Sardania Nomads

The people of Sardania once laid claim to a vibrant home, filled with the ideal conditions for humanity to not only to survive, but thrive. How they lost their world is shrouded in mystery, although there are many rumors as to why. None no longer visit Sardania , and the nomads have intentionally chosen not to settle on a planet for their futures as well. Whole generations have now lived among the flocks of ships, and though the fleets are sometimes scattered between the Mid Rim and Outer Rim, they will come together once a year at the Convergence of the Wills
The Nomads have a high concentration of Psionic peoples, it is theorized this is due to the exposure caused by their sophisticated Fusion Drives that originated from before the silence. Many of the Psionics end up becoming warriors of some kind, seeking to defend the fleets from outsiders. The Sardanians are also known for their unique blend of Spice, which is seen as a delicacy in many parts of the galaxy.

Pelican Ships

Sardanian fleets are unique because of the Pelican Ships they are organized around. Each ship is as large as an interstellar gate, and is home to millions of nomads who spend their entire lives aboard the ship. Fleets that gather and live around the pelican ships are called a "flock". While Sardanians can move from flock to flock, most will call their birth flock home for a majority of their lives. Pelican ships allow the nomad fleets to gather within its open birth, and then make a jump to anywhere in the galaxy. Effectively this means that the Sardinian Nomads do not use, nor have need for the gates.
The science behind this technology is only seen amongst the nomads, and any attempt to recreate this tech has resulted in failure. The power behind these jump ships are a closely guarded secret of the Sardanians. This level of technological advancement is almost mythos in nature, even stumping the minds of Central Simulation and the Empire's Think Tank.
In reality, these ships make use of several aspects, that varies from nomad flock to nomad flock. At its core, the jump is made using three different aspects. The first is the cascading waves of complex near-Demon Constructs, their data is joined by the esoteric chanting of the cloistered priesthood of Navigator Choirs, when these two data streams are combined, they are run through the ship's Cosmic Anchor a massive black obelisk that was gathered from the material on Sardania. The Cosmic Anchor, in simple terms, is a magnet that draws the ship towards the "Cosmic Filament". Combined, these three processes that allow for Sardanian's to ignore Gates altogether. This has the side effect of isolating Sardanians from the Omni-Net.

Convergence of the Wills

The most important celebration at the center of Sardanian belief is the Convergence of the Wills. Once a year, for 72 standard hours, Sardania once becomes a lush gaia world, lush with vegetation, exotic and mystical animals, and ancient Sardanians. They are called the Timeless. The planet exists exactly as it did more than 1000 years ago. Even the Sardanian's greatest scholars are unable to ascertain how exactly this happens.
The most popular theory is that Sardania somehow become trapped in two different time streams. Those who live on the planet during this time stream state that the Convergence of the Wills is almost a monthly event for them, while in standard time, it only is occuring once a year. The cause of this is unknown, though Sardanian scientist have been working on a solution since it first occured. Many believe it was caused by a paracausal event, that might have been one of the key events that led to the Silence.
When the Convergence of the Wills occurs, it is cause for celebration. Sardanian Flocks from all over the galaxy converge onto Sardania, bringing gifts, artifacts and research from every corner of the galaxy. Meanwhile, on the planet, the Timeless Sardanians prepare great feasts and gifts for the fleets. They meet when the planet is opened, and for 72 hours, all Sardanians live and revel on the planet their people used to call home. Food and drink is plenty, and copius amounts of recreational narcotics are used.
If one wishes to remain on Sardania, they must do so at the end of the festival. The Timeless are trapped on Sardania. Whenever a timeless has left, their body has succumed to a mystery illness, killing them within days. Those that choose to stay do so for a lifetime. A lifetime where all the people they know outside of the planet will die within a few years, where they may never leave the planet again.
The Convergence is a highly guarded secret, to prevent scavengers or envyous governments from trying to interfere with the Sardania Nomads homeworld.

Outsiders

The Sardanians are an extremely peaceful people, and no existing records have ever concluded that a Sardanian fleet has ever fired upon anyone that has not provoked them. They mysterious and show up in all corners of settled space. In many places, their arrival is seen as a good omen, and they usually come bearing a tribute, as well as Pre-Silence tech, exploration data, and exotic xenofauna to trade, barter and negotiate for.
The only places the Sardanians will not return to are places that have treated them with hostility in the past. Many governments and planets have an embassy for the Sardanian Nomads, but those are rarely occupied. Instead, the Sardanian's will show up when they please. Sometimes this is once a month, others it can be once every 100 years. The Sardanians have a tepid relationship with the Colonial Earth Empire after an Imperial black ops team tried to infiltrate a pelican ship. The Sardanian's responded by blowing a shipyard out of orbit and then recalling all trade fleets from Imperial Space. Negotiations have resumed with the Flocks in the past few years, where they are willing to trade with the Empire on neutral territory.
The Sardanians have the best relationship with the Union, whose open culture and peaceful nature make trade easy with. Many scholars on Beacon vie for a chance to sit down with the Astro-Navigators of the Flocks, and cultural exchange is regular between the two peoples.
If crossed, the Sardanian's often enlist the assistance of Thay Witches to help them hunt down to perpetrators. It is normal to see the Witches alongside the Nomads as protective bodyguards, or guardians of their Vault Ships.

Culture

Art & Architecture

Because of Sardania's time-locked space, the culture and art of the centuries prior is almost entirely maintained. The Flocks must make do with what they have, and have adapted their ships, suits and art to the current times. However, they are reminded of their past with the convergence of the wills.

Foods & Cuisine

Sardania food is grown and meant for long term storage during its space travel. Because of this, most fruits and vegetables are canned, pickled and dried. Foods are cooked on excess heat from the fleet, making use of every bit of generated energy. There are some ships in a flock that contain entire greenhouses, which provide fresher food to the rest of the flock. In most fleets, the greenhouse ships have a rotational schedule of feasts. Each ship gets a set day to gorge themselves on freshly grown produce from the green ships, a break from the usual perserved foods that is normal among space travel.

Major organizations

• Joyous Flock 

"They showed up one day, right over the horizon. I could see the bloody pelican ship from my hab on the mid-levels. They came bearing wine from Cradle, artifacts from Mek-Two and Xen from Bogoda. Was a bloody holiday for most of us, since they were just looking for water recyclers and a couple of air filters. Me and the family ate like kings for weeks."

- Recolection from a beneficiary of Sardania trade on Thraka.

Related Organizations

• Joyous Flock

Related Locations

• Sardania