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SpeculativeEvolution

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Welcome to the Speculative Evolution Group!

For the newest and most recent beginners as for the veterans from many years, this site is one of the oldest Spec Evo groups created in DA and since its consolidation we have had the pleasure of adding any piece related to what is this varied and diverse Topic and its branches, from future worlds, Alternative Timelines, Extraterrestrial worlds as well other diverse creatures, feel free to navigate and share.

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Before start, we must say that this group is somewhat selective with our members and art pieces, specially for the detail that all the work you submit here is accepted, as long as the said work is about Speculative Evolution and related topics of course.

Speculative evolution is a type of genre of fiction, all related to creation and speculation of hypothetical scenarios, worlds or creatures based on the basic principles of evolution and biology, as well as other sciences. All these topics are defined in four different groups depending on the exposed scenario:

-Future evolution: The future of life on earth in the next millions of years, it can also include the future of humanity as the evolution of life on earth in other worlds (Terraforming).

-Alternative Evolution: the different types of evolutionary paths that life would have taken if a specific event or situation had or had not occurred, from mass extinction, the evolution of a group of animals or major points of divergence in our timeline.

-Exobiology: The evolution and development of extraterrestrial organisms and worlds.

-Alternative Universes: The evolution of lifeforms in universes with physical laws completely different from ours or impossible situations.

It is really important that only related to topic pictures are published, it is not allowed any kind of publications that have nothing to do with speculative evolution in general, that is, creatures or concepts with no speculative or plausible context, random design creatures, fantasy or basic science fiction without speculative purpose, this type of content will be rejected

We have a section for works of the type speculative paleontology / all yesterdays kind of thing however it is noted that this site does not accept other works of paleoart, we recommend that you look for another place for that purpose.

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The nature of comment section doesn't allow easy discussion topics so in case you are interested you can look up to the speculative evolution forum specevo.jcink.net/index.php

