Species
▪️ Levir: A bipedal, short-tailed Union associate species with four eyes and patches of scales on otherwise fleshy skin. Levir are capable of breathing oxygen via their lungs and hydrogen via their gills, making them one of few species able to survive in multiple kinds of atmosphere. The Levir are one of the founding races of the Union, and are generally considered to be the pinnacle of culture and education in the universe. Most Levir follow a religion generally translated as the Church of the Space In-Between. Every few generations, a Levir child will be born as a subspecies known as a Drakai, which are genetically compatible but physically distinct.
▪️ Drakai: A Levir subspecies, born as a seemingly random mutation once every several generations. Drakai differ from Levir in a biological sense, being in possession of a longer and more complex tail, significantly more scales, two thin, prehensile tendrils extending from their back, and an internal biological core capable of processing and storing radioactive energy.
▪️ Humans: A wide-ranging, bipedal Union associate species, known for their friendliness, extreme adaptability, and speed of reproduction. Their ability to psychologically adapt to an extreme variety of lifestyles has made them popular amongst Union employers for terraforming and deep space exploration. They’re capable of getting along with many different kinds of species, and adapt well even to the presence of non-leviroid species. Despite Levir fondness for human physicality and personality, humans struggled to meet the standards to join the Union for centuries, ultimately culminating in a species-wide war between those who wished to join the Union and those who refused to comply with standards.
▪️ Y’tzur: A bipedal, nonunionized species with a thick, leathery hide much tougher than that of many other leviroid species. They are a three-sexed species with considerable sexual dimorphism, structured around sexual identity to a higher extent than most space-faring species. Of the three sexes, avush, beyn, and o’millui, one is mostly likely to meet beyn, who have become the galactic face of the relatively newfound species, due to their comparative hormonal stability. However, political leadership on their home planet is generally carried out by a bonded avush-o’millui pair, as bonded couples are considered to be more balanced. The strong sexual dimorphism in both physicality and culture has led to the Y’tzur being considered primitive by many Union species, and their reputation amongst the galaxy is rather negative.
▪️ Osith: A tauroid Union associate species with long bodies covered in lengthy white fur, and six limbs that can be used as legs and arms, depending. All six of their limbs end in furless thumbed hands. They have long necks and tails, and a snouted face. When fully stretched out, most fully grown Osith are between five and six meters in length. Osith are generally friendly, but somewhat culturally insular, with the category of close friends and family being reserved entirely for other Osith. Their size can make it difficult to travel aboard ships that were not crafted with Osith accessibility in mind, which may contribute to their insular nature.
▪️ Uho: A long-lived, ovoid Union associate species with dozens of flexible, tentacular limbs attached to a core. Uho each naturally produce a small gravitational field which they gain more control over as they age. This field allows them to float several feet off of any given surface, and attract small objects that come within range of their field. This, combined with their small core size and extreme flexibility, make them well-suited to a large variety of delicate or difficult tasks, especially on board spacecraft. Uho are capable of living in most oxygen-, methane-, or sulfur-based atmospheres.
▪️ Krin: A many-legged insectoid race at the head of the Krin Collective, more frequently referred to as the Krin Empire or just the Empire. Aggressively expansionist, in recent years there have been powerful moves towards peace and a more unified existence amongst Collective worlds.
Organizations
▪️ The Church of the Space In-Between: The singular religion of the Levir species. It is open-practice and has spread to non-Levir as well, although it is still primarily a Levir religion. This religion worships a deity that is conceptualized as what exists in between all that exists. Many Levir attempt to commune with this being, known as Inagris, often translated as Void, multiple times throughout the day via meditation. Adherents to this religion are often known as Inagrisites in the wider universe.
▪️ The Union: A group collective of alien governments that have come together to form a universal authority. Members of the Union share resources, technology, and protection amongst themselves. It is lead by an elected board of associate species members. In order to join the Union, applicant species must adhere to certain standards, most revolving around quality of life, equal rights, technological advancement, and open borders. They must also be actively involved in Union government and funding.
▪️ The Krin Collective: Previously the Krin Empire, and still frequently called such in the wider universe, the Krin Collective is a collection of nonunionized planets and interplanetary entities. The Krin Collective is made up primarily of planets previously conquered or colonized by the Krin Empire. There is currently no overlap between Union species and Collective/Empire species.
Places
▪️ Sanctym Noctym: The prime planet and original homeland of the Levir species, Sanctym Noctym has multiple moons and large rings that dim and frequently block the light from their relatively nearby sun. Sanctym Noctym is the headquarters of the Church—the theocratic government of the Levir—and most politicians and religious leaders maintain homes somewhere amongst its ancient streets. It is a very popular tourist destination, given its millennia-long history, and is also the frequent target of religious pilgrimages across the universe.
▪️ Jure: A Levir planet focused on education, Jure is home to some of the most elite universities of the entire universe. From medical schools to law schools to space engineering schools, it’s generally agreed that no one can find a better education in the universe than they can get at any university on Jure. Because of its widely mixed alien population, Jure is also a hotbed of fusion cuisine, making it a frequent star of cooking shows across the universe.
▪️ Jandith-3: Jandith-3 is a nonunionized planet on the outskirts of populated space, currently in the process of terraforming by an anarchist collective of mixed species. It originally began with the stated goal of becoming a land of equality without the strict oversight and regulations of the Union, however without Union resources, the locals struggle to make quick progress on terraforming. The planet is technically habitable to oxygen-breathing species, but the ongoing terraforming creates significant hazardous weather.
▪️ Ab’ed: The prime and singular planet of the Y’tzur people, this nonunionized, unconquered planet has an oxygen-based atmosphere and a single moon. It enjoys varied seasons over most of its surface, as well as largely varied climates that are almost all nonetheless still habitable. Despite having such a huge swath of habitable land, it is a crowded planet with a truly massive local population.
▪️ Hes’ger: Hes’ger is a walled city on the surface of Ab’ed that contains the entire alien population of the planet. With almost no exceptions, non-Y’tzur are not allowed to travel anywhere outside Hes’ger, and those who are permitted for political or diplomatic reasons are always escorted by security to ensure both their safety and the safety of those around them.
Medication / Drugs
▪️ Benespan (Bliss): A Krin painkiller that works by stunting communication between the nervous system and the rest of the body. Due to its nature, it works on most species with a nervous system, and its euphoric and numbing effects make it popular both as a street drug and a black market medication across the known universe.
▪️ Diazenamic: A medication used in the medical treatment of Drakai and with few to no other medical uses. It is produced only in Levir space due to its highly limited usage.
▪️ Weed / Space Weed / Green: An umbrella term for a large number of natural and synthetic plant strands, originating from Earth, which have gained wide popularity in the larger universe as an entertaining time-waster.