The Dromites are among the oldest inhabitants of Ilaros. Their hives and colonies dotted the landscape long before the mammalian peoples arrived, bringing with them strange foreign practices, beasts, and beliefs. They occupy nearly the whole of the mainland from the jungles of the north to the wide grasslands of the interior to even the harsh and unforgiving Aktójaa, nowhere seems to have been to inhospitable for the industrious and pragmatic hive dwellers.
Physiology
Dromites, as well as their closest relatives, are something of a mystery in terms of their evolutionary ancestry; they aren’t mammals nor are they arthropods but they possess features of both. Like the architect bugs of the Sea of Grass dromites possess an internal skeleton of cartilage and an exoskeleton of chitin, although the latter is somewhat reduced in the dromites. Although superficially humanoid in shape the apparent similarities between dromites and say, gnomes, quickly vanish when their anatomy is more closely examined.
Circulatory System
The dromite circulatory system is generally considered to be a closed system like that found in most true vertebrates, although there are some important differences. Differences in the system of gas exchange, blood chemistry, and fluid control serve to make the dromite circulatory system different from either mammals or arthropods
The Hearts
Dromites do not possess a single heart but rather have an array of muscular pumping organs which serve to move the blood through the arteries and veins. Each of the three hearts has two chambers and is connected by a network of blood vessels to both the respiratory system and to the other hearts. The first heart is responsible for primary oxidation of the blood (pumping it to the lungs) and for feeding blood to the other hearts and nearby organs. The second heart pumps the blood out to the rest of the body and to the peripheral respiratory system to be super saturated with oxygen. The final heart regulates blood pressure by either beating faster or slower to maintain optimum blood flow.
Blood
The blood of dromites is blue in color owing to the usage of hemocyanin rather than hemoglobin for oxygen transport. Because hemocyanin is slightly less efficient than hemoglobin, dromite blood undergoes several phases of oxidation throughout circulation to maintain optimum levels of dissolved gasses.
Respiratory System
The respiratory system of dromites is divided into two sub-systems: the primary and the peripheral systems.
The Primary system
The lungs of dromites are quite similar to those of humanoids (aside from their bluish color) and serve the same general function.
The Peripheral System
Running down the sides of the torso, on either side of the spine, and on the sides of the neck, are a number of small orifices called spiracles which serve to aid in gas transfer in dromites. The spiracles draw small quantities of air into a series of air sacs that run down either side of the spinal column. When the blood passes these air sacs it is reoxygenated and carbon dioxide is released back into the sacs. The waste gasses are then expelled through the spiracles.
The spiracles are also important parts of the dromites pheromone system. When a particular pheromone needs to be released, it is mixed with the outgoing gasses from the air sacs and then released into the air.
Digestive System
Dromites are primarily herbivores as they have a rather difficult time digesting the proteins of most animals. Like termites and architect bugs, Dromites are xylophagous, meaning that they eat wood and other such things , although this does not form the sum total of their diet. Fruits, legumes, leaves, roots, fungi, nuts, seeds and grains are also important to the dromite diet and their digestive system is set up accordingly.
Unlike ruminant mammals, dromites do not possess a chambered stomach to ferment and break down the plant matter they consume. Instead they rely upon a diverse gut fauna to produce some the enzymes they need to extract nutrients from their food as well as producing their own cellulase.
Aside from the various cellulase producing glands and bacterial colonies, the digestive system of the dromite is fairly conventional.
Reproduction and Life Cycle
Dromites are eusocial creatures and as such leave reproduction to a small number of breeding individuals while the rest of the hive carries out other tasks. In smaller hives there might be only one breeding pair whereas in large hives there might be several pairs of breeders.
The vast majority of the dromite population is sexless and only a small percentage of the population can ever become fertile. Most of these will never be called upon to reproduce and thus remain in their sexless state. When, however, the need arises the existing breeding female (or females) will flood the hive with a special pheromone which will trigger the latent genes in some of the population and they will undergo an extensive metamorphosis. In those who are hardwired to become female, the transformation is particularly striking as the dromite in question becomes a massive creature swollen with egg-producing tissues. The legs are absorbed into the body and the abdomen becomes greatly distended to such a degree that the female is no longer able to move about under her own physical power and must either be carries about by other dromites or be moved through the use psionic levitation or some similar power. From the point of this metamorphosis the female dromite is sequestered, kept in extreme luxury, and tended by an veritable army of servants. All of this is to ensure that she remains happy and thus produces healthy eggs.
The metamorphosis of a dromite into a male is equally striking; sprouting from the center of the back are two pairs of large, transparent wings which enable him to fly great distances, albeit somewhat clumsily. Other changes include a form of adaptive camouflage which allows the male to appear as though he is simply part of the background landscape and thus avoid detection. The reason for all of these rather noteworthy changes has to do with the way dromite males are treated by their hive or origin; upon recovery from metamorphosis the males are driven from the hive and are sent out to locate some distant and unrelated colony to attach themselves to, thus spreading genetic diversity. Dromites evolved in an environment in which they had a substantial number of potential predators (Thri-kreen, terror birds, giant worms and so on) and thus the males are specially adapted to making the often dangerous overland journeys between settlements.
