A Raijalresh on its walker
The Raijalresh are a mollusk-like spacefaring species originally from the planet Raijal. Once part of the Republic of Raijal, they are now a subject race in the Sarken Hegemony, and their homeworld and colonies are considered part of Sarken space.
Appearance[]
Raijalresh resemble 6 foot tall cone snails, with a soft pink body that has light pink blotches on it. Their eyes erupt from stalks and can be retracted when a raijalresh is in danger. Their most prominent feature is their shell, which is conical, spiraled, and covered with knobbly bumps and long, sharp spikes. Most raijalresh traverse in mechanical walkers due to their lack of legs.
Anatomy[]
Raijalresh are invertebrates-- their shell provides the protection they require. Indeed, Raijalresh shells are harder than concrete. This is because raijalresh shells are made of an incredibly dense and tough calcified material. This also makes their shells extremely heavy, making raijalresh nearly immobile.
Beneath their shell, raijalresh have up to four pseudopods that can move out from the main body up to a meter. These pseudopods have surprising dexterity, and the raijalresh often use them to control their walkers. It would not be inaccurate to say that a raijalresh, underneath their massive shell, is primarily brain; much of their body is dedicated to brainpower. Raijalresh have very large brains compared to the size of the rest of their bodies.
At the bottom of their bodies, raijalresh have a beaked mouth that can grind and crush. This mouth can retract into their bodies, so they don't have to keep it pressed against the ground or their walkers.
Diet[]
Raijalresh are omnivores. They typically eat whatever they can find. Most raijalresh, in ancient times, scoured the sand in search of buried invertebrates, beach plants, and other sources of nutrition. Their symbiosis to the walkers allowed them more mobility and easier collection of food stores.
Genders and Reproduction[]
Raijalresh can be primarily determined between each other by the color of their shells. As a rule, male Raijalresh have more brightly-colored shells, while female Raijalresh have more dull-colored shells. However, no two raijalresh have the exact same pattern on their shells.
Raijalresh lay up to 50 eggs at a time in pools of water. Raijalresh must stay moist up to their first ten years of life, when their shells begin to grow in. This makes baby raijalresh extremely vulnerable and a mother raijalresh must be close by to protect their offspring.