Gangurroo

The Gangurroo are a species of macropod sapients from Gangur, a moon of Barnga Mar in the Djerba star system.

## Biology

The Gangurroo appear much like kangaroos of our universe, but are distinct in a number of factors. Notably, their feet are adapted for running, rather than hopping. They can stand straight, with their feet on the ground, but when they run they adopt a gait that would make an observer think twice about whether what they saw wasn’t actually a theropod dinosaur. The Gangurroo have four long ears which are highly mobile and allow the roo to quickly gather a large amount of aural information. Their appendages are bipollical with four phalanges, in particular their hands have two fingers and two thumbs, each thumb on opposing sides of the hand. Unlike almost all of the marsupial fauna of their home, roos do not have pouches. Finally, their muzzled noses are bare, firm and rubbery, much like that of a koala or a platypus. It is believed that their large noses allow the roo to sense the aether in their surroundings, much like a magical version of a platypus bill’s electrolocation capabilities. The Gangurroo have short fur, typically brown but ranging from red to black, their fur is also patterned with lines and dots. Gangurroo typically stand at about 2.5 metres tall with their legs stretched, though may be closer in height to a tall human when at rest.

## Society

Roo society is structured in “mobs”, which are extended families that function a bit like villages. Each mob is headed by a breeding male, a *dhalga*, with a harem of females, *bayir*. Non-breeding males, *dhangur*, may remain with the mob into adulthood, to help provide for the family, but some opt to leave in hopes of proving themselves to other mobs in hopes of winning over a daughter, a *bandjir*, and becoming a balga of their own mob. Dhangur who remain with their mob are usually placed below both their mothers and their sisters in the hierarchy, and this respect for females extends even to the mob’s dhalga, whose mother may hold influence over him, if she is still alive and has joined her son's mob, effectively turning many mobs into matriarchies. Outside of this, other elder women, *barya*, are highly respected and taken care of, and still perform many child rearing functions even if they are unable to get pregnant. The semi-permanent homes of gangurroo mobs are typically dug out of sandstone pits (think Tunisian cave homes), but those not involved in child-rearing will venture out in groups for hunts or gathering expeditions, sometimes for weeks.

Above the tribal level, organisation of roo society is quite loose, without much formal structure. Sometimes tribes will be closely connected and settle together in loose townships, but this behaviour is more common on Walā than Gangur, whose harsher climate leads many mobs to adopt a semi-nomadic lifestyle. Economics among the roo is primarily limited to a barter system, without any financial organisations in place. Most mobs function in a small-scale socialistic manner, where resources such as food are not considered the property of any individual. Resources are usually distributed around the mob based on hierarchy, and it is for this reason than many dhangur leave their mob, as they are last on the pecking order. The death of a dhalga can be a difficult time for a mob. Due to the nature of the breeding males, a dhangur is able to rake up their father's position as dhalga, since most of the breeding females in the mob will be from unrelated tribes. But for many, this is an awkward afare, as they may be viewed like aunties by the dhangur. Another option is to find a worthy dhangur from another tribe who is willing to take on an existing mob, but few dhangur would opt to do this, as building their own mob is a mark of accomplishment. In truth, many mobs simply disband, with danghur becoming vagrants, bayir either joining the mob of one of their sons, or returning to their original tribe, becoming barya. This is also the only time young bandjir become vagrants, and they are expecting to find worthy dhangur to start a mob with.

## Culture

Roo culture is relatively simple and traditional. Art is often limited to wall paintings. Clothing is minimal, with many roos wearing little more than jewellery, though cloaks are also common on Gangur. Food is a fairly simple affair, and is treated as a means of survival rather than enjoyment. Recipes are often hearty, and preservation is also important. The roo diet mostly consists of meat, including fish, as well as wild vegetables and mushrooms. Grains are rare, and mostly found in the form of wild rice.

