Ionans

Ionans
Young female. Note the proportionally short neck, characteristic of juveniles.
Also Known As	Ionan Aliens, Greater Ionans, Xk'ynzebyb, Huharhg
Type of Group	Species
Role in Story	Protagonists
Book	The Ionans (working title) by E.E. Buchanan

Ionans (pronounced: "ee-OH-nans") ,"Xk'ynzebyb" (pronounced: "chick-EEN-ze-beeb"; "The people with the long hearing") in their native tongue, "Huharhg" (pronounced: "huh-HAH-ruk"; "The Big Ones/The Giants") in the language of Titan, and given the scientific classification Iogigantor sensibilis, are exponentially the largest of the seven known multicellular animal genus native to Jupiter's volcanic moon Io. (Which they refer to as "Xr'yaz'r" (pronounced "Shree-AH-zeh-ur"; "the land of fire") However, most Ionans now dwell either on Titan or as ambassadors to earth.

Until the vast majority of them migrated to Titan after negotiations with the Ghughur, they were the apex predator of the tiny ecosystem of Io. They are considered members of the order Monotremata, with the Echidnas and Platypuses, and the only known member of said order who is sentient. To aid possible confusion, the other primary genuses on Io (all smaller and non-sentient, mostly insectoid) are referred to as Lesser Ionans by scientists, while the Xk'ynzebyb are typically referred to as Greater Ionans. They are never very populous compared to other species, with only 7600-7700 members living at a given time. They are a fully sentient species, and, while not human in appearance, are quite capable of communication and emotion as humans are. Some members display great intelligence, but not anything like superhuman levels except for where things that can be aided by their partial telepathy are concerned.

Created by ScottyBlue.

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External Appearance

Fully adult Greater Ionans average about 91-108 in (229-275 cm) in height when standing on their back limbs - measurement is taken from the base of the foot to the top of the skull. However, many older males grow much larger. They can weigh anything between 400 and 800 lbs (about 180-360 kg). The largest known Ionan to date was named Narxi, and topped out at 125 in tall (375 cm) and a whopping 957 pounds (434 kg). The males are at the top range of size, typically, while females are at the low range of size, but there are exceptions to this rule, especially among the elderly.

Greater have four limbs, an elongated ferret-like body and neck, and a head almost exactly the shape of a river otter, with long grey facial whiskers and a padded nose. The ears are laterally oriented, not vertical, and are batlike and truly massive, sometimes almost 3/4 the length of the body in certain individuals. These ears contain a thick layering of whiskers, and are also coated with trillions of microscopic hair-like sensors on the inside, the purpose of which is discussed in "Physiology".

Greater Ionans have very flexible, rotating spines like cats and weasels, and often contort themselves into strange positions. They can function equally well in a bipedal and a quadrupedal mode, and often move in a gait called a "scutter" which is a halfway point between the two. Their limbs are somewhat short in proportion to the rest of the body, ending in monkey-like paws with opposable fingers and toes. They do not have external nails, but instead have long, very thick, retractable white claws, heavily curved for grasping and climbing. These claws are one of the hardest-known claws/nails of any animal, designed to rip through shells and even soft rock. The claws grow very slowly, and in the extremely unlikely event one is ever completely broken off or ripped out, an Ionan will likely never fully regain it in its lifetime. Greater Ionan teeth are also very hard, but not anywhere near as hard as the claws. They are all conical, elongated, and slightly curved, like those of a sperm whale or orca.

Greater Ionans, being monotremes, are mammals. As such, they are covered with thick and exceptionally soft fur of a chinchilla texture; this coat has at least two and possibly three layers (it's hard to definitively tell), and the innermost undercoat sheds once every two earth years or so, prompting the Ionan in question to thoroughly brush themselves with their claws and actual brushes. The large piles of fur left over are used to stuff mattresses and make "nest" material for eggs. The Ionan coat is also very dense, covering all external parts of the body except the nose and eyes; however, the fur is noticeably thinner on the palms, the interiors of the ears, and soles of the feet. The tail is long and whip-like, highly flexible but not opposable, and covered with exceptionally long and bushy fur, even more so than the rest of the body, so it resembles that of a squirrel or Persian cat. Females have two mammary glands, completely hidden under the thick fur over the chest. 

Adult female Ionan, dressed in the typical ropes and shells and carrying an egg.

