Nelde
The nelde (pronounced /ˈnɛldeɪ/; plural nelder, /ˈnɛldɚ/), is a sentient organism of Tamamna which has developed a civilization covering numerous planets. Nelder develop from three separate organisms, a fact that has a number of consequences for their biology and culture. For one, their exceptional life cycle, which results in nelder not having parents in the usual sense, means that nelder generally lack the sorts of ties of relation that exist among other species and do not form traditional family units.
Description
Nelder are slightly larger than humans, with round bodies that taper in the rear into blunt tails. On the anterior end, a long neck connects to an ovoid head, with a mouth in the front; two large eyes on either side; two more eyes on top, one in front of the other; and multiple sensors on various types on tendrils on the bottom. A mass of hair-like tentacles surrounds the dorsal eyes. The nelde's overall posture is generally somewhat hunched over, its neck starting vertically from the anterior end of its body, and then arching forward and descending before curving forward to attach to its head.
The nelde has eight jointed limbs plus two tentacles, the latter sprouting from the area roughly corresponding to a human's shoulders. Four of the nelde's limbs are situated at the front of the nelde, and are known as its ventral limbs, or legs; the other four are on its sides, and called the lateral limbs, or arms. The lateral limbs are much larger and longer than the ventral limbs, and are the limbs that the nelde stands and walks on. The ventral limbs are better articulated for fine manipulation, but are too short to reach very far from the creature; it often uses its tentacles to grab objects and pull them near its body where it can use its ventral limbs to handle them.
Life cycle
Perhaps the most unusual thing about the nelde is its unique life cycle. A nelde is actually formed by the fusing together of three different organisms, the mapar, the laman, and the nu, in a biological process called yanwe. Each organism is capable of existing on its own, and indeed most specimens do just that, and live out their lives as discrete individuals, but when one of each of the three comes together they instinctively clutch each other and beginning to undergo the process of the yanwe that will eventually unite them into a single nelde. The process of the yanwe takes several days, during which the organisms remain in close contact. Neither the mapar, nor the laman, nor the nu is particularly intelligent on its own, but during the yanwe their brains combine as do other parts of their bodies, and further fold and complexify, making the combined nelde far more intelligent than any of its component creatures.
The mapar, the laman, and the nu inhabit rather different, albeit slightly overlapping, areas, and seldom would one of each species happen to find the others on its own. However, once some nelder exist, the formation of others is facilitated, because the existing nelder can help it along, intentionally putting together one of each species in order to form new nelder. Moreover, they can more or less selectively breed new nelder by deciding which particular mapari, lamani, and nur to combine.
Anatomy
Due to its remarkable life cycle, the nelde has a comparably remarkable anatomical structure, with many organs reduplicated, or organs of its component creatures molded and repurposed in the combined creature. Most of its digestive system comes from the laman, with its two stomachs with an intestine between. The other two components, however, contribute some glands that contribute to the digestive process. The circulatory system of the nelde is necessarily piecemeal, the vessels of the three component creatures expanding and interweaving.
Habitat
The nelder are originally from a planet that humans call Eru; in the language of the nelder, the name is difficult if not impossible for humans to pronounce, but approximate transliterations are sometimes attempted, the most widely accepted of which is the awkward-looking "Xxqan". In the wild, nelder probably originally evolved on the forested coasts of their planet's largest continent, the only place where mapari, lamani, and nur would be likely to encounter each other naturally. Of course, since the onset of their civilization, they have since spread throughout their planet and colonized many planets beyond.
Society
Nelder do not rely on haphazard meetings between mapar, lamani, and nur, but rather tend to intentionally bring together trios they feel would make a good combination as a nelde, either because of some individual superiority they have to the rest of the species or because of some traits they feel would complement each other well. Lacking families in the usual sense, nelder do however sometimes have some sort of quasipaternal feelings toward other nelder whose yanwes they are responsible for arranging. Despite not living in family units, nelder are nevertheless social creatures, and tend to form into groups of two to six close friends who live together and support each other.