Itharii

## History

Hailing from Ithar, the fourth planet in their solar system, the Itharii were only beginning their faster-than-light exploration and colonization when the Hierarchy fell upon them, attacking their colonies. Alerted by another other amicable alien races the many governments prepared for the invasion; some by lighting up the engine of war, others by preparing for exodus.

Of the nations who created exodus ship, Western Ibaria, reached earth in 2002, fatigued, demoralized and out of resources. After extensive diplomatic relationships, Itharii were allowed to settle in controlled sectors of earth including Brazil, the United States, Canada, South Africa and Switzerland.

Despite conspiracy theories about Itharii having come for humanity for nebulous goals, Itharii were unaware that humanity existed as their knowledge of the solar system came from centuries old information provided from telescopes. Although initially not wishing to intrude, desperation forced them to settle or earth to avoid the need to purge most of their surviving population to reach the nearest possible colonizable planet.

## Physiology

### **Biochemistry**

Itharii hail from a planet with earth-like conditions; a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, large salted seas, tolerable sunlight and an axial tilt giving Ithar very mild seasonal difference. However Ithar was not as hospitable as earth in some ways; lower atmospheric oxygen content, the presence of toxic compounds in the air, higher gravity.

Like Humans, Itharii are carbon based and their DNA is composed of the same amino acids, Nucleic acids and other elements that form the base of terrestrial life. This allows Itharii to digest earth-native flora and fauna

### **Morphology**

Itharii are short statured bipedal amphibians. Itharii average about four feet and eight inches. Itharii skin is rubbery and comes in four color variations; Yellow, Light Orange, Brown and Tan, depending on ethnic background. (Tan being when yellow and brown Itharii mate. Orange is a recessive trait and is typically overpowered by Brown and Yellow color outside of its native ethnic group.) Itharii have black spots through their bodies and some of them have a white, gray or black underbelly.

Itharii facial structure is fairly round, with wide, flat cartilaginous noses and large eyes with are protected by a nictitating membrane. Itharii eyes open vertically with the nictitating membrane closing horizontally at the bottom of the eye. Unlike humans, Itharii do not have ears, instead simply having openings on both sides of the head. Itharii have four limbs; two legs and two arms which ends in webbed four-digit hands or feet with long fingers or toes.

Itharii have poor sense of smell, but excellent color vision which goes into the ultraviolet spectrum in addition to human visual range. Their sight is adapted to underwater conditions and allows them to see the polarization of light. Itharii have a very sensitive sense of touch in their hands. Although amphibious, Itharii favors humid environments, their skin is vulnerable to heavy sunlight and dry conditions.

Itharii internal organs are very different from humans, featuring two hearts (a primary which mostly pumps blood, and a smaller one which is paired with a filter organ), their respiratory system has evolved to filter out dangerous gasses which were common in Ithar’s atmosphere and to be able to store oxygen for diving.

Itharii are capable of a large range of vocalization and can speak English fairly well.

As a defense mechanism, Itharii have the ability to spray a toxin out of glands located at the entrance of the mouth. This venom has been used as a street drug known as Itharii Dust.

#### **Sexual Dimorphism**

Unlike Humans, Itharii are born as sequential hermaphrodites which can alter their sex and thus chose which gender they desire to be beginning at adolescence.

Even after sexual maturity Itharii have minimal sexual dimorphism; Males are typically slightly stockier then females and their bodies rectangular shaped, they also grow a bony crest on their forehead. Females are typically slimmer in the upper torso but their abdomen and hips are wider. Although shorter than males their weight tend to be very similar.

Both male and females lack external sexual organs, only possessing an opening slit at the crotch level which leads to their internal reproductive organs. Unlike humans Itharii do not use their genitals to excrete bodily waste and they are not particularly sensitive to stimuli.

## Itharii Life Cycle & Reproduction

### Egg

First stage of the Itharii life cycle is that of the egg. A mature female will spawn between three to eight eggs (average being five) in water, which are then fertilized ovuliparously by the male, who release his gametes into the same water. Once fertilized, the egg will hatch after roughly three weeks of gestation. Itharii eggs do not have a hard shell, instead being jelly-like. Itharii eggs are yellow with an orange yolk.

### Larva

Itharii are first born as larva similar to many of earth insects’ youth. They begin life at roughly three inches. Itharii larva are exclusively aquatic, breathing water through an external gill sack and swimming with proto limbs.

Itharii larva are not intelligent, only possessing limited ganglia. They spent all of their time resting or eating large amounts of algae.If approached by non-Itharii, Larva will attempt to flee or bite the intruder. The larva goes through eleven instar where it will moult out of its old carapace to allow it to grow.

