Premise project worldbuilding

 Here is some world building, specifically looking at the Bractetan Lizards and their relationship with the Plumaturas.

Diet

Omnivorous – Primarily fish, but will also eat fruits, veg, and insects. Fruit and veg eaten are mostly what grows around the water, but also fruits from trees

Where do they live? Why do they live there?

They live in basins, valleys, and canyons in a vast, mountainous jungle, with a similar climate to the Mediterranean and Croatia. The Bractetan Lizards and the Plumaturas were driven into the basins by larger predatory fauna. These predators couldn’t navigate the harsh cliffs as well as the arboreal reptiles, so the Bractetan Lizards and the Plumaturas were able to thrive there. They grew to rely on fish from the rivers and lakes, as well as veg and fruit that would grow in the valleys.

The Ascended

In the Bractetan Lizards, there is a genetic mutation which they call ‘the ascended gene’ that causes individuals that have it to appear without colours in their scales (white base with black markings), be larger than general individuals, and be a bit smarter. They are also the only individuals in the species that can bond with ornate Plumaturas. Within the society of the Bractetan Lizards, these ascended individuals are held with extremely high regard, and are very respected. They are seen as blessed by the ancestors, and those who bond with ornate Plumaturas are expected to be shamans and healers. They are expected to be leaders in their fields if they choose to have jobs/ bond with any of the other Plumatura species. Ascended individuals are also the only ones intrusted with written records of the history and mythology of the Bractetan Lizards, storing all of these records in the ascended temples. One downside of the ascended gene is it causes individuals that display it to also be sterile. However, normal individuals who have children with the ascended gene are more likely to produce more children who display the ascended gene. Ascended individuals make up to 5%-15% of populations of the Bractetan Lizards.

Family and relationship dynamics

The Bractetan Lizards live in medium sized family groups, called pods. These groups can contain 5 to 25+ individuals, with the largest group documented containing 30 individuals. These groups tend to be Matriarchal, with the oldest, largest female tending to be the head of the Pod. This is not always the case, however. Size, personality, reputation, number of successful offspring and ascended offspring, and role within the society are all factors that are looked at to decide the head female. The head female will be expected to manage the Pod’s finances, help raise young, settle disputes within the Pod, offer advice to younger individuals, etc. In larger Pods, the head female may be the only female to breed. Pods tend to be individuals that are related (I.e., the head female and her children) but that isn’t always the case. Sometimes Pods will form purely because a few individuals get along, or two smaller Pods will join together to form a larger Pod for monetary reasons. Pods will live in large clusters of caves, which usually converge on a courtyard. Pods can be a bit territorial over their caves, and many disputes happen over Pods wanting to expand that are near each other. Individuals that are related to members of a Pod (but aren’t members) may be allowed to stay over, but will never be allowed to live in the caves that belong to a different Pod. 

The Bractetan Lizards will pair for life, and as such are very careful when selecting potential mates. The courting process can take years. Two individuals may be ‘courting’, but will only be considered mates when they attempt to breed. A lot of different factors are considered when selecting potential mates to court, but some include size, health, success in their job, colour, and personality. Courting is similar to human dating, including buying gifts for eachother, going on dates, meeting the family/Pod, etc. The Pod’s opinion on the potential mate is especially important, particularly the head females – her experience is extremely valued, so if she doesn’t like the potential mate, the courting is likely to end at some point. Courting doesn’t necessarily lead to mating, with some individuals courting for years then ending. As stated before, indivduals are considered mates when they attempt to breed. Similar to real life reptiles, intercourse is purely for creating offspring and isn’t pleasurable. There have been some same sex mates reported as well, with both individuals in the pairing having the urges to breed with each other the same way that a heterosexual pair would, but not being able to.

When a pair has mated, they have a couple of options when it comes to moving. They will either go into one of the pairs Pods, separate entirely and create a new Pod, or go into a different, separate Pod from where they were raised. The mated pair will always be in the same Pod.

Social hierarchy

The Bractetan Lizards society is a meritocracy, split into different factions of jobs depending on the Plumatura species the individual has connected to. Of course there are outliers who go for jobs outside of the expected faction, but generally they follow these lines:

Regular Plumaturas:

-          Artists

-          Scholars

-          Racers

-          Mushroom leatherworkers

-          Fisherman (fisher-reptiles??)