The pelt of an Ionan can be almost any pattern - solid, stripes, spots, splotches, rosettes, speckles/ticks, or even 'pointed' like a Siamese cat. The fur is typically wildly varying shades of Indigo or purple, and less frequently shades of magenta, blue, or violet-black. Very frequently, white splashes appear on the paws, face, or chest. The eyes are also light purple, with pupils shaped like a 10-pointed star, and the skin is usually black or bluish-grey. In the case of albino or leucistic individuals, the skin is a pale bluish color, and the eyes brilliant blue green while the fur is snowy white all over, though it may appear cream or yellowish. There are also piebald individuals with mostly white fur and purple or indigo patches - these are far more frequent than pure albinos. As an Ionan ages past about 100 earth years, the fur pales/turns shades of grey in places, mostly around the head and neck at first but spreading. Usually, a very ancient Ionan is nearly all gray.

Besides the matter of overall size, male Ionans visibly differ from females, with longer ears and tail, as well as thicker fur on said tail. Furthermore, male Ionans, from the moment they are born, possess a great heart-shaped mane of fur draped over their shoulders and chest, as opposed to the uniform growth of fur on the torsos and necks of the females. However, females tend to be more slender/less blocky in build than males. Also, because of nest-digging and baby-defending, the females possess bigger and far more noticeable claws which don't fully retract, the tips still being visible even when the claws are sheathed. Males can fully retract their claws.

Ionans do not wear traditional clothing, but often wear many ropes of jewelry hewn from volcanic rock or forged from metal. Males tend to have more jewelry/adornments than females but this is not always the case. They also use the shells of lesser Ionan speices as jewelry or scale armored belts. The fur is long enough to cover any indecent bits of their anatomy. The weapons and tools they usually have attached to these belts are not primitive, usually, but metal and often mechanical - all fall into the spear/sword/bow/knife category, as Ionans do not have the means to efficiently make gunpowder or bullets. Ionans also tend to have pouches/pockets attached to said belts and ropes of jewelry, containing personal belongings and sometimes things like food or canteens of water.

Physiology

Greater Ionans have a similar internal physiology to most Earth mammalians, in that all of the organs typically present for circulation, reproduction, respiration, nervous system, and digestion are there. However, there are modifications to these, detailed below. The lifespan of Ionans is roughly 150-180 earth years, when disease or disaster does not intervene.

Sensory Organs

An Ionan's nose is large and padded, and they have a sense of smell similar to that of a cat or other feline. Their eyes, thanks to the odd-shaped pupil, can contract to almost invisible pinpoints, which is an aid when they are on the side of the moon in which the bright Jupiter fills the sky. They also have reflective membranes inside their eyes, similar to most nocturnal Earth animals, to aid them when they venture to the dark side of their moon. The ears and ocular organs are immense as compared to Earth Mammalians, and Ionans have an incredible sense of hearing. The padding of microscopic hairs on their ears prevent them from being deafened by loud noises, but they are capable of detecting sounds far too low or high for even dogs to hear. Furthermore, Ionans possess, thanks to the unique sensors on their ears and aural nerves as well as in their brains, a unique form of telepathy in which they can sense thought vibrations. However, they can only pick up thought vibrations that specifically involve them - i.e. read any thought pertaining to them. There is a distance limit to this ability, usually about two miles. They have also mastered the art of communicating using this skill.

Respiratory Organs

The air on Io has a higher sulfur content than that of Earth, though not anything like as much as Earth scientists have calculated. Furthermore, it is thinner, and the air quality and composition drastically varies from place to place on the moon. On Titan the air in the caves is more oxygen-rich, but not so much on the surface, where it is less than 1% of the atmosphere's makeup. For this reason, Ionans have a special sort of lung which is a combination of a birds' lung with extra air sacs, and the typical mammalian lung, giving the Ionans the ability to take in and process much air. This lung is able to adapt to various air qualities and sort out however much oxygen the creatures need to survive and completely expel any other contaminants. This means that Ionans can survive on virtually any surface that has even a minimal amount of oxygen, even if the oxygen is part of a complex molecular compound. It also means that, especially in more oxygen-rich environments, they can hold their breath for up to an hour if need be.

Circulatory Organs

Ionan hearts are extremely similar to human hearts in appearance and function. The main difference is relative size - whereas a human heart is about the same size as a human fist, an Ionan heart is proportionally larger, about the same size as the creature's skull. Ionan blood has hemocyanin instead of hemoglobin as its primary transport ingredient, like many Earth undersea creatures. This gives the blood a distinctly blue-green tint. Ionan blood also has some unusual radioactive properties. It can be poisonous in very large amounts - however, when a small/non-lethal amount of Ionan blood gets into the bloodstream of another sentient mammalian it gives said mammalian certain Ionan abilities over time (mostly the telepathy to a limited extent, and increased reflexes/awareness) if the 'poisoning" isn't cleared.

