Saurians/Raptors

I have recently (October 2014) decided that "saurians" would be a better description of these people than "raptors." "Raptor" tends to bring up images of birds like eagles and hawks, which these are not. Since they are more like dinosaurs, the term "saurian" might be better. Saurian is not the name of these people, but a biological description, so it is not normally capitalized. Unlike Terrans, Syringee, Taupoians, etc., I have no proper name for these people.

See Dragons for information about the saurians on Adondus.

Saurians are the natives of the planet Home, most of whom were killed as the result of a space battle gone terribly wrong. A tear in space-time was formed and most offensive and defensive starships and the planet home itself passed through the tear. They were scattered through subspace to unknown destinations. Some ended up on Adondus, where they became known as "dragons." Others arrived at the planet which they named "New Home," where Carolyn’s ship was forced down.

Saurians are dinosaur-like reptilian creatures capable of varying degrees of teleportation and telekinesis, which, combined with a flap of skin (patagium, pl. patagia) which extends from the arms to their legs, allow them to glide through the air.

Their ability to glide through the air is aided by buoyancy created by the presence of sacs filled with methane, a lighter-than-air gas, in their bones and tissues. This property was suggested to me by an article in the December 2013 issue of Discover magazine, How to Explain Your Dragon, by Gemma Tarlach and based on a chapter in the book "The Science of Middle Earth" by Henry Gee.

Warp-Strong: The saurians with a very strong ability to warp space. (Golden Needles) These saurians, mostly the Roughs (see below), were able to take advantage of this ability for interstellar travel, since they had not invented an efficient warp drive. Unfortunately, strong warp capability was accompanied by some form of madness ("warp madness") which tended to cause erratic and hostile behavior.

Warp-Weak: The saurians with little ability to warp space. (Golden Needles)

Saurians lay eggs. They are also capable of transferring their dead "souls" to the embryo of these eggs or to new hatchlings, giving them a type of immortality. Saurians use a game called "Yarl" to improve the memory and reasoning abilities of the adults transferred into the hatchlings as they adjust to their new environment.

Saurians, being reptilian, have scales. The scales come in two styles, "rough" and "slick," which divide the Saurians into two races. The scales of the "Slicks" lay flat and give the skin a shiny or wet appearance. The scales of the "Roughs," as the name implies, give the skin a rough, sand papery texture. At the time of "Golden Needles," the Roughs were the socially dominant race and many considered the Slicks to be inferior, although intermarriage was not uncommon. (Golden Needles)

Saurian skin comes in a variety of colors and patterns.

In The Ring, I mention that the saurians have DNA and RNA. Strictly speaking, this is not true, but they have nucleic acids which perform the same functions.

Saurians wear no clothes, but for social or identification purposes they often wear a pendant around their neck.

Saurian architecture tended to be based on the hexagon, so that buildings and interior rooms are six-sided. Property lines, and streets form hexagonal patterns.

Saurians are carnivorous, preferring to catch their food live. Dining areas are apt to be bare rooms into which their prey is deposited by chute.

Saurians have hands with opposable thumbs so they can manipulate objects much as we do.

Page updated: 15 June 2019
Page created: 18 January 2012