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| Fullasi
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Felinoid
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New Tython
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1.5 meters at shoulder
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2 meters
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4 meters
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- Flight
- Climbing up 80 degree vertical rock faces
- Teeth can penetrate bone, potentially metal
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The Fullasi is a flying felinoid creature indigenous to the Kamuekiko continent on the planet of New Tython. A nocturnal predator, it dwells typically in dens at the top of mountains, in the sides of cliffs, or upon plateaus and steppes. Aerial and deadly, it hunts across wide expanses of terrain and is known to go after any small or mid-sized animal it can carry away, including young Harakoan tribesmen. It has a vicious temperament, and no effort to domesticate or otherwise control these creatures has ever succeeded.
Evolution and History
Discovered by the ancient Harakoans in eons past, fossil records of the Fullasi are scarce, with their flying nature and unique, hollow bones not generally taking well to fossilization of animal remains; it is theorized that the majority of Fullasi remains have been left in the open over time, and thus have been ravaged and worn away by the elements. What little evidence can be found, typically fossilized claws and jawbones alongside the odd wing, show an animal that first evolved as a cliff-dwelling feline and a gliding creature before taking entirely to the air. Evidence of their hunting activities can be found as far back in the record as two million years ago, showing that the current evolutionary form of the Fullasi has endured well over time.
Originally discovered by tribesmen exploring the mountains and valleys of Kamuekiko, the ancestors of the Iwu Gioki among them, the Fullasi made a name for itself by diving from the sky to attack herd animals such as the Histya, in addition to beasts of burden and smaller Harakoan villagers. Striking at night, typically with dead silence until they had struck and carried off their screaming prey, the animals quickly earned a reputation as terrors of the night and inspired the Harakoans of the continent to adopt polearms, javelins, and bows as well as dwellings and shelters with sturdy rooftops. Of note is the animal's fear of fire, which inspired many tribes in Kamuekiko to adopt torches and bonfires to help illuminate villages and ward off the cats from striking.
When Tythonian settlers began to explore the continent, they learned of the Fullasi, sending a few scientists to the mountains of Kamuekiko to learn about the terrifying creature. Three days into their expedition they entered the territory of a large male, and were recording video footage when the animal attacked from above. Without warning it descended with the sun to its back and snatched up one of the scientists. The remaining scientists fled the scene, documenting that the animal dropped their mangled friend before them before letting out a series of threatening growls and attacking again. Only one scientist returned alive from the expedition, refusing further exploration; his findings led to the Jedi of Odan-Urr to mandate that any future expeditions to study the animal be accompanied by a Jedi Knight, or by an escort by forces from the Kotahitanga-Unity Defense Force.
Biology and Description
Standing 1.5 meters at the shoulder and with a wingspan of 4 meters, the Fullasi is a massive predator that typically weighs around one hundred and eighty kilograms. Though they usually carry off food that weighs up to one or two hundred pounds, they are capable of killing prey up to four times their size, and will often attack such beasts if they become a threat; this leads many of the creatures on New Tython to outright avoid confrontation. Covered in mottled brown and black fur, the main way to distinguish a male from a female at a distance is by a white diamond shape that emerges in a male's spring coat; the size and prominence of this diamond is thought to be tied to the health and strength of a Fullasi, signifying which one would make a good mate to females.
Fullasi bones, while strong, are largely hollow; this aids the beast in flight, and leads it to avoid grounded engagements against larger foes and rely upon aerial strikes and ambushes. A noted exception is the beast's overdeveloped jawbone, which is solid enough to be coveted as a Harakoan weapon and has been shown to have a limited capacity to pierce metal, slicing through bone with next to no effort. Interestingly, their neck muscles and bones are overdeveloped, while their brains contain special chambers of inner-ear fluid; these allow for tight aerial movements and high-altitude plunges without endangering the animal's head and neck, allowing it to dive down upon unsuspecting prey. Their bone structure is fairly simple by comparison to other mammals, with several bones augmented by or replaced altogether by flexible cartilage, further allowing the animal to dive and strike without risking skeletal damage; this does, however, compromise them on the ground against larger and stronger foes.
