Nian

Nians are large bipedal invertebrates that come from an unknown homeworld. Known for spendthrift behavior, the Nian civilization has been pressed to the fore of developed space in an effort to resolve material shortages in homeworld sectors. Unlike most species in the galactic fold, Nian do not recognize the authority of the Trans-Solar Federation having instead established close diplomatic relationships with their splinter faction, the USSP.

Overview

The Nian, or Nians, are an insectoid arthropod species hailing from the desert world of Dõm in the Garden system. Generations of internal conflict pushed them to the brink of extinction, but the surviving moth nations eventually rose from the ashes to focus on rebuilding. This led to the establishment of the Nionic Trade League, an Oligarch superpower dominating all of Dõm's internal politics and culture within. With the aid of the United Soviet Socialist Planets, both governments work to challenge the Trans-Solar Federation and its megacorporation's. This has led to Nians being big on guild culture, thriftless behavior, and parties thanks to their economic system and beliefs.

Every Nian group and government on Dõm operate under a single party Oligarchy of the Trade League, as the merchants and their influence extends across the planet. While their power is evident planetside, it also serves as the main method of employment and travel between regions on Dõm or to other Nionic systems across space. The allure of opportunity within the guilds has made them highly appealing to the Nian, with much of their culture revolving around work within these organizations, to even naming schemes coming from Trade League influence and propaganda. The majority of Nians residing in the Trade League are workers who seek prosperous employment, and opportunity. Or indentured servants, with long lists of debts, failed trade ventures on behalf of the League, or choosing the comfort of servitude over self-governance. Despite this, the Trade League operates more like a megacorporation, with governmental bodies making decisions for those under their authority.

Today, the Nian species has established several government states on Dõm and far systems, all united under the banner of the NTL. Their close partner, the USSP operate under a trade deal in which both groups earn and grow from each other, to financially rival the megacorporation's influence on other species and independent systems. While Nians enjoy these benefits, some choose to forge their own path, and find lives far from the influence of their Oligarchs, perhaps to retire or escape their debts entirely.

Mechanics

Biology

The natural adaptations of the Nian come from their primary homeworld of Dõm, in which the planets climate is majority desertic, with sparse areas of tropics and mountains scattered across the world. The cold nights and dotted heat vents across the world have made the species evolve to utilize their world's obstacles. Wings designed to help them soar with the heat vents, and their insectoid structure to capture moisture, and reduce water loss. Scientist under the NTL also agree that the nocturnal adaptations of the species originate from the dark side of Dõm, in which the planet itself is tidal locked toward the Garden's sun.

Physiology

Nian have a pair of long, fuzzy antennae, a set of bug-like eyes, with hundreds upon hundreds of hexagonal patterns within them and mandibles that surround their mouth. Moths can feel with their antennas, and overall have a light sense of touch throughout their many hairs along their body, being sensitive overall. This does allow them to find their way more in the dark, and makes it a little easier to see in low-light.

Along their torso are a set of two humanoid arms, and a pair of insectoid wings along their back that range from being monotone in color, to multicolored, depending on the age, wealth and status of the individual. Their legs are usually long and skinny, along with their torso being a little smaller than most sentient beings–this assists with flying on their homeworld, being more lightweight.

Overall, they tend to range in height on average between 4’5’’ (134.62cm) to 5’10’’ (177.8cm), with standard deviations up to a foot (30.48cm) in each direction. Where age, experience and wealth allows, moths tend to make small changes to their bodies by organic means (dye, elongated hairs or other features).

Moths aren’t sentient at the start of their life, they are not considered to be sapient in their first years. However upon reaching their XYZ day, at approximately 4-6 Sol years, they undergo a process akin to metamorphosis. This marks the start of a celebration known as XYZ, with the individual emerging after the festivities as a recognized individual possessing faculties sufficient for communication and basic skills.

