talbek (Tal-Bek)

Overview

The colossal stellar dragons, Talbek are a rare and incredible sight. They grow throughout their lives and have no (known) maximum size, leading to the oldest of them, known as Great Wyrms, being as large as entire star systems.

Basic Information

Anatomy

long and serpentine in appearance, the Talbek are perfectly suited for living in the depth of space, despite what their appearance might imply at a glance.
Their “manes” are not made of organic material, but instead dust and debris that seems to collect and cling to them as they grow. When enough material has accumulated, it often appears to glow, especially as they get older, and eventually the mane will span their entire back. alternatively, some Talbek have been observed with rings of dust around their body instead of a mane, wearing them like jewellery around their tails, wrists, necks and horns.
They grow more limbs as they age, usually from their chest region and typically have a maximum of 6 arms, however and 4 "wings" or fins.

The rest of their bodies are covered in scales. They are usually dark in colouration with lighter spots in a mottled or cloud-like pattern with random silver scales, resembling a starry sky.
Some Talbek have ears, fins, extra horns, spines or other ornamentations around their faces and jawlines, but not all. It has been theorised these features could be indicative of different subspecies of Talbek, but scientists have not been able to find enough individuals that share features to determine if this is the case or not.
Very little is known about their internal anatomy other than the fact that they do indeed have a skeleton. The reason for this is that only one Talbek body has ever been found, however, it was not complete. A skeleton was present, as were some remains of skin, but everything else had been striped, presumably by purnekels or possibly even another, smaller talbek.

Genetics and Reproduction

Not a whole lot is known about the reproduction of the Talbek. For a long time, it was thought that they just didn't reproduce, that they were immortal and eternal. Eventually, however, it was discovered that this is not the case, they do produce offspring, it's just exceptionally rare for one to survive into adulthood. They are, however, functionally immortal once they reach this point, and do not seem to be capable of dying of old age. Kepek scientists know they lay eggs, usually among asteroid fields or near planets, and these eggs can lay dormant for hundreds or even thousands of Bekep-orbits.

Growth Rate & Stages

It takes thousands of years for the Talbek to grow to full size. Despite this, they grow relitivly quickly, starting life about the size of an adult Kepek, then within a few decades, growing to be the size of planets, then entire star systems. There are even myths that tell of talbek who are larger than The Pelexat Galaxy itself, however, no such talbek has ever been found and no solid evidence has ever surfaced that indicates they do get that big.
Talbek eggs are extremely small compared to the adults, usually, only 1-3m from top to bottom, and the babies are likewise, comparatively very small, usually around 15m from nose to tail tip after hatching. Only a few eggs have ever been found, which resemble enormous, polished gemstones. Like the talbek that hatch from them, they are usually dark in colouration with mottled or cloudy colour variations, and tiny white specs that resemble stars.

Ecology and Habitats

As adults, they prefer the empty spaces in the galaxy, usually inhabiting the edge of the galactic arms or the edges of the galaxy. Young ones will however be drawn more towards the centres of galaxies, as there is more material to feed on.

Dietary Needs and Habits

It was long thought that these creatures didn't eat, or had no need to, but recently studies showed they can live off the raw elements found in stellar bodies in space. they start off small, eating loose rocks and whatever they can find. Occasionally, they will also prey on other stellar creatures that they can successfully takedown, such as purnekels. eventually, they grow large enough to consume the asteroids they were hatched among, then they will move onto small planets, gas giants and eventually stars and entire star systems. It also seems likely that Talbek are able to absorb energy from other sources such as the radiation from stars.

Additional Information

Social Structure

Solitary by nature, the Talbek rarely interact with others of their kind after adolescence. Mothers will care for their young from a distance, and it is a rare sight indeed to see more than two babies under the parent's protection. No one is sure if the fathers simply choose to stay away, or if they even exist (many believe talbek reproduce asexually). The mothers guard the system their offspring hatch in and stay "nearby" (relatively) until the young are big enough to fight off rivals themselves. otherwise, though they are left alone, and many do not survive this initial period.
All other times, Talbek will usually ignore one another. on rare occasions, they may attack other Talbek who wander into their territory and refuse to leave, but most prefer to avoid conflict where possible. While it has never been observed, there are ancient records that indicate that Talbek do occasionally gather in groups, but for what purpose is unknown.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

It was thought for a long time that the talbek were deaf and unable to smell, as there was no air or sound in space where they spent most of their lives, but recent studies suggest they are at least capable of hearing and smelling if enough material is around them that can transmit it. The leading theory for why these senses would even develop is that some Talbek may hatch on planets, and spend their first few years in these oxygenated and pressurised environments. Presumably, these senses would remain when they grow larger and venture into space. Alternatively, some believe the Talbek weren't always stellar creatures and had a planetary origin, these senses could be an ancient holdover from those times. They seem to have incredible vision and are able to detect objects that should be way too small for them to perceive.

Powers and Abilities

One of the most unusual characteristics of the talbek is their utter disregard of the laws of physics since they seem to be able to ignore gravity completely and have no measurable mass, regardless of their size. This means that even when they are on a planet or other stellar body that has enough gravity to hold them down, they don't seem to be affected by it and will be able to float in the air, almost as though they were swimming. This also means that when they grow to full size and get to the size of planets or star systems, they have no gravitational pull of their own. The exception to this is the dust that accumulates around their heads, backs and tail, which seems to be attracted to those regions of the creature's body specifically.
The Talbek seem to have other kinds of powers on top of their ability to ignore gravity. Some call it magic, others simply say that science hasn't found a way to explain it yet. Whatever the case, every talbek's abilities seem to be different and they manifest not long after hatching.
Some of the observed and documented powers of various Talbek include:

• Fire/plasma breath and manipulation: One of the more common abilities, some Talbek are able to expel fire and plasma from their mouths and manipulate it around themselves. These Talbek often have fiery mane instead of the standard dust manes seen in most Talbek adults
• Emotional Alteration: While there were no (compressible) formal reports, a team of Kepek scientists aboard the ICF.Nabrai claim to have encountered a Talbek that altered their emotions upon noticing their presence. Upon it noticing them, the scientists claimed to be overwhelmed by a sense of immense sadness and rage. The crew and passengers of the ship flew into a rage and a riot began. The creature seemed to become alarmed or panicked, which was immediately reflected by the crew and passengers as well, who stopped fighting one another and began to cower or panic. The creature fled and everyone returned to normal. The scientists guessed the talbek was modifying their brain chemistry, but no one is sure how. All reports written about the account are vague and confusing, and no one seems to be able to remember the incident clearly enough to clarify anything about it. No one has been able to find this particular talbek again to get any further information about it.
• Radiation blast/electromagnetic manipulation: these talbek can make create concentrated bursts of radiation. The talbek who was observed using this ability also seemed to be able to change colour, indicating they had control over the electromagnetic spectrum, including the spectrum of visible light.
• Expanded gravity control: All talbek can control and manipulate gravity in some capacity, but most have an additional ability as well, such as the ones listed above. One particularly old talbek however was noted to only have the ability to control gravity, though to a much larger extent than others of its kind. It was observed seemingly altering the gravitation pull of a star, and causing the planets orbiting it to either fall into the star, or fly off into space, indicating this individual could likely control the gravity of objects other than just itself.

alternate names

Nulekib (used exclusivly by followers of Way of the Starfolk )

Origin/Ancestry

Unknown

Conservation Status

The Kepek Commonwealth has the Talbek as a protected species, meaning that one is only permitted to harm them in life-or-death situations (assuming they can even be harmed)

Geographic Distribution

• The Pelexat Galaxy
• The Void