THE LAIKANS OF FISTBUMP THE SKY
THE SPECIES OF FISTBUMP THE SKY #2: THE TRADERS & COLLECTORS
WELCOME BACK TO ANOTHER SPECIES
Last time, we learned that Piesang, god of invention and curiosity, let their curiosity run wild while creating the Codexans. It would appear that the demigod was more thoughtful when they made the Laikans.
The Laikans, as the name suggests, occupy the Lai territory in the north of Fistbump the Sky. If one had to describe the territory in a single sentence, then it would be “the home of collectors and traders.” The collections ranged from rare artefacts to living animals and other rare items. Which is why I have never gone there myself –I can only imagine what they would do if they got their claws on a human.
The Historian did their best to stop me from being exposed to any information about Lai, no doubt as some form of over-protection. However, there were two creatures who helped expand my education when I was still living in Fistsbump the Sky. The Voice shared the latest news and gossip, while The Collector, as part of the Interterritory Research Team, shared little trinkets they found on their research expeditions. The Collector often had to watch over me and once we had established a bond, they shared the story of the Laikans.
Based on their stories, it was clear that the errors that occurred during the creation of the Codexans had fuelled god Piesang’s resolve to create the perfect species. Having learned from their mistakes, the demigod decided to create the new Laikans based on their own strengths rather than imposing their ideals on them.
The demigod realised that Laika, the founder and namesake of Lai, took great joy in collecting items and trading them with their friends, Bambla, Bomblo, and Jeng. Having discovered their interest, the demigod decided to build on Laika’s strengths by creating the second generation of Laikans with the ability to collect and capture anything they imagined.
THE SECOND GENERATION
As Laika began collecting more living things, they naturally relied more on their tracking skills and ability to blend into their environment. The demigod hoped to assist the next generation in their endouvers and once again decided to experiment. As mentioned before, all creatures need to contain some of the planet’s cake crust for solidity, as well as a part of the seed their god was born from, in Piesang’s case, the banana seed. This usually involves a demigod cutting off a small part of themselves to use in the mix. However, Piesang, being Piesang, decided to use cake crust from Laika’s mountains, suspecting that this might enhance the second generation’s link to the environment and, in doing so, the animals that call it home. The third ingredient required more thought.
The third ingredient can be anything, such as an element from nature or the galaxy, though it is most often a baking ingredient. Adding a third ingredient to a creature’s makeup is not required. Yet, as they’ve been proven to affect creatures’ personalities, the demigods who made species with a specific trait in mind have been known to add a third ingredient. As such, god Piesang knew they needed an ingredient that was malleable enough to impart attributes that could assist the second generation in finding items. God Piesang eventually decided to use gelatin.
The result was creatures that could shapeshift into anything of a similar size, whether an animal, a boulder, or a small tree. Due to the large amounts of each element, the second generation had three cores instead of two, and no eyes. Their lack of sight was made up for by a triangular design that protruded from their foreheads, which enabled them to sense their surroundings so accurately that eyes were never needed. The mountainous cake crust also gave their bodies a more animalistic appearance, with ears shaped like leaves and limbs ending in claws. Another key factor in their biology was a pouch on their midriff for carrying found objects. Whether this addition was a happy accident or planned by the demigod is still unknown.
THE THIRD GENERATION
The demigod was so impressed by the second generation that they decided to make another species. Unfortunately, this excitement caused them to discard logic.
I never learned what god Piesang’s aim was with the third generation, only that they decided to create the new creatures using only a small part of their god-seed. They further altered the material ratio, with a large part consisting of the baking ingredient, marshmallows, and an even greater part consisting of cake crust gathered from the shores of the eastern ocean. Those who have read the introduction to the oceans know that the eastern ocean is deadly to anyone who touches it. This has caused some to believe that the third generation’s lack of shape was due to the crust being infected by the ocean. The smaller group, myself included, thinks that it was the traits of marshmallows that were to blame.
Yet, whatever the reason, the third generation has the appearance of creatures that fell into pink mud. Their pink outer layer enabled them to camouflage, but they could not shapeshift like the second generation. Nobody seems to know whether the third generation can see or understand speech, as they only communicate through grunting noises. On the bright side, they were connected with the land in a way that the other generations could only dream of. Yet the small amount of god-seed nearly severed their connection to their god completely.
Thus, Piesang, god of invention and curiosity, having acquired the knowledge of shapeshifting, prepared themselves for creating the next species – the Jenguns.
Piesang is incapable of leaving a good thing alone XD