Other Systems

Barring the highly augmented aural nerves, the nervous system of Ionans is unremarkable. The same goes for the excretory and endocrine. The musculoskeletal system is more flexible in general than the average Earth mammalian, as has been mentioned. The reproductive system is the same as earth monotremes, and the digestive system is completely omnivorous - while Ionans are considered the apex predator, they can (and do) eat any biological matter, including fungi/plants. They cook their food when they can, to preserve it and kill off germs - only in great need do they eat raw meat. Furthermore, they only eat meat of coldblooded creatures (insectoid, arthropod, amphibian, reptiles, or fishlike) and greatly dislike 'red' meat (birds, mammalians) to the point that most never eat any in their lifetime unless on earth and given no other choice.

Lifestyle

Greater Ionans lived mostly along the border of the light and dark sides of Io, or the "Temperate zone", so they could quickly retreat to the dark side if the moon to hide or sleep. They measure their days by what stars are in the sky, and one day is 47 earth hours long. On Titan's underground ice caverns, geothermal heat and luminescent crystals make it light all the time, so they simply follow their biological clock and sleep whenever they need to, which is usually once every 38 hours or so for about 10 hours. 

History

On Io, for thousands of years, the creatures jogged on with life as usual, save for technological advancements periodically, with very little conflict save minor land wars. Natural disasters - volcanoes, specifically - being very frequent on Io, they worked hard to keep what little ecosystem there was alive. They traditionally lived in 21 strict districts, each with its own Governor to make decisions and answer questions when needed. However, most families acted independently of government interference except in the case of crimes needing to be solved or territorial disputes. There was no single ruler, and the Governors would only meet once every 20 earth years or so for meetings to discuss global matters. This came to an end when an emergency meeting revealed that Io's worsening climate thanks to geological activity meant that, no matter what the Ionans did, if some or all didn't leave Io probably many would die in the next few centuries. The decision was made, as the Titanese had already asked the Ionans for help, to take them up on their offer and began an operation to invent supplies and machinery which would help them both travel to Titan and survive in the new land. One Governor, afraid of losing power in a new land, used his great intelligence to his advantage. Pretending he was making a great computer to help those Ionans who remained on Io to survive, he suddenly took over, killed the remaining governors, stopped the entire relocation project that had started, and took over the entire moon with the help of an AI system he created in said super computer which could get inside the telepathic abilities of Ionans and control them that way, torturing them if necessary to force them to comply. Under his rule, life changed considerably to a reign of terror for nearly 100 earth years which saw no families allowed to stay together, no friendships to be formed (Bonds weakened the AI system's hold), all Ionans assigned a specific survival duty, mating and birth strictly regulated, and any Ionans deemed weak or useless to be 'culled'. All memory of the Ionan's past life was attempted to be erased/brainwashed away. This only partially succeeded, and one family managed to escape in a smuggled rocket to Earth, where they recruited help and were able to get the Ionans to renew their family bonds and stand together against the last governor. When he was overthrown, the supercomputer powering the AI system was destroyed and most memories came back. However, many family groups had been broken up or destroyed, as were many homes. The Ionans picked up the pieces by forming new family groups/taking in orphans and those left alone, or banding together into gangs of "lost" Ionans, and resumed where they had left off. The migration to Titan occurred successfully, and now the only ones on Io are scientists who visit to check on the state of things periodically. The Ionans have not completely abandoned their home, and if there are ever signs it is safe to re-colonize Io some possibly will. On Titan, they do not have their own governors, but have spokespeople who answer to the Titanese government, as they are outnumbered almost 200 to one there. They live in peace and tranquility with enough food between their own farming and what's provided by their hunting to easily sustain them. They have a friendship and agreement with the smaller, exclusively vegetarian, vastly more populous Titanese Peoples, in which they are allowed as much farmland and homes as they need in exchange for eating harmful animals and protecting the Titanese people from danger when necessary. They are not criticized for being meat-eaters since they despise red meat, and therefore are no danger to the Titanese or any other mammal or bird.

Culture at a Glance

Ionans discovered computing technology long before humans did, but have not advanced terribly faster than Earth, in that, because of having limited resources and metals to build computers with. They use the technology in much different ways from us, though. Instead of games and entertainment and transportation (save rockets), the technology is all used for survival techniques such as disguise, agriculture, building, and so forth. On both Io and Titan, they tend to live in underground or cliffisde cave homes, and also grow the fungi they eat underground, cultivating them so they have a ready supply of food if good hunting is scarce. No Ionan on Io spends much time outdoors on the light side, but quite a bit on the dark side and underground. The primary occupation of most Ionans is agriculture, with hunting second and technology-based jobs third. Structures above-ground on Io were not usually fixed, and are all stone with maybe some metal reinforcing. On Titan, everyone lives in huts or cave-wall dwellings in the fertile green cavelands, lit and warmed by powerful "sun crystals" that lie more than a mile (2.2km) below the ice.

Ionans are excellent swimmers, runners, and climbers, and like to be on a high spot to see across the landscape, when they are outdoors. They have no natural enemies other than others of their own species and the larger Aubns (see Lesser Ionans), and are largely non-confrontational. They have a written language, but mostly use spoken language. They consider communicating by telepathy a form of speech, and often spend days in silence. They value being responsible with resources, and being loyal/protective of children and family, above much else. They can be territorial, though this is less a problem on Titan than it was on Io as on Titan all land is fenced. Also on Titan, a lot of the computing technology is not as heavily used as it was on Io, but most of the rest of this stays the same. They do not have Aubns to worry about, but there are many smaller insect-like parasites which can make them sick, and much larger ones, especially Skuffas (a kind of spiny cat-sized arthropod) to eat. They still have some Io creatures that they farm on Titan, however, which have helped fill gaps in Titan's ecosystem due to Titanese accidentally extincting a few creatures while farming (they are much better at being careful about such things, now, than they were hundreds of years in the past, thanks to Ionan influence).

Ionans also believe in diplomacy over physical fighting. However, criminal Ionans - thieves, tyrants, gangs, land-stealers, etc - run the risk of being very violently beaten and clawed and even killed if they go too far. Crime, especially crime borne of greed, is not tolerated at all among the vast majority of Ionans. In the days of governors, there would be a trial of sorts, but very often this is after the perpetrator was badly beaten, especially if the crime was against a family who had children as maternal/paternal instincts take over in those cases. The telepathy means that lying is impossible among their kind, so a trial was almost always just a confession and sentence, and it was the governor's job to decide if more beating or even banishment was required or if imprisonment was the case. In the case of someone being mistakenly attacked, the attackers would be severely jailed or punished because acting in haste is also greatly frowned upon among Ionans when it results in someone getting hurt. Most disputes that don't involve crime - i.e. personal issues - are settled verbally with possibly some posturing and growling if someone is very upset, but when things do escalate beyond diplomacy (this most often happens in the case of a border dispute) chest shoving and wrestling may occur. The matter is usually settled when one Ionan pins the other and/or roars into their face - an Ionan roar can cause temporary hearing loss and ringing in the ears, reaching exceptionally loud volumes. In particularly violent arguments multiple roars may occur and the winner is usually the one with the loudest roar. They settle things this way on Titan without involving the Titanese more often than not because they are anxious to not antagonize them - the Titanese government lets them self-govern as long as they stay within Titanese laws. They do not physically fight with the much smaller Titanese, because they would consider that to be bullying. Any Ionan deemed to be remotely bullying a Titanese is punished by his own people, because both sides are anxious to not have any ill relations develop.

Feeding

Greater Ionan diet, as has been mentioned, is omnivorous. On Io, the primary component of their diet is the meat of the Squillaterram, a large and abundant arthropod on Io that is now farmed on Titan. Four of the other five species of Lesser Ionans are are also commonly eaten (the Ffinra being the exception), but not quite as frequently, as well as several Titanese fishlike and insect-like creatures, especially Skuffas. The Greater Ionans also would eat fungus/vegetable matter that grew in the underground caves in Io, as nothing can grow in the surface soil save extremely tiny bacterial matter and fungi that is left for the Lesser Ionans to eat, so the ecosystem is not disrupted. They also will eat all fruits, greens and vegetables on Titan that smell appetizing to them. In both places, Greater Ionans grow much of the fungal/vegetable matter that they eat in cultivated caverns (both) or under-ice fields (Titan only) , some of which cover vast amounts of acreage. They also farm Squillaterram and Skuffas (a similar Titanese creature), as well as the compost-eating Ffinra, though these are bred for companionship and for waste disposal.

