#yotici

Yotici got another redesign (pictured here with tentacles dropped, which would usually be held flat under the body when not in use).

They still have no definitive place in the tree of life besides 'some kinda stem fish lineage that doesn't exist irl', loosely set within the lobe-finned fish. Their beaks are very similar to parrotfish in being formed of fused teeth, which are very tough and accommodate wear from sediment in their diet (mostly consisted of seagrass, but also including kelps/other seaweeds, algae, living corals, some invertebrates). The tentacles are derived from clasper-like reproductive organs and are functional, fairly strong manipulating limbs (though not built for heavy lifting).

Yeah, they have very strong bodies and are capable of short bursts of speed, so most yotici can propel themselves completely out of the water. Breaching often features into the games, dances, and rites of some yotici peoples, and it's a simple but effective tool in conflicts with fishermen.

Fairly similar, here's a generalized idea

I Did kind of drop the sessile+asexual polyp mobile+sexual fish alternating generations because it doesn't Really change anything besides sounding vaguely interesting. Fish reproduction is wild enough as-is.

Their eggs are laid in a stringy mass that requires a root to the sea floor (coral, tough kelps, rocks, sticks, etc) and light currents to keep them oxygenated. These egg masses are strong and can bend and sway fairly significantly without coming apart, but will be broken by strong currents and require a sheltered environment to survive. This is the basis of a Garden, an engineered ecosystem designed to protect the eggs, provide substantial and consistent nourishment for the young and resting places and shelter for adults, and additionally function as cultural and social centers.

Larvae are tiny and born with a yolk sac attached to sustain them. They metamorphose into a 'predatory' phase in which they feed on zooplankton and organic debris. These phases are tiny and poor swimmers, wholly reliant on the sheltered environment of the garden for safety and consistent food sources. Those swept out have very little chance of longterm survival. The VAST majority of yotici that hatch at all die in their larval stages.

Most of their anatomy is fully developed as a 'yotling', in which they are much stronger swimmers, school together, and are primarily predatory. Yotlings feed on plankton and other small animals, but their most important food source is their own species' eggs. This is a natural behavior for yotici, and much of the function of the garden is to provide this dependable, clustered food source for their young. The survival benefits of most of their reproductive output being sacrificed to these viable young with a fairly strong chance of survival vastly outweigh the loss, given the vast majority of yotici larvae who hatch to begin with die without ever reaching this phase. Yotlings have much lower mortality rates than the larvae, but a majority will die to predation. They're also frequent bycatch in fisheries and are widely eaten by landdwelling peoples. During the yotling phase, they're about 4-8 inches long.

Their beak starts to develop in the juvenile stage, during which they are 'weaned' out of predatory behavior and start consuming algae and marine plants. They instinctively school around adult yotici and follow them to food sources, usually eating algae that grows around the tougher foods the adults can handle. This tends to be the point in which active parental protection begins, but few yotici cultures conceptualize these juveniles as full people or develop personalized bonds with them, as their mortality rate is still fairly high. During the juvenile phase, they're about 8-14 inches long.

A yotici 'child' has all its base adult anatomy developed, including its tentacles, and looks like a miniature adult. They can eat tougher foods and join the adults in consuming seagrass. This is the point in which they are semi-equivalent to a human infant, rapidly learning and picking up on language and beginning to communicate. Fully active parental care and bonding will occur during this period (the Exact cultural marker of when this starts can vary) and they are conceptualized as people. Diminishingly few yotici actually survive to this phase, but those who do have a very good chance of lasting to adulthood. The child phase starts at about 1-2 ft in length.

Okay I got some for both

Wardi:

The key function of a funeral is to ensure that the deceased has their soul fully detached from their dead body and sent away from the earth, allowing them to move into the afterlife rather than being trapped as an earthbound spirit. The soul remains attached to its body and the earth after death and needs the help of the living to guide it away. Funerary practices can be very complex and are effectively a series of failsafes to prevent the soul from being stuck behind. Technically the only Hard requirement is cremation, but if you want to ensure your loved one (or a politically important person) finds rest and rebirth in the afterlife, you go above and beyond to help them on their journey.

I'll describe the fullest extent of funerary practices here, though keep in mind that completion of All these rites does not necessarily occur for every funeral. This is also describing the standard funeral to the core doctrine of the Faith of the Seven Faced God, and you'll see variance in Wardi folk-religion funeral practices (as well as slight regional variation within the core faith).

