Iskoort

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The Iskoort are a fictional race of aliens from the Animorphs series by K.A. Applegate.

They are made up of two parts - an "Isk" and a "Yoort". The Isk (slightly shorter than a human, with a roughly triangular head) is the main physical body, and the Yoort is a slug which must leave the Isk every three days to soak up kandrona rays. The difference between the Yeerk and the Yoort is that the Yeerk are parasitic, whereas the Yoort and the Isk are symbiotic - one cannot live without the other. The Yoort were originally parasitic, but felt limited by their choices, so they created the Isk to be their host bodies. The Yoort also altered their own bodies so that they could not survive without the Isk. Each Iskoort has a designated function in their society - warmaker Iskoort, trader Iskoort, shopper Iskoort, and manufacturing Iskoort are a few examples. They are a capitalist society sorted by castes. Their currency is mostly various body parts of various alien species.They also have a very, very weird shopping scheme and each Iskoort is in a guild.

Because the Iskoort represent an evolution of the Yeerks (from parasitic to symbiotic), Crayak wants them killed, and The Ellimist wants them preserved. Should the Yeerks and Iskoort ever make contact, they may follow the Iskoort method of becoming symbiotic, and thus, stop their conquest. The Ellimist hopes that, by preserving the race, the Yeerks will one day see that there is a peaceful end to their parasitic existence.

Compare Tok'ra.