born from the fall
Unbeknownst to the island dwellers, millions of miles away, is the source of almost all intelligent life on Safira Island. The Glaatus Asteroid Belt is cluttered with fast-moving space rock, which is constantly crashing into itself, sending bits of debris scattering across the solar system. That debris, although often lost to the infinity of space, sometimes finds its way into Safira’s atmosphere. From there, it plumits through the gaseous layers, where many burn into meteors, but a select few land on the planet’s surface.
These Glaatus meteorites have a strange property. Upon landing, the space rock mixes with the planet’s crust and mutates a peculiar blessing: they transform into the beginning of a Safrian “egg”.
What a meteorite will hatch depends on the biome it landed in and the size of the rock. Meteorites that land in water-aligned regions will develop into an aqualox, while meteorites that land in earth-aligned regions will evolve into a terradin, and so on. If a meteorite is too small to properly develop into a dominant species, it's referred to as a Starbit, and the “egg” will hatch into the companion associated with that element (such as a water-region Starbit hatching a Poco).
In older times, meteorites would be left untouched to develop on their own, but as society has grown, many Safirans have a desire to serve the role of parents. The high clergy have also found that hatchlings grown under the wing of another are much healthier, adaptive, and friendlier than “feral” Safirans. For this reason, the Shelter was founded. (More about Parenthood and The Shelter Nursery information is to be added.)
Hatchling Growth
When a meteorite lands, it immediately begins to absorb its surroundings. Flora, fauna, and elements alike are all consumed by the meteorite. Some meteorites “eat” very slowly, taking decades to hatch, while others form rapidly and hatch in mere days. All meteorites are considered hazardous, because they slowly digest anything nearby, but rapid-hatching meteorites are especially dangerous. If a Safiran isn’t careful, they can easily be entirely consumed within only an hour!
When a meteorite reaches the later half of its growth stage, a fetus will begin to form on the outside of the rock. Although fragile, the fetus is in no real danger, as predators avoid meteorites to avoid the risk of being eaten. In fact, there are cases where a predator will eat a growing meteorite, only to be eaten themselves, the fetus still alive in their stomach.
At the final quarter of a meteorite’s development, its appetite will yield and it will consume less and less, before finally, you’re looking at a fully developed hatchling! The meteorite may erode away during this time, or begin to polish and shape itself, which all depends on the species the meteorite has become. For example, an aqualox pup meteorite will become its Soul Gem, while a Pokey Smokes will disappear completely.
Aqualox Pups
An aqualox is born with its eyes closed. Any aquatic adaptations it has will match the baby-version of its full form, such as aquatic tails being translucent like a fish fry’s. Their whiskers are limp and their ears and mane have yet to grow into their full size.
After the first two days, the ‘lox pup’s whiskers will gain their volume and their mane will begin to grow. Most importantly, their eyes finally open! But these eyes do not look like their adult form. Freshly infused with an abundance of elemental magic, a baby aqualox’s eyes glow! This light will fade as time moves on though, all at different rates. Late bloomers will be slow to shed their luminescence, and it's not uncommon for them to be picked on at the playground if they still have bright eyes after their second year.
Over time, a ‘lox will grow out of their youthful proportions into their adult form. At what size an aqualox will stop growing once-again depends on the area where their meteorite landed. The smallest of ‘loxes hail from the beaches of small islands, while the largest were formed in the farthest depths of the Deep Sea. Although size varies greatly, typically, a ‘lox will be no smaller than 33 centimeters (13 inches) and no larger than 1.8 meters (6 feet) tall.
Aqualoxes never completely lose their ability to absorb their surroundings. Because of this, their organs are always receiving new cells and are unable to shut down on them. This means that ‘loxes aging is an extremely slow process, and death from old age is extremely rare. The most common way for an aqualox to pass is by losing or damaging their Soul Gem in some way, although disease is also a known risk. The oldest recorded ‘lox was a few thousand years old, although the habit of keeping death secret makes it difficult to say.