Chantry of Graveesha
The Chantry of Graveesha is the holy order of the Nulmaka, centered around the worship of their goddess Graveesha, the Worm in Waiting. Their capitol is the ancient/future starliner, the Aununsha-Graveesha (Graveesha's Providence), a mobile holy city though it usually remains parked in orbit around their deity.
History
The Chantry formed after the arrival of the Aununsha-Graveesha, the leviathan vessel that the Nulmaka apparently have built and will eventually build (or perhaps, it is merely refurbished every time and it has no actual creation date). The various cults united together, unanimously deciding the vessel was a sign.
Nulmaka history from there becomes puzzling, with them discovering colonies they had apparently already settled, defeating an interstellar empire that hadn't developed space flight yet, fought a heretic mirror of themselves, and other paradoxical events. As they say "What will be was, and what was, will be".
The Nulmaka quickly discovered the Great Hyperspace Gate network, though it took some time to discover the Keystone needed to activate it (it turned out it was already stored on the Aununsha-Graveesha), and have used it to spread sporadically across the Galactic East.
The Chantry encountered the Evergrowth some time ago, and the Briari believe the Chantry might be indirectly responsible for a resurgence of the Evergrowth after it was thought defeated. That is to say, after the Evergrowth was seemingly vanquished, a paradox in the Chantry's war with the fungus resulted in Evergrowth's reappearance.
Territories
The center of the Chantry is located close to a functional Great Hyperspace Gate in the galactic south east. Due to the vaguely similar shape as their starliners, they saw the gateway as a sign, and prefer to explore through the gate rather than expand their local territory as much. However, one of the destinations of their gateway leads to space infected by the Evergrowth, somewhat limiting their expansion.
Technological Level
The Nulmaka seem to have developed their own unique form of technology to the paradoxical nature of their existence. Nulmaka technology is often highly efficient, energy often being endlessly recycled with no waste produced. They are also able to harness and draw power from singularities.
Much of their technology however is reliant upon the usage of the psionic powers of the Nulmaka. The most notable of this is that Nulmaka vessels do not have fold drives. Rather, they use a massive procession of their believers to use their telekinetic powers to fold space. This is highly exhausting, and requires perfect synchronization, but makes them immune to some forms of interdiction, and frees up the vessel's reactors for other tasks. That is to say, a Nulmaka starliner is effectively an enormous mobile mega-cathedral.
The Nulmaka also commonly use their telekinesis as a weapon, effectively powering their own 'rail guns' directly, or throwing nearby asteroids or vessels at their foes. Energy weapons are used however to augment their own abilities.
Religion
Generally calling themselves "Loopers", the Nulmaka see time as an intricate series of cycles, rather than something linear. They also center their worship around a black hole that seems to be the source of the anomalies that afflict their people, which they believe to be its blessings. While the actual divinity of the black hole is questionable, something very strange does indeed seem to be happening to their species.
Foreign Relations
The Nulmaka are not fond of outsiders, seeing them as mentally feeble beings reliant on physical effort to move, and incapable of understanding time outside of a linear mindset. They are not overtly hostile however, merely seeing other empires beneath them.
Type
Religious, Organised Religion
Alternative Names
Circle of Graveesha
Government System
Meritocracy
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Controlled Territories
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