[WRITER] WILLING TO WRITE LORE FOR FREE

Hello, game developers! I'm a lore writer looking to build a portfolio. As such, I am looking to write lore for your projects for free. I specialise in scifi and fantasy. For those looking to add me to your team, please be sure to specify the length of time/amount of data/other qualifier for completion. I need to know when exactly I am done in order to move onto other projects. If royalties/commissions are possible, please let me know! Though I am willing to work for free, money is very, very nice, as I am currently unable to work most jobs.

Below, I have lore that I created for my own scifi game, Galactic Lust Crisis. I own all of the information in this post, including the images. I do apologise for the old artwork. The quality is bad, and both examples are of space-faring people, so their clothing is not traditional for their species. Google Docs said it came to 14 pages of information, so feel free to simply scroll through rather than read the whole thing. Information on reproduction is spoilered. It is written as scientifically as my vocabulary allows, but it may still make people uncomfortable, given the detail. The information includes the physical and cultural description of the species in their main stage of life, as well as the role their later stage of life plays in their various societies. Things not yet included are racial distinctions, imago physical description, government (rather, city-state alliances recognized intergalactically), and in-detail geographical distinctions.




Species: Zinraf, Plrl Zinrafs
Origin Planet: Raftel
Races: Narr, Rinae, Kalemin, Daknest, Boriderr, Lentos
Skin Tone: Light orange to purple.
Fur: Yes (hair)
Fur Location: Top of the head, can grow along the ‘spine’. Males and some intersex grow fur on the chest, down the center of the belly, to cover the penis sheath. Females grow hair on the front of the vagina
Fur Color: Green to purple going through blue ranges.
Eye Colors: Red to purple, of varying intensities, saturations, lightness and darkness.
Pupil shape: Round
Physical special: They have semiochemical “horns” extending through their skull.

Physical features: Zinraf are generally humanoid. Their major differences on sight are their “tails” and “horns”. The “tails” are actually ovipositors. In those who do not lay eggs (males and some intersex), the canal is absent and the orifice is closed, and so it most closely resembles a tail. In females and some intersex, the ovipositor is thicker, as the muscles are better developed, and the canal runs through its entirety. The end is flared, in order to provide suction when egglaying.

The “horns” are actually sensitive stalks filled with many exocrine semiochemical glands. The pheromones, allomones and synonomes excreted by these stalks have a wide variety of applications. They are used socially amongst their species and with subservient species (pets); they’re used predatorily to draw prey closer to their location; they offer some control over some species; are used symbiotically with host trees to incite the production of certain chemicals that can temporarily harden the bark or change the tree’s flavor; they are often used sexually to secrete aphrodisiacs, indicate sexual availability or breeding viability.

The less visible aspects of zinrafs distinguish them even more strongly against other intelligent species. They are actually a type of bug, similar to insects. Their “skin” is actually an exoskeleton. Unlike insects on earth, their exoskeleton hardens very slowly. This allows it to be very flexible and eliminates the need for segmented body parts. It is why the zinraf are famed for having both flexibility and toughness, as even their softer exoskeleton is still tougher than the skins of most species. The exoskeleton hardening process is a strange one, with a short burst after molting until the point where movement is not obstructed by a lack of stiffness, lasting about a day. This is followed by a long period of slow hardening that lasts several months. The last period lasts several days, and hardens to the point where it is more similar to an insect’s stiffness, and the zinraf cannot move. At that point, they begin the molting process. These periods of hardening exoskeleton are called teer, bayt and jont, respectively, in Global Zinraf. When a zinraf feels jont (severe hardening) beginning, they usually make arrangements to be at home or an otherwise safe space for the duration of jont and the following teer (very soft stage). Intergalactically, teer is seen as an attractive time to engage in interspecific coitus.

Zinraf grow hair on their heads, upper or complete ‘spine’ (as vertibrates tend to call the middle of the zinraf’s backs, though they have no spine), and sometimes the middle of the chest and belly (like the ‘spine’ hair, in a line), and especially covering the penile sheath in males and some intersex. This hair does not function to keep them warm, but as sensing devices, primarily for semiochemicals. Their olfactory organ is used for other scents. They also have shorter, soft and fine hair covering their limbs and especially their hands, feet, and the tip of the ovipositor. These hairs can stiffen at will, to allow better adhesion. When relaxed, most of the hair is near invisible, and can only be noticed when closely inspecting concentrated areas.

