II Mythos Races once, but there is no social or 300 years of age are found in the biological imperative to so older forests Zoogs breed more quickly Life Cycle than Zoogs give birth to to after leaving home (so, from 10 to 15 days The blind, to years of age) It then nearly-embryonic young are has up to eight viable progeny, only about a centimeter long, which it raises to maturity When perfectly sized for the mother to those babies leave home, the zoog is pick them up and put them into her these become her chosen This is often but not always the right-hand pouch; she-zoogs are “left-pouched” or “right-pouched”, just as humans are “right-handed” or “left-handed.” All the other young are placed into her less-preferred pouch, and become off-pouch Each pouch normally has four internal nipples, so if five or other is ready to mate within a year gestation period of only or most interesting young into her favored pouch, and any sentient race A typical zoog 12 (2d4+4) babies after a pouches She puts the four best-looking almost ready to mate again This means that a typical zoog first mates around the age of 4, and then has almost exactly eight surviving offspring about every four years following this This means that twenty pairs of breeding zoogs (a typical colonization group) can increase to 50,000 adult zoogs in only two decades Society more babies are off-pouch, only four survive—typically Each individual zoog forest is its own independent the strongest or fastest The others starve within a day nation, responsible for its own treaties and decisions or two, and the mother cleans them out of the pouch Zoogs never go to war with other zoogs, and are and eats them bemused by the fact that other sentient races fight The pouchlings stay attached to the mother’s amongst themselves Not engaging in such strife nipples and don’t leave the pouch for to months does not preclude them from taking advantage of it, When they emerge, fully-furred and capable of life on however their own, they are now called “zooglets.” They usually stay in or near the parental home until maturity Zoog society and social importance are closely tied to their biology Zoogs raised in their mother’s Zoogs reach full size, intelligence, and sexual preferred pouch are the chosen, promoted and trusted maturity in to years, depending on how well they’re as the upper tier of zoog society, while those raised in fed Once the young are completely independent, the the inferior pouch are the off-pouch and are considered parents move on as well Zoogs can live for a long lower class Because each pouch has four nipples, there time—much longer than most small mammals are almost never more off-pouch than chosen and vice Zoogs older than 30 to 40 years are forced to extend versa in a given zoog forest, notwithstanding death and their longevity through magical potions, forest herbs, infant mortality The chosen vs off-pouch hierarchy or spells Zoogs with access to these age-defeating is the most fundamental differentiation within zoog techniques can live for many decades, and zoogs over society, and forms the basis of their system of nobility 43