Species of 'Saga of the Seven Suns'
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[edit] Humans
The human race is no longer confined to simply their home planet of Earth, and have spread out among the galaxy. Originally this was done using vast "Generation" spacecrafts which took generations (as their name implies) to reach their destination. However, after the Generation ships were 'rescued' by the Ildirans, all spaceships quickly adapted to their far superior ekti-driven stardrives. There are three main factions among the humans.
[edit] Terran Hanseatic League (Hansa)
The Terran Hanseatic League, known as the Hansa, control most of humanity's planets. They are an extensive commerce-based federation in control of Earth and most Terran colonies. They have a puppet king, who is more for show than anything else. The real power lies with the Chairman of the Hansa, who controls the king. They have trade relations with the Ildirans, who gave them the original Ildiran stardrive. Their military is the Earth Defense Forces, also known as the EDF. Their main religion is Unison, the head of which is the Archfather. They use compies, short for competent computerized companion. Compies are intelligent servant robots available in Friendly, Teacher, Governess, Listener and other models. This is an interstellar version of the Hanseatic League which existed in northern Europe from the 13th through the 17th centuries.
[edit] Roamers
The Roamers originated from the Kanaka, the last of the eleven generation ships to leave Earth. Originally intended to arrive on a planet and become colonists, they instead became the Roamers. This was brought about soon after the Ildirans brought their ancestors to the fertile planet, Iawa; during their first major harvest, the colonists' crops were all but annihilated by a virus that attacked Terran-based plant life. With their food reserves rapidly dwindling, the people decided to take their chances in space (where they had thrived), and so they all boarded the still intact Kanaka and set out into the vast galaxy once again. Eventually they re-established contact with the people they had left at the Meyer rubble belt, and all banded together to find a new way of life amongst the stars.
Roamers are well-known for their fierce independence, as well as their highly innovative (though somewhat dangerous) methods. They are normally referred to as 'Space Gypsies' or 'Roachers'. The Hansa do not think well of them, though they are required to trade with them for ekti, a vital stardrive fuel. This is one of their main sources of income. The Roamers use skymines, ekti-harvesting and processing facilities located in gas giant clouds, to acquire this fuel. They are the main source of ekti for both the Hansa and Ildiran Empire, though they do not have much trade with the Ildirans. They have next to no military force, relying mainly on secrecy to ensure their safety. The Roamer society is split up into multiple clans, their leader being a Speaker. Their 'capital' is at Rendezvous, a site which is kept very secret. They are extremely adaptible and can adjust their equipment and lifestyle to suit various harsh conditions. They rely on others for assistance, products, etc. as little as possible.
[edit] Therons
The Therons originated from the Caillié, fifth of the generation ships to depart Earth and first to be encountered by the Ildirans. The colonists of this ship were taken by the Ildirans to settle on Theroc. Their rulers are a Father and Mother, similar to a King and Queen. They live mainly on biological products, using next to no inorganic materials. The Therons have the capability of bonding with the worldforest (or Verdani) to become green priests, who have telepathic relationships with the worldforest. They are, strictly speaking, independent of the Hansa. They have next to no military, although their alliance with the Verdani does give them protection to a certain degree.
[edit] Ildirans
The Ildirans are a polymorphic species ruled by the quasi-mystical Mage-Imperator, via an empathic link called the thism. Lens kithmen are able to focus the thism. Socially, the Ildiran are separated into castes (kiths), according to their dominant genetic traits. Each kith ends its name with a different phonetic sound and cross-breeds combine the sounds:
- 'h rulers/nobles
- 'n soldiers/warriors/guards
- 'nh military leaders/generals
- 'k workers
- 'v bureaucrats
- 't singers
- 'l lens kithmen
- 'f scientists
- 'o technicians
- 'of engineers
- 'a teachers
- 'th artists
- 'sh rememberers
- 'x miners
They are a stagnant race, mired in ritual and protocol, uninterested in expansion and content with the past glories described in their epic poem, the Saga of Seven Suns. The Saga of Seven Suns supposedly records every significant event in their history, and the task of retelling this epic is given to the rememberers. They are dependent on their thism-link with other Ildirans, and terribly afraid of the dark. This is due to the fact that their homeworld is bathed in constant sunlight, from seven suns, and thus they had difficulty adapting (and comprehending) night-time on other worlds. The Ildirans invented the Ildiran stardrive, which uses ekti (an allotrope of hydrogen found mainly in gas giants, although other sources of hydrogen are found in places) to travel great distances in remarkably short amounts of time. It is the only viable form of space travel.
