Art by Zanny

This is the kotsuatl caste of the Tluekatl, the seventh civilized race of Mahwalli.
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Tluekameh (singular. Tluekatl)
Physical Description
The Tluekameh are an all-female species of eusocial insectoids, with biologically distinct castes: lahnameh (singular. lahnatl), kotsuameh (singular. kotsuatl), and amameh (singular. amatl). Lahnameh are the smallest caste and have an average height of 6 feet (1.82m), kotsuameh are stronger and taller than the lahnameh with an average height of 7ft 2in (2.18m), while amameh are larger still with an average height of 9ft 4in (2.84m).

The backs and the limbs of the Tluekameh are covered by armor, which makes these parts highly resistant to kinetic damage, which gives them a huge advantage in combat.

Like most other species on Mahwalli, the Tluekameh are quite long-lived and this is especially true for amameh, some of whom have been known to reach over 400 years of age. They retain their youthful looks throughout their adult life, even Tluekameh who die of old age do not look a day older than 25 years. Death by old age is caused by internal organ failure, typically the heart.

The Tluekatl digestive system is extremely efficient to the point where it leaves no waste-matter, but unlike the other races, their wombs cannot serve as a stomach.
Due to this efficient digestive system, Tluekameh gain much more calories and nutrition from their meals.

Tluekameh are physiologically and neurologically wired to experience sexual stimulation by swallowing prey alive. Because of this, the Tluekatl body has several adaptations to make up for this species feeding behavior. Their internal organs are very strong and resistant to damage, unfortunately this also causes them to fail after a few centuries. In addition, a lot of excess nutrients are turned into honey by their breasts which -if properly stored- can be kept indefinitely as a reliable food source.

Reproduction and Sexuality
Unlike the other races, the Tluekameh rely on other species to facilitate their own reproduction. The process requires the amatl to breastfeed any adult smaller than herself, forcefully if necessary, and then place them in her womb. Once the victim has lost consciousness, which shouldn't take longer than six hours, they will over the course of twelve weeks transform into an adult Tluekatl, the caste of whom depends on how much honey they were fed by the amatl prior to being unbirthed. While the newborn Tluekatl retains all of their memories, intellectual capabilities, and some personality traits from their previous life, they are born with an overall new personality and are completely devoted and loyal to the amatl who birthed them.
While lahnameh and kotsuameh Tluekameh are born at the size they'll retain for life, amameh are born at a similar size as the kotsuameh and then grow until they reach their full size.
Tluekameh can similarly be reborn in this manner, and to be given the opportunity by your own amatl is considered the greatest honor she could bestow, as this not only allows you to be reborn as another caste, but also heals you of all injuries and resets your biological clock (although you are still born as an adult), allowing you to potentially live forever.

Because of their reproduction method, no stigma exist regarding incest as there is no possibility of inbreeding, but it also leads them to view members of other races in a much more predatory manner than what is typically the norm. More horrifically, because Tluekameh do not raise their own young and thus lack that protective instinct that most species possess, they completely lack any moral qualms towards harming children, who they view as useless pests.

The Tluekameh have two basic concepts of sex: nahan and nachue.
Nahan is the type of sex which expresses affection such as between members of a hive. Nahan is also used to refer to casual sex that is devoid of affection, besides the word's actual meaning.
Nachue on the other hand is the type of sex in which someone is taken advantage of. While nachue mostly covers rape, it may also cover consensual sex in which one party ends up being eaten. Tluekameh frequently have nachue with captives and slaves.

The Tluekameh also tend to be polyamorous and view sex as recreation.

Tsuanui
The vast majority of Tluekameh live in the archipelago of Tsuanui, in which there are several competing city-states. However, Tsuanui also has several minor sapient species besides the Tluekameh, but vast majority of these are slaves and captives.

Tsuanuan Society
Tsuanuan society consists of one single, all-encompassing unit: that of the hive, which is a city-state consisting of one family. At the center of this unit is the amatl, who is simultaneously the hive's mother, employer, master, priestess, queen, and goddess; her subjects live and die by her will, and it is she alone who decides how to allocate the hive's resources. Slaves and captives are for the amatl alone to devour or unbirth, but a well-off amatl may bestow such a meal to one of her subjects as a reward.
The free Tluekameh lahnameh and kotsuameh of the hive make up the majority, and while they all have different duties and responsibilities, they are all equal in status and share whatever resources their amatl bestows upon them equally.
Slaves consists of adult members of the other races, as well as Tluekameh who have been captured from other hives, and serve until the amatl asks for them, in which case they end up being devoured or unbirthed. Most slaves, especially the most unruly ones, are made to perform hard physical labor until they are on the brink of death, while those more easily controlled serve as domestic servants, sex slaves, entertainers, and pets. A few slaves even come to worship their amatl as a goddess and long for her to rebirth them as her children.
While outsiders are viewed with caution and hostility, hives are capable of and typically maintain diplomatic agreements. Many hives have colonies that are ruled by the daughter amameh of the parent hive's amatl, but once their mother dies they become independent.

