One interesting side note to this linguistic difficulty is the fact that under most circumstances,
only one uther can talk at a time! Writing takes
the form of a continuous scribble that follows
the melodic line of their speech. What this looks
like is sort of like a stretched seismograph track.
council of Linearchs. As technology develops,
more lasting government forms spring up to go
with the increased dependency upon immobile
resources.
Religion
Uthers live in a three-level universe: Space,
which they cannot reach; Ground, which they
can’t go below; and Air, which is where they
live and is the dynamic region between the two
extremes. These concepts are also intertwined
with three concepts that are equivalents to past,
present, and future: the Lost Time (everything
that was once known, but is now forgotten),
Known Time (anything that is known), and
Unknown Time (anything which is not yet
known). They are players in the Universe (like
all Life), with the important role of "catalyst" or
"intermediary" between the space/future level
and the ground/past level.
Structural Materials
Formation Flying
Uthers
General Morphology
The uthers, like all members of the avian
pentapod class Aquiania, are descended from an
early gliding aquan form. This divergence happened several hundred million years ago, or in
Eponan terms, at least two ice age cycles in the
past.
On uthers, limbs one and two form the
hindwing.
Like all of Epona’s myoskeletal organisms-be they ceretridons, pagodas, or aquianins--uther
bodies are supported by continuous lengths of
osmotic muscle called extensile muscle rods, a
combination skeleton-muscle which makes the
organisms very flexible. These muscle rods can
extend forward and backward, as well as twist
through differential activation of muscle cells.
Joints are not needed, for they can be created 'on
the fly' by animating the proper cell groups.
Senses and Perceptions
Uthers have four eyes, like all pentapods, but
two have atrophied. The other two are located
on the sides of the head, giving them very wide
angle vision at the expense of stereo vision. Also
like all pentapods, they have three ears. Two act
as passive receptors, and are simple tympani.
They are able to hear only a small range of frequencies at once, but are tuneable. The third ear,
located on top of the face and facing forward, is
a combination ear and sonar organ. This is what
furnishes the uther with range data and a sort of
“tactile” sense that, when combined with their
vision, gives the uther the sensory ability necessary for flying at high speeds through pagoda
groves. The sonar organ is also the method of
primary vocalization.
“arms”, limbs three and four the forewings, and
limb five the hindwing. Propulsion is by a combination of the forewings and hindwing, with the
forewings doing most of the flapping and the
hindwing undulating in counterpoint. Lift is generated in powered flight primarily by the hindwing, although in gliding flight the forewings
also participate. Due to their musculature and
body structure, the wings, indeed all of the flight
characteristics, are highly variable. Each limb is
terminated with three digits: three fingers on the
arms, two wing spars and a finger on the forewings, and the leading edges and “tail” on the
Flying in formation improves flight efficiency. This is not lost on uthers, so they often will
fly in a “V” formation to reduce energy consumption. As an extension of this idea, they
often use parasails for cargo hauling. Obviously,
they can’t attach anything bulky to their bodies,
as it would interfere with their flight characteristics, but they can use slings and hang them off
their bodies.
Their overall formations also have social significance. There are three age groupings (four, if
you count the neonate): juvenile, marked by the
lack of a neonate; adults, who have had a neonate but are currently without one; and adults
with neonates, which is self-explanatory.
(Interesting side-note: in order to be an adult in
uther society, one must have two offspring, a
juvenile and a neonate.) Adults with neonates
have the best perception; they have “eyes in the
backs of their heads” and are old enough to have
some experience. When in a flock, they generally populate the back end of the group. The adults
without neonates have the next best: experience,
but no rearview neonate. The juveniles lack
both, and are generally up front, where they can
be easily watched over by the others.
Kinship and Group Structure
The uther flocks are ruled by a Linearch.
This is the “Godparent” of the clan, who, in
some way, is the oldest living relative of everyone else in the clan. One of the primary governmental forms is the Federation, a loose collection of clans more or less cooperating, led by a
There is no wood on Epona. This put uthers
at a disadvantage when it came to building structures. This also means that a) uthers got a later
start at architecture than humans did; and b) they
learned how to use composites faster.
