User:Dante the Ghost/Sandbox: Difference between revisions

Physically resembling the ''anthropoi''—apart from being thinner—their primary characteristics are three pairs of membranous wings, the foremost one being six meters long, the rest being directional wings, which allow them to glide through the watery depths. When not in use these pectoral fins are kept furled close to their lithe bodies. Smaller secondary and tertiary pelvic fins aid in maneuvering. They possess a long tail stretching about two meters ending in either vertically or horizontally forked fins; running from the base of their skull down the length of the tail is a single dorsal fin that elongate.

 

Their arms are humanoid, end in four, webbed fingers, and are folded next to the body when in motion. Their digitigrade hind limbs have webbed, clawed feet of four toes. They lack anal fins, their legs instead serving to stabilize them. Instead of hair they have a long cartilage "wing" dividing into forked fins; this connects to their dorsal fin heterocercally.

Their bioluminescent skin is studded in mottled light bluish-green patterns and can change colors. In addition to camouflage or luring in prey, this bioluminescence is used for communication. It is soft to the touch, almost like statin, with small electrical impulses jumping at contact. Their humanoid faces, while smooth and nearly featureless, possess two pairs of eyes, a mouth, and a protuberance which resembles a nose. Gills are located about the neck. The eyes are colored either cyan, magenta, yellow, green, purple, or related shades thereof.  

Crystaliens possess little sexual dimorphism and generally resemble ''anthropoi'' females with minor differences; "sex" is instead recognized as a social function, with three different "female" genders recorded and one "male". Monogamy is unknown, likely because of the disparate ratio between the different types. However there is a definitely sexual aspect to their reproductive cycle—any of the three female types can be fertilized by the male, and once this is accomplished, she goes and lays nearly microscopic eggs near or within a crevice, and then abandons them once done. This kind of fertilization may account for the disparate eye color and sizes. Crystaliens live for typically four hundred years because of their slow metabolisms.

While lacking fire, this did not prevent them from building an elaborate network of Hives and nests around strategic hydrothermal vents. Similar to insects, the Crystaliens meld together rock and a waxlike substance they secrete to form bubble-like buildings with multiple chambers branching outward. Entire reefs which form around vents often become part of these interconnected buildings, blurring the difference between artificial and natural. Entrances are usually located in the top, windows are unknown, with certain "plants" and animals cultivated as light sources.