### Pupa

After eleven instars, the larva will burrow somewhere safe and begin metamorphosis. During this stage, the youth is immobile and defenseless for the duration of the metamorphosis. The child’s internals rearrange to create an infant recognizable as an Itharii; Limbs will grow, the head becomes distinct and organs such as the brain and lungs form from the proto-organs found within the larva.

### Infant

The Baby emerge from the pupal stage after four weeks of metamorphosis. The carapace is discarded and the infant is taken out of the water by its parents. After a few hours, the Gill-sack will dry up and detach, making the child unable to breathe water. A newly metamorphose Itharii weights an average of one kilogram.

Infants will spent several months sleeping most of their time, waking only to feed by sucking on the skin of their parents for the nutrient rich mucus it produce. This period marks rapid brain development in the child and injuries will typically lead to severe impairment later in life.

### Child

About four months after coming out of pupal stage, Itharii children begin being more active. During this period they bond with others, learn important skills such as locomotion and communication. In the first few months of this stage, Itharii will communicate emotions with whines and whistles. Then begin babbling to imitate their parents.

One of the first movement Itharii will do is clinging to their parents’ necks with their limbs when feeling anxious. Itharii children are fairly shy explorer compared to human children and take a fairly long time to begin taking interest in the world around them. Around eight month after coming out of pupal stage, they will begin crawling and slowly walking with help.

If threatened Itharii children are capable of spraying and will typically hiss at perceived threats. However their reservoir are slim and they are rarely capable of more than one spray and so will only spray when danger remain after being threatened.

### Adolescent

Around thirteen to fourteen years old, the child is ready to begin adolescence. At this time the Itharii will select their sex and over the next few years will develop that way. Sex selection is typically done medically in modern times, but traditionalists often rely on the old way; the ingestion of appropriate raw gonads from Ithar native aquatic animals to absorb necessary hormones. The longer an Itharii delay their choice, the more sensitive they become to environmental hormones (from food or other sources) and may involuntary change if they wait too long.

After an average of two weeks, the process has begun and the adolescent no longer requires hormonal help. The process can be stopped and reversed by the intake of opposite hormones. Itharii are capable of changing back and forth between sex even after reaching maturity, the process takes about two months of earth time.

### Adult

At nineteen the Itharii is now an adult and will stop growing.

## Psychology

Itharii are well known for their docile temperaments, their shy yet excitable nature and their tendencies for heightened anxiety due to their origin as a prey species. Itharii are not violent by nature and typically avoid conflict. When threatened they instinctively prefer to escape the situation.

#### Mating

Due to their mode of sexual reproduction, Itharii do not use sex as a way of deriving pleasure, still they have complex mating habits. Itharii typically form mated pairs for life once they decide to reproduce, although experimenting romantically with different partners is common before settling down.

Due to their ability to switch sex at will and their formative years as sex-less youths, the majority of Itharii do not exhibit a gender preference when selecting romantic partners and same sex couples are extremely common.

Thanks to their very sensitive sense of touch, Itharii typically show intimacy rubbing together erogenous zones such as the nose, hands, feet but especially the very sensitive neck or belly which can trigger an orgasm-like reaction.

## Human-Itharii Relationship

The relationship between humans and Itharii have been rather smooth on the macroscopic scale with Itharii being given reservations across the world to create their own cities under their laws but many have also been granted citizenship of their adoptive countries.

The arrival of Itharii lead to a boom in technological sectors especially in computing, aero-space, environmental sciences, manufacturing and physics. Due to their advanced technology and Legion support, making sure they aren’t exploited, Itharii have prospered on earth in the past fourteen years.

However not everything is well. The discovery of Itharii’s praying psychoactive qualities has lead to exploitation, Itharii trafficking and discrimination from law enforcement in countries with strong anti-drug ideology who perceive Itharii as drug dealers. Xenophobes have also joined in on Itharii hatred with many perceiving them as invaders taking resources and lands that does not belong to them. With some even ascribing nefarious intention to their presence.

Hate crimes and discrimination has lead to many nations to pass anti-discrimination ordnance and the united nations have declared that all sapient species are entitled to the same basic rights and liberties as humans.

In the past few years, the word Newt has taken a new meaning as a slur thrown at Itharii due to their resemblance to earth salamanders. Another demeaning term often thrown at Itharii, especially by conspiracy theorist claiming that Itharii will take over, is ‘breeder’ due to their high reproductive rate.