Gyventula (Species)

Gyventula (guy-VEN-choo-luh) are highly beefy, slow, but strong creatures that co-exist with four other sentient species under the Shadow Empire'.

Age
The Gyventula first immigrated to the Shadow Empire in 74200, but their history goes back as far as 68004. They were a dying race until they came in, and currently, their species as a whole is approx. 7,596 years old.

Gyventula cannot live as long as some other creatures, and their average age span is between 9-13 years.

Location
Gyventula are currently living on 74 different planets that have been colonized under the name of the Shadow Empire.

IQ
Most Gyventula aren't terribly smart, having an IQ ranging from the 50s to the 70s, but this does not mean they cannot function well. Downs syndrome can seriously hurt their brain capacity, and the lowest recorded IQ was in the late 30s. The smartest was 94, which is above-averagely intelligent for humans.

Language
A lot of Gyventula don't have the brain processing power to learn and be fluent in two different languages, so many just speak Shadonian. Few of them are bi-lingual, but the bi-lingual individuals tend to be at a bit higher of a level than others.

Personality
Gyventula at heart are naturally quite rough creatures. They like to play rough, do things rough, and get in fights. Though they aren't as bad about this as the Krogg'nark, the younger ones can potentially get themselves in "battles" that will probably result in minor physical injury.

Gyventula otherwise can be quite playful and make good friends, but they heavily gravitate towards fighting, wars, and battles, so it isn't always a good idea to put one in charge of some military position or other, even if they're just soldiers. They can, however, be very masterful at fighting.

Anatomy
In order for their bodies to cope with their constant wrestling and fighting, Gyventula have very strong and thick skulls and bones in order to serve as a shock absorber, preventing possibly severe damage to their structures. The bones around their legs, however, are so stiff and strong that it is impossible for them to move at any faster than 12 mph. - that may be faster than a human, but it is relatively slow compared to the other creatures within Fhrorr.

In addition to this an average Gyventula has a very strong heart and immune system. This is so, during fights, the Gyventula does not tire and falter which would cause it to lose, or get sick easily from germs escaping into open cuts. Usually if a Gyventula ends up bleeding some, they are able to shake it off and continue on as normal. Though they can still get bad diseases and be weakened greatly by them, it is generally harder to kill a Gyventula with a virus.

Also, because of their semilarge size, Gyventula must consume a lot of food and water in order to stay healthy. A single adult can eat as much as 1/3 of their body weight per day before getting full, and they usually eat twice daily. It is bad when a Gyventula - especially young ones - do not get enough to eat every day. Hunger can linger for as long as a week, but any longer with little to no food can be potentially fatal for such strong creatures.

In case there is a shortage of food, the Gyventula's body will start to go "cannibalistic" on itself by consuming any leftover fat and using it as fuel; this is also what many other Earth animals and humans do. However, if there is not enough fat, their bodies will also start using keratin as a "fuel" - which is what makes up your fingernails. When this happens, the Gyventula's horns will start to appear as if they are decomposing themselves, which can be dangerous since these horns serve as their main physical defense against attacking creatures. If a horn gets chipped, broken, or severed completely, they will not grow back easily. Also, if these horns are fractured or broken badly while they are still growing on a child Gyventula, they can come in crooked at adulthood, causing many problems with their spine and ribs since the horns are connected to the spine.

Reflexes/Brain Structure
Gyventula aren't relatively smart compared to other species, and their brains function very similarly to a killer whale's, but they do have some conception of existance - in that means, a consciousness, though it is vague. Their reflexes are close, if not slightly better, than an average human's, except when in a fight - then, they go into overdrive, greatly heightening their senses and reflexes that would otherwise be able to save their lives if they were in the wild.

When in this overdrive mode, a Gyventula would be able to dodge a bullet that was moving at 200 mph. by means of ducking, sidestepping, jumping, etc.. Though, when they are not in this overdrive mode, they would easily be killed by two or more bullets regardless of their size if they were shot in the right place.

Many assume that because Gyventula aren't as smart as others, they can't function well in the modern world. This is terribly false. Many Gyventula grow up as great explorers, test pilots, and successful professional wrestlers. However, there are also those who do not chose the right decisions, and some end up in gangs where there is lots of conflict and hassles with surviving. The survival instinct of Gyventula's takes up 1/4 of their brain.

Size
An average adult Gyventula is 11 feet/3.3528 meters/4.972 paersi tall and 20 feet/6.096 meters/9.04 paersi long. The biggest Gyventula in recorded history was twice this size.

Clothing
Unlike the other creatures in the Shadow Empire, Gyventula don't wear clothing. There was a long debate on whether they should be clothed or not, but the Gyventula side won eventually. Some however still wear minor accessories or "skirts".