Kirzaka

Kirzaka Summary, AD 2213 June 26
Xenoarchaeologist LtJG Brian Bushfield

Kirzaka mean’s “Lizard”. This race of bipedal beings is, in fact, very lizard like. Kirzaka are hatched from eggs, and they are born with wings. In their adolescence, they are hollow boned and very light of weight, and though they cannot fly like an avian creature, the can glide for great lengths. A skilled Kirzakan youth can remain airborne riding updrafts and thermals for great lengths of time, and often compete at doing so. During this phase of their lives, they eat lightly, and can go for great periods of time without much food or water. As youths, their scale are fleshy and roughly the weight of balsa wood, and offer little more protection than human skin. They are brightly colored and vary greatly between individuals. Paints and stains are often used to enhance or increase the complexity and beauty. A kirzakan digestive system breaks down foods with both acids and heat. A Kirzakan stomach thermal temperature can range from 150 to 350 as a youth. A fully grown youth, prior to transformation, is four to five feet tall standing straight.

The transformation from youth to adulthood is extremely difficult. Kirzakans develop a ravenous appetite and begin to consume food at a severely increased rate. Their diet widens greatly, and cravings for minerals and metals become such that they eat most of their non-resting time. Their metabolism, as well as their nature, becomes extremely aggressive and often ultra violent. Their internal temperature rises to a range of a minimum 300 degrees to as much as 1000. They put on muscle quickly (and it is painful) to easily 100 times that of their youth. Their hollow bones fill with an alloy of metals created by their metabolism, and their talons, very similar to keratin, are replaced by the same alloy. Even the teeth, which in their youth are similar to a cookie cutter sharks, are replaced with alloy filled enamel and large grinding molars appear in the back of the mouth where none were present. Their scales harden and thicken as the flesh is replaced with the mineral byproducts of their new diet, effectually insulating their inner heat as well as creating a natural armor.  Traces of the scales colors remain, but are grayed and muted. Their weight quickly becomes such that gliding is impossible, and one rite of passage lasting through all Kirzakan history is the ceremonial removal of the wings. Adults often choose to retain the “first link” bone of the wing that protrudes upward from the middle of their backs. Though they don’t breathe fire, anyone who’s been close enough can tell you their breath is super-heated and smells like a mix of sulfur and burnt hair. Adult Kirzakan have incredible mass, strength, and size in comparison with humans. They reach an average height of eight feet, though some have been recorded as large as twelve feet tall.

It is said that the first humans to encounter them face to face described them as dragon warriors with a pair of swords strapped to their back (the first link bones of their childhood wings). The obvious nickname human soldiers adopted, initially, for the Kirzaka was “Dragon”.  The first General to engage the Kirzaka in battle believed the nickname was too fearsome and too complimentary to his enemy, and when addressing a brigade prior to a troop transport load, asked a private what they should be called. “We call ‘em Drag’s, sir,” came the reply, and it stuck. Realistically, no human would ever win a fist fight with an adult Kirzakan.

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