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Description
Ya know, it’s funny. My project of iUniverse has included a species of sophont dinosaur known as Mandrakes since, like forever. But I have never given them one of my proper Overview treatments. How about that? Well, Here It Is Already! As cannon for the current iUniverse.

ETS Overview: Mandrake

The first among Earth’s two intelligent races, the Mandrakes owe their evolution to the quick-thinking and compassion of the Tr ha-Yi. Sixty five million years ago, the last Omnicide War was in full swing and billions of life-rich worlds across all the Universe suffered dearly. One such unfortunate world was a small, terrestrial planet with water oceans covering much of its surface and a complex biosphere of living things; Earth. Although scheduled for Biospheric Culling For Diversity, overseen by the Tr ha-Yi, the War wrecked the world before its proper time. Obsessive over the continuity of life as always, the Tr ha-Yi managed to salvage the world’s specimens and genetics before all was lost. They did this to as many worlds as possible, but not all were so lucky. The War left the Tr ha-Yi on a downward spiral towards extinction as they rescued as much life as possible to be given their chance back.

Earth’s creatures that are now called dinosaurs and other Mesozoic life-forms were transplanted to an artificially prepared planet to serve as their new home. There they were allowed to continue through evolution as the original Earth was declared as a separate evolutionary line. Nearly five million years before the dawn of the Human race, a race of higher dinosaurs arose on their adopted world; Mandrakes.

Mandrakes may superficially resemble the popular image of “raptor dinosaurs” on Earth, but they are descended from a family of tree-climbing dromeosaurs which adapted back to the ground. Several anatomical features betray such ancestry. Their shoulders are more pronounced and flexible than extinct raptors. The first toe faces backward as a remnant of a perching lifestyle. Their tails also retain some flexibility at the tip from being formerly prehensile. Mandrakes also possess fully opposable thumbs from climbing, to holding prey, to tool use.

In most other respects the Mandrakes seem as typical dromeosaurids. They evolved from unspecialized, medium-sized pack hunters. They average at around five to six feet in height, and 10 to 15 feet long, with females being slightly larger than males. They are pursuit predators with sophisticated respiratory systems with airsacks, and powerfully muscled necks. Mandrake vision is extremely acute compared to Humans, and their sense of smell is also more developed. They find small, quick movement to be highly exiting. While adorned with large primaries for balance and display, Mandrakes have special muscles along the feather shafts of their arms allowing them to retract these feathers tightly against the arms to prevent damage and to free the hands. The teeth are serrated for slicing through flesh, and are easily replaced when broken. The large, sickle claws for hooking into their prey are referred to as “supremid talons” by Mandrakes. They communicate through a large range of body language and vocalizations such as growling, hissing, chirping, screeching, cawing, and purring.

Mandrake mentality derived from their hunting ancestors is evidenced by their modern behavior in Cosmic Civilization. They prefer live prey which they may swallow whole as snacks, or bring down at the “hunting ranges.” Although both sexes are crested, males’ crests are slightly larger and turn bright colors during the mating season. Females come into heat once a year in midsummer. A clutch of two to four eggs are laid and incubated by the parents and trusted pack members until they hatch. Chicks are downy and able to walk within a few months. Mandrakes do not form strong attachments to each other as mates. Sexual romance does not exist to them. They do, however, form deep bonds of trust and friendship love and loyalty towards each other as packmates. Packs are the central unit of Mandrake societies. The strongest bonds are between mother and offspring, while the father will usually contribute to his children’s safety and proper upbringing, as well as the rest of the pack. Mandrakes will often mate with other packmates, while mating between packs is also acceptable in modern society. All packmates will care for chicks and work for their pack’s success. Basic arts such as hunting are often taught to the chicks by the pack, while higher education is more standardized and public. Mandrake “colleges” are establishments where maturing Mandrakes learn their final skills of profession in society as well as seek out their own packmates to do their jobs with. During the summer breeding season, mandrakes still experience intense desire for display and combat, which they vent nowadays with annual Hunts of Passage, and extreme sports.

Since their First Contact with Cosmic Civilization, Mandrakind has proven to be a vigorous and honorable race. Even so, as predators they cannot deny their violent tendencies, and many Mandrake civilizations engage others as pirates, bounty hunters, mercenaries, and guardians. Respect and Loyalty for and from Mandrakes must be earned. Many new cultures will engage their former overlords in war until they are either defeated, or are victorious and earn the right to begin a new major society. There are several particularly powerful clans of Mandrakes ruled by their Ultrasapients. While even Mandrake Ultras can be warlike towards other Ultras, they also engage their own societies to ensure they are vigorous and healthy in both body and mind. It should be noted that Mandrakes harbor great spiritual respect towards stars, their astrology, and stellar lifeforms, and their Ultras often merge with these and other forces of nature as they ascend. Many “nesting worlds” are reserved for chicks to hatch under patterns of subtle, yet influential radiations across the galaxies.

Since Humankind’s First Contact, Mandrakes have engaged Humans and Touhouls several times in testing wars as they expanded. Some hostilities continue to this day, while most of Mandrakind has accepted the other intelligences of Earth as worthy of their respect and guidance. Today, in the year 5 million PC (Post Contact) for Humans, Mandrakes, Humans, and Touhouls form the “Big Terran Three” from Earth. After all, they already had five million years experience with Cosmic Civilization when Humans arrived. It is perhaps the least they could do to honor their original homeworld and their ancient saviors, watching over them from the stars.

