This is what happens when I'm gaming past midnight, something in a mod manages to pique my interest, and said piqued interest persists and even manages to hook. Bonus points when writing urge suddenly comes to be during said stage and compels a tired person to write, irregardless of the quality of the work. The link to said mod will be at the end for those who want to nick it to try out as well.

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Species: Starbound Riolu and Lucario.

Summary: Canine-based bipedal creatures that are able to harness a form of energy unique to them called Aura.

Physiology: Bipedal in build and varying degrees of differences between each member. Younger members of their society average around two and a half to three feet/between seventy-six to ninety-one centimeters in the first year or so of their lives, while fully developed adults range from five and a half feet up to a staggering seven feet, eight inches/one hundred and sixty-seven centimeters up to two hundred and thirty-three centimeters. The larger adults though are only able to reach said size range depending on what they are born and developed as.

The younger members of their society, known as 'Riolu', have fewer features compared to the more developed Lucario. Most noticeably are the lack of spikes that the adult members have, the closest being small nubs of an unknown metal or bone-like substance on the back of the hand-paws. The appendages on either side of the head allow them to sense the Aura that their kind generate constantly, but aren't able to focus for too long due to it being taxing for their bodies, more so the younger they are to attempt such.

The older 'Lucario' are more varied in appearance compared to the younger members of their species, their fur coloration being the most noticeable, along with the color of the aura they use and even the aura sensing appendages. Fairly common among them are spikes that are more developed versions of the nubs they had while they were younger, more notoriously among other races being the aptly-named 'anti-hug spike' on the center of the chest region.

Their bodies are highly adaptive to any environment, their hardiness being the main contributing factor for this. Despite such though, they are more vulnerable to higher temperatures than others, resulting in less brave members shying away from biomes or areas that get too uncomfortably hot for them.

Behavior: Prideful of their strength and eagerness for a fight, but without trailing into arrogance or war-seeking behavior. They do often spar with one another to test their might against other members of their kind, or with other races if desired. This eagerness to fight along with their pride has them often viewed as honorable warriors. Those who aren't all that inclined to be warriors instead often serve as tutors for the younger members or as artisans of Auracite-based equipment.

Abilities: They are beings that constantly produce a type of energy unique to them named 'Aura'. This energy is what powers most of their technology and their abilities, especially those focused towards fighting opponents. While their bodies do produce aura almost nonstop, this comes at the cost of each member, even their youth, having a fairly hearty appetite. Those who are producing excess amounts of the energy can concentrate the essence of their aura into crystalline structures, aptly named 'Auracite'. This form of their energy allows creation of various pieces of gear they use that provides a variety of benefits to those that wear them.

Most famously among their race is the ability to 'mega evolve'. This is done via crystals of almost pure aura, named (uncreative among other races) 'Lucarioite', though the object itself is relatively rare among them. Those that go through this process of using one have their physical features altered to having longer and jagged aura appendages for much more potent pinpointing of aura signatures, several more spikes among their body for offense or even defense, and vastly increased strength and speed to match. This change is temporary though, lasting only a few minutes before the user is reverted back to their default self, the lucarioite consumed in the process. Only lucarioite of the purest form can be used time and time again without being consumed, something that is highly sought after not only for that effect, but also the amount of aura energy contained within it.

Growth and Development: While just about every member has the same growth cycle as a Riolu, spanning up to a comparatively short ten years until maturity, it's when making the transition from said stage to a proper Lucario that they branch out. The average lucario would have four aura sensing appendages, spikes on the back of either hand-paw and the aforementioned chest spike, cross-shaped fur pattern on the face, and their tail having a nick at the end to make it look scythed, but due to the vast variety of recorded features among the population, it is rare to find those who have the exact same physical features.

The first kind of lucario are those who are by natural means fully developed yet retain features of their youth. Often nicknamed 'Riocarios', they are usually those who do not wish to pursue the more warrior-inclined nature of their race, instead going for the more peaceful branches of their society. It doesn't mean that they aren't able to use aura abilities without exhaustion though, yet they will lack the potency compared to the other kinds of lucario.

The second and far more rare version are those that are named 'Inactive Megas'. They are members who have physical features akin to that of when a lucario goes through mega evolution, but do not have the enhanced capabilities of such. They are stronger than most other normal lucario, but can still be bested by those that manage to mega evolve. Most of them do harbor a desire to get their paws on the lucarioite mineral, but want to stick with the purest versions of them so that they do not need to search for another one after each use.

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Lucario race for Starbound: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfi.....?id=1356955138