The natives of the Sea of Glass are a sentient, bipedal cetacean of massive size. They call themselves simply Pono al a Ono, or “The Climbers”, as they are the only species they know of that is at home in both the water, and on land.
A Pono al a Ono
Physical Description[]
Adults grow to be between 60 and 70 feet long and weight roughly 30 tons. They have blowholes along the top of their head behind their eyes, a wide predatory mouth. Their legs are developed for swimming, with claws for climbing. Like their cousins the whales and dolphins, they breathe air but are adapted to swimming and diving to great depths. It is not unusual for them to take a two hour dive to the lower reaches of their realm. Despite their size and large mouth, their voices are high and squeaky. Their native language is high pitches shrills and clicks that travel through water very well. They cannot reproduce human languages sufficiently to speak it, though their hearing range is sufficient to understand it.
Diet and Lifestyle[]
They are carnivores, feeding on large fish, sharks, and having a special craving for mollusks and clams. Primitive, they spend their days diving and playing in the water, and climb out into simple caves in the rocks at night. They weave seaweed into rugs and curtains to decorate their homes. Some species of large whale are killed for their hides, which they tan for leather belts. They also manage and tend beds of clams and bivalves, keeping the predatory mollusks and fish at bay. This can be problematic, as a large Opea’a’ dwells in the deeps and uses its massive jaws to consume shellfish by the mouthful. It is big enough and aggressive enough to injure them when it comes out of the depths at night to feed.
Two Pono in a mating dance
They are a family oriented species, with pairs mating for life and spending as much time together as possible. They have little interst in the outside world, considering their home a paradise made for their kind. Adults can live to nearly 200 years, barring injury or accident. Every decade or so, a couple might decide to have a child, so their population grows slowly.
Known members of the Species[]
Gonzo the Great - b. 330, d.?. Councilperson for AQUA from ? to 465.
Sweetums - b. 360, d.? Aide to Gonzo the Great