Claestoi

(Stats for Claestoi PCs in Elyrion can be found here)

The Claestoi are a species of highly magical lithivoric bacterial colonies hailing from a large and unusually dense debris field in the Ponaeri system. Although they are culturally and morphologically distinct from terrestrial species, they have proven themselves industrious, robust, and adaptable. Despite unusual appearance and unique biology, many claestoi are able to co-exist in spaces built for other species with surprising ease. However, Claestoi-built homes and facilities are often difficult or impossible for other species to navigate or interact with, and despite the number of Claestoi living as expats in wider society their communities are highly insular.

Origins

The Ponaeri star system is believed to have once had several planets whose orbits crossed into its habitable zone. It is believed that a violent divine intervention in the first ages caused several of these planets to collide, producing a dense field of magically charged debris orbiting in the suns goldilocks zone. By some miracle, an extremophile clade of chemosynthetic bacteria survived the annihilation of their home planet, and were spread across the new asteroid belt. The subsequent evolution of these bacteria was driven by radiation, magical exposure, and genetic intermixing caused by cascading impacts of life-bearing asteroids with one another. From this maelstrom emerged the Claestoi, who for millenia lived a nomadic life in the belt, using their self-propulsive abilities to float in large amalgams between rocks, upon whose nutrients they would feed.

The Claestoi were discovered an interplanetary species with iron-age technology by Terran explorers in the pre-Silence era. The early days of contact were defined mostly by trade, with the Claestoi exchanging art and products made from larval secretions for advanced technologies. The hardware gained through this exchange allowed the Claestoi to construct their first colony fleets, and they have plied the stars ever since.

Biology and Appearance

Claestoi are made up of several blobs of greyish-purple matter, with a large central mass orbited by several smaller masses. Their bodies resemble a stiff plastic and can alter their shape quite freely, but are incapable of the sort of rapid articulation by which most complex species interact with the world. Claestoi masses are suspended in a magical field emanating from their central mass. Within this field, their masses can be moved with a strength and speed similar to that which a terran might move their arms. This same field suspends their bodies above the ground; under 1G, a Claestoi will float up to a meter over the ground. This hovering effect seems to be entirely repulsive, meaning that Claestoi cannot cling to walls or ceilings using this ability.

Claestoi masses are bacterial colonies with only the most primitive adaptations for multicellular existence. Cells are minimally specialized, with each filling a large number of biological roles. Claestoi do not have organs; their interiors are largely homogenous (with the exception of food in the process of digestion). Internal circulation of nutrients and large-scale motion are both acomlished by the same mechanism - otherwise largely rigid cells “creep” past each other, changing their shape and relative position via interactions of the adjacent membranes. To pick up an object, a Claestoi must either cup it in one or more masses, or have one of their masses creep around it to form a sturdy grip. In general, it takes a minute or two for a Claestoi to dramatically alter their body’s shape.

Notably, claestoi lack not only central nervous systems, but substantial nervous apparatus entirely; although chemical signals are passed between adjacent cells the bandwidth of these connections are limited. It is widely theorized among academics that their conscious arises almost exclusively from their souls, which are measurably larger and more complex than those of other mortals. It has been demonstrated that the aethiric energies conducted through their souls are the origin of the magical field which levitates their bodies.