Race: Alraune

Introduction

Aren't you such a pretty little meat thing? I could just eat you up! -Anonymous Alraune

Don't understand why you are all so high-strung. The garden is beautiful is it not? Just relax, let us take care of you, you are also creatures of paradise after all aren't you? -Pointsettia, Alraune Liason

We will grow, we will thrive. Hard to kill a planet no matter how you all try. Watch the trees growing high. The flowers will bloom where animals die. -Alraune 'Nursery Rhyme'

Biology

Physicality

The modern conception of an Alraune is a deception. One could look at an Alraune and think they are roughly humanoid-shaped plants. Their lower bodies may end in legs or giant flower buds but above the waist they will generally appear humanoid. This beautiful exterior hides a more ugly reality, the "true forms" of Alraunes are amorphous blobs of aggressive vines. Their humanoid bodies much like the flowers that often make up their lower halfs are mere 'Lures' designed to make themselves presentable to other species. Pre-Contact Alraunes created complex flower lures to lure the giant insects of their homeworld of Loam close as to catch and eat them. As the Alraune evolved beyond simple predatory plants and began to mold the plant life of Loam for food, tools, shelter, and medicine, the lure transitioned from a mere predatory adaptation to one of fashion. The complexity and beauty of one's flowery Lures denoted one's social status with the elite among the Alraune having the most complex and beautiful Lures.

Following first contact Alraune saw it necessary to develop their amorphous bodies to better communicate with the galaxy at large. Using the pinups, movies, and other media left behind by the first human explorers to scout Loam. Alraunes wove their vines into roughly humanoid shapes. Decades of refinement aided by continued contact with humans led to the mass adoption of the modern Alraune 'Lure', one whose vine mesh skin can sometimes be mistaken for flesh. For the Alraune, already obsessed with beauty, the humanoid lure became merely another piece of their body to be molded to perfection.

The neurostroma is the brain and central nervous system of the Alraune and is located near the center of its mass. Most Alraune organs are located near the neurostroma and mimic the function of parts of plant cells on a macroscopic scale. The only organ not located here is the advanced photoreceptors that the Alraune use as eyes which lie in their otherwise quite empty head of the Lure. Alraune are capable of inducing their body to grow a variety of plants. The fruit grown by Alraune serves roughly the same function as fat in animals. Unlike fat though Alraune fruit is much more abundant and can be picked which is painless to the Alraune so it can be eaten either by the Alraune or others.

Alraune are carnivorous plants and as such they have both stomachs and are capable of photosynthesis. Alraune are also capable of leaching blood from their prey. Animals caught in the Alraune vines were traditionally drained of blood before being brought into the mass of vines to a stomach where the remainder of their mass would be slowly digested.

Mentality:

Alraune are traditionally known for their aloof personalities and often aggressive and predatory behavior around 'meat' aliens. Xenobiologists theorize this is due to the neurostroma lacking the mirror neurons common in animals. This in theory means Alraune often have trouble empathizing with the sapient 'meat' aliens that are the dominant form of life in the wider Galaxy. Despite this lack of empathy it would be wrong to say the Alraune are incapable of caring for other races. Alraune often show almost maternal attachment to even the smallest of creatures. Much like they have done with their homeworld Alraune often treat their interpersonal relationships like gardening with a desire to see those within its social garden grow and prosper.

Alraune have a fixation on beauty which defines much of their culture. They spend much of their lives carefully cultivating their own appearance to maximize their personal beauty. If the Alraune see the galaxy as a garden then they are the prize-winning flowers at the center of that garden and as such caring for themselves comes before caring for the other parts of their garden. This has led many to believe the Alraune to be innately more selfish than other species, which may not be entirely untrue.

History

Homeworld

The Alraune homeworld is the world of Loam, a tropical planet of 1.1 Terran Masses. The planet's surface is about 55% water and 45% land by area. The vast majority of Loam's land area is covered by forest and jungle. Thanks to the tireless work of the Alraune these jungles and forests are full of plants both native to Loam and to countless other alien worlds, all growing in harmony with each other. It is a planet-sized nature reserve and from space, it hardly looks inhabited at all. But beneath the forest and jungle canopies the Alraune and their 'meat' followers live surrounded by nature's bounty. Polluting technology is not allowed on the service of Loam and as such in its orbit are countless stations and factories that support the growing Alraune instellar garden.

Though this cursory description of Loam may make the Alraune sound primitive, the reality is that Loam is the home of countless plants that do naturally what factories often do for humans. Ironwood trees grow wood with a similar hardness to steel. Solarleaf trees produce clean electricity that is transmitted by shockvines. Countless fruit-bearing plants provide an endless supply of food to the Alraune and within Loam's groves can be found medicinal plants, many endemic to Loam, that can heal almost any malady. Loam is a natural paradise with some even considering it a planet-spanning Garden of Eden. This Eden however. is not without its problems and even the aloof Alraune are capable of violence and crime.

