Florian: Difference between revisions

{{Era|Forerunner}}

{{SeeWikipedia|Homo floresiensis}}

{{New Content}}

{{Species Infobox

|image=[[File:Homo floresiensis.jpg|150px]]<br>A fossilised Florian skull.

The '''Florians''' were a people of a diminutive species of [[human]] taxonomically referred to as [[wikipedia:Homo floresiensis|'''Homo ''floresiensis''''']] and called '''cha''manune''''' (plural '''cha''manush''''')<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''Rebirth Narrative''</ref> by contemporary humans themselves.<ref group="note">The names for cha''manush'' and and ha''manush'', used in ''Halo: Cryptum'' to refer to Chakas' and [[Riser]]'s species, respectively, are reversed in ''Halo: Primordium''. Whether this was an intentional change or an error is unknown.</ref> They were native to [[Earth]],<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 23''</ref> and later specific to several islands, notably [[Wikipedia:Flores|Flores]] in [[Wikipedia:Indonesia|Indonesia]] and [[Wikipedia:Hawaii|Hawaii]].<ref name="p32">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 32-33''</ref> The species is known to have survived up until around 13,000 BCE and possibly as recently as 10,000 BCE, living contemporaneously with "modern" humans, Homo ''sapiens''.<ref name="wiki">[[Wikipedia:Homo floresiensis|''Homo floresiensis'' on '''Wikipedia''']]</ref> Though Florians are believed to have gone extinct, various folktales on the islands they used to inhabit appear to be based on them, including the small-sized people known as [[Wikipedia:Menehune|''Menehune'']] in Hawaiian mythology.<ref name="p32"/>

Before the activation of the [[Halo Array]], Florians had extensive contact with other human and hominid species, and one, [[Riser]], served as a guide to [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], a young Forerunner looking for [[Precursor]] artifacts. The [[Librarian]] had imprinted Riser's ancestors with a ''[[geas]]'' that made the subsequent generations seek a way to bypass the defenses around [[the Didact]]'s [[Cryptum]] in the [[Djamonkin Crater]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 55''</ref>

They possessed more "primitive" characteristics than modern humans, including a reduced mandible, lacking a chin, and a smaller cranial capacity and proportionally smaller brain, though were still intelligent. Their most outstanding feature was their small stature, standing at a little over a meter tall.<ref name="wiki"/> Cha''manush'' were remarkably long-lived; Riser was around 200 years old when he met Bornstellar, and he was still "just a youngster" according to [[Chakas]].<ref name="c35">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 35''</ref> At least Florian males were remarkably hirsute, with most of their bodies and faces covered in fur-like hair.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 181''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 296''</ref>

The [[Didact]] described the Florians as "peaceful, yet full of cleverness" and asked them to be preserved following the [[Human-Forerunner War]]. After the war, Florians were favored by the Forerunners as a servant species, often amusing and instructing their young.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 82, 86''</ref> Family and ancestry were noted to be important in Florian culture. It was said that unlike [[Hamanune|ha''manush'']], Cha''manush'' "lived with ancestors in their heads", suggesting that they may have possessed a special connection to their ancestors, possibly a genetic memory of some kind.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 109''</ref> This may have been due to the influence of the Librarian.

Besides regular speech, the Florians living circa [[100,000 BCE]] communicated in a variety of ways, including "stare-whistle" and "click-song"; clicking noises made with their tongue and cheeks.<ref name="c35"/> When communicating in regular speech, Florians spoke in a truncated, simplistic manner; however, their own language, complemented by various gestures and clicking sounds, was highly elegant and complex, including, among other traits, a large amount of inflections and declensions, as well as verb tenses which recognized thirteen different grammatic genders and four directions of time.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 213-214''</ref>

The Florian naming system was notably complex, with an individual having a family name, a personal name, and a considerably longer "long name"; for example, [[Riser]]'s family name was ''"Day-Chaser"'', his personal name ''"Morning Riser"'', and his long name ''"Day-Chaser Makes Paths Long-stretch Morning Riser"''. However, they were typically only called by their first name and rarely revealed their full names to outsiders.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 33''</ref><ref name="c35"/>

<references group="note"/>

<references/>

[[Category:Human]]