Tallians

Plant-based sentient creatures created by the celestial being Greliger.

• Height: ~4 meters
• Weight: 50-70 kg
• Head: Big enough to hold only a small mouth, two pairs of eyes, and a pair of sound-receiving twigs. On the top of the head, there are 1-3 flowers usually indicating maturity.
  • Mouth: Small mouth without lips or teeth. There is little to no articulation in the mouth; it just opens and closes with a puckering motion.
  • Eyes: Four wide eyes occupy almost the entire head, taking up most of the space there. They can see the full visible color spectrum plus part of the infrared spectrum. They can stare directly at Greliger without any pain or damage to their eyes.
  • Twigs: Two unassuming, twig-like protrusions on both sides of the head are used to receive sound waves. They are made of a hard, bone-like substance.
  • Flowers: Flowers atop the head exhibit a wide range of colors and carry significant genetic potential. When plucked and planted, these flowers can grow into a variety of plants. Under special conditions, they can even develop into a new Tallians. After one cycle, a plucked flower usually grows back.
• Torso: The torso of Tallians is their most robust feature, resembling the shape of a heart leaf. Instead of a petiole, there is a neck, and the leaf's tip extends into their legs.
• Extremities: Tallians possess remarkably long arms that extend from their backs, allowing them to touch the ground without needing to hunch over. Their legs, however, are slender and weak, so they rely heavily on their upper limbs for support. Both their arms and legs end in a network of delicate roots that enable them to grasp and manipulate objects with precision.
• Flesh: The green, plant-like tissue is surprisingly resilient, designed to support the substantial weight of the Tallian’s large body. Furthermore, it performs several essential functions, effectively serving as multiple vital organs.
• Skin: The boundary between the green flesh and the external environment is marked by a thin but robust layer of tissue that closely resembles the flesh itself. This layer is considerably stronger and regenerates more quickly. It plays a vital role in the organism, as it directly interacts with and absorbs Greliger’s light. Additionally, it combines internal water, external carbon dioxide, and absorbed light to produce glucose and oxygen.

• Digestive: Tallians cannot digest solid food; consuming solids would likely be fatal for them. They rely solely on liquids for sustenance. All ingested substances, whether liquid or in a water solution, pass through a network of water channels that extends from their mouth, through their body, and exits through their root-like feet into the ground. As these substances travel through the channels, any water they contain is absorbed by numerous small protrusions along the canal. The absorbed water is then distributed throughout their body. This movement of water through the body is facilitated by the flesh molecules, which transport the water to various parts of the organism. The water ultimately reaches the skin, where it is used. Any residual components from the liquid are expelled through their root-like feet.
• Lungs: As plant-based organisms, they don't need lungs to survive since they absorb carbon dioxide through their skin. However, they do have a small, lung-like pouch and vocal cords inside their heads, which are used solely for communication purposes.
• Circulatory: The green flesh acts as a sort of circulatory system, where any glucose formed in the skin is shared among all the flesh cells and other organs, as they all need it to survive and function.
• Nervous: Every part of the green flesh can sense pressure, temperature, and pain. Together, they function as a collective brain, so if Tallian loses a part of their body, they also lose a part of themselves. The flesh cells near the eyes and twigs have an additional task: processing images and sounds, respectively.
• Skeletal: Their entire body is filled with thousands of thin bones, connected in a way that allows Tallians to move each part of their body fluidly and independently. They have a rib-like structure in their chests.
• Special: The Great Light Bringer created them with a special spherical organ called the Spheritel, which enables them to communicate telepathically or, in extreme cases, even control others using it. The Spheritel is located precisely in the center of the chest, protected by the rib-like structure.

• Instinctive: They are drawn to only two things: water or similar liquids, and light.
• Intelligent: As their entire bodies essentially function as a brain, they are very intelligent both emotionally and logically. However, they do suffer from overthinking, and a small, obvious detail can easily escape them when they are focused on something else. Surprisingly, they are also very loving social beings.
• Special: As they found the Time and Light shards, they feel they are obligated to catalog everything that ever happened in The Realm Cluster.
• Communication
  • Body language: They don't have typical body language, but strong emotions affect their blooming speed. They also subconsciously use their Spheritel to “send” information about their emotional state to others.
  • Vocalizations: They don’t use their mouths to produce different sounds; instead, they use their vocal canals connected to the roof of their mouths. Due to the size of the pouch, they can only utter one muffled word at a time. This manner of speaking is reflected in their spoken language Talli.
• Social
  • Organization: They usually don't need a government as they can use Spheritel to establish and enforce any rules. There isn't a strict family structure.
  • Hierarchy: A basic hierarchy system where the older Tallian is, the more respected they are.

• Diet: They only need to consume water, absorb light, and be surrounded by carbon dioxide.
• Breeding: Tallians use their mature flowers to reproduce. At least three Tallians need to pluck one flower each and plant them in the same spot. One of them also needs to sacrifice a small part of its own body and plant it along with the flowers. After approximately half a cycle, they are fully grown and ready to awaken.
• Growth and Maturity: They are born fully conscious, able to talk and think; they would be considered adults. All this is due to the Spheritel being the first organ to grow and function. After a quarter-cycle, the parent Tallians, from whose flowers it was born, use the connection to teach it everything it needs to become an adult.
• LifeSpan: If they get enough light, they can survive for around 60-120 cycles, but those who are limited in their light absorption can perish only after a few cycles.
• Habitat: Plains and deserts.
• Home World: Tallah

• Since every cell in the body functions as many organs, damage to any part of the body affects overall functionality. This concept can be taken to an extreme: if a Tallian were to cut off a part of their body and graft it onto a different Tallian, it could potentially act as a memory or emotional transplant. However, this process is extremely difficult to control because it is nearly impossible to determine where specific memories are stored.
• If a Tallian is decapitated, the head dies almost instantly, but the body continues to live for a while longer, usually wandering aimlessly, unless Greliger or another Tallian controls it using the Spheritel.
• If a human tried to eat the flesh of a Tallian, it would be very tough and chewy but quite sweet, like sugar cane.