Lore:Unathi

SPECIES

Unathi	Denonyms: Unathin Other Names: Flat-foot Related Lore: Moghes, Tiziran Languages: Draconic

Foreword
A veneer of grace that gilds the most turbulent clusterfuck any eyes have ever laid upon.
These lizards have no idea what they are doing.

Unathi

Unathi are a diaspora of clans spread across a smudge of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way six thousand two hundred light years long, which expands outwards in generally one direction - away from Tizira. Loosely descended from a single exodus from their evolutionary homeworld, none of the Unathi are particularly keen on discussing why they left, nor why they do not rebuild the bridge burnt rashly half a millennium ago.

Physiology

Vaguely visually similar to an Earth reptile, Unathi are bipedal digitigrade omnivores with a short snout and long tail, the latter serving to counterbalance their body. Covered in scales, Unathi often have horns and frills which vary by individual and lineage, with a recessive trait allowing for coarse, feather-like hair.

Genetic descendants of Tizirans, Unathi diverged from their ancestor around five hundred years ago, after the achievement of starfaring technology. Only around six to seven percent of their genome is different from that of the Tizirans, a wider gap than that between Human and Chimpanzee. Primarily distinguished from their progenitors by added genes, Unathi are outwardly distinguishable by digitigrade legs; though not all in the diaspora possess this. Many less overt anatomical changes separate the two species, a great majority pertaining to adaptations for heat and lower gravity than that Tizirans evolved for.

Feeling most comfortable around 33°C, the Unathi run warm - and appreciate warm air, water, and food wherever possible. Average internal body temperature for the species hovers around 40.5°C, contrasted with the 37.5°C of humans, and 38.7°C of their cousins the Tizirans. Unathi are not cold-blooded, a direct consequence of the rigorous heat dissipation requirements of their homeworld. This is widely attributed to genetic modification, though the point of introduction of Unathi thermal regulation is unknown.

Culture

These are an artful and creative bunch - Unathi civilian designs are known for incredibly ornate, beautiful patterns, landscapes, and portraits renowned the galaxy over. Their art assumes many styles, and Unathi artisans are encouraged to pursue self expression as well as represent the distinct feel of their clan. This leads to vibrant color palettes with intense shading, with popular subjects of contemporary Unathi artwork frequently revolving around expansionism, warfare, and glory, accompanied by a pervasive undertone of regret and hollow achievements.

Core to the clans of Unathi are their historical achievements stemming back to the beginning of the diaspora. Great effort is taken to compose orchestras, songs, and music which honors this past. Unathi composers are famous for their painstaking attention to detail and complex, beautiful melodies found enjoyable by many across the galaxy. Collaboration with artists of all starfaring civilizations, spreading the reach of Unathi music, is highly accepted within broad Unathi culture in their journey to create the perfect music to encapsulate the vibe of each clan, and show respect to their ancestors.

Sitting in stark contrast, martial and governmental structures are often megalithic things, extremely minimalistic and harsh in design; in the case of the most wealthy clans, jutting above the horizon in at least some capacity, aiming to project stubbornness and ruggedness to any who approach. These decisions are a form of artistic expression as well - simply very on the nose.

Homeworld

The largest Unathi colony is also their oldest, collectively deemed the cultural homeworld of the species, and housing the central fortifications of all major players on the Unathi political scene as well as hundreds of clans ranging from intermediate to downright tiny - Moghes.

Moghes is a dehydrated clump of sand and gravel, with the occasional mesa or eroded corpse of a long-dormant volcano breaking the horizon. A speck of tan floating around an unassuming binary red-yellow system, and at the edge of the aforementioned smudge of Unathi space. It has a sweltering average temperature of around 35°C, with minor lakes high in salinization interspersed with sinkholes dotting the surface. Despite all this, life flourishes, mostly in the form of partially-subterranean flora and fauna, the latter of which the Unathi have shortsightedly hunted to extinction and manually reintroduced countless times.

Where this subterranean ecology flourishes is not the barren surface, but rather the luscious underground river systems for which Moghes is known. Filled with cool air that slips down away from the suns’ heat, and lined in dense foliage, gentle teal streams gradually erode and carve at the sandstone and granite depths of Moghes. Perpetually awash in filtered light from the sinkholes above, which range from pinholes to massive cenotes, Moghes’ subterranean biomes are where the Unathi too find reprieve from the beating suns. Thus, the Unathi have developed partially subterranean infrastructure, predominantly civilian areas occupying the shaded warmth of the sinkholes and rivers, with structures melded seamlessly into rock walls.

The Colonies

Their colonies are numerous, and their conflicts yet more so.

Colonies are usually founded by joint ventures between smaller clans that realize they are being squeezed out of their existing holdings. Such colonies commonly devolve into warfare until one clan dominates another or a third arrives and forces a more strategic approach. Larger clans will break this unspoken rule, and engage in lone or joint ventures as they please whenever an opportunity presents itself. Grievances raised to such actions are either very well organized by the smaller clans, or put down hard.

The more successful a colony, generally, the fewer clans there are sharing it - with notable exceptions such as Unmatil, with eight clans, and Lazskc, with eleven.

Work in Progress: Footer subject to change at a moment's notice. Do not take a red link's presence, struck-through or otherwise, as confirmation (or denial) of their canonicity.

Nova Sector Lore
	Common Species	Humans, Tiziran, Unathi, Moths, Ethereals, Azulae, Slime Hybrids, Teshari, Synthetic Humanoids (and assorted robots), Pod Persons
	Other Species	Genemodders (Felinids, Ice Walkers, Dwarf), Ashwalkers, Hemophages, Snailpersons, Ordoht (Formerly Skrell), Plasmamen, Flypeople, Vox (Primalis et al), Tajaran, Vulpkanin, Xenomorphic Hybrid, Rouges (Abductorkin), Miscellaneous Species
	Nanotrasen	Nanotrasen, Central Command, Emergency Response Corps
	External Groups	The Syndicate, Interdyne Pharmaceutics, DS-2, Cargo, The Spider Clan
	Nova	The Nova Sector, Indecipheres, Freyja
	Concepts	Bluespace, Plasma, Faster Than Light Travel, Resonance ("Souls"), Death
	SolFed	SolFed, Earth in 2565, The SolFed Armed Forces, The SolFed International Capital District