[hider=Harmony]
[hr][center][img]http://i.imgur.com/zRgmriB.png[/img]
[b][h1]Itharian Harmony[/h1][/b][/center]

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[h2][b]General Information[/b][/h2][h3][b]Overview[/b][/h3]

The Itharian Harmony is an ancient nation, noted for its pacifist nature and advanced sciences and cultural practices. Long since stabilised in its territorial extent, the Itharian stewards maintain most of the worlds in its immediate vicinity - and it is not uncommon for their work to conflict, albeit mildly, with up and coming nascent star nations. Some reflect that if it were not for the dynamic nature of the Ithari, the Itharian civilization would of stagnated into a dying empire perhaps millenia previously.

[hider=Info Sheet]

[b]Official Name:[/b] The Harmony of Ithari Pods.
[b]Common Name:[/b] Harmony, Itharian Harmony.
[b]Government:[/b] A "commonwealth" of "States" organised under a Federal system.
[b]Dominant Species:[/b] Ithari.
[b]Capital:[/b] Tua'lon Station, Arillia Orbit, Vantara System.
[b]Systems Owned:[/b] 30~ Major Inhabited Systems, numerous outlying colonies and vested interests.
[b]Planets Owned:[/b] ~.
[b]Population:[/b] N/A

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[h3][b]History[/b][/h3]
The development of Itharian civilization on Aprathia was a story often told amongst the multiple emergent civilizations of the galaxy. Tools, writing, husbandry, agriculture, taxes - civilization. That the nascent Itharian civilization did most of its developmental feats in the sparkling azure oceans of Aprathia was less common, but by no means unheard of in the grand history of all that was and will be.

For Millenia, the Itharian species developed a society that, despite technological limitations and the vastness of the depths, was global, thanks to the far reaching thoughts of the elders, and near entirely pacifistic - at least when it came to the pods of early Ithari. The threats came from outside - the large, lurking monsters of the deep, and the reef colonies and deep sanctuaries worked together against such threats until such a time came where all but the smartest predators had succumbed to their prey.

From such beginnings the Ithari came, but were not limited. In time, they came to evolve further, and in doing so dominate the few small continents of Aprathia - home to only a few creatures that had developed in their isolation. It would take many more centuries of idyllic peace before the Ithari turnt to the stars - and then they did so with wanton abandon.

The Itharian people took to their first true starships decades after that - traversing a new deep to the worlds of the home star, Danae. New oceans were found under the light of Danae, and they too were brought to order and soon enough, peace, as new pods of Ithari took to their currents and mastered new frontiers.

It did not take long from this, in the grand terms of our civilization, to break the barriers that prevented our access to the various isolated shoals of interstellar space. However, with mastery of FTL travel - the ability to jump, dependant on our ability to calculate such feats of dimensional transport to far away stars - we repeated what we had found to be our calling. We found worlds upon which life different from what we knew had developed, upon some, the Itharian people found life with true inklings of sentience, different, but evident. From here, our stewards began their work - protecting those who did not know of the stars until the time was right.

However, as the pods became separated by such vast distances, we made a mistake - we stopped listening to each other, to our revered elders, for their voices could not reach so far, and we grew fractious. It took many centuries, but from such mistakes only misery could result.

We, as a species, knew murder, and with our minds so attuned to the essence of our people, we punished it severely, but we did not know war, and war we could only abhor in the most strongest terms. The losses of our first, and only, "civil" war, were vast in their material cost, but more than that they were a mark upon our very collective psyche. Such things could only continue until we descended into madness, and so from the brink of that abyss, we turned back. From this, the Void Swimmers came, and for their sacrifice we must all be honoured.

We formed a new greater pod, to which all others could belong, and where we could hear, if not truly feel, all voices, and especially our elders, whilst maintaining the new and diverse cultures and ways that we had developed. And so we returned to our order, and our peace, and for countless millenia we have defended such peace from those we have encountered along the way with a passion - and a fear. For when Ithari kill, there is now a note missing from the song, and for that, we are all guilty.

-Revered Elder La'alei of Tu'at. "The Song as I Remember It".

[h2][b]Starmap Information[/b][/h2][h3][b]Galactic Location[/b][/h3]
N/A ?

[h3][b]Major Holdings[/b][/h3]
[u]-Aprathia, Danae System[/u]

Aprathia is the homeworld and birthplace of Itharian civilization. Its well tended and largely unspoilt, if small, continents leave one to thing that only a small Itharian presence is immediately obvious upon the world - though the immense amount of orbital traffic would leave one perplexed if they did not know better. Its lustrous deep oceans are a hive of activity - long since pacified and turned into the shining heart of the Itharian culture. Though governance has long since moved away, the economic importance of Aprathia and the colonies of the home system cannot be understated, and billions of Ithari - including some of the most ancient, are found here.

[u]-Arillia, Vantara System[/u]
Arillia is one of the younger "core" worlds, and has a much larger landmass than the homeworld of Aprathia - with a much heftier Itharian presence. Though the Itharian government holds its seat in a station above the world, its shallower, purple oceans are still home to the most cosmopolitan melding of Ithari pods found in the entire Harmony. Its status as a world open to such things and its reputation as a centre of learning, especially for foreign visitors and emigrés, has secured its status as the de facto capital and a new beacon of culture in the Harmony.

[h2][b]Social Information[/b][/h2][h3][b]Demographics[/b][/h3]
[img]http://i.imgur.com/2jIMuI1.jpg[/img]

The Harmony is largely, though not necessarily by intent, homogenous. While there is diversity in the Ithari genome particularly with the advancement of technology and the settling of diverse worlds, the Ithari overwhelmingly make up the bulk of the populace in the Harmony. As such, most notable concentrations of non Ithari are either races under stewardship - and largely unaware of the Ithari at all, or concentrations of foreign students or ex-pats that have been granted leave to remain by the Ithari.