Religion is non-existent among the roo, they believe that things that do not exist in the material universe, what they call the everywhen, exist in the never. Sometimes titans, rare enormous creatures that wander their home moons and their system's cosmosphere, may be reverred in a manner similar to how other sapients may revere gods. One of the most important roo customs prohibits them from invoking the names of beings in the never, and this includes their ancestors which have departed the everywhen. They believe that doing this can build a connection to the never and invite malicious spirits into the universe. The concept of gods fall into a similar category for the roo, beings of the never that must not be named. Because of this, they will often use epiphets to describe the deceased, and the tribes themselves are often named after the deeds an ancestor dhalga had accomplished, rather than their names.

Because of the restrictive sexual nature of the mob structure, sexuality is quite fluid among the roo, with many dhangur exhibiting homosexual behaviour with one another. Above the mob level, mobs may trace their heritage back to ancestor dhalga, and form tribes with other mobs. This structure helps to avoid inbreeding, as a dhangur will only attempt to win over bandjir of other tribes, though a dhangur must also take into account the tribe his mother came from.

## History

The roos believe they were uplifted by a precursor species that they refer to as the ancient ones. They believe the ancient ones gifted them with both intellect and magic. Roo history isn’t much to write home about, as they have been living largely the same lifestyle for thousands of years. Due to the their perception of time, with the everywhen, roos typically don’t see the past in the same way as other races, and this is reflected in their language, which lacks a future or past tense. To them, history is as present as the now. Nonetheless, important events are often memorialised in the form of cave paintings, which helps to train the timewalking abilities of young roo.

Of particular note in roo history, from a time largely obscured from their divination, are cave paintings depicting the ancient ones. Such paintings depict large humanoid figures, often seen looking upwards and surrounded by streaks of light. Beneath them are smaller winged figures of various form, they look downwards. In their gaze are a third collection of figures, some of which look much like the gangurroo, engaged in a number of different activities, from nursing young to hunting animals. Another common mural depicts the same large humanoid figures backed by the streaks of light, but they are now looking down upon the winged figures, blowing some kind of wind upon them. The winged figures themselves appear at the bottom of the mural, the light no longer extending to them, they are blowing wind upwards to the humanoid figures. The third figures are seen in the corners of the mural, appearing to be cowering, though the gangurroo-like figures are absent. A third common mural depicts gangurroo-like figures standing vigilant, no longer engaged in activity, but gazing down upon what appear to be horned figures, trapped beneath the surface of a world quite unlike that which the gangurroo themselves inhabit. The humanoid figures are absent, as are the streaks of light, The winged figures and the other third figures also appear to be missing.

## Occurrence Of Magic

Roo have natural magical capabilities related to the everywhen, effectively a form of divination magic that they see as projecting their spirit along the timestream to view events of the past or the future, the latter being much less accurate. They are also able to sense magic within their environment and in people through the receptors in their nose. Beyond this, roo are not known to be particularly skilled mages, with little opportunity to learn other types of magic. A few talented individuals may express arcane inclinations, innately learning to control the environment around them, such as the flow of the winds or the waters. Some even may harness natural magics to help plants grow, such individuals are reverred amongst their tribes as they are able to play a huge part in helping to feed their people. Outside of these applications, little importance is placed on magic, without much formal structure behind arcane education. Because of this, arcane-inclined dhangur may become vagrants in search of "masters of magic" known as dodhoonga, to become better versed in the arts, themselves.

## Technology

Roo technology is largely outdated compared to the cluster at large. Most technology utilised by the roo is gerryrigged from scraps of magitech left behind by the ancients. Vālālu are more technologically primitive than the gangurroo, without quite as much in the way of technological scraps to utilise, as such they tend to rely on more primitive tools and construction methods. The gangurroo have a technology level of a late type 0 civilisation, primarily using aetheric batteries left behind by the ancients as their main source of power. By and large the roo have low energy demands, with their relatively simplistic lifestyles. Gangurroo are able to build rudimentary space-faring vessels and hovercraft utilising these batteries for energy generation. Their manufacturing industry is not as mature as more advanced civilisations, with the construction of tools and vehicles largely left to independent craftsmen.

## Major Industries, Imports, & Exports

The roos have no major industry, as they typically do not produce goods in sufficient surplus to sell to outsiders, nor do they believe they have much to offer to barter for imports, as their technological levels are behind much of the cluster.