---

Core dogma holds that the body should not be allowed to rot or be eaten, with cremation being the only option for respectful treatment of the dead. The body being destroyed by these forces without a proper funeral will cause the spirit to linger trapped to the earth, which is a miserable afterlife. A body that has been found rotten, mutilated, or partly consumed by animals will still be given a cremation, but they will require additional and more extensive rites wherein their wandering spirit is guided back to the body so it can be properly sent off.

People are bound by filial piety and social obligation to care for their dead kin and see that they get a proper funeral (at absolute LEAST ensuring that they are cremated). This is especially an obligation of children to their parents (as is supporting them in old age). It's a matter of personal and familial honor, and failing to fulfill these obligations is regarded as a severe betrayal of your kin and is grounds for the family's current patriarch to disown you and strip you of your name. Priests to the face Kusomache can assist in funerary rites (and preside over most major funerals of public figures), but most of the work comes down to the family members of the deceased.

Cremation can be a challenging practice in a region that is mostly grassland, scrub, and savannah. In practice, fully wood fueled pyres tend to be the domain of the wealthy (the main exception is within the province of Lobera, which has a great swath of intact woodlands). Dry dung fires (the most common source of fuel in the region in general) are appropriate for cremation, but only the dung of cattle and khait is considered ritually pure for this use.

((SLIGHT TANGENT: Cremation has some specific philosophical justification in the Wardi model of primordial cosmic dualism (though note- the practice of cremating dead almost certainly predates this, and this philosophy is also not significant to lay religious practice and most people are not thinking about this during funerals). The universe is composed of extremes of primordial sky (hot/dry/bright/male) and primordial sea (cold/wet/dark/female), reflected in a rhythm of dualism in life and its cycles. During birth, the body is formed in the extreme of primordial sea (manifested in a human body as the womb) and the soul must struggle out of it to reach life. In death, the body is broken apart in the extreme of primordial sky (fire is an example of such an extreme in physical form), and the soul must struggle out of it to reach rebirth in the afterlife. Non-crematory funeral methods return the body to sea-elements (the earth is considered to be mostly Sea in nature), thus not forming a complete cycle. Both primordial forces are challenging and deadly in of themselves, but life itself is sustained via cycling through both))

Upon death, the body will (ideally) be packed in salt to slow obvious signs of decay while the funeral can be prepared. It is otherwise wrapped tightly head to toe in cloth and stored in a cool, dry place. When funeral preparations are completed, the body will be cleaned and prepared, ideally by blood kin (usually the adult children of a dead parent, the parents of a dead child, or the deceased's spouse). If the person was killed by a wound, the wounds will be treated like that of a living person- the soul is still in there and capable of feeling pain, leaving wounds untreated strengthens unwanted ties to its now non-functional body. The body is washed thoroughly and anointed head to toe with a sanctified oil. The oil both assists in cremation and intends to prevent the deceased from feeling the pain of burning. A priest (if present) gives the dead one last blessing with white amenchalme, which is smeared across the entire forehead (as is the case in other blessings of transitional periods- birth, the formal naming of a survived year old infant, marriage).

The body is then clothed as finely as possible and wrapped in a blanket. Protective amulets to safeguard their journey to the afterlife, and shed snakeskins (both evocative of the Face Kusomache and a reminder to the dead of the necessity to leave their body) are wrapped in with them. This process is the last time anyone is allowed to touch the skin of the body, doing so afterwords risks the soul being tempted to remain attached, to its detriment (it can feel the touch, and may miss it).

The pyre is built at the same time as the body's processing (usually in close proximity), and a funeral space is designated. When possible, this space is bound with amenchil rope wound right to left, designating the space inside as sacred and preventing harmful outside agents from entering. Attendants are ideally blessed before entering the funeral space, or should at least self-purify with the gesture against evil.

The funeral should ideally commence in the late afternoon, and the cremation must commence during the hour of sunset. If this cannot occur, it is delayed until the next evening (minimal decomposition of the body within the first few days is acceptable, disintegrating rot is not).

The wealthy dead will have at Least one khait and hunting dog (most often their own) killed to accompany them- the khait will carry them on their journey and the dog will act as a guide. Poorer families will often use clay effigies of khait and dogs instead (or sometimes captured feral dogs). A third component in some funerals is a guardian lion (this tradition is newer and the guardian role is filled by the dog in other circumstances). Typically only kings or Odonii(-kin) are able to get an actual lion killed for them, and it will be an effigy in most other cases. This lion will take the role of the Patriarch Odomache who protects Its family (the entire people) from harm, and will defend the soul of the deceased from threats during its journey.

