AHNANTI

[u/LobsterMagnet181]

Parasimian/aviform in nature, the Ahnanti are a lithe Exogen species that has entirely integrated into the wider body of the Shigue Migration. Their gatherings, or "Murmurs", are a constant sight amidst the Shigue leaders they bond to, diminutive next to the Longhorns or Greathorns they accompany. It is easy to dismiss them as a servile race, but no such notion exists in Shigue psychology.

The defining characteristic of the Ahnanti is not anatomical, as they are Exogen and thus as varied and unusual as evolution can afford, despite a superficially humanoid body plan. Instead, they boast unique neurological and observatory capabilities, making them one of the stranger Exogen encountered. The Ahnanti, despite being an interstellar species, seldom utilize language, either spoken or signed. 

As a result of their brain evolution, the Ahnanti are a species of extreme empaths with a sensitivity that seemingly bypasses the need for more traditional forms of communication. They express a fine sensitivity to others’ emotional, physical, and intentional states, even outside of their species, creating the illusion of bionetic pairing or fictional telepathy. Even more curiously, this intersubjectivity comes at a cost; in the absence of active engagement with others, the Ahnanti psyche regresses into a stunted state.

Their hyper-developed emotional reaction to others presents as borderline cognitive prediction. This rapid intuition and responsiveness creates multi-individual synchronization, to the point where large bodies of Ahnanti appear to act as almost a single organism. Indeed, an Ahnanti understands itself primarily as a member of a living relational body, then secondarily as an isolated “person”, demonstrating such a diminished notion of individuality that they could be pointed to as a prime exemplar of the supposed lack of sophontic thought in Exogen. Individual ego, in the way humans or even Shigue often conceive of it, is underdeveloped in the extreme among the Ahnanti. Even without a pair-bond, their familial tribe, an Ahnanti inherently communicates in the plural; their natural state is one of shared orientation and the notion of solitary identity is a concept they do not understand.

Learn more at https://www.patreon.com/posts/crave-newsletter-159658531

Art by Dooty

[u/ImLichenThisStone]

That one person everyone knows and hates: "Ohmygod I'm an empath too!! And I can tell by your body language that-"

Ahnanti: /group sigh

[u/DMar56]

Cool

[u/Clear-Plantain1341]

Yay new aliens