No formal criminal code exists on Loam but there are informal laws against harming sapient life and destroying or stealing the property of others. What little codified law does exist was created to appease the Loam's thriving tourism industry. Alraune who break the law or otherwise offend their society are imprisoned with a method called 'rooting'. During this process, the criminal Alraune becomes entangled with a special rooting plant known as Lockroot, which entwines itself with the Alraune immobilizing it completely. The Lockroot then fills it with nutrients it draws from the earth providing sustenance for the criminal and causing said criminal to grow large fruit rapidly. Criminal Alraune are often rooted in a public place and other Alraune are encouraged to chastise the rooted prisoner and take fruit from it. This sentence can last days years or indefinitely. Over time the Lockroot takes over the Alraune. Some trees located in prominent places on Loam are former Alraune criminals condemned to a lifetime imprisonment which for Alraune can last centuries.

Loam also has a significant population of non-Alraune. These are mostly tourists permitted to take in the Eden that is Loam for a time in return for a generous fee. As there are few formal businesses on Loam itself the entrance fee makes up a significant portion of Loam's economy. Though the entrance fee is steep, the fee is considered 'all-inclusive' and the Alraune provide for every need of Loam's tourists. There are also permanent non-Alraune residents called, indentureds. These indentureds trade a lifetime of service to the Alraune for the chance to settle on Loam. After decades of service in the space stations or fleets that protect Loam and other Alraune colonies, indentureds are treated to retirement on the planet experiencing a life without struggle with luxuries thought impossible on all but the richest planets all given to them by their Alraune masters. The presence of non-Alraune on Loam has also led to a non-Alraune prison system. Non-Alraune who commit crimes on Loam, whether they are tourists or settlers, are taken to the island dubbed by the settlers as 'Meninx'. There the prisoners are sealed in giant flower buds. From within the buds, countless drugs and stimulants are pumped into them for weeks months, or even years. By the time the prisoner leaves the flower bud they are changed becoming fanatically loyal to the Alraune. These emerged prisoners are known as Lotophages and they from then on, happily perform whatever task given to them as Alraune. Lotophages perform dangerous labor, act as military forces, and other undesirable professions being often reassigned as needed. The best performers are rewarded by being made personal servants to the Alraune which for them the highest honor.

History:

The true age of the Alraune as a species is unknown however there is some evidence that the Alraune could have existed as essentially the same species for hundreds of thousands of years. Their recorded history can only be traced back to the human survey team that first landed on Loam on a botanical survey mission. The arrival of strange mammals from the sky caused quite a stir among the Alraune who avoided contact with the strange new animals at first. Initially reports that the strange animals were using advanced tools were ignored as fantasy by the Alraune who believed animals incapable of sapience at the time.

Inevitably a human patrol, cutting their way through the jungles of Loam with machetes, stepped on a waiting Alraune who was attempting to lure insects to its bloom. Finding what it believed to be another animal the Alraune attacked attempting to eat the unlucky humans. The humans, seeing what to them was a terrible vine monster, fought back firing lasers at the Alraune who scurried away to alert its kin of the danger the new animals possessed. The humans similarly returned to their research outpost with their reports of killer vine monsters. What followed was a series of escalating violence between the terrified human survey team and the unprepared Alraune. Eventually, the Alraune launched a coordinated assault against the research base, overwhelming the human defenders, who were either killed or fled the planet.

Free now to examine the spoils of their conquest, the brightest minds of the Alraune came to the previously unthinkable conclusion that the 'meats' were sapient and 'extraloamer' aliens. Studying the various pieces of media left behind by the human survey team, the Alraune began to imitate the human form and language in hopes that their second contact would be much more peaceful than their first. Lacking any context for human culture, the Alraune did not realize the material their new forms drew inspiration from were pinup magazines and similar unsavory media.

Humans for their part reviewed the survey data and noted that the vine monsters were using complex tools to assault their base, treating their wounded, and even using guerilla tactics to fight a technologically superior force. Concluding that the vine creatures were a sapient, Stone Age tribe of some sort, the humans returned a decade later more prepared to conduct diplomacy with the locals. They could not have possibly imagined that a beautiful feminine body would grow out of a flower and initiate diplomacy with them in a broken form of Galactic Common. For the wider Galaxy, the news was hard to believe, not only had sapient plant life been discovered but it had a planet-spanning civilization. The Alraune and their Garden of Majesty became a people the galaxy was desperate to meet.

The Garden of Majesty:

The Alraune's official government is known as the Garden of Majesty. It is an oligarchy run by the eldest of the Alraunes, the Gaia Blooms. The Gaia Blooms are never seen by outsiders but it is rumored they have grown to be the size of buildings and that they reside in the most hidden depths of Loam communicating by ancient networks of communication vines and their Lotophage servants. The Gaia Blooms have but one goal, to make every habitable world in the galaxy equally as beautiful and prosperous as Loam. To this end, they have enlisted the other species of the galaxy to help spread their gardens and advance their technology. Under their guidance, the space around Loam has become a minor industrial hub focused on producing literal seeding ships to spread the Alraune and their 'Garden of Majesty' to the farthest corners of the galaxy. This task has become an ideological mission for the Alraune however it is not without its financial benefits too.

