Guugliess
Guugliess
(Guugliess, plural and singular, Goo-oog)
The guugliess are an entirely ocean-dwelling race that inhabit the waters surrounding the islands of Ha'apai. Throughout history, they have had casual ties with many of their neighbors, both below and above the water line. Since they have had little contact with any other intelligent races, their conflicts have been few and far between and little opposition to their dominance has been put up. Of all of the water-breathing races, it is only the Ta'ahine which pose any credible threat beneath the waves.
The guugliess resemble slim humanoids between five and six feet from toe to top. Their transparent bodies leave their internal organs easily visible through gelatinous skin. Yet the skin is turgid and very resilient. Instead of bones, their skeletons are cartilage, and in the occasional chance that the guugliess are seen on land, the image of their pale supportive structures stands in stark contrast to the clear jelly around it. Underwater, a guugliess is almost imperceptible, blending in in with their environment as little more than a collection of odd opaque bits skating under the surface.
The guugliess lack external ears but have small, pert noses and five-fingered hands and feet. Their teeth are pearly nubs with hard ridges designed for grinding the shells of mollusks and capable of tearing scales and flesh. Beneath its tongue are a pair of retractable coiled barbs. By clamping onto skin and releasing these coils, a mild sedative is injected into the victim. Small creatures can be killed by the toxin, but animals of comparable size are merely slowed and disoriented.
Guugliess brows and foreheads are colored with a reflective pigment beneath the surface that shines like mother of pearl. All of the colors of the rainbow are covered among the race, but a particular guugliess only shimmers in a particular range such as a variety of blues or reds. This sheen even extends to the lids of the guugliess's eyes, stopping any light from penetrating. These eyes are a deep blue that is almost black, and provide heat vision and color vision much more distinguishing than most other races.
Their faces and slick, hairless bodies are absolutely androgynous. The guugliess are both male and female and capable of reproduction with any other fertile member of their race, forming permanent mated pairs to produce a brood and raise it to adulthood.
Guugliess villages are composed of carved stone or coral raised and cultivated into fitting dwellings. These structures are densely gathered, sometimes stacked quarters arranged around a communal living area where daily life goes on. Each village is composed of the extended kinship ties of a family, who are identified by the similarity in the color of their brow sheen. Due to the necessary color sensitivity to detect kinship based solely on brow color, it is often much easier for outsiders to spot those who are not related than those who are related.
In the absence of combat with outsiders, the guugliess created a contrarian, conflict-oriented society where mock battle with weapons of polished bone usually determines dominance and loud, hostile oratory determines almost everything else. Diplomacy is earned either at the end of a bludgeoning or piercing tool or at the tip of an equally sharp tongue.
Public speaking is an art form with elaborate rituals surrounding addresses, debates, and eulogies, but combat has its own complex and reverent ritual following. Even the choice between these paths has been the subject of many a debate and battle throughout guugliess history.
