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 Posted: Sun Oct 28, 2012 7:46 am
 The plantfolk of Mercury are paragons of teamwork and logic. They are unusual in that they must partner up with another organism, usually their pet mantis-like pets called Ennic, in order to speak, move, and do any action other than grow slowly underground or along a trellis. They are known for their intelligence and dogged determination. They are also known for being arguably the most alien of the species of Charon, with very strange motivations and morals. Although they were, at some point or another, at war with at least three of the species while in the Sol System, on Charon their dedication to law and order, their biotechnology, their adaptability, and their willingness to give their all for a team make them invaluable members of the nine species and highly respected. They speak clearly with the clicking apparatuses of their Ennic hosts, and they can also communicate telepathically with a tendril or root. They usually only use this amongst themselves, however, as using a tendril on others is too close to an illegal invasion of privacy. (Naming Conventions: Enchloro name themselves or take a name fromt he lattice's database. Simple, double-voweled names - Riizu, Aad, Yaash, Maaku- are very common. Some take on nicknames - Chrysanthemum/Chrys, Lilac, Lily - given to them by acquaintances.)
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:19 am
Biology The Enchloro evolved from hardy, beaten down surface plants that took in energy from the sun and survived the harsh days and nights of the small planet mainly by shutting down and closing up when they needed to.
Eventually, these plants developed symbiotic partnerships with insects who would pollinate and, in some cases, shelter the plant in return for sugar, which the plants would store underground in large roots. The plants were also toxic, and some insects adapted to use them as ‘guards’, encouraging them to grow on their backs and keep the ferocious predators at bay.
Over the course of evolution, those plants evolved to manipulate their insect partners into shade or better growing environments, and they gained adaptations that made them very good at it. This allowed them to move around and make the most of the harsh conditions of Mercury.
The first sentient species of plants on- the enchloro's ancestors- actually grew on the surface, their intelligence developed to better control their hosts in a harsh world.
Later, species of these plants were moved to the more temperate underground warrens along with their hosts, where they thrived and became the Enchloro. Although they still required sunlight for energy, their symbionts to travel briefly in the surface area and return to the underground.
The Enchloros themselves are intelligent, but cannot move. Typically, they consist of a single enormous and colorful flower attached to a short stalk and a series of vine-like roots. These roots can be wrapped around objects and the Enchloros can ‘climb’ up a trellis, but movement itself is limited, and sensory information is restricted to temperature and touch. The root-tendrils are very sensitive and neuronized, and can be wrapped around the tendrils of other Enchloros to form a sort of not-quite hive mind.
The Ennic Symbionts are controlled with these tendrils, which are slipped into their exoskeleton and around their nerves. The Ennic are large and mantis-like, about half the size of the average human. As in human dogs, there are many varied forms of specialized and general ennic, used for different purposes and jobs and even pets. Other species also serve as symbionts to the Enchloros, which is the basis for their whole set of technology, and they can infest non-mercurean species as well, as seen in the Human-Enchloros war when some, having lost their Ennic host, took on human hosts. The primary basic Ennic used on Charon is humanoid, with four arms, two walking legs, and a pair of vibrant wings that can be used for short bursts of flight.
Many Enchloros do not take a host, and instead live in a dormant form as ‘trellises’, which allow them to act as a sort of living computer. They think very logically, like computers, and have trouble understanding concepts such as compassion, though they are able to form lasting friendships.
They have a varying concept of gender, as much their host's identity as their own, and reproduce via pollination. They produce up to three large seeds at a time.
Enchloro themselves bleed a sort of sugary sap, unless their chlorophyll is damaged, in which case it dyes it a light green. Their neural network, if damaged, is still able to function, but most Enchloro have an odd form of vanity where they will simply transfer their personalities to an intact enchloro in the lattice and trade places.
Ennic themselves have hemolyph that flows freely in their bodies. Other than that, it's color and consistancy are highly variable and depend on the purpose the ennic was bred for or the aesthetics of the breeder.
Color Specifics:
Ennic and enchloros come in a variety of vibrant colors and patterns, often iridescent sometimes not. All colors are possible. However, any visible enchloro tendrils are green-brown, the enchloro (the flower) typically plants itself near the central nervous system of it's host (the head) (making the flower much like the equivalent of hair) and the standard breed of ennic host is generally humanoid.
Coloring-wise, the Ennic does not have to match the flower, though they tend to pick non-clashing colors. Ennic may also be switched out if necessary and may have differences that make them specialized to tasks.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:19 am
History Society/Beliefs:
Enchloros are a very logical people. Their technology is all alive and based around symbiosis with other technologies and with the enchloro themselves. They form themselves into living computers and control their technology directly.
Thus, Enchloro society is based around this concept of order and teamwork. The individual is as important as what the individual contributes to the whole of Charon. Personal grudges exist but cannot be allowed to stand in the way. Crime is disorder and disorder halts progress, which they see as extraordinarily important. If they had a concept of the Sacred, that would be it.
It should be noted that their living computers are lattices covered with Enchloro. It is a computer, but - and they are quick to correct anybody who says so - they are not a hive mind. It is more like a committee, in mental contact with each other and other committees, dedicated to a specfic goal. On these neural networks, personalities are readily influenced, borrowed, and exchanged. The death of an individual enchloros does not mean the death of the person.
These living computers are found in every region of Charon, assisting the integration of Biotechnology, Mechanical technology, and Magic technology that makes the shipcity viable. Membership in a living computer occurrs in one of two ways: willing integtration or conscription. Conscription occurrs because of the population controls on every Charon species to prevent overpopulation. The enchloro found that it was more difficult to control their reproduction- via pollenation- and the number of seedlings produced than to control the breeding of their large basic ennic symbionts. So, only a few enchloro are able to recieve new symbionts every charon year. The rest are 'donated' into the lattices to strengthen and improve them.
As for beliefs, the enchloro do not have spirituality like the other species do. They have never believed in gods, worshipped ancestors, or even thought of the idea of a single creation entity or event. Science makes sense to them more than that, though spirituality does intrigue and fascinate them.
They do, however, believe that all life is unified and malleable, and that order is necessary to the universe.
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Posted: Mon Oct 29, 2012 10:19 am
On Charon
On Charon, they gravitate to jobs that appeal to their sense of order. They make up much of the police force and many serve on the Crew, Charon's 'military' branch.
Although many humans still mistrust the Enchloros, everybody can admit that the plantfolk are damn persistent at what they do. They never give up, never ask for a raise, and rarely fail. Their predisposition to discipline makes them excellent crew and police, and their (illegal) abilities to control others and to lurk unseen and listen makes them great at espionage and thievery.
They are unable to use magic, however, and the concept of magical power is difficult to grasp for them, though they know now that it exists.
Though they greatly appreciate aesthetics and like to collect art and breed colorful or interesting-looking creatures, they cannot appreciate art like the other races can. To them a picture is just a bunch of colors arranged in an appealing manner, a poem is a lot of pretty sounds made from woven language, and music is just pleasant. To them the idea of hidden meanings is bizzare.
Attitudes:
The Enchloros have no particular attitudes about any of the other species on Charon, other than that they are confusing. They bear no hostility or ill will towards any of them, despite their history of wars against the other species, nor do they have any particular favorites. This neutrality, along with their respect for law and order, makes them excellent judges and police officers.
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