Clion

Clion are an invertebrate aquatic species from the planet pair of Duoctlis.

## Anatomy & Physiology

Clion are humanoid in shape but otherwise do not display many human characteristics. Their bodies are somewhat translucent allowing others to see some of their innards, most notably their heart which is almost always visible if the chest is uncovered.

While dry their bodies take on an ethereal quality, allowing them to float except in extremely heavy gravity and pass through most solid matter. Clion bodies react almost immediately to contact with water. The cells in their bodies bind to the water making them corporeal until they dry out again. Most Clion live their entire lives underwater and have no knowledge that drying out isn't fatal.

Clion can hatch with a wide array of colored skin. Cool colors like blue and purple are more common than warm colors because of the ocean depth Clion usually live, the deeper in the ocean a Clion develops the cooler its color. Warm colored Clion are more likely to be appointed as attendants to Sol.

Clion early life prioritizes the growth of their hair and wings, to the point that they grow hair while still in the egg. Infant Clion use this mass of hair as a net to catch small fish and will usually eat anything that gets caught in it. Their comparatively large wings allow them to swim faster in case of danger. Adult Clion occasionally tether baby Clion in their spheres (housing structure) by their hair.

Otherwise, Clion are almost completely hairless, except for one patch at the top and back of their head, where fine white hair grows exceptionally fast.

Though they appear armless, Clion have several organs inside their bodies that can be manipulated like arms and hands, usually three, though as few as two and as many as five have been recorded. These organs extrude from nearly anywhere on a Clion's body except their head and connect to their stomach, acting as mouths. They are extremely elastic and end in three claw-like hooks. They can be severed if too much force is applied, this injury is almost certainly fatal.

Clion feet are toeless. The bottoms of their feet are connected to a tough membrane that, when opened, acts as a suction cup to keep a Clion in place underwater. When swimming or otherwise not in use, this membrane folds inward and serves as the sole of their feet. This membrane is almost always growing out and dead parts falling away that a damaged or torn membrane is treated as a minor inconvenience.

### Reproduction

While wet, a pair of Clion can reproduce if both are sexually mature. One of a Clion's arm-organs, instead of connecting to the stomach, functions as an ovipositor in females and an incubator in males. There is no formal process except a female will eject an egg into the arm of a male who will take the egg into their body where it will be fertilized and incubated until it is ready to be laid.

Once laid, the egg eventually will hatch into a baby Clion that will be taken care of and raised by its parents and other adults of its relative sphere cluster.

### Possession and Symbiosis

Because Clion become solid while submerged in water, while dry they can become trapped inside the bodies of water-containing organisms, such as humans, accidentally or intentionally. The Clion will no longer dry out and becomes a permanent fixture inside the host. This gives both host and symbiote some perks neither would have on their own. Though, If either party is killed or otherwise dies, the other will surely perish.

Symbiote Clion are still capable of protruding their arm-like organs through the body of their host. This causes great bodily trauma to the host, though this is extremely rarely fatal as the Clion’s enhanced healing ability will usually patch the hole before the host can succumb.

Because symbiote Clion have use of their “arms” they are also still able to reproduce, this process is uncomfortable but, besides the extending and retracting of the arms, is not painful to the host. The resulting infant is capable of exhibiting phenotypes of the non-Clion host.

## Society & Culture

Clion society formed extremely recently compared to their existence as a species.

Prior to Sol's arrival Clion were not much more than intelligent predators floating in Duoctlis' ocean. Sol taught them civilization far before they would have developed it naturally. As such the Clion collectively pronounced Sol their king and built him a great palace on Lesser Duoctlis' one land mass.

Clion do not build villages or towns, instead they build spherical domiciles appropriately called spheres. These spheres are weighted so the floor always faces up, but not so much that the sphere sinks. Spheres group together in a cluster while in the currents of the ocean. Clion can actively break free from the cluster but generally wont. In a cluster Clion will travel between spheres to visit or trade goods.

Trade skills such as weaving and butchery are in high demand due to limited space and the amount of creatures in the ocean that will kill a lone Clion.

## History

Clion likely did not originate on Duoctlis, though they or anyone else do not know otherwise.

The creatures modern day Clion evolved from, informally called Wisps.

Originally Duoctlis was not a pair of water planets, but a mostly frozen ice planet and its moon. On that planet lived a non-sentient animal species by the same name. These creatures lived primarily above water and only went below water to eat and mate. Because they lived dry most of the time, their bodies aged incredibly slowly and they had to eat less often. As such their lifespan was incredibly long.

Over time, Duoctlis and its moon began to melt, resulting in a shared sea between both bodies. During this process the Clion would evolve into the form we know today. Though they would begin to live their entire lives underwater, lowering their life expectancy by over 60%.

As far as any documentation shows, Clion were school-forming, carnivorous, predators. Despite this, Clion were and still are heavily predated upon themselves.

Records show a Clion hunting party came across a young child in the grass on Lesser Duoctlis' one land mass. He's described as wearing clothes made of pixie dust with hair of the sun. This child is able to survive underwater with no issue unexpected from one of his kind. He's reported to go by the name "Sol", and taught the early Clion about civilization and sustaining themselves.

Clion learned construction from Sol, and took it upon themselves to build him a home made of stone on the island. Construction of Sol's palace reportedly took over 40 seasonal cycles.

## Naming Conventions

Clion names take the form of a two letter long "cluster name" that serves the purpose of a surname, followed by a given name that can be any length. These names are written as one word separated by an apostrophe, such as Ge'Goran. In a cluster, members are usually only referred to by their given name, where their full name is used to refer to Clion in different clusters.

## DLC Variant: Orean Clion

Clion have been discovered on the resort planet of Oreana, home of the Oreads.

Orean Clion act in much the same way as Duoctlan Clion, though their lifespan is lengthened due to their knowledge and ability to stay dry like their ancestor Wisps. Orean Clion display colorful growths over their bodies, possibly as a deterrent to predators. It's implied, thanks to their integration into Oread society, that this deterrent worked splendidly and Clion were able to thrive on Oreana.

Clion on Oreana have a higher chance to be employed fixing the drones and satellites orbiting Oreana due to their natural ability to fly while dry, though most can be seen working side by side Oreads manning the many scenic resort hotels on the planet, or simply relaxing and living their best life.

Clion children occasionally hear rumors of a war that once put them at odds with the Oreads, but they're dismissed as simple rumors by adults. Then again, history is written by the winners.

Orean Clion follow the Oread pattern for names, of four letter first and last names.

## Etymology & Inspiration

Clion are based on Clione, or Sea Angels, a species of sea-dwelling invertebrates.

They also take inspiration from Clione from Spike Chunsoft game "Zanki Zero", and Seelie from Mihoyo game "Genshin Impact"