Luxan

In ideal conditions, luxans can live for countless decades, but few make it past 20 years or so.

"lucks-an"

Luxans stalk the endless, scorching daylight of the Light Zone, and are the Exan's only natural predator. Their humanoid frames appear emaciated, with bones jutting out underneath their pale skin at sharp angles. Their hair is long, stringy, and white, draping among four feathered wings that extend from the back. The feathers are always brilliant white. Their arms are long like an exan's, but their hands are much closer to those of a Human, with thin, delicate fingers that lack claws.

The face of a luxan is anything but human or exanic. The eyes are solid black and circular, set high near the forehead. The mouth is massive, taking up most of the face, and is filled with dozens of teeth of random lengths and angles, about a foot long at the most. The longer ones jut up and out from the lips. Vocalizations are limited to terrible screeching noises. Luxans also have a venomous bite: the toxin is injected into the veins and causes intense burning pain within seconds. In about ten minutes, paralysis sets in around the site of the bite before spreading to the rest of the body, and within thirty minutes the victim's heart stops.

Luxans primarily feed on exans that have either wandered into the Light Zone of their own volition or have been dragged there by force by a particularly starving predator. If food is scarce, luxans will turn to anything they can get their hands on, including their own kind if absolutely necessary.

The luxan's primary means of disabling prey is their hypnotic stare. Through the eyes, they silently cast spells that slow or completely stop the flow of the victim's Life Force to certain parts of their brain, leading to sluggish thought and movement, or even paralysis, as long as eye contact is maintained.

All luxans also have some level of Light Magic. On average, their strength in this area is incredibly high, but it can only be unleashed in bursts and exhausts the caster. Because of this, most luxans will only turn to their standard magic in extreme situations; they prefer to stare down prey and make their kills physically.

In terms of defense, the wings of a luxan give off a constant flow of light energy, which the luxan can dim or brighten at will. This offers a way to blend in with the bleak white environment, or even daze attackers if escape is necessary.

Though luxans are not considered sapient, they are smart enough to use psychological warfare, often waiting and watching prey until they come out into the open or are too exhausted to move. They are extreme loners, never hunting in groups. In fact, they can be quite territorial and fight with other luxans that get too close, except during their short mating seasons sprinkled throughout the year.

Some luxans have been seen wearing clothes of sorts, fashioning the skins of their kills into robes that are bleached in the intense sun.