Basics:
Name: Donvarion
Pronunciation: Don-Vare-ian
Homeworld: Epholeven
Political Affiliation: UCSB
Incorporation Date: 0.001
Government Type:
Imperial Republic
Genetic Class:
Carbon-Vegitoid (Elder)
Carbon-Diozide Amphibian
(Right Handed Amino-Acid)
Sensory Organs: VOTGE
Visual Spectrum: XM
Sexes/Reproduction:
2 (Male/Female)/Sexual
Gestation: ~400? cycles
Litter Size: 1-3
Sexual Maturity: 50 annura
Life Span:
_____Male: ~300? annura
_____Female: ~300? annura
Ave. Height:
_____Male: 8.4 Metra
_____Female: 8.7 Metra
Ave. Mass:
_____Male: 23.5 Kilobar
_____Female: 24.0 Kilobar
Physical Description:
The Donvarion are best described as walking tree trunks in appearance and this is not far from the truth. The Donvarion are believed to have evolved from either sentient trees or squash and are perhaps the oldest race still living in the galaxy. The Donvarion body is somewhat coke-bottle shaped, with a flat bottom and terminating in the bulb shaped upper torso. The Donvarion have a single eye on the front of their smooth wedge shaped head which is usually dark red in color.
The Donvarion’s body is dark brown and leathery in texture with swathes of alternating color bands that mix into their skin. These patterns are unique to each Donvarion but pattern types tend to run in the family. The underside of the Donvarion trunk is covered in thousands of microscopic fibers, which despite their frail appearance are unusually strong. The Donvarion “walk” on these fibers and tend to so in such a smooth fashion
that they appear instead to simply glide along the ground. Between the ridges of the Donvarion torso more such fibers lay hidden. These fibers however are able to stretch to great length and allow the Donvarion to grab and handle objects despite their lack of limbs.
The Donvarion have a small slit of a mouth on the front of the middle-front of their torso, but it is unknown what purpose this serves. The Donvarion have no known lungs, absorbing carbo-dioxide though their skin and then releasing at oxygen. The Donvarion are never seen eating in public so it is theorized that the mouth is vestigial in nature.
On the back of every Donvarion is an insect like carapace which houses their reproductive organs. There are subtle differences in the carapaces between the two sexes but they are not visible unless the male extends one or both of its sexual tendrils. Female Donvarion have two wombs, and in general only give birth to twins, one male one female. The Donvarion as a race have a strong genetic memory so Donvarion young are born with all of the knowledge of their parents up until the moment of birth.
History:
The Donvarion claim to have achieved sentience and the beginnings of civilization over five million years ago. However they are reluctant to reveal any of their history prior to their reappearance in the core worlds following their last great civil war.
What is known is that in their younger age the Donvarion were active participants in the numerous “ancient wars,” which roared on and off for thousands of years. It is also known that the Donvarion were amongst the races that agreed to the creation and the spreading of the Babel, the ancient language that was seeded on the homeworlds of more then 60% of space fairing races. The Donvarion are known to have visited many races in their infancy to study them and is some cases influence their evolution and social development. The Donvarion deny any such actions beyond study and the seeding of the Babel, saying instead that other races worked to foster civilization in
the myriad of younger races.
When the majority of the ancient races left the galaxy approximately two millenia prior to the formation of the confederacy the Donvarion were one of the space faring races left behind. Despite their fantastic level of advancement they were still deemed too primitive to make the great leap beyond the galaxy. Social and political differences inside the Donvarion
empire contributed to this, but the great thing that held them back was their long standing cold war with Pharad. For millennia the Donvarion and Pharad stood on the brink of war, their two completely different approaches to how to study and influence the younger races of the galaxy coming into constant contention.
The conflict between the two races eventually came to a head 500 years before the conception of the Confederation. Pharad agents inside the Donvarion empire helped to spark a vicious civil war between the Donvarion Warrior caste and the Donvarion Religious caste. The war was one of ideologies and the direction their technology should take, the warriors insisting on using both inorganic and organic tech, while the
religious caste insisted on staying with strictly organically based tech.
The civil war lasted for centuries, but before the last Donvarion ship retreated behind their borders they set plans in motion to bring about a third Pharad dark age. The civil war devastated the Donvarion homeworld and infrastructure, their hyperspace network eventually crashing from lack of maintenance.
No one knows what ended the great Donvarion civil war, what is known is that the war ended fifty annura before the dormation of the UCSB. It took the Donvarion another decade to reestablish their hyperspace network and make contact with the now space faring younger races of the core worlds. For twenty-eight annura the Donvarion kept the key to hyperspace travel as tightly guarded secret sharing it with no race that
had not developed the ability to travel through hyperspace on their own.
