Tsla

The Tsla are one of the three native sapient species which inhabit the planet Horseye, a.k.a. Tslamaina. They live in the temperate intermediary altitudes of their world's single continent, between the areas inhabited by the Mai and the Na.

Biology
Like the Mai and the Na, the Tsla are mammalian bipeds with six-fingered hands and six-toed feet. They are comparable to Humans in height, but may appear shorter due to their curved necks. They are the most adaptable of the three races, faring better in temperate and cold temperatures but being able to tolerate the hot humid environment of the Mai, as well as the frigid lands of the Na.

Tsla are covered in brown fur which becomes silvery as they age. Only their forearms and forelegs are naked. Their faces are dominated by a 15 cm long tapir-like snout or trunk, which gives them an acute sense of smell. The ears are short and round, and the nostrils are placed at the tip of the snout. They have a stubby tail, about 5 to 6 cm long.

Tsla are naturally ambidextrous.

Culture and society
Like the Mai and the Na, Tsla are a pre-steam civilization. Their culture places an unusual emphasis on mental health and spiritual growth. Criminals are treated like patients, in need of cure rather than punishment. Spiritual administrators practice a science analogous to psychoanalysis, and are valued to the point of holding half the seats of government. The Tsla have no organized army or police forces, but all citizens bear arms when defending their settlements.

Despite their spiritualism, Tsla are not superstitious and have no concept of luck. They believe that killing "civilized" beings is sacrilegious, but have no problem with killing "uncivilized" beings, i.e. enemies. Anyone considered "uncivilized" can be killed without remorse, as they consider slaughtering enemies to be as natural as seeking shelter from the rain. Their funeral rites involve necrophilia.

Appearances

 * Voyage to the City of the Dead, by Alan Dean Foster (1984)