Keystone

Keystones (or Tiānránqì císhí, from Chinese 天然氣磁石) are a species of non-humanoids from Universalis Primus. They are a highly Qi-sensitive race of sentient "stones", or minds tied to inanimate objects.

Appearance
Keystones are small, perfectly smooth stones, ranging from being pea sized to the size of a human head. They can have varied textures, from milky to transparent. They glow in various colours, unique to each individual Keystone.

Habitat
Keystones tend to grow near any intense source of Qi, such as Living Planets, where there are Qi-receptive rocks, ordinarily gemstones, to acquire their bodies. They can, however, live and thrive almost anywhere.

Powers and Abilities
As beings of pure Qi energy, tied to physical objects, Keystones tend to be adept Qi-practitioners. They survive by absorbing the ambient Qi of the cosmos. As they do not possess bodies, they also do not possess Chakra, and do not have internal "stores" of Qi. Their power is directly tied to the rate at which they can siphon cosmic Qi through their bodies. Being exposed to intense sources of Qi can allow Keystones to grow in both physical and spiritual size, allowing them to exert more Qi. Keystones are functionally immortal, only capable of dying if their bodies are annihilated and become too small to contain a developed consciousness.