Description
Starlings
'Starlings' (as they'll be referred to until Nintendo provides an actual species name) are cosmic entities, capable of inter-dimensional travel. Their name is derived from the shape of the wormholes they create in space to travel long distances instantaneously.
Starlings are hatched from eggs, and capable of surviving within the depths of space even from birth. Generally speaking, a Starling will be raised by its parents, if not one or two additional Starlings within close family groups. They obtain their energy from whichever star they happen to orbit, until they've developed both enough psychic control and latent energy to create stable wormholes like their parents.
Generally speaking, a Starling's lifespan lasts for tens of thousands of years, beginning in a 'fetal' state after they've hatched. In this initial state they are quite small, their large ears helping to draw in and capture energy from their local star. While they spend their days taking in this solar energy, they'll also be psychically interacted with and raised by the Starlings around them, until they obtain enough energy, control, and a sense of self required to reach the next stage.
The secondary stage is roughly the same small size as their fetal stage, but with their overall body further developed. Showcasing more expressive features, longer and more mobile limbs, a coat of fur, and so on, this form and the one prior stand at roughly 1-2 feet high. At this stage, Starlings are now capable of creating and manipulating wormholes, though it takes considerable effort and can usually only be used to transport themselves comfortably.
Unlike terrestrial species, a Starling never truly "grows out" of their 'young' stage. Rather, as their psychic talents, latent energies and understanding/mastery of spatial manipulation grows, they will eventually reach a point where they obtain the ability to create a stent.
A stent (so named for its ability to aid in 'holding open' passages through space) is a physical object created purely out of psychic and celestial energies. It can take on any form, its shape and traits tied to the mind of the individual starling who created it. An extension of their body, the use of a stent allows a Starling exponentially greater control over the space around them, and how they use it depends on how the individual starling best envisions this tool will help with their goals. What's more, use of a stent causes a restructuring of their body into what some may assume to be a Starling's 'adult' form.
The starling will grow several feet taller, and their ears far wider, other traits of their body exaggerating depending on the Starling's wishes. Some starlings have longer horns or bigger ears, thicker fur or smaller hands, though always maintaining roughly the same body type as other Starlings around them. This is why 'Young" starlings all look fairly similar, while 'Adult' Starlings can look quite varied indeed.
The reason for the quotations is that this new body is not necessarily permanent. A Starling can freely 'disappear' their stent back into psychic energy at will, which will soon, in turn, return their body back to its 'younger' looking state. This is generally done when there is no need for periods of sustained space travel/psychic energy usage, or from the lack of a close-by star to maintain their energy stores. Their adult body grants them far better control and considerably greater abilities, but is also noticeably more energy-intensive to maintain. One could consider it akin to the energy required to remain standing compared to simply sitting or laying down.
That said, what does -not- change is the form of the stent created, or the way a Starling's adult body looks. As a rule, once first created a Starling's stent will always look the same each time it is created, and their 'adult' body will always take on the same features each time said starling takes on that form. There are exceptions to this rule, but they are few and far between.
These facts are what make determining the age of a Starling quite difficult. Seeing one in its fetal form is a good marker for being a newborn or juvenile, and seeing one in its adult form can readily confirm that a Starling has at least reached maturity, but the same can't be said for a Starling's 'Young' form. At a glance one in such a state could -actually- be quite young by Starling standards, or could be several millennia old and simply relaxing in a lower-energy state.
When a Starling eventually does pass away, their remaining psychic energy collapses and creates a new fragment within infinite space, within which lies a place that has been called a 'dream' by other Starlings.
A dream is a collection of all the memories that Starling made throughout their life, permanently etched into one small part of our infinite reality. A recording of everything the Starling had done, good or bad, proud or shameful. In a way, it serves as a celestial autobiography. The Starling's soul will persist within the dream for a time, leaving them free to explore and re-live their most treasured memories one last time as the last of their life force burns away. This dream is not blocked off from the rest of the cosmos, and other starlings with the right expertise can enter it themselves, to offer their farewells to a fading soul or to learn from a life outside their own. When the soul of the Starling finally runs out of energy and finally fades away, only the dream will remain, the Starling gone, but never truly forgotten.