Behavior
Territory
The Fullasi is typically an ill-tempered and incredibly territorial animal. Once a family group has established itself, they are known to attack any large animal, person, or other potential threat that comes too close to their roost and will often assault anything that they perceive as a threat to their territory; some even go after massive beasts such as the tree-dwelling Hutan'kera, though these confrontations seldom end well for the Fullasi and the two species generally leave each other alone. Not much is known about the processes by which these creatures choose their roosts or mark their territory, as it is difficult to get near enough to study them without falling victim to their aggressive nature.
Hunting
Fullasi are opportunistic, nocturnal predators, and are seldom seen in daytime conditions. This has led scientists to conclude that their mottled fur is designed to allow them to fly and glide without detection, while the structure of their neck and their resistance to altitudes and dizziness implies that they can climb to breathtaking heights before diving down and using momentum and their own impressive weight to crush and mortally wound opponents. Their bodies are designed to safely absorb such momentum, while their gripping claws allow them to carry off obliterated animals while their amazing jaw strength ends the lives of crippled animals in as little as one bite; some instances reported by Harakoan tribesmen have documented Fullasi crushing, splitting, or even removing the heads of attacked tribesmen before carrying their ruined bodies away.
Though they will battle larger creatures, their ability to carry off animals in excess of their own body weight is severely limited by their body's design, an evolutionary trade-off for the ability to fly at great heights and dive without bodily harm. As such, while they will kill larger beasts, they will seldom actually feed upon them at length; such exposure on the ground greatly increases their risk of discovery and injury, and as such is only noted to happen during times of great scarcity. Typical prey is carried off to the animal's roost, where bones and other inedible remains from prey animals are scattered about their dens and incorporated into their nests after their prey is torn apart. Fullasi are notoriously efficient, and will typically tear an animal to shreds in the process of eating it; little is usually left aside from fur, bone, and bits of cartilage.
Mating and Social Structure
Though aggressively territorial, Fullasi do mate for life, and can be seen in the springtime above certain mountain passes engaging in acrobatic aerial displays. Females will perch on bluffs below, watching as males bring impressive kills to them and battle one another in the skies, confrontations that often result in one animal or the other falling and being killed upon impact. Successful males will be accompanied by a female to a spot of her choosing, typically upon a cliff top or within a cave or den, at which point the male goes out to gather materials and prey while the female prepares a nest.
Once a female becomes pregnant she will have a gestation period of twelve months. During this time the female, who is normally less violent than the male, will become hyper-aggressive and strike at anything that gets near to her; this is necessary, as her maulings are typically the only defense the den will have against invasive and opportunist males that haven't found mates, or wish to steal the nests of their rivals. The male will hunt for both during this time, bringing food back to the female in the nest. He must be careful not to get struck as he places the food in the nest; such maulings have injured and even killed weaker males, at which point a female's nest becomes a lethal place, either seeing the death of cubs and at time the mothers due to starvation, or being dominated by a larger male capable of forcing the mother into submission and killing off the cubs to make room for his own. Dominated females usually submit to such pairings, though in some instances they will instead abandon the nest, an event that can even lead to their death as they wander in their weakened state.
Once a Fullasi cub is born it is small, comparable to domesticated felines on other worlds, and will stay in the nest for around a month. During this time, it will grow to three times its original size and consume as much as four times its own body weight each week. After a month the baby Fullasi will begin to learn how to use it’s wings. Once it has learned to fly, it will follow its mother and father for around a year while learning how to hunt and live on its own. After a year's time the baby Fullasi will leave its parent's nest and live on its own, hunting as a solitary predator until it finds a mate.
Tribal Impact and Significance
Mythology
Due to its nocturnal nature, its ferocious aggression, and its tendency to strike from above with no warning, the Fullasi features prominently in the mythology and lore of several Harakoan tribes, within and outside of the Harakoan Tribal Alliance. Seen as a specter of death by some, an ill omen by others, and an entity of dark gods and sky spirits by many more, they are feared and avoided by nearly every Harakoan tribe on Kamuekiko. Several such tribes build large fires and use torches ritualistically because of them, both to appease what they see as angry gods of the night and to ward off Fullasi cats, which are instinctively repulsed by smoke and fire. Many tribes consider their jawbones, when found, to be blessed weapons; others will covet the rare Fullasi pelt, turning it into a garment for their shamans and religious leaders to worship the gods of night and sky. Histya sacrificed on the mountainsides are often found by Fullasi, and a member of the species carrying off such an offering is seen as a good omen, while an animal attacking such a procession is seen as a sign of hard times on the horizon.
