Zhogarn lore

## Zhogarn Symbiosis

**Species:** Zhogarn

**Place of origin:** Milky Way small-arm (Near 3kpc arm) the Izlar.

*The Zhogarns are extremophilic forms of life that are adapted to the extreme physical and radiant properties of a place called Izlar. Starting with a single ancestor, which adapted to live in the space since the begining, this process results in the speciation and phenotypic adaptation of an array of Zhogarn species exhibiting different morphological and physiological traits. These creatures, fungi and plants live in perfect symbiosis, their biological body can reach extraordinary dimensions, their lifespan ranges from a few hundred to even a hundred thousand years. Although they don’t look like intelligent life forms, the truth is that Zhogarns possess more complex cognitive properties thanks to their symbiotic behavior.*

### History

Situated at the edge of the extremely dense small-arm of the Milky Way, Izlar blazed in all its glory until it blazed no more. The day the star collapsed was like any other one, one moment it was there and the next moment it was gone. When the chaos of its collapse settled, there was an insidious membrane in its place. They called it ChromoSphere. The ChromoSphere was filled with intense energy and it emitted devastating radiation which cremated anything unlucky enough to pass through it.

At its center was an ancient artifact which have evolved into a creature - the Source that found a way to stay alive despite the collapse of its host star. With time, The Source morphed into increasingly complex extremophiles and soon, growing in intelligence, they came to a most progressive realization – they could mutate the ones they create. They called them the children of Izlar.

The Zhogarn beings are now floating in the Izlar as the jellyfish, rays and fish in the oceans of the Earth. Thanks to their perfect symbiosis, each member of the whole race plays an important role of their survival. For example the plant-like extremophytes are not capable of moving, they are collecting light and nutrients, which give a source of energy for the species that are able to protect and care for them. Various other sub-species have been specialized for various tasks, aiming to protect, preserve and enhance their ecosystems. Although most individuals are not very intelligent, a sub-species called Alphas and Minds are able to coordinate their work extraordinarily, they design and manage with their advanced cognitive abilities to support Source's work.

In the vast space, this species is able to communicate in multiple ways, most efficiently with their fluids, the Nerve Spores, which transmit their thoughts and will. Additionally, signals from the light receptors covering the body of the Zhogarns are also used for communication.

The Source’s vast intelligence developed at the most rapid pace until the creature became a divine entity of the Zhogarns, whose aim was to breed the perfect species and create a way to send them out of the ChromoSphere.

All because the Source realized that the ChromoSphere began to shrink and will collapse over time, killing everything that is trapped in it. She tried to push her children outside of Izlar with multiple mutations so far unsuccessfully, despite all of his efforts, the ChromoSphere is too fatal for any biological creatures to survive.

### Technology, weapons

The Zhogarns do not have the traditional technology and weaponry. Because Source has been developing the species for hundreds of thousands of years to perfection, each sub-species has a very varied and powerful biological attack and defense mutation that they need, because the life space of Izlar is shrinking and the individuals sometimes go berserk due to their instincts and often get into smaller fights, many times renegade Aphas and Minds are trying to create their own pack.

The most common defense mutations of Zhogarns are the huge and sharp tentacles, fiery, acidic spikes, and biologically produced lightning-like electrical discharges.

### Economy

The symbiosys' central life form of Zhogarn is the Argus, a huge creature that can constantly give birth to Spawns. These jellyfish-like forms have a genetic base that can be transformed into many species as creatures as well extremophytes. Each species of the Zhogarn race represents an important part of their ecosystem, the Worker specimens mine ores with their strong and sharp tentacles from ore-rich asteroids, which the Digestivator can use by consuming and processing.