Ixtali/Galadrian
Physical Description
The Ixtali, or Galadrian, biology is not the strangest of the races which we shall cover in the book. Nonetheless, none can deny the astounding nature of their physical selves. A single Galadrian individual is actually composed of three distinct bodies: Two male appendages and one female appendage. It may be tempting to say that males and females simply group themselves together in this fashion, thus forming strong emotional and psychic bonds. This actually was the original method of classification for them, until recently discovered medical records indicated that these three bodies truly do share one consciousness. Furthermore, the bodies themselves are always sired from a single fertilized egg. In a genetic sense, then, a single individual being is actually housed within three bodies.
Upon further inspection, it was discovered that the Galadrians themselves did not consider male bodies to in any way be central to the consciousness of an individual. Rather, the death of the male body would appear to have no effect on the mental or physical state of the surviving two female and male bodies. The death of a female body, however, would immediately result in the complete loss of function regarding the other two males. In this way, male Galadrians are merely psychically controlled appendages, limbs no different from our own hands or feet.
Obviously, a proper description can not take place without treating the two types of entities separately, for now, before considering the unit as a whole.
The Male Physical Forms
Perhaps the most distinguishing elements of the male Galadrian form is that their heads are canine in resemblance. They have short, rough, light fur along their backs and shoulders, as well as down past their tailbone until right below the buttocks. This fur also extends up through the back of their neck and the top of their scalp, and terminating at the back of their ears, which are large and pointy tipped, with varying height and taper. Likewise, their jaw is also long and protruding like that of a canine snout, though they do not have whiskers.
One element of their face that is most definitely not canine is the Male Physical form’s nose. Far from resembling a canine snout, the flare of their nostrils tends to be located at the base where the snout joins the face, with nostrils spread down on each side a bit of the snout. The bridge of the nose is typically very wide. Strongly pronounced, it will arch upward before joining down against a heavy-set brow bone, which towers over low and brooding, deep-set eyes.
Of those physical differences that are markedly different from the humanoid form, the last one here that we will mention is their legs and feet, which are similar enough to humans to such an extent that they still ‘read’ as humanoid. But excepting this, they nonetheless have extraordinarily enlarged and powerful calves and hamstrings, as well as wider and more prominently arched feet. They have, in essence, incredibly powerful legs, built for running and jumping.
Speaking of power, the Galadrian male form is the envy of man when it comes to musculature. To put it succinctly, these creature are built like shit brick houses. They have wide, muscular shoulders and necks, powerful pectoral and deltoid muscles, combined with arms of absolutely terrifyingly ferocious strength. All of this, combined with an average height of 7 feet (2.13 Meters, for our European friends), all conspire to make this creature an incredibly intimidating force.
The Female Physical Forms
Galadrian female forms tended to be shorter than their male counterparts, with an average height falling between 5’8” and 6’2”. They also have features somewhat reminiscent to that of canines, but whereas their male counterparts have strong and powerful protruding jaws, their jaws are significantly shorter by comparison. Likewise, the bridges of their noses are much thinner and do not protrude much at all. Their brows are also softer and higher up on the face, with larger and rounder foreheads. Their eyes remain deep-set, but are considerably larger and lower down on the face. And finally, they do have somewhat larger lower lips, albeit smaller mouths.
Besides differences in facial features, the Female Physical forms tend to have much longer, plusher, and sleeker black hair compared to the Male’s short and scruffy brown hair. The hair covers much the same areas on the body as the males, except that for the front the region of hair growth includes the sides of the neck and top front of the chest, ending at the collarbone and down the back of the inner arms. For the back, their region of hair growth will typically not extend past the tailbone, leaving the skin of their buttocks smooth nacked. These changes in hair quantity, quality, amount, and placement are all likely sexually selective, as they give the appearance of being ensconced in a luxurious and glossy black fur robe or cape, while still emphasizing more attractive bodily aspects.