Gallery Folders

Featured
Contest-Entry: Permian Ice Age by yoult
The White 'Ape' of Mars by PonchoFirewalker01
Maned Harpy by Raptorboy998
Venusian Paramecium by yoult
Featured
Future Evolution
Land Shark - 300 Million Years Tomorrow by OGYungLilBig
Greater Bruiser by Imperator-Zor
Urban future - Pond lurker by herofan135
Speculative Swift Brown Viscacha by VirgilViscacha
Future Evolution
Sans Cretaceous Alternate Evolution
Common Scythecrest by QuartzFlyingFox
Giant Banded Swordcrest by QuartzFlyingFox
Macropomimus rex by QuartzFlyingFox
European Nightwing by QuartzFlyingFox
Sans Cretaceous Alternate Evolution
General Speculation
Numenera Creature 2 by ScottPurdy
Mati-mapu by kuba-art
The Lost World fauna: the Giant Tepui Anaconda by BearRangell1234
The Lost World fauna: the Giant forest deernamou by BearRangell1234
General Speculation
Other Alternate Evolution
Dracomorpha: The Beginning by TheJuras
Nerophanta armenoplatus by GlazeSugarNavalBlock
Spell Merchant: The Eight SchoolsSpell-creating is divided into eight different categories, based on the type of spell available. The Salvians have vast catalogues of every possible variation used, and it is their names which I shall relay here. Note that the main examples come from Salvi, in large part because of this. Note also that the further down the list we go, the less frequent these spell types are.Perception-Magic (ikyumih) is used to detect some alteration to one's surroundings. This could be through a look into the Deep (an item's history), or the Dig (to determine exactly how an object looks in four spatial dimensions), or even just in different ways on the Physical Plane. There are spells, for example, that allow one to see things microscopically, or to ease one's field of range up considerably more, or even sense things some distance away from oneself. Excellent for guard duty.Storage-Magic (pipryukih) creates a small area of space-time attached to a specific object, which can be used to duplicate its physical presence in another dimension. This has proven most useful in the housing industry, where small one-room huts can be extended to as many as seven or eight different rooms all technically occupying the same space. It's also been rather helpful for porters. However, the mass has to go somewhere, and it's considerably more draining on the local power supply. Usually, therefore, one tries to surround one's house with as much greenery as possible, preferably a house-pet or at least a street-pet.Oath-Magic (hakrālah) creates Objects of Power, imbued with the ability to disregard some aspect of reality that's against the customer's wishes. Originally used to create physical representations of pacts that would make it impossible for the signatories to disobey, Oath-Magic is now mainly used in the amulet production business, or in government. (There are still "witch's contracts" floating around, but Salvians developed contract law well before any other law besides the criminal sort, and a contract is considered invalid and voidable if it doesn't follow the State Rules.) There are, of course, special Objects of Power used for military applications–the asniyus or astras, swords and bows and clubs and shields magically enhanced to always hit their mark, or cause magical explosions. Thankfully these aren't quite so frequent these days, but a fair few have made it onto the black market in places like Visauru.Path-Magic (ukuhtuh) doesn't provide one the same disconnect of body and spirit that Dream-Walking does. Instead, one has to physically enter the other layers of reality–and one can be killed when one does, and that does terrible things to the state of one's immortal soul, being killed in limbo. Still, for what it's worth, it's a nice way of visiting places.Healing-Magic (jayulnih) is quite specific but incredibly potent. An object always has what one might call an "optimum state", a time when it was at its best–and everything on Ajjamah has a long memory. To heal someone or something, then, is simply a matter of drawing the best version of themselves out. This is not an easy process; it relies considerably on understanding exactly what is wrong, feeling for systems that may no longer even connect properly. And one will need regular checkups to maintain the optimal state, regular jolts of magic, because the body will nevertheless try to heal on its own while all sensations suggest it already has–people are often quite fragile after being healed the regular way for a while. But at the very least, they do survive.Enchantment (ugūmuh) has perhaps the most dangerous capability in a political system: the ability to create illusions in people's minds. It can also be used to capture and store memories for later use. Thankfully, it's mainly used in the entertainment industry instead of for government control. There was a civil war about abuse of magic in that manner four hundred years ago, and it's been written into contract law that you're not allowed to put thoughts into other people's heads. Directly, that is…in the meantime, it's an excellent way of sharing experiences, as well as broadcasting thoughts to an eager audience. (Many performers don't bother with it except for recording purposes, though–they say it spoils the art.)Evocation (gagḍah) involves using the life-force on a piece of land to alter that land in some way. Perhaps one requires a clear day, or a flood, or a rockslide, or even a volcano–something natural. In this case, there are spells one can use to connect with the local djinn, and compel them to act on your behalf. This is one of the rarer types of magic, and all things considered that's probably for the best.Shapeshifting (diyanōrah) is not, per se, actual changing of shapes. That would require the object or individual to be able to have a fluid soul. Instead, it requires the much more complicated task of creating a set template for something, then implanting that template on the outermost layer of a soul (or, in some cases, adding a soul to the object), and forcing that form on on the physical body in question. Perhaps the most difficult of spells because of the sheer effort required, it has previously had quite a few military applications. (Thankfully these have largely been dropped; turning cobblestones into cannonballs has been…less than effective.)
Spell Merchant Fauna: The YetiOn a long trek through the mountains of Chü-Ki (and there's very little of Chü-Ki that isn't mountains), taking care as you go to pay homage to the small but colourful shrines of the local gods, it's quite likely you'll catch something out of the corner of your eye. Something white and grey, speckled with brown and red. Or maybe, as you're huddled in your tent for the night, you spot a pair of strange eyes staring out at you from the dark. Slightly glazed, like the eyes of a ruha, and golden besides–but the pupils are almost human.You ask your guide. He's three hundred and fifty this year, but you couldn't tell it. He looks no older than a middle-aged man, and moves like the Eternals always do–carefully, solemnly, a mixture of caution and dignity befitting many centuries spent in the highlands. He's dressed in red and blue robes, on his way back from a pilgrimage to the shrine of Pún, the righteous plague god called Ovonho in Hercua.He may not even say much. You're practically a mayfly by comparison, and it's better not to get attached to the fragile beings of the world below. Almost always he will smile mysteriously, and say just one word. "Páak-ku." In modern Chomman, it means Yeti.* * *The yeti (anthropus villosus) is as close as can be to a living ancestor of humanity, as though a Neanderthal survived to the present day. They can learn human speech, simple though it may be; they can make tools of stone and bone and wood. They even have magic of their own–the Gifts of the world manifest in a genus, not a species, even if not all members of a species can utilize them. Of the four yeti tribes remaining, the most prominent are the lim-gdör, true shape-shifters, who are found all across the mountains and revered by the Chom, whom the Irthironians call the Eternals. And yet most of the time they prefer their regular forms; eight feet tall, white hair covering a jet-black body, a flat face with round golden eyes and thick lips. They are lucky to reach sixty, where even the most primitive humans have a life expectancy of eighty, but then they grow more quickly as well.Yetis live in small groups, based around mothers (with settled territory in caves) and fathers (who move between them, staying until their child is old enough to fend for itself). They hunt animals large and small, from mountain goats to marsupial hyraxes. They also gather the mushrooms and mosses that grow during the short summers, and store them deep within the caves they call their own. One tribe, the ad-gbo', has learned to live off single animals for years on end, by carving up enough of them to make meat to store, then healing them to their previous condition.A yeti mother has perhaps one or two children at a time; they grow relatively quickly.It is in fact possible, some suggest, for yetis and humans to interbreed, producing the golden-eyed Snow People who are almost always given over to the gods to incarnate into. But it is rare, for despite the peace of this part of the world yetis keep themselves to themselves for the most part. Still, that hasn't stopped the Eternals from seeking out their help, leaving talismans and tools in exchange for food, or sometimes exchanging one miracle for another.* * *The fire in the camp burns on. It's late June, a good month to visit the mountains, even with the crusades brought to these peaceful valleys from the western forests. Your guide hasn't fallen asleep–the Eternals rarely do–but instead is sitting in meditation, letting his spirit walk in the Dream. He doesn't seem to feel the cold at all, despite being covered in snow. You're lying in your tent, covered in blankets. You envy him.There is a rumble, like a human's voice but deeper, richer, an odd nasal quality to it. The guide doesn't move.You peer outside the tent again, and sitting comfortably on the ground in front of the guide is a tall, stocky figure, covered in thick white fur with red and gold specks interwoven in places. It is recognizably female.The figure tilts its head to one side, watching the man breathe very slowly. There is a popping noise as the figure shrinks, ends up looking very much like the monk. But where your guide wears red and blue robes, the yeti has substituted red and blue fur, in overlapping patterns.You let out an amused snort. The yeti-monk turns to you, looks at you patiently with the monk's pale blue eyes.She smiles, mysteriously."Pòd." Human.
Other Alternate Evolution
Speculative Worlds and maps
Earth D-1.4 | Oligea by AsafCastigliano
Spell Merchant: Types of SpellsThere are three branches of magic in the world, broadly defined as Perception (Classical Salvian ikyumih), Evocation (hakrālah), and Redirection (ukūtuh). Each of those involves not the creation of spells, but the usage of pre-existing ones, often floating in free-form or else granted by a (maybehelpful) spirit. While there have been other civilizations to use spells, sometimes quite intrinsically entwined with their cultures, few have been quite so…enthusiastic about the process as the Salvians, and so the terminology used here will largely come from Classical Salvian.1. Perception is a class all of its own, dealing with the extension of one's senses (or indeed one's person) into different parts of reality. The classic method is increased clarity or range of one or more of the physical senses (a nose like a blood-fox, for example, or else the ability to see multiple places at once). These can also be used to increase the range or complexity of others' senses--or to use them for oneself, or to shut them down completely, or manipulate them. Among the stranger uses for perception-magic is the creation and manipulation of visions or hallucinations, which have been used at times to devastating psychological effect (Clockwork Orange ain't got nothing on what the Salvians used to do to enemies of the state) or else to popular applause (who needs movies when you can recreate the special effects with actors and spellwork alone?).Perception-magic requires curiousity, a desire to seek out something new, regardless of danger or purpose--and a delight in complexity, in permutations for the sake of permutations.2. Evocation is quite simple, really--the connection of oneself with the four-dimensional construct of some object, or indeed some living being, and causing some physical effect (within the bounds of reality of course). The astras (asniyus, singular asnir) used by the ancient Salvian warriors relied on this principle--causing the flesh of one's enemies to be pierced as if by a thousand arrows from the sky with a single shot, for example, or summoning flames that could not be put out by normal means. (Burning bushes? Got you covered.)The technical translation of hakrālah is "oath-magic", referring to the contracts created verbally or in writing (or sometimes by mixing blood or spit or some other substance) that bound both parties to actions that were deemed unbreakable. Upon creating a contract, one would have no choice but to follow the rules set by that contract, although the methods could differ. The Salvian government has been relying on such oaths for centuries to keep itself running, and has thankfully introduced a "primary oath" that contract-makers will follow the laws of Salvi and respect the independent spirits of their contractees. (This has not, unfortunately, been enough to quell the old myth about "selling your soul to the Salvians" that you hear around ports every now and again.)Evocation-magic requires not curiousity but surety--the certain knowledge and belief that one's action is right, and that it will happen.3. Where Perception pulls oneself across the spirit realms and Evocation creates something new, Redirection alters physical reality by manipulating the soul of an object and knocking it about in four-dimensional space. This is much, much harder than it sounds: one has to superimpose an image of what one wants the object to become, and then force that image down the dimensions. To put it another way, if one has a square peg and a round hole, one inserts the shape of a round peg in the soul of the square peg, then forces the square peg to conform to its round version, if only for long enough to fit into the hole. One can also latch onto the soul of something (a lot harder than it sounds) and move it in the three local spatial dimensions as well.Normally one has the choice of imposing a basic shape on something, imposing the shape of something nearby, or even just digging into the background of one's subject's soul and pulling out a convenient shape. This is how one might turn one's enemies into frogs, for example, but also how one might heal someone (pulling a healthier version of themselves out of their memory while their normal body recuperates elsewhere). This is also how the Salvians create their specialty: four-dimensional pyramids, cubes, and spheres, which can be used as floating platforms, phoenix origami, or even to create bigger-on-the-inside houses (a must with the population boom in recent centuries).Redirection-magic requires not curiousity or surety, but strong emotion--unbridled anger or excitement or terror, the emotional blaze creating the necessary pull to alter reality as one wishes.A few notes:-Spells manifest in the form of a physical charm, or else they merge with a part of the landscape and feed off the energy collected by living souls. Often mages like incorporating them into gems or weapons, or sometimes staves. In Hidnapandam and Kudoli in eastern Salvi, there is a long-standing tradition of weaving spells into cloaks. In the Far East, in Gykken, there were warlocks who imbued the offspring of shapeshifters and animals with powers, which could only be activated in contact with them. (Familiar-killing was one of the very first ways the revolution began.) Sometimes it manifests in the form of specific tattoos, as among the Performers (also of the Far East) or in the jungles of the south of Salvi.-Spells require a heck of a lot of energy. Many can only be activated while the Midnight Sun is shining; others, especially the larger ones, require constant replenishing from their surroundings, draining the ecosystems around them of any stray thaumic particles. They may rely on some natural feature--winds, rushing water, auroras, tectonic activity--but more often than not it's down to feeding on living things.-Most people, even Salvians, never master more than one or two spells in their lifetime; very, very few manage three. More often than not the new spells they learn are alterations of the initial spell, perhaps by combining it with another sub-sect. (One combination of Evocation and Redirection, for example, has been the creation of the jamaggitih branch of spells, charms that provide a bubble within which optimum growing conditions for a certain crop--rice, for example, always popular in Salvi--are replicated again and again. Better than fertilizer, even if it is a little monotonous.) Another way around this is to store one's ability in an amulet (ōgmalun) and rent it to someone; in exchange, any time they use the spell, a little magic is sent one's way, which helps power other spells one might have rented. Seriously, an entire economy was built on this exchange, although the actual method is under government patent.-It's not impossible to use spells even if you can't make them–the amulets are rather good for that sort of thing. Still, they do tend to target a certain type of Gift; spell-making being the obvious one, but spirit-sight, spirit blanket, and metamorphosis are also particularly receptive to spell-usage, especially in combination.-Usually spells are activated through some combined verbal and physical ritual; the verbal element can be anything from a word to a chant to a full recitation of a chapter of a holy book, while the physical element can be the destruction of a magical object, or a hand gesture while connected to a magical source, or a full dance. Sometimes even this isn't required, and mental effort alone is necessary; a very powerful but slightly insane sorcerer from Markeneird, for example, managed to turn an entire field of windmills into stone giants through a particularly vivid hallucination.-It is indeed possible to use spells created by other species–but incredibly difficult, except for djinn. (Controlling a djinni is a very easy way around this problem.) The Salvians, for example, borrowed a fair few spells from the phoenixes (largely , while the Icemannic shamans use a number of leviathan-derived spells for their travels in the spirit world.-It has been suggested by Salvian thaumologists that the Gifts of the sapient species besides djinn are all derived from different types of spells: spirit-sight, dream-walking, and telepathy from Perception-spells, spirit-blanket and spirit control from Evocation, and spirit-cocoon, healing, and metamorphosis from Redirection.
Spell Merchant: Ajjamah Climate Zones by AvatarVyakara
The Composition: Nations of Ja by AvatarVyakara
Speculative Worlds and maps
Contest Deviations
Let's do it by Midiaou
Titanic Tadpole by ZoPteryx
Nectocaris fictional evolution by Schatten-Drache
Contest Deviations
Alien Life
Trappistian [2.0] by AsafCastigliano
Trappistian by AsafCastigliano
Tusovendis by ArgentDandelion
Alien Life
Alternative Universes
Earth 16.3 | Lawari by AsafCastigliano
Vulakuis by NosaneTryhard
Reineis by NosaneTryhard
[Very Angry Princess] - Mergulls by MrCreator3000
Alternative Universes
Paleoart and All Yesterdays
Killer Kangaroos Takedown by OGYungLilBig
Killer Kangaroo by OGYungLilBig
Asymmetrical prehistory by MacheeMi
Speculative September Day 29-30 by YellowPanda2001
Paleoart and All Yesterdays

