Ools

## Overview

The Ools are a race of sapient beings of cosmic lineage, who live primarily in the Ool Union.

## **Appearance & Physiology**

Most Ools resemble anthropomorphic worker ants. The average adult stands around 5 feet tall, with an ant-like head and a chitinous carapace covering most of their body. Ools have compound eyes, and antennae that they hear and smell through. Their mouths consist of two hard outer mandibles, and a system of cartilaginous inner mouth parts for chewing.

Despite outwardly resembling ants, Ools are vertebrates, possessing a bony endoskeleton along with their chitinous exoskeleton. They also possess much the same internal organs as humanoids like the Heroic Peoples or the Din. They breathe through their mouths instead of through spiracles, and are capable of speech. However, they are distinct in having a cloaca situated in their crotch, through which all bodily waste is expelled.

Ool carapaces come in three distinct colours: orange-red, yellow with brown blotches, and iridescent dark blue. Orange-red Ools are from the central, core territories of the Ool Union, yellow and brown Ools are from the northern territories, and blue Ools are from the southern territories.

### Sexual Anatomy

Ools have 4 sexes - male, female, hermaphrodite and null - distinguished by their tails. Males possess long, dragonfly-like tails, with a retractable phallus at the tip. Females possess bulbous tails resembling an ant's abdomen, with a vaginal opening at the end. Hermaphrodites have tails resembling females, but with a wasp-like stinger that contains a retractable phallus. And nulls have no tail at all.

Besides their tails, the body-shape an Ool develops as an adult has no relation to their sex. The vast majority of Ools have a slight build, with narrow shoulders and wide hips. Though a small minority of adult Ools have strong builds, with broad shoulders and sturdy torsos.

### Larvae

Ool larvae are anatomically distinct from adult Ools. They are tube-shaped creatures made of soft muscle, with two small limbs on either side of their body, and a cloaca at their read end. Ool larvae have no endoskeletons, and the only part of their bodies enclosed by exoskeleton is their head and mandibles. The heads of Ool larvae resemble those of adult Ools, but lack antennae. The soft flesh of their bodies is cream-white, while the chitin of their heads is coloured akin to adult Ools.

## Life Cycle

### Larvalcy

Ools give birth to live larvae (usually referred to as "grubs"). Ool grubs have soft, fleshy bodies and limited mobility. They also lack antennae, rendering them unable to hear or smell. They are entirely dependent on adult caregivers to feed them and manage their wellbeing.

Ool grubs have insatiable appetites, and will happily eat themselves sick. They will chew on anything put in front of them, and attempt to swallow it if small enough. Caregivers often have to make grubs vomit up inedible objects, by squeezing their boneless bodies to force the object out. One should avoid putting any soft or thin body part near a grub's mandibles, as their jaws are very strong. They can and will bite off fingers, ears and antennae if given the chance (and then try to eat them). Healthy grubs defecate a thin, watery sludge.

Ool grubs become anxious if left alone without an adult present. While all instinctively respond well to adult Ools, they can become accustomed to adults of any race. Many Ool grubs enjoy being picked up, held and carried around, and will tantrum if they go too long without attention. And some grubs like to wander and explore, as far as their stubby limbs will take them. Adventurous grubs can move deceptively fast, and their unexpected antics often surprise new parents.

### Childhood

Ool grubs spend the first year of their lives eating a great deal, growing larger and fatter. After about a year has passed, a grub will begin to pupate. Its flesh hardens and bulges into a tube shape, its eyes glaze over, and its mouth seals shut. The grub remains in that state for 2 months, undergoing metamorphosis. After 2 months the pupa splits open, and a child Ool emerges.

Ool children have the same anatomy as adult Ools, but with smaller proportions. Ool children rarely retain any memories of life as a grub, and what they do recall is never clear. Newly-pupated children must learn to walk and use their hands for the first time, as their anatomy is completely different to that of a grub. They must also learn to understand sound and smell, as they gained antennae during their pupation.

Besides these oddities, Ool children grow and mature much like human children. They learn to speak from their caregivers, older peers, and other members of their community. And they learn about the world around them by asking questions, being taught by the adults around them, and through life experience.

### Adolescence

Ools grow continuously up to around the age of 20, being considered fully-grown by 24 at the latest. They molt their carapace as they grow, to make room for their increasing muscle mass and expanding endoskeleton. Ool children and teens nearing their next molt often describe their carapace feeling "too tight", and sometimes complain of a shortness of breath. After a molt, Ools spend about a week with bare, soft flesh, that expands and settles rapidly before hardening.

Most Ools molt between 10-15 times in their life, until they're fully-grown. Ools have no way to predict when a molt will occur. Some Ools molt more often than others, and some molt more regularly than others. Notably, Ools can recover from long-term injuries during this mid-molt period, as their body "resets" during the molt. They can even re-grow lost anatomy, such as fingers, hands, or even whole limbs. However, such regrowth is limited in its extent - a lost arm may take multiple molts to be fully restored, while a finger could return in one. As such, young Ools tend to be a touch more reckless than adults, as they know they have molts still to come.

