When the idea for the Carduan Chronicles first occurred to me, all I knew was that a space ship would appear during an ice storm, land in an Ozark ravine and leave the occupants trying to survive. The next task was creating Carduans.
How Big?
There were several considerations. I went hiking through a number of Ozark ravines trying to spot places a space ship could land. A flat area was not a problem as bluff rocks stick out in many places. However, they are small.
Ravines have trees growing in them. The ship had to be small enough to avoid them.
The final size of the space ship was thirty inches long, eighteen inches wide and high. These Carduans had to fit inside. Four inches tall worked.
Physical Appearance
I now had a height for creating Carduans. They had heads, arms, legs, feet and hands. Obviously, these were small and fingers would be very slender. There would be three fingers so the Carduans would count in threes and sixes.
Of course, the Carduans could just be tiny people with a few minor changes. That didn’t suit me. How would they be different?
Many creatures on Earth have blue blood. It is not based on iron which is what makes our blood red. If the Carduans had blue blood, they would be blue.
An interesting article about chickens showed up. It seems chickens have retina cells sensitive to five different color wavelengths. Insects often see in ultraviolet.
Setting Up Arkosa
The Carduans come from the planet Arkosa. I picture this planet as dry, hot, bathed in ultraviolet light. Plants would have fall colors as the pigments for these colors can deal with ultraviolet light for photosynthesis.
Seeing ultraviolet would be an advantage. Having a third eyelid to counter intense glare or shield from dust would be another advantage.
My Carduans
So, in creating Carduans, I had to consider the setting and the origins of these creatures. This was for Ship Nineteen. But, the same creatures are also on Ship Eighteen.