Besides the average, there are cases of female forms with spotted fur and less pointed ears, who also tend to be significantly shorter in both their female and male forms: Almost 1 to 1.5 whole feet shorter, on average. These individuals, however, appear to be treated harshly as outcasts by the more general Galadrian society.
Speaking of which, let us now turn that aspect of their culture.
Culture
The culture and social system of the Galadrian world can be summed up quite intimately in a single word: Savage. Archeological and historical evidence paints a bleak picture. The Galadrians were a terrifying race which utterly dominated the lesser races of the continent of The Muirn. They hunted other sentient races for sport as well as enslavement, and mandated tithes of “fresh persons” or “lekub tiil” (While literally this phrase appears to translate to “fortunate ones”, it can be safely assumed that the usage was ironic in context.) from lesser races on a yearly basis. The lives of these “fresh persons” then would become similar to those of the old world Gladiators2 found among the people’s of earth, with some key differences.
The “fortunate ones” were to live in the royal palace. They were forbidden from performing work or working as slaves, and their lives appear to have been highly regimented and controlled. Apparently, the entire ordeal was something of a selection process and cultural exchange program, whereby these individuals, in order to survive, either needed to do well in the arena or otherwise prove themselves entertaining or find patronage from some other Galadrian member of the palace.
The Galadrians themselves were bloodthirsty, murderous, savage individuals whose primary defining characteristic was clearly sadism. But at the same time, they were also highly intelligent and insatiably curious, as well as endlessly driven towards the procurement of novelty and entertainment. For all their sadism, they also had a strong sense of responsibility and fair-play, as well as great respect for shows of strength and courage. Lesser races could avoid horrifying ends both by displaying their fear gratuitously and by an unyielding display of absolute fortitude and strength towards them.
The Galadrians loved to invoke fear and pain, both physically and emotionally. For those weaker individuals who managed to present themselves as special or as a curiosity, survival meant continuous emotional torture and abuse. For those who managed to garner the respect and engage on Galadrians through shows of strength, survival meant becoming absolutely void of any weaknesses against a perpetually aggressive and antagonistic culture. Any lapse in a show of strength would become a death sentence without additional protection. Finally, for those who managed neither to entertain, fascinate, or demonstrate strength, there could only be endless sexual rape, physical torture... and eventually death.
Galadrian Mating Habits and Courtship + Class Hierarchy
The Ruling Class
There are four distinct classes amongst the Galadrian peoples. First up for our consideration is the ruling class and court society members. This class is composed of family lines that are prestigious and wealthy, and that are responsible for maintaining proper civil structures. But having said that, the most curious thing about the ruling class is just how little actual ruling the class does. Much of the daily life of an upper class Galadrian consists primarily in jockeying for court position against all the other nobles. Were it not for some few specific administrative duties that also fall upon the shoulders of these members, the elite society of the Galadrian peoples would live a life of almost complete isolation from other classes and peoples.
Primarily, Galadrian noble society functions as a sort of hybrid between a competitive aristocratic state and a communal tribe organization. The nobles’ primary responsibilities are towards the acquisition of resources, wealth, decadence, entertainment, and prestige for the entirety of the Galadrian Elite Civil Society. The concern of an individual noble house is towards solidifying the control, power, and prestige of Galadrian society of a whole over other races, and of the Ruling class over other classes.
To this end, the power and influence of a particular noble house is directly related towards the power and influence that house is itself capable of contributing to the collective power of the ruling class. Houses then compete for position based on the strength of their own merit to this end. Further, there is no hereditary royal family, but rather only the most powerful noble house at any given period of time.
Interestingly enough, a house’s ability to contribute confers power, but this should not imply that the various houses have particularly friendly relations with each other. Because aristocrats essentially share all wealth, power, and privilege equally, the court system as a whole also has an incredibly intricate and elaborate system of rules, ceremonies, procedures, and rituals which must be followed at all times. The families compete individually with each other on adherence to this system, and also constantly bicker and quarrel amongst each other regarding it.