[edit] Klikiss
The Klikiss were an insectoid race that was thought to have become become extinct 10,000 years before the beginning of the series. Their only remains are numerous ruins (some more or less intact, whilst others are wrecked beyond repair) scattered amongst worlds across the Spiral Arm. It is later discovered that some of the Klikiss' technology is still salvagable, as proven by the use of the Klikiss Torch and the inter-planetary portals found in a large number of their cities.
Aside from this, the only other legacy left behind by the Klikiss race is the large number of robots (apparently designed in their likeness) that were reactivated half a millennia ago by the Ildirans. The robots themselves are very intricate in terms of design, with largely unknown inner workings. Though they all look identical, they each consider themselves unique in some respect, as they assign names to each member of their race. They have blunt speech mannerisms, and often do not reveal too much about themselves or their motives.
Although they do not expose them very often, the Klikiss robots are equipped with a variety of built-in weapons systems and advanced wings that allow them to fly. It is worth noting that their infrastructures are practically indestructible, with nothing seemingly able to deal them damage; three robots were hit by a monsoon and came back with no damage, and later a large number of them could exist at the core of a gas giant with no trouble whatsoever.
The cause for the Klikiss' disappearance is a mystery to the rest of the galaxy, and the intelligent robots claim to have no knowledge of the events. Thus the dead race provides a very complex mystery, one which the human race has tried to unravel by studying the Klikiss ruins.
In reality, they were wiped out by the Hydrogues, their robots (which turned on them) and the Ildirans, who did so to avoid being wiped out by the Hydrogues. The surviving robots are free to roam around the galaxy, but their purpose is dubious. The Ildirans do not have many dealings with them, although the Klikiss robots acted as negotiators between them and the Hydrogues, and some humans are wary of them. Although it appears that only a few of them survived, the 'awakened' ones are reviving their dormant comrades. They are allied with the Hydrogues, and are at war against Humanity in order to free their servant robots ("compys") - a reason why the Ildirans do not use similar technology.
Some small number of Klikiss evidently survived the genocide, as they reappear (in droves) at the end of Of Fire and Night, ready to take revenge on their traitorous robots and reclaim their old worlds, now colonised by the Hansa.
[edit] Elemental races
[edit] Hydrogues
Little is known about the hydrogues. They are a highly aggressive, mercuric lifeform residing in the centres of gas giants and appear to lack emotions, being somewhat robotic in this sense. Hydrogues have the ability to alter their maliable forms, though they only tend to do this when communicating with other races (or "rock-dwellers"). They possess incredibly devastating weaponry (icewaves and powerful electrical blasts), and have no regard for the human race or Ildirans. They reappeared after the humans ignited the gas giant Oncier, which they inhabited, and began to destroy all human and Ildiran facilities, not appearing to distinguish between the many factions of the two races. Their ships are spherical, heavily armoured (seemingly made out of diamond), and possess a great deal of firepower. They can completely destroy small celestial bodies within a day, and even extinguish stars. The "wind" aspect of the 4 super-powers, but also carry ice and lightning connotations.
[edit] Faeros
Faeros are fiery entities that dwell within suns, and are seemingly unaffected by the hazardous temperatures. They are considered to be treacherous by the Verdani. They once fought with the Verdani and Wentals against the Hydrogues, but then shifted alliances (for reasons relating to the Klikiss robots). In the ongoing war, they appear to have shifted alliances again, attacking the Hydrogues while sparing the other races. The "fire" aspect of the 4 super-powers.