Outside of Loam, there are a small smattering of Alraune colonies on planets the Gaia Blooms believe can be made garden worlds like Loam. Alraune seed ships and colonies are led by Gaia Buds who are chosen personally by the Gaia Blooms to lead the Alraune on their mission. So far three Alraune colonies have improved to the point where they are considered lesser gardens beneath the homeworld of Loam. The desert garden of Carnegiea, whose deserts and scrublands are pocketed by lush fields of brightly colored blooms and countless Cacti. The mountainous garden of Chamerion whose mountains are covered on both sides by brush and flowers and whose valleys team with life. Finally, the snowy garden of Pyrola, whose endless ever-green forests burst into countless colors when the snow melts every year.

Alraune Technology

Alraune technology is a completely 'homegrown' affair. The Alraune have a mastery of plants that goes beyond scientific understanding and even their own with Alraune being unable to explain their argonmical methods. What is known is that for countless millennia, the Alraune have bred plants to suit their needs removing the need for traditional industry. Based on traditional measures of technological development the Alraune would not even be considered an Iron Age civilization at the time of first contact. Instead of refining metal ore, ironwood trees were bred and carved into tools with similar strength to their namesake. Share vines, similarly present at first contact, made instant communication possible across the planet, equivalent to information-age communication systems. Complex medicines and fertilizers were naturally grown to support every need an Alraune could have. To this day Alraune continue to innovate on their plants while making sure the secrets of cultivating many of the native plants of Loam are still a mystery to the meat races of the galaxy (though this isn't for lack of trying on the part of those races).

One native plant of Loam has made its way to the galaxy at large impacting it in a major way, Ambrosia. Most Ambrosia varieties are native to Loam and their cultivation predates first contact. Ambrosia was one of the first things that the Alraunes gave to the wider galaxy for trade. It was only after relations with the Alraune normalized that Ambrosia began to sweep the galaxy becoming the number one recreational drug across known space.

Language:

The native Alraune tongue is Vernal. Vernal sounds no different from the sound of tree limbs blowing in the wind and is so precise that even the most modern electronic voiceboxes have trouble imitating it. It is considered near impossible to speak in Organic lungs and just as hard to understand in organic ears.

Naming Conventions:

Vernal does not translate well into Common so Alraune often give themselves alternative names in common to better fit in with wider galactic society. For Alraune taking a name is just another act of imitating beautiful things and as such they will often choose the scientific names of flowers or features on flowers that they find beautiful.

Religion:

The Alraune believe almost universally that all reality is a garden and that all life must be cultivated to achieve its greatest beauty. Alraune are not deistic but they seem to believe that it is their highest calling to be the gardeners of the galaxy at large. To the Alraune interacting with that galaxy is cultivating a garden, even if that means sometimes you have to pull some weeds.

Relationships With Other Species:

Alraune have a surprising amount of enemies for an outwardly pacifistic people. They regard the Vox with the same contempt that one would regard an aggressive bird that broke into a well-kept garden and killed the prize roses. The Alraune also loathe the Zaddat whose industrial might at the cost of the environment of their homeworld is the antithesis of the Alraune's homeworld of Loam. They have a very cautious relationship with the exploitative megacorporations who would see their gardens ruined for extra profit.

Despite these enemies, the Alraune are highly sought after as friends. Their expertise with plants have made them very desirable allies in terraforming projects earning them interest from galactic powers great and small. Countless corporations and governments court the Alraune for their aid in making their planets a little bit more like paradise. Diplomatic postings to Loam are highly sought after as Alraune are known to spoil diplomats especially. Alraune remain aloof to much of the requests of the countless diplomatic missions on Loam and much of the inner workings of the Garden of Majesty remain a mystery.

Rumors and Speculation:

The Alraune despite their outward beauty or often highly distrusted due to their aloof nature and their trouble empathizing with other species. The extremely authoritarian nature of the Gaia Blooms and their practice of effectively brainwashing non-Alraune prisoners has made many question what the real motives of the Alraune are. Some fear that living in a Galaxy spanning Garden of Majesty simply means being another animal to be hunted by its gardeners.

The unusual biology of the Alraune have led some to question if they are naturally occurring at all. The biological perfection of the Alraune and of Loam's ecosystem simply seems too perfect to be naturally occurring. Some have gone as far as to suggest that the Alraune were an engineered race created to be the caretakers of a nature reserve planet. The identity of their creators is unknown however some suggest that the enigmatic creators of the Vox also created the Alraune, an assertion denied by both parties.

OOC Notes

Etiquette Guide for Alraune

Alraune tend to be aloof and indeed have trouble empathizing with the galaxy's other races however their predatory urges have mostly been bred out. Alraune have an obesession with beauty and take great efforts to keep up their appearance. Alraune have a great love of nature and try to spend as much time in it as possible.

Important Racial Terminology:

Lure: The body of the Alraune which generally resembles a female human. Alraune take great care to make the Lure look as 'lifelike' as possible. Great care is taken to craft a mesh of plant flesh and vines to resemble skin and even greater care is taken crafting facsimile hair made of vines or leaves. Generally being experienced enough to maintain a lifelike lure constantly is a sign an Alraune has reached adulthood and is ready to adventure in the wider galaxy.