The Ithari, are however an unusual species in more ways than one. Their bodies are sleek and dynamic, allowing for fast movement in water. Although they appear completely smooth, their skins are in fact coated with a layer of dense, fine fur. Fur patterns and colors will vary with the individual. They, like mammals, bear live young. Yet all members of the species are hermaphroditic, possessing both male and female sex organs. The majority of Ithari are capable of both fertilizing as a male or bearing young as a female, but only the very oldest Ithari can do both at once; it is normally impossible for a Ithari to impregnate as a male while carrying an offspring itself.

Ithari take on gender pronouns to indicate the dominant pursuits of the phase of existence through which they are passing. A Ithari who is gestating, birthing and nursing young, for example, considers herself a "she" since her existence is devoted to her feminine side. An Elder who has ceased to function as a female is most definitely a "he." Since Void Swimmers have cut themselves off psychologically from the aspects of their character which create and nurture life, a death-dealing Void Swimmer's feminine side, although still present, is not in ascendance. Void Swimmers as such are referred to as male.

A newborn Ithari is very small, less than half a meter in length and weighing only 8 to 10 kilograms. By the time they reach the age of majority, a period of roughly fifty years, a typical Ithari will be around 3 meters long and weigh approximately 120 kilograms.

There seems to be no natural end to the potential life span of any given Ithari. Throughout their lives, they never stop growing. Some records have notes of Elder Ithari over 60 meters long, massing many tons, though no such Elder is known to exist today. If size is not deftly controlled, the end of an Ithari life is typically the point where cell revitalisation requires more energy than the individual can provide through their intake. Largely painless, an individual will simply began to become more lethargic over the course of years until the point where vital organs begin to fail. 

The most unusual feature of the Ithari race is not the shape of their bodies however, but the power of their minds. Ithari do not have opposable digits, tentacles or any other physical means of manipulating objects; they employ a limited form of telekinesis instead. A deft Ithari can use several tools at once, and can often operate many simple machines simultaneously. With some concentration they can also hurl objects with astonishing force and the spear was a traditional hunting weapon among the Ithari for many centuries.

Although they have large, light-sensitive eyes, the frequency range of Ithari vision is limited. They have a very refined sense of taste and a sophisticated array of sound-producing and sound-receiving equipment however, which more than compensate for the lack of sight. Ithari echo-location is good enough to allow Ithari to draw very sophisticated schematics of any machine or device simply by “singing” to it and reading the sound waves that bounce back. 

The Ithari, as noted, communicate largely by telepathic means, although they do have some very rudimentary sound-signals that convey strong but simple emotions—being startled, amused, frightened, angry, etc.

Ithari are conscious breathers, like earthly cetaceans humans would be familiar with. They can never be fully unconscious, or they die. They fulfill their need for sleep by allowing one lobe of the brain to doze at a time, in three hour cycles, while the other two lobes remain awake and active.

While Ithari are more than physiologically capable of violence and their harmonious society certainly has never extended to all other species, They have never been "Buddhist" in their dietary habits, for example—they are omnivores who are known to raise and herd aquatic life forms for their own sustenance without guilt or shame. However, their nature as a telepathic minded and decidedly empathic species makes the taking of sentient life incredibly traumatic to the unprepared.

[h3][b]Society[/b][/h3]
Ithari Society has stratified itself into two noticeable classes since the ascent of the Ithari into space for a number of reasons, primarily, however, the one that is tied into the Ithari view on living things. Until the civil war, the Ithari understood but barely endured the concept of Murder - let alone War, and were deeply affected by it and its connotations. The schism in the way the Ithari think and behave, in terms of what other races would see rational has many striking examples. A lesser example of this would be the Ithari's technological prowess in bio-technology. The Ithari, while having a great knowledge in the field that could be employed to great effect, rarely, if at all, modify themselves either through enhancements or genetic tampering.

Overall, however, As a society, the Ithari are now made up of those who know nothing of war and those who sacrifice all that they are to protect those who remain blissfully serene and untarnished. The "Void Swimmers" - those who take to the stars to defend the Ithari worlds, form a consequent parallel class to the main element of civilian society, though not regarded as lesser or elevated. These "Void Swimmers" effectively die, in a social sense, and are reborn as instruments of death rather than life. Few are ever likely to be reintegrated. As such, these classes of society vary, but essentially denote the civilian and the military.

It is, in most aspects, their becoming space faring and subsequent civil war that has made its mark on Ithari Society. The Ithari certainly have mixed feelings about the "Fracture" and all events that have followed since their traumatic first true war. There is definitely a schism between the civilian struggle to cope with this aspect of their history–which, due to their tendency to live long lives and a telepathic story telling tradition, is very much a "Holocaust survivor" syndrome among them—and the military response.

Becoming a Void Swimmer, for some Ithari, was very much like becoming a hunter of those who caused such pain. For others it is plain and simple fear for their homeworlds and loved ones that drives them into the Void Sea. Thanks to their oral-telepathic traditions it is literally impossible for the Ithari as a species to ever forget the way death can come from above...and the humiliation, pain and loss of life that they suffered under their own madness has become a very dark and ugly scar.

There is a certain amount of tragedy in military service for the Ithari. The Ithari are aware of that they may involved in genocidal wars against other sentients, and could be forced to kill the entire civilian population of an enemy world. The Ithari, from their experience, know what sort of affect it can have on individual Ithari and their society overall. Often the answer for how its people cope is "not well". The truth is that, in some cases, a Void Swimmer crew who have seen too much of the wrong kind of action will never return home. When they are no longer needed by their people, they may well choose to "decommission" their own vessel by piloting it into the corona of the nearest star. They understand that they will never be able to become Ithari again. In this way, they are still protecting their home from the horrors of war.

Because of their empathic and telepathic abilities the Ithari are always keenly aware of the sufferings of others and they take no joy in causing pain, fear or anger. They revere life and harmony and abhor needless death or destruction. Nonetheless, they also value their own lives and over their ancient history they have come to embrace survival as a necessary virtue. The Ithari value of life is not to be misunderstood however, as they separate life, sapient life and sentient life. While, as they understand, all life is sacred - particularly sentient and to some extent, sapient life, this has not precluded them from animal husbandry and consuming such reared animals as a food source. To them, this is part of life and not necessarily abhorrent. It is from such a thing that has also lead to the separation of the Ithari military from the civilian population.

[u][i]Other Information:[/i][/u]

For perhaps obvious reasons, the Ithari place an intense value on music. Ithari music is all choral, as one would rightly expect. For many, It is inexpressibly beautiful and powerful, even as a recording, but of course the full effect could never be achieved outside of live performance. When you are close enough to receive the telepathic stream that goes with the song—to hear the lyrics as well as the melody—the experience is magnified a hundred-fold. And this is to say nothing of the frequencies of sound which humanoids can more easily feel than hear.

In terms of religious values, The Ithari spiritual worldview is both simple and profound. They have no separate sense of the divine as is commonly understood. They believe that all things are equally divine and sacred; the universe itself is, in a manner of speaking, in essence their "god". Theologically, they make no philosophical or hierarchical separation between themselves and other living things, or even between themselves and non-living bodies like stars and planets.

The Ithari conceive the Universe as one great Song—a vast tapestry of harmonious music. To a Ithari, every physical object and living thing in the universe is another trembling chord, a pattern of vibrations, a sequence of notes. Everything is part of the Song. Everything that exists, in their eyes, is beautiful and necessary; if one cannot see that beauty, the fault lies within.

If the Ithari perceive themselves as special in some way or separated in some way from the rest of the Song, it is only because they recognize the unique ability of all sentient beings to marvel at the music and to shape the world around them—to change the Song, even in a small way.

Whether the Ithari conception of the Song implies the existence of a divine singer is a subject open to debate. When asked whether there is or was a singe, a "Creator" who was the author or instigator of the divine Song - most Ithari simply create bubbles. If pressed, they all reply with the same question: "Are you not singing yourself?"

When it comes to their young, Ithari parenting is communal. An infant can nurse from any other "female" Ithari in its community. They have several variations on the word "mother" which, depending on mental inflection, can mean: "a female Ithari," "she who birthed my body," "she who nourishes me physically (or spiritually)," etc. Pair bonding among the Ithari is not common, but neither is it uncommon. Courtship is an interplay of minds and bodies which is impossible to unwind and separate from other interactions.

[i]Entertainment[/i]

Entertainment is a telling part of a society, and how, for some, they work, and perhaps how they think and hold themselves, all as a form of playful expression. In the case of the Ithari - they express themselves almost entirely through music and thought. They never stop "dancing" from the moment they are born until the moment they die — because they can always hear the music. Most of their art is difficult to describe in average humanoid terms; it consists of tapestries of sound, memory, motion and emotion. For fun, they tend to engage in various athletic contests or play a game called "hide the idea".

"Hide the idea" is a game which Ithari children begin to play soon after birth, much as human babies first learn to play "peek-a-boo" and then "guess which hand the penny is in"? But as the Ithari grow older and stronger "hide the idea" becomes a much more aggressive, passionate, fascinating contest of wills. It is a common exercise for hundreds of younger Ithari to wrestle the mind of one elder, trying to prize the thought from beneath his layers of defenses. When they finally "find the idea", it sometimes changes their lives forever.

There are other games which would be analogous to water polo, although among Ithari this sport is a little more like underwater hurling. Of other interest is the Ithari equivalent of "toys" - items that came about as steelsingers created objects which were meant to teach reading to other Ithari. Essentially, the standard Ithari object of this nature is a puzzlebox with various characters inscribed on its surfaces; as the different parts of the puzzle are moved by telekinetic fine motor manipulation, the player is able to "read" simple vocabulary words. The word changes with each movement of the box's pieces, transforming from one concept to another in an aesthetically pleasing or humorous manner: the classic is a box that begins with the word "steel", which becomes "reflective", which becomes "bright", which becomes "beautiful", which becomes "song".

Any sentient which nurtures its own young and practice any form of animal husbandry will keep pets of some kind. In the case of the Ithari, their relationship with biological mechanisms is so intimate that half the natural world is a "pet" to them--i.e., something which they care for, nurture, train, control, and love to the extent that one can love a lesser creature. As such, The Ithari have a fairly common practice of "Tattooing" themselves. Tattoos for a Ithari involve painting their bodies with colorful microorganisms, usually fluorescent. Watching an underwater "dance" featuring multicolored/fluorescent Ithari can be quite a visual spectacle.

[i]Old Age[/i]

Ithari achieve “Elder” status after having lived for more than three hundred years. At this point they are over typically over 5 meters in length and usually weigh well over 200 kilograms. Ithari who have reached this venerable age generally retire from any profession which might put them personally at risk and adopt a monastic lifestyle. The older a Ithari becomes, the less likely it is to reproduce. Although Ithari elders can both birth and father children simultaneously, they are far less likely to do either than younger Ithari. Infant Ithari only come in one size, and it becomes increasingly difficult for an increasingly massive Ithari to tend to its own infants as it grows beyond the size of an adult blue whale - At a certain point elder Ithari simply become far more interested in educating and nurturing children than in producing them.

In general, their days are spent contemplating the mysteries of the universe, composing songs and poems, maintaining the timeless oral tradition of the species and instructing the young in matters of ethics, morality and proper conduct as a sentient being. No Itharian philosopher is taken seriously before the age of 400.

Any given Elder will usually be surrounded by a cloud of younger Ithari, who listen to the songs, ask questions and telepathically explore the complexities and subtleties of the Elder’s mind. This period of “swimming alongside” is considered a vitally necessary part of any young person’s education. The aged are highly revered in all Itharian subcultures and younger Ithari will gladly sacrifice their own lives or embrace great personal risk to protect an Elder from any possible harm. Their ancestors are living treasures in their eyes. A sizable number of Ithari spacers regard their service as a duty to the species and volunteer to “scout the empty sea” in order to protect the Elders who must, most often, remain behind on Aprathia or the other colonies.

[h3][b]Government[/b][/h3]
The Itharian Harmony operates three primary elements of guidance in order to facilitate the smooth running of the state, while the Ithari recognize the establishment of their nation as being the moment they became aware, the first true state was established by the formation of the Council as was necessary in the space age, and subsequently the Harmony itself after the Fracture. The Harmony has come to encompass numerous star systems, with some densely inhabited, with vested interests throughout many others.

[u]The Eldest[/u]

The Eldest, though also referred to by Ithari as "The First Voice of Aprathia" is, as the name would imply, the eldest Ithari currently in existence, thus judged to the be wisest and greatest amongst them as both a guardian and a teacher, but the strongest telepath, the deepest of voice and accomplished as a singer in the great universal song. While the First Voice of Aprathia has traditionally guided the Ithari, the advent of the space age and the creation of a form of interstellar government to guide the pods necessitated a formalization of the position. Such a position is only locked to the Eldest of Ithari age - not to a particular planet, and such it is likely in many years to come a Ithari from one of the many colonial pods could lead the state.

The Ithari handle government differently, of course. The Eldest serves only to make decisions where the Council cannot - and their main role remains, as throughout the Elder portion of a Ithari's life, to teach and to guide, but the Eldest is rarely prone to give orders - that is for those elevated to such specific positions and the agreement of a Council. As such, the Eldest is largely a figurehead, though the Eldest's importance, not only on a cultural and social level, but in the Harmony itself is not to be understated.

[u]The Council of Elders[/u]

The Council of Elders consists of the First Voices of the colony worlds. While the Eldest is elevated to a slightly higher position, he is but one among near equals. These many near equals form the main form of interstellar governance needed by a state that spans more than one ocean. These First Voices meet only when situations require, as each guides their own world or worlds individually as they desire. For the most part, decisions are spoken about and considered, a consensus reached and guiding principles decided without the Council ever being convened in person.

The difficulty in transporting the largest of the Elders means that when such a council is convened, something of dire import has surely occured.

[u]The Pods[/u]

The Pods are the Ithari themselves. Each world is considered such, and with the open hearts and minds, and few guarded thoughts of the Ithari there is always open discourse among the pods. While the First Voices of each pod guide and enforce the will of the pod, it is the greater pods themselves throughout the day that reach decisions and debate the merits of actions at all possible times. The pods effectively govern their own worlds in a form of direct democracy, though the pod's trust in each of their Elders, and the First Among each group of Elders, to make their decisions reality - and to work with the Void Swimmers - themselves an independent pod, to ensure the safety of their oceans.

The Pods in function:

The pods are known by the name of each of their worlds or hub world, but each holds equal importance to the harmony of the Harmony. Each effectively functions as their own state but unified as a people and as part of the Universal Song. The Void Swimmers, that is, the Ithari military, by necessity functions as its own separate choir with its own First Voice, though it is beholden to the will of the choir's it has been created to protect. Traditionally, the First Voice will assume the name "Ocean" - as the Ithari spread to other worlds, these First Voices would sometimes assume the name of the Ocean they now guided.

[h2][b]Technological Information[/b][/h2][h3][b]Technology Overview[/b][/h3]
The Ithari have been spacefaring for countless millenia, and have long since refined elements of bio-science, energy and gravity manipulation, construction, and many things from simple agriculture to advanced particle physics - much of which, however, remains theory. However, the Ithari application of many of these fields in regards to the making of war is lacking, though largely by intent.

[h3][b]Major Techs[/b][/h3]
Particle/Energy Weapons
Exotic Energy Generation
Terraforming
Bio-Science
Gravity Manipulation
Nanomolecular Construction/Manipulation.

[h3][b]Industry[/b][/h3]
In simplistic terms regarding its ability to produce and resources available, Ithari society has long since entered the realms of post-scarcity. Nearly all non-unique or non-mass construction or production is "state" ran, co-ordinated from Steelsinger directed "nanite" foundries both on planetary surfaces and in stellar space. The majority of economic dynamism is thus in special projects, unique items and architectural experimentation and small-scale "cottage" industries varying wildly from world to world.

[h2][b]Military Information[/b][/h2][h3][b]Military Overview[/b][/h3]
Because of their empathic and telepathic abilities the Ithari are always keenly aware of the sufferings of others and they take no joy in causing pain, fear or anger. They revere life and harmony and abhor needless death or destruction. Nonetheless, they also value their own lives and over the past several centuries they have come to embrace survival as a necessary virtue. It is also a sad circumstance that even a single soldier who has seen such needless death and destruction can poison an entire pod with his burdens, his unrestrained thoughts. This is what lead to the creation of the Void Swimmers.

There is a great deal of debate, angst and soul-searching among the Ithari general population over the actions of their military. There are many Ithari who have never embraced the changes that came with their creation and genuinely would have preferred to find some peaceful way of resisting the wanton destruction inherent in war. They argue that mass suicide would have been a better answer than embracing the ways of those who commit such atrocities.

[u]The Void Swimmers[/u]
Ithari who join the navy often do so against the express wishes of their families, friends and elders. Sometimes they are disowned and ostracized entirely. More often, a Ithari who decides to become a "swimmer in the void" goes through a death ritual before he enters the service. He lies very still in the water; his loved ones circle him, sometimes for hours, singing mournful songs and touching him one last time, as is their habit when a Ithari dies. Then the funeral procession carries his unresisting body to the Naval base and he is remanded to the custody of the Void Swimmers.

It is universally understood that he is no longer Ithari from that point onward. He will not behave as a Ithari would; he will learn the ways of the void sea and carry out missions which no living Ithari could countenance. These Ithari retain their old name, although it is likely to have a bittersweet irony. A new name would come if they were ever able to leave the service--such an event is considered rebirth, and would involve a new name to commemorate the occasion, and allow the past to be left behind.

If he ever returns, and wishes to become a Ithari again, he must go through a re-birthing ceremony and he will slowly to be re-integrated into Ithari society by use of a long process of purification. The horrors he has seen and done must be cleansed from his body and soul; he must learn to swim and sing again as a Ithari. The elders will help him in this process. They are considered strong enough to bear his burdens and each of them will hear one of his battlesongs as a confession and keep the sin of it for him. The heart of an elder is so massive, the long ages of beauty and joy it has lived are so powerful, that one Ithari's grief, guilt and rage cannot overshadow it.

This is however not always a possibility, If the Swimmer is relatively young, neither too old nor too far gone to heal his war wounds and go on with his life. Such a thing is expected, for many, it is not.

Most of the cleansing rituals have to do with being physically close enough to your victims to absorb their death agonies. For a Ithari, being within "shouting" distance of a kill is incredibly visceral and devastating. It's hard to put this in human terms without sounding almost deranged--but taking the life of a thinking, feeling sapient being for a Ithari is as intimate and terrible as it would be for a human being to drive a short sword into the belly of a close relative, feel that person's fluids rain onto your skin, and stare intimately into the victim's face as life left the body. They not only have to empathize with the death, but taste every shade of pain and rage and despair and fear as that experience devours someone's consciousness. Not only this - they go through this knowing that they've caused it. Sadly, They may even have to face the fact that some part of them enjoyed it.

A swimmer is brutal not out of efficiency but out of fear. Ithari do not breed like flies, nor do they have the ability to marshal their entire population as soldiers - Most Ithari go to their drowning day out of concern for their race A void swimmer does not destroy an enemy world as his opening gambit. It is done as a last resort. It is no condolence to those who perish, but it is as it is

Unfortunately, not every Void Swimmer is able to reintegrate back into society. The truth is that, in some cases, a Void Swimmer crew who have seen too much of the wrong kind of action will never return home. When they are no longer needed by their people, they may well choose to "decommission" their own vessel by piloting it into the corona of the nearest star. They understand that they will never be able to become Ithari again. In this way, they are still protecting their home from the horrors of war. New events have lead to the possibility of giving oceans to those who would guard them - but they could never be open to Ithari who have not lived a soldiers life.

The Void Swimmers as such have sacrificed nearly everything to protect all they hold dear. They are not the Ithari people expect, and perhaps, in that, they find an even greater advantage.

[u]Seers of the Song[/u]
Intelligence is paramount in any operation, and the Ithari would be foolish to not take this idea to the fore. The Ithari Intelligence Service is known simply as Seers of the Song, they are few and largely untested, for the Ithari have made no notable enemies nor is it largely possible to infiltrate other states. Their diplomatic counterparts, the "Singers to the Deaf", do some work in this regard, though not much. The Seer's of the Song are however trained to do what many Ithari themselves do as a game - ferret out thoughts, irrespective of the mind that holds it, and bring the note of the song to the fore, so that the harmony of the song can be preserved.

[h3][b]Space Forces[/b][/h3]
The Void Swimmers maintain a diverse force of military space craft, centred upon core units such as carriers and "battleships", but overwhelmingly prefer to dispatch lighter forces for harassing and hit and run manoeuvres. Ithari ships are surprisingly agile due to their use of gravity manipulation (once a necessity, due to the liquid water contents often required) and given Ithari energy generation techniques, able to power more than reasonable banks of energy weaponry.

Navy Doctrine: Void-Pod Hunt.

The Void-Pod Hunt typically employs squadrons to harass, surround, and bring down "predators" - either squadrons of lighter ships or the many smaller void craft typically referred to as strike craft by other species. In situations of overwhelming numerical superiority, the Ithari will even employ their nimble capital ships in such a fashion, rotating through their banks of energy and particle weapons in a broadside fashion. Where such tactics are not possible, the fleet will form a "greater pod" and hunt as one, large, all encompassing force - smashing the opponent with a wall of battle if no other options are presented.

[h3][b]Ground Forces[/b][/h3]
The Ithari, understandably, rarely take to the field of combat personally. While the dramatic image of an enraged Ithari, utilizing the combination of kinetics and technology to hover over the battlefield unleashing its own minds power upon the enemy has been popularized in some Void Swimmer circles, it is far from the norm.

While the Ithari will do such things, potentially with devastating effects, the lions share of ground facing weaponry and tactics have been outsourced to modular, adaptable technological constructs - and in some rare cases, willing mercenary forces. Nearly all matters military are left in the hands of the Void Swimmers, and a select few are trained for ground combat every recruitment cycle.

Ground Doctrine: Mind & Matter.

Despite being dangerous telekinetic combatants, Ithari typically eschew personal frontline combat both as a philosophical and practical concern. As a rule, ground combat on a planetary surface is often to a territorial disadvantage, particularly given the necessary mental strength and/or technological adaptations required to engage an enemy out of the water. However, it is an inevitable necessity that Ithari will, if not personally attend to bloodletting on the front line, not be far from the action.

Ithari ground military forces are thus almost exclusively modular constructs, typically made up of billions of, effectively, nanites. While the Ithari maintain certain pre-planned or melded semi-intelligent constructs which can be called upon - Itharians are typically intimately involved in their constructs - multiple ones can be brought together and bonded by a single Ithari utilizing their telekinetic abilities - with the innate technological nature of the "matter" guided by the "mind" forming nanomolecular bonds as appropriate, shaped and guided by an active mind and not reliant on Artificial Intelligence unless the Itharian "controller" disengages from a particular constructs "intelligence web". 

However, the necessity of a certain degree of proximity does not insulate the Ithari from danger, and it certainly does not form a sufficient barrier from the effects of taking life, particularly given the near intimate bond necessary with the constructs empty mind (For the Ithari do not utilize true artificial sentience). As such, Void Swimmers destined to become "controllers" receive some of the most intense preparation possible.
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[hider=Harmony Vessels]

[u]Strike Craft[/u]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/h0wgrF5.png[/img]
[i]The Da'ran Interceptor is the oldest strike craft currently in service in the Ithari roster.[/i]

Dating from just after the conclusion of the Fracture - the Da'ran is an effective construct still employed by the Void Swimmers in the role of reconnaissance and interception, and is noted for its significant array of sensors.

Utilizing a single Ithari pilot, the Da'ran uses a simplistic gravitic drive to power its movement, basic gravitic shielding and singular, under-slung variant of an Ithari particle lance. Firing in rapid short bursts, the Da'ran's lance is more than capable for its role of interception and general "dog-fighting" duties - as well as sufficient in numbers to cause issues for larger craft.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/AFjCVJ5.jpg[/img]
[i]The Cahlai is the primary ordinance delivery platform for the Void Swimmers.[/i]

The Cahlai was created as a means to deliver heavier ordinance against targets that could not be overwhelmed by the Da'ran without loss - or by lighter warships employed by the Ithari. Similar to the Da'ran, the Cahlai utilizes a gravitic core to power its systems, though the Cahlai's own core is much more significant in output.

Requiring two Ithari pilots, the Cahlai features a tried and tested, but older pair of Ion based "blasters" as its primary armament potential outside of its ordinance delivery. However, the true purpose of the Cahlai is to fire intentionally created and focused overloads of its gravitic drive in the form of a projectile. Utilizing a mix of kinetic matrices which encase the projectile and careful psionic manipulation by the secondary Ithari pilot, the Cahlai is capable of creating devastatingly unstable ordinance to be employed against the enemy.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/IKFgghH.jpg[/img]
[i]The Shalaeth is the newest entry to the Ithari Strike Craft roster, and is appropriately advanced.[/i]

The Shalaeth is a surprisingly recent entry to the Void Swimmer's arsenal. Like its predecessors, it employs the same variant of a gravitic drive - but far more capable and specifically designed for the Shalaeth's envisioned purpose as a multi-role craft. As such, the Shalaeth, whilst being a larger, more durable craft than either, is still incredibly agile.

Like the Cahlai, the Shalaeth requires two Ithari pilots - and like the Cahlai, features a similar method of ordinance delivery, though its psionic discharge web in its wings and its matrices are far more finely tuned - and consequently its projectiles are far less unstable - it does grant a much greater range from which its projectiles can be fired.

In addition, the same discharge web compliments its gravitic shielding and two heavier particle lance weapons, contingent on the psionic strength of its pilots. As such, the Shalaeth is being phased into widespread use on the newer carriers and steward ships employed by the Harmony.

[u]Light Vessels[/u]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/dIlrPqC.jpg[/img]
[i]The Shorath is essentially a much larger, adapted version of the ideas at the heart of the Shalaeth[/i]

Created to fill a role similar to a frigate or destroyer in the Void Swimmer's fleets. The Shorath was born out of the ideas that created the Shalaeth, and employs similar means of offense and defense - though its psionic discharge web is much more focused and of a newer design than the Shalaeth's.

Requiring a crew of 25, the Shorath is essentially a multi-role vessel capable of performing the lighter duties normally assigned, in other fleets, to basic strike roles, patrol, and tasks as varied as picketing or recon in force. Shorath's typically operate in squadrons of three or more.

As a testbed design, the Shorath currently utilizes a new variant of Ithari gravitic drives, as well as a new core system based upon those subspace taps employed by heavier vessels.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/JiwTj1s.jpg[/img]
[i]The Torae is the catch-all light cruiser design employed the Ithari.[/i]

While the Torae would be unrecognizable in its interior makeup to its original designers, the Torae's initial conception was during the Fracture itself. Employed by those who would come to create the core of the Harmony, the Torae is an ancient, favoured design that can be credited with outclassing its contemporaries - and through countless millenia of continued upkeep and refit, remains a stalwart vessel in service today. 

