Generally choosing to take on the size and proportions of an average, if not quite bulky humanoid, the Lithop are an almost indefinitely long lived species who are few in number, but for whom total bodily destruction is moreso a minor inconvenience than a death sentence. One of the only life-forms to arise (maybe even literally) from out of the serene stony plains on Lith, an unassuming planet in eastern tundric space, they are a people of slow-moving foragers and ardent naturalists. Although this may have contributed to their rarity elsewhere in the galaxy it is highly probable that their numbers are congenitally restricted, with some speculation even implying that the species was born all at once as part of the fallout from a cataclysm of some kind. Lithop do not deny this but instead claim to have no memory of the event, apparently only gaining sentience somewhat recently. This would explain how such a long-lived people failed to expand out into the galaxy for so long, and because individuals attain sapience one at a time, means that a hierarchy of age does exist within their society. The typical relationship between parent and child is absent, and the newly cognisant are instead educated by the community. Fast learners, they are already possessed of fine motor skills and highly developed minds, meaning that they are curious and opinionated about the world around them starting immediately. Population estimates are unreliable, but it is thought that roughly 65% of the species are yet to awake. The majority of ‘awoken’ Lithop are quick to vacate their world, tiring of the placid fields and light snowfall and searching quickly for new stimulus to feed their overactive minds. Only a few of the oldest ‘shepherds’ stay behind, having already explored the galaxy and being content now to ensure that the rest of their people are allowed to grow into mindfulness in peace.
Varying in appearance depending on the rocks which they have selected to incorporate into their bodies, Lithop begin life composed entirely of smooth limestone and tend to replace these original constituents only in the event that they are amputated by an outside force. Their composite forms are animated by a tethering consciousness that pervades each of the individual parts, inhabiting the body in a way that is somewhat similar to elemental possession, and indeed one of the most common assertions about the Lithop is that they are elementals of some kind. Crucially this consciousness does not dwindle or grow depending on the physical size of the body it controls, but rather just flows into new acquisitions and accepts them as a part of itself. In the event that an individual is reduced to a single stone, they can painstakingly roll around in search of additional chunks of rock which they can rely on to start the process of gradually rebuilding themselves. Capable of taking on whatever form is allowed by the pieces they find, Lithop take great enthusiasm in crafting very particular appearances, making use of small pebbles or larger fragments of rock to approximate the features of another species that they admire. Popular features are beards and decorative motifs assembled from hundreds of tiny rocks. In their natural form they are humanoid with a disproportionate upper-body and a faceless head.
Possessed of no reproductive facilities it is unknown how they will multiply, although it also seems impossible to ever properly kill one, because their essence might continue to inhabit even the fine dust left behind after pulverisation. They are not born of any specific gender, and their physical appearances do not necessarily denote this, instead being optimised for the life that the individual intends to lead. Some adopt genders so that they can figure more understandably in the societies that they integrate into, whereas others are comfortable being related more so with the essence of the cosmos than with any set of humanoid characteristics. In the galaxy at large Lithop travellers might fall in with a wandering crew, or else find passage on their own. Either way chancing upon another of their kind is an auspicious coincidence and one which they celebrate in a long recounting of each of their exploits, these are spirited exchanges and might seem slightly confrontational to an outsider, but the two are actually overjoyed at having crossed paths. Especially considering that they have probably never met one another, having awoken at distinct times. Because it is possible to be mistaken for another rock based people, they prefer to reinvigorate themselves with deposits of limestone wherever possible, although these new additions do not sparkle with the same golden streaks as the stones on Lith.
This leads some individuals to travel back to their home world on occasion so that they can supplement unflattering body parts for the smooth stone of their original composition. When they do they often stay for a few days or weeks at a time, philosophising on their travels and conversing with their more ancient ‘siblings’. There is some concern amongst the Lithop that they lose more and more of their original self with every new rock that they incorporate, although others liken this to the natural fluidity in the temperament of other species, arguing that to take on part of the vitality of the places they have visited is essential in fostering a holistic view of the universe. As time wears on the near constant rainfall on Lith has been seen to have a subtle eroding effect on those yet to awake, and there are fears that they may succumb to the effects of the adverse weather in the long centuries still destined to pass along their private road to awareness.