Ulayavi

The ulayavi were first mentioned by Gre7g Luterman in Skeleton Crew and first appeared in Fair Trade. The further design and development of this species has tentatively been undertaken by Ember, as her introduced species palowan had many features in common with ulayavi as thus far described, so the two have been merged.

Twelve hundred years ago, the ulayavi were enslaved by an expeditionary fleet of geordians, whose experiment with gate technology nearly destroyed their homeworld. After accidentally opening a gate into the ocean of Ayavi, their gateship was destroyed, and as punishment their krakun overlord decreed they would spend a millennium fixing their error and seeing how susceptible the "palowan," as the enslaved came to be called, were to slavery. During this time, the Ulayavi Polity formed as a socialist government and began to reverse-engineer krakun and geordian technology from the wreckage of their ships, focusing particularly on gravity manipulation.

The Ulayavi of 600 years ago were high-minded idealists. They fought tooth and nail regardless of sacrifices to expel the Krakun and reclaim their people, with three pyrrhic wars called the Punitive Wars. The palowan rejoined the Polity and kept their name for all diasporic ul and eventually any race that joined the polity.

The Ulayavi of 300 years ago believed themselves secure in their space, thanks to the Dark Star Range- a set of gravitic anomalies that make approaching their region near the galactic center difficult -and a growing disconnect began between the worlders and spacers. Great Nomad fleets began to form as some found the conditions on the homeworlds increasingly frustrating, especially for non-ulayavi rescues from slavery under the krakun. And after the loss of the palowan's homeworld, increasingly disillusioned. Their efforts in sustaining the fight eventually produced the Neutral Zone between Ul' space and the Krakun Empire.

The ulayavi of today have magnified that disconnect, with many worlders believing peace is possible with the krakun, while the Navy and Nomad fleets fight against endless waves of privateers and regular wars from krakun mercenaries, especially the Anup. Worlders have grown distrustful of aliens who cling to narratives about krakun cruelty, while the Navy and Nomads keep a more cosmopolitan view, emphasizing meritocracy where they can, but still ultimately keeping ul' at the highest echelons. The latter can sense the end is coming, especially since they hold the secret that for twelve hundred years, they have only faced a single krakun opponent, the patient and cruel Kranodur.

They are a people split between the deluded and the desperate, as the central government lies to provide the illusion of control and negotiation with their principal foe, while funneling resources to a new threat in the galactic west. The contradictions have piled up such that, away from their five held worlds, the Ulayavi Polity Navy maintains a delicate balance to prevent the full might of the krakun from being brought down upon them, even if that means committing terrible acts like selling their own into slavery. Because a new threat has arisen on the open galaxy west of Ul' space, and the claws and fangs of the Turek strike deeper with every decade.