The Torae, as such, requires a hundred Ithari crew and employs the traditional tried and tested gravitic drive and core design employed by lighter Ithari vessels - though it boasts four such generators to power its shields and weaponry - arrayed in a not inconsiderable array of nine banks of particle lances. However, the Torae's psionic web is very limited, and as such the psionic potential of its crew to support systems is correspondingly limited.

The Torae, nevertheless, served as the main force multiplier traditionally employed by the Ithari, or at least was until the development of the Shorath.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/IqvjdNg.jpg[/img]
[i]The Balaros is the heavier cousin to the Torae, though a far newer design.[/i]

Requiring a crew of two hundred Ithari, the Balaros is the heavy cruiser variant employed by the Ithari. The Balaros, like other lighter Ithari vessels, employs the traditional gravitic drives and cores to power its defenses and armament. It boasts a crew of two hundred.

Like the Torae, the Balaros employs multiple banks of particle lances - though it only possesses five. Its other primary armament lies in four Focused Energy Discharge launchers - effectively a heavy and more precise variant of the ordinance deployment employed by the Shalaeth and Shorath. The Balaros also features a sophisticated Psionic discharge web, allowing members of its crew to finesse and improve systems psionically where required.

As such, the Balaros is a compliment to the Torae, providing heavier means of offensive force where the Torae is inadequate.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/TGOldL9.jpg[/img]
[i]The Ank'athros is essentially a artillery deployment platform developed to deal with long range combatants and for bombardment purposes.[/i]

If an outsider had actually ever seen one, the Ank'athros's genesis would probably seem an antithesis to the proclaimed Ithari ideologies and philosophy. If they had known the battles the Ank'athros had been developed to win, it would not seem as so - for the Ank'athros's was a true warship developed purely to counter an enemy - one that no longer exists.

The Ank'athros as such masses much heavier than its contemporary light cousins, but employs a gravitic drive and series of cores much more specifically designed and with a psionic web designed to compliment the ship much more intimately than others. The Ank'athros as such possesses a very small crew of five Ithari, but all are accomplished psionics.

The sweeping design of the Ank'athros serves one purpose - to provide as many kinetic matrices as possible. While the Ank'athros has sophisticated defenses, it only has one weapon, one singular focused discharge platform. Coalescing a massive, if slow, projectile, the Ank'athros is capable of untold destruction from far outside the normal range of engagement for such weapons. This feat is only accomplished by the potential of its crew - and it possesses no other means of combat except through its variants of point defence and the gifts of its crew.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/EjH4lJb.jpg[/img]
[i]The Urand was once the premier carrier platform for the Void Swimmers, unable to hold notable numbers of the new Shalaeth, the Urand has been downgraded to a "light" carrier - though it is in truth a capital ship.[/i]

The Urand was once the pinnacle of Ithari technology. It is no longer, though it still possesses much of the terrible grace one would expect from such an ancient class of ship. Holding six Da'ran squadrons and three squadrons of the Calaeth, the Urand's primary role is to bear these vessels into combat - and to use its onboard fabrication systems to produce replacement parts of entire craft if necessary.

The Urand, as a former capital ship with sometimes varying flight crew, typically boasts three to four hundred Ithari onboard at any one time - and as such possesses a corresponding psionic discharge web. While possessing gravitic drives, the Urand is powered by Ithari subspace tap technology and possesses far greater energy reserves than other ships the Ithari have classed as "light". As such, its defense systems are far in excess of even the Balaros.

The Urand possesses a number of point defense systems, but as a strike craft delivery platform, it possesses only one primary offensive weapon - in truth, the core of the ship itself serves as that weapon - one immense, spinal particle lance far more powerful than those found on lighter Ithari vessels.

As such, not only is the Urand a danger for its ability to keep strike craft in the battle - it is doubly so for the "grand weapon" it possesses. A few Urand are more than capable of scouring a world of life, if left unmolested - and it can be said that it is a good thing the Ithari are seldom called upon to display such an ability.

[u]Capital Vessels[/u]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/JFlpXZO.jpg[/img]
[i]The Hashan is the primary capital ship in service with the Ithari[/i]

The Hashan, with a crew of three hundred fifty, is a newer design that phased out the ancient gravitic powered Tylanthor. Like all Ithari Capital ships with the decomissioning of the Tylanthor, the Hashan employs subspace taps to power its systems - with complimentary psionic discharge webs and employing the traditional gravitic manipulation drives of all Ithari ships.

The Hashan was devised as a frontal combatant - with limited defensive systems meant to be complimented by other vessels assigned to escort it, the Hashan possesses twenty four of the traditional particle lance banks employed as standard armament on Ithari vessels, however, its true strength lies in its Primary Phased Beam Array.

As such, the Hashan is designed to discharge its power core through a focusing emitter into a continuous beam fired at the enemy. Due to the nature of the beam - continued fire will entail increased beam coherence - and supplied by the near infinite nature of a subspace tap, results in a beam that becomes deadlier the longer the target cannot avoid or interrupt its firing.

As such, a Hashan given free reign against a slow target is a devastating opponent.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/zDtvBCW.jpg[/img]
[i]The Taloris replaced the Urand as the premier carrier of the Ithari fleet.[/i]

The Taloris was envisioned as a platform for the delivery of the Shalaeth - and is consequently much newer than the Urand it replaced. The Taloris is also a competent, non-spinal combatant. With a crew of six hundred Ithari, it possesses similar capabilities - that of fabrication and delivery. The Taloris holds twelve squadrons of Shalaeth, with varying numbers of squadrons of Da'ran and Calaeth, though never exceeding eight further squadrons total.

The Taloris employs the traditional subspace tap power generation means of Ithari capital ships, as well as a notable psionic discharge web and one of the newest specifically designed gravitic drives - allowing the Taloris considerable mobility for her size.

