Kalashtar

Humans have an uncanny ability to dream - to reach out to the stars and to imagine something better. Occasionally, for particularly strong dreamers, a spirit of dreams may reach back, and in doing so bind themselves to the Human. This process changes the human into a Kalashtar.
In their native tongue, the dream spirits are known as Quori and live within the astral realm of Corvus, god of dreams. They typically feast on the psychic energy that dreamers produce, but they have limited power within the waking world.
Kalashtar are inextricably linked with spirits from the realm of dreams and are psionic conduits born of two minds and one body. Dream spirits act as bizarre, otherworldly spirit animals who guide their bonded Kalashtar through life. While the two may only directly communicate in the sleeping world, the spirit is felt in the world of the waking by the psionic powers they bestow. The links gives the Kalashtar telepathic gifts and a resilient mind, as well as the power of lucidity within the realm of dreamers.
Kalashtar are extremely rare, and it would be unusual to find a large number of them naturally occurring within the same geographic area. It is not unusual, however, for Humans to make a pilgrimage to mountain-top temples and monasteries in order to hone their minds and become one with a Quori spirit. In these locations, Kalashtar Monks who willingly bonded with lost Quori spirits to offer them refuge in the waking world offer guidance to Humans who wish to bond with a spirit of their own.
Within these communities, many children are born Kalashtar and have even stronger bonds with their fledgeling spirits. Typical Kalashtari culture is formed around diligence, meditation, intellectuality and inner conflict. Kalashtar strive to maintain control of their emotions, but their Quori companion will always long for the wild chaos of the world of dreamers, aching deeply for it.
However, not all kalashtar have the luxury of a traditional upbringing or knowing what this new bond means. Many of them exist throughout the waking worlds and newly ascended Kalashtar may have little to no understanding about their spirit half. Many who become unintentionally bonded with a Quori spirit have no training, may see their telepathy and psionic abilities as a curse, and may believe their companion spirit to always be haunting their dreams, forever at the edge of their understanding.