Myoskeletal material, when properly prepared,
can fulfill many of the functions that wood does
here, and more. It is possible to create beams,
masts, panels, and other structural elements out
of myoskeletal components by utilizing techniques not too different than tanning and stretching hides.
Stone and clay are also used, but since they
are heavy and unwieldy to avian life forms, are
kept to a minimum until large, permanent settlements become important. Metals are widely
used, as are various hydrocarbons, toxins and
reactive chemicals.
Artifacts
Uthers use a variety of tools. In fact, one of
the reasons they developed sentience was
because their bodies weren’t really adapted well
to their niche. They quickly learned to use sharpened stones to help cut up carcasses. Weaponry
includes polearms, stabbing swords, incindieries,
dropoons, hoop-bows, and, later, guns. For hauling purposes, they use slings or nets suspended
between two or more uthers, or, when available,
a parasail. Carts and boats are not unheard of,
either. Utheran buildings are very much like
pagoda trees: stacked and vertically oriented,
very airy and open, with vertical shafts to allow
for easy accessibility.
Predator of the Uther: The Dracowolf
Dracoavianus lupinus
Speech And Writing
Due to the peculiarities of the ear, the speech
of uthers is something vastly different than any
human language. It most closely resembles a
random walk across frequencies, with occasional
repetitive elements. Imagine a cat, dancing on a
piano. Since the ears can only hear a certain
small amount of frequencies at once, attention is
called by a warble that scales up and down the
frequencies, insuring that all within speaking
range can hear it. There are several other specific “punctuation” sounds, all designed to enable
others to follow the course of the idea-streams
(“sentences” isn’t quite the correct word here).
Completely dependent on its highly acute sonar, this avian
has atrophied eyes, giving it a very dispassionate expression.
Adding to the cold look, a battery of very sharp chitinous
teeth, twelve total, surround the mouth cavity, ready to masticate prey. The two mouthpart limbs possess talons, a feature
which aids D. lupinus in holding squirming victims. An average wingspan of ten meters makes for a large beast, capable
of utilizing sizable avians for food. In fact, one of the dracowolf's staples are uthers, Eponas utherensis.
The dracowolf has a unique organ for finding uthers, and
other animals dependent on sonar. A single digit from the
front wings has elongated and narrowed, to trail over the
creature's back, appearing like the tails of a kite. Fine hairs
cover these organs, with each follicle being attached to a
nerve bundle. When D. lupinus is in a slow glide, or at rest in
a tall Cathedraltree, these organs are capable of sensing distant sonar pulses.
The attack is usually from above, so that the Dracowolf can get a good dive for a speedy
assault. Sometimes they will drop from the heights, pass the flying plane of their victim, and
swoop up from below. Dracowolves strike for the brain cavity with their talons, an action that
usually instantaneously kills their prey. If not, the predatory avian will bite at the brain case until
the unfortunate captive has died.
Mating for dracowolves is full of show, with much flying around in an effort to attract a suitable partner. The single young produced by all the activity is capable of flight some two months
after birth. The offspring, however, stays with the parent for over a year, helping care for the next
newborn, providing watch while the forebear is off rampaging for food.
It is interesting to note that the specialized hearing organ, with much variety in the length of its
sensitive hairs, gives the creature the ability to hear broad-band sound.
TECHNOLOGAL HISTORY
“Stone Age”
Primitive Tools: Knife, Spear, Net
Lever, Inclined Plane
Weaving
Primitive Art
Domestication of Animals
Herds, Herding Beasts
Pagoda Tree Dwellings
Mysticism (very informal, not consistent
between “famillages”)
Ceremonial Eating of the Dead (to keep them in
the family)
Pottery
“Primitive Tech”
Roughly equivalent to Terran Bronze Age.
Complex Tools
Agriculture
Obsidian becomes a raw mat’l for items (mostly
tools)
Finer Weaving
Web Vest for tool-carrying
Woven Alphabet
Scribes (as a job)
Masonry
Adobe Dwellings and structures
Curing Hides/Leaves (tanning)
Sledges/Travois
Boats
Mapmaking (made of tied together sticks, with
nodes representing islands)
Primitive Engineering
Stellar Navigation (“Guided by my descendants”)
Primitive Religions
“Astrology” (religious significance of stellar
objects)
Mathematics
Concept of Gravity
Primitive Meteorology
Piston Firestarter
Primitive Glass
Primitive Refining (boiling tar to get refined
products)
Primitive Prosthetics (glide enhancers, parachute)
Parachutes used for cargo drops (first parachutes
were pagoda leaves)
Windmills
“Medieval Tech”
Era of Expansion, also known as “The Age
of Crusades;” this age is marked by the first real
signs of a population explosion brought on by
better animal husbandry, social theories, and the
ability for famillages to support higher populations.