Despite the unified nature of the ruling aristocratic class, there is also an inherent level of violence that accompanies it. Though we will get to that later.
The Priestly Class
The priestly class of Galadrians is not all that different from the Aristocratic ruling class. It also exists as a sort of communal society with elaborate and labyrinthine rules. The members of this class also contribute all their efforts to build upon the prestige, power, and influence of their class over the others, and of the Galadrian race over other Races. Where things differ, however, is that there is an external object of the Priestly Class’s daily life: The Galadrian Religion, Magic, and Sciences. This external focus and reason for organization makes the priestly class more organized and less fractious than the ruling class. There are higher laws to which its members may appeal to for resolution of dispute. The direction and magnitude of progress is informed by curiosity and area of inquiry, which is in direct contrast to the almost incessantly petty nature of the squabbles amongst the aristocratic class. The Priestly class is also the only class which is actually open to non Galadrian race members.(With the historical exception of one particularly exceptional individual mentioned in ancient historical record. Much debate and controversy has surrounded this individual, as the records would appear to indicate elements of the fantastic beyond the realm of the legendary: The one who apparently was so influential and powerful, that they were single-handedly responsible for the race renaming itself from Ixtali to Galadrian.)
The Warrior Class
Of the 3 Major classes, the warrior class is by far the most disciplined and least fractious. This relative in-class harmony and order is sadly well compensated for, however, in its aggression and dealings with other races. The warrior class acts as both a dedicated army for the glory and prestige of the Galadrian race against all other races, as well as an enforcer bureaucracy which handles procurement of resources, mandates of tithe, and management of slaves from all other races on the continent.
Because Galadrian individuals are three forms comprising one individual, their armies at the site of battles will always consist of 2/3rds male forms engaging in combat (or, more usually, massacre), with 1/3rd female forms usually nearby at a relatively safe distance, looking on at the ensuing carnage.
Ancient historical record has testified to absolute psychological trauma inflicted upon other races during battles. The Galadrian temperament and affinity for sadism truly shines here, as ancient record has told tales of how the Galadrian females would become enraptured by blood-lust upon observation of the slaughter of their enemies. Galadrian females observing the slaughter would often devolve into large scale lesbian orgies upon the blood soaked battlefields. They would even use the meat, bones, vital organs and blood of their victims as instruments and aphrodisiac tools to use during such bacchanalian atrocities all throughout the carnage.
Needless to say, the warrior class was the primary point of interaction between the Galadrian race and other races on the continent of The Muirn. The invective by which they are described truly paints an absolutely horrifying picture.
The Procreative Class
The Procreative class is as fitting to the Galadrians as it is ironic. To understand this class, one must consider that Galadrian individuals in Galadrian society live in a perpetual state of sexual warfare with one another. An individual is considered a full Galadrian if and only if there exists all three forms alive and well at once, Male, Male, and Female. If, however, a Galadrian individual loses one of their Male forms, they become vulnerable. And vulnerability is punished in Galadrian society quite severely. It is very likely that they will lose their only remaining male form very soon. And it is at this point, that the character and temperament of a Galadrian individual changes overnight.
A Galadrian individual who has lost both of their male forms is now simply a Galadrian female. She is immediately stripped of almost all Galadrian privileges, and is destined for a life that is, at best, that of a submissive and loyal slave wife. This is how Galadrians procreate. They war with each other, remaining vigilant at all times against attack and ambush. Those that falter must quickly ingratiate themselves to another as a loving wife. Those that fail to do so, either out of pride or vendetta, end up experiencing the Galadrian race much as other races do: An endless onslaught of rape, psychological and physical trauma, enslavement, and forced labor.
