Ijtikri

Ijtikris are a species of stone-faced terrestrial squid native to Vesk-2. Colloquially called stone-faced squids, ijtikris protect their soft mantle within a rocky shell. Upon metamorphosing into an adult, each ijtikri joins the nearest community they can find, eagerly integrating with their newly adopted family.

Around six millennia ago, ijtikris first adopted stone tools and transitioned from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to a sedentary agricultural one. When the Vesk arrived, their Iron Age city states provided little resistance, and within a few years, Vesk-2 became part of the Veskarium. After millennia of integration, ijtikris have become respected and content members of the Veskarium. Despite having inscrutable expressions hidden by their shells and tentacles, ijtikris are affectionate and loyal toward their adoptive families.

Modern ijtikris have largely adopted vesk culture. Since newly-mature ijtikris readily accept almost any accepting group as family, they make natural recruits for Veskarium organizations. Those who remain in Vesk-2 contribute to local industries like fish farming, salt production and defrex ranching.

While ijtikris have traditionally avoided the ancient ruins on Vesk-2 that predate their own culture, the vesk instead explore them despite ijtikri pleading, which has been a source of contention between the two species.