Height: ~200cm / 6’5”

Lifespan: up to 80 years

Diet: Technically omnivorous, but eat near exclusively plants

Appearance

Sonus are a moth-like humanoid that primarily inhabit the temperate broad-leaf and taiga biomes on the planet Sineal's northern continent.

They can have bodies covered in fur or a chitinous shell. Their wings have a few different shapes, and vary extensively in pattern. Their antennae may have extra sensory hairs like a moth, or be bare similar to a butterfly.

Coloration can be any hue, though each individual typically only has a few distinct colors

Skills

Sonus have a larger range of hearing than humans and a near perfect auditory memory. They can easily pick out specific sounds from a cacophony.

Their wings enable them to fly in a similar capacity to human running. Stamina and speed vary for each individual.

Silk can be produced from all four wrists, emerging as single threads from several glands and being twisted together into stronger threads. The silk always sticks to itself, and can be covered with a sticky coating to adhere to other surfaces on demand.

Life Cycle

Sonus begin their lives as eggs, incubating for about 3 months before hatching into caterpillars.

They remain caterpillars for 10 years, being raised by their parents. During this period they grow to be as aware as a human 10 year old, reaching this maturity after only one year. They remain unable to speak however, and can’t perform any magic. They spend their caterpillar years learning as much as they can, including the language they are unable to actually speak.

After the ten years, they spin themselves a cocoon and undergo a metamorphosis lasting 6 months. During this time the parents die. The only memories a sonus retains through metamorphosis are vague auditory memories.

Upon emerging the Sonus is considered a full adult. The body they emerge with is their fully grown body, with all functionality. They will live in this body for around 70 years; unless they have children, which triggers their bodies to begin shutting down early.

Reproduction

Sonus reproduce sexually, with eggs being implanted into one parent by the other, gestation of eggs for 1 month, then laying the eggs to incubate outside for another 2 months.

Sonus may have many romantic partners during their life, but typically only one sexual partner as any pregnancy will signify their end of life.

Magic

Sonus wield sound based magic.

They can produce any sound they can think of, with varying degrees of accuracy depending on skill.

Their silk can be used as a cable that will transmit sound along itself in any condition as long as the tread is intact.

The silk can also record and playback sounds either on demand or when the silk “hears” a set trigger.

Sinéil Tuilelaith Nic Síoráin Zau'ath … Bard  … D&D OC Moodboard

Boneworm

The boneworm, named for both the markings on its back and its discovery eating scraps from a skeleton, is a small (<10cm) worm that feeds on dead animals. It crawls along the ground following trails of fluid that leaks from corpses and can clean any remaining flesh off the bones.

Feathercrown

Feathercrowns are a meter-long reptiles with a grey/black skin, and feathers in a wide variety of vibrant hues. These feathers are used in mating displays, with larger and brighter feathers being prized. The feathers also enable the feathercrown to glide. This is used in their favorite hunting strategy, where they perch in a tree and use their superior eyesight to spot prey from long distances, then glide overhead to surprise the prey from above. Feathercrowns are solitary creatures but have overlapping territories and will sometimes group up to take down larger prey.

This post is based on this nichetember prompt list by spookygibberish.

Secondary Consumer

Long-Armed Pinchers

Long-Armed Pinchers claim large territories for themselves, using their claws to cut down foliage and maintain a clear area. This gives them more freedom to use their claws to defend themselves without getting them caught, and also makes their prey much easier to find

A colony of lumen once tried to use these bugs to exterminate the Grass-blade Lizards infesting their farmland, only to have all the crops cut down. The lizards are gone now, at least.

Primary Consumer

Grass-blade Lizard

The Grass Blade Lizard is a small herbivorous reptile that lives in grasslands. The spines on it's back stand up and sway in the wind to camoflauge with the plants the lizard eats. They live in small groups.

It's generally considered a pest by Sineal's sophonts, as a gathering of Grass-blade Lizards can quickly eat through an entire garden, or significantly damage farmland.

Producer/Autotroph

Iris Gramen / Rainbow Grass

For most of it's life Rainbow Grass is a plain green color, much like Earth's grass. When it matures to spread seeds, it produces a long stalk that has a vibrantly colored leaf surrounding it. This leaf tricks animals into thinking some kind of tasty treat is resting on the grass, causing the animal to eat the seeds and spread them when they are passed through.

This bloom also has the effect of creating large field of color, which is sought after by Sineal's sophonts. The plant is cultivated for decoration purposes, and has been bred to have pink, red, purple, orange, and yellow coloring on it's leaf, as well as a longer blooming period.

Todd's jaws clicked as he began to share the legend. Nem leaned forward on her knees, flitting her wings as she waited a second that felt like eternity for the translator to switch the motus' clicking to the familiar buzz of the sonus language. Her siblings sat patiently beside her.

“We begin centuries ago,” the motus clicked, “When the sea was divided into the seven Great Kingdoms. War was near constant between them."

"But the motus introduced us to the lumen!" Nem's sister interrupted, "You're supposed to be the most peaceful species!"

Nem's brother interjected as well, "There's so much space in the ocean. Why were they fighting?"

