In a galaxy replete with Empires and Khanates there stands a small, single planetary kingdom called T'ram, home of the race of the T'ramians. Nestled at the junction of five great powers, the T'ramians have kept their indepence through diplomacy, cunning, tenacious fighting ability and the most sought after emotionless intellects in this spiral of the galaxy. Every emperor, every king, every khan, wanted at least on T'ramian consultant in his government. And nobody want thier rivals to have exclusive access to the T'ramians. Thus, the T'ramians had maintained their independence since they first reached the stars.

The T'ramians appear similar to an Earth octupus with white fur, though they have more in common with the Earth platypus than the octopus (including being semi-aquatic egg-layers). They have ten tentacles, with the ability to adapt the tentacles both in length and shape, to aid them in whatever task they are currently working at. The fur covering their body, along with their high metabolism, allows them to flourish the arctic-like waters that is prevalent on T'ram. The markings on their body indicate the part of the T'ram homeworld each T'ramian comes from.

Saragus the T'ramian was typical of a male of his species. His main body was spherical, approximately seven meter in diameter, with six set of 'liquid' eyes, so called because they could move to anywhere on Saragus's main body. The eyes were normally 18 centimeters in diameter though Saragus could adjust them to varying sizes and shape for different purposes. Saragus's tentacles could be stretched between ten to twenty meters, and were very adaptable, including the ability to become tiny 'mouths' and 'noses' (or the T'marian equivalent of these organs!)

At present, Saragus was trying to remember that he was a member of a race of tenacious warriors and unparallelled intellectuals. As was customary with the young adults of his species, Saragus was fulfilling a contract for his kingdom with a neighboring empire, earning credits for his clan and good will for his people. The Zorn also possessed a multi-tentacled body, though they were smaller and scalier than the T'marians. Saragus was supervising the construction of a geothermal energy plant. Unfortunately, the energy plant was in tropical waters, which required Saragus to have his body adapted to the climate. His normally high metabolism had been slowed, and his long hair, the source of the dark markings which each T'marian took pride in, had been all but removed, leaving Saragus in his near-white soft underfur. Feeling constantly irritable, it took all of Saragus's will to maintain the pose of the emotionally detached T'marian that the Zorns had come to expect.

The project was near completion when Saragus was brought into the presence of the local Zorn overlord. Pleased with the work Saragus had done, the Zorn overlord offered Saragus an all-expense paid trip and hunting license to the world of Shokushu.

Saragus had heard of Shokushu. All T'marians had. It was universally disdained among T'marians as mindless, carnal pleasure that was beneath a member of the T'marian race. But every Zorn alive would give its last scale to visit Shokushu at least once. And it would not do to insult the local Zorn overlord, who was under the impression that he was giving this stuffy T'marian the gift of a life time. So like so many T'marians before him, Saragus accepted the gift graciously, and boarded a ship head to Shokushu. The waters of this 'hunting reserve' were somewhat cooler than the Zorn waters he had been working in, so he could let his metabolism go back to normal. He still couldn't grow his long hair back, which irked him, but it was the price to pay to keep a local chieftan happy.

What Saragus didn't know, and what every T'marian who went to Earth before him kept secret from the rest of the kingdom, was that a creature, every T'marian who went to Shokushu found themselves enamored with the hunting reserve, much to the chagrin of the beings who dwelled there.