Results 1 to 1 of 1

Thread: The Dzlieri

  1. #1
    chesser2538's Avatar Senator
    Citizen

    Join Date
    Feb 2014
    Location
    Houston, Texas
    Posts
    1,483

    Default The Dzlieri

    Introduction
    The Term Dzlieri is used to describe a variant of primitive humanoid closely related to the more modern man. It is of a short thin build with long limbs and back, weighing on average 100 pounds, though large females can reach 140 pounds. Descended from a common ancestor to modern man, the Dzlieri reside in the more polar regions; further migration perhaps being blocked by the larger more developed races. This also seems to correlate to being just prior to the split between the southern continents; they are noted with the exception of man, the most seasonally adapted primates ever.

    Typical Dzlieri Man


    These adaptations include seasonal fur coats, nocturnal adaptations, and other refinements. The most famous adaptation has been their social lifestyle. All Dzlieri must cope with the long winter night. To do this, they all build elaborate structures to protect themselves from the elements and stock these with a surplus of food gathered through the summer, mostly nuts and seeds, roots, fruits and berries, but also insects, shiny baubles, small animals, etc. There are many variations to these structures. Some will build a series of dwellings and spend the winter moving from location to location. Others will cache or store food at other locations other their main dwellings. Some hoard late in the summer, others hoard early, and still others exhibit quite complex seasonality.

    Extent of Dzlieri Settlements


    They are social, with their own form of communication’ a series of noises and hand gestures. Their dwelling will contain at least a family group. There are interlocking networks of dwellings among troops, and occasionally 'civil wars' as starvation impels the members of a troop to evict their weaker brethren. The largest and most impressive dwellings may be the size of a human building and contain a hundred or more individuals. Typically, Dzlieri societies are organized around dominant females who initiate the construction of elaborate dwellings in order to attract male harems. The males who congregate or gather contribute to these and help collect food. Daughters typically remain, and subordinate females will join, increasing the number of females in a hive and drawing more males. Hives or troops are almost always exclusively matrilineal with males spending the early part of the summer moving about freely.

    There's clear evidence of a very early association between humans and Dzlieri, if for nothing else than early humans despoiling Dzlieri colonies for their own survival, and sometimes dying in the attempt. The two species were often found in loose association, and over time, several species of Dzlieri became domesticates, gathering their surpluses for human masters. Indeed, it appears that domestication of Dzlieri precedes the development of Agriculture in some Polar climates. Arguably, in particularly resource poor regions, domestication of Dzlieri and related species allowed humans to survive in resource poor environments.

    There are, of course, more unsavory aspects to the relationship. Dzlieri were among the most famous exports for expanding civilizations, as domesticated colonies were employed in many areas, including a specially bred strain that employed their gathering and hoarding traits in commercial agriculture. Unfortunately, many of these ventures were poorly managed, resulting in large populations of Dzlieri settlement either breaking off or being abandoned and developing settlements in non-native areas, which have disrupted local ecologies throughout the world.

    History
    Humans have lived in proximity to and sometimes in competition with Dzlieri ever since they arrived. The inevitable result of this, of course, was the extinction of various species of Dzlieri in regions dominated by humans. But invariably, human populations would collapse and the Dzlieri would recolonize the region, persisting until human population built up again. In region after region, the populations of the two species endured in an uneasy teeter totter. At some point, however, some humans began to realize that the value of the Dzlieri hoards far exceeded the value of the land they were trying to obtain, and that the Dzlieri were far more adept gatherers than the humans.

    Small human groups began to live in association with Dzlieri hives, roughly 21,000 to 20,000 years ago, periodically raiding their hoards. By about 20,000 years ago humans had integrated Dzlieri into some of their societies, or had figured out how to establish themselves at the head of their societies. Of course, other human groups were also competing for the same resources, so Dzlieri domestication remained a relatively fringe activity on the peripheries of many human territories or in areas where humans were thinly populated. Nevertheless, there’s a fairly continuous, if somewhat erratic and intermittent archeological record indicating domestication.

    Dzlieri domestication remained relatively marginal, however, until after the development of agriculture. Between 16,000 and 17,000 years ago, domesticated Dzlieri populations and ranges seem to grow dramatically, paralleling the spread of wind seed agriculture. Somewhere approximately 14,000 - 12,000 years ago Dzlieri domestication expands again, with the beginning of proliferation of domestic breeds, together with use in berry harvesting. Over the next two thousand years, there appear to have been concerted efforts to determine the behavioral limits and applications of Dzlieri.

    As it turns out, Dzlieri were not useful for all agricultural tasks. Domesticated strains were relatively poor at planting, could be trained for weeding, but were ineffective at many tasks. Although human-like, and capable of training to complex tasks, they often proved increasingly unreliable the further away they were moved from traditional behavior patterns. Nevertheless, they proliferated in a variety of specialized roles, even finding places in emerging urban polities. Some species were bred up to extraordinarily large females of 160 pounds or more, and bred for reduction of hair or pleasing facial features. There are even specialized breeds used as ‘concubines.’ Other varieties were trained as watchdogs, sentries, specialized searchers, hunters or in some odd cases pets. Other species were domesticated or semi-domesticated and often bred into bloodlines; giving rise to the more common strain of the species seen today. Domesticated breeds over the millennia have continued to appear and disappear.

    Dzlieri Agriculture
    The Dzlieri have almost no true cereal grains, and the few specimens they have seemed to fare poorly. Although the Dzlieri have specialized adaptations to handle the starches and alkaloids of their root crops, they are considerably less facile with the glutens of cereals. Dzlieri prisoners have literally starved on a diet of bread. In addition Dzlieri botany produces very little in the way of actual fruits. The few fruits found in the south polar region are relatively poor quality and have restricted ranges and limited productivity. During periods of international trade, foreign fruits (after pork) are the Dzlieri greatest import.
    Last edited by chesser2538; March 04, 2019 at 03:22 PM.

    Under the Patronage of the venerable General Brewster

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •