Hymmselia Central Imperial Archive Terminal: 63 Identity confirmed Security clearance authorized: level 21 Welcome Senior Director Lre

Relothin Document from the Imperial Archives Location submitted: Hymmselia Submitted: Librarian Superior Greffan Location last modified: Hymmselia Last modified: 3/26/2642 A.Fu.

Update on project Sylvan As per Empress Aria's request the Imperial Librarians have made observations of the Atharian people. We conclude the race continues to be stable. The Empress has also requested we record a brief overview of the Atharians for future reference. The Atharians are a remarkably stable race when we consider they are artificially engineered. The Empress has a strange penchant for genetic and evolutionary experimentation. The majority of the intelligent life on Hymmselia is actually a result of her hobby as she once described it. Of her work the Atharians are probably the most complex. Like the Zephryns, the Atharians' genetic structure most resembles that of humans. Though the Empress has never affirmed either way, we believe she created both races from a base pool of humans. While the Zephryns were relatively simple to alter, wing grafts being the most obvious, the Atharians are much more complicated. Research has shown that part of their DNA appears to be spliced in plant sequences. More on this later. Basic physical traits: The typical Atharian stands between five and six feet tall. They much resemble slim, wiry humans with sharper and elongated bone structure and limbs. They have eyes which, to humans, appear disproportionally large with the rest of their heads. Many people from the Federation of earth have, when first seeing a Atharian, commented on the long pointed tops of the Atharian ear. It appears they resemble elves from Earth mythology. The Empress has not commented on this similarity. A remarkable piece of their physiology is the fact that their ratio weight compared to overall mass is among the lowest of all known animals, but their muscles are remarkably strong As a result they are able to outpace most equines in a short sprint while retaining the stamina to keep pace with even the hardiest of canids. They have extremely limber bodies and all are able to contort themselves in ways other species spend lifetimes training to achieve.

This amazing agility is offset, however, by the delicacy of their bodies. While the muscle structure is surprisingly strong and resilient, their bones are not. They can lift very heavy objects but if the weight were to shift unexpectedly the Atharian bones would likely break from the unexpected strain. Similarly they cannot handle large tools that require a great deal of momentum to use or anything that uses blunt force. It has been noted that the fastest way to incapacitate an Atharian would be to swing with full force and hope you hit something. If you manage to connect, whatever is hit would likely break. The bones are too brittle to withstand shock. Atharians come in three distinct varieties. Star Atharians are mostly nocturnal and have dark red, blue or purple skin tones and hair usually the counter color of their skin. They typically live in treetop communities in large forests and jungles. Sun Atharians prefer to live on the open plains of Hymmselia. They are the group which most closely resemble humans in coloring. They have lighter skin tones and hair ranging from pure white to bright red. The Earth Atharians dwell in mountainous subterranean networks. They little to no skin pigment. Their hair colors include both the dark and lighter shades of their cousins. These are the least common to see outside of cities due to their susceptibility to sun damage. All Atharians have one very distinctive feature. Each tribe or family group has a intricate symbol on their foreheads. The symbol is unique to each family and is not a tattoo. Rather, it is a part of their skin which is a color that contrasts with the rest of their body. They are each born with one. Reproduction: What makes the Atharians truly unique among the inhabitant of Hymmselia is their reproduction. At first glance the males and females are fairly androgynous. Only after close prolonged contact can most people differentiate between the two sexes on appearances alone. Unlike other races there no differences in the trends in size between male in female. Any difference is on an individual level. One of the few identifying features of an Atharians' sex is that they have male and female genitalia. However, the physical act of coitus play almost no part in their reproductive cycle. Recreational sex is an important part of the Atharian life and culture but cannot produce any offspring. Atharians are one of two species of Hymmselia which require an input of thaumaturgical energy in order to produce children. Unlike the Ensouled, the Atharians actually have three sexes. Reproduction requires all three. The third Atharian sex are the Genis. These individuals appear to be the reason for the plant portions of Atharian genetics. The Genis resemble large trees and there is only one in each family or community. A larger version of the mark found on the head of an Atharian appears on each Genis. The family symbol is actually a recreation of this larger image.