Childhood is the earliest point in an Ool's life that their sex can be determined - grubs lack sexual anatomy of any kind. The body-shape that an Ool develops as they mature has nothing to do with their sex, and is instead determined by their diet and exercise regime growing up. If an Ool is raised on a diet that lacks protein, but is otherwise healthy, they will develop narrow shoulders and wide hips, a body-shape that appears feminine to most other humanoid races. However, if an Ool is raised on a protein-rich diet and regular exercise, they will develop broad shoulders and a strong torso, which appears masculine to most humanoids.

Most Ools lack easy access to meat and other protein, and so develop a slight, feminine build, regardless of their sex. Many Ools, past and present, have been able to bulk up, but they have always been a minority.

### Adulthood

Ools are considered to be mature adults around the age of 24. The earliest that an Ool can reach sexual maturity is 16 years old, and they remain fertile until around 45 years of age. Ools have 4 sexes: male, female, hermaphrodite and null, in a distribution ratio of 4 : 4 : 1 : 1, respectively. Males and females can breed heterosexually, identical to humans. Hermaphrodites can act as either male or female in a hetero relationship, and cannot impregnate themselves. Nulls have no genitals, and cannot breed at all.

The overwhelming majority of Ools are asexual. While they are fully capable of breeding, most lack a sex drive. Ools do experience romantic love, and often prefer to breed with their lovers. But most Ools only ever reproduce intentionally, as sudden fits of erotic passion are not in their nature. The odds of an Ool mother birthing twins is 1 in 30, notably higher than most other races.

### Dotage

The average life expectancy among Ools is 50-70 years, with "old age" usually beginning around the late 40s. Elderly Ools usually rely on their housemates to take care of them, as their fitness and health declines. Weakened immune systems, cancer, heart disease and so forth are common, as is arthritis and brittle-shell. Elderly Ools may develop loss of sight, which takes the form of individual cells of their compound eyes failing, growing blind spots over time. Their antennae may also degrade, losing the ability to smell, though their hearing tends to persist quite well into old age.

Ools do not tend to develop mental illness, at any age. Ools never suffer from dementia, hallucinations, disassociative episodes, or any similar loss of memory, clear sensory input, or self-identity. As such, Ools tend to remain quite lucid, well into old age.

## Culture

All known Ools live in the Ool Union, or else originate from the country. However, the Ool Union is home to a number of other races, who have contributed greatly to its history and culture. While Ools make up the overwhelming majority of the Union's citizens, saying that the culture of the Union is exclusively the culture of the Ools would be erroneous. For information about the Ool Union's culture overall, see Ool Union.

There are also the Apostates - a movement of Ools who rejected the worship of Ton, and were exiled from the Ool Union centuries ago. The Apostates travelled east by land along the coast of the Circle Sea, and eventually disappeared into the Stormlands to the far east. Where the Apostates ultimately ended up, what kind of culture they have developed in exile, and if they still exist in any recognisable form, is unknown.

As such, the following will focus exclusively on the cultural norms and practises of Ools raised within the Ool Union.

### Grubcare

In the Ool Union, most Ool citizens breed because they feel they have a duty to maintain their country's population. The Union needs a steady supply of young people, to inherit the skills and knowledge of their forebears, to care for the elderly in their dotage, and to remember the dead once they're gone. Ools being asexual, they would never bother reproducing without an extrinsic motive like this. The citizens' breeding is organised by the Breeders' Union, which sets yearly and 4-yearly birth quotas that the citizens fulfil collectively. Some Ools only contribute a single grub in their whole life, while some others feel compelled to birth as many as possible.

Grubs are not usually raised by their mother or father. Instead, shortly after they are born they are given over to the Parents' Union - an institution of professional childcarers, who handle the entire process of rearing children on behalf of the state. Some mothers and fathers become attached to their children, and either regularly visit them at their local Parents' house, or join the Parents themselves so they can rear their infants directly. But the vast majority of Ools just birth children, hand them off to the Parents, then go on with their lives.

Grubs are usually kept in large indoor nurseries with their peers. The rooms of such nurseries are usually nicely decorated, but have floors of bare, dusty earth, to make it easier to clean up the grubs' waste (grubs cannot be toilet-trained). Most nurseries have a small garden area, as the Parents believe that exposing grubs to the outdoors is good for them. Grubs are never left alone. One or more Parents are always present in a nursery during the day, while at least one Parent always sleeps in the nursery during the night.

Once a grub pupates, Parents usually move them out of their nursery and into a secluded chamber, where they can grow with other pupae in peace. In the biggest cities, such chambers often contain hundreds of pupae.

### Childcare

After pupation, Ool children are moved into communal living quarters, usually separate from the grub nurseries. Parents help the children to learn to walk and to understand sound and smell, and teach them to speak and sign.

