#askbiology

[loominggaia]

Why don't your Orcs have tusks? I'm not mad I just wanna know (I'm a dnd fanatic and warhammer guy so my go to orcs have tusks)

My trolls and ogres already had tusks, so I wanted my orcs to stand out from them a little more by making them look "smoother" and more refined. Looming Gaia orcs were not really war-like, they were actually quite peaceful and reclusive, so they didn't need the crazy teeth, claws, and horns that some other commoners have.

Ogres and trolls have more naturally violent behaviors compared to orcs. These behaviors are not always malicious though, often it's just "pecking order" stuff. They play-fight a lot to solve problems, this just comes naturally to them, but it does not come naturally to most orcs. Orcs don't need big scary tusks because they settle disputes by speaking instead of biting, and those teeth would just get in the way of speech.

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[loominggaia]

Can you tell me what is each elf race skin,hair,eye color ,height fot both genders, ear shape,facial and body features? Please

The Elf Article has pictures of all the elven races, but only their facial features. In the future I would like to add an image for body types and even traditional ancient fashions for each of their cultures. Most elves in modern times have a mix of these races in their ancestry, so they may share features from several of them.

I can say a few more things about elves here...

-Adult elven males typically stand 6ft tall minimum. 6'9" is the male average, and 6'6" is average for females.

-Most elves have a tall and skinny body type. They are naturally built like human supermodels or basketball players. It's hard for them to gain fat.

-One elven race, the Ela, are uniquely short. Males are only 5'6" on average, and females are even shorter.

-Another elven race, the Tanyel, have a unique body type. They are described as more "voluptuous" than other elves, with more fat in their chests, bellies, and butts. They are a little more physically robust than other elves overall.

-The Marienna elves have very long, thick eyelashes that are unique to them.

-Red elves (the Dami) are unique in several ways, mainly that they are immune to iron poisoning and fire. But they are also the only elven race with naturally poor vision. (Most elves have exceptional eyesight compared to other peoples.)

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[loominggaia]

Do trolls socialized around other peoples (e.g foster/adopted kids) still have a penchant for rotten and stinky food? Or is it an innare thing?

Yes, it's actually a biological response so it can't be "trained" out of them. Trolls naturally like smells that most other peoples find disgusting, and "pleasant" smells like flowers and fresh food are repugnant to them.

I do think that trolls who live among other peoples for long enough eventually become nose-blind to pleasant smells though. Kind of like how a smoker won't smell cigarette smoke after a few years of being surrounded by it. Likewise, urban trolls get used to the horrible stench of clean laundry and shampoo because it's always there. But even these trolls enjoy taking a big, satisfying whiff every time they pass a garbage can!

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[loominggaia]

Since centaurs have pseudo-equine anatomy, does that mean a broken legs is a serious to them as it is for horses? Do they share all the bizarre anatomical quirks that make broken legs almost impossible to heal from & usually lethal? (Serious look it up, evolution really said “your success shall also be your suffering” when it comes to horse leg anatomy)

How do centaurs treat broken bones and other leg injuries both mundane and magical?

Yes, in fact this was briefly mentioned in the story "Love Poison" and I think in a couple other stories too. Breaking a leg is a serious issue for centaurs, often considered a death sentence. They almost always need magic to fix it, and it takes a very skilled curative mage to do so properly. Otherwise they may walk with a limp forever and lose the ability to run. It's important for centaurs to run regularly to help them digest things. If they stop moving enough, their health suffers badly. A centaur with just one crippled leg has a greatly reduced lifespan.

Centaur cultures tend to be pretty conservative about using magic. They recognize its great power, but believe that this power should only be wielded by the most responsible among them. So in many centaur societies, you will find that most citizens don't know much--if any--magic, but there are a small handful of shamans/elders who practice magic religiously and build their whole lives around it.

These individuals are responsible for healing broken legs in centaur societies. In more mixed or developed environments, I think centaurs just go to the local hospital and pray there is someone on staff competent enough to deal with them.

Centaur legs can also be healed without magic, but the chance of success is much smaller.

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[loominggaia]

What about, what are the tallest elf race and the shortest faun race? I guess Cernios is probably the shortest since all peoples from Umory-Ond are short but just making sure

I'm sorry, I missed those ones in this other post!

Ela are the shortest elven race by far. Marienna are the tallest, but not by much. Aside from the Ela, heights among elven races are pretty consistent.

Cernios are indeed the shortest fauns, and Alses are the tallest.

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[loominggaia]

Could faun parents make their baby wear a blindfold in a specific color for 3 months to make their eyes turn that color? Since there's already some parents who pierce their babies' ears and stuff like that

It is possible to influence a faun's eye color this way, but there is one huge drawback: this child would have a severe vision impairment later in life. These 3 months are crucial for proper eye development. If the child can't see different colors, light levels, and distances during this time, they will end up with permanent eye damage, becoming completely or almost blind.

I feel like some faunish parents have accidentally blinded their children this way. They only wanted to influence their child's eye color, but due to ignorance they caused damage as well.

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[loominggaia]

About the faun eye colors being determined by their birth enviroment. It would be funny (and tragic) if faun babies in the Crescent Cult (such as wretches) got edgy red eyes. Also you might have to change the part in Chromight Technologies where Dita says that her baby has gold eyes if they're always born with grey eyes

That's an interesting thought, I think it's possible that fauns could develop red eyes in some conditions! If ever there was a situation like that, spending their first 3 months of life in the Crescent Dominion would be one of them...

Similar to the Lagaal humans, I think these fauns' eyes would technically qualify as "brown", but they have a noticeable reddish tint to them. Maybe fauns who develop in the Red Tundra or the Redsnake Canyons get similar eyes from these unique crimson surroundings.

Thank you so much for pointing out the discrepancy in ChroMight Technologies, I have fixed this detail and also updated the concept art for that story!

I also took the opportunity to change Hugh's name to Hew (to better represent his Gildfolken heritage) and gave Lars a new look to reflect fashion in Zareen Capital. Zareenites love to dye their hair wild colors, and I thought cyan would hint at Lars' connection to the Technologist Party. The metal jewelry in his face represents his desire to be augmented with robot parts.

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[loominggaia]

Are baby centaurs born with “fairy slippers”?

( basically the weird, squishy tentacle things on newborn foals hooves that keep them from harming the mom durning pregnancy & birth)

I don't see why not! The baby centaur's parents remove them shortly after birth though, and if they are not removed they will just fall off on their own after a while.

Other peoples are usually creeped out by these weird fleshy hooves, but centaurs find it totally adorable!

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