"Shush!" Nem hissed, "Let him tell the story! I want to hear about The Queen!"

Todd tilted his head at Nem's sister, "This was long before that happened," he turned to her brother, "And I don't know what they fought about. I never learned much motus history, being raised by a human. This is a story I picked up while travelling, but I've yet to meet someone who knows much history before this."

He faced Nem again, who was leaning forward with her antennae up at attention, "The story starts with a motus princess, not yet a queen. She lived in a kingdom set down in the deepest pit in all the seas. Her magic was the most powerful that any kingdom had ever seen, even as a child. Her parents had given her complete freedom to wander as she could defend herself better than any guard could. So it happened that she was outside the palace when a motus from the neighbouring kingdom, set upon the tallest underwater mountain, snuck in and assassinated the king and queen."

Nem gasped, and her sister threw her a look. "Don't interrupt the story NEM."

Todd continued, "So the princess inherited the deep kingdom early, and became The Queen. Her wrath was swift as she sent troops to the raised kingdom, but they were ready for the counter and The Queen was inexperienced. She lost many of her soldiers. Driven by her grief and frustration at her failure The Queen went to the frontline herself and wielded her magic to carve destruction in her wake. The raised kingdom had heard rumors of The Queen's power but underestimated her. She flung any who came after her away with ease and shattered any building in her path. They say half of the raised kingdom was ruins before The Queen got to their castle. Their king surrendered to her immediately and turned over the motus who killed her parents. She showed them no mercy. The scream she unleashed was guttural and the blast of magic that followed was catastrophic. It shredded the area around her, boiled the seawater, and flung shards of her shell," Todd indicated some of the larger plates on his arms and back, "hundreds of meters away cracking and breaking everything in their path. The surviving people of the raised kingdom bowed to her after that. They followed her back to the deep and their kingdom was abandoned. The Queen was horrified by what she'd done. She wouldn't allow anyone near her, pushing them away with her magic if they got too close. She dedicated herself to making peace from then on. She sent messages to the remaining monarchs, begging them to form a council with her to unite their kingdoms with a group of leaders instead of just one. The kingdoms nearest to the raised kingdom agreed immediately, for fear they would be destroyed otherwise. The farther kingdoms only agreed once they saw The Queen was genuine in her desire for peace."

"And that's when you became the most peaceful species?" Nem asked.

Todd nodded, "We all had one council leading us, so no more wars were fought. Any motus who didn't like it moved closer to shore, which ended up introducing us to the other species of Sineal."

"But you said The Queen was a titan," Nem said, "It sounds like she was the same as any other motus."

Nem's sister rolled her eyes, "I though you wanted no questions Nem."

"I think powerful enough magic could qualify her as a titan, right?" Nem's brother spoke over their sister.

"Yes," Todd confirmed, "Her magic alone would qualify her, but the story isn't over yet. The council ruled for decades with members joining and leaving. After a while The Queen was the only original member still on the council, and she had lived far longer than any motus before her. As relations with other species improved the council saw their power dwindling. The council thought they should dissolve, and leave settlements to govern themselves. The Queen was the only one who voted against this, fearing another generation of war. But she was outvoted and wouldn't resort to keeping power by force. She retreated to the deep, her original kingdom, and remained there as almost all of her subjects left for shallower water and new lives. She extended an open invitation for any motus to live in the deep kingdom with her, and benefit from her protection. Some say she's still there, grown to titanic size after centuries and fiercely protected by the descendants of the followers that never left her. Some of the motus settlements I've visited say the earthquakes and tsunamis are caused by her, still pushing at the world with her magic."

"Is it true?" Nem was standing now, bouncing back and forth on her legs.

"I'm not sure," Todd replied, "I've met a few motus who claim to be part of her guard, but they all told me to stay away from the deep. Apparently they don't allow anyone to go down there. I got close one time, just so I could see the edge of the chasm. The sea was indigo, almost purple, but I was sent away by a guard before I could investigate at all. As for her magic, I don't see how she could reach far enough to cause a tsunami, no matter how big she's gotten. Earthquakes maybe..."

Todd stomped his foot on the ground, sending out a pulse of magic that pushed a gust of air away from him. Nem was only standing a meter away and felt a small tremor under her feet. Her siblings, slightly farther away, didn't react.

"...If the part about her powerful magic is true, and with centuries of growth on top of that but it would only be the quakes near her supposed kingdom."

"What about the ruined kingdom?" Nem's brother asked.

Todd nodded, "That does exist. I went to find it right after I heard the legend. It wasn't on any map I could find so it took me a few months to track it down. It was destroyed but the damage could have been from an army, not The Queen."

Todd stretched, "I should go. My mom’s expecting me tonight and if I stay longer I won’t make it."

"Thank you for the story." Nem beamed at him.

"Yes I'm sure she'll have a billion questions about it next time you see us." Nem's sister sighed, "And we'll be the ones to hear them over and over and over again until then."

Nem's brother grimaced in agreement.

"Then I'll stop by after I visit my mom." Todd said.

"Ooh! She's from Earth right?" Nem started pacing around the room in excitement, " Can you ask her about that? Does she have maps?"