Reproduction:

Life cycle: When zinraf hatch, they usually eat their way out, and immediately cling to the nearest surface. After eating their eggs, and the ones that failed to hatch, they remain clinging to the branch or surface they had been laid on, for several days. This allows them to go through the entire molting process, usually only once. Once they have reached their second bayt, they start using their hair to follow their mother’s pheromone scent. Mothers tend to stay near their clutch when it is near hatching, though even in this day and age, newly hatched zinraf travelling busy byways in search of their mother still happens. The mother typically feeds her children food, the same food adult zinrafs eat. The word adult here means mentally fully developed. This distinction is necessary because both children and adult zinraf are often larvae. The life of the zinraf larvae is long, lasting almost a century, before they enter the chrysallis phase. The chrysallis phase lasts about a month, during which the family typically grieves. After the asexual imago emerges from the pupa, the zinraf’s priorities change considerably. Whereas the larvae tend to behave like most sentient beings building and running a society, pursuing knowledge or arts, raising a family - the imago focuses only on serving their queen. A queen could be created from any zinraf, so no one knows until they exit the pupa. Scientists are still unsure what dictates who becomes a queen. The current theory is that zinrafs release pheromones that only the pupa can sense, which they use to determine the demographics of the nearby zinraf population. When these demographics reach certain exact levels, the pupa initiates the transformation into a queen. How pupa communicate in order to ensure that multiple queens aren’t produces in a certain radius is also unknown, but is again theorised to be due to pheromones. Drone zinraf do not communicate with larvae, and basically ignore them, though they make sure to avoid causing them harm. They occasionally save larvae who are in an accident or fall from a tree. It is unknown what causes this, as they often ignore such incidents when it happens right in front of them. The queen usually directs them to feed her or build. The buildings she has them create serve the larvae, though nothing stops the larvae from living elsewhere.

The queen is the only imago that eats, and she alone can communicate with the larvae. Queen is an appropriate term, for the imago are treated almost like divine creatures, and the Queen takes the role of both ruler and deity. Religious sentients of other species have a hard time understanding the relationships zinraf have with their imago and queen. It is not quite a religion, but the reverence is similar to religion. The Queen only speaks to larvae she has designated as priests or priestesses. Her choices are unrelated to her larva life. Queens have never revealed how much they remember from their life as larva, though it is clear that some memory persists. However, they are detached from that life, and all ties made in that life are not only broken, but seem to no longer exist. That is why zinraf grieve when a loved one becomes a pupa. What comes out is a different, unrelated being. Queens use education from their previous life, as well as education given by priestesses, to guide their decision making. Though their primary duty is to direct the drones in order to build for the larvae, larvae occasionally petition her. This usually regards something of importance to the entire nest. The queen is also usually asked by larvae to appoint leaders amongst their numbers. The Queen is treated as extremely wise, with an understanding of the universe throughout time. This is not the case, and Queen intelligence is just as variable as a larvae. Whether it increases from the larva’s intelligence is unknown, as Queens do not speak much outside of orders or short declarations. They appear to be emotionless, though rumor persists that this is a front, and that they speak freely and emotionally with their priestsesses, and even engage in recreational activities from games to sex (though they cannot be impregnated by larvae or drones). Drones do not eat, and live short lives, usually only a week. Queens can live for about half a century before dying. Queens also reproduce asexually. The stages of these offspring are exactly like other zinraf.

Planetary Geography: Most of the planet is very warm, with rainforest-like environments covering mosts landmasses (with plant diversity in different areas), and deserts covering the equator. The equator is so hot as to be deadly for many species. There is also large bodies of water, and swamps are common on the outsides of rainforests. Fires are common, but usually only burn the quick growing plants on the forest floor. The taller plants and trees are extremely fire resistant.
Government(s):
Culture(s): Zinrafs generally are born, live, and die in the same hive. That is not to say that interhive travel is rare. Travelling is common. However, most zinrafs want to serve the queen of their hive when they become an imago, as well as wanting their family to be there to grieve for them. So, one usually keeps one’s home in the hive they were born in. Zinrafs who leave the planet also feel a strong need to return, though there have been cases of colonisation on other planets.

Zinraf usually live in citystates, called hives. The hives are built by drones, ordered by the queen. Due to the queens being educated on technological progresses, hives are changed drastically every decade and advance to accommodate new technologies.

Though drones create the hives, larvae are the ones who run it and provide maintenance (though a drone may fix large destruction). Larvae civilisation is similar to many other sentient species in several ways. The advancement of technology in order to bring greater convenience to zinraf is a major focus. The acquisition of food is also important. Drones usually perform most labor on farms, but it is larvae who develop new agricultural technologies, usually through observation and a wish to ease the burdens of imago. Clothing, entertainment, transportation, healthcare and so on are all needs that larvae solve on their own. Scientific curiosity is an instinctive part of zinrafs as a whole, as well as a sense for art.

Because of this, Zinrafs do have jobs and an economy. They tend to favor communism, as their drive to provide for their queen encourages cooperation in the acquisition of necessities as opposed to competition. Non-necessities and larvae-specific items may create competition, but mass produced items are usually still treated as communal property. Non-mass produced items or items not widely available are more likely to be bartered over than exchanged for currency. Currency has been a concept in zinraf cultures, but didn’t enter wide usage until they made contact with species from other planets and began trade. Currency is the same globally, the same credits that the Federation uses.