Better (global) maps
Codified Laws (necessary to unite villages)
Signalling Towers (with drums and lights/flags)
Homing “pigeons”
Formalized Government (big gov’t)
Governmental Experimentation
Democracy, Republic, Oligarchy, Monarchy,
Communism (note that these are equivalents
to human forms, not equals), Feudalism
(based on families, not individuals)
Currency (obsidian and bone change from raw
mat’ls to units of currency)
Trade (facilitated by currency)
Lighter Than Air Craft (Hot Air)
Wheel
Refined Metals (rare)
Bronze Working (simple alloys, easily worked
metals; lead and tin come to mind)
Cement
Better Glass
Philosophy
Ceretridon Riding (as a “wheelchair” or some
type of military tactic)
Advanced “low-tech” Weapons
“Primitive” explosive devices (using boost)
Military Tactics (used during the “Wars of
Philosophy”)
Religion Codified
Better Prosthetics (flight aid, launching facilities)
Physics (kinetics)
Advanced Mathematics
Surveying Instruments
Early Flight Tech (as a branch of aeronautics,
not medicine)
Theory of Gravity
Theory of Refrigeration (ice houses for food
storage)
Muscle Engines (Impaler plant pistons; this
“event” more or less defines this age; as time
goes on, the muscle engines become better
and better as selective breeding makes them
more specialized) (equivalent to Terran
steam engines)
Plant/Animal Derived Metals (“Organimining”)
Concept of Interchangeable Parts
Industrialization
Steel
Bridge Building
Chemical Explosives
Use of explosives in mining allows for deeper,
more productive mines
Black Powder Weapons
Steam Power
Magnetism
Steam Refining
Combustion
The Corporation (a legal entity that can outlive
the beings that control it; in uther society, it
may take the form of a famillage-owned
business)
Metallurgy
Plastics
Powered Flight
Rocketry
Space Flight
Contact between Humans and Uthers as in the
Analog story Fugue on a Sunken Continent.
“Electronic Age”
“Urban Age”
Era of “Expansion of Cities,” roughly equivalent to Terran Renaissance and Colonial periods.
Engineering (primarily civil)
Hydraulics
Writing becomes common (not just a job for a
few)
Literacy
Banking
University (as a central repository of learning)
Optical physics
Rotational physics
Telescope
Microscope
Binoculars (opera glasses)
Binoculars using prisms
Astronomy
Chemistry
Paper
Matches
Scientific Medicine
Theory of Genetics
Advanced Organism Husbandry (scientific selective breeding)
Pagoda Bridges
“Industrial Age”
Invention
Mechanized Writing (printing press; literacy
goes from a luxury to a necessity)
Iron Working
Electricity
Telegraphy
Electromagnetics
Light Bulb
Electronics
Sonar (electromechanical)
Atomic Theory
Railroad (whatever form mass ground movement takes)
Popular Vehicle (equivalent to an auto [“autoplane?”])
Radio
Radar
Advanced Flight
Mass Production
Refrigerator
Theories of Relativity
Electricity distribution
Space Flight becomes common
1st orbital facilities
“Computer Age”
Roughly equivalent to Terran years 1970+,
also could be called the “Age of Information”.
Quantum mechanics
Nuclear Fission
Primitive Computers
Advanced Computers
Robotics
Nuclear Power
Superconductor
Genetic Engineering
Recycling
“Future Tech”
Roughly equivalent to Terran 21st century
and beyond.
Fusion Power
Orbital power stations set up
Space Flight becomes system wide, including
mining/industrial facilities; asteroids are routinely brought into Eponan orbit for ease of
processing and distribution of resources
1st out-system probes launched
1st colony ships sent to in-system planets
Large-scale colonization of system