They did this despite the emergence of the Vedekian war machine as it marched its way through the core worlds progressing faster then any of the core world races because they possessed hyperspace capable ships. Once the Anulians discovered how to traverse hyperspace however the Donvarions gave them immediate access to their hyperspace network. The Donvarions however did not appreciate how fast the technology was spread through the ASF and their allies, the Donvarion insisting that the other races discover the technology on their own first. The Anulians disagreed at the time, citing the need to save and protect the core worlds from the Vedekian war machine as reason enough to spread the knowledge.
The Donvarion sat on the wayside during the Vedekian war, agreeing to work only as messengers, passing information between the various fleets. In the annura following the Vedekian War the Donvarion assisted in the founding of the UCSB authoring many of its most adhered to tenants, especially those regarding interaction with younger races. The Donvarion have never maintained more then an advisory role in the political structure of the UCSB, and in the millennia long history of the UCSB no Donvarion has ever run for the presidential seat.
When the Pharad reemerged after their last dark age in 77CD, the Donvarion regarded them suspiciously. Their suspicions were proved correct when the twenty year Pharad broke out ten years later. The Pharad were eventually defeated and invited to join the UCSB. The Donvarion opposed the Pharad’s membership vehemently, and in what is considered one of the most rare cases of the UCSB ignoring the Donvarion, the Pharad were admitted entrance.
Since then the Donvarion have maintained their status as valued council to the highest seats of government. The Donvarion are also the primary administrators and operators of the UCSB’s Psi-Comm network, giving the UCSB the fastest communications ability in the galaxy, providing them with near instant communications between anywhere in the galaxy.
Culture:
The Donvarion admit to having had a tri-caste system for millennia before their great civil war. Since that time however they say that they have abandoned such a system, yet there is evidence that two of the castes still exist, and rumors of the third. The three castes were the worker, scientist/religious, and the warrior. It is believed that the warrior caste was in some form or another absorbed into the other two castes and the two other castes still operate. The Donvarion that are normally encountered are believed to belong to the more subservient worker caste, running the psi-comm network and conducting trade along the Donvarion borders. The Religious/scientist class it believed to be the group that works more behind the scenes and in the political arenas as advisors and diplomats. The Warrior caste is known only in rumor and the lack of any Donvarion warship leads most to believe that the warrior caste was abolished. However sighting of mysterious organic based craft with Donvarion styled markings and powerful weapons have been around as long as the Donvarions. No evidence beyond eyewitness accounts has ever been recovered.
Major Relgions:
The Donvarion are beyond silent about their religious beliefs and do not openly discuss them with anyone. What is known is that they do believe in a singular higher power that has helped to mold and form the universe. The Donvarion are also known to try and achieve levels of spiritual enlightenment throughout their lives, in even the most mundane of tasks. The Donvarion do not seem to believe in any form of afterlife though, only that through enlightenment they will become one with the universe.
Philosophies:
The Donvarion for the most part believe in a policy of non-interference. Though they move often amongst underdeveloped races they try not to interfere with their development any more then they can. The Donvarion seem to believe greatly in natural selection and will watch as two species wipe each other out without ever lending aid unless they become directly involved. The Donvarion are also not judgmental and are excellent at keeping secrets, one of the primary reasons why they act as the majority of Psi-Comm transceivers aboard Confed starships and space stations.
Population:
Unknown, as the Donvarion do not take place in the census, but independent estimates are there population is less then 250,000,000.
Notables:
Donvarion space is off limits to all but those that are invited. The Donvarion will use their psionic abilities to turn back any and all ships that enter their space without permission.
Psionicism- The Donvarion all are extremely powerful psionics, most being borne as high level seven or low level eights. Donvarion continue to increase in psionic ability throughout their long lives and it is said that Donvarion all eventually reach level 10 unless they die prematurely. No level 10 Donvarion Psionics have ever been sighted however so it is believed that even they cannot contain that much power and ascend into a being of pure energy. This is pure speculation however and no one is sure whether or not it actually happens.
Sub-Species:
No known Donvarion sub-species exist, however there are rumors that during their great civil war that Religious caste bio-engineered a new breed of Donvarion. It is said that this limbed Donvarion was bred as a more powerful warrior but at the expense of lower psionic abilities. If asked about this the Donvarion will usually dodge the question, but a few Donvarion have been quoted as saying that the race was created and then destroyed upon the end of the war. Other sources have also been quoted however as saying that a few did escape, but these sources have always remained anonymous.
