I get a lot of questions about my cecaelia. People have asked how they breed without mating, so here's the answer.

OVERVIEW

Cecaelia are aquatic peoples with humanoid torsos and several tentacles joined to their hips. They are very unique in comparison to Looming Gaia’s other peoples. Cecaelia are notorious for their regenerative powers, only dying when their head is destroyed. They have massively long lifespans, capping out at about 1,500 years. Such creatures seem like they would be destined to dominate Looming Gaia’s other peoples and conquer the globe. However, cecaelia are actually quite few in number. This is because they don’t reach sexual maturity until 50 years of age, and females only lay 1 clutch of 3-5 eggs every 50 years. Of those eggs that manage to survive, only 1 in 10 is likely to be female. A female cecaelia may go centuries without birthing a daughter.

Cecaelia are quite aware of their predicament, so every cecaelian community worldwide has one thing in common: they value females above all else. Sometimes this means females are treated like valuable commodities, given little freedom or rights. In other cultures, they are placed in the highest positions of power where they make all the decisions for their tribes. Either way, all cecaelian civilizations employ a system called “breeding rights”.

Reproduction is a no-contact affair. Females consistently lay eggs every half-century, but these eggs will only hatch if they are fertilized by a male. The eggs are contained in a resilient bubble of fluid called a “clutch”. If the clutch is broken, the eggs are likely to die. The clutch protects the eggs from scratches and other damage, as well as regulating their temperature. To fertilize them, a male must carefully pierce his breeding tentacle into the clutch and inject his spermatophores. The sperm swim through the fluid and eventually find their way into the eggs.

However, since each egg is so precious, cecaelia feel that they shouldn’t be wasted on the sperm of frail, undesirable males. In most societies, it is not the mother who chooses who will fertilize her eggs, but usually some kind of authority like a king or queen. Cecaelia mothers typically hoard their eggs in a giant nursery, where they are fiercely guarded by soldiers. It’s common for appointed “overseers” to manage all breeding that happens in the tribe, choosing which males are fit to enter this nursery and carry on their genetics.

Male cecaelia outnumber females several times over, leaving a lot of unmatched pairs. Because of this, male cecaelia are notorious for pairing up with other males or even different species for companionship—most commonly sirenes. Others settle into a solitary life. Not all female cecaelia enjoy their roles as egg factories, so it’s common for them to go rogue and life a solitary life as well, far outside of society. These rogue females are known as “sea witches” because they exercise powerful magic to protect themselves.

Historically, cecaelia have valued the lives of their brethren very much. Even in war, they are reluctant to kill their own kind and will instead try to capture them, eventually assimilating foes into their own societies. Most cecaelian raids and wars revolve around the kidnapping of another tribe’s females. Undesirable males may be killed, but usually they are simply banished to the open sea.

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This piece of lore is touched upon in a short story I wrote called “Ocean Returns to the Sea”. It can be read for free here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2.....pters/48477866

All of my other lore can be found here: https://loominggaia.tumblr.com/post.....aia-masterpost

If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer! Thank you. :)