Lore

Species

The diverse quantity of sapient fauna throughout the galaxy ultimately means there is no real universal standard for behavior, though most can agree on most things. To wit, galactic society generally has taken a live-and-let-live attitude. Those who seek to meet them all may never succeed, but it cannot be said that they will not enjoy themselves.

Embis

Home planet- Irtum
Descriptor- Affectionate
First appearance: Prologue - 2

The vastly older sibling of the human species, embis could not be more opposite their primate counterparts. Growing up as a species alone on a planet not yet tamed, they had to evolve physically and mentally to be able to hide from anything that might recognize them as food, as well as take their friends where they can get them. This juiced up their genome to be highly adaptive, and allows them their current animal-like forms.
If this comic has not proved enough already, embis are highly affectionate- Their hugs, kisses and pets are actually a survival adaptation- Making friends with anyone intelligent enough is essential when anything with less brain than you will bite you in half. Since they had almost no wars, embis did not see major growth until humans came along. It was fighting for survival for the first 1,000 years, but eventually friendship won over.
As a species, embis have the most physiological diversity of any sapient out there. Very short, very tall, predatory appearance, prey animal appearance, centaur-like form, multiple tails, fur-lined pouches, wings, you name it (just no horns, bills, hooves or short tails). Gender does not seem to matter for any of these traits beyond who inherits what. Their xenophilia makes them the most likely to pair up outside their species, but their decency standards make this a hard sell- Still, nothing shows on a nude embis, given how fluffy they are.

Faeries

Home planet- (Uncertain)
Descriptor- Concealed
First appearance: Chapter 1 - 18

Any adventurer will tell you that faeries are dangerous- You should never strike deals with one of the fae, or give your name to any one of them. Cruel without hate, strikingly beautiful or terrifyingly hideous, and by far the most naturally thaumically capable creatures, entering a faerie den is all told unwise... The Tomeatorium faeries say different though. The good ones all seem to be in hiding. And more common.
Of these faeries, there seems to be two parents and multitudes of children who fall under their benevolent and loving rule. The current suspicion is that good faeries will busy themselves around a sort of thematic task- Such as maintaining a library- So as to be of service to those who they let in their den. By all accounts, Faeries are efficient and capable regarding any such task, but are by no means organized.
Most faeries are cute as a button, eager to please, and significantly less restrained than an embis- Expect an unreasonable amount of kisses and nuzzles if you're one of their friends. As a source of wisdom though, they are sometimes quite lacking- Capable of retaining intimate details of up to 600 individuals and with an astronomical IQ, faeries are unfortunately so well versed in magic that they have no idea how to teach it...

Furtums

Home planet- Pudicryo
Descriptor- Unconventional
First appearance: Chapter 4 - 16

There is precious little known about the furtums, mostly because they consider life within the wider galaxy to be more important to them then documenting any history... Not that it would be easy to figure out anyway. Furtum society, what little of it has been observed, is purely familial. Other families do not interact with one another and very little complex communication even occurs, much less tool making or construction.
This is not to say that the furtum does not have the faculties to do so, they are just highly disadvantaged. They move about on all fours, lack vocal chords to talk with, and do not have as refined digits as other species. As such, a furtum that makes it's way off of Pudicryo finds itself far more at home where a lot of civilization's hard work has been done for them. No love lost there- Why sit and do nothing on a home planet with nothing for you if you can become an engineer elsewhere?
Furtums evolved on a planet where caloric energy is rare and precious. Their stomachs adapted accordingly, producing a modified digestive system with furry insides- Allowing them to eat anything they can wrap their flexible jaws around, thaumically transmuting the food into fuel as needed and using no calories to do it. Clever Furtums have learned how to use their stomachs for precise thaumic manipulation, essentially becoming things like forges, chemistry labs, medbays or even just a source of shelter. As such, Dungeon Crawling Health and Safety has rated them a 0 in the Gastromic Scale of Worry- One of the few species to recieve that as being eaten by one can be, beyond maybe the mental association, a comfortable experience.

Humans

Home planet- Irtum
Descriptor- Complicated
First appearance: Prologue - 2

Primarily referred to as the sapient species of which all other sapient species are compared (by humans), to say that humans have a complicated history is a massive understatement, all things considered. Humans have gone to war over borders, possessions, creed, politics, religion, race, sports, stereotypes and even how to make war. They're all quite embarrassed to say the least...
But having gone through this, they've come to realize something as a whole: Their massive diversity as a single species when it comes to thought patterns has been working against them in some significant way. These days, humans have learned to take a libertarian stance about their lives, and the vast majority go about their time with one another peacefully.
Nothing stands out about a human physically or mentally, for sure, but you will find them stronger than you might expect. With a little more hair and a bit more physical differences between races, humans have excellent healing capability, resistance to elements, and even a strength that, when trained hard enough, can allow one to put a hefty dent in cast iron... And that's just their natural capability. Give them magic, and you will find they practice the most complicated forms of martial arts and warfare in Vuhoventa.

Rumbah

Home planet- Irtum
Descriptor- Reclusive
First appearance: Prologue - 7

Not very much is known about the rumbah species before their emergence from underground, but genetics suggest they are an early split from embis. What is known can be gleaned from their current culture. Most rumbah in the galaxy prefer to live underground and keep their hands to themselves, preferring any affectionate act be in doing something for someone as opposed to touchy-feely stuff.
Family units are often large, and romantic pairings only form when the two are interested in raising them. By extension, rumbah cities have very little hierarchy, as positions of authority come from wisdom, not from education in the relevant area. They almost operate their beautiful cave-cities like ant colonies... One thing that is clear though is when the emergence came, this behavior was almost entirely cultural.
Only as tall as the average ten year old, rumbah are pseudo-kangaroo in appearance, multi-colored creatures which typically grow very large digging claws (though those on the hands are always trimmed off). Every one of them has a furry pouch regardless of gender, and as such some clever enchantments have been made on them to allow for many uses. Their natural state makes them ideal for a single creature their size to curl up in, although often an enchantment allows no real limit on occupants.

