Strieda Design: Cave Dweller

Part 3 of a design project I have with

This one was a little more of a challenge for some reason.

Info: Cave Dweller Striedas are also known as 'Underground Striedas' or 'Nocturnal Striedas'. They live in caves deep underground where they build their homes and buildings on the roof or sides of the cave, near a subterranean fresh water source. They live in groups of about 25 to 200 individuals.
They are carnivorous, and usually eat whatever critter they find inside the caves. And for special occasions or if supplies run low, they will send a small team of skilled and very well trained hunters out of the safety of the caves outside, where they will hunt for bigger game. But they have to be careful, because many bigger and stronger predators await this moment to hunt them down. And this must be done in the night, because Cave Dweller Striedas are more vulnerable to predators during the daytime because of their dark color and very bad vision.
They are very skilled diggers, but are very clumsy runners. Due to the fact that they have naturally poor vision, their other senses are more developed than the average Strieda.
The brighter markings on their body are bioluminescent (meaning the glow in the dark). The little tennas near their ears are mostly used for lighting purposes and will glow very bright in pure darkness.
The light ball on the tip of their tails are very important to the Cave Dwellers, because it is used for a wide ranged of things, such as hunting, ceremonies, warnings, an mainly for light in dark places. It is usually off and will light up as soon as the individual hits it on a hard surface or shakes it hard enough for a chemical reaction to occur inside the ball and cause it to light up. The lighting is temporary and lasts minimum 20 mins and maximum an hour depending on how much energy is stored in those balls (and also depending on its size). Due to a muscle that runs along the tail, some Cave Dwellers (with enough experience), can deliberately make the light of the balls flash, dim or make the light blink. This is also used as a strategy for signaling when hunting or sneaking.
Their color ranges from black to dark gray to navy blue and the markings could range from a light blue, to a normal blue to rarely sometimes a purple hue. Their horns are very sensitive, which is why its mostly there for beauty rather than defense. Their main source of defense are from their long solid claws which can give really deep cuts to an attacking predator.
Their tools of trade are mostly rare crystals or stones found only in these caves and are used mainly for jewelry or sculpting. The Cave Dwellers are pretty fond of jewelry, and so it is not uncommon to find them covered in them.
They believe that there are different energies in the crystals that range from healing energies to bad energies that cause pain and suffering. These special crystals are interpreted by the tribe's alpha female or shawoman and often used in celebrations or times of great sorrow.
The Cave Dwellers are very fond to their underground life and are almost never seen by other races. Some individuals can live all their lives underground without going out to the surface. Sometimes though, different underground tribes will meet in a sacred area of the cave and perform rituals or ceremonies for any sort of thing pretty much. Many parts of these caves remain undiscovered or untouched.

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I believe this is my longest description yet.
Anyways, hope its clear enough and to the point!

Any other questions, please feel free to ask me or ~snoopi888


Other Striedas:
Mountain Strieda
Desert Strieda
Tundra Strieda
Coastal Strieda
Savannah Strieda
Islander Strieda



Striedas (c) ~snoopi888
Art and Design by me.