Anduari
Traces of those who came long before us litter Visctheria. With only a little more time, we could discover so much about who the Gods truly are.
The Anduari came to Visctheria long before any other Visctherian races were created by the Pantheon. They walked the world for fifty-three years with their superior technology and knowledge of the universe, and left behind scraps that would only fully be uncovered when the Strutheo Star struck the world. Once the general population was forced into the stratosphere, only then would they search underground.
Appearance
The Anduari's appearance is hotly debated, with some researchers saying they were great beasts that roamed the world, and others claiming they were tiny creatures that manipulated massive mechanical avatars. Most depictions of the Anduari show them as vast shadowy figures working with technology advanced beyond our dreams.
Subspecies
While there are no known subspecies of the Anduari, it is rumored among the Interworld Arcanist Society that the Grailae are the most closely related race to the Anduari. Salmanian old wives' tales support this theory, saying that some of the more powerful Grailae have the blood of an ancient race in them, someone who was here before anyone else.
Because of this story, many pureblooded Grailae are extremely pretentious about their bloodline, even interbreeding to keep the bloodline pure. The practice has resulted in many dangerous genetic conditions among Grailae royalty.
Culture
The Anduari were extremely focused on information and knowledge, and spent much of their lives in the pursuit of that knowledge. Little is known about their culture, but they were said to communicate between research stations around the world. This vast sharing of knowledge is only mimicked by the modern day Visctherian Analogs, a huge collection of Visctherian history that has been digitized.
Linguistics
The Anduari language is vastly lost to time outside of a few small documents uncovered in the impact of the Strutheo Star. These documents, while pulled from corrupted Anduari technology, allowed for some simple knowledge of their - supposedly - native language. No translations have been successful, but the documents are theorized to be written about the proper path through the Garlin Deep to Xathar's Gate.
Fashion & Style
Anduari dress, at least from what was recovered on Visctheria, was simple and unassuming. They wore thin, dark robes, and guarded themselves against attack using basic leather armor. No swathes of colored fabric have been uncovered from the wreckage of the Anduari research stations, but much metallic jewelry has been dug up from the soil.
Traditions & Rituals
Anduari spent most of their time searching for knowledge, to the point that their daily uploads became the most ritualistic thing to describe about them. In the calm Visctherian evenings, they would plug into their databases using small ports that connected to their nervous systems, and dump loads of information from their heads into the digitized system.
Origin
The origin of the Anduari is relatively unknown. It is theorized they traveled from the nearby planet of Anduar, from whence their name was given, and landed on the newly formed Visctheria near the start of the planet's timeline. While Arcanists guess at the extraplanetary origin of the mysterious race, worshipers of the Gods during the Deific Age said they came from the Gods themselves as a protospecies.
First Appearance on Visctheria
The Anduari first made contact with Visctheria on Xathar's Gate in 10300 BI, and quickly spread outward from the island. Using their tech and explorative experience, they hastily covered the newly born world in outposts and research stations, delving into the new species and landmarks that were yet to be discovered.
History
They came from a traveling race, hailing from the planet Anduar, but lost to the stars for many generations. As they traveled through the stars, they grew further from their original culture, becoming more of a migrating hivemind than a people. Their hunger for knowledge overtook them, and while their findings and technology fueled an entire Age, it greatly diminished their recoverable history.
Arriving on Visctheria in 10300 BI, the Anduari stepped through Xathar's Gate and took to the infant planet like fish to water. They quickly spread across the world, setting up temporary and permanent research stations with their limited tools, but unlimited new resources. Visctheria may be very similar to their homeworld - or perhaps they were so adept at conquering, no challenges were encountered.
While the Anduari were a quiet people, without festivals or traditions, they spent much of their lives dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge and information, and the collection of that knowledge in vast databases. They put their lives' work into these think tanks, and sent signal after signal, full of information, into the stars. Who they sent these messages to, or if they were ever received, no one knows.
Much Anduari tech was used in the creation of the Orbital Rings, including the data needed to hold the rings in the stratosphere of Visctheria, carefully balanced by gravity. This uncovered science saved millions of lives with new medical technology, and one document pulled from the corruption even provided an in depth understanding of an Anduari brain - which proved to be very similar to that of most Visctherians.
Extinction
Arcanists believe that the Anduari arrived on Visctheria shortly after the world was formed by Udis. They thrived on the new planet, holding power and technology many generations beyond what there is now, but were wiped out by Udis herself, who saw their potential and knew they were too strong for this young world. Half of the Visctherian Pantheon saw her strike the species down, and rebelled against their creator, becoming the Unfavorables. The Favorable Gods defended Udis, and the War of the Gods began.
Legacy
While the Anduari left behind much of their technology, few on Visctheria have figured out how to make it function. Bodies and ruins have been recovered and studied, but no one truly knows what made the Anduari tick. Despite the lack of knowledge on Anduari tech, what we have discovered from it has led to huge leaps in scientific advancement, allowing Visctherians to build things like the Orbital Rings that save millions from certain death.
Uncoverings
While much of the Anduari's wanderings is unknown, we do know that they arrived on Visctheria through Xathar's Gate in 10300 BI, by the Visctherian Calendar measurement. Most of what has been uncovered has been discovered on the Visctherian surface or beneath it, leading to a massive excavation project after the Impact of the Strutheo Star and the creation of the Orbital Rings.
Technology
Deep under the surface of Visctheria, a shadow of the Anduari species still exists. Ancient technology and base camps remain where they were left, covered by centuries of the dust and debris of colonization.
Hover Tech
Combined with the power of flight invented by Hilgor the High Flying, the Hover Tech discovered in an ancient Anduari burial site led to the advancements in and commonality of floating cities around Visctheria. Edaghar, the first floating city of Visctheria, is the capitol city of Everia, and is barely connected to the surface of the world with simple stairs. This technology also helps keep the Orbital Rings safely in the stratosphere of Visctheria, away from the waves of magical radiation left behind by the Strutheo Star.
Aqueduct
The invention of the aqueduct traveled from the mysterious Xathar's Gate into the rest of Visctheria, but few know its true origin. The knowledge hit Salman first, pushing the society into an industrial revolution that lasted almost a hundred years. Many Arcanists delved into the academic enigma that is the small island of Xathar's Gate, but very few made any significant progress.
Security Locks
High security locks in Hobrax were able to key to a special card that could be linked to as many locks as desired, introducing master keys in a way like none had ever seen. These master keys could also be blocked in a sort of do-not-disturb mode, allowing for complete privacy. In order for these master lock-and-key systems to be installed, however, each premises were legally required to provide local law enforcement and emergency medics with a way to access each lock, either with a physical backup key or a solution to the spell "puzzle" that programmed each lock.
Base Locations
Several locations have been discovered where the Anduari used to have bases of operations, or upload hubs, as they are colloquially known amongst the members of the IAS. While very few of these locations have been uncovered with intact technology - or any remnants really - we can still infer what these locations were used for thanks to the shadows left behind. Since most of these hubs were established before the beginning of the Deific Age, when the continent was still whole, we have no idea how many have been lost to the seas.
Known Base Locations
- Reacia
- Meskaovania
- Uspatan-Estrana border
- Quascon
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