The Sons of Ra

With cargo ships darting back and forth from Quantum Prime to the various moons of the Aluza system for centuries and centuries, it’s no surprise that various species native to one moon or another hitched a ride and colonized other moons. From the blue-green ice plankton of Polar Paradise that now grows at the poles of Quantum Prime, to the Earth squirrels that came back to the Aluza system from Earth and are now present on almost every moon, life will find a way.

One of the odder species to hitchhike a ride around the system are the Fire Falcons of Caldera Chaos. The Falcons, while appearing to be some sort of energy creature made of fire, are in fact nothing of the sort. They’re standard carbon-based life forms but have a thick scaley hide that protects them from the hot ash and burning winds of Caldera Chaos. Where does the fire come from? Toba wildlife biologists eventually cracked the mystery: the Fire Falcons have glands that excrete a flammable gel onto the underside of the wings, which spontaneously combusts when exposed to air. This gives the appearance of birds “made of fire” but is really only an odd evolutionary hack that cleanses small parasites from their skin, and perhaps gives the Fire Falcons a bit of extra lift from the hot air generated.

The Sons of Ra is a beacon that uses a high-pitched call to signal to any nearby flock of Fire Falcons that there’s something small and edible nearby. Any Rocket Dog unlucky enough to be caught by a bunch of Fire Falcons will remember that experience for a long time.