Kyabūni

The **Kyabūni** are a sentient and intelligent species endemic to Segmentum Pacificus. After many millennia of expansion and integration, every planet where they appear as a prominent species has fallen under the control of the empire of the Neon Dragons. They are the most numerous species within the empire after humans, making up approximately a third of the population.

The Kyabūni originate from the planet of Nkawe, a large but low-density planet known primarily for its mildly sulphurous atmosphere and the absence of plant life, instead favouring fungi.

## Name

Kyabūni is both the plural and singular word for the species, as their language lacks pluralised forms and instead denotes it through context. Kyabūni is a corruption of *Kyasabūni*, which approximately translates into Gothic as either "enlightened creature" or "blessed creature". *Būni* means creature - specifically a creature that is not a monstrous beast (*ngawi*) - and *kyasa* refers to the property of possessing "divine light".

The notion of possessing divine light derives from the indigenous pagan beliefs of the Kyabūni, though scholars can only make assumptions as to what the link was, as very little evidence of their indigenous religion still remains. A creature which possesses divine light was likely either blessed by a deity (or deities) or had divine blood within them to make them capable of sentience and reason, setting them apart from the common animals. Modern Kyabūni use *kyasa* simply to infer the dual qualities of sentience and sapience; they include it in their word for intelligent aliens, which is *Kyashona*.

## Morphology

Kyabūni are mammalian creatures with three sets of limbs; one of which acts as legs, one of which serves as arms for grabbing, and one of which bears large, dark brown leathery webbed wings. Though they are fully capable of walking bipedally, they will often use either their arms or wings to walk with in a quadrupedal style, as this spreads the exertion out across more limbs rather than placing it all on the legs.

Kyabūni are mostly covered in fur, which is brown on their heads, orange on their upper torso and dark brown on their lower portions. This fur is distinctly puffy and fuzzy, and makes the Kyabūni appear larger than they actually are. This is an adaption to the generally cool climate of their home planet of Nkawe, and makes life very difficult for them in hot environments.

The faces of Kyabūni feature prominent pointed ears, large bulbous eyes, a pointed snout and slightly curved ridged horns that end in a sharp point, with males having longer horns than females. As omnivores, they have a mixture of types of teeth - though one race of Kyabūni from the planet of Shajano is known for having especially long fangs that stick out of the mouth even when closed. The cause of this adaptation remains debated by Kyabūni biologists.

As flying creatures, Kyabūni have numerous adaptations to make them as lightweight as possible; their musculature is highly efficient and remarkably strong for its weight, and they have partially pneumatised skeletons to reduce weight and improve the efficiency of oxygen usage. Though these adaptations allow Kyabūni to fly without requiring an absurdly large wingspan, they do make them a somewhat fragile species; in combat they must heavily rely on their mobility, as it takes far less damage to incapacitate or kill a Kyabūni compared to a human.

## Affinity for Sulphur

Unlike many intelligent species throughout the galaxy, the Kyabūni do not and cannot breathe in Terran-style atmospheres; after all, they evolved to live in the mildly sulphurous atmosphere of their home planet of Nkawe, and so they developed respiratory systems designed to function with small quantities of sulphur. The element is part of the respiration reaction within their cells that gives them energy, so they are incapable of surviving without it.

The Kyabūni are also adapted to be highly externally and internally resistant to sulphuric acid, since the sulphurous atmospheres they are adapted to result in all natural water sources having a tiny concentration of sulphuric acid diluted in them. However, they are not immune, and will still be harmed with enough exposure.

Kyabūni are capable of surviving in atmospheres suited to humans by simply wearing a mask that injects tiny quantities of sulphur gas from a small tank into the air they breathe, but a human requires a more advanced full-face respiratory mask with filtering mechanisms to survive on a Kyabūni world; failure to do so can cause damage to the lungs, respiratory tract, oesophagus, eyes and eventually the brain. However, the concentration of sulphur is low enough that only humans with especially sensitive skin will experience skin irritation, so a full-face mask is the only equipment a human needs.