Wings

The wings of Nians come in a variety of different patterns and shapes across the species. The first grown set of wings comes after their first molt shed, with later molting increasing size and color of the wing until full maturity in which the wings reach their full potential. These variety of patterns are genetic to the Nian and link back to their ancestral roots, or location of origin across the various climates of Dõm. Originally used as a defense mechanism against the many hostile predators, and to act as transportation to glide across the heat vents on the surface, it later would become more irrelevant for survival, and more fashion or cultural descent.

While the wings have the ability to push and fly in zero-g environments around space, they also work as an insulator being capable to bend and flap around the body like a cloak. At particular points in life, due to age or bad health, wings can fail to regrow and become impossible to remold after injury. Moths who lose their wings become severely depressed, suffer within their society due to perspective weakness, and hide in shame from age.

Social

The culture and heritage of the Nian species is deeply rooted in the merchant society that has dominated it for centuries. Past previous Nian cultures were lost or scrubbed out of history by the Trade League to prevent internal conflicting beliefs within Dõm, and inject their own beliefs into growing generations. Things like clothes, holidays, and even birth names are all connected to the guilds and Oligarchs pulling the strings within.

Naming Schemes

So they proposed the following name structure for interstellar recognition:

The first name is always the primary skill of the being. It is always bridged with a preposition or prepositional phrase (such as ‘of the’ or ‘for’) The last name is related to a stellar phenomenon that they believe they are related to–by destiny, by family, or other means.

Examples of names include:

Weaver of Antares
Tender of the Crab Nebulae
Knight of Epsilon Eridani
Poet in Service to Cygni-9b
Arkwright Bound by Tau Ceti

Ship Naming

An observation would be made at some point–seeing that their ships tended to follow the same description of their deities. Ship names would go along with the artistic focus is:

Rider of Winds, Glider on Aether, Carrier that Wields Starlight, etc.

Language

Language name: Tkachi The language follows a staccato rhythm.

Moth interactions between one another are often dominated by gestures with their antennae, wings or mandibles–and other times by buzzing or chittering. As such, their entry into Galactic Common was the first grand foree into trying to translate their (outwardly) strange way of interacting with one another was rather chaotic, and had to include some of their gestures to function properly.

When speaking in Galactic Common, Moths tend to express themselves with various buzzes and chitters, interrupting some of their speech sometimes, but allowing it to stay largely understandable.

Homeworld

The world of Dõm is a primarily desertic world tidal locked to the orbit of a red star dwarf in the Garden System, there are two super continents the first being Ṽoᵶt and the second Ỹḛr̃ṑ. A majority of the Nian species live and originate from the border region of Ṽoᵶt along what moths refer to as The Gloom. This region being in the middle of the planets cast a permanent rising sun along the horizon, and a world of complete darkness on the other end. On the solar casted regions of the world lie deserts, completely dried up from constant light exposure, and evaporation. Sandstorms and heavy winds exist in this area, and to most Nian considered it a burning hellscape with almost no survivability outside technological support and infrastructure. On the other end lies the shadow regions of Dom, in which freezing temperatures and total pitch black darkness exist. These areas while also being dangerous to the species, are more adaptable as evolution have made them somewhat insulated due to their micro scales of flattened hair along their body and primarily neck region. Even their vision is somewhat more manageable in these parts, with many Nian groups existing and living in the shadow world of Ṽoᵶt.

Ṽoᵶt

The original residing continent in which the Nian originate from. Its northern regions are dipped in mountains and high plains that act as natural barriers to form water reserves in the highlands. These reserves trickle down to form the G̃ỗntꝋ River, an important and considered sacred landmark that runs south across The Gloom into the south pole's Lake. The middle region of Ṽoᵶt is tropic, with many of the plants and wildlife being more in a color of brown and sandy shades. Due to the planets rain storms, most of the tropic is swampland and bogs, which collectively form the most habitable areas due to vegetation and wildlife. The south world of Ṽoᵶt is dry, and desertic, completely void of most natural life aside a few hardened species of animals. While not as hot or dangerous as the extreme desert landscapes in the light world of Dom, the deserts here are more manageable, with the G̃ỗntꝋ River being the only salvation for habitable life along it. The south pole is connected to the Ṽoᵶt continent and acts as a final point for water in which two branching rivers form. One leading into the light world which evaporates the water and continues the cycle, and the other completely frozen among glaciers into the shadow world.

