Sart'han

The Sart'han are an extinct silicon-based species of enormous arthropods that served as a keystone organism critical to the planet Aaba'Mundi's ecosystem. In Aaba'Mundi's desolate environment, much of the biosphere clusters near Sart'han herds as they absorb radiation from the Galactic Core which allows them to undergo metabolic processes that supply the planet with key molecules.

Characteristics

Sart'han are best known for their shells made of rock and crystalline material. Younger specimens are often mistaken as small rocks or boulders but the largest ones can appear as mountains. They have several massive jointed limbs which they use to lift themselves up. Aaba'Mundi's low gravity makes this possible alongside the fact that its shell is not completely solid - being filled with numerous hollow tunnels. These tunnels provide pathways for plant roots and other burrowing creatures which help maintain the shell in exchange for sharing nutrients with the Sart'han.

Sart'han lay eggs in clutches of the thousands. They are hermaphrodites and reproduce by sending spores that travel through the wind to other Sart'han. Many young Sart'han do not survive more than a few months due to Aaba'Mundi's harsh climate. The most common predator to young Sart'han was the Hanachi serpent, a legless reptile that could spit acid capable of melting stone. Adult Sart'han had no natural predators, and they had no means of defending their young besides relying on any other species that had a symbiotic relationship with - those that were willing to protect the shell.

The lucky Sart'han that survived after a few years would grow indefinitely, their shells growing larger and larger. Their walking speed decreased as their shells got heavier.

Lifespan

It was not known how long Sart'han lived for but the single preserved organic specimen was determined to have lived for at least 40,000 years. As the Na'zrah archives have documentation of specimens that were much larger than the one that was discovered, it is possible they could have lived for hundreds of thousands of years, if not indefinitely.

Influence on the Aeliph

The Sart'han were highly significant for the development of the Aeliph species which relied on them for shelter and travel. Entire settlements were built on Sart'han where the Aeliph lived nomadically. They developed industrial means by mining the carapaces of these creatures which grew as they fed off the radiation of the Galactic Core and the nearby stars. The Sart'han did not seem to mind its carapace being mined for resources so long as the shell was not cut too deep.