The lizard people

Gechans, the lizard people of Arbea, get more of a showing in book two along with the Rhe'zans. So, I've had to spend a bit more time with them in my head and in my sketch pad. In early drawings of Gechans they look a bit froggy. But, I've gone for a more distinctly salamander-like sleekness (even though they're physically more reptilian). I've also tried to make them less anthropomorphic (wiry arms, longer tail, no opposable thumbs) to really drive home their reptilian nature.

Where do you stay?
Gechans are most similar to reptiles (In Arbea their species type is known as arquatic). They live in swampy, humid areas. They breath air but live in water as it helps them regulate their body temperature. So, when they are on land for extended trips, they wear water 'collars' to help keep them cool.

They are very communal and live in large broods of up to 30 Gechans in a single nest. Each nest is a large dome-like structure under water that is accessed via a water pool at its centre. Reproductive females live in groups of five or six with their children. Their young (or tadpoles) spend the first 10 years of life never leaving the nest and the first 30 years with their brood. Adult males and post-reproductive females live separately in their own groups usually as collectives for their chosen profession. Gechans have a longer life span than humans, the oldest recorded Gechan being 223 years.

Male vs Female
Males have a cranial plate which covers an air sack that they can inflate during courtship displays.
Females have blunter snouts and a segmented lower jaw.

Beauty is skin deep
Gechans' skin colour comes in varying shades of blues and greens with lighter coloured stripes or spots. Their colour largely depends on the environment they hail from. However, all Gechans have the ability to camouflage with their environment.

Their hands and feet are zygodactyly like chameleons (two toes facing forward and two facing back) which make them expert climbers even though they live in water. This evolutionary trait, along with their camouflage are their main natural defence.

Getting busy
Gechans reproduce sexually. Females lay their soft-shelled eggs in water hatcheries in their nests. In the event of threat or no suitable hatchery females can hold the eggs in her throat sack to keep them warm and moist. The female's lower jaw can separate and split apart allowing them to scoop up the eggs without damaging them. A female can only reproduce (at most) twice in her lifetime and lays two to three eggs each time. As females are more common than males, a male can have multiple broods and helps maintain each nest.

Hope you enjoy!
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The eye of the tiger

Ladies, try not to faint. Here comes Daryn in full-colour:

This hunky sea-side lothario swims into Sem and Gemmy's life in book two, Spirit Shear, and causes all kinds of commotion. Mostly, he divides Gemmy and Sem on whether or not he can be trusted.

I think even Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Aniston would agree this guy's sun-bleached locks and golden eyes would give even Brad Pitt and Edward Cullen a run for their money. He's what you'd get if Josh Holloway, Chris Hemsworth and Gabriel Aubrey had a baby with a sabertooth-tiger. Fact!

Is he good our bad? I don't know. But, I think if you look into his eyes you'll be able to decide for yourself.

Hope you enjoy!
‽




Buy Book 1, 'Black Star' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook