Ancient Races Storyline: Who Are The Volari
In the Sy’Arrian Legacy series, I will be focusing on three main story lines related to the primary factions, the ancient races and, of course, the Sy’Arrians. My post from June 2020 highlighted one of the ancient races, the Sistrell. I feel it is overdue to revisit the ancient races by exploring the Volari, who represent the closest example of what a stereotypical, other worldly alien looks like when viewed through the lens of 21st century humans.
Indigenous to the planet of Esperion, Volari stand barely 1.2 meters tall, have large cranial features, thin appendages, oval shaped eyes with myriad colors based upon skin type, small flat shaped mouths, and no noticeable ears. They have flat noses, which appear as two small holes with no raised projections and cartilage like the noses of most humanoids. Skin tones tend to range from muted whites and grays to almost pitch black. A Volari’s skin tone will typically dictate an opposing eye color, e.g., a light gray complexion may have black eyes or dark eyes with a tint of red. Their bodies are hairless and display no visible sex organs. Namely, an observer could not tell a female from a male at first glance. They do have five digits on both hands and feet with the later slightly wider than what would be expected of their slender bodies. Volari do not communicate verbally unless there is no other option, preferring hand and arm gestures very similar to sign language.
Volari are an anomaly when it comes to longevity as compared to the other ancient races, living only to be several hundred years old; 350 to 370 at best with procreation transpiring similarly to all the other regular races. The act itself does vary from couple to couple, as upon first glance, Volari appear sexless. The other difference is when gender is determined. Upon first interaction, many would assume if the Volari they were communicating with had a masculine voice, it was a male – not the case. Strictly related to reproduction, gender is not solidified until two Volari decide to mate, remaining permanent once the act is completed. This is a mutual and extremely personal act taken seriously by everyone involved.
When a gender is determined, it begins the first phase of the mating process, lasting several months.
Phase two involves the act itself and will usually last one week, where no interruptions of any kind are allowed. The last phase is the maturation process, entailing 4 to 5 months. During the last phase, Volari perform their life tasks as usual and do not display noticeable signs of carrying offspring. The only visible sign is a change in skin color, which varies in both hue and intensity. During the fourth month, Volari are evaluated to determine if they are ready for the extraction of their offspring. If so, the small child is removed and placed in a maturation chamber to finish the mating process. Volari higher reasoning and intelligence develops at a steady pace for a period of six months once removed from the maturation chamber.
Volari social structure mirrors many of the same features in other cultures. They are close-knit and, for the most part, function as one large family. They are collaborative and live-in large clusters as one unit. Rarely will one see Volari clustered in a typical family arrangement similar to other species, i.e., mother, father, siblings. Usually, clusters, also known as a Corsa, are formed around like interests. One Corsa could rightly house up to a hundred Volari whose interests are mainly in the sciences and philosophy. The potential for a high concentration of one subject matter contained in a Corsa, increases opportunities to learn and have major breakthroughs serving to benefit them holistically.
Contrary to what would be expected of the standard races, the Volari communicate very well and share information freely from one Corsa to another. There are no formal governmental structures as most other races are accustomed. Decisions are made collaboratively at the community level. All established Corsa’s weigh-in on issues affecting the race with a majority rule. There is a mediator elected to oversee the process of when issues are discussed and has no authority to direct any specific Volari or their Corsa to decide a certain way. This mediator, officially called the Escoru, is usually a Volari who is not affiliated with any known Corsa and has been identified early in its lifespan to avoid becoming part of a Corsa. This position is considered an honor to hold and held until a Volari’s passing to the next stage of life. There has yet to be any Volari who have turned down such an honor. Volari have a zero-crime rate, so the need for law enforcement is non-existent. They are omnivores with very small dietary needs.
Their home world, Esperion is very lush with high vegetation levels where the majority of the climate areas are similar to Earth’s jungles. There are landmasses of various shapes and sizes but only a few contain cities the Volari call home. Esperion’s oceans are vast and not as segmented as Earth’s, containing diverse marine life. Given the almost yearly summer like weather patterns, the planet’s oceans will often swallow entire landmasses for short periods of time. The Volari have learned to adapt to these conditions using technology by developing an elaborate early warning system to aid in avoiding potential disasters. Although they have very few cities, four in total and have built them on the landmasses with the highest elevations, the ocean’s reach is still a threat. Most often entire sections or an entire city can be fully submerged in water. Once detected, the early warning system will sound a warning and employ force fields until the threat has subsided. Even though the Volari are an ancient race and could live anywhere they wanted, Esperion has been their home world since the beginning of their civilization; leaving is not a preferred option.
Of the four main cities: Raja, Arnitas, Volaris, and Kor, Raja is the largest and would be what most other races would consider the capitol city. Raja has the largest concentration of Volari and contains the most dominant Corsa. Throughout all four cities, the architecture is consistent and blends in very well with the vegetation surrounding them. Large, medium, and small structures all have smooth, rounded features creating seamless designs. Entry and exit areas only appear when they are directly approached. Due to the highly dense and malleable materials used to construct their buildings, windows are not necessary given the amount of light is filtered based on personalized settings. Solar power is their primary energy source.
The Volari population is quite sizable, which explains their sprawl and presents challenging dilemmas in the areas of power consumption and perimeter defenses to counter invasive species, prowlers, etc. The Volari have met this challenge by using a form of hydropower to sustain force fields for almost indefinite periods of time during flooding situations.
Feel free to post your questions or comments. I will respond, if need be, when I able.