It is suggested in Scattered Suns that the faeros may be the "lightsource" from which the Ildiran thism is derived. This is expanded in Of Fire and Night, in which the pretender to the Imperial Throne, Rusa'h, appears to be linked with the faeros, possibly in a similar manner to Jess Tamblynn and the wentals, or Beneto and the verdani. Also during the fifth book, a hydrogue emissary unknowingly hints that the Ildirans and faeros were once allies; later in the book, it seems that this bond (should the records be believed) was formed to drive off the evil Shana-Rei.
[edit] Verdani
Also referred to as the "Worldforest", this race manifests itself as a telepathic network of trees that some humans (the Green Priests) can communicate with. Once the Verdani were present on thousands of worlds across the galaxy, but the conflict with the Hydrogues forced them to near-extinction. Losing the war has seemingly caused the Verdani to lose much of their combat resolve, as the mere thought of engaging a Hydrogue terrifies them.
Currently the largest concentration of Verdani reside on the planet Theroc, although they have started to be spread around the galaxy again with the aid of humans. They demonstrate the ability to absorb information like a sponge and store it eternally for later use by either themselves or other beings. This makes their thirst for new knowledge, whatever it may be, practically insatiable. Green priests are able to use Verdani as instant communication devices, sending any message across vast distances almost immediately. Although the Verdani are made up of many trees, they manifest themselves as one being. The "earth" aspect of the 4 super-powers. Green priests have the ability to become part of the world-forest's mind upon their death, if they have time and ability to pour their souls into a tree as they die. The verdani are then capable of building a golem from one of these "ghosts", as they did with Beneto.
With the addition of wental water, the verdani are capable of producing "treeships", vast trees capable of interstellar flight, and able to destroy hydrogue warglobes with apparent ease. Each treeship requires a green priest joined in a permanent symbiosis to act as a pilot / navigator; such ships had been produced for the last war, ten millennia ago, piloted by a now-forgotten race of bird-like humanoids. These ships were sent into deep space, and retured to Theroc at the end of Scattered Suns. An additional hundred were built during Of Fire and Night.
[edit] Wentals
A water-based race who were considered extinct after the war with the faeros/hydrogues, but in fact were broken up and dispersed throughout the interstellar void; Whilst wentals are unable to die, they can be "disassociated" into their more basic components, nullifying their sentience and thus putting them in a form of suspended animation. Like the verdani, they have some kind of telepathic link and speak as one.
However, Jess Tamblyn accidentally collects wental essence while gathering water during a solitary deep-space mission. Because of this, the wentals are effectively brought back to life. They establish a telepathic link with him, telling him about the intergalactic war that took place millennia ago. Jess took the Wentals to an uninhabited oceanic planet and introduced the wentals into the raging sea, initializing the first phase of the race's rebirth. They have the ability to take control of any water-based body (e.g. planets, comets) and control it, regardless of the state of the water. They can then manipulate the climate and lifeforms of the planet, and this is how they reproduce. The "water" aspect of the 4 super-powers.
Though wentals are not hostile in nature, some aspects of their essence (under certain circumstances) can become 'tainted' due to strong selfish desires of their hosts. When trying to save Cesca from her excessive wounds, the wentals informed Jess of how tainted wentals had been formed in the past and caused great destruction. Fortunately, tainted wentals cannot propogate, but are eternally enraged by everything around them. They seek to replace order with chaos (what they feel is the 'Natural order') and thus attack all those around them. Tainted wentals can either be destroyed by killing the host body, or extracting the tainted essence and purifying it (a process which also kills the host).
[edit] Other races
[edit] Shana Rei
An ancient, demonic race who lived in dark nebulae, and were defeated by the Ildiran Empire eons ago. They are said to be the primary reason why Ildirans are afraid of the dark. In the fourth book of the series (Scattered Suns) it was revealed to Anton Colicos by the rememberer Vao'sh that the Shana Rei have never existed, and their war with the Ildirans was a fabricated part of the Saga - as part of a conspiracy by the Mage Imperator. In the fifth book of the series (Of Fire And Night) however, it is suggested that they might be real after all.
[edit] Bird-Like Humanoids
A forgotten race, not in any records, hidden even in the mind of the worldtree, who once played the part of the first green priests ages ago in the first war before humanity had started creating cities on Earth, all that remains of it is wisps of its lifeforms piloting the original verdani battleships.
