#ketran

Alright, I got questions for Applegrant and the main one is "why"

The Ketrans have always been really difficult for me to picture just because of the way The Ellimist Chronicles is written. There's no reason for Toomin to explain what exactly a Ketran is, so why would he? The most important thing to do right now is to lay out the ground rules:

1. For the sake of sanity, I'm taking every description literally. If someone "blushes" I'm going to take that as them actually blushing, not doing the Ketran equivalent to blushing, because if that were the case it would be "(do Ketran thing) shyly" or "in embarrassment" or something like that.

2. I'm going to try and make as few personal inputs as possible. I'll rearrange some parts if I need to, but I want to minimize any new stuff.

So let's start off real basic.

There are some things that we know for a fact about Ketrans:

1. Ketrans live on the planet Ket. All Ketran live on what is called their "Home Crystal", a city-sized crystal kept floating miles above the uninhabitable surface of the planet. At any given time around 90% of a crystal's population will be holding on to it and flapping their wings. This is the only thing keeping the crystal midair. The relationship is described as "not quite symbiotic" because the crystals are not alive, but Ketran do "draw sustenance" from being docked on a crystal. Occasionally different crystals will cross over in their orbits, during which time a cultural exchange is made. Ketrans are highly social, intelligent, and technologically advanced enough to achieve space flight and inter-galactic communication.

1. They are usually born with two arms, four wings, four eyes, and two "pods". The pods are leg-like limbs which have talons connected to them. The talons are what allow the Ketran to hold onto their crystal which is central to their ecology. Sometimes referred to as "docking talons."

2. They do have a skeleton, with thin hollow bones to allow for efficient flight. They have blood. Ketran biologists hypothesize that they are descended from aquatic life forms, but that's not guaranteed.

3. Three separate organs are mentioned; the airhole, the mouth, and the intakes. The mouth is used for verbal communication, though the Ketran have developed thought-speak technology. The airhole is self explanatory, but is suggested to be separate from the mouth. The intakes appear to be a sensory organ that can process pheromones. "Dorsal" intakes are mentioned, which might imply that there are other types of intakes.

4. The head is covered in "quills" which can be styled, change color in response to mood, and be artificially dyed.

Now we have to get into the stuff that's not explicitly said, but can be extrapolated:

1. They have at least some visible skin, as they can be seen blushing. They also have visible lips on the face (noted to smile as a social behavior and can smile widely enough to crinkle the eyes). There are no teeth directly referred to, but one is described as "grinning", so I'm rolling with it

2. Toomin at one point refers to "ruffling" his wings, which implies that his wings are feathered, and that sent me SPIRALING into DESIGN HELL because GOD IT WOULD'VE BEEN SO EASY TO GIVE THEM BUG WINGS IF I COULD—

3. Later on Toomin speculates that future Ketrans would evolve "proper feet" to accommodate surface life, so I'm operating under the assumption that pods are not designed to carry the full weight of the Ketran body. They can fly, they can perch, they can't really stand or walk.

4. Ketran seem to exhibit sexual dimorphism. Toomin comments that Aguella "being female, was a faster flyer" than himself.

Now for some bullshit, pure headcanons:

Basically the way I'm working with these guys is that I'm really leaning into the aquatic origins thing.

They see with two primary eyes in the front, and two "lesser" eyes on the sides. The primary eyes are comparable to human eyes, while the lesser eyes don't perceive depth or form very well but are EXTREMELY useful for seeing changes in light (like the "third eye" some reptiles have on the top of their head).

The "airhole" sits on the back of the neck, right in front of the dorsal intakes, and originally acted like a blowhole. They were primarily carnivorous, hence the teeth and mouth, and used their hands to snatch prey out of the water. When they started evolving with the crystals to their digestive system essentially became vestigial. They can survive on animal flesh alone for very small amounts of time, but will quickly die without their crystal. They can absorb nutrients through the skin from the surface of the crystal, but the severe change in diet meant that they eventually lost the immunity they had against the acidic waters.

FINAL DESCRIPTION:

Bird-like aliens with four eyes, four wings, two arms, and two pods. The body is almost entirely feathered, with the exception of the lower face, hands, and pods. The largest wings are attached at the shoulder, and are primarily used for gaining altitude. The lower wings are a bit smaller, grow from the waist, and are more suited for gliding and steering. This purpose is shared by the tail feathers. Small arms are placed diagonally to the shoulder joint on the chest. They have almost no mobility except for in the wrists and limited mobility in the elbows. Hands consist of three fingers and one thumb.

The face has of four eyes, two in the front and two on the sides, which can range in color. (Mentioned colors include magenta, turquoise, and ochre)

They have a mouth and lips which they use to communicate verbally, but they have also developed thought-speak technology.

At the top of the head sprouts quills, which are semi-transparent and can come in a variety of colors as well as be artificially dyed. The tips of the quills can glow and change color in accordance with mood.

At the top of the spine is an airhole, which is the only organ connected to the respiratory system. Alongside the airhole are the dorsal intakes, which are glands that process pheromones.

Pods descend from the hips much like legs, but are unable to support much weight. The pods mostly act as a kind of sheath for the docking talons, which can be retracted for ease during flight (think cat claws). The talons are fully extended by default and extremely strong (think eagle talons), so retracting the talons actually takes the contracting of multiple muscles. This is why they can stay docked even in their sleep.