Est Reference

Name: Est do Souille Gastrond

Alias/Nickname: Emissary Est

Species: Cnida

Country/Planet/Home: Meridial World W-1-0 "Souille"

Age: 23 earth years

Height/Weight: 241cm/32kg

Gender: Female

Reason for entering: The Black Horizon system does not contain sufficiently large bodies of water to raise the star whales the Cnida once used to travel the universe to full size. At the behest of Elder Mor, Est is competing to win her colony the materiel required to construct an artificial spawning world for them, and with it a ticket back to the stars.

Abilities:
   Stinging Touch - Cnida possess a jellyfish-like sting in their tendrils, triggered on contact with flesh. It cannot pentrate clothing or unbroken skin much thicker than that of a human. Primary symptoms are sharp pain radiating out from the wound and disruption to breathing and heart rate. Immediate effect lasts generally around 10 seconds. Heavy doses or repeated exposure can result in permanent nerve damage. Overuse can result in lowered effectiveness until stinging cells are given a chance to replenish. Cnida are not affected by their own or each others' stings.

    Float - In conditions of sufficient wind, a Cnida can inflate a float located on the back of their body, enabling limited gliding and floating. This also enables them to effortlessly float on the surface of water. This ability is ineffective in weak wind or when carrying more than a few pounds of weight. The float is also vulnerable when inflated.

    Withdraw - A Cnida can withdraw their vulnerable sensory organs behind their bracts for protection, but is obviously handicapped in that sense while doing so.

Strengths:
- Above average dexterity and agility owing to the degree of independent motion each of a Cnida's body parts have
- Quick to adapt to new information and situations due to the conditions of her upbringing

Weaknesses:
- Below average overall strength. If Est combined her tendrils into the standard 2 arms and 2 legs of a humanoid, each limb would be weaker than the equivalent true limb
- Below average durability. Bracts are tough like leather, but everything else other thank beak is weaker than human skin.
- Vulnerable to attacks that reach under bracts, as internal organs are effectively open to the air from below
- Tendrils become more vulnerable the further and therefore thinner they are stretched
- High heat causes drying out, drying out causes tendril shrinkage, in extreme cases loss of coordination
- Very lightweight, so easily overpowered by even physically weaker but bulkier opponents who manage to get a solid grip

Personality: Est appears quite stoic on the surface, partially due to the alien physiology of her species and partially due to her regimented upbringing. In truth, she knows the pressure she is under to succeed, and channels that nervous energy into her task. She has difficulty relaxing or finding ways to occupy herself during downtime, and very awkward in small-talk situations. Things become a lot easier for her if she can find a way to frame them in a goal-oriented manner. She takes great pride in accomplishment, and respects in others, by whatever metric they set out ahead of time to judge it by. She hasn't yet put much thought into her personal goals separate from those of her clan, but now as the sole Cnida for lightyears around and with limited communications back home, perhaps that will change.

History: Est is the 31st scion of Elder Mor, the current head of the Gastrond clan and therefore ruler of all the Cnida of Black Horizon. By the time she matured, her many elder siblings, aunts, uncles, and cousins had already filled all of the traditional roles expected of a Cnida royal. She was first, then, raised as a potential spare should any of her relatives be killed or prove unable to carry out their duties, given a basic training in war, diplomacy, economics, and other subjects, without time to explore the true depth of any one of them. When astronomers decoded the signal announcing Xotiathon, however, a new role suddenly became available, one which had lain dormant and obselete since the last of the star whales perished: the Extrasolar Emissary. Est, a quick learner out of necessity from her early training, has spent the past year preparing to represent her people on the galactic stage.

Likes: diagrams, the view from space, gamification

Dislikes: low humidity, filler arcs, lazy bones