#threllys

Fun fact! All Threllys are born with fish-like tails instead of legs. There is a way for them to shed their tails in exchange for legs, but it is a long and painful process. Kheii Jahl and Qariev both went through this on order to live on land. Kheii was fairly young, and doesn't remember it to much; he also adapted to land life pretty easily. The fin on their backs was not shed because it is largely attached to their upper body, which remains almost entirely unchanged by the process. The part that would have attached to their tail is now free. Kheii can move it to some degree, as his younger body adapted to his new form, but Qariev cannot volunarily move it and frequently finds it inconvenient and uncomfortable.

Also, Threllys born on land to a mother in a form with legs will be born with legs and will not have a fully aquatic form with a tail.

Description: "Threllys" describes any sea-dwelling humanoids that can shed their tails for legs and transition to land. Some have hair in decorative patches or bright patterns on their scales. There are many different subspecies of Threllys, from the marlin-like Kajaudi to the eelish Morr, each with unique features. They can vary greatly in size, from less than a foot to over ten. They are also cold-blooded and have incredibly sensitive eyes with a protective film over them, perfect for seeing in the dark oceans.

Culture: Threllys culture can vary greatly based on the part of the sea they're from and the type of Threllys they are. Generally, they tend to value jewelry, focussing on stones and passed down through families. The sea is unforgiving; parents and children die more often than they do on land, so villages tend to act as large families, raising the young together and staying very close-knit. It is also divided distinctly between many deities that are very protective of their territories; the residents are aware of the deities that rule their home and often worship them and pray for protection. Gender roles are nearly nonexistant; male and female Threllys look and act incredibly similar. Land-dwelling species look down on Threllys and regularly disrespect them and their kingdoms.

Gryffonei: The Gryffonei are a species of bird-like humanoids that live in a free-floating kingdom above the clouds. They hunt the Threllys for sport, keeping them for display or cooking and eating the tails. Many Threllys are afraid to near the surface lest they be hunted. Gryffonei won't hunt land-dwelling Threllys.

Transition to land: The process of altering a Threllys's body to live on land is long and painful. They start by rubbing the top edges of their tails against rocks, stimulating the beginning of the process and loosening the tail. They consume great deals of food and spend more time near the surface as their breathing transitions from gills to lungs. They then find a sheltered place on land, their tails harden to a protective "cocoon" and they fall into a coma for the rest of the process. Legs grow withing the shell of the tail and other body systems readjust. Once the process is done, they wake and shed their tails (sometimes they don't come off nicely and must be cut), then all that's left is getting used to their new legs. (I had to simplify the process a lot for this brief description; I may cover it in more detail later.)

First off, Kheii is heavier set while Qariev tends to be very thin (perhaps representing how Kheii is more healthy/well-adjusted while Qariev is constantly on edge, and contrasting Kheii's comforting presence with the edge that Qariev brings, especially the way August views them). Qariev has a lot less stripes and the patterns on their chests/torsos are very different (Qariev's is more of the dark blue, more "closed off," while Kheii's chest is more open-looking and mostly the off-white color). Qariev's face is longer and more angular, while Kheii's is short and square. Overall, Qariev is just visually sharper. Kheii's eyes are often wide open and have a very visible eyeliner wing looking thing; Qariev's eyes/lashes are darker/heavier around the edges but without the exagerrated wing. Qariev's nose is longer, with a slight curve. The ends of Kheii's hair are more upturned (you can't really see here) while young Qariev's hair has one defined swoop with the rest more slicked down, and older/current Qariev's hair is grown out and put in a braid. The stripes on Kheii's face stop at his eyes, while Qariev's continue to a point between his eyes and eyebrows. Their ear fin things are different, too. Qariev's are longer and thinner and the second projection down has the curve, while the top one for Kheii does.

