A familiar site on cold region stations, and with a particularly substantial population in tundric space, Blue-devils are quiet, diligent and not quite so malefic as their name seems to suggest. Ranging disparately in size, they are quasi-humanoids who possess on average somewhere between 2-5 limbs. Extreme statistical outliers can have more than 15, and certain rare individuals have just one. A common name, their moniker was adopted in the absence of a unified species title, although it is unknown now who originally came up with it. An ancient people, they developed side by side with many species, together forging composite societies and advancing eventually into space, where it quickly became obvious that the Devils were already widespread. While the reasons why are unknown, popular theories today are that they are elemental spirits, or the servitors to another, far older people that once controlled much of the galactic south. Whether they were discovered, summoned by, or evolved symbiotically with these people is conjecture, but it is supposed that the two were very loyal to one another, as evidenced by occasionally discovered ruins whose engravings depict the two living together.
Resembling a bulbous fleshy melon from which sprout tentacular limbs, they are non-traditional humanoids who rely on carefully learned behaviours to ingratiate themselves with other species. Not possessing a voice box and communicating instead via straightforward motions of the body and arms, their homes are often completely silent save for the humming of machinery and the unhurried plodding sound that they produce when walking down a corridor. Sensing through vibrations instead of hearing in a conventional sense, they prefer to buy whatever design produces the most placating tremors, although they do enjoy the sensation of experiencing a new sound. In part it is thought that the novelty of sentence building is what incites their integration into other societies, admiring verbal acrobatics and picturing their loud-mouthed friends as careful sound artists. Despite being completely silent themselves they are easily bored by quiet people and prefer to hang around the braggadocious, never tiring of their elaborate boasts.
Varying in colour depending on where they were originally from, although generally ranging from azure to baby blue, Blue-devils choose to wear carefully designed masks that they fashion from out of bone or resilient clays. Not having heads but rather sensing their surroundings relying on their whole body, they like to fashion nondescript faces for themselves so that their friends feel more comfortable speaking with them. This leads to occasional blunders where an absent minded individual is oriented incorrectly, maybe having a conversation facing away from somebody or upside down. This can be very humorous if not slightly disconcerting, and the Devil’s find it highly embarrassing. They’re tentacles are extraordinarily strong, able to support them fully upright instead of crawling as it is supposed they must once have walked. They like to bend the tips of some tentacles to approximate ankles and feet, and even one legged individuals are capable of hopping along just fine.
Perceiving sound differently to most other species, but still lovers of sound, Devil musicians are adept players of instruments that accommodate their singular large ‘fingers’. Paying close attention to frequency and layering, their compositions are artful if not particularly easy listening. This has earned them a hallowed place in many unconventional art movements of the past century. Despite not growing very much, and being born almost at full size in a way that makes it difficult for outsiders to guess their level of maturity, older devil’s typically walk more fluidly than their younger counterparts. Many of whom are still struggling to walk without seeming mechanical, because the behaviour has to be learnt instead of inherited. They become far more self-assured out of long practice. Newborns are maskless, and will be until they fashion one for themselves. Younger Devil’s are known to frequently adopt new designs, but after reaching maturity it is very rare for an individual to change a design they have settled on.