During funerals of slain soldiers, captured prisoners of war may additionally be killed, which is in part seen as a means of soothing the dead's spirit by taking vengeance for them, preventing the honored dead from becoming stuck earthbound out of anger for their demise. In this case, the prisoners are killed prior to the pyre being built, with their blood being used to consecrate the ground beneath it. The prisoner's bodies will be removed from the funeral space and bound in amenchil rope wound left to right to contain their spirits and prevent them from doing harm to the honored dead (they will typically be cremated (usually without honors) or given back to a defeated foe for funeral rites afterwords).

Offerings are made of items to help the dead on their journey (food, water, wine, clothing, weapons, armor) and as sacrifices to the Face Kusomache, who will ultimately enable the soul to reach its final resting place. Everyone in attendance should offer something (these are nonfatal offerings of food, flowers, and drink), and ideally the family will be able to provide an animal sacrifice to be slain (the best of which for funerals is a cow that has never been bred or yoked). The deceased's kin will bloodlet from the palms of their hands, both in offering and so that Kusomache will recognize the dead by blood and be able to find them, even if the deceased's connection to God was somehow severed. The offerings to the dead are placed on the funeral pyre, while the offerings to Kusomache are burnt separately by an attendant priest.

The women in attendance lead a song when the funeral pyre is lit, the lyrics direct the dead on how to leave their body and undertake their journey, and are sung on repeat. All members will eventually join in. By convention, the song must continue for the duration of the cremation (which may take many hours), usually accomplished by attendants taking breaks and filling the silence when another member goes quiet. (Professional mourners are also available for hire to assist in this process). It is not sung beautifully, it is shrill and often wailed and screamed, which serves to frighten off evil spirits that may harass the dead in their journey (also providing a measure of physical catharsis for grievers).

When the body is fully cremated, a much softer prayer is sung (as best as the attendants vocal cords can handle after the ordeal) as an additional appeal for the dead to be brought safely to their place of rest.

The person's spirit is now undergoing a perilous journey to the lunar lands that will last until sunrise, but from the perspective of the dead it takes a full month. This journey is perilous, it begins in complete darkness within the realm of the earth in which evil spirits live and can potentially harm the deceased. If the dead has had their connection with God badly severed in life (this can be by curses, possession, or very severe spiritual pollution), they may lose their way and remain trapped upon the earth (this is why care for the body and the purity of its living spirit is important during life as well). The living have, however, done their best to give the dead a very good chance. The chant has guided them out of their body and gone a long ways to scare off evil spirits that may harm the traveling soul. The offerings to Kusomache intend to restore any severed connections to God's greater living spirit, bringing the dead back under Its protection. The khait (or khait effigy) will give the deceased speed and ease the duress of their journey, and the dog (or dog effigy) will guide their way by scent even through darkness, and guard the dead from further harm (the lion/effigy will fill the guardian role instead if used).

The rest of the night is spent in vigil. Upon sunrise when the dead has reached their destination, the pyre will be broken down. The deceased's ashes and bones are stored in an urn and will be interred in a family tomb (the spirit should have no more connection to the body at this point, and these tombs are squarely conceptualized as a place for the living to honor and remember the dead, and as personal familial shrines to Kusomache). The mourners break off for a period of rest, and will reconvene at noon for a funeral feast. Funeral feasts are very special occasions, and warrant the slaughter of livestock (even among the poor). The spirit of this feast is to celebrate the rebirth of the dead into the lunar lands, and to honor the living left behind. Lavish funerals of kings and noblemen may involve funerary games during this feasting period (races, bull leaping, mock combat, etc) and performances by singers, dancers, and poetry reciters. The celebratory period lasts until the following sundown, at which point the funeral is over.

It's customary to cut the hair in mourning when the deceased is a parent, child, spouse, or sibling (and can be done by choice for other relations). The exact logistics vary- the South Wardi tradition is for men to enter the funeral with their hair in a topknot, and for women to enter with their hair bound in one long braid in the back. The men will slice through their hair under the knot, the women will cut their braid at the halfway point. Traditions on when this haircut occurs also vary, usually it is either just before the pyre is lit or just after it is extinguished. The cut locks of hair will be interred in the family tomb in a small urn along with the cremains.

A mourning period is observed for these close relations, lasting a full lunar month in recognition of the duration of the dead's journey. Women are generally expected to wear tight formal veils, while men will display their shorn hair unadorned. The blood family is considered ritually impure throughout this mourning period via contact with the dead, and cannot enter temples, participate in festivals, or bloodlet in prayer until its completion, and ideally should not touch other people. It's customary at the end of the month to undergo a full purification (which includes, or at the very least consists of, full body submergence in water and thorough bathing) before returning to their regular life.