Zinraf society could be considered tribal. A hive usually have several clans that are led by chiefs chosen by the queen, and these chiefs usually form a council. This may not be the case in every hive, but is typical. Clans are based on both parents, so one usually belongs to two clans. It is great tabboo to mate with someone who shares both clans. It is preferred to mate with someone who shares no clans with you, but sharing a single clan may be acceptable. First cousins are usually the exception to that.
Hives normally have castes, as well. These are usually dependent on ability, tested after a zinraf’s 100th molting. Schooling is public for as long as the zinraf wants to attend, as long as it doesn’t interfere with work. After their 100th molting, zinraf enter apprenticeship within their caste. Public education is no longer mandatory once they graduate from apprenticeship. Castes can be changed, but it is rare.

Zinraf born from the queen are usually treated like nobility. They are provided for by the community, are respected, and have their own caste and clan. They are not required to work. Their children, however, belong to their other parent’s clan, and are tested as normal. They are not treated any more special than any other zinraf not born directly from the queen.

Zinraf tend to strongly favor piercings and tattoos. Tattoos hold great symbolism, indicating clan, caste, position, level of respect, level of affection, age, adult status, hive, and so on. Most zinraf have tools that allow tattoos on the fly, so that one can reward another with a tattoo. In the past, when zinraf used slower, more primitive tools, there was a ritual for every tattoo. Now, however, usually only a word or phrase from the relevant ritual is spoken while a tattoo device finishes the tattoo in seconds or less.
Piercings are also common, especially subdermal piercings. They usually only last until the next molt, but can be reapplied. Piercings are usually simply cosmetic, though priestesses and children of the queen have specific piercings.

Culture changes from hive to hive, but there are usually small changes between neighboring hives. Hives on the other side of the world, however, will share many of the above but may be otherwise completely different.
Most hives are in the northern hemisphere, but there are also some in the south. The desert across the equator has been traditionally difficult to cross. Criminals are usually tattooed for their crimes, which changes how they are dealt with socially considerably. However, when crimes are severe, they are tattood as an exile, and are exiled from the hive. Other hives will not accept an exile. Exiles would have to travel very far to find a hive where their exile tattoo is not understood. Because of that, exiles are the most likely to cross the desert. Most die, but from those who live, they start their own hives. After technology advanced enough to allow anyone to cross the desert, it was found that most of them almost always became a queen when crossing, which was actually the beginning of the demographic theory of queen developement. The culture in the south is dynamically different, and completely lacks tattoos. Piercings are still common. The economy is more likely to be feudalistic, with the Queens and drones treated like serfs. Crime is also rampant, though hives typically attempt to have order. Southern hives are seen as barbaric. Since education and discipline are lacking, Southern hives are typically technologically backwards. In recent times, however, they’ve started raiding northern hives. Wars have been started over this, but only because they harmed queens or drones. Over time, southern hives learned that there was usually no physical backlash as long as they did not harm hives or drones. Northern zinraf were typically peaceful. Violent zinraf… well, they were sent south, which only exacerbated their issues with order down south. Noticeably, southern zinraf tend to be a racial hodgepodge. Northern hives tend to have one racial majority, though which race that is depends on the hive. Racial minorities usually travelled from different hives and found a mate in the new hive, or descended from such parents. Or were the descendants of exiles that had travelled far. Racial minorities, north or south, were not usually treated differently. There were some hives that were exceptions. Either specific races were not welcome due to enmity between hives, or the hive was just generally xenophobic. Either case was usually only in areas where there were a scarcity of resources. In current times, this is usually only cultural, without purpose, as technology has made scarcity issues redundant. Though the Raftel and intergalactic internets has allowed many hives to communicate, most hives do not attempt to police others, and so prejudiced hives often remain so. The southern hives usually do not have an internet connection. Though the internet is wireless, the desert is too wide to allow it to reach across. There are research facilities in the deserts, but they tend to hug the northern end. Some hives promote charity and attempt to better the lives in the south, knowing that most are not exiles, but descendants of exiles. These attempts at charity are often met with animosity, or abuse of their goodwill. Attempts to provide a hive with internet usually failed due to the actions of southern hives. When they didn’t, the lack of discipline and the unwillingness of northern zinraf to say behind led to the connections collapsing. On the rare occasion that someone chose to stay behind, they were almost always murdered.

Zinraf tend to wear clear clothing, sheer clothing, small amounts of clothing or clear clothing with specific spots covered in design. This allows tattooos to be easily seen and read. Even if the south, this fashion persists, however, to allow space for body hair besides the top of the head to be able to scent pheromones, which is necessary for normal communication, let alone majority of interactions with any living creature.