Belzagor Native

The Nildoror (singular: Nildor) and the Sulidoror (singular: Sulidor) are the native sapient inhabitants of the planet Belzagor (formerly known to Humans as Holman's World). At first believed to be two distinct species, the two are actually one and the same.

Nildoror
The Nildoror are large quadrupedal herbivores that bear a striking resemblance to an Earth elephant, albeit their movements and skeletal structure are noticeably different. They stand over 3 meters in height and have hairless skin, a long tail, three pairs of tusks, short horns and a crest of spines on their foreheads that moves to express feelings and complement their vocal language. Their eyes are the size of a platter. They have pleated ears and a long elephantine trunk that ends in three finger-like appendages. Their diet includes leaves, barks and mobile fungi.

Nildoror from the Western hemisphere have green skin that turns bluish-grey in old age, whereas those of the Eastern hemisphere are pinkish-grey. Females can be distinguished by their tusks, which are shorter than those of the males.

Sulidoror
Unlike the Nildoror, the Sulidoror are bipedal and omnivorous, with eyes positioned in front of their heads, befitting a creature that hunts. Their appearance is similar to a 3 meter tall ground sloth, with a massive tail, hooded eyes, and a tapir-like snout with deadly fangs. Their hands are armed with retractable claws that can kill a Human in a single strike with ease (although they won't do this without another Human's permission), and their feet also have spurs. They are covered in shaggy reddish-brown fur that turns oxidised bronze with age.

Rebirth ritual
Early in their history, Nildoror were born, grew old and died as Nildoror. At some point, they discovered that consuming the poison of a serpentine slug-like creature triggered a form of metamorphosis that transformed them into what would eventually become known as the Sulidoror. At first exiled to the country of the mist, some Sulidoror eventually underwent the ritual again to become Nildoror, and returned to the tropics to gather more converts. Gradually, the custom spread globally and nowadays, all Belzagor natives live cyclically, alternating from Nildor to Sulidor form every few years or decades depending on the individual.

Since the rebirth ritual also rejuvenates the body, the natives of Belzagor are potentially immortal and reproduce rarely. Children are born only to replace those who have died.

In addition to changing them physically, the rebirth ritual also affects their minds in mysterious ways and allows those who undertake it to be in touch with the minds of each other and communicate from afar. Humans who have gone through rebirth have experienced different results, some coming out hideously deformed whereas others experience no change physically, but gain access to the ability to communicate with each other by telepathy. Some have even left their physical bodies behind and ascended to a non-corporeal existence.

Culture and society
The Nildoror are a non-technological species that spends their lives in their homeworld's forests, foraging for food. Although they reproduce rarely, they engage in sexual acts for recreation. They have no government, no written language, and don't seem to even have a concept of abstract symbols. For instance, the idea of using a map to represent a country is incomprehensible to them, as they see the map as a group of lines only. The Sulidoror, while similar in most respects, display some use of technology, such as building huts to live in.

The rebirth ceremony is an important aspect of the culture of Nildoror and Sulidoror. When young Nildoror are deemed ready, they migrate to the mist country to undergo their first rebirth. The ceremony is organized by Sulidoror, who likewise take part in it. By consuming the mutagenic poison produced by a serpentine slug-like creature, their bodies undergo a gradual process of mutation: Nildoror transform into Sulidoror and vice-versa. The cycle of rebirth allows them to refresh their perspective on life, living part of their lives as herbivores and another part as predators.

Despite being the same species, Nildoror and Sulidoror speak different languages under normal circumstances, although they can speak each other's languages if needed.

History
Their planet, Belzagor, was colonized by Humans, who treated the Nildoror as servants and had little contact with the Sulidoror, unaware of their true nature. The planet was freed from Earth imperialism in 2239.

Appearances

 * Downward to the Earth, by Robert Silverberg (1970)