[Cosmosdex] The Universal Encyclopedia

[Cosmosdex]

Marsich
     

Mersaurs / Peacemongers

Marsich
“So, once, I was on Thrizamp, right? And I was just sitting there, by this huge red lake. And this- GIANT blue featherless bird head rises up, out of the water, takes a deep breath, and asks me the time!” — Someone who has encountered a marsich for the first time

Art by, Chimerii

  • Strength-6
  • Intelligence-3
  • Charisma-4
  • Endurance-6
  • Agility-5
  • Luck-2

Common Jobs: Animal keeper, Zoologist, Singer, Musician, Mediator
Likes: Swimming, Animals, Large spaces, Peace
Dislikes: Small enclosed spaces, Dry places, Unnatural colours

Attack Method: If calming the opponent with their singing won't work, a marsich will try to swing their 'longclaw' at the enemy. If the enemy still isn't scared off, they will try to trample them, or just bite them.

Attributes
Homeplanet: Thrizamp
Lifespan: 150 years
Size: 12 ft tall, 27 ft long
Diet: Plants

Bodytype: Taur
Type: Reptilian Avian
Social Class: Low Class
Rarity: Rare
Common Traits
[Singer] Neutral trait
This trait is similar to [Artist], however, a character with this trait specializes in musical talent rather than creating visual art.
[Social] Positive trait
This character is more likely to start conversations with others and bring people together. If a character wishes to speak to someone in a group this character is in, this character will likely be the first one they go to.
[Pushy] Negative trait
This character is used to getting their way by any means necessary, even if it means having to pressure or manhandle others into doing what they want.
Gods

While many marsiches don't worship any gods, a notable amount, despite their songs and connection to water, anti-worship the Singer. This may be linked to the marsiches' mutual dislike of bright, unnatural colours.


Gods: The Singer

Original Creator: Chipper


Physical Description

Marsiches are large, six-limbed aliens, who appear both reptilian and avian. They have long, thick tails, and a somewhat-long neck. Their hind legs are large, strong, and have three large claws and a dewclaw. Their 'front legs' are more similar to large arms, and end in a 'hand' with three small claws, and one much longer, thicker one, referred to by marsiches simply as a 'longclaw.' These claw-limbs are used for support, when walking, and occasionally for pulling down branches to more easily access food.

Their third, and last pair of limbs are also the shortest. They are a pair of short arms, on the 'neck' of the marsich, which end in a pair of weaker hands. These hands, like the rest of the marsich's limbs, have four digits each, with each ending in a claw.

A marsich's head appears avian, with a large, rounded beak. Within this beak are 'ridges' of teeth-like material, but these are not seen as true teeth. Marsiches have large, rounded black eyes. Almost every marsich, unless somehow hatched without one, has a 'crest'. This crest has a pair of nostrils, and can also be used to make honking 'songs'.

Marsiches have tough 'frills', going along their bodies, as well as each limb. These frills are not noticeable, being small, apart from the larger, spikier frills, going down their tails.

In terms of colouring, marsiches usually range from a dull blue to almost a sea-green colour, and may have paler markings. Their beaks and claws are usually dark, and their crests are a much brighter, paler colour. Marsiches have similar bright markings on their frills, and as a patch of colour on their throat. This throat patch is larger in the males.

Personality

Marsiches, generally, hate 'unnecessary' conflict. There have been few actual wars in known marsich history, and it is common for a marsich to try to push two enemies to become friends. This doesn't always work, of course, but marsiches seem to usually be quite pushy when trying to solve conflict.

Marsiches are incredibly social creatures - while there are always exceptions, most marsiches will try to surround themselves with either people or animals. They consider themselves quite peaceful, and, for the most part, while they can turn quite aggressive when people refuse to be nice to each other or to talk to them, this is true.

For most marsiches raised on their home planet, their main goal in life is for ultimate peace. They believe they have achieved it on their homeworld, and they wish to spread it to the rest of the universe, too. The fact that marsiches are commonly musicians or singers is most likely linked to this - their ability to play a calming song with their crest means that singing is one of the ways to make people more peaceful. This does not mean that a marsich won't attack when threatened.

