Síinik
Síinik are sapient bipedal pseudo-arthropods recognizable by their red skin, four arms, and partial exoskeletons. They are native to Lu’umil.
Evolution
Like most pseudo-arthropods, the evolutionary processes that led to the síinik are not fully understood. Most closely, they resemble a hybrid between humans- bipedal sapient mammals of some size- and ants- small (even though the examples found in the Lu’umil peninsula are much larger than is typical) eusocial insects. The obvious differences between the two species síinik most resemble rules out any cross-breeding such as with the half-Elvish Orcs of Erothena. They are often presented as a stark example of Manafic Gigantism’s “evolutionarily borrowing” for this reason- the result of an insectoid species being exposed to mana in their underground hives for hundreds of thousands to millions of years.
Biology
Physiology
Síinik are pseudo-arthropods, meaning that they have a partial exoskeleton. Their exoskeleton covers the lower half of the body alongside the arms, chest area, lower half of the body, and segmented “supports” along the spinal column. The remainder of their skeletal system is instead similar to endoskeletons found in other vertebrates. Evolutionarily, this most likely arose to overcome the square-cube law.
Síinik sex is based on haplodiploidy sex-determination instead of the more common XY system. Males are haploid, meaning they only have one set of chromosomes, while females have two sets of chromosomes.
Pheromones
Although síinik often seem to communicate without talking, they are not psychically linked in any way: the process is explained through complex pheromones. They aren’t complex messages; That is, one worker could not say “There are bees here, let’s leave immediately” through pheromones, but she could convey the impression that this area is dangerous, and further pheromones in the direction of her withdrawal would inform her sisters as to where she went. “Sending messages” in pheromones is less like sending a letter and more an empathic ability, sharing feelings with those around them.
While all síinik use pheromones to some extent, the exact use often depends on their caste. Workers’ pheromones are the most basic, mostly or entirely the message-type pheromones mentioned prior. Aneri have their own set of aphrodisiac-esque pheromones used to increase their appeal to potential queens. Princesses and queens especially communicate their own wants and needs through pheromones. Active queens also have a pheromone that prevents another princess from maturing into a queen.
Life Cycle
The life cycle of a síinik starts with an egg. If the egg was fertilized, this produces a female. If the egg is not fertilized, it produces a male. Eggs incubate for roughly two weeks (14 days) before hatching. At this point, the larvae has entirely soft skin, and is almost entirely helpless. As with adults resembling adult humans and ants, larvae resemble a cross between a human fetus and an ant larvae. They consume large amounts of nutrients as they rapidly grow. For the first generation of a new colony, the Queen will often nurture them personally, but as the colony grows into a hive-city she is instead preoccupied with continuous egg-laying and ruling, leaving childrearing to workers and aneri.
The infant consumes liquid food at first- most often created by mashing food used by the rest of the colony into collected water or juice to form a slurry-like substance. As they grow, however, they transition to solid food. Unlike insects, they do not possess a pupae stage. Instead, it is a gradual- although naturally very fragile- process.
Caste System
Workers
The overwhelming majority of individuals in a síinik city-state are females who, collectively, perform almost every task required to maintain it: farming, hunting, construction, soldiering, maintenance, et cetera. They are the shortest-lived caste; Other things equal, their average lifespan is normally a little less than humans in the same environment.
Most workers do not have a functioning reproductive system- it is present, but vestigial, rendering them sterile. Approximately 1.5-2% of síinik workers do possess a fully-functional reproductive system. In the absence of an active queen, they will be able to reproduce and lay eggs. Normally, these workers do not develop into full queens- lacking the metasoma required for mass egg gestation/laying, they instead function as a stopgap until a princess emerges to find a queen. However, there have been documented cases where fertile workers have developed into full queens. This has led to strange situations in síinik populations outside of hive-cities: mercenaries or diplomatic missions overseas have to take care to vet their personnel properly to prevent this occurence.
Princesses
In the prepubescent larval stage, if a larvae is fed enough mana-rich food, they will develop into a princess instead of a worker. Ku’kau fruit is the traditional means of achieving this due to its extremely high mana-per-volume, thus the massive importance placed upon it in síinik culture. They have a much longer lifespan than workers, on average living twice as long.
Compared to workers, princesses tend to be taller and more lithe. The primary distinguishing physical feature of princesses is the wings on their backs, allowing for them to fly for limited periods of time. Unlike most workers, they possess a sex drive, although they are unable to gestate eggs due to the pheromones of an active queen (or, more recently, replications thereof) functioning as a form of birth control.
Queens
In a traditional hive-city, the queen is the undisputed leader. Her word is law, as she is the mother (or at least a favored daughter of the former mother) of most of the population.
A queen is, biologically, a “sexually active” princess. In lieu of an active queen producing a specific pheromone, a princess becomes a queen after mating. She loses her wings and gains an external metasoma that serves, alongside the reproductive system within the main body, to gestate several eggs at once. Once a queen starts to lay eggs, she is more-or-less committed to continuously laying, as there will be no more active queens rising up within the area.
Despite the queens’ theoretically unlimited power, every caste has its role, and the role of a síinik queen is to lay eggs. Should the queen become unable to lay eggs- be it from age, accident, or disease- her throne is all but forfeit. Queens, when properly fed and cared for, have a lifespan comparable to elves.
Aneri
Aneri (singular: aner) are the males of the síinik species. A Tilivean researcher once proclaimed aneri “single-purpose sexual missiles,” which is only accurate from a reductionist and strictly biological standpoint. Although on average physically weaker than females of all castes, they still live about as long as workers.
Traditional treatment of aneri has brought accusations of blatant sexism from outside observers. Regarded as something between a harem and servant class for princesses and queens, they are typically prohibited from both administrative roles exercised by the princesses and the jobs of the workers.
Culture
Síinik society is traditionally organized in large-scale underground city-states.
Currency- in the form of Ku’kau fruits (the fruit gives the name to the currency of the modern Confederation)- was used almost exclusively as a medium of exchange for trade. Instead, work towards the hive was rewarded by being supplied food, shelter, and other needs and amenities. Princesses tend to take the output of their subjects’ labor in addition to this.
Distribution
Lu’umil
Síinik are native to Lu’umil, and make up a majority of the population of the nation. Historically, síinik have dominated the mainland jungles and have been divided into feuding city-states.