Dromite Queens, the term given to either the senior breeding female in large colonies or the only breeding female in smaller settlements, keep several males from different colonies in a kind of harem. These consorts serve both as sources of new genetic material and as ambassadors between hives. There is usually quite of bit of political intrigue and plotting among the consorts, and they fawn over the Queen, keeping her well fed and comfortable. Like the females, the males are kept in a state of extreme comfort and relative seclusion so that they are not disturbed.
Life Cycle
Dromites have a complex lifecycle which involves at least one complete metamorphosis rather like that of ants.
Egg
The eggs laid by a breeding female (often a Queen) are ovoid in shape and somewhat opalescent. Unlike the eggs of amniotes such as birds, Dromite eggs lack a hard shell and are instead protected by a fibrous husk as well as secretions of a waxy resin. The eggs are cared for by members of the Caretaker caste who maintain the temperature and humidity of the egg to ensure proper development of the larvae. Depending on the needs of the hive, temperature, humidity, and pheromone levels are adjusted to ensure that the offspring will belong to the needed caste, or castes.
Dromite eggs can be kept unhatched for up to ten years which allows for controlled population growth as well as ensuring the continuation of the colony in times of hardship.
Larva
When the egg hatches, the creature that emerges looks almost nothing like an adult dromite. Instead, grub-like larva about nine inches long emerges although with a relatively ‘normal’ head and soft, rudimentary limbs. For two years these larvae are tended by the Caretakers for they are quite helpless and completely dependant upon others for their food (mostly in form of fugal paste), comfort, and care.
Chrysalis
After the two year larval stage, the young dromite begins to secrete a resinous substance that gradually hardens into an amber colored chrysalis. These chrysalises are suspended from the ceiling of the nursery chamber by filaments of silk secreted by the larvae (this is the only stage in which dromites can secrete silk) and there they remain for the better part of a year.
Inside the chrysalis, the larval breaks itself down and reorganizes itself into a juvenile dromite, looking rather like a tiny, child-like adult.
Post-Larval Young (nymphs)
After emerging from the chrysalis, the young dromite (known as nymphs) is ready to begin its education and apprenticeship within the society of the hive. The caste into which a young dromite is born greatly determines how their years of education are spent. (For more information on the various dromite castes read on)
Adult
After the completion of approximately ten years of education, training, and general growing up a dromite is considered an adult. From this point they are expected to serve the hive to the best of their ability.
Psychology
Dromite psychology is fundamentally different from that of other humanoids both due to their eusocial society and their psionic nature. An individual dromite, though possessed of a distinct personality and mind, is never the less only a part of the single gestalt mind that is the hive. A dromite hive is really a single organism composed of many quasi-independent units and thus it is necessary to understand the psychology of the hive as whole to understand how an individual dromite thinks.
The Dreaming
Dromites of the same hive are in constant communication with each other both consciously and unconsciously. The conscious communication occurs in a variety of ways, some telepathic, some linguistic, and some chemically based. The unconscious communication of dromites is much more subtle and is tried up with the way in which dromites dream.
When dromites sleep they lower the defenses that keep their minds discreet and their subconscious minds merge. In effect the whole hive shares the same dream-state and through this a deep level of essential ‘sameness’ is created. This group dream can be subtly manipulated by specially trained dromite psions who can rapidly shore up cracks in the communal harmony, spread important information, or provide much needed mental stimulation to the hive as a whole. The dreaming ensures that all dromites of the same hive share the same essential desires and goals.
Religious Thought
Strictly speaking dromites do not possess what might be called a religion. They have a very difficult time understanding the concept of faith and even more difficulty is wrapping their minds around such notions as gods, afterlives, and authoritative moral codes. The primary reason for this failure to understand religion is that the dromite psyche is structured in such a way that many of the underlying assumptions of religious thought are nonsensical to them.
Dromites do not, as a rule, suffer from existential doubt and thus are not prone to wonder what their purpose is in life. The purpose of life to a dromite is self evident; it is to serve the hive. There can be no other answer. Thus notions of a divine plan or similar notions are alien to them. Similarly dromites do not see the need to assign cosmic significance to themselves or their species, existence is all the meaning the dromite mind craves.
All of this is not to say that dromites are incapable of strong devotion, indeed their attachment to their hives is fanatical, but it is also driven by very real biological imperatives rather than any cultural phenomenon.
Identity and Free Will
Like many of the peoples of Ilaros, the dromites tend to be causal determinists claiming that true free will is merely an illusion born of ignorance. To most dromites this is a self-evident statement based upon observation of the principle cause and effect; regardless of whether or not the cause is known, the existence of the effect presupposes the cause. This leads to the generally mechanistic view of the cosmos which predominated among dromite hives.
Similarly, dromites tend to see themselves as merely parts of the greater entity that is the hive; they have no truly independent existence. To a dromite the distinction between the self and the hive is really a matter of perspective; a single drop of water separated from the ocean is still of the same substance and nature as the ocean, just as the ocean is of the same substance and nature as the drop.
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