Cessip

Home planet- Rekashiraka
Descriptor- Reptile
First appearance: Chapter 5 – 19

The Cessip are a cold-blooded, warm-dispositioned species who have seen little of war on their planet. The fruit was always abundant and fertile, the fish were always plenty and the root plants were always easy to dig up... Though with venom capable of killing an elephant in as little as 10 seconds, those other things were often considered flavoring and side dishes for the main course.
One might think that when individuals had no competition, either from one another or from other predators, their performance on the galactic scene would significantly suffer, but obscene longevity covered for more than that. Their first run-in with the then infamous Vedroglaven was a slaughter, but as their greatest wariors failed to die of old age, their young learned how to fight and win. And they kept winning. It is this species, ultimately, who first proposed forming The Councilship with more peaceful neighbors, and primarily it is systems they discovered that most Councilship territory, regardless of current species/faction ownership, consists of.
Cessip are able to withstand all sorts of weather and conditions, but do not do well with extremes of cold and heat. They prefer contained environments of high humidity and 80 degree temperatures given their tropical nature. Not only does this keep their moods even, preventing grumpiness in high temperatures and lethargy in low, it helps keep their crests of feathers on their heads healthy and encourages clean shedding.


Locales

The galaxy is truly vast- Going everywhere would take many more lifetimes than the lifetimes it would take to meet and understand all the sapient species. Yet again, this has not stopped the finest of explorers- They're usually stopped by things like retirement, responsibilities at home, or dying.

Beta-4

Descriptor- Backwoods
Biomes- Temperate varied
Territory- Councilship
First appearance: Prologue - 7

Felt like a good idea at the time to move here... Beta 4 is a moon orbiting a thermally active gas giant which in turn orbits a yellow star. The fertile moon has somehow positioned itself perfectly in front of the gas giant so that it has the large planet behind it and the sun in front of it perpetually, providing a decent daylight cycle, but the heat coming off of the gas giant warms the moon to make the climate globally temperate.
Biodiversity is rich here, but the planet has not been very well explored to see it. With maybe four miles of civilized land if you're generous, it's hardly any wonder that the colonies on it pass the radar...
It's not easy growing up on this planet- very little to be had of soap, not a very rich diet, and not many sets of clothes for anyone- But thanks to the hard efforts of the smarter people on the planet, it's not hard either. Internet (backed up from off-world servers), video games, books, TV (recorded from off-world channels) and plenty of imported toys and goods mean you're not too likely to get bored... And the night sky is a sight to die for.

Beta 4's Red Magus Temple

Descriptor- Humble
Biomes- Temperate deep woods
Territory- Red Magus
First appearance: Prologue - 7

A low population with only 9 members out a fair ways from the rest of Beta 4. Originally they set themselves up on the backwoods planet in solidarity to and support of the struggling colony of Beta 4, taking up residence in one of the galaxy's many dungeons (don't worry, this one's quite safe) to avoid a long construction period.
Helping their non-Niemaistic friends build a barrier of protection around their colony took a lot out of them... The nine current members remain in the temple keeping to themselves, but have made it known that if there is anything they can do for The Civil Speck, they will be glad to help. Mostly they try to prop up the small colony economically as one more source of circulating money, but if The Civil Speck's coffers were low, the temple's is even lower.
As for The Civil Speck, the Councilship colony offers to help in their own way and is mostly on good terms with the people inside- Despite few Niemaists in the colony, almost all of them have a strong respect for the religion after all the temple has done for them. It's still a lovely occasion when The Red Magus of the temple come to pay the colony a visit, and many of them wish they would just move in- For greater safety and better company.

The Civil Speck

Descriptor- Pedestrian
Biomes- Temperate Forest
Territory- Councilship
First appearance: Chapter 1 - 8

Butter's little home of boring tranquility in the middle of a forest of fear. Not absolutely pretty at night, not much to sneeze at by day, The Civil Speck is a quiet, cozy little farming hamlet composed of a scant 42 people. A pretty good description from Butter, honestly. But even a tiny place like this has it's history, and it's not very happy, unfortunately. Once the optimistic home of 200 people, Beta 4 turned out to be far too harsh for the early Councilship colonists as they were mostly picked off by poisoning from poorly selected foods. Eventually, the Red Magus, similarly large in population, had to step in to get them protected with an enchanted wall around the place, but not before both groups were reduced to a forth or less. To this day, the colonists of The Civil Speck have stabilized, but it's unlikely that their economy will boom or that anyone will move away from the temperate moon.

The Tomeatorium

Descriptor- Circumspect
Biomes- Regulated indoor environment, 70°F
Territory- Independent
First appearance: Chapter 1 – 15

The faeries claim this place used to be a much smaller (if artifact based) holding enchantment, but once faeries get their paws on something, often times they will take it to the max of what it is capable.
Over 700,000 years this enchantment was expanded into a planet-sized library, a hoarder's dream of books and media where pretty much anything you'd like to find can be found inside if you can get the faeries to do it for you instead. Mother help you if you try to look for anything yourself.
Access to this place is pretty restricted- Sure, you can break in, but these are faeries you're dealing with, and the fae are protective of one another. That being said, if you've been invited, there's no closing period for this library and no fines on late books (the fae will just come after you and take them back if you forget).
No one is quite certain where all their books come from as the faeries seemingly never leave the library. One thing is for sure though- They have pretty much everything- Often in plenty multiples of copies.