-          Farmers

-          General workers

-          Teachers (secondary to ascended individuals, they would assist the ascended in the teaching, but not lead it)

Large Plumaturas:

-          Merchants

-          Architects

-          Builders

-          Goods transporters

Armoured Plumaturas:

-          Warriors

-          Explorers

-          Hunters

Ornate Plumaturas:

-          Shamans

-          Healers

-          Historians

-          Teachers

Ascended individuals are the only ones allowed to be Shamans, healers, historians, and lead teachers as they are seen as the only ones worthy of it by 

All of these jobs are seen at the same level respect wise, but how successful each individual is will determine how respected they are. The only real exceptions to this (besides the ascended) are individuals who go outside the villages, so the merchants, explorers, warriors and hunters are seen with much higher respect regardless of success rate as they’re very dangerous. Ascended individuals are valued the highest of all members of a village, regardless of job.

Relationship with the Plumatura species

Individuals of the Bractetan Lizards will each have a single Plumatura they are bonded to. When both a clutch of Plumaturas and a group of children reach around one year of age, they will both experience ‘the bonding pull’. This is a percieved tugging sensation on each individual, which only gets stronger until the individuals meet. Its an uncomfortable sensation, which can become painful if ignored. As such, once a child starts feeling the bonding pull, it becomes their top priority to find their Plumatura. When a child finds their Plumatura, they’re often seen tackling each other. Bonded individuals are able to communicate with their Plumatura on a new level and are much happier and calmer when with their Plumatura. Bonded individuals and their Plumaturas can be separated, but after a couple of days will start experiencing the bonding pull again over a couple of days.

Individuals and their Plumaturas will generally live the same amount of time as each other naturally, but factors such as deadly diseases or being killed out in the jungles can cause a Plumatura to die before their bonded sentient individual, and vice versa. Plumaturas that have lost their bonded partner are cared for by the Pod they lived with, and they often don’t stray too far from the caves where the Pod lives. It’s similar for sentient individuals that have lost their Plumatura, they are no longer expected to work, being cared for by their Pod, and will rarely go out into the community. Both species will become much grumpier and more impatient once they’ve lost their bonded partner. Their life expectancy will also be greatly reduced.

Breeding season

The breeding seasons and hatching times are synced up with the Plumatura and Bractetan Lizards. Females will come into heat in the springtime. If they are already mated or are courting a individual who is meant to be their mate, both individuals in the pair will feel the desire to breed. Within a couple of days, the female will know if she is gravid or not by becoming hungrier, her lower abdomen will become larger, she’ll become a lot less happy about other idividuals being near her (besides members of her Pod) and experience a desire to create a nest, which will consist of collecting blankets and other soft materials in a nesting room (a cave with divots carved in the floor for making nests. Large Pods may have large nesting rooms with multiple divots in them for multiple nests). Once a nest is made, she’ll stay in the nest until she lays her egg/s, which can take 2-7 days. During this period, she’ll spend most of her time sleeping and eating, all her energy going into creating the egg. The only time she’ll move is to go to a basking spot, which is usually attached to the nesting cave in some way. Her mate or other members of the Pod will bring the gravid females food up until she lays her egg/s. A female can lay 1-3 viable eggs on average. Once the eggs are laid, the mated pairs will take turns sitting on the egg/s until they hatch. Eggs will take 40 – 60 days to hatch.

For Plumaturas, they don’t mate for life, choosing to breed with the best male, which depends on size, colour, temperament, health/stamina, etc. For Plumaturas, males will perform a courtship dance for multiple females, and when a female picks a male she wants to breed with, she will join in their dance and the pair will go off to a hatchery to breed. (A hatchery is a building designed specifically for looking after Plumatura hatchlings- these buildings consist of a mass amount of connected caves spanning the side of a cliff. Similar to nesting caves, these will have a divot carved into the floor for making a nest. They will also have tunnels attached to them so their bonded sentient individual can check in on them occasionally, if they themselves aren’t gravid. The nesting a hatching period is pretty much the same for Plumaturas as it is for Bractetan Lizards, both behavior/habits and timing wise.