I think that's most of the differences. At a glance, they might not be easy to pick out, but generally I'll draw Qariev fully grown with his braid and usually with a stern expression that would be uncharacteristic for Kheii. Their circus outfits also differ, with Qariev having a longer coat.

Aaaaanyway

To any that don't know, Threllys is the term used by most land-dwelling species to refer to humanoids that primarily dwell underwater (in my original fantasy world). While there are as many undersea cultures as there are land-dwelling ones, they tend to be lumped together (which is problematic in its own ways). My OCs Kheii Jahl and Qariev are Kajaudi, which are based on the Striped Marlin fish. Kajaudi have the most cultural development as it is relevant to the story, and so I will be primarily discussing them, but much of this information is true of many, if not all, Threllys.

The focus of this post in particular will be the speech habits and language of Kajaudi, and Threllys in general.

One notable thing all Threllys struggle to pronounce is the "th" sound, making their very name somewhat of a cruel joke, especially since many Threllys also struggle to pronounce the "s". Kajaudi, like Kheii Jahl and Qariev, tend to replace the "th" with a throatier noise that sounds more like a gurgled "h" and the "s" with more of a "sh".

Kajaudi language is more back in the throat, as opposed to English (especially American English), which tends to be a very mouthy language. Their "j"s are pronounced more like an "h" and their "r"s are pronounced more like the French might pronounce it. They also make use of noises not utilized in English, and several noises that only Kajaudi and certain other Threllys can make, like clicks, whistles, and whines (like dolphin noises but more). There is also very little tongue movement in Kajaudi speech as much of it depends on the shape of the mouth and the noise produced from the throat to form sounds rather than the position of the tongue (leading them to struggle to pronounce the "r" "th" and "L" sounds as they're pronounced in American English, which I use as my standard because it is my native language and the only one I'm fluent in).

Also, Threllys communication in general tends to depend more on expressions and body language that actual speech (as it's more convenient underwater). Some Threllys don't have a spoken language at all, some even being completely mute, not having proper vocal cords necessary to produce the sounds (which furthers the prejudice toward and stigma around Threllys).

Final notes and disclaimers: I am not an expert in linguistics and I don't know logically what an underwater species's language would be like. This may be a bunch of gibberish and I'm still figuring it out, so it is subject to change. I know Kheii has a lisp, something he's very insecure about, and I know many Threllys struggle to pronounce the "th" sound for certain, as they both have relevance to character, story, or background information, but past that, much of this is vague ideas and may be altered in the future. Regardless, I hope you liked my completely unnecessary yap about a worldbuilding detail that is barely relevant to the plot of a story I'm not even really making :)

Also, Qariev has a fairly heavy accent, as he spent most of his life underwater, while Kheii sounds almost just like the land-dwelling people around him, only with a lisp he's gotten quite good at hiding. Kheii often avoids words with "s"s because of this insecurity, which also led to him give August the nickname "Auggie" so he doesn't have to deal with that tricky s. Kheii is the only one that calls August this, and August has become quite fond of the nickname. He also doesn't mind Kheii's lisp, though, even finding it rather endearing. Kheii often trains before performances to make sure he'll be able to pronounce whatever "s"s may come up, and does his best to avoid words with them when possible.

This is my OC Kheii Jahl, who is a ringmaster at a circus and exists in one of my many fantasy worlds. His older brother runs the circus, and serves as a sort of parental figure since their parents either aren't present or aren't alive.

Him and his brother are also members of a sea-dwelling fantasy species I created. Threllys is the general term for any mostly sea-dwelling humanoid in this world, but it's not a very popular term among the "Threllys" because it groups them together and is often used in a discriminatory fashion by land-dwellers. Kheii Jahl and his brother Qariev are based on the Striped Marlin fish, and the two of them currently live on land, travelling across the continent with the circus that the older of the two owns. Qariev grew up and spent much of his time in the sea, but Kheii Jahl was fairly young when they moved to land and not quite as connected to the culture as his older brother.