Ivnluge - Amphibious invertebrate molluscoids-sea urchins. Need symbiotic enhancements or some other sort of protection to function in most environments. Tend to leave unsightly slime trails where they go.

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The Ivnluge are an amphibious invertebrate species, originating from a planet mostly covered in large bodies of a liquid superficially resembling water, but somewhat different from it in chemical composition. This environment would be inhospitable, if ot outright deadly for most beings not thoroughly acclimated to it, due in particular to the tremendous concentration of anomalous bacterial life - occasionally ridden with strange viral symbionts - in both air and oceans. However, life did thrive on it, and, though it adapted so narrowly to its unusual surroundings as to severely lack in habitat versatility, it did so with admirable efficiency. Remarkably enough, the paths taken by evolution ensured that natural biodiversity remained quite limited despite the immense population growth and spread rates of most geni.

Various schools theorise that the Ivnluge's rise to sapience was enabled by them being among the few creatures capable of functioning on land as well as in the ocean, which opened countless opportunities for development. However, there were other factors that shaped them into what they are today. A rarity of predators and natural enemies meant that an Ivnluge's worst enemy usually was another Ivnluge; this led to a highly competitive mindset taking root in their instincts, strong traces of which still persist after millennia of civilisation. Many of them find the thrill of conflict, be it physical or more abstract, an almost irresistible lure, and struggles of all sorts are widely sen as invigorating and valuable experiences. Interestingly, the fact that the typical modern Ivnluge has little or no desire for personal self-betterment means that these impulses are becoming more and more purely hedonistic as times advance.

Physically, the typical Ivnluge is formed of a central spherical body, though its exact shape slightly varies as it shifts and moves around, from which there extend fully retractable limbs similar to tapering tentacles or mollusc eye stalks. Their number usually ranges from eight to twelve; anything more or less is a sign of rare genetic deformity or, in more recent times, voluntary modification. Severed or otherwise mutilated limbs will regrow over the course of a year or two, less if treated with advanced medical technology, unless the wound is cauterised. Body and limbs alike are covered with thick, rubbery skin, most often of some shade of dark blue or purple. Ivnluge do not have a developed endoskeleton, with only a rudimentary and rather fragile web-like structure, whose composition somewhat resembles chitin, to form the basic support for their bodies and contain the main circulatory vessels. It is in turn supplemented by their dense muscular and adipose mass, which likewise protects their organs from trauma.

The species' reproductive functions require the presence of several individuals who are not closely genetically related and have not mated with each other within the last years. As such, Ivnluge do not form stable families, but congregate in temporary clutches when they feel inclined to so. Incubation of the resulting eggs and education of the young, who develop comparatively rapidly, is nowadays left to specialised institutions.

Ivnluge are a fairly common sight in the Network, their homeworld having been assimilated by its predecessor and the species having seized the opportunity brought about by the new order of things to spread throughout its territories in search of profit, challenges and adventure. They are slightly more rare in places distant from its boundaries, though the difference is barely noticeable and their numbers are steadily spreading. Wherever there is opportunity, there will be the sound of tentacles sliding over the floor, leaving a viscous trail behind.

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