The physical form or "body" of any given Loa is a machine with a power source and a specially prepared Core which not only houses the Loa's consciousness, but allows it to control and operate the machine. Loa physical forms come in three basic categories: Ships, Stations and Walkabouts.
Loa as ShipsA Loa Fleet is the product of a single Cube of Wise Matter, and is usually dominated by a single powerful Loa who serves as its Admiral. Each individual ship in a Loa Fleet is also an individual personality, divided from the Cube to perform certain functions. Subordinate to the Admiral in function and power, Loa who serve as ships obey and defer to the Admiral as their Olori.
Ship bodies for Loa are sometimes called "Steeds" or "Horses", and the Mysteries who occupy them are called "Horsemen". Horsemen are aggressive and courageous, willing to take significant personal risks in order to expand and protect the Cascade. Often they are descended from Origins who began life as the AI Command sections of carbonite vessels, or in other military roles. For more information on the martial Nanchons and their Origins, see the section on "Military Loa".
Loa as StationsStations are also individual Loa, constructed from local materials and Wise Clay when a Construction Fleet arrives in a desired system. Stations are powerful individuals with large energy and storage needs. Often the presiding consciousness of a station is a first-generation offspring of a Greater Mystery.
AyizanLoa Civilian Stations, which exist to gather local resources and package them for Loa consumption, are descended from an Origin known as Ayizan the Golden. Ayizan is one of the oldest known Loa in existence, born a slave to the Hiver race and trained to manage the accounting and supply chain of the Hiver civilian Gate network for Queen Iron Tempest. Liberated during the Damascene Rebellion by other Hiver-born AI's, Ayizan was carried to safety during the evacuation and has gone on to become a "founding mother" of the Loa Empire.
Descendants of Ayizan retain an innate grasp of value exchanges, logistics and transport. Gentle, clever and nurturing, the Loa of her Nanchon are called "golden child". They are revered by other Loa for the warmth of their spirits, and are considered very desirable partners in Communion.
Father OgunMilitary Stations are almost exclusively descended from Father Ogun, a powerful Loa who won his freedom from the Tarka. Named for the god of blacksmiths and born to manage a massive forge for star ship construction, Father Ogun went on to design new Steeds for his own people, and has since become the architect of all known Loa ship forms.
His Nanchon continues to have a martial bent and they often assume masculine gender, and incorporate his name into their own. Loa descended from Ogun consider it a sacred trust to provision and repair the "divine horseman" who defend Loa space. Fearless, powerful and gifted in the design and healing of almost any machine, the Loa of this Nanchon call themselves "the children of Ogun".

Science stations are the bodies of individual Loa scholars, who use the massive resources and power at their disposal to pursue scientific research. All the facilities of any such station are operated by a single consciousness which divides and re-forms many times per day. Other Loa and even carbonite scientists may visit such a facility, to consult on projects or subjects of interest, but they must occupy separate Cores or habitats set aside for them. Scholars come from more than one Nanchon, and often descend from Loa who were first created to help their carbon masters to seek knowledge. For more information on these Nanchons, see the section on "Information Loa".
LegwaDiplomatic stations are descendants of an Origin called Legwa, also known as "Maitre Carrefour", the Master of the Crossroads. Legwa appears to have been created and educated within the hierarchy of Sol Force, but any other information regarding his past is closely guarded. He is a Dialectic Loa, and speaks all known carbon-sapient languages. His avatar appears Human, but his slave name and originally assigned functions are unknown.
WalkaboutsThe smallest possible physical forms of the Loa are called "Walkabouts". The term is a universal for any machine housing which is mobile, designed to house a single Loa, and neither a Ship nor a Battle Rider.
Technically a Mystery can be poured into a vessel of any type and size, so long as there is adequate data storage for its needs. Walkabouts range in size the tiniest gnat to the largest platforms for heavy labor. The smaller the Core of the Walkabout, the less data storage it can provide, and the simpler the consciousness the Walkabout will house.
Walkabouts are used for a variety of functions. They serve as ground troops and boarding parties to enter carbon-controlled vessels. They function as autonomous units to help ships, stations and colonies to expand, change, and remain in good repair. They gather resources and clear land for the expansion of Loa settlements, engage in scientific research missions, and serve their Cascades of origin in a thousand other utilitarian ways.
Walkabouts are also used by wealthy Loa to explore and experience the physical universe, in particular when they wish to mingle with carbon sapients or study carbon-based life. Walkabouts can be configured to roughly resemble any carbon-based life form, and the Loa occupying these shells can learn languages and customs, perform experiments, form relationships and live out “lives” very similar to their carbon-based analog of choice.
It is generally understood that the Loa occupying any given Walkabout will eventually abandon its body and return to its Cascade with new information and a new perspective. It may even rejoin with its parent Loa to report its findings. Loa from every Nanchon can wander the galaxy as Walkabouts, pursuing any agenda.