Courtship

Ionans marry for life. Ionan husbands and wives do not have an extended courtship. Their telepathy helps them to know, generally in less than two days, whether or not they love each other and can be mates. A long conversation, and some cat-like purring and face rubbing, usually are the ways they go about courting in this short time. A wedding is a quiet and simple affair, officiated usually by the father of either the groom or bride, or a governor if neither is available.

Eggs

Couples typically reproduce once every two to three earth years, but can go as long as six between children, or as short as a few earth months. Like turtles, there is no maximum breeding age, but most females decide to stop having eggs at about 75-80 earth years old, as the process of laying is rather painful. Typically, 1 or 2 eggs form within the mother after mating, though in rarer cases as many as four have been recorded. It is more common to have two or more eggs on Titan, where the good feeding is, than it was on Io with poor feeding/available nutrients.  An egg or clutch of eggs typically takes about 15-16 earth days to form, and a female will develop a distinct abdominal swelling across the last seven or eight earth days, which, while not large enough to greatly impede her movement, still makes her condition visibly easy to deduce.

During her short 'pregnancy', the mother and her family will often make a nesting area, gathering pillows, straw, blankets, plant material, shed fur, and/or even soft dirt -whatever would be soft and prevent the eggs from rolling about/jostling. She will try to stay near this area the last few days, because when the moment she feels her first contraction, she will have an overwhelming instinct to go to the safe place and start making the nest/digging out and building a place for her eggs. If she is too far away from the planned nesting area to get there in time, she will start digging in the earth or in any area of leaves or straw nearby, adding some of her own fur. As this instinct is something she physically cannot fight, and she will become aggressive if interrupted, Ionan law dictates that a digging and gravid female is not to be disturbed, no matter where she is, unless she is in great physical danger. Once she has finished, she will lay her egg(s) in the nest she has made; her family/friends will surround her with their backs to her, while she does so, to shield her from danger (on Io, there are predators that attack laboring mothers and new eggs. On Titan this is not the case, but the these instincts/hormones are too strong to fight without someone getting hurt). After laying, the mother covers all but the very tip of the egg(s) with more nesting material. If an egg is in the planned nest area, it will stay there until it hatches. Sometimes an egg in improvised/emergency nest is left where it is, but often, once the mothers' hormones have died down, the family will carefully dig out and relocate the egg to the planned nest instead. A baby Ionan will develop in the egg, guarded assiduously by the mother and the mother's family/close friends, until the yolk runs out, at which time hunger will drive the baby to claw its way out of the shell to nurse. This usually happens in about 5-6 earth months, but in the case of improperly formed eggs can happen much sooner, and drive the mother to prematurely break the egg to save her baby.  

Children

Baby Ionan

If an egg is not viable/a "slug", this will be immediately evident as soon as its laid; the egg will be withered and dry and many times smaller than normal. Normal/viable Ionan eggs have been jokingly called "giant rainbow raisins". They resemble elongated ellipses, ever so slightly flattened laterally. They a soft, leathery, thick and wrinkled black shell - these wrinkles smooth out somewhat as the baby develops and stretches the egg. The black shell is also highly iridescent, giving off all the colors of the spectrum when struck by light, and viewed from different angles. Eggs nearly always are 16-24 inches (41-61cm) long and have a 7 inch (18 cm) diameter at the thickest point.

Normal baby Ionans are able to live outside the shell about 1/3 of the way through the development process , but unless something goes wrong and the mother has to break the egg early to rescue the baby, they do not hatch until fully furred and at the developmental stage of a human 2-year-old. The richness of the mother's yolk due to her own body's nutrients determines how quickly this point is reached. A premature baby will be about the size of a softball and naked and helpless, like a human baby, and need constant care. However, full-term newborns usually are about 12-17 inches long (not counting the tail, which is as long as the body again) at birth. They can be slightly smaller in the case of multiple eggs in the clutch. In the extremely rare case of twins in the same egg, the babies are half-size, and usually one or both do not survive due to lack of yolk. The head is proportionally large compared to the body, and the neck and body not as elongated - this comes in later adolescence. The fur is short and the tail nearly hairless. They have no teeth, but have very sharp little claws. A baby Ionan is developed enough to climb and crawl within hours of hatching, and spends much of the first couple earth months of its life clutching to its mothers chest with its front half buried into her fur and invisible to everyone else as it nurses.

