Concept art of a bramble-man ambassador by Thetabduel.
The bramble-men are an aquatic life. They have a real name that means 'the ones who ebb'. Bramble-men, or ebblings, are the name given to them by men.
Bramble-Men cultivate coral to augment their flesh and develop mechanics.
Anatomy[]
Colonial organism. Made up of redundant large cell organs. Capable of regenerating organs. It is inherently shapeless, as all the organs just mingle around each other. Messages are communicated across the organs like synapses in a brain.
Some organ cells would be musculature, while others are digestive, or sensing.
It is exclusively carnivorous, as its cells can filter the flesh of fish down and use it as energy for their functions and for regenerating organs.
Inherently, they have no concept of 'shape' when it comes to their bodies, because they are a communal organism with many shapes making up the whole.
As such, they can take many different shapes if they so choose. In the picture shown above, a bramble-man has changed its shape to be like that of a human and has forged a coral mask to make a face and is wearing human clothes. This is for the lore team to develop.
Coral Symbiosis[]
Coral cultivation is an important part of life for the ebblings. Coral is a tended to by the bramble-men and grown to full strength in their care. Some coral tenders are better than others. They then use the coral as a symbiotic enhancement to their form. They could create a skeleton or armor for themselves. It can also be shaped and grown for mechanical applications. The coral has been bred exclusively for inventive use by the ebblings and are, in turn, sustained by the ebblings.
The coral is a major shaper of the culture. How it is used, who uses it, the quality used, etc. This is for the lore team to establish.
Reproduction[]
Reproduction is achieved by the ebbling growing a bud either to half size or full size. A full size bud detaches and falls through the water. The half size bud is a receiver for a full size. When a half bud receives a full size bud, the organism starts to grow independently into a new colonial ebbling.
Civilization[]
Reasonably, the bramble-men would have a plutocracy centered around coral growing. They would be a peaceful race. This is for the lore team to hash out. However, as an exclusively carnivorous race with a poor understanding of the autonomous nature of other races, there is a great deal of room for misunderstanding and conflict.