---

Preexisting sketch I had of the remaining Haidamane family at their mother's funeral, watching the cremains being interned in an urn. 2/3 of them are displaying attire appropriate for a funeral, in which nice clothing and formal veils are generally an expectation.

Janeys' hair has been cut in mourning. He's got a very fancy cloak and a formal khattanocuy (South Wardi traditional khaitsmane belt ornament) Faiza's hair has been cut too but isn't visible. She's wearing a tight formal veil and has kept her Odonii regalia to the bare minimum lionsmane band and armament in favor of a nice dress and cloak. Couya has refused to dress up at all, save for being persuaded to braid her hair. Her hair has not been cut. She doesn't technically Have to since Livya Haidamane was not her blood mother, and she doesn't Want to because she fucking hates her and is glad that she's dead. She can get away with all this because she's an Odonii and wearing full vestment is justified but it's not a great look.

---

Yotici:

Yotici are an entire species so you're going to see a broad variety of funerary practices. The main variants of funeral practices are:

Cairn burials, in which the deceased is weighed down to the seafloor and a rock cairn is built over them. Practices will vary tremendously whether or not it's appropriate to bury dead within a Garden (an engineered ecosystem in which they maintain their egg masses). Some groups will have designated cemeteries outside of the Garden, others might bury their dead within the Garden and even build up its features on top of them, such as planting corals upon the rocks, making the mounds into nests for their shark eggs, or laying their own eggs on top of them.

Shipwreck burial, in which a body is stored inside or beneath wrecked boats, which are ascribed significance in some Yotici cultures (merely as shelters, as homes for valued animals, as the conquered vessels of malicious hunters, etc).

Sea burials, in which the deceased is weighed down but intentionally allowed to be consumed by wildlife. This will often be valued animals within the garden's ecosystem, or other significant or sacred wildlife.

Sky/sea burials, in which the deceased is allowed to float at the surface to be fed upon by seabirds and marine scavengers.

In both of these instances, there can be variation on what is allowed to consume the dead. In a majority of cases, there will be little attempt to restrict this consumption, but some may involve guarding the body for weeks on end and chasing unwanted animals away.

Land burials, in which the body is deliberately made to be beached. In some cases the significance of this act is wrapped up in the body being on land in of itself, in others it might extend more deeply- the body's direct exposure to the sun, favoring consumption by land animals, or consumption/other use of the dead by other sophonts (who may or may not be recognized by the yotici in question as sapient or notably distinct from other animals, and are commonly considered magical animals or a form of spirit rather than People) (the exact same tends to apply in reverse).

There are a few isolated cases in which a mutualistic relationship between yotici and a neighboring landdwelling people plays directly into funeral rites. Cases where mutually comprehensible languages have developed that can communicate abstract and complex ideas are very rare, so in most circumstances these practices involve both parties ascribing different meanings to their actions while being mutually satisfied with the outcome.

Deepwater burials, in which the body is brought into open ocean (where yotici cannot survive and do not typically travel) and left in this place, usually due to specific meaning being ascribed to this territory.

Kelp burials, in which the body is purposefully suspended by being tightly wrapped and tied in strands of kelp (usually in combination with other practices), which may have significance to some yotici groups, especially as a common staple food.

Abandonment, in which the body is brought far outside of the Garden's domain (or the surrounding seagrass altogether) and left to be treated as it will with no particular concern of its eventual fate. This may be a matter of simple disposal, there may be significance ascribed to bringing the body outside of the Garden's space, or the body may be considered a polluting element.

Enshrinement, in which access is maintained to the body in order to eventually remove its bones and place them in areas of significance. The body may be actively dismembered in some circumstances.

INTRO TO THE SOPHONTS

There are eight distinct sophont genuses and/or species in the known world of the blightseed setting. above are examples of each to show overall difference in anatomy and size.

A yotici teenager carrying an egg pouch of their herd’s many garden sharks (one of whom swims nearby, hoping for attention). A few yotlings instinctively swim under their older relative for protection, while a bed of yotici polyps (bottom left) filter-feeds in the garden below.

Yanti women feeding medicinal plants to a massive wammi cow, supplementing its diet of sea grass and kelp.

Wammi are domesticated sea cows kept for milk and meat, brought with the Yanti's ancient ancestors known best as the Sea People.