Phantoms

The phantoms, a spiritual race valuing order, family and honour, have splintered over a civil war over three and a half centuries ago. Though the Cybrous faction are members of the Senate, they are currently at war with the telurians in the War of Reprisals.

At their best, they're honourable, spiritual people. They respect their ancestors, nigh-on revering those that are particularly accomplished. Phantoms are known for their brave spirit, determination and stubborness. On the flip side however, they are emotional, passionate and can tend to see things through a slightly romanaticised bent.

As it currently stands, the phantom race is split between two factions; the slightly larger, more organised and close knit Cybrous and the looser, nomadic and much more magical Floralis.

Physiology
Mostly humanoid in appearance and very tall (standing at around 6-7.5ft), all phantoms, regardless of bloodline or faction, share common features. They are all born with tails of a similar colour to the hair on their heads, though of course variations do exist. In addition to this, their bodies are adorned with (usually) symmetrical markings of varying shades of their patron society. These can be found all over the body, including the face, and are genetic in nature; patterns are likely to be passed down from parent to child, with recurrent themes seen down family lines.

Their hair colours are generally more muted colours, and 'unnatural' tones of blues, purples, greens and greys are not uncommon.

Phantoms enjoy lifespans of just over a century; a hundred and twenty would be considered a long and full life. Anything beyond that is highly, highly unusual.

History
When they were unified as one race, they were much more magical, revering six entities and ancestry. Eventually, teaching their magic onto the natural, nomadic phantoms, they developed six 'societies', named after and reflecting qualities and talents of their patron. One in particular, Lord Thulian, taught his followers ingenuity and from that they developed enchantment magic, the ability to bestow magical properties and effects into their creations. They became the artisans and merchants of the Phantom people. Whilst clever, they were also ambitious. One Thulian, Linnis Bersamir, started to delve in directly fusing magic and invention, creating the first magitech machinery. Not many approved of this, but Linnis was quite quickly attracting a lot of attention, both favourable and not. He founded a tribe, dedicated to this brand of inventing and machinery. Eventually, they were looking at space travel. The phantoms never had a home world of their own. This, these ambitious Thulians (though other societies had started to join his cause), sought to fix.

He proposed his plans and ideas to take an exploratory team outside of the splintered worlds they had been inhabiting to the six high priests, each the essential embodiment of their patron. They rejected the idea, believing it went against what the phantom race stood for, their traditions and such likes. The civil war, though remarkably peaceful given only a handful of phantoms died, was what split the entire race. It sparked from an accidental loss of control from one of the high priests. The High Priest of Lord Fale accidentally yet fatally injured a thulian worker for Bersamir in a zealous attempt to get his point across, and they took it as a direct attack on their own newly formed ideals. Swiftly and quickly, these magitech-inclined phantoms left, promising to carve out a place for the phantoms within this universe. Leaving in their ships, this tribe, dubbed the 'cybrous', became the faction we know today. They named the planet-dwelling phantoms the Floralis.

Though at first there was much tension and dislike between the two factions, over the centuries it slowly ebbed; the Floralis keep to themselves and their traditional, magical ways whilst quietly pitying the Cybrous. It is their belief that they have turned their backs on the guidance of the Six Patrons. On the other hand, the Cybrous believe the Floralis to be passive and afraid with their elusive, ghost-like lifestyles.

Once they had left into space, the Cybrous formed what is now known as the Homefleet, a city made up of ships small and large, housing civillian families and their infant culture. The Homefleet became the center of the Cybrous race, despite it almost constantly being on the move. Their nomadic cravings would not be tempered easily and it was not long before they discovered other races.

One race in particular, the telurians, would be one that'd have the phantoms see their first war.