The Native Tribes are the original sentient inhabitants of VOI 700 D, which they call “Shang Gha Lha”. These towering, agile beings live in harmony with the planet’s diverse ecosystems and are spread across the planet’s Habitual Belt. Their shared language, mythology, and cultural structures suggest a mysterious common origin, which is later revealed to be the work of the Zonko.

Although nearly all tribes dwell within the Habitual Belt, the Zark — an abandoned subtribe of the Honga — are the only known people who live permanently beyond it, inhabiting the Dark Side’s Ralar Region.

Though all tribes share a common origin, their bodies exhibit distinct, tribe-specific traits—most visibly in eye count and placement, nose shape, and ear morphology. Examples include the Honga (three eyes; a third median eye on the forehead) and the Orlanda (five eyes; two paired eyes flanking the nose plus a single forehead eye).

The total population of the Native Tribes is estimated at ~2.5 million.

While they share a recognizable silhouette and physiology, each tribe diverges in several hallmark features:

• Stature: Average > 2.00 meters; athletic, long-limbed.
• Eyes : Two exohumanlike eyes above the nose, plus a third median eye centered on the forehead.
• Vision Profile: Extended spectral sensitivity (low-light and motion emphasis); distribution of peripheral vs. frontal acuity varies by layout.
• Nose (tribal variants): From narrow, high-bridged noses (dry-air optimized) to broader, fluted or multi-valve noses (humid/aquatic optimized).
• Ears (tribal variants): Highly sensitive ear cups; shapes range from humanoid to curved/bent backward (wind-resistant) to wide, petal-like lobes.
• Skin: Color-shifting with seasonal cycles; microchromatophores modulate tone/pattern for thermoregulation and signaling.
• Hair: Human-like; style, thickness, and color often mark clan and season.
• Feet: Commonly webbed to semi-webbed; degree varies with wetland proximity.
• Dentition: Flat teeth suited to vegetarian cuisine; tool-chewing wear patterns in craft clans.
• Vibro-sense: Subdermal receptors detect ground-borne vibration and shallow-water current flows.

Although they appear purely biological, the Natives are highly advanced bio-engineered hybrids created by the Zonko. Their abilities derive from embedded nanotechnology and biomechanical enhancements—unknown to the Natives themselves and treated as “spirit gifts.”

• Spirit Awakening: At ~age four, children undergo a sudden leap to adult-level awareness and motor skill.
• Regeneration: Accelerated healing; limited limb regrowth under optimal conditions.
• Death Date Knowledge: From the Awakening, each Native claims to know their exact death date.
• Silent Communion: Non-verbal transmission of emotions/thoughts within short range.
• Tribal Modularity: The same core blueprint expresses different morphological “packages” (eyes/ears/nose) suited to each tribe’s biome.

The Natives maintain no written history and are unaware of their engineered origin. Oral traditions and rites present them as emergent from Shang Gha Lha’s spirit. ExoHuman timekeeping places their first appearance near 2500 AD, shortly after the Zonko initiated the tidal-lock experiment.

• Tribal Autonomy: Independent polities sharing language roots and spiritual ethics.
• Child-Rearing: Communal parenting; “children of the village,” not of exclusive parents.
• Rites: The Spirit Awakening; seasonal festivals; clan-totem oaths.
• Belief: The creation myth Vai’Sharin describes godlike beings shaping the people to guard the world.
• Language: Shang Telu with regional dialects; songlines encode laws and maps.
• Art: Skin-marking, woven garments, carved bone/wood, rhythmic polyphonies; motifs often mirror each tribe’s ocular/aural geometry.

• Symbiotic Techne: Tools from bone, wood, stone, chitin, fiber; minimal extractive footprint.
• Hidden Biotech: Embedded nanites power regeneration, perception, and memory consolidation—unrecognized by Natives.
• Low-Energy Paradigm: No dependence on advanced energy systems; seasonal surplus governs project scale.

• ExoHumans: Conflict during the Great War; post-war dominance by Natives via the Peace Treaty and the Permanent Native Supervisor. Exchanges include ritual diplomacy, guided access to resources, and strict movement rules.
• Zonko: Revered as creators within myth; actual bioengineering origin unknown to most Natives and unproven to ExoHumans.

• Alliance of Native Tribes (Asari) — post-war diplomatic body enforcing the Peace Treaty.
• Spiritual Leaders: Custodians of rites, law, and inter-tribal arbitration.
• Warrior Castes: Present in several tribes (notably Honga, Zark); serve as guardians and ceremonial actors.

Use the Native Tribes as a pillar of setting identity—body-plan diversity (e.g., Honga 3-eye, Orlanda 5-eye) signals biome adaptation, ritual role, and perception style.

• Identity & Memory: Reveal the engineered truth slowly through relics, anomalies, or Zonko ruins.
• Morphology as Mechanics: Sight cones, blind spots, or enhanced lateral awareness can matter in stealth, parley, and combat.
• Ethical Tension: Balance between ecological stewardship and ExoHuman pragmatism drives diplomacy, scarcity, and law.
• Regional Flavor: Distinguish tribes by eye layout, ear form, nose structure, garment weave, and ritual sound.

• Zonko
• Shang Telu
• Vai’Sharin
• Alliance of Native Tribes
• Habitual Belt
• Known Native Tribes on VOI 700 D

The races of the storyworld:

• ExoHumans
• Native Tribes of VOI 700 D
• Zonko