Vilous | Odei and about “Firearms” in Vilous [+Pre-reading of WIP concepts, deeper-dive into the firearms in Vilous!]

Hello, Dear Vilous fans and readers~!

Today's mini lore Update will feature the unique Talyxian creature known as “Odei”, alongside a neatly refined lore description!

Alongside the creature’s lore, due to its deep relation to firearms which exist on Planet Tal, we would like to explain the presence of “firearms” in the Vilous Universe with perspective alongside insight on both canonical and meta-viewpoints.

First of all, “firearms” are basically a minority of options of the weapons within the Vilous Universe. We explain the reason within the Firearms section, from the official Wikipedia:

Currently, within the Vilous setting, there are fairly few firearms available and distributed amongst the populace, be it for hunting or self-defense. Members of the Eltus folks prefer the use of melee with bladed weapons over ranged ones as they are far more effective against Talyxian threats.

The lore for them has not been developed and the overall availability is currently unknown.

Additional to this canonical aspect reason, both Vilous Creators, Mick and Kiki, would like to be very careful and cautious when handling guns within their creative realms due to various reasons. The reasons encompass much of the Japanese own social environments and situations surrounding guns. Because this is a quite sensitive matter for them, they would like to express those with a thoughtful attitude.

Due to this, Odei is the only resource of material that could be used for gunpowder, and the available range is limited to a certain era and region.

[Note] the Flammable Talyxian plant called Fire Loquat, some people may consider it as an available material for firearms, however, it cannot be compared or said to be a source for gunpowder. Due to the Fire Loquat's composition functioning akin to that of engine oil, it is a totally different element from gunpowder.

For the details, please read and learn below!

Odei

Odei (オデイ) is a species which belongs to the Talyxian organism group.

They are a slow moving plant-type Talyxian, living in forests or wild areas, entirely unique to the Thekan regions.

This creature is known for being highly dangerous and unstable creatures and the only source of gunpowder materials that exist in Planet Tal.

Biology

Odeis are known for synthesizing combustible compounds in their body, known to explode if given almost any kind of stimulation.

They primarily eat Talyxian insects that contain a high content of minerals.

They only have one orifice, which acts like a mouth and excretion point. Odeis are morphologically classified as a species similar to Dondokos.

It is speculated that the tendrils growing out of it at seemingly random areas of the body act like "feelers" for its environment.

Ecology

The Odei, once grown large enough ( 30-50cm, about 1-1.65ft ), are prone to exploding. The seeds that are sharp like knives burst out like shrapnel, slicing other plants or animals and embedding themselves into their inner body.

From there, the seeds germinate, and then fall to the ground once they reach a large enough size to sprout their tentacle-like legs.

They have a very simple life cycle; Growing up until they are large enough to break off from the seedbed creature, traveling about on their lonesome on their stubby legs into the wilderness or desert in order to feed, and will return to the forest for breeding purposes.

Usage

On Planet Tal, gunpowder materials can be harvested only from the Odei.

However, because of the extreme danger and high mortality rate for those who try, the Eltus folks had not developed explosive technology until the later stages of Shigu in specialized, Shigu Odei treatment facilities with Agudner operatives.

— Bonus Section for Kiki's Patreons —

Firearms in the Vilous Universe

Currently, within the Vilous setting, there are fairly few firearms available and distributed amongst the populace, be it for hunting or self-defense. Members of the Eltus folks prefer the use of melee with bladed weapons over ranged ones as they are far more effective against Talyxian threats.

As this section states, bullets are usually not so effective against most if not almost all Talyxian creatures. Because firm skins on Talyxian creatures can not be easily penetrated. Even if a bullet hit on their soft tissue, it mostly soaks up the damage. Also, the gunshots can also attract unwanted attention from other Talyxian creatures.

Some people may consider using salt in bullet format (such as salt rounds), however, an easy "salt gun" that is not thoroughly designed and constructed would only make Talyxians shot by these, become rather inflamed and intense in their erratic, aggressive behaviour..

These reasons make it expensive and impractical to use firearms for hunting, where the skilled hunters are tactically able to cause more damage by slicing key areas with a blade.

About the rate of their distribution, presence and usage by region, the situation in Gold Ring can be said to be almost comparable with that of modern Japan. As Gold Ring residents dislike unexpected bloody situations, they are strongly afraid of miss-fire. Due to this, Firearms in Gold Ring nation are heavily regulated and strictly limited to only a part of people who own a legitimate license in order to handle them.

These restrictions are not applicable for Reono and Shigu as they would have a different legal status and conditions due to their different environments and situations.

As the late Shigu has established Odei treatment facilities, it may have less regulated conditions than Gold Ring. However, as the Eltus folks are generally still careful with the handling of firearms, the legal status would be more strict than countries in real life societies which have gun liberties and freedoms build around a gun culture.

As of yet, the situation in Reono is still pending, as the area itself and it’s lore is WIP.