of the year in more open waters, this female has made her way back to the shallower coastal waters of her birth. While northern juggernaughts are ovoviviparious, retaining their eggs within their bodies until they hatch, southern juggernaught mothers will lay their eggs on elaborately crafted "rafts" of driftwood and kelp, nestling these into recesses of rock faces in order to keep them out of reach of most predators. These mothers will then stay with these nests of up to thirty eggs, maintaining them and fending off potential threats until they hatch.
Another art from the polls has been made! As I start the next one, I'll also begin new polls to see which genera you all would love to see in better detail next :3