Hunting
Fullasi target opportune creatures; thus, whenever they can, they seek out Histya and other herd animals cultivated by Harakoans as well as their settlers. They often drive herds of wild animals from mountain passes, and thus are forced to roam across vast distances to locate their food, oftentimes coming into contact with unprepared tribesmen. That said, due to their altitude, range, and the distant proximity of their dens, they are not commonly hunted by Harakoans and their remains are typically only harvested from members of the species that fall and die during their violent mating displays.
Tribal Politics and Warfare
Though not often directly affecting tribal wars and politics, the presence of Fullasi will often deter marches and movements by Harakoan tribal forces into the territory of other tribes, as the passes and pathways required would see them attacked by the flying cats; as a result, several tribes have strategically settled valleys and meadows that are only assailable by use of these mountain pathways, cultivating fertile farms and herds of livestock with less fear of invasion. While the creatures remain a concern for such tribes, they do avoid areas where Harakoans can try to strike at them with spears and arrows, as their delicate bones and wings are easily crippled by such attacks. Because of their ambush behaviors, and their religious significance to many tribes, Fullasi have long shaped the borders, boundaries, and existing customs that allow Kamuekiko tribes to coexist in relative peace.
Because of their mythological significance, the presence and behavior of Fullasi have led many tribes to read omens, signs, and fortunes from their movements and killing patterns. The presence and activity of such animals has prompted trade pacts, defused and ignited wars, and led tribal warlords to seek out confrontation or avoid it entirely purely based on the religious meaning of the cat's behaviors. Such actions are, of course, superstition, but have nevertheless played a role in tribal politics for eons; because of this, the Jedi of Odan-Urr are actively working to study the creatures and their place in tribal folklore, as manipulating the beasts may one day allow them to defuse future conflicts and encourage trade and interaction between hostile and isolated tribes.
Colonial Impact
Though Harakoans have long known how to repulse Fullasi, colonists are less-lucky, and are hindered by their inexperience. Fullasi, though afraid of fire, are interestingly enough not repulsed by glowrods or artificial light; this had led many colonists to be attacked in the night, while others have invested in makeshift sensory equipment and blaster weaponry to keep the animals at bay. Some colonial efforts to hunt them have been made, usually ending in tragedy, leading the Jedi of Odan-Urr to decree that such expeditions require the consent of the Council of Urr and the accompaniment of a Jedi Knight; as the creatures are wild, and fall into no one nation's territory, their protection therefore falls to the hands of the Jedi and the KUDF.
Even so, both because of their significance to Harakoans, particularly the worth of their jaws and pelts, and because of their danger and the demands by colonists to kill the animals, poaching has become a problem for the Fullasi. Colonial poaching crews equip themselves with high-tech equipment, body armor, and speeder craft to engage in dangerous and highly-illegal hunts that see the animals outmaneuvered and killed by firepower they cannot contend with; the result is a lucrative supply of black-market pelts, jawbones, and other relics from the animals that flows into the tribes and sees them exchanged with rare valuables and bulk goods that are then sold on the legitimate market for extravagant returns. This process is difficult to track, as tribes outside of the Treaty of Menat Ombo are distrustful of outsiders and no records exist of these transactions in the first place; thus, the Jedi are limited to trying to catch poachers in the act, and KUDF forces often patrol Kamuekiko in some of the Defense Force's only regular local activity.
Protection of the animals is controversial, for the small size of colonial populations and the unpopularity of the dangerous cats convinces most colonists that they couldn't impact the animal's population if they wanted to; this is sadly untrue, as the Jedi know well, because as poaching activities escalate they move beyond simple population control and move into unsustainable, for-profit hunting that could decimate the Fullasi's population if left unchecked. Because of this, Odan-Urr has placed the species on a protected list, with hunting them without proper permissions being a crime punishable by imprisonment and fines.