Tsuanuan Education
Because Tluekameh are born with all the knowledge of their previous lives, they rarely need a general education in the same way as children do. Instead, every newborn Tluekameh is assigned an occupation by the amatl and, if necessary, a mentor to teach them.

Tsuanuan Warfare
Tluekameh kotsuameh are typically armed with a wicker shield and two weapons: a javelin, which they can throw at a great distance with their atlatls, and a short spear, which is thrust into their enemies once they have closed in on them, or the other end of the spear can be used to beat them unconscious.

Warfare between hives is common and extremely violent, as they wage total war. When one hive defeats another, the victors kill the defeated amatl along with anyone they can't capture alive. The captives are then taken to the victors' hive to work as slaves and to be eaten or unbirthed. The victorious amatl then sends a junior amatl to colonize the land of those who have been defeated.

The Tluekameh continue to adhere to this military doctrine of total annihilation whenever they wage war with peoples beyond Tsuanui, though they typically send an envoy first to give their target one chance to give into their demands before attacking.
Once they do attack, they will try to capture as many adults as they can. Children are of little use to the Tluekameh, as they make poor slaves and cannot be transformed into Tluekameh, and are, along with anyone else who has not been captured, systematically killed or eaten. Only one person is spared and is forced to witness what happens next. Anything of value is then looted, so that it may be brought back to the hive. Then, every building is destroyed, usually by burning them down to the ground. If the defeated practiced agriculture, the Tluekameh then pour salt on their fields and fill their irrigation networks and wells with earth and stone. Finally, the corpses of their enemies are left in the open to attract wild animals. The witness is then set free in order to let neighboring communities know what happened to those who defied the Tluekameh. After a few days, the Tluekameh will return to the village or city they destroyed to finish off anyone they might have missed the first time around, and to make sure that none of their victims is given a burial.

Tsuanuan Trade, Commerce, and Tribute
The Tluekameh have no real concept of trade. Rather they view commerce in terms of tribute and gift-giving.

Hives exact tribute from any subject villages or cities they have, and if a subject fails to give them tribute, it will be annihilated. Typically, a hive will demand slaves as tribute, among other things, which forces its subjects to either wage war to capture slaves, to purchase them, or to send their own people as tribute, and in either case this weakens the subjects and make them less able to revolt. Particularly greedy hives sometimes exact so much tribute from their subjects that they are forced to work in slavish conditions just to meet those demands.
Amatls love luxury goods, especially tobacco which they often chain smoke in their beautifully carved smoking pipes, and will go to great lengths to acquire such wares, as well as new exotic goods.

This exploitative tribute system has made the Tluekameh very wealthy, which make their land of Tsuanui an attractive destination for traders as well as raiders. Though, those who seek to raid the coasts of Tsuanui generally learn the hard way why they should've stayed at home.

Traders from distant lands have to deal with the hive's amatl personally, and are only allowed to do so once they have recognized her prominence, cultural superiority, and nominal suzerainty by prostrating before her. They then proceed to trade, but what the amatl receives is seen as tribute, while the goods the traders receive are considered to be gifts that she has generously bestowed upon them. Still, trade between the Tluekameh and foreigners is generally very profitable, and so the amatls make sure to trade fairly.

Tsuanui and Nahilnui
Tsuanui, being just north of Nahilnui, have terrorized the Chehnimeh for well over a millennia; threatening total annihilation to any tribe that doesn't provide them with tribute in the form of slaves, precious stones, fur, beer, and tobacco.
However, due to the massive size of Nahilnui, only the northern tribes suffer from the yoke of Tluekameh oppression directly. While the tribes in central Nahilnui do not know of the Tluekameh, they are frequently raided by the northern tribes who desperately try to acquire slaves and other goods that they can give as tribute. Meanwhile, the southern tribes are blissfully oblivious to the terror in the north.

Tsuanuan Religion
The amatl is a hive's priest and goddess, and as such tribute that is given to her are seen as offerings, while those given to her to be eaten or unbirthed are seen as sacrifices. To an amatl's children, her will is divine and any who defy it must be destroyed.

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