Tallow

The Tallow are a tall humanoid race. Thin, waxy, and pale, they need neither sleep nor food or drink; they consume knowledge. Gaunt and usually reserved, they amass knowledge as sustenance, for its own sake, not putting it to use. Possessing exceptional memories, they are always able to recall that which they have absorbed. Their bodies and limbs are much thinner than humans, but they are much less fragile than they appear. All newborn Tallow look identical and genderless, but as they read, their appearance is shaped based on the works that speak most to them. They age quite slowly compared to other humanoid races; some Tallow like Chief Archivist Berantil appear in their 70's or 80's while actually being well into their second millennium. When discovering a new source of written knowledge, they enter a form of trance, quickly scanning and absorbing all the words into their very beings at immense speed, in a way that doesn't harm that which they read. Many can be found endlessly studying the vast quantity of tomes in The Atheneum, and most of The Collectors are Tallow. The Tallow are candle-like in appearance. Capable of producing a flickering light from their faces, they are always able to read that which interests them, even in the darkest conditions. They are also capable of making their bodies transparent, though not fully invisible: they have a detectable shimmer when disguised, like heat at the edge of a flame.