Re: Tit'xka (Pretty Long Post)

> Sheets, Jeff wrote:
> > Well, scientifically speaking, the mothers hold a reservoir of billions
> of
> > individual mutated sperm cells,
> [Snip]
> > The
> > clan mother made a deal with the nation to the effect that her clan
> would be
> > bred from then on with lower aggression, and higher sociability.
>
> Intriguing!  The detail of your descriptions of the Tit'xka seems almost
> real!
>
Thanks. :)  I have done a bit of research into Tarantula anatomy and have an
almost Jack-of-all-trades sort of interest in stuff.  Sociology is
interesting to me, and I'm enjoying the culture of these predatory
creatures.  As soon as I can get a picture up on my web pages, I will have a
drawing of a typical Tit'xka Warrior, designed by it's nanca to be mostly
protective.  One thing about the Tit'xka is that they have a much broader
range of coloration than even the 200+ species of Tarantula, and also have
more surface area for variations.

> Like many animals, the Natives (and their relatives, the
> Devourers) have specific breeding seasons, and no long-term bonds.  They
> have courtship rituals, varying from tribal group to tribal group, but
> most of them involve tests of strength, and tests of intelligence, thus
> selecting only the best males to father the next generation.  In many
> tribal groups, males can be rewarded for taking risks, or making great
> sacrifices, by being allowed to mate with a larger number of females, or
> even to have *exclusive* mating rights to one or more females, vastly
> improving the odds of fathering a child.  For instance, when the Nif
> Empire sent out male-bands to hunt Devourers, they were rewarded with
> exclusive mating rights to certain females.  Female-bands were rewarded
> by being allowed to reduce, or even completely forgo, Root of Life.
> Root of Life is a fertility-inhibiting drug.  It is essential to the
> Natives, since they are very fertile, and with weapons, even stone
> weapons, they have far less to fear from predators.  Without Root of
> Life, the population grows far too rapidly, exhausting the local
> resources, and then crashes due to starvation, to begin the cycle anew.
> Root of Life forgoing is not common among Native societies, most depend
> on honor, or material rewards.  But all societies test males for
> fitness.
>
I like the term "Root of Life".  Is it called thus because of its control
over life or because by the prevention of new life it preserves existing
life?