Terat

Known under many names throughout history, most of which were given by humans, terats (singular terat, from Greek teras / terato- = creature, monster) are large, intelligent mammalian creatures of unknown taxonomy with unusually long lifespans.

Notable members

 * Macharie
 * Behr
 * Macharie's parents

Appearance
Terats can grow up to eleven feet tall, though most of them stop growing at around nine and a half to ten feet. Their fur is largely opaque, its color ranging from white to sandy brown depending on the individual, but the lighter the color the more common it is, with pure white being the most widespread. Eye color ranges from gold to red to brown, as well as any mix of these.

They are bipedal and digitigrade, walking on two legs that bend like the hind legs of a feline. Their arms are much more human-like, but both hands and feet are lion-like paws with retractable claws. They do have opposable thumbs, but their digits are short and blunt and not made for fine work.

Additionally, terats have a strong, agile, tapering tail about the same length as their legs that ends in a large brush-like tuft of fur.

Terats’ face shapes are a mix of goat and lion traits: their snout is rounded but tapering like a goat’s, and their large ears stand out like those of a caprine, but their teeth, fangs and eyes resemble a lion’s.

Both male and female terats have horns, whose size and shape depend on genetics and are unaffected by gender. However, male terats are the only of the two sexes that have a mane, which is the same color as the rest of their fur.

Physiology
Other than their practical immortality, which allows most terats to live up to three hundred years before being killed by an outside force, they do not have any noteworthy special properties that set them apart from other species. Their strength is average for a human or animal their size.

They are capable of speech, although their different anatomy – most importantly their throat shape and slightly forked tongue – grants them a unique accent, trademarked by a growling R, hissing S and bleating A and E.

Terats are obligate carnivores, only able to eat limited amounts of non-animal products at a time before starting to feel sick and suffering from indigestion or malnutrition. They are also lactose intolerant unless they’re very young.

While they’re capable of running on all fours to achieve greater speed, this comes at the cost of stamina and is considered embarrassing by terat standards.

Social dynamics
Having developed alongside or even among humans for thousands of years, their social dynamics resemble ours in many ways. For example, clothes are a must. Family is important to their species, but young terats (kids) come into contact with other adults besides their own parents very often to the point where they’re almost communally raised.

Reproduction and sexuality
Starting around the age of sixteen, terats begin experiencing a heat cycle that spans about a month and occurs year-round, with a slight increase in intensity during spring and summer. When in heat, which lasts three to six days, this can express itself in a variety of ways, not all of which are inherently sexual – feeling restless or unusually hungry or affectionate, for example. Also, they aren’t considered fully sexually mature until the age of twenty, before which they are seen as minors. A terat’s pregnancy lasts about five months, after which she usually gives birth to one young, called a kid. Twins are also possible, but rare.

History
It is unknown when terats made their first appearance, but they developed alongside early humanity at a similar rate. The two species exchanged technology, culture and information with each other through the centuries, although distrust grew among some groups of both. As a result of both this and their large difference in numbers (humans outnumbering terats nearly a hundred to one), they never quite blended into a single civilization, but rather a human society that accommodated for the other species.

Being just as intelligent as, but stronger and less dexterous than humans, terats were held in high regard as laborers and fighters, and sometimes even for other purposes. A few rose to high ranks in human society, but none ever became political leaders of any kind.

Superstition regarding terats, especially their longevity, has always been common in humans, both positive and negative. This resulted in them being glorified or even worshiped in some places and shunned or hunted in others. However, with there being few terats to begin with, their numbers dwindled quickly, and by the second millennium AD, they had been split into isolated groups that had more contact with humans than with the other terat groups.

This allowed them to be wiped out easily when the Black Death broke out in Europe, prompting superstitious humans to hold terats responsible and punish them for spreading the deadly disease. The only survivor of this continent-wide massacre is Macharie.