“They fester. Their bones are trapped inside. They cannot hear their tendoms scream. Their cannot feel their arteries quake. They ignore their lifeblood- and so their rot carries to their very heart.”
Izkalazch, Accuser of Ilhalai
The Karnabouks (Thymamai kreas) are a carbon-based species of mollusco-arthropods, hailing from the volcanic marshes of Sunzik. The nature of their world has led to several unusual attributes that define their biology and much of their culture. They are well known for their resilience to heat and toxic atmospheres, their tendency towards idolising ritual traditions, their odd manners of speech, and their prevalent spiritual beliefs. Karnabouks are also codified into the universal consciousness through their incredible immune systems and ability to under self-necrosis. With an average lifespan of seventy-four years, they are neither especially enduring nor atypically ephemeral.
While divided into numerous clans, missions, holy orders and other minor polities, the Karnabouks are typically contained within a tenuous union known as the Karnabouk Coalescence, a state defined by the primitive nature of many of its member worlds and its reliance on monastic societies for military support.
Biochemistry
Having evolved on a world with incredible volcanic activity, the Karnabouk body makes use of a rather acidic biochemistry. While it makes use of carbon, water and oxygen as opposed to more exotic substances for its basic requirements, it also depends very heavily upon sulphur, silicon, and various heavy metals- especially iron and cobalt. It also has a relatively low amount of water, with the body composed of only around 50% water due to the large concentrations of drier tissues. The silicon and iron are largely used to reinforce the external skeletal structure, though the latter also used heavily for respiratory pigments.
External Anatomy
The Karnabouk body can easily be divided into three main segments- body, head and legs, with all areas but the limbs covered in rigid bony armour that serves as an external skeleton and offers both protection and structural support. The head is the topmost component, with its most visible feature being a complex eye that provides an exceptionally detailed degree of vision. In addition to a crystalline inner iris that slightly protrudes from the main structure, the eye contains a pigmented pupil and a blue outer iris, the entire structure filled with vitreous fluid and protected by both a gelatinous and chitinous layer of defence. The structure is capable of serving as both a regular and compound eye, and is also capable of seeing into ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum- as a whole, it makes use of five colour receptors. Beneath the eye is a pair of mandibles, unusual in that they are oriented vertically rather than horizontally. These are designed for tearing into flesh. Above the eye is a horn- in males, this has a single prong, but in females it has two, and in both sexes, the length and curvature vary depending on the individual. The horn is general used in dominance displays, and can be considered a symbol of status and health in some cultures. Behind that is a set of three crests which serve as auditory organs, which are more capable than the human ear, but not to an astounding degree. Females also possess two small, circular antennae, which serve to detect fertility hormones- though general sense of smell in both sexes is abysmal. The head terminates in a brief section of unarmoured flesh that serves as a junction between body segments.
The body is the most heavily reinforced region, as it contains the majority of the creature's essential organs. Ten pairs of rigid bone plates run down the length of the body's front, with an equivalent number in the rear, though an additional lower connective plate is also present close to the legs. Behind this on either side is a second layer of larger, more flexible bone plates. This structure provides a considerable degree of protection, and only opens in areas where extrusions occur. While considered bony, the structures are reinforced with a considerable amount of iron, cobalt, and silicate structures, which render them far more resistant to compression and penetration.
The arms of a Karnabouk emerge from the creature's side two plates down. These appendages jointless as they lack any kind of internal skeleton, relying purely on musculature to remain rigid. They are as such more flexible but less powerful than the arms typical of a humanoid. The arms also showcase the true flesh of a Karnabouk. The texture of this skin is extremely rough, and onlookers often refer to its appearance as similar to dilapidated meat. The vascular tissues are clearly visible, and numerous pale striations invariably accompany them. While the precise colour varies between individuals, this flesh generally ranges from a whitish-pink to a deep magenta, with a mild red being the most common complexion. Each arm terminates in a trio of bony plates that themselves incorporate three fleshy suckers. These graspers offer a considerable degree of force due to their doubly opposable grip, but they lack the fine motor control of fingers, meaning that the arm itself is often manipulated for precise motions.
Another pair of limbs emerges a single plate from the body-leg junction. In males, these are fully developed prehensile appendages, concluding in bony barbs. These clasps are used to assist in reproduction, but also serve in thermoregulation, though this capacity is quite limited. In females, they are nigh-vestigial growths with only the barbs emerging from the body for thermoregulatory purposes. Beyond the horn and the antennae, this is the only way to visibly distinguish females from males, as they are otherwise similar in size and external physiology.
The legs emerge from the body at a ventral junction. They lack any kind of skeletal structure, and they do not possess any protection beyond thick musculature and the reinforced integumentary system of a Karnabouk. They are not as flexible as the arms, but are more powerful, and still retain more motility than jointed legs. Karnabouks are tripeds, and generally prefer to rapidly move one leg at a time, so as not to force their entire body weight upon a single limb. They lack defined feet, though often curl their lowermost leg sections to grasp the terrain. While their top speed is unimpressive, their arboreal movement is highly efficient.