Ionan children mature very quickly their first few years of life then dramatically slow down. A newborn Ionan has the sapience and understanding of a 2-year-old human, or thereabouts, and quickly gains strength and abilities. By the time they are about 6 or 7 earth ears old they are almost half their adult height and while still playful and silly have already a great physical strength and possess full telepathic abilities and the problem-solving abilities of a human teenager in an advanced class, though not the mental or emotional maturity of one. After this point, both growth and maturing reaches its great slow-down, and Ionans do not reach full adult maturity until about 17 earth years (females) or 19 (males), though they are physically able to marry and reproduce two or three earth years sooner.

Newborn Ionans who have become able to run , fully climb, and swim for the first time are notorious for being exceptionally curious and unaware of danger as they try out their new young bodies outside the egg. It can take as many as four or five adults to keep an eye on an exceptionally reckless little one and protect him/her from accidental harm. Like human teenagers, adolescent Ionans suffer from bouts of temper and moodiness and are more likely to physically fight or do something criminal than adults, though most learn quickly this isn't tolerated in most circles. Ionan parents will defend their children from danger, but will not stop an adolescent child from being punished if they have committed a crime and sometimes inflict the punishment themselves (though usually not as severely as a stranger would).

Family

There are more female Ionans than males - the relationship is about 42% male to 58% female. The reason for this is not known, though speculation and research suggest that it may have something to do with the ambient temperature affecting whether the eggs hatch male or female, like reptiles. Because of this, and the fact the males are bigger and stronger than females and also more aggressive, one male Ionan usually leads and protects a family group of between 7-25 members. The family groups consist of the Alpha/strongest male, his parents/grandparents if they still live, his spouse, his children, his siblings, and his siblings-in-law. Very often, especially since the revolution before the move to Titan, family groups also include friends, orphans that were taken in, and grandchildren/great-grandchildren. Children, when they grow and marry, have the option to stay on and enlarge their original "pack", or go out and start separate family groups for themselves - either is considered perfectly acceptable in Ionan culture. They live in either caves or above-ground structures as described above, keeping them spotlessly clean except for nesting materials. Everyone works in some capacity unless they are too young or old to be able to help, and the very sick and elderly are taken care of assiduously by the younger members of the family. Ionans instinctively have less of a "fend for yourself and find your place in the pack" mentality and more of a herd mentality where the weakest and youngest are protected in the center of the group much like earth animals like Bison and Muskoxen.

Naming

Ionan children's Christian names are invariably descriptive words/words formed by combining descriptive words in their language - for instance, "Strong climber" or "beautiful face" or "Red fur". They are generally named a few days after they are born because a basic personality can be told by then. Occasionally an adult Ionan will change his or her name if their birth name was something derogatory they've grown out of, but derogatory names are very uncommon since the machine was destroyed. Ionan surnames are always the word Ai ("born of") followed by their mother's name, unless the baby was orphaned and raised by someone else such as the father or grandmother or a stranger. In this case, if the mother's name is known the child will still keep that but this time as a middle name, and have their primary parent/guardians name preceded by "Mas" (raised by) for the surname. For instance, there is an Ionan known, whose name is Uara, whose mother's name was Ranra and she was raised by her grandfather Laxi. Therefore the proper name she goes by is "Uara Ai'Ranra Mas'Laxi. If the mother's name isn't known, just the "mas" surname alone will be used. Orphans who grew up in the bad days under the machine, fending for themselves, often have no recollection of any family at all, and many have taken the surname "Mas'Ka", because that means "I grew up by myself", or "Mas'Elia" Which means "I was taken care of by God" for those who have come to know faith through contact with humans or those who have brought it back from Earth.

Language and Alphabet

The Ionan alphabet with English characters where appropriate. See Table of Ionan Phonics for more information.

The Ionan language consists of a mixture of phonetic sounds (i.e. sounds that have a place on the IPA guide, which Ionans call "complex sounds") and non-phonetic sounds such as grunts, purrs, and trills (called "Basic sounds" by the Ionans. There are 25 characters in their alphabet - 6 vowel-like (note: Y and W count as vowels in their language), 10 consonant-like, and 9 non-phonetic. Some new phonics are made by combining the complex characters, such as AR, like in English. Basic sounds are never in any kind of combination, always either at the end of a word or both preceded and followed by a complex sound. Also, if a consonant sound is both preceded and followed by either a vowel or basic sound, it is doubled. A table and basic pronunciation guide for the characters is given below. The English Characters given are the ones Ionans use when attempting to translate their language into English. Non-phonetic sounds are represented by punctuation marks, or (less commonly) extended groups of vowels or R's. All Ionan words have the first syllable emphasized, unless an apostrophe-like hook is present. In the Ionan language, you put this before the syllable or syllables that is accentuated in the word.This is the only punctuation in their written language. To end a sentence, when writing, one simply leaves a very large gap about the space of six characters. For numbers, Ionans use a complex tally marks, x's, and squares system that is apparently highly accurate but not fully understood by humans, for all their mathematical calculations and computing purposes.

