[jason taylor]

Note, I mentioned Wise Otters before somewhere in the past, but I wanted to do a little development of them.

Wise Otters:

A rare minor race found on a small number of partially aquatic worlds. They have a behavior and appearance that has been compared(loosely) to Terran sea otters, though being about the size of a Terran cat. Like the above these they have a natural pouch for carrying but having more dexterous forepaws(if not as much as the human hand)they are capable of using a greater number of sophisticated tools both of their own manufacture and of sophants they interact with; Victors stål has made a line of Ottertools for this purpose, often with an emphasis on hooks for opening shellfish or folding tools, and prongs for picking up sea life. Like humans they are omnivorous but they have a decided emphasis on aquatic animals, and some settlements cultivate chiefly for the manufacture of such tools as bait, lines, and nets.

Wise Otters live near shore. They normally live in clannish societies based on kinship and favor trading. They have most of the concepts that are recognizable in sophants including religion, philosophy, politics, hierarchy, property and trade including money, aesthetics, agriculture, and warfare. Unlike humans they apply their native genius less to toolmaking and more to ecology and have a highly developed array of disciplines regarding tending the life in the shallow waters they live in. Some humans idealize this trait but they are as apt to use it to exploit their environment as for aesthetic purpose. They however make a point of exploiting their environment efficiently and replacing what they take, as well as increasing the local productiveness. They are seldom as ambitious as humans to say the least, and internal quarrels take the form of disputes over prestige, mates, territory, property, and so on, or simply the suppression of the occasional criminal or insane that does not fit the normal pattern of such motives. The causes of quarrels would in fact be familiar to humans; it is the frequency, or rather lack thereof that is different. Wise Otters do not initiate high intensity warfare(though they may take part if a military campaign ends up in their neighborhood, or they may hire on as members of another race's military) nor do they indulge in constant war. Rather they engage in skirmishing between clans until one clan has had enough and the issue is settled by agreement. While they seldom are actual citizens of a polity controlled by another race, they often form alliances. It is common for instance for them to make an alliance with a fishing community. They might also serve specialized roles for large port cities; they have been known to be recruited for maritime rescue teams for instance.

Like Terran otters they have a playful streak however to much cannot be made of this. They have their own aesthetic ideals. They enjoy music and poetry and have their own traditions in this regard. They also have elaborate aquatic dances. Storytelling they have a great fondness for and can appreciate some tales from other races. They do not really understand the Human and Aslan propensity for tales of experiences that would be extremely unpleasant in real life and have few counterparts to epic, adventure, or horror, or similar genre. They do enjoy contests of wits or physical prowess as long as they do not involve to much hardship, and thus enjoy stories of hunting or fishing, or sports, or even indoor games. They also enjoy tales of romance and friendship and many a human romantic comedy has gone down well. Simple humor is well known among them and a skilled comedian can gain great fame.

Their small size has made for problems with the propensity of even friendly humans to keep carnivorous animals as pets or working beasts. A common procedure is to put a security fence to keep errant beasts out of otter territory. It is also known to give special training to local animals or to put surgical implants in them or genetic surgery.