Istemai

Istemai are a shapeshifting species originating from Zhyan.
They are classified extinct, aside from one individual.

Each colony was run by a queen, in a similar system to ants in the real world.

## Typical Appearance

### General Species

Istemai look very similar to dragons in terms of build and average size, but there are huge adaptational differences between the two species.

Istemai have black eyes with white or grey irises and their pupils are slitted like those of a cat's. They have apposable thumbs on all four of their feet and their back legs have two knee joints each instead of just one. The size of an Istemai's tail or wings indicates how healthy/well-fed they are - and tend to be huge, as the species is more suited for flight than dragons are. They also are able to fly extremely well due to the acute control they have over their own bodies.

### Workers

Workers tend to be plain colours in the mid-tone range, without many vibrant colours at all (the only exception being occasional flecks or spots of colour in patches across the body which is usually genetic and therefore consistent between individuals that share the trait). They tend to share 'less impressive' versions of their colony Queen's defining features. They have no defined gender.

### Queens

Queens are typically the most colourful and eye-catching of any colony. They grow on average around 3 times the size of a worker, and tend to have wings of a proportion that renders them unable to fly, as they are physically unable to leave their designated caverns. The

## Diet

Their diet consists mainly of the various different fungi that grow pretty much everywhere. They also survive on small animals and insects that inhabit Zhyan, but despite all Istemai having to constantly eat to satisfy their constant healing and growth rate, they hardly need to resort to eating larger animals or one another.

## Typical Abilities

Istemai are a shapeshifting species, able to manipulate their entire bodies acutely to adapt to their surroundings or simply complete a task. They have excellent vision due to the structure of their eyes and their senses of hearing and smell are also highly receptive. Their eyes are able to pick up infrared light as well as some of the more low-frequency ultraviolet light, meaning they have a much wider visible colour range than humans. Their ability to see very high frame rates (as well as high nerve conduction velocity) allows them to have very quick reactions. They have no sense of taste, perhaps to compensate for their other heightened senses - and due to how their shapeshifting works, they are unable to grow any taste buds.

They tend to be very strong, able to gain muscle mass at will - though this requires a relatively large amount of energy depending on how much muscle is called for.
In conjunction with this, Istemai are also able to heal any wounds they receive, with recovery rates depending on the size of the wound. Their rapid cell division rates require individuals to have a high resistance to cell mutation, which has the benefit of also making them tolerant to high levels of radiation.

Istemai can breathe fire, but nowhere near as well as dragons or serpents as Istemai do not have the internal fireproofing required to produce flame for long periods of time. The fire tends to be a reddish pink with a white centre.

They are also able to spit acid. This acid tends to be stomach acid, and is highly acidic, causing instantaneous agony and scarring on the target (as well as potentially the Istemai involved as well). This, as well as their fire, tend to be last resort due to the suffering they cause on the user.

Istemai have high body temperatures due to their fast metabolisms, that they can lower to nearly a quarter of in order to go into a hibernative state that can theoretically last for hundreds of years - though it has never been properly tested.