Description
Ya know, it’s funny. My project of iUniverse has included a species of sophont dinosaur known as Mandrakes since, like forever. But I have never given them one of my proper Overview treatments. How about that? Well, Here It Is Already! As cannon for the current iUniverse.

ETS Overview: Mandrake

The first among Earth’s two intelligent races, the Mandrakes owe their evolution to the quick-thinking and compassion of the Tr ha-Yi. Sixty five million years ago, the last Omnicide War was in full swing and billions of life-rich worlds across all the Universe suffered dearly. One such unfortunate world was a small, terrestrial planet with water oceans covering much of its surface and a complex biosphere of living things; Earth. Although scheduled for Biospheric Culling For Diversity, overseen by the Tr ha-Yi, the War wrecked the world before its proper time. Obsessive over the continuity of life as always, the Tr ha-Yi managed to salvage the world’s specimens and genetics before all was lost. They did this to as many worlds as possible, but not all were so lucky. The War left the Tr ha-Yi on a downward spiral towards extinction as they rescued as much life as possible to be given their chance back.

Earth’s creatures that are now called dinosaurs and other Mesozoic life-forms were transplanted to an artificially prepared planet to serve as their new home. There they were allowed to continue through evolution as the original Earth was declared as a separate evolutionary line. Nearly five million years before the dawn of the Human race, a race of higher dinosaurs arose on their adopted world; Mandrakes.

Mandrakes may superficially resemble the popular image of “raptor dinosaurs” on Earth, but they are descended from a family of tree-climbing dromeosaurs which adapted back to the ground. Several anatomical features betray such ancestry. Their shoulders are more pronounced and flexible than extinct raptors. The first toe faces backward as a remnant of a perching lifestyle. Their tails also retain some flexibility at the tip from being formerly prehensile. Mandrakes also possess fully opposable thumbs from climbing, to holding prey, to tool use.

In most other respects the Mandrakes seem as typical dromeosaurids. They evolved from unspecialized, medium-sized pack hunters. They average at around five to six feet in height, and 10 to 15 feet long, with females being slightly larger than males. They are pursuit predators with sophisticated respiratory systems with airsacks, and powerfully muscled necks. Mandrake vision is extremely acute compared to Humans, and their sense of smell is also more developed. They find small, quick movement to be highly exiting. While adorned with large primaries for balance and display, Mandrakes have special muscles along the feather shafts of their arms allowing them to retract these feathers tightly against the arms to prevent damage and to free the hands. The teeth are serrated for slicing through flesh, and are easily replaced when broken. The large, sickle claws for hooking into their prey are referred to as “supremid talons” by Mandrakes. They communicate through a large range of body language and vocalizations such as growling, hissing, chirping, screeching, cawing, and purring.

Mandrake mentality derived from their hunting ancestors is evidenced by their modern behavior in Cosmic Civilization. They prefer live prey which they may swallow whole as snacks, or bring down at the “hunting ranges.” Although both sexes are crested, males’ crests are slightly larger and turn bright colors during the mating season. Females come into heat once a year in midsummer. A clutch of two to four eggs are laid and incubated by the parents and trusted pack members until they hatch. Chicks are downy and able to walk within a few months. Mandrakes do not form strong attachments to each other as mates. Sexual romance does not exist to them. They do, however, form deep bonds of trust and friendship love and loyalty towards each other as packmates. Packs are the central unit of Mandrake societies. The strongest bonds are between mother and offspring, while the father will usually contribute to his children’s safety and proper upbringing, as well as the rest of the pack. Mandrakes will often mate with other packmates, while mating between packs is also acceptable in modern society. All packmates will care for chicks and work for their pack’s success. Basic arts such as hunting are often taught to the chicks by the pack, while higher education is more standardized and public. Mandrake “colleges” are establishments where maturing Mandrakes learn their final skills of profession in society as well as seek out their own packmates to do their jobs with. During the summer breeding season, mandrakes still experience intense desire for display and combat, which they vent nowadays with annual Hunts of Passage, and extreme sports.

Since their First Contact with Cosmic Civilization, Mandrakind has proven to be a vigorous and honorable race. Even so, as predators they cannot deny their violent tendencies, and many Mandrake civilizations engage others as pirates, bounty hunters, mercenaries, and guardians. Respect and Loyalty for and from Mandrakes must be earned. Many new cultures will engage their former overlords in war until they are either defeated, or are victorious and earn the right to begin a new major society. There are several particularly powerful clans of Mandrakes ruled by their Ultrasapients. While even Mandrake Ultras can be warlike towards other Ultras, they also engage their own societies to ensure they are vigorous and healthy in both body and mind. It should be noted that Mandrakes harbor great spiritual respect towards stars, their astrology, and stellar lifeforms, and their Ultras often merge with these and other forces of nature as they ascend. Many “nesting worlds” are reserved for chicks to hatch under patterns of subtle, yet influential radiations across the galaxies.

Since Humankind’s First Contact, Mandrakes have engaged Humans and Touhouls several times in testing wars as they expanded. Some hostilities continue to this day, while most of Mandrakind has accepted the other intelligences of Earth as worthy of their respect and guidance. Today, in the year 5 million PC (Post Contact) for Humans, Mandrakes, Humans, and Touhouls form the “Big Terran Three” from Earth. After all, they already had five million years experience with Cosmic Civilization when Humans arrived. It is perhaps the least they could do to honor their original homeworld and their ancient saviors, watching over them from the stars.