The Wurms

The wurms are a species of vaguely worm-like aliens that reside on the planet Wurmapalooza. They are one of the four chosen species created by Wazyback near the dawn of the current universe. As such they are subject to the usual conditions these species are beholden to. For the most part wurms are a reclusive society as a whole and stay on their home planet, meaning seeing a wurm outside of Wurmapalooza is a rare sight if you were to ever see a wurm at all.

Wurm society runs on a feudal system, with the ruling monarch having the title King and their partner the title of Squint.

Wurm Biology
Wurms were created by Wazyback as part of the four chosen species. Due to this the entire species’ DNA potential has been set out since the beginning of their creation and has no chance of mutation for evolution.

Technically all wurms contain the same DNA, however the vast majority of it is “turned off” so to say. The DNA that remains active is what determines their appearance and general physiology, and also influences the active DNA of their children.

Wurm’s skin is quite malleable, able to bounce back from most physical impacts. Due to this malleability, they are also able to fit in holes half as wide as they are.

General Appearance
Wurms are vaguely wormanoid in their shape and appearance, with arguably the main distinctions being their faces and limbs. These limbs are incredibly short in length and quite difficult to see against the rest of their bodies due to them normally matching the body colour of the rest of the wurm.

The average height of a wurm is 5’7” whilst standing on their legs, and 7’1” when measured from end to end. Most of their “tail” segments are not necessary for their survival however, and as such the standard height measurement is used as standard practice.

Wurms come in a large variety of colours, ranging between most of the visual colour spectrum and different shades of black and white. It is possible for wurms to come in multiple colours or even gradients of colours, however such an occurrence is generally somewhat rare.

Most wurms have some form of head hair, capable of growing it out to be quite long. Roughly 20% of wurms can even grow facial hair. Most wurms choose to shave this facial hair however, as it provides significantly more friction while they are tunnelling.

Royal Hierarchy
Wurm society operates under a basic monarchy, with one royal family overseeing all of Wurmapalooza. This royal family is of one direct lineage, and for the most part becoming King is impossible for someone not born of the royal family.

The King is a non-gender specific position and title that is given to the wurm of highest royal authority. In most cases, this will be a wurm that is born of the royal family and it cannot be attained otherwise. The Squint is the spouse of the King, and is also a non-gender specific role and title.

The title of King normally falls to the eldest child of the previous King after they are deceased, however a younger sibling can become King should the eldest child deny the position or if they are temporarily assigned kingly duties.

Only the King and Squint of a royal family may have children as per royal customs. If a wurm of royal blood wishes to have children of their own then they must renounce any claim to the throne that they might have held and this claim cannot be reclaimed once such actions are taken. These rules are in place in order to stop a repeat of an event that occurred many years ago when a royal wurm family line came to end without any descendants or closely related relatives. Wurms with any minor claim to the throne through decades of branching family trees fought for the position, and the result was a long and bloody war. The current contingency for if the royal family should all perish is a meeting of 100 wurms, a high proportion of which will be some of the most influentional and knowledgeable wurms on Wurmapalooza at the time. A discussion and vote shall be carried out to elect a new royal family from the wurm populace. This contingency has not yet seen use.

Selection of 100 Wurms
The wurms selected as part of the 100 to vote on future kings in the event of the royal family passing are in part chosen by the King themselves.

Twenty of the wurms that sit on the council are the governor wurms responsible for different districts and assigning wurms their titles.

A further ten are leaders of the church of Wazyback, elected to their positions from within the church they naturally have sway over the community and are thus natural picks.

Six more come from the previous royal court. These include the two royal mages, the captain of the guard, chief financer, royal advisor, and the royal priest.

Fifteen of these numbers are made up from diplomats on foreign planets due to their greater awareness of foreign relations and politics.

Three of their number are made of the wealthiest wurms on Wurmapalooza.

One more wurm is selected by public opinion at the time, a global opt-in vote with a selection of the entire population. The only wurms that won’t be included as candidates are those already included on this list.

The final forty five are chosen randomly from the entire remaining wurm population that holds a title, including the honorific title of Wurm. This is to ensure that there is still a significant vote from a large varied portion of the population and to try and make sure all aspects of society are represented in some way.

In the event that any of the wurms included in this selection proess should overlap (eg. One of the 3 richest wurms is also one of the 10 leaders of the church of Wazyback) then another wurm will be chosen from the available pool of wurms based on which of their roles they held having less importance (for the above example the wurm would not be included as part of the richest wurms, and would only be counted for the members of the church. The fourth richest wurm would then be chosen to take that place).

Title System
All wurms are born with only one name, the name they are given by their parents. After reaching what is deemed as adulthood by wurm standards (approximately 30 Earth years) a wurm will be given their first title, the honourific title of Wurm. This title is held by all wurms that have come of age, and is usually what the wurm is referred to with should they not hold any other titles.

Wurms are able to gain additional titles that represent aspects of their personalities or that are representative of great feats or actions that that wurm has taken. They can also be conferred based on the status that the wurm has achieved in society or history.

For these additional titles to be official must be granted by either the wurm King or one of the twenty governor wurms responsible for holding government in different areas of Wurmapalooza. If a title is given by one of these governors, they can be removed by another governor or the King should the wurm no longer be deemed worthy or applicable for the title they held. Should the title be provided by the King themselves however, only the King can then take it away.