TABLE OF PHONICS USED IN THE IONAN LANGUAGE

Nearest English Character(s)	Pronunciation	Nearest English Character(s)	Pronunciation	Nearest English Characters	Pronunciation
A	ah (short "o" sound)	KL	kl- if followed by vowel, "kleh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word.	YE	ee-eh or yeh
AI	ah-ih	KR	kr- if followed by vowel, "kreh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word.	YR	ee-er or ear
AR	ahr	L	l- if followed by vowel, "ill" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word and preceded by consonant.	Z	Z- if followed by vowel, "zeh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word and preceded by consonant.
AU	ah-oo or aw	M	m- if followed by vowel, "im" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word and preceded by consonant.	NON-PHONETIC SOUNDS/SYMBOLS
AY	ah-ee or eye	N	n- if followed by vowel, "inn" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word and preceded by consonant.	!!!	short, sharp bark/yelp "ee-ar!"
B	b- if followed by vowel, "beh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word and preceded by consonant.	R	R is always slightly rolled in the ionan language unless at the end of a word. Makes the usual r- sound and is never preceded by a consonant except B, F, or K.	!	Chirrup/tweet "eep"
BL	bl- if followed by vowel, "bleh" if at end of word or if followed by consonant/basic sound	S	sss- if followed by vowel, "ess" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word and preceded by consonant.	~	short grunt/growl "urgh"
BR	br- if followed by vowel, "breh" if at end of word or if followed by consonant/basic sound	SL	SL- if followed by vowel, "sleh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word.	~~~~	long growl "urrrrr"
E	eh	U	oo (as in goose or moo). Never paired with any other vowel but A.	_ _ _	low cat-like purr "b'b'b'brrr"
EY	ay (long A sound)	UA	oo-ah or "wah"	^	short high-pitched trill "rree"
ER	ur or err	UR	oo-er	^^^	long high-pitched trill "rrrrrrrrree"
F	f- if followed by vowel, "feh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word and preceded by consonant.	W	THIS IS A VOWEL IN THE IONAN LANGUAGE. It makes a "you"/"Yew" sound.	-	short medium-pitch trill "rrrih"
FL	fl- if followed by vowel, "fleh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word.	WL	"yewl" or "you'll"	- - -	long medium-pitched trill "rrrrrrrrrrih"
FR	fr- if followed by vowel, "freh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word.	WR	"Yew'er" or "your"	'	this is used to denote an emphasized syllable
I	ih (short I sound)	X	something between a CH- and SH-, unless both preceded and followed by a consonant/ basic sound. Then "cheh"
IA	ih-ah or i-yah	XL	shl- prefix, never used except at the beginning of words.
IE	i-eh or i-yeh	XR	shr- prefix, never used except at the beginning of words.
IR	ihr or irr	Y	ee (long E sound)
K	k- if followed by vowel, "keh" if followed by consonant/basic sound or at end of word and preceded by consonant.	YA	ee-ah or Yah

Known/Named Ionans

All the Ionans on this list are those that have had direct dealings with humans. Nearly all have earth aliases because of the difficulty of pronouncing their names as written, or because when the machine was still operational they needed to protect their identity, so these are given where applicable. All are still currently living, except where noted by a *.

