Description+Chacteristics:
Lava Jumpers possess thick scales which range in color between brown, red, orange and yellow. These scales provide them with protection both from extreme temperatures as well as damage. When exposed to extreme heat these scales slowly ablate, dissipating the heat without damaging the underlying flesh. To compensate for this loss of scales they are constantly being built up from underneath. The strength of these scales is similar to that of hardened steel, and tend to fracture before bending. In order to consistently peirce these scales, such as for surgery, it is recommended to use industrial cutting tools. There are, however, some downsides to their scales: these primarily, their lack of cold tolerance and weight. Their lack of cold tolerance means that they need protective clothing outside of all but the warmest environments. As well, the weight of their scales means that they struggle to fly as far or as fast as the average drekmurian.
The second ability is the capability of producing a fire significantly hotter than that of most other fire-breathing drekmurians. They are also able to maintain this fire for up to half an hour before needing time to recharge, assuming they are still breathing as normal instead of trying for one long continuous stream of fire. This fire can be forged metals such as iron or bronze, giving them a natural inclination towards blacksmithing.
Their last ability comes from their lungs, they can both breathe in smoke from a volcano with minimal difficulty and hold their breath for up to ten minutes. This enables them to survive the hostile conditions in volcanically active areas far more easily than most.
Preferred Range:
Lava Jumpers tend to settle down in the fire mountain range near volcanos or by the nearby hot springs, although a few settle near volcanoes not part of this range or in just warm climates.
Culture:
In Lava Jumper society, honor is everything. So, if they make a promise, there is not anything in the world which can make them break it. They are extremely loyal to those who surround them and when paired with their scales and fire they make ideal guards. After all, a guard who will never take a bribe, lie or abandon their fellow guards even to save themselves is a good guard. They also find work as blacksmiths frequently both due to both their natural ability for it and the honor accompanied with making something no one else can.
Lava Jumper villages tend to start small and grow as long as the volcano they surround allows for, with some of the oldest villages having their volcanos stabilized with CCEs. Within these villages, juvenile Lava Jumpers will grow up raised communally during the working day by a caretaker, while in the evenings, returning to their parents’ homes. Often during early education, they will form bonds and learn skills which will last them a lifetime.
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For food most villages farm jacka, a lizard-like organism which can grow to be ten feet long and has slightly spicy but nonhuman compatible meat. They live off the heat radiated by flowing lava or other extreme high temperatures, extracting energy like a self-contained geothermal generator. They also consume basically everything they can fit into their mouths for raw materials to grow and rebuild damaged tissues. Cooking jacka meat is pointless as jackas in their natural environment frequently experience far hotter temperatures than any oven could reach.
Anomalies:
About one in every hundred Lava Jumpers possess non-standard traits which make them into Lava Walkers. These individuals have scale temperatures of around 1000°C, with presumably even higher body temperatures. This for any other living creature as of yet discovered would cause them to die basically immediately. But through some combination of their silicon based biology and their cores’ influence they are able to survive these extreme temperatures.
This extreme body temperature results in a number of changes to their natural abilities. Firstly, instead of their scales just providing resistance to heat, they are practically immune to all naturally occuring heat. Their heated scales also sadly mean that they are unable to safely touch any drekmurian species other than Lava Jumpers and even then only for short periods of time. The second change is to their fire with it reaching approximately 4000°C, hot enough to burn through nearly everything they would typically encounter.
There is, however, a major downside to these anomalous individual's high temperature, the need to maintain it. In order to maintain the temperature natural to these individuals, they require a lot of food, up to ten times the normal amount. Though when external heat is provided, such as by lava, this is drastically reduced. Sadly they tend to be stuck living in a volcano all the time, though they are rarely alone. Their communities tend to see them as the embodiment of the fundamental principles of Lava Jumpers and so often they become leaders and protectors. After all, not much can survive a Lava Walker when they don’t want them to, though they are rarely needed as Drekmur is generally very safe.
Notes:
The similarities between the Lava Jumper culture and that of fantasy Dwarves is intriguing to see, though the complete lack of any alcohol-like substance on Drekmur makes me wonder, if when introduced to it, how they would react.
I sadly do not think that any Lava Jumpers and especially not any Lava Walkers will be joining us on the trip back due to their low population and strong communal bonds. I would love to ask them more questions about how Lava Walkers work but sadly that will have to wait.
The variation in ear and horn type and size seems to be a cross species trait. It will be interesting to see if it persists across all species and/or discover what causes it.
Should I add footnotes in the Post-chapter section or not?
