name: astrovyrn
home planet: n/a
avg. height: 1.7 - 1.9 meters
diet: light, radiation

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a living relic of a bygone era.

the slow destruction of their original home planet is what caused the astrovyrns to adapt to life in the vacuum of space.

their second layer of skin, with symbiotic phototrophs and extra magical protection, acts as a built-in space suit; the inside is filled with breathable air and a miniature ecosystem. magic is also how they move in space - they turn extra energy into a physical form that can be expelled from anywhere on their bodies.

though they can pick up sound just fine, astrovyrns cannot speak; they naturally communicate via electromagnetic/radio waves using the antennas on their heads (a set of three omnidirectional antennas at right angles to each other). they usually have translators on them to make communication with other species easier.

astrovyrn language is basically dual-tone MFSK modulation, and its eight symbols (frequencies) have phoneme equivalents in spoken language. in most places, a section of the UHF band is reserved for astrovyrn communication.

the reason they don't seem to fit in with the other species is… they don't. they used to fit in, in a previous era. the others are long gone, and long forgotten by even the astrovyrns, only remaining in ancient illustrations. it's not clear what caused this, though it's believed to have been a more large-scale, "universal" version of the typical mass extinction event.