The Genis are also the reason for the divergent groups of Atharian. The three types of Genis absorb different kinds of energy. The Sun Atharians utilize the energy from their native sun while the Star use energy from distant stars. The type of thaumaturgical energies are indeed quite different. The Earth Atharians' Genis use energies stored within the planet itself. Of the first two, they have flowerlike projections which bloom only either at night or in the day. The Earth Genis seem to absorb their energy through their roots. Some do not believe the Genis are sentient but the Emperors and Atharians both insist otherwise. The act of procreation for the Atharians is very much alien to what most of the Empire would consider normal. When a couple is prepared to raise children and has made the conscious decision to do so they approach the Genis. At the base of the trunk there are two hollows. Here the couple with enter into the heart of the Genis. Once they has been occupied the entrances will close over with what look like interwoven vines. When interviewed, Atharian parents say they fall into a deep trance and do not recall what happens next. Whatever the case, approximately an hour later the Genis will reopen and the couple are free to leave. Over the next two months a pod will develop, suspended in a cradle of vines. A Genis may have many of these pods at once so only the Emperors and Atharians know how it is a parent can identify his or her own. After the two months are over the pod will fall to the ground and the parents will collect it. Often a couple will camp for days beside a Genis in anticipation. They will keep it for several days as the hard shell slowly softens. The shell will then open to reveal a baby. The Atharian young do not need mother's milk and the Atharian females are incapable of producing any. For the first few years they will only ingest plant products. Many Atharians continue to abstain from animal flesh their entire lives. It must be noted that the Genis does not require both parents to be Atharian. Imperial Librarians have, on a number of occasions, witnessed a paring between Atharian and non-Atharian produce offspring.This, it appears, is an important tool to prevent stagnation in the Atharian gene pool. The child is always completely Atharian in body. Same sex pairings of any species will be inviable to a Genis and do not produce children. The Atharians have a moderate lifespan, averaging ninety to one hundred active years. They capability of incredibly fast reproduction and the Genis can live for thousands of years. Yet they have not overrun the planets they inhabit. This is because of how rare the Genis are. The reason for this is that in order to produce a new Genis an existing one must subsume am Atharian couple in an extremely painful process. The choice must be voluntary as the Genis will not accept unwilling parents. Very few individuals, much less pairs, are willing to make sch a sacrifice even to continue their own race. After the pod of a fledgling Genis is produced it remains vulnerable for many years and must be carefully

tended. The Genis often take forty to fifty years to reach maturity, sometimes taking up to seventy years. Atharians in the Twin Thrones Empire: Traditionally, Atharians have been a nonviolent race. This is likely due to their easily damaged bones. They have rarely clashed with the other races and never amongst themselves. The only times they have become truly violent is when a Genis is endangered by another race. No Atharian would ever dream of harming a Genis. When this happens one community can spark a mass transformation on the Atharians as they spread out to eliminate a perceived threat. In such instances they become utterly savage and will go on rampages that wreak terrible destruction across the land. The Emperors themselves have had to intervene to prevent the total collapse of civilization on Hymmselia. In recent centuries, with the advent of modern warfare, a heavier focus on ranged combat, and enhanced armor the Atharians have found a place in the Imperial military as scouts and skirmishers. A wise commander knows not to put them on the front lines. But on average they enlist at the lowest rate of any Core world race. More often, they serve as private contract engineers, technicians, and other such vital support for the military and Empire. The manifestation of extranatural abilities in Atharians is about average for a Core world race. That roughly equates to double the rate at which Federation races manifest extranaturals. Censuses show that Atharians manifest psychics much more often than either mages or Gifted. Due to the Genis reliance on sun and starlight the Atharians prefer to avoid large metropolises since the building will often block out their light sources. Those that do live in large cities have gained a reputation as adventurous citizens and fantastic lovers. Ironically, the least visible subset, the Earth Atharians, have the largest city based populations. They have done surprisingly well at integrating with the other races of the Empire. They have a large presence in all of the Federations and are particularly popular in the Federation of Earth. In civilian society Atharians mostly gravitate toward the arts as a profession. The next largest groups are equal parts education, medicine, and miscellaneous thaumaturgical professions. After this comes magical and scientific research and engineering and the smallest group comprising of physical labor and military duty. Form what we have observed the majority of sapient species share the tendency to mate for life. This is not the case with Atharians. The concept of life pairings or marriages are foreign to them. Perhaps this is because they do not rely on the normal means of reproduction, which is also why this is not included in the section on reproduction. In fact the concept of sole ownership of anything is alien to

Atharian culture. To Atharians sex is used to show great favor, trust, or friendship. While some do eventually settle down with a single steady partner they are in no way permanently committed to the relationship and will often find an alternate partner once or twice a year. Many others continue to cycle through partners all their lives. Even parents seldom stay together for much longer than is necessary for the child. The when asked they will refer to the other parent as my son/daughter's mother/father. Even though Atharian relationships change often and can be brief, most are loving affairs, or at least filled with passion. While same sex couples cannot produce children, the Atharians do not in any way discriminate based on sexual preference. Any love is exalted. It plays a key role in their religious beliefs. Atharians commonly take on partners of both sexes. There have even been a number of very high profile same sex relationships involving Atharians. One rather notable one was the two year affair between Empress Aria and the pop-star Red Thorosa (Reggia Thoros). Emperor Ordal has been known to take Atharian lovers as well but he usually more discreet about his sexual (mis)adventures. Religion among Atharians is somewhat strange as it appears they have two semi-compatible belief systems. Almost all Atharians, and most residents of the Core worlds, believe in what the Emperors have called the Celebration. It is a belief that life is meant to be enjoyed. Any joyful, loving, or beautiful act a person performs is like a prayer of glorification for the entire universe. Participants of the Celebration believe that if all people were to commit themselves in this way that peace will be brought to the universe. It is, in many ways, the inverse of Taoism from Earth. The second belief the Atharians hold is that they have deified the Emperors. It seems they subconsciously know the Empress had a hand in their evolution. Though the Emperors have outright banned the worship of themselves in any form, many from the Core worlds still revere them as godlike creators. The Emperors are cannot very well harshly punish for this reason so they grudgingly accept the practice.
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