Cephalume

Cephalumes are native to the Near Space planet Luminar, a gas giant with a thick outer atmosphere of hydrogen and helium and a dense, high-pressure ocean of liquid methane with a frozen icy floor. Cephalumes predominantly live in the middle strata of these methane seas, a lightless expanse with no discernible ground or sky. Cephalumes have cephalopod-like bodies with a prominent head and a large single foot. Their skin is naturally bioluminescent, and cephalumes flicker this light to communicate in Lumos, a visual language comprised of sequential, carefully timed blinks. As a result, most cephalume clothing and armor incorporate transparent force fields to allow light to shine through.

Cephalumes form symbiotic unions with small bioelectric arthropods known as krikiks. These symbiotes can communicate with their hosts in a tactile variant of Lumos that uses soft electrical pulses. Krikiks have significantly longer life spans than cephalumes do, and they are sometimes gifted from cephalume to cephalume as heirlooms. Cephalumes can bond with multiple krikiks as they age, though such a distinction is reserved for respected cephalumes of high station.

Cephalume culture is subtle and traditional, valuing community, curiosity, and exploration. Cephalumes engage in a unique form of ancestor worship, and the buildings in their settlements are actually the calcified remains of their dead, often the only solid structures to be found in the aquatic void they live in. Many cephalumes continue to regard these edifices as the people they once were, and even hold conversations with them to talk out their problems in times of stress.

Like most other civilizations, cephalumes achieved spaceflight at some point during the Gap and now embark on celestial walkabouts across the galaxy. They strive to learn about the technologies and cultures of other civilizations before they return to Luminar, adding their discoveries to the collective knowledge of their people. Cephalume starships, like their buildings, are made from the remains of their dead. Cephalumes consider it to be a great honor to explore the universe with one of your ancestors serving as your vessel.