-Cellidor
Cellypso
Cellypso is a blue-furred Starling. Through his developmental years, he had an absolute fascination with the cosmos around him. As such, this mental state heavily influenced his 'adult' form; Star speckled ears, a lengthy trailing tail, and a fur pattern between his horns mirroring the binary star system their family raised him around, both stars drawing in gasses from the other in a twisting, endlessly spinning dance.
His stent took its form from one of his deepest fascinations: comets. The stent itself is a perfectly smooth orb styled with concentric circles similar to his eyes, which while it can't actually see has given others the impression that it's 'watching' them. From this stent two trails of psychic energies constantly radiate, mimicking the twin tails of a comet. Both of its cosmic tails always move away from his body as if he himself were a star, all while the stent itself lazily orbits around him.
He's always looking for new friends to study and learn from across the endless cosmos, perhaps you'll be one of them?
Psidrako
MemberSuch an interesting lifeform...
Perhaps I could use my power to adopt a form like this...
Psidrako
MemberIf Nintendo does not provide a species name, I provide a proposal:
Broad Name: Cosma (Singular), Cosmi (Plural)
Science Name: Celesta Elfilis
Psidrako
MemberTo summarise The species
Deep space survival from egg (I'm going to assume it absorbs the shell because more energy-efficient to do so.)
Absorbs Solar energy, when ready, become effectively Elfilin.
Develops Dimensional Tunneling (DT).
Adept use of DT grants them a Psychic Space Energy Item (PSEI) that allows for further use of DT.
They also gain Fecto Elfilis as a form, being able to switch between them at will.
A PSEI, I assume to be an Item of any kind, will always be shaped by the user's mind.
Death For this species is a bibliography crystal Called a Dream.
(EDITED ACCORDING TO REPLY)
Updated
cellidor
MemberThey do absorb the shell, but not out of energy efficiency (compared to the energy output of a star the shell wouldn't provide much of anything).
The hard outer shell acts as both protection and filter, stellar energies passing through it to feed the growing fetal starling while protecting it from higher levels of radiation that might prove harmful. Once the starling has developed enough, rather than breaking the shell they'll merge it with their outer body/skin. This gives very young starlings a smooth, at times shiny look to their body. This could be considered akin to 'baby teeth' in a way, present until the starling develops to its 'Elfilin' stage and can consistently regulate the stellar energy it takes in and protects itself (signified by the smooth skin being taken over by soft fur).
This is in part also why starlings can have a wide variety of fur colours and even patterns on their fur and skin, starling parents may choose to colour or add patterns to the egg's shell while the starling grows, which will become part of their skin once they absorb said shell. The blue and orange patterns on the top of Cellypso's head are an example of this, designs added by his parents based on the binary star system he was incubated in orbit around.
Also, small correction:
"A PSEI, I assume to be a Weapon of any kind"
A Stent can take on any conceivable shape, it varies widely from starling to starling, all based on what they personally see as an 'ideal' way to keep a wormhole open or widen it. It doesn't need to be a weapon, in truth the physical shape doesn't help or hinder the process, it's just a mental/visual focus for them to use. Cellypso chose a comet as he had an easy time envisioning comets shooting through the cosmos, and applied that idea to his stent and how it would help him traverse the cosmos.
Another starling could have a stent that has the appearance of some kind of soft pillow, if they find their psychic focus has always been best after resting.
Yet another starling may have visited a populated world and interacted with a species that use glasses to help them see. Similarly, that starling's stent could end up taking the form of a pair of glasses they wear to help them 'see how to keep the wormhole open better', or a transportation helmet of some sort to 'protect them from stellar forces when passing through wormhole space'.
The shape of any tool should always be such that it makes a given task easier. When cutting, make something sharp and sturdy. If the environment is wet, make something with a good grip. When the tool in question is crafted from raw energy by a mind, for a mind, what matters most is that it's shape helps the starling's brain keep focused on the task at hand. Like crafting one's own good luck charm.
Given the known history of Fecto Elfilis, the inspiration for his spear-like stent may have been something benign, or quite violent.
Psidrako
MemberThank you for the clarification
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