As soon as children are able to walk and speak/sign unaided, their Parents introduce them to the citizen muster for the first time. There, children are tested to see if they can perform basic martial actions, and understand and follow basic military orders. This helps the Parents identify potential problems with their children, like sensory or intellectual impariments, that will need to be accomodated in the future. The first muster is also where the duties of citizenship, and the power of collective action, are first impressed upon children.

As children grow up, Parents also teach them about the world around them, either through direct education, or by answering the children's questions as best they can. As children, most Ools learn a good spread of reading, arithmetic, history, geography, religion, sex ed and civics. The Parents also entertain the children, giving them toys, telling them stories, singing songs, and taking them to visit local parks, commons and sports events. Parents also often expose children to the various professions in their community, to see if any of the children are inspired to join such professions.

Parents make no attempt to segregate children into any category. However, most children usually end up forming small cliques, bound together by whatever common ground they feel that they share. The bonds formed here are deep and heartfelt, akin to true siblings. Adults often stay in touch with their childhood friends for their entire lives.

Despite the Parents' best efforts, the infant mortality rate among grubs is around 1 in 20. Primarily due to diseases that the Ools don't know how to treat reliably.

As such, most young Ools are never taught to care about who they, or any of their peers, are related to by blood (outside the threat of inbreeding). Ools carry this attitude on into adulthood. As such, the idea of love or loyalty being owed between blood-relatives is a foreign concept to them. Ools more usually form close bonds with their childhood peers and Parents, and later their adoptive housemates. While Ools do experience romantic love, and often prefer to breed with their lovers, the notion of starting an independent family with their lovers is also foreign to them.

Parents usually move pupae out of the nurseries and into separate chambers where they can grow in peace.

It's common for Parents to strap grubs to themselves with specialized slings, to carry and soothe them while performing other tasks.

The traditional funeral practise among Ools is cremation. Ools see no value in preserving corpses, as they believe in a form of eternal life through the memories of those still living. Molted carapaces are also often cremated, though some houses preserve molted head-pieces as mementos.

### Houselife

Once a child reaches 8 years of age, their Parents offer them up for adoption. These children are adopted by a "house" or "household" - a local cooperative centred around a particular profession. For example, they may be adopted by a Fieldhand house, a co-op dedicated to farmwork. Or a Carpenter house, a co-op dedicated to woodworking. Parents often encourage houses to adopt children who indicate an interest in their profession. While children who indicate no particular interest are offered to any house who wants them, on a first-come-first-served basis.

As members of a household, children are expected to learn and practise the profession of their house to earn their keep. A member of a house is known as a "housemate". New housemates are initially given the title of "apprentice", with very young apprentices only being given light chores mixed with some basic training. As apprentices mature, they are expected to learn more and work harder. Once an apprentice has reached a sufficient level of competence in their profession, they are granted the title of "journeyman". And if a journeyman demonstrates particular excellence in their profession, they are awarded the title of "master".

Households are run democratically. Each house elects a "Director", who manages the house' finances, allocates tasks and directs production. All housemates have the right to vote for their Director, regardless of age or professional competence, and likewise any housemate may be elected as Director. There are no term limits, and the housemates may elect a new Director at any time, with a majority vote winning out. All revenue earned by the household is held in common, and spent or distributed at the discretion of the Director.

After their childhood peers and parents, a household is the closest thing to a traditional "family" that Ools have. Ools usually form tight bonds with their housemates, of mutual love and respect. Ools do sometimes leave their house and join another, to practise a different profession. But many remain with their house for their entire lives. Houses tend to be quite large, with 6-10 individuals at minimum, and usually span multiple generations, with young apprentices, adult journeymen and elderly masters all living and working together.

Households are also frequently multi-racial, with Ools sharing their homes with people of Rothani, Marconi, Conani, or any of the innumerable other races that have trickled into the Ool Union. Given the deracinated nature of Ool childhood, and the adoptive nature of households, Ools have no problem accepting people of other races as their housemates, and coming to love and respect them as their kin.

The now-defunct Warriors' Union used to recieve a regular stipend of meats and dairy products, paid for with taxes levied from the Ool Unions' citizens, to ensure that its fighters were as strong as possible. The Porters' Union also recieved the same stipend, to produce the largest and strongest manual laborers possible. A practise that continues with the modern Porters' Union, making Porters the only modern Ools who possess masculine builds.

In the early days of the Ool Union, the nascent Breeders' Union was learning how to care for grubs for the first time. Those early Parents made many mis-steps, and many of the first grubs tragically perished before they could pupate.

According to legend, the Parents did not name any of these first grubs, until they finally succeeded in raising one all the way to childhood. They named this first healthy child "Attamak". In honour of this first survivor, and perhaps in hopes of inheriting some of their good health, it is a common tradition among Oolick mothers and fathers (of all races) to name their own first grubs/babies Attamak. This has resulted in a disproportionately large number of Oolickers named Attamak.

## Languages

Most Ools are tri-lingual to some degree, being fluent in Oolick, Rothan, and usually also Oolick Sign Language.

* Oolick
* Oolick Sign Language
* Rothan