One of the more important things to marsiches is, as mentioned previously, companionship. While this can refer to sapient creatures, it is very common for marsiches to keep pets. Their calming singing can also help with this - their ability to calm creatures can help somewhat with angered or panicking animals. On Thrizamp, the marsich homeworld, it is considered unusual to not have at least one pet.

Importantly, marsiches are semi-aquatic creatures. Marsiches' ancestors lived mostly in the water, and modern marsiches tend to state that they feel safer when in the water, and that they tend to prefer the aquatic plants of their homeworld to other kinds of plants. Marsiches cannot swim as well as ancient remains show that they used to, but they do enjoy swimming.

Finally, an important part of not just marsich culture, but also possibly marsiches in general, is an immense dislike of bright, 'unnatural' colours. This is part of why it is common for marsiches to anti-worship the Singer. It is thought that this is linked to the unusually bright colours of many large, aggressive predators on Thrizamp - eventually, the marsiches would have learnt to fear any bright, unnatural things in the water.

History

Marsiches, for the most part, have a short, uninteresting history. There have been few wars at all, whether large or small, according to marsich records. Marsich records have many gaps, but they apparently started a civilisation, they continued growing, and, according to the only records available, they then achieved peace between all marsiches fairly quickly.

Not all believe that this is the full truth, but it is the only story that marsiches tell, and that their few records show. (Multiple marsiches say that they do not keep detailed records of things such as history, considering their past less useful to remember than the peaceful present.)

The most interesting parts of the marsiches' history that are left are most likely the usual periods of scientific advancement that multiple species go through at some point. Other than this, there is not much that is unusual about the marsiches.

Marsiches did not reach space on their own - it is said in records that a crew of aliens stopped at Thrizamp, and that they were introduced to the universe in this way. Infuriatingly, even details such as how the meeting between marsiches and aliens went have been lost. Most marsich records simply state that it was aliens that brought them to the universe, and that they were accepted as a sapient species.

Today, marsiches are one of the smaller species in terms of power. Mostly seen in jobs dealing with animals, they are seen as small but persistent voices for peace between the stars.

Home Planet

Thrizamp is a planet that is mostly water. However, there is one 'main' archipelago, which the marsiches originated from. Most of the wildlife is fish, or other aquatic animals, but there are also many warm-blooded reptile-like creatures, as well as insects. There are quite a few cities, and many places where the marsiches keep animals.

Thrizamp also has different water to most other planets - it has a noticeable orange-red 'tint' to it, and contains metal content. The water is somewhat toxic to most species, but marsiches are used to it, and actually partially live in it.

Notably, there is at least one underwater city on Thrizamp. Or, rather, a cluster of buildings underwater that marsiches do visit quite often. It is mostly just a point for swimming marsiches to rest for a bit, and a tourist attraction.

Subspecies

Toxic: Marsiches who hatched with brighter colours - rather than having turquoise or bright green on just their throat patch and horn, they are one solid bright colour. While these are simply a different colour from most marsiches, they are considered different, and often shunned, due to marsiches' dislike of 'unnatural' colours.

Silent: Marsiches without the horn. Rather, these marsiches have a much shorter horn, short enough to be simply a patch of paler colour with their nostrils on top. These marsiches cannot sing with their horn like most, and thus cannot calm wild animals like 'normal' marsiches can. They are not shunned like toxic marsiches, but they are certainly treated as very 'different' from most. They are often stereotyped as being less peaceful than other marsiches.

Special

Calming Song: Marsiches can make a variety of sounds with their horn, most described as similar to honking. These sounds, when turned into a song, are said to make the listener unusually calm. The song cannot calm down a hungry predator at once, but they can still help.

Trivia

• Marsiches' main predator was once a kind of aquatic reptile with large fins, a long mouth with many teeth, and vivid orange skin. Some marsiches now keep these as pets, but most marsiches, when asked, will say that they look terrifying.

• Marsiches usually live near saltwater, not freshwater, but many don't have much of an actual preference.

• Thrizamp's water is poisonous for some species, but almost every marsich prefers it over clear water, due to having grown up with it.

• Some believe that the marsiches' history is possibly somewhat altered, in order to make them appear more 'peaceful'. Marsiches, of course, tend to deny this.

Image Gallery