The Silverscale Glider is a sleek, surface-skimming fish species native to the faster-moving currents of the Arla River, the Orlanda River and the Tijonara River inflows into the three mayor lakes (Lake Arla, Lake Orlanda, Lake Tijonara) of the Asari Region. Its shimmering scales and gliding movements just beneath the surface give the illusion of silver ribbons dancing across the water. It feeds primarily on micro-mineral particles suspended in the river water, along with small airborne insects it catches mid-jump.

The Silverscale Glider helps regulate insect populations and is prized in myths of the Trando Tribe and the Honga Tribe as a spirit-fish believed to guide the souls of the drowned.

• Size: 12-15 cm
• Weight: 600 grams
• Body Shape: Elongated and aerodynamic, with wing-like fins
• Skin: Silver with light blue undertones, highly reflective
• Speed: 6.0–9.0 km/h with bursts during leaps

• Aerial Leaping: Can leap up to 1.5 meters above the surface
• Reflective Scales: Helps evade underwater predators and dazzles aerial threats
• Wing-Fins: Allow it to glide short distances over the water's surface

• Armor Class (AC): 13 (due to agility)
• Hit Points (HP): 8
• Speed: 50 ft. (swimming) | Leap: 10 ft.

• Fin Slash (Aerial only): 1d3 slashing (only if caught or trapped)
• Flash Dive: Dive with a blinding scale flare; attackers must succeed DC 11 Dexterity save or suffer disadvantage on their next action.

• Evasive Skimmer: Has advantage on Dexterity saves in open water
• Mythic Echo (Optional): In some campaigns, its sudden appearance may have spiritual meaning or trigger tribal quests or omens

• Diet: Insect larvae, mineral microdeposits, river plankton
• Social Structure: Small, synchronized pods of 8-12
• Activity Pattern: Most active in the hours after rainfall, when river sediment and insect activity spike

• Burst Glide: Uses speed and short glides to avoid nets or predators
• Light Confusion: Reflects sunlight or twilight fog to confuse attackers

• Spawning: Occurs during high river flow cycles; females lay eggs in water grasses
• Egg Count: Up to 300 per event
• Hatching: 7 days; fry remain near surface before joining pods
• Lifespan: 6-8 years

In bright daylight, Silverscale Gliders skim just beneath the water’s surface like streaks of quicksilver, their reflective bodies weaving together into rippling ribbons. When they leap, their wing-fins catch the light, scattering flashes across river currents like shards of a broken mirror. At twilight, the blue undertones of their scales blend with the dimming sky, making whole pods seem to vanish into mist before splashing down again.

To Native Tribes, these sudden bursts of shimmer feel like signs from the water spirits; to Exohuman settlers in the Beta Age, they were an uncanny reminder that even the smallest creatures of VOI 700 D could appear both beautiful and elusive. The sight of Gliders erupting from fog-laden currents became a hallmark of riverside life — both a spectacle and a challenge for nets.

In the Beta Age, Exohuman settlers at Arla Town occasionally netted Silverscale Gliders alongside larger catches in the Arla River inflows. While too small to serve as a staple, their shimmering scales and mild, delicate flesh made them a sought-after delicacy in preserved rations and communal stews. Salted Glider fillets were even traded to New Kourou as a novelty item, marketed as “silver fish” by the Trade Guild of New Kourou.

However, their small size, agility, and role in Native spiritual traditions prevented large-scale exploitation. By the Gamma Age, with Exohumans adopting a vegetarian diet under the Peace Treaty, the fishing of Silverscale Gliders was prohibited, leaving them to return fully to the rivers and myths of the Trando Tribe and Honga Tribe.

The Silverscale Glider adds movement and wonder to riverside or inflow scenes.

• Catch Challenge: Its agility can create fun skill checks for fishing, hunting, or research
• Myth Tie-In: A pod of Gliders might herald a storm, death, or ceremonial rite among Native Tribes
• Resource Use: Its scales can be used in lightweight armor or cloaks that shimmer like water

• VOI 700 D
• Habitual Belt
• Equatorial Sections East and West
• Eastern Equatorial Section of the Habitual Belt (Asari)
• Lake Arla
• Lake Orlanda
• Lake Tijonara
• Wildlife of Asari

Known Predators:

• Twilight Perch