| Admirabilis / アドミラビリス | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Info | |
| Leader | Convallarius (Past)
Ventricosus (Beginning of story) Variegatus (Most recent) |
|
Please be careful if you haven't yet read the manga! |
The Admirabilis (アドミラビリス, lit:adomirabirisu) are the species that inhabit the sea of the world. They are a mortal species, unlike the Gems or the Lunarians who are both functionally immortal.
Characteristics[]
The Admirabilis are soft-bodied organisms that often resemble gastropods or other shelled members of mollusca while in their animal forms. They have both a humanoid form and an animal form. Their animal forms are originally very small, though after being captured by the Lunarians and fed the Moon's sweet water and sand, they became large and mindless livestock. In their animal forms, they have large, beautiful shells, which Ventricosus says the Lunarians sought and, therefore, were the reason for their capture. During predation or breeding, they will return to their true humanoid form. In this form, they appear as humanoids with various sea-creature aspects such as fins and tentacles. Their 'true forms' seem to include a dress or suit-like layer covering them. In this form, they bring their shell to the inside of their bodies.
Their bodies are filled with acid capable of dissolving any Gem except for Sensei, but they can choose whether to do so. They ingest stone in order to grow their shells, but not as sustenance. Their translucent parts are mostly muscle, and they use their tentacles to uproot seaweed. They are omnivorous, eating sea plants, coral, sharks and other such things. Their mouth sits at the base of their tentacles, which they can use to crush coral and eat small animals. It's unknown if they can regenerate their flesh back from grievous injury.
Admirabilis reproduce through laying hundreds of eggs at a time, but their male to female ratio is 1:1000, making males very rare. Males are taken care of and kept safe in Admirabilis society.
History[]
The ocean where the Admirabilis call home.
According to their own legend, there once lived beings called humans who lived and preserved the land until it was broken five times. When it broke the sixth time, they fled to the ocean. It's said that there, they split into three parts; the Spirit, Flesh, and Bone. In other words, they evolved into three separate species and lived on. The Admirabilis, who are said to be the Flesh, were mortal creatures who inherited the ability to reproduce and pass down knowledge. The Bone are said to have made a contract with another living creature, and having gained the ability to live through ages. They returned to the land as immortal creatures. And lastly, the Spirit are said to be wandering, attempting to regain their flesh and bone to reclaim their lost glory.
50 years before the start of the story, the Admirabilis were struck by a famine worse than anything they had experienced before, unable to evolve fast enough to survive. They had overused their resources, as at its peak their population reached over a billion individuals. They became malnourished, and this malnutrition caused a regression of their intelligence and cannibalism became rampant. When all their resources were exhausted, then-king Convallarius pleaded with the Lunarians to let them immigrate to the moon to live off their synthetic food. They accepted their request, and the Admirabilis grew into mindless beasts while on the moon.
Culture[]
Admirabilis society seems to be a matriarchal monarchy that passes power through a royal bloodline, with their rulers identified by the growth on their heads taking a 'crown' shape. Kings are referred to with the masculine title even though they are female by majority.
Because of the rarity of male Admirabilis even with the amount of eggs laid at a given time, they are raised with more care and attention than the female majority. Their population peaked at around 1 billion once upon a time.
Little else is known about Admirabilis society.
Storyline[]
The Admirabilis are assumed to have created their own community and culture over many generations, and at least has one government/kingdom with Ventricosus as their ruler. At some point in time, all the Admirabilis were taken by the Lunarians and fed sweet water and sand for a long time until they grew big and lost their minds, turning into unintelligent animals. They are mentioned by Aculeatus as being used as cattle on the Moon, though it is unclear what this means exactly. Ventricosus was the only one who retained their mind. She was able to make a deal with the Lunarians: she would lure and give them the Gems in return for her brother Aculeatus. The Lunarians agreed and dropped her shell onto the Gem's school, from which she emerged and started attacking the Gems. She managed to swallow and dissolve Phosphophyllite, integrating the Gem into her shell. Shortly afterward, the other Gems pushed her into the school's pond, causing her to shrink down to a smaller slug-like animal while her shell fell to the bottom.
Ventricosus in her slug form
For a short while afterward, Ventricosus tricks the Gems into believing she was Phosphophyllite who had transformed into a slug. Diamond seeks the other Gems in order to transform Phos back, though the truth is eventually revealed by Cinnabar, who was familiar with the way mollusks eat stones in order to build their shells. The Gems retrieve Ventricosus' shell and collect the fragments of Phosphophyllite, allowing Rutile to piece them back together. Upon reawakening, Phos can hear and understand Ventricosus when she speaks (the other Gems could not).
Ventricosus negotiates with the Lunarians for her brother.
Ventricosus then lures Phos into the sea by telling them that she knows someone who was much like Phos and that the sea may hold the answer to their problems. Once they were far enough into the sea, the sun starts to set. The Lunarians appear above the sea and capture Phos, shattering their legs in the process. Per their agreement, the Lunarians bring back Ventricosus' brother, bound and sleeping within an enormous shell. While negotiating for his release atop their sunspot platform, the Lunarians demand that Ventricosus bring them more Gems. She refuses, as she doesn't think the same trick will work again and the Gems will already be suspicious of her. Dissatisfied, the Lunarians burn off her right arm in retribution. Just then, Aculeatus wakes up, smelling food and prey. He crushes some of the Lunarians before falling into the sea with his shell, allowing him to return to his humanoid form. He quickly returns and dispatches the rest of the Lunarians. He congratulates his older sister for being able to free him and says they should continue the plan of using Phos to trade back the rest of their kin. Ventricosus, feeling guilty for tricking Phos, declines the idea, saying that they would be no better than the Lunarians for doing it. Both Admirabilis return to the sea with Phos, and Aculeatus snaps off two spikes from his shell for Phos to use as replacements for their legs. Shortly afterward, Phos washes up ashore near Cinnabar.
102 years later while trying to remember old stories told at the sea, Phos encounters another Admirabilis. She realizes Phos is "the legendary gem who freed [her] ancestors from the Lunarians" and that they can understand her speech. Eventually, she introduces herself as Variegatus. According to her, Ventricosus lived five generations before her own. Besides the legend about Phos, other legends and tales had been passed down as well, such as the gems wanting to tear them apart after Phos lost their legs, and calling where the Gems live "The Land of Immortal Beauties." She also say that Ventricosus regretted deceiving Phos, and took that remorse to her grave. Phos forgives her and gives Variegatus a piece of their leg as proof of it. Variegatus returns to the sea and relays to Phos a story about humans.
List of known Admirabilis[]
Trivia[]
- Admirabilis is a Latin word meaning wonderful or astonishing, from which the English word "admire/admirable" descends. This word is used as the scientific species name of various organisms, including but not limited to various species of snails.
- Bort suspects the Lunarians use the shell slugs as weapons. Since the Admirabilis can melt the Gems and the Lunarians already have some Gems (thus can be used in experiments), it could be true in the future.
- According to the Lifeform of Culture Book that came alongside Vol. 11 of the manga, Admirabilis are thought to have originated 10,000-20,000 years after the departure of humans.
- According to this same book, 8 separate groups of Admirabilis have been seen roaming the planet.
Gallery[]
