It seemed to drift, gliding slowly through the air, only a foot above the ground. Its eyes were dark like the night sky, and its mouth curved upwards in some imitation of a human smile. Though it had a mouth, it did not speak a word, no matter how many times I asked what it was. It formed gestures with its arms and hands, trying to communicate something. It came closer, lowering itself so that its eyes met mine, its lowermost tentacles lifting themselves slightly as though they were repelled by the ground itself. It reached its head out toward my forehead, and I recoiled in a moment of fear. The creature continued to watch me, unblinking. There was a sort of alien innocence in how it watched me.   Going against everything I had been told about trusting creatures of this sort, I slowly walked back over to the floating being. As it raised its hand once again, I nodded in affirmation. It gently placed its cold palm upon my head, and for an instant, I felt as though I could hear the universe itself, like an ethereal chorus of screams.   Then, just as quickly, it faded into silence. I looked back at the face of the creature, whose mouth opened as though to express joy. An excited voice spoke inside my head.   "Finally, you can hear me!"   With bodies resembling jellyfish, an inability to speak without the aid of telepathy, and mysterious cosmic origins, the nidaari are among the strangest of all races, as well as the least understood. Many of them live in isolation, deep beneath the ocean, although they have slowly begun to return to the surface.   They are a curious people, eager to observe and learn from the people of this world. A small number of nidaari have been welcomed into towns and cities after awakening people to their telepathic voices. However, many still fear their strange psychic powers.   Cosmic Drifters Nobody knows from where the nidaari originated, other than that they descended to the world from among the stars. They are said to have aimlessly drifted for millennia before finding this world, which they now call home. Ancient legends speak of a day when thousands of nidaari drifted down from the heavens. Some cultures saw them as celestial messengers of the gods, while others saw them as heralds of the end times. The nidaari that survived this first contact went into seclusion in the ocean, disappearing for centuries before finally returning to the surface world, eager to once again meet the people of the land. Their ancient forms were said to have been very different to how they appear today, suggesting that newer generations of nidaari have somehow developed more humanoid forms so that they may better interact with the native residents of this world. Some scholars suggest that this was due to them interacting with the minds of humanoids, while others believe this mutation was designed by the first nidaari after observing and studying the native people of this world. None of the original generation of nidaari are known to survive, so the answer remains a mystery, even to the nidaari themselves.   Bizzare Biology A mated pair of nidaari will produce a sac containing thousands of eggs, which need to be submerged in a liquid environment to develop. The parents will typically construct a pool or shelter for their young, but otherwise leave them alone. After about three months, the eggs will hatch into larval nidaari, which lack any humanoid features and are less than an inch in length. Almost all of these nidaari will die, and their bodies will be consumed by their siblings, accumulating their biomass as well as their psionic capacity. Within six months, no more than five nidaari will remain, each surviving larva having grown to a length of at least eight inches. At this point, they will attach themselves to a solid surface and form a transparent membrane around themselves, inside of which they will grow into a sentient, adult nidaari. Depending on factors ranging from water quality to light exposure, this process can take anywhere from three to ten years. In the final stages of development, they will begin to speak to their siblings telepathically, forming the basis for powerful sibling bonds when they finally emerge, ready to enter the world together.   Awakeners of Minds Thankfully for the nidaari, they possess a method by which they can awaken the minds of other people, allowing them to hear their voices. Through physical contact, a nidaari can alter the mind of a creature to be receptive to their telepathic voices, although their minds will return to normal after a few days if they are not exposed to nidaari telepathy. This alteration can only be performed if the person is willing to let the nidaari touch their mind, meaning that someone who is afraid or hostile will resist it. A nidaari adventurer will often rely on their party members to convince new people to undergo this process.   Alien Curiosity Most nidaari that emerge from the sea only wish to observe society and learn how it functions. An individual may watch a village from afar for years before deciding to make contact. Others may drift from place to place, never quite settling down and very rarely reaching out to communicate with other races. While the majority are content to simply watch, the occasional nidaari may find themselves thrust into an adventure. A nidaari adventurer may have an even greater desire to explore the world, seeing different cultures and peoples, finding company in a group of adventurers that give them the opportunity to travel far and wide. Alternatively, perhaps in one's observations they found a greater purpose, finding themselves experiencing faith, dedication, or duty. There may be one particularly fascinating person or group of people that a dedicated nidaari now fights for, or maybe one has begun to question their purpose and are seeking answers.   Nidaari Names Nidaari are able to tell each other apart from the "sound" of their telepathic voices, and refer to others of their kind by how they sound. As a result, when choosing a name to go by for interacting with other races, nidaari often choose names that describe their voice. Others choose names inspired by the names used by the society they are trying to integrate into, forming a name based on commonly used sounds, but only rarely resembling an actual name used by that culture. Nidaari do not have male or female sexes, though their bodies often resemble the male or female forms of most humanoids. They seem to have an incomplete understanding of gender, but some may choose to identify as male or female regardless, while others do not care how they are referred to.