The Epard

## Appearance

The Epard have two different appearances: a dormant form, and a sentient form.

#### Dormant Form

When the Epard are sleeping, hibernating, or have merged together and waiting for a metamorphosis, they take on their *dormant* form. This form is a large, bulging flower that takes on a variety of colors depending on their sentient form. Their leaves are covered in useless spikes that are only just for show. They are extremely vulnerable in this form, however they emit a bright turquoise cloud of poison that causes violent hallucinations.

#### Sentient Form

The Epard's sentient form is a small, lithe form with wide-set pointed ears and large eyes. They take on a variety of exotic colors (turquoise, bright pink, royal blue, etc) and have small flora growing over their bodies. They consider the flower petals on the top of their head their hair. Their smiles are off-putting with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

## History

The Epard have a small, peaceful history. For thousands of years they resided on their home planet Naoliv, and were not even heard of until a couple centuries ago when their Grand Mother discovered that she could make their sentient forms.

Originally, the Epard were just a series of plants (their dormant form) that thrived on their home planet. The Epard started out with a tall tree, the Grand Mother. The Grand Mother formed spores, and thus, the Epard were born on their quiet, home planet as their dormant forms. When the Grand Mother created their sentient beings, they boomed with abnormal, sudden intelligence and within a century, were able to explore space and other forms of life.

The Epard were a shock to a lot of worlds and governments, and the Eihn have taken a special interest in them. The Eihn are capturing and experimenting on the Epard as they try to figure out how they are able to revive life, and thus harming their home planet and their Grand Mother.

## Specializations

* The Epard have a strong connection to the Grand Mother, who they share a mind with. Because the Grand Mother is considered all-knowing when it comes to the Epard species, she can help track Eihn by tracking her Epard.
* The Epard are able to merge together and become stronger that way, however, that means the other Epard soul is always in their head. They end up having multiple minds with one body.
* They are able to revive their own species and flora.
* They can grow their own fruits and vegetables from themselves while in their dormant form.
* The Epard are *exceptional* at crafting poisons and healing solvents.
* They can communicate with plants.
* They are extremely intelligent, but are unable to communicate it with other species.

## Fun Facts

* The Grand Mother can actually force all her Epard into a dormant form. This has happened only once and caused a lot of confusion and chaos.
* The Epard regenerate in their dormant form.
* When the Epard die, they turn into a bunch of tiny spores that make their way back to the Grand Mother. These spores glow and you can sometimes see them in space. No one but the Epard know what they are.
* Despite their exceptional intelligence, the Epard cannot communicate with other forms of life and usually perform weird charades or draw out things.
* The Epard are unable to reproduce, have romantic feelings, or anything similar. The Grand Mother took that aspect away from them.
* There has been only a very select few instances where the Epard could communicate with others, and it was when there was a rare species who could telepathically communicate with them. That species is assumed to be extinct.
* They communicate with each other by merging completely or touching each other.
* Everyone assumes that they are very happy, but they do not experience any emotion except for grief.