The Procreative class as a whole forms the craftspeople, servants, slaves, wives, agricultural workers, and all other non-ruling classes of Galadrian society. Some have better lives than others, but very few have lives that can be objectively considered “good” from our own perspective.
It should be mentioned that all Galadrian individuals lust over their own and others attractive female forms. But sexual relations between two female forms is impossible between two fully formed Galadrian individuals. The temptation and danger of one individual using their male forms to surprise and overwhelm the male forms of the other is ever present. To willingly engage one’s female form to sex with another female form is to risk being taken by surprise, and having one individual attack the other individual’s male forms, with potentially disastrous consequences.
But there is one exceptional circumstance: War. A battle against Galadrian enemies is the only time when all male forms are sufficiently distant from all female forms to remove any threat from any one other Galadrian indvidual. Granted, this is only the cae if the battle turns from more even odds to overwhelming victory in favor of the Galadrians, as under normal circumstances a small contingent of male forms remains nearby to protect the female forms from race enemies.
But in the case of overwhelming victory, their arousal incited by the incredible bloodlust around them, their sexual libidos invigorated by the possibility of sex without fear of losing their male forms... the females slowly become overwhelmed by their lust, descending into orgiastic hedonism unlike anything the world has seen before or since. Even those females who have lost some male forms during battle will abandon themselves to the experience, for this is the last time they will experience the rites and privileges of a fully formed Galadrian.
History
The Galadrian civilization is removed from that of man by a very great expanse of time and space. Even further than that of the ancient period, which was dominated by the prominence of the Kolodrwynn and the Vajyarakoi, the beginnings of this great people and their consequent rise to power lays somewhere in the days of shadow and mist... far beyond our own archeological records capacity to recollect. We know that, during this indeterminable expanse of time, the Galadrian race was actually known by another name, the Ixtali, which matches much more appropriately their language, which resembled in some aspects the language of ancient Earth World Mayan.
What we do know is that at some point in time, two major changes happened throughout this civilization very quickly. First, the peoples began to call themselves “Galadrians”, a word most notable by the fact that it does not appear to correspond to any known language on the continent of Muirn at that time. 4 Further, the writing system of the Ixtali appears to have undergone a sudden change, quite practically overnight; The Galadrians had formerly used a writing system comprised of making series of knotted cords attached to lengths of rope for many thousands of years (and this is one reason why much of their culture and history has been, sadly, lost. The ability to decipher this writing system has eluded scholars for some time, though their discovery has been but recent, and hope remains high that we shall find a way). At the same time as their name change, a system of writing using paper and ink brush simultaneously was implemented throughout the land.
Finally, there appears to be mentioned from a variety of the earliest known written works of these people of a figure who also bears the same name: “Galadriel”. From the works that have survived, however, we can conclude only the following:
- There appears to have been a great deal of literature, biographical or otherwise, extant amongst the Galadrians about this figure known as Galadriel. Far more than has survived to this day.
- There appears to have been a systematic effort to destroy this literature by some unknown individual or group, which would explain the paucity of contemporary information we have on this figure.
- The literature that does survive to this day will usually speak of Galadriel as a figure of almost mythological power and influence, both of his life amongst the Ixtali, and of his origins. These works, while helpful from a psychological standpoint, nonetheless probably do not represent things as they actually happened, and are hence not useful for the more contemporary inquisitor.
- There appears to be mention of several other figures that would appear, if mythology is to be believed, to have lived around the same time as Galadriel, and even predated him. These figures, known only as the Lichtokal, or “titans” appear in a greatly significant work that was found under most precarious circumstances during one of the earliest expeditions to the lost continent.
- These Titans appear in the Tsobatsilan cho Jaal, or “Medicine Tome”, and nowhere else in all other known literature.
- Galadriel appears to have been responsible for sending these figures to extremely painful and violent deaths.
Much of academic research on the Galadrians is still very much fresh and recent, however. So hopefully, in time, more will become known about this truly fascinating race of the truly distant past.
