Ull' was born by horse parents, raised in a horse house and generally, had a horse life until Escre came along and gave him the brains to question existence!

Species

Name: Urtelem

Lifespan: Dependant on the stone they are made from, but typically ranges from 200 to 900 years.

Appearance: The Urtelem are sturdy creatures of rough-hewn living rock and stone with a generically humanoid shape and hunched posture. Their stone body takes on the type of stone in their region, be it granite or sandstone or marble or whatever is common in their territory. Their body may also be flecked with ores and maybe gems, especially in older individuals. Moss and lichen often grow on their back. An average specimen stands around two meters tall, although extreme variation is a rare possibility, and is about as broad as it is tall. They typically weigh over 10 tonnes. Compared to their size, their limbs are somewhat short and stocky. Their body can readily roll up into a rough yet tightly locked sphere, allowing them to roll as a boulder.


Description: Being made of solid stone, the Urtelem do not constitute 'natural' life, but are instead more closely related to elementals. Despite this, they lead relatively natural lives, although their physiological processes are starkly different. They eat stone and dirt, to provide sustenance and replace bits of themselves which get eroded away or chipped off. They can regenerate from any injury which doesn't kill them, although this process is rather slow. They reproduce by a strange process involving two individuals fusing together and then, after about a day, splitting back apart, with a tiny newborn Urtelem being produced in the fission.

Urtelem are extremely strong creatures, yet they are slow and sluggish in their movements. As their preferred means of locomotion, they curl up into a ball and roll across the ground. When fighting, they will usually charge their enemies as a rolling boulder.

Teknall, when creating these magical creatures of stone, was not content to give them only mundane abilities. So within the Urtelem he imbued within them a power to manipulate earth and stone to some degree. Urtelem use this power to allow them to glide through solid rock and earth, the earth parting in front of them and sealing behind them without leaving a trace of their passage. Gliding through solid earth tends to be quite tiring over long distances, but they will readily use it over short distances to circumvent obstacles, escape predators or ambush enemies. Partial application of this power also allows them to climb vertical stone surfaces with ease, or root themselves to the spot to make them immoveable. This magic within them gives them the potential to become great geomancers, should they gain the intellect to harness such power.

The Urtelem have an intelligence only slightly above bestial. They are generally found in groups of 5-20, which stay together for protection and companionship. Most of the time they are sedentary, slowly digesting the stone they have eaten. However, should a creature intrude on their territory, they note and observe. Ingrained into their psyche by Teknall is the ability to sense the intent and disposition of other creatures. Docile creatures, such as most beasts, will be ignored and left alone. However, aggressive and violent creatures, especially Ashlings, will elicit a similarly violent response from the Urtelem, who will seek to destroy the creature or at least drive them away. In a fight the Urtelem are terrifying opponents, for they are very strong and often impossible to harm without having the strength to smash stone, and their use of pack tactics and self-geomancy gives them cunning to add to their physical might.

White Giants are a special case- they are typically docile, so will not draw aggression from the Urtelem, but since the Urtelem constitute unnatural life they evoke a violent response from the White Giants. In such a case, where a normally docile creature is turned aggressive by the presence of the Urtelem, the Urtelem will flee from the creature and stay away from it. It is by these sets of instincts that the Urtelem can fulfill their purpose as protectors of Galbar.

Should a sentient race so desire, they could guide and possibly even train Urtelem to act as guardians, provided the people they are made to guard are of a mild disposition. At a minimum, keeping Urtelem around your borders is a good way to deter the more dangerous beasts of Galbar from entering. They can be fed with crushed stone or metals, with preference for harder stones.

The Urtelem themselves also carry the potential for sentience, although this is only a potential. Their lives are too slow and uncompetitive for them to naturally develop into a civilised race. Such developments would have to be fostered.