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:iconlifeforms-da: LifeForms-dA A New Era Begins! :iconscience-illustration: Science-Illustration Art in the service of science :iconworld-craft: World-Craft For all your creation needs! :iconfuturezoology: FutureZoology :iconneocene-project: Neocene-Project :iconbarlowesrealm: BarlowesRealm :iconcreature-concepts: creature-concepts :iconorigin-of-mammals: Origin-of-Mammals :iconage-of-avians: Age-of-Avians Sorry Mammals, Birds rule now! :iconspecies-directory: Species-Directory DArwinism - deviant-made species :iconxenobiology-club: Xenobiology-Club Speculation and Fascination :iconphysiologus: Physiologus A compendium of creatures. :iconcryptid-creatures: Cryptid-Creatures Cryptozoology fans! :iconcryptozoologygroup: CryptozoologyGroup Welcome Cryptozoologists!

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Return of Contest?

:icondragonthunders:

Well hello everybody, his friendly neighbour DT here...

For quite some time I have been one of the main administrators of this group, who has decided who can access or not in the categories of this group, and ordering things, however I have remained quite limited to only accept or reject people and images that the people submitted, and honestly, had considered the possibility of doing a small contest after several years since the last one.

I had been quite incredulous about the possibility people would like to participate in one of these, more in a group where there is not much activity from a just small amount of members still active, but after thinking about it, I said: why not...

So I'm leaving this message just to know if someone wanted to participate in a competition or not, depending on the number of answers I could start doing it at the end of the month or early.
14 Comments
Return of Contest? May 11, 2019 14 Comments 3 Favourites
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:iconbeingsneaky:
beingsneaky Featured By Owner Dec 26, 2020
Hey while I was trying to log on my log onto my account on the Speculative Evolution Jycink forums (also called beingsneaky) I forgot my password, I tried clicking that I forgot my password, 20 minutes have passed and I got no response, so I tried again but so far I'm still getting no response, I tried checking my spam folder too several times before but I can't seem to find it in there either. Any help?
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:iconbeingsneaky:
beingsneaky Featured By Owner Sep 5, 2020
How's everyone's projects going so far?
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:iconpinkandscary:
PinkAndScary Featured By Owner Aug 19, 2019  Hobbyist
Excuse me, but is there a reason why my submission wasn't accepted In the general spec folder? Asking for future reference.
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:icondragonthunders:
Dragonthunders Featured By Owner Aug 20, 2019  Hobbyist Digital Artist
One of the submissions did not meet the specifications of the group falling into the creature design and not speculative evolution, the other was because it was introduced in the wrong category, the tyrannosaur enters on the folder of Alternative Evolution or Sans Cretaceous.
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:iconpinkandscary:
PinkAndScary Featured By Owner Aug 21, 2019  Hobbyist
Oh I see, I'll keep this in mind next time. Thank you for replying.
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:iconpinkandscary:
PinkAndScary Featured By Owner Aug 19, 2019  Hobbyist
thanks for the accept
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:iconblackoliveart:
BlackOliveArt Featured By Owner Jul 15, 2019  Hobbyist Artisan Crafter
Yo waddup
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