Ionan Name	Meaning of Christian Name	Earth Alias	Description
Aun'i Ai'Wnys	Warrior/Fighter	"Buster"	Late adolescent/young adult male, dark grey-violet body with darker violet rings on his ears and tail. One of twins responsible for the first contact with earth. Was trained by his mother in technology and rocket flying. Only very recently became mate of Xanne Mas'Elia
Ximb Ai'Wnys	Fleet of Foot	"Skipper"	Twin sister of Aun'i, identical in appearance except as a female she doesn't have a mane. Also responsible for first contact with Earth and the one who convinced her brother to fly their escape rocket there. Was trained by her mother to be a diplomat, and also in some technology.
Frixi Ai'Wnys	Handsome tail	"Fritz"	Child male. Fur solid dark violet, almost black. One of only two Ionans hatched on earth. His siblings took him with them as an egg when they fled Io and he was raised on goat's millk for the first few weeks of his life before being reunited with his mother.
Wnys Ai'Eyrran	Gentle and Kind	"Eunice"	NOTE: Her English and Ionan names are essentially the same. Wnys is pronounced "YEW-nees" in Ionan.The widowed mother of the three aforementioned young ones, who resembles the twins but very scarred and deformed from battles. Was responsible for their escape from Io and was temporarily brainwashed by the Machine before being rescued.
Xanne Mas'Elia	"Thief"	"Shannon"	Young adult/older adolescent orphaned and widowed female. Pale periwinkle fur, nearly grey, with a darker furred ridge that runs up her nose bridge, over her head and down her back like a skunk's stripes. Slightly deformed hind legs that were practically useless before surgery (reason she was rescued by earth allies). Recently became the mate of Aun'i Ai'Wyns.
N'Baxi Ai'Xanne	"Beautiful face"	"Sheba"	Child female, Xanne's daughter by her late first husband, who resembles her mother exactly save she can walk properly. She was the second known Ionan hatched on earth - her mother brought her to earth while she was still in her egg.
Anyi Ai'Xanne	"Sweet Child"	"Andy"	Infant/Toddler male. Xanne's son by Aun'i. Technically piebald, though really nearly perfect albino save some very light periwinkle ombre on his ears and limbs. Very tiny, born on Titan.
Syrnau Ai'Xeyril	"Strong and wise"	Benjamin Barclay	This is actually a human adolescent who was given the ability to transform from Ionan to human as he so chooses, and is Earth's main connection to them. The Ionan name is the alias in this case and was given him as a title by real Ionans for his bravery. His mother's name is Cheryl. As an Ionan, has dull, almost brownish purple fur on his head, tail and mane and his face and the rest of his body is a pale periwinkle.
Zarryx Mas'Elia	"Spotted nose"	"Sarah"	Orphaned female, wife of N'wan. Violet fur with white "socks" and "mittens" like a cat, as well as a white splash on her chest and across her muzzle which bleeds onto her nose and gives it a couple paler patches. She and three others were chosen to be the first delegation to Titan.
N'wan Mas'Elia	"Bared Fangs"	"Juan"	Orphaned male, husband of Zarryx. Very dark fur with a practically black mane, scarred face with somewhat deformed upper lip/overbite. He was in the first delegation.
Uxim Ai'Li'anna Mas'Xilian	"Fat one"	"Samson"	Yna's husband. As his name implies, stockier than the average Ionan, though not really fat. He resembles a squirrel more than a weasel in body shape and is terrifically strong. Pale periwinkle fur with flecks of violet all over and dark violet tear marks under the eye like a cheetah. He was in the first delegation.
Yna Ai'Brifri	"Branch/Twig"	"Eva"	Uxim's wife. Very tall and slim/slender. Dusty purple-grey all over save an ombre to a slightly darker shade on her legs and arms and muzzle, like a siamese cat.
Narxi Mas'Kalla	"Lovely Voice"	"Caruso"	Currently the tallest and strongest Ionan known to exist. A timid creature who spent most of his life a captive/slave/lackey of the last governor, for fear he'd use his strength against the last Governor, and was rescued by the allies. Very dark royal shade of rich purple all over. Some light scarring on his face and heavy work callouses and manacle scars on his forepaws. Husband of Uara.
Uara Ai'Ranra Mas'Laxi	"Red Fur"	"Ginger"	Former bodyguard of the Machine, along with Wyns and Syrn'Nar, brainwashed to be so, until rescued. Fur a pinkish/magenta shade of purple unlike most others, very scarred and one permanently weak arm. Became the wife of Narxi.
Syrn'Nar Mas'Mwn	"Wise Voice"	"Sherman"	Former Bodyguard of the machine, along with Wyns and Uara, brainwashed to be so until rescued. Strong piebald male Ionan with nearly white fur, and a light purple blotch here and there along his flank. Also heavily battlescarred.
Mwn Ai'Uafrixi*	"Eyes" (in connotation of big/noticeable)	"Mona"	Absolutely ancient Ionan, who passed away a few months after the move to Titan, and the adoptive mother of Syrn'Nar. She was one of the few who could remember clearly the days before the Last Governor and the machine. She was reunited with her son (really her grandson, but she did not know the name of her son's mate as both died shortly after the egg was laid) before the end. Her original fur color was unknown as it had all silvered with age before she passed.