The Time of Fire Life: The Afaguzddavenuv

The Time of Fire Life: The Afaguzddavenuv

During the Afaguzddavenuv, Eclek's landmass was united in a single supercontinent. It was a geologically active time, with many geothermal pools that were stable over tens of thousands of years. Little but Cabava could survive. While Quareya was present during this time period, it only existed as microorganisms in the margins of a few of the cooler pools.

The atmosphere during this time was still fairly primitive. Oxygen was scarce, but carbon dioxide from outgassing and hydrogen from the respiration of dzeCabava life were major components of the atmosphere, along with nitrogen.

The only macroscopic biome present during the Afaguzddavenuv was the hot spring. Distributed along the major fault lines, they were dominated by dzeKilawana, a group of distantly related genera of ñåich. Their only herbivores were various amoeboid grazers. While it was not the most interesting time period, there was great diversity--if you knew how to look for it.

Kilawana: A common sight in the geothermal springs of the Afaguzddavenuv onwards, dzeKilawanav were a form of ñåich. Nothing but short, photosynthetic filaments, Kilawana nonetheless became one of the most widespread organisms on the planet. Almost every hot spring at this time had a carpet of dzeKilawanav.

DzeKilawanav utilized a variant of c-phycocyanin, which is stable at extremely high temperatures. In combination with a variety of other pigments which protected them from ultraviolet radiation (Eclek in this time had a much reduced ozone layer), this rendered them dark blue. As with all dzeCabava autotrophs, they absorbed CO₂ and H₂O, and transpired H₂.

The very first dzeKilawanav reproduced asexually. The filament broke apart, and each fragment developed a holdfast wherever random chance happened to take it. Sexual reproduction evolved from the horizontal transmission of genes. Kilawana had always had the ability to exchange genes, having retained it from microbial ancestors, but only had the opportunity to when one fragment came in contact with another.

Several derived dzeKilawana lineages had secondary filaments, which would detach and be dispersed by current. Chance resulted in a group that had haploid filaments. When these haploid filaments came into contact with the haploid filaments from another primary filament, the two haploid fragments would swap genes and become diploid.

Natural selection favored filaments that were smaller and smaller, and pre-existing trichomes were exapted into flagella. Before long, dzeKilawanav were releasing free-swimming gametes through pores that studded the filament. The precise arrangement of the pores could be used to tell the different genera apart. Once fertilized, spores were released through the same pores. Brownian motion would ensure that they traveled at least a little distance from the parent filament.

While this worked well for dispersal within the pool, it made colonization of new geothermal areas an infrequent event. There were periodic floods that could transport the spores, and in this way dzeKilawanav managed to spread across most of the supercontinent. But this took a great deal of time, and as the climate dried towards the middle of the Afaguzddavenuv, all but three genera of Kilawana went extinct: Senyo, Yeyasechetais, and dzePrunutayada. Having previously evolved a filament that could endure brief exposure to the air, these genera developed part of their filament into a fruiting body that extended above the water level. Wind would disperse their spores.

The descendants of Kilawa, along with their grazers, still exist in similar forms along with more derived cousins.

DzeCabava amoeboid grazers: Not a monophyletic group, dzeCabava amoeboid grazers were a group of single-celled organisms a few millimeters in diameter. Most were equipped with a radula that they scraped across dzeKilawana filaments, and they used pseudopods to engulf the resulting fragments. A few had needle-like structures that could pierce the cells of dzeKilawanav and suck up their contents.

As with all dzeCabava heterotrophs, they got their carbon and oxygen from food, and absorbed H₂ from their surroundings. They generated CO₂ and water as waste products.

A Short Introduction to Eclek

The homeworld of the kraqrelk, Eclek is a planet about twice Earth's mass. It is notable for having life that is descended from two different common ancestors. One group has colonized most of the planet, and is called Quareya. The other is restricted to areas of geothermal activity, and is termed Cabava.

Eclek's unusual biodiversity is not limited to having organisms descended from two different common ancestors. Since Eclek's atmosphere is thicker than Earth's, and it orbits closer to its sun than Earth does, it has always been a flooded world. Most of the planet is covered in a shallow sea, and what land there is is far more fragmented than on most other planets. A fifth of the planet's landmass are islands, with the largest being 1,857,521 km2 (around three times the size of Madagascar). What continents there are are widely separated, and this has been the state of affairs for quite some time. Geological fragmentation means that many groups that might otherwise be outcompeted were able to hang on. The kraqrelk are members of one of these groups; when they left Ixvata they found that tsulaing were rare everywhere else.

The biological sciences are well-established on Eclek. Therefore, taxonomic names, the names of geological eras, and a few of the technical terms are given in one of their languages, rather than being derived from Latin. Some of the primary languages used in kraqrelk science include:

Hoetsho -- A confederation of on the eastern half of Ixvata, the Hoetsho flourished for a brief period when the biological sciences were first being formalized. Most scientific words of Hoetsho origin, however, are found in geology, as several of the rivers that flow through Hoetsho territory have carved through the bedrock and revealed cliffs with easily distinguished bands corresponding to the different time periods.
Kilo -- Used by the Kil, an ethnic group that lived along the shores of Watelk before colonizing the fertile land formerly taken up by the lake, Kilo is almost more of a language group than an actual language, but most of the syntax is highly conserved. Most of the organisms from the interior of Ixvata's western half have names in Kilo.
Naranya -- Used by the Vabi, an ethnic group that lives along the northern coast of Ixvata's eastern half. They are good shipbuilders to this day, and contributed much during the period of exploration. Much of the life outside Ixvata bears a name in Vabi.

Quick Facts
Average Orbital Radius: 1.122 x 10 8 km (~ 0.75 AU)
Eccentricity: 0.054
Satellites: 2 (Veqreyap, Neva)
Star: Narelk (G7V)

Radius: 15290 km
Surface Gravity: 11.768 m/s2 (1.26 g)
Mass: 1.075 x 1025 kg (1.8 Earth masses)
Albedo: 0.318 Bond
Average Surface Temperature: 32° C