The Taloris as such possesses notable defensive shielding, armour, point defense systems and fourteen conventional particle lance weapon banks in addition to her strike craft. The Taloris also possesses two energetics cannons - similar in concept to ordinance delivery used on the Calaeth up to the Ank'athros, but far more focused and arguably conventional in their approach, given the stable energy they can draw upon.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/XYsKhKq.jpg[/img]
[i]The Apranya serves primarily with the Stewards, but is also a competent military command ship.[/i]

The Apranya was designed initially as a vessel to serve the needs of the stewards - a veritable city in space capable of providing them with the fabrication, research facilities, housing and long ranging self supply required when watching over nascent worlds. The Void Swimmer's also saw the potential in a ship capable of providing transport for constructs and controllers - as well as a platform from which fleet command could be designed for from the inception of a design.

The Apranya was the result. Utilizing the most advanced gravitics drives available at the time (and consequently, due to refit, of the current as well) and the first employment of subspace tap technology, the Apranya is a vessel capable of many feats. While it is capable of being piloted by a single Ithari, the Apranya will often have a crew of thousands, though many will be support staff.

The Apranya as such was heavily armed. While possessing eighteen particle lance weapons banks - the Apranya is the only Ithari vessel that employs psionically enhanced phased beam weaponry, capable of far greater destruction than typical Ithari energy weapons. As such, this, along with the fleet command systems asked for, called for the employment of a far greater "focus" than the Apranya's limited inbuilt psionic discharge web - and as such the entire vessel was built around the extremely rare and impossible to synthesise Rillion crystal. The fact that so many crystals of such perfect quality in such a dense arrangement is present on the Apranya, is, despite its size, the real reason only a limited number of the Apranya exist. A single, massive beam of energy can be channeled through the Rillion crystal cluster - though at the expense of other offensive systems - but serves as a potent planetary assault weapon, long range bombardment option, or destructive choice against other slower targets.

As such a large construct, the Apranya can be argued to be two vessels both constructed separately and then bonded together - its core and constituent "city" and its "wings". This "winged" hull, comprised of three slowly rotating wings, projects a tightly woven energy dome which allows for a life-sustaining atmosphere within the confines of the city itself, and turns harmful deep-space radiation into surplus energy for basic gravitic shields and other primary systems. The Apranya's core itself has a similar barrier whose sole function is to keep the crew on the rest of the ship safe from the powerful energies it generates.

The Apranya, given its size, is capable of hosting even the Taloris in its cavernous bays, and will be home to any combination of strike craft squadrons in addition to its escorts, berthed or otherwise. Though this is never in excess of fourty total squadrons.

The Apranya is, also, with the Kuara, one of the few vessels actually encountered with some frequency by non-Ithari entities.

[img]https://i.imgur.com/sN4jcHf.png[/img]
[i]The Illion was designed more practical alternative to the Apranya, though this did not go to plan.[/i]

The Illion was initially devised as an alternative to the Apranya, given its specific construction requirements. However, by the time plans had been finalized on the Illion its construction was not only more substantial - but it required nearly as many Rillion crystals as an Apranya - resulting in a rethink as to its purpose.

The Illion was thus redrawn as a dreadnaught - and its power systems were re-examined. While the Illion would be made mobile by the tried and tested design of gravitics, its size and the inherent power demands could potentially tax even a dedicated subspace tap - and so the Ithari turned to the stars. The Solar Core was the result - and the Illion would be powered by a minature replica of a star.

With such power available, the idea of a simple dreadnaught was once again examined. The Void Swimmers and the Stewards both collaborated and many elders put forward their thoughts - and without much debate the Illion was envisioned not just simply as an offensive asset, but as an arkship of sorts. A final answer to a war, but also the final retreat if such a thing ever became necessary. The Illion would be the ender of civilizations, but would also be the salvation of the Ithari if it was ever necessary. Only Six would ever be produced.

The Illion is armed almost identically to the Apranya, though it possesses several Phased Beam Arrays present on the Hashan, as well as a dozen focused energy discharge launchers. Its immense size means it is home to everything the Ithari would require if their civilization were ever in dire threat - full scale nano foundries, housing, limited agriculture and aquaculture, digital archives and numerous research and botanical areas amongst things as diverse as a hospital wing and a full stasis section for colonists and troops. As such, the Illion's crew "requirements" vary - but for essential operations it requires at least eight hundred Ithari, and to run at full efficiency - ignoring any support staff or other sections such as stasis pods - at least two thousand. It is commonly believed an Illion can hold tens of thousands of Ithari in comfort - and more if comfort is disregarded. In addition, it is more than capable of hosting and supplying a complete fleet of its own, though the Illion has limited strike craft bays of its own. As such, it relies on the Taloris, Urand or even any Apranya that may be berthed within it.

The Illion as such is purely a myth, even among some Ithari circles - however, the fact that six elders are chosen on occasion to guide the resident pods aboard each of them means that their existence is more than on the public record.

[u]Utility Vessels[/u]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/E54O1G2.jpg[/img]
[i]The Kuara serves one role - to observe[/i]

The Kuara is one of the few Ithari ship classes seen outside of Ithari space. A small vessel with only a handful of Ithari aboard - typically scientists and any associated Void Swimmers required - the Kuara is a mobile sensor platform capable of taking in immense amounts of data and then processing it.

The Kuara utilizes traditional Ithari gravitic power systems, drives, and defenses - and possesses a limited capital grade particle lance bank to defend itself with if the need arises - but the Kuaras only true purpose is to see what the Ithari wish it to see - and to bear any samples back home.

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