Diet
The Karnabouk digestive system is designed to process meat, some additional components common in animals, and necrophagic fungi and other parasites that commonly accompany such meals on Sunzik. Their mandibles are designed for tearing, and push material into the throat, where it is run through a gastric mill. Several rows of grinding plates compress and macerate food within the mill. After this, it is stored in a bloated organ called the crop. Material in the crop is drenched in organic preservatives. When the creature grows hungry, it released this food into the gizzard, which contains several rows of much sharper bony organs equivalent to teeth. This shred the meat. It is then sent into the stomach for chemical digestion in incredibly acidic conditions to eliminate any pathogens or parasites. After this comes the small intestine, in which nutrients are absorbed. Waste is passed through the large intestine where water is absorbed, before the remainder of excrement is stored in the rectum and eventually released from the cloaca, which is itself positioned between the legs. Liquid nitrogenous waste is also released from the cloaca, but is passed through one of three kidneys to extract as much water as possible.
Due to their incredibly thorough anti-pathogen measures, Karnabouks are capable of eating raw meat with minimal penalty, and their gastric mills can process small quantities of bone. Nonetheless, these measures are not entirely perfect, and some materials will still poison or sicken them- though their incredible immune systems often mitigated the consequences.
Internal Anatomy
Karnabouks rely upon a closed circulatory system most comparable to that of Earth's amphibians. In this system, the heart is three-chambered, with two atria and a single ventricle. Blood- in this case pigmented with a cobalt-based compound that nonetheless appears red when oxygenated and blue when deoxygenated- is pumped from the heart to to the lungs from the ventricle. The fluid then enters the right atrium, from which it re-enters the ventricle, now pumped to the rest of the body. It then returns, deoxyegnated, to the left atrium, from which it is sent to the ventricle- and the cycle thus begins anew.
Karnabouk respiration takes place using a set of spiracles, which are located primarily in junction between head and body. Before entering the lungs, air passes a complex set of filtration glands to scrub away any atmospheric toxins. Sulphur and carbon monoxide are the primarily culprits, but even halogens and complex neurotoxins can be screened by the Karnabouk defence system. The thickness of the skin prevents abosrption of most particles as well, leaving the species with an incredible suite of anti-poison measures- necessary on a world abundant with parasitic spores, chlorine-belching sessile organisms, and waterborne necrophages. The lungs themmselves are simple structures, with each equally sized and absorbing oxygen before releasing waste into specialised chambers, from which it is permitted to pass back out into the atmosphere. Karnabouks can hold their breaths for an estimated five minutes before they experience disorientation, and ten minutes before loss of consciousness.
The immune system of the Karnabouk species is an incredible development, able to suppress pathogens with an incredibly versatile assortment of defensive cells. An additional supplement is the presence of organs believed to be derived from endosymbiosis with fungi, that can produce toxic enzymes that repel pathogens. Karnabouks also resist cancerous concerns through use of an odd manner of self-mutation within specialised immune glands. In the event of contamination or infection, Karnabouks have a final resort- self-necrosis. They are capable of releasing necrotic toxins into local areas, thus crippling both their organs and the pathogens within them in hope they can thus survive to regenerate them.
The Karnabouk brain is an elliptical string of tissues running from the eye to the head-body connection point. It does not connect to a spinal cord, though main nervous junctions are present in a pair of terminal lobes. Compared to the human mind, it is capable of more easily controlling emotional influx, and adapts to new situations rapidly. It also tends to grow complacent more easily, losing function more quickly. This is part of the reason behind constant "change of purpose" in Karnabouk soceities.
Psychology
Karnabouks have a degree of natural curiosity, but tend to process stimuli in such a manner as to minimise contempt and disgust. As a result, they experience euphoria rather than misery in many horrid situations as a coping mechanism. They have little aversion to rotting tissue, and indeed to other putrid odours and sights in general. Karnabouks will often make elaborate displays out of flesh, and consider their inevitable decay an artform or, in some cultures, a kind of portent.
While not rigidly dogmatic, Karnabouks grow narrow-mminded easily, and their degree of curiosity limits their questions about the greater nature of the universe. They are generally accepting of surface-level explanations when given by those they trust- though Karnabouks are distrustful of many outsiders. The species are also regarding as highly opportunistic, seeing no immorality in taking advantage of situations to the detriment of others. Indeed, survival, family, and self-satisfaction can be seen as the only essential driving factors behind their behaviour.
Reproduction
There are two Karnabouk sexes- male and female. Mating involves a coupling of a male with a female, generally by extending the prehensile male reproductive organ into the female cloaca. The use of clasps is necessary to stabilise partners due to the length of the ovarian tube. In some cultures, struggle is expected between partners during copulation. There is also the matter of dominance- Karnabouks are prone to violent competition when it comes to mating rights, though civilised societies employ more complex rituals in most cases.
Karnabouk eggs are released onto living tissue. Their maggot-like larvae consume this tissue as a meal as they develop, eventually forming into young children- similar to the adults but smaller in size. It takes a Karnabouk ten years to mature reproductively, but fifteen for one to mature fully in terms of psychology.
Trivia
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