| Arrowfish | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| General Information | |||
| Origin | Kyklos Mythos | ||
| Aliases | Vey'natala | ||
| Homeworld | Tropha | ||
| Environment | Freshwater streams but are heavily adaptable to other conditions | ||
| Intelligence | Non-sapient | ||
| Biochemistry | Carbon-based lifeform | ||
| Biological Information | |||
| Lifespan | ~3 years in the wild | ||
| Reproduction | Sexual; lays gelatinous eggs | ||
| Locomotion | Powered swimming via caudal fin | ||
| Feeding Behavior | Omnivorous | ||
| Prey | Opportunistic | ||
| Predators | Permitted | ||
| Distinctive Features | Near-perfect arrow shape | ||
| Skin Color | Red | ||
| Eye Color | Black | ||
| Cladogramatical Information | |||
| Descendant(s) | Several unnamed species in the Avarice System; likely innumerable others across the Kyklos galaxy | ||
| Cultural Information | |||
| Alignment | Unaligned | ||
| Organization | Quivers | ||
| Scientific Taxonomy | |||
| Planet | Tropha | ||
| Other Information | |||
| Status | Least concern | ||
| Creator | Somarinoa | ||
| Last Sighting | Current (3420s) | ||
| Population | Unknown, but likely in the trillions | ||
Arrowfish (Vey'natala in the original Trophan language) is a species of ichthyoid found on an indeterminate number of planets throughout the Kyklos Galaxy due to introduction to worlds by the Permitted, who see them as a fresh food source when hunting on other worlds. Many times the arrowfish numbers will not be properly handled and some members of the species may unintentionally be left on the planet when the Permitted leave; other times the Permitted may purposely leave them there if they intend to continuously return to the world for later hunts.
Physiology[]
The body of an arrowfish is considered to be almost perfectly arrow-shaped, with a tapered head and flared dorsal and anal fins. Their body is normally a bright red but can be shades of paler red hues. Fins are golden or yellow. Beaks can be gold, yellow, bone, or white. Irises can vary in color although in the usual diurnal state the iris is small and sometimes barely noticeable while in specimens that have adapted to a nocturnal life the pupil fills the entire visible space of the eye.
Background history[]
Arrowfish are an ancient food source for Permitted on the hunt, being a cosmopolitan species across much of the planet. Later studies revealed just how adaptive these organisms truly were to new conditions and it was determined that they were perfect to take to safari worlds under establishment for the Permitted to feast on, to not risk feeding on indigenous species to the world that the Permitted may find that they could not digest.
Because of this arrowfish are found on thousands of planets across Kyklos where the hunters either intentionally established a population to stay on-world or instead failed to collect all members placed into the hunting zone. In certain locations this has led to extinction events where the arrowfish become invasive species, and in other locations they fit into a niche well and do not cause major damage. Because of their wide area of effect, they are considered both galactic pets (where sapients collect them for display as a fancy pet) and pests (where they have become invasive).
Media appearances[]
The Vuunega Chronicles (2006-2008)[]
Original concept.
Arrowfish appear during the introduction to the Permitted in the unnamed Chapter 7 (2007), where the Permitted hunting party release a quiver of them from stasis into a nearby river within the Deep Mangrove area of Southern Zeeon. The players never dealt with the impact of killing the Permitted and leaving the arrowfish in the biome before the game ended due to the low ratings of the release of the associated Spore.
The Vuunega Chronicles: The Story of the Aurix (2007)[]
The Arrowfish were expected to appear in a later campaign in the game, following the events of Chapter 8. However, only the events from Chapter 1 were every actually programmed into the game.
Amalgam Online (2010)[]
Arrowfish appear on numerous worlds in this top-down 2D MMORPG.
Xrosroads (2011)[]
Arrowfish appear in all waters within this 3D MMORPG. They can be harvested and consumed by piscivorous player species, or bought at Great Trade Organization shops for food as well. They can also be purchased to fill an aquarium in the player's home.
Immortal Greed 1 (2012)[]
Arrowfish, evolved into a few different new species, can be found in the many bodies of water in this game. A few low-level missions involve their study or otherwise obtaining. Players who choose to play Aolu, Aurix, Azghora, Banned, Bhulliburds, Ciitarkians, Diplods, Fafni, Glites, Henzaps, Isks, Laavols, Lunacites, Massocions, Sectyds, Tauntars, Terrans, Voiasensos, Zalts, Zaryns, Zazlotls, and Zomms can all consume arrowfish as a sustenance item.
Monster Space (2013)[]
Arrowfish appear as background wildlife in freshwater river biomes in this 2D action-platformer RPG. They can be harvested for food.
Dangerous Wilds (2014)[]
Arrowfish serve the same purpose here as they do in Monster Space, but now they also must be harvested to feed any potential Permitted colonists planned to inhabit settlements. The player can set up an aquatic farm for them to harvest them easier, and they can also place them in aquariums meant for aesthetics that will also increase citizen morale, lowering percentage of panic during monster invasions.
Immortal Greed 2: Unrest (2014)[]
The arrowfish are the first signs that something is going wrong when they begin to die off in droves. More missions are dedicated to them and they are not found in nearly as great of numbers as they were before, with the exception of toxic species that are now double their original amounts. The same 22 player races can feed off the nontoxic breeds as they could before.
Grown (2016)[]
Arrowfish appear as background organisms during Chapter 23.
Immortal Greed 3: Chaos (2016)[]
Typical arrowfish have become significantly more rare during this stage, though new species have suddenly evolved that are actually dangerous to players. The same species as the rest of the Immortal Greed series can still feed on them.
Roguestar (2022)[]
Icon in Roguestar.
"Found all throughout the galaxy, these are a staple of survival." |
Arrowfish can be fished up from fishing spot tiles in this 2D roguelite. Eating them as an item in the inventory will increase the player's HP. The largest and smallest sizes caught will also be recorded in the player's bestiary/record book.
Behind the scenes[]
- The Arrowfish was created for The Vuunega Chronicles for the Aurix interactive fiction written on the GameFAQs forums around 2007-2008. They were intended to show what the Permitted, a species at the time recently created and thus without backstory, and what their culture was like involving hunting and introducing species to other planets.