Sentient Stygian Reaches Ni-Fli (Bat Demons)

[Narzen]

Ni-Fli
Bat Demons​

Species Name​	Ni-Fli​
AKA	Night-Flyers, Bat Demons
Designation​	Sentient​
Classification​	Aquatic Humanoid​
Average Height​	1.5 Meters​
Skin Color​	Black​
Diet​	Carnivores: External Digestion​
Distinctions​	Large Wings, Horns, Claws, Faceless, Prehensile Feeding Tails​
Breeding​	Sexual; Litters of 4​
Age​	Mature at 1 year, live up to 30​
Homeworld​	Dremla​
Language​	Ni-Fli Sign Language​

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Biology

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Smooth oily-black skin, long bony and gaunt bodies, large leathery wings, and faceless visages. All these traits define the Ni-Fli of Dremla. Found on the eternal night rogue planet of Dremla, the Ni-Fli have been named as Night Demons by other species. With no centralized government, the Ni-Fli are a mostly primitive species that dwell within clans. Many of the clans have been easily swayed by other species, especially the Inkad.

Despite their lack of eyes, Ni-Fli have heat and auditory sensory organs in their heads, allowing them to 'see' and hear each other, as well as see pockets of heat on their planet. Rather then bats like their nickname suggests, it is believed Ni-Fli have evolved from some sort of an aquatic arachnid: Their skin makes them adept to moving through waters easily, and their feeding method includes injecting paralyzing digestive enzymes via their tails into creatures, followed by sucking out the liquified insides through the same tail in about a few hours. Their horns constantly grow over time, and must be trimmed down every so often to prevent them growing backwards into themselves.

Dremla: The Ni-Fli homeworld was once a paradise of a planet. Described with 'rolling oceans, numerous moons, and rising cliffs', Dremla, the moon of a much larger planet, was considered perfect in everyway. However, at some unknown point in history, the planet Dremla orbited was flung away from its star, and Dremla was dragged with it, casting it into eternal darkness. Only by the motions of Dremla's mother planet and sister moons, as well as a extra thick atmosphere and hot core, is the rogue planet able to still support life.

Culture: As a primitive species, the Ni-Fli have produced very little conventional art nor philosophies. Their general mindset is based on feeding themselves and finding new experiences. Some of these new experiences would be from trying to hunt something different or unusual (and feeding on it afterwards), trying death-defying feats of aerial acrobatics, or exploring new regions. When the Inkad discovered the Ni-Fli, this opened a new opportunity for the Ni-Fli to a galaxy of new experiences and sensations to behold. New things to hunt, new creatures to eat, new regions to explore, and new feelings to experience.

Due to having no vocal cords, Ni-Fli communicate with each other utilizing a sign language utilizing both their hands and their feeding tails. Over time, after they established contact with other species , they developed a separate sign language that is easier to understand for those without tails. Ni-Fli Sign Language is a phonetic based language, allowing the Ni-Fli to name themselves names such as 'Gah-Rok' or 'Soo-Leye'. This had resulted in their communications with outsiders to be long in duration as each syllable has its own unique sign.

The currancy of the Ni-Fli is novelty. New experiences are treasured immensely, and opportunities for new experiences, or elaborate descriptions of them, will be traded in exchange for services, usually in the form of food hunting between Ni-Fli. Elderly or wounded Ni-Fli usually only survive by exchanging their treasured information. Musicians, most often percussionists, often live the longest since they have little need to hunt.

Some Ni-Fli have shown an aptitude for the 'heat before the eternal cold' (their concept of the Force), but no centralized religion has arose within Ni-Fli culture. Leadership within the clans is unheard of. Decisions are made as a group, and those who disagree are free to either leave or simply stick around as they please. In the pursuit of new experiences, some Ni-Fli will openly disagree with the rest of the clan, just to experience conflict. However, as long as everyone hunts for themselves, or provides something novel in exchange for food, life on Dremla carries on with little issue. Many concepts like marriage, duty, and honor are unknown to the Ni-Fli.

Strengths: Agile and silent, Ni-Fli make wonderful scouts on terrestrial planets. Each Ni-Fli learn how to fly and swim by the time of maturity, and are capable of hunting for themselves utilizing their heat and auditory sensory organs in their heads. With their claws and paralyzing enzymes injected through their feeding tails, the Ni-Fli make for nasty predators of all species.

Weaknesses:As unorthodox carnivorous creatures, most Ni-Fli unnerve other species. Their aloofness only adds to the feeling of 'wrongness' most species have when interacting with a Ni-Fli.

All Ni-Fli are incredibly fragile. Their bones break easily, and should their leathery wings tear even slightly, a Ni-Fli is restricted to the ground from days to weeks depending on the wound. Should their hands be restrained, they have no method of communicating with other species.

Ni-Fli are also technologically inept. Almost all their technological advances were made by observing the Inkad, and even then, a mechanic Ni-Fli is extremely rare.

Behavior/Temperament: Usually Ni-Fli are aloof, but extreamly curious. They are quick to investigate, but careful to keep a distance from anything 'too different' from themselves at first. In many ways, they are like wild animals investigating new things. They are often driven by new experiences, and consider new experiences, or information about new experiences, as a form of currency amongst themselves.

Typically in the Galaxy: Most Ni-Fli's are mercenaries off world, working for whoever will provide them a decent meal or a unique experience. As such, many Ni-Fli are employed in the millitary. Information brokers, scouts, hunters, and assassins are the most common jobs Ni-Fli will find themselves in, as well as the occasional musician who has not returned to Dremla.

History: As a primitive species, most of Ni-Fli history is unknown. While the clans do carry stories about their planet's 'paradise times before the sun vanished', the Ni-Fli don't have much need for anything else beyond that.

At some point, their world was discovered by the Inkad. Intiailly, first contact went south, with many of the Inkad explorers killed and eaten. Following a brief period of tension between the two, the Inkad were able to establish a dialogue with the Ni-Fli. Over time, each of the clans were contacted by the Inkad and, through demonstations of force with superior technology, the Inkad were able to secure peace treties with the Ni-Fli. Following this, the Ni-Fli left their world to explore the galaxy, and would usually hire themselves out.

Technology: Ni-Fli are primitive in technology, even by Stygian standards. With very little natural resources, and no natural predetors or diseases, the Ni-Fli never needed to advance beyond stone tools. Because of this, they rely on other species for technology advancements and maintenance, and many Ni-Fli don't experience advanced technology until they leave Dremla.

Intent: To create a native species of the Stygian Reaches that is both unnerving, extremely alien to anything in our universe, and unique. Heavily inspired by Lovecraft's Night-gaunts.

 

[The Good Doctor]

approved!