A possessed diatomb.
World: The White Void
Diet: Light
Length: 5 feet
Lifespan: Indefinite
Habitat: Most skies
Encased in a shell textured like stone, diatombs hover in the sky above much of the White Void, only absent in places of extreme heat, cold, or aridity. They are extremely common, one of the most populous forms of “sky plankton” in the void’s skies. They are one of those considered like plants, feeding only on light.
Diatombs are particularly durable creatures, what with their thick shells. Their primary predators either have mechanisms for cracking this shell or simply spear through the holes in the armor and drink out their insides. They have no other defense besides simply ramming their bodies into anything that tries to eat them, and so are the favored prey of many larger organisms.
While few cultures eat them, finding the pulp within unappetizing, they find a few uses for the few sapient races of the void. Their durable shells are shaped into materials for ships and buildings, but in some cases, stranger things are done with the shells. With the right rituals, a dying being can be bound to the empty shell of a diatomb, creating an undead creature with the durability of a diatomb but the intelligence and casting abilities of whatever was placed within. These “possessed” diatombs often function as guardians of sacred sites, or even their own tombs, although some take a more violent role as aerial assault specialists, attacking villages and cities from above.