Ỹḛr̃ṑ

The Ỹḛr̃ṑ continent would be discovered later into the industrial era of the Nian species, as technological advancements allowed the creation of equipment capable to traverse across the shadow world of Dõm, and discover a completely hidden world among the pitch black void. Ỹḛr̃ṑ is completely frozen, with the entire region being formed of icebergs, and mountainous terrain. The highest point of the planet resides in the mountain region known as The Spine of Ỹḛr̃ṑ, in which the highest recorded point is 27,210′ on the mountain peak of J̃oranᵵ. Volcanos exist and form a contrast to the frozen hellscape of the Ỹḛr̃ṑ super continent, with most being inactive or small in scale compared to other volcanic giants. The continents value comes from being rich in minerals and materials under the crust of the world, as natural tectonic plates and untapped potential have made it incredibly value despite the hostile and distant terrain. It would later be colonize by ancient precursor Nian civilizations and later collapse after a catastrophic war pushed the species to the brink of extinction. Future colonization would begin under the NTL along its coastal regions, in which water and earthquakes would be the least impactful for the residing Nian species living there. Only a few natural species live in Ỹḛr̃ṑ despite the conditions, mostly fish under the sea ice that have adapted to the frigid waters.

Mud Storms

Rain on Dõm is unique due to the ecology and its tidal lock rotation. Due to the vast deserts and heat vents within the light zone, dirt and dust are catapulted into the atmosphere and create massive dust storms that reduce the visibility of those caught within. These storms mix sand and dirt with rain clouds to cause mud storms, turning droplets into pounds of wet dirt and soil across the landscape. These storms usually occur a few times every Sol year, and have been known to become hail storms from dark world temperatures. Rain does not fall without being muddy, or frozen as the thin terminator of Dõm make clean rain a rarity without being influenced of other regions climates. Some have even been brave enough to ride the storms with their wings and participate in Storm Gliding, an extreme sport around flying off the powerful winds within. Nian who devote their lives are known as Sail-Suns, those who fly high to sail along the shining hot sun.

Nian Governments

Originally being fractured, a catastrophic event would eventually reform Nian politics to make one singular major government to create peace and prosperity for the Nian race. While a majority of the population live and operate under the main body government, several splinter groups exist seeking to be independent from the merchants, or possibly preserve what little culture they have from threat of assimilation.

Nionic Trade League

The Nionic Trade League are a formation of merchant guilds that operate under an Oligarchy within the Garden Systems and other major Nian systems. They are the super power that have controlled and ruled the Nian species for generations after the collapse. The NTL work in partnership with the USSP and other independent systems, and have an economical rivalry towards anyone challenging their merchants or their authority.

NTL Systems

Garden System: The Garden System is the original homeworld of the Nian species, with all its planets and celestial bodies orbiting a red dwarf star. Within the Garden system lie the homeworld of Dõm, which contains a majority of the Nian population throughout the Orion Sector. It acts as the Captial of the NTL and massive logistic hub toward other connected systems nearby. While only one world is colonized within the Garden, a majority of its orbiting planets are workzones for mining and processing, as Nian have choose to avoid colonization in favour of space stations to minimize cost.

Night Clans

Despite the powerful influence the NTL and its merchant governments have under Dõm , some have continued to avoid the assimilation into the League. The Night Clans are a group of Nian people that live within the frigid dark side of Dõm, and operate independently from merchant influence. They are planet locked due to complete NTL control, and reside in burrows across the shadowlands of Ṽoᵶt, and even areas of Ỹḛr̃ṑ after the collapse. They are in a war against the NTL to survive, as they to avoid assimilation of their small clans into the Oligarch's grasps.

