Almean humans are called so because they are quite similar to terrestrial human both in appearance and role: they are the dominant thinking kind of Almea (whereas terran humans are the only thinking kind on Earth)
At least someone believes that there's intelligent life on Earth...
That's Exez's line... I'll have to modify it a bit, since the iliu are arguably Almea's dominant species.
Indeed, I felt tempted to point that out myself. Any word on when you'll have their language sketched out?
"There was a particular car I soon came to think of as distinctly St. Louis-ish: a gigantic white S.U.V. with a W. bumper sticker on it for George W. Bush."
I thought th Ilii numbers have diminished, they have been reclusive, withdrawn and play no important part in the history of Almea any more, hence them being not dominant (which is not equal to 'superior')
Exez wrote:I thought th Ilii numbers have diminished, they have been reclusive, withdrawn and play no important part in the history of Almea any more, hence them being not dominant (which is not equal to 'superior')
Or is it Tolkien speaking?
Pretty much. There's a hundred million iliu. They've shrunk their land enclaves largely because, as human civilization develops (or redevelops), they don't need them.
If I were describing Almea from their point of view, it'd be science fiction rather than fantasy.
I've often wondered if the Ilii just find it uncomfortable to be out of the water too long.
I've got my own iliu question. In marine biology, land animals that take to the water gradually evolve a fish-like, torpedo shape, with shortened fin-like limbs. This makes them more efficient swimmers, but they lose their power of living on land. Seals can haul out onto the beaches to mate and give birth (the Otariidae are better off on land than the Phocidae, because the former can walk on their hind flippers, whereas the latter can't). Dolphins and whales cannot leave the water at all.
How come the ilii have kept their long legs? And how well can they swim compared to typical marine mammals such as the whales?
The iliu probably shouldn't be compared to seals, much less dolphins-- mammals who have lived in the sea for tens of millions of years. They're more like sea otters or even polar bears. (I should probably revise my page on the lesuniae to reflect this... the iliu certainly show adaptations to life on land; they didn't evolve directly from seals or something.)
I undoubtedly still draw them too human-like.
Ultimately they're humanoid because Almea is a fantasy world, not science fiction. If it helps sf-oriented readers suspend disbelief, think of it not as a sf planet but as an alternate-universe version of Earth.
It seems to me that the Iliu aren't land creatures that have adapted to the sea, but rather sea creatures that have adapted to the land, and have only very recently began to abandon the land again (for cultural rather than biological reasons).
con quesa- firm believer in the right of Spanish cheese to be female if she so chooses
"There's nothing inherently different between knowing who Venusaur is and knowing who Lady Macbeth is" -Xephyr
One thing that could help is a description or picture of some Shipomi. They are to the Ilii what Chimps and Monkeys are to us. If we can get a feel of the Shipomi, we could get a better feeling about the Iliu.
Zompist wrote:If I were describing Almea from their point of view, it'd be science fiction rather than fantasy.
Really? What about the magical elements and the Zone of Fire, or do those have an underlying scientific explanation?
"There was a particular car I soon came to think of as distinctly St. Louis-ish: a gigantic white S.U.V. with a W. bumper sticker on it for George W. Bush."
There's a hundred million iliu. They've shrunk their land enclaves largely because, as human civilization develops (or redevelops), they don't need them.
