Sulrothum

Sulrothum are a species of large (3 m long) intelligent insects, pitch black in color and vaguely resembling long-limbed, emaciated wasps. Despite their thin builds, they are incredibly strong and durable, far more than their build would suggest. They have no stingers, poisonous or otherwise, their wasp-like appearance notwithstanding. They can raise themselves into a bipedal position when standing still, allowing them to use their four forward limbs as arms, but they cannot walk in a human manner and must drop to a horizontal position and use all six of their limbs if they want to walk somewhere. Walking is not their preferred form of movement, however, as their forward limbs are more suited as arms than legs – instead they prefer to fly, using the four dragonfly-like wings growing out of their back. They can fly quite fast, but their endurance and maneuverability is passable at best.

The digits on their arms look similar to a human's hands.

The young start as maggot-like and non-sapient, but metamorphose into miniature, flightless versions of the adults within a matter of months. These ‘youths’ are sapient and will spent anywhere from six to eight years learning and performing various menial chores in the colony.

A healthy Sulrothum individual can live up to 65 years, but most die sooner than that to disease, warfare and accidents.

Sulrothum are a desert species, and originate from the dry, rocky wastelands of the Red Valley in central Miasina. There, they dug their settlements into the walls of the many cliffs and rocky outcroppings scattered around the region. The desertification of Xlotic allowed them to spread far to the north, and their shocking strength and resilience, coupled with the considerable mobility advantage that came from them being all fliers, allowed them to push out existing natives and establish their own territories. This even included human communities, who were by then deeply hurting from climactic shift and the frequent civil wars that accompanied it.

The Sulrothum cannot speak a human tongue, their mouthparts incapable of producing proper sounds to manage it, but they are quite intelligent and some have learned how to understand nearby human languages. Originally a stone-age culture, the Sulrothum have adopted many human technologies, either by studying looted objects or questioning human captives. Things like firearms and complex machines are beyond them, but metal working skills and architecture are getting quite advanced.

Humans look at Sulrothum with great suspicion and distrust, seeing them as dangerous raiders. While they are not inherently aggressive by nature, desert living is harsh, and many Sulrothum communities are desperate or opportunistic enough to attack caravans and communities near their territory. Their great strength and ability to fly means they can strike hard and retreat into their desert strongholds before an effective resistance can be organized. The goal of these raids is to steal rather than kill, but the Sulrothum won’t hesitate to kill anyone who objects too vigorously to such appropriation.

Contrary to common human beliefs, Sulrothum do not eat human captives – eating intelligent prey is completely taboo to Sulrothum sensibilities.

Though largely antagonistic, more peaceful exchanges between humans and Sulrothum do occasionally happen. Sulrothum are perfectly willing to serve as mercenaries in human wars, or guide expeditions deep into the desert while warning them away from non-obvious dangers. Additionally, some Sulrothum tribes mine precious metals or cultivate rare plants, and will trade these to nearby human merchants.

The Sulrothum resist heat and drought extremely well, but they tend to rest during the hottest part of the day, only leaving their settlements in the evening… mostly to hunt, which is their main method of feeding themselves. They are omnivores, much like humans, but much of their diet is carnivorous in nature – they feed primarily on various animals they catch, but will gladly supplement those with any edible plants they discover in their territory. Tribes that live in areas that border with more verdant regions eat plant matter more regularly, and coastal tribes are often fond of fishing. In any case, their large size and poor environment mean that they have trouble supporting large communities, and tend to be few in number.

Socially, the Sulrothum lifestyle revolves around religion. They have an extremely developed pantheon of gods and goddesses, the most important of which is their goddess of the sun, who is the head of their pantheon and the patron of their species. According to their creation stories, they were not actually created by the gods, but are instead the children of angels who serve the gods as their enforcers and messengers. The Sun Goddess, upon witnessing their birth, took them under her wing and decreed them to under her authority and protection as well, just as the angels they descend from. Accordingly, Sulrothum consider themselves celestial agents and place great importance on living up to their duties and not breaking any of their religious taboos.

Sulrothum are very superstitious and see divine influence everywhere, always searching for omens and prophecies. They make heavy use of hallucinogenic drugs made from certain desert plants during their religion ceremonies, believing the resulting visions to carry great meaning and messages from the gods. They consider fire to be sacred, due to its perceived link to the sun, and will cremate their dead if possible.

Sulrothum are not a hive species, despite their wasp-like appearance. They do not have the centralized queen-drone structure that most colonial insects use, and are instead composed out of numerous male-female couples that work together to form a single colony. Females can choose whether or not to become pregnant, and in normal circumstances only the high-ranking ones are allowed to do so on a regular basis: resources are usually insufficient to allow every couple to raise their children to adulthood. Breeding restrictions are also the main reason for breakaway groups leaving to find new territories – if the lower-ranked couples feel they are being unjustly restricted (there is plenty of resources, but they are still not permitted to have children), they have a tendency to break off from the main colony and seek out a new place for themselves.^[1]