Independent Nomads

Culture

. . . of an insurmountable age. Yet in spite of their years, the Pilot climbed the dunes ahead: the tail of the Alumn Comet his guide. Rising over the highest dune it came to be, that the great thread of Naksyhr, He Who Channels the Winds, revealed itself unto him. When the pilot gazed unto the plateau, the air hissed in a shudder to whip strokes through sand like so many brushes. Naksyhr spoke, "you who have followed the Pashann, who carry the sorrows of our peoples, shall bear witness to my art." It was then that before the Pilot, among dancing dunes, a great beauty was revealed.

An insight to end all hardships; an art to end austerity.

- In The Disquiet of our Stars, Chapter 3, "Pilot of the Alumn Comet," 838.

The following are political powerhouses within the society of moths themselves, by affluence, by amount of total debt they wield against others or by the total amount of assets they wield together.

The Central Debt Mediators are those that volunteer their lives to oversee the regular work and flow of society along with being the collective that organizes the moth people into some sort of a government. They act as mediators between the larger Accounts throughout society to ensure the validity, sanity, and integrity of all obligations and debts within the species.

The Crafting Guild are those that follow a series of vigorous tests and training to create and customize items, foods and structures. The quality of their work is often a good determinant of their status among the guild and how good their mood is. The more varied, vibrant and exuberant the items they make, as long as they still serve their function, the better.

The Warrior Guild are those that choose to express their own various talents of artistry through battle and duels. It’s described that their combat system often looks like dancing at quick paces–and ranged weapons are frowned upon in their society where it can be helped. They will not shy away from using ranged weapons, though they have a heavy preference for melee on the basis of honor and beauty.

The Merchant Guild are those that are trained from early after cocooning in the value of everything. They are taught proper trading techniques, proper ways to approach individuals, proper ways to calculate worth and proper ways to try and extract as much wealth as possible. They are seen as a necessary evil to survive by some of the moth people, and by others, they are seen as a very important structure to civilization, and are respected as such.

Due to their predilection for luxury Nianae have long held the belief that more powerful people accrue larger debt as well as take on the debts of others in exchange for goods and services. As such, debts are often accrued from individuals whose skills are on loan to more powerful moths and organizations.

This ties into one of the two major reasons for the success of their guild-based society in that when a powerful individual dies/an organization fails ceases all belongings are liquidated to cover personal debts and any outstanding debts are distributed to those below them. The other being that those who manage to rise higher in the guilds often can afford to go into debt due to using debts owed to them to pay off interest.

Whenever celebrating, moths tend to go overboard with decorations, food, gifts, or other items. They are taught from an early date in their sentience that ‘excess is success’ and that doing things in a minimal amount, or with a minimal amount of effort is an affront to the gift of life that they have been given.

The cocoons that their young generate are considered an important source of silk for the people and no matter the caste, it is expected that part of the cocoon be made into an object of value or worth for the individual.

Religion

A foreign observer of Moth culture would detail the following: their religion seemed to relay deities without names (such as ‘he who moves the sun’, or ‘she who weaves the storms’).

Moth religion can best be described as a non-denominational polytheistic structure; with a long oral tradition that delves back into the mythos days of their ancestors and a more formal literature that attempts to put some of them into scripture.

There is no central church, however there are organizations of those that appreciate the same figureheads–the most popular three including:

He Who Channels the Winds - An entity that derives its power from the Nianen latent affinity for bluespace manipulation and the fervency of their belief, this deific figure inscribes objects with power based upon their aesthetic beauty. The more time, effort, and design put into an object, the more powerful the phenomena are.

She Who Guides the Stars - An apparent neutral being that guides the spirits of the deceased up into and around the cosmos, bringing their souls into the stars of young, middle, and old ages, depending on their actions in life. If a moth lived a particularly virtuous life, it would be placed into a star on the edge of a supernova, to be reborn anew, elsewhere.

The Beasts that Change Us - A benevolent, two-headed being of undescribed look, who grants a small portion of its own intelligence to every Moth that cocoons, granting them sentience from their previous non-sentient state. This one is particularly venerated among most.

Species on Paradise Station

Dionae