Ionites

Born and cursed by the indecision of their progenitor Iodium, the Ionites are the timid middle children of the Hellecian Sector.

They primarily serve their twin brother patrokonoi: the Delothian Collective taking jobs along the DST Accelerator Lanes in exchange for permission to colonize a planet.

Long ago, the goddess Hestia cursed Iodium and his children to wander the star forever, only to warm themselves by someone else' hearth.

While many have given up fighting the curse, relegating themselves to the massive flotilla of ships. Many others still seek to find a home of their own, while picking up the jobs no one in the sector wants.

Physiology:

Given their unusual make up of their CHONPS Spectral Elements primarily being Hydrogen/Phosphorus. They possess many attributes as their twin brother tribe the Archaenids (exception being a swollen head and a thinner physique). However, the presence of phosphorus in their system defies the cycle of The CHONPS.

In Hellecian culture, the soul is manifested as clouds of highly-poisonous Phosphorus gas stored in a Hellecian's femur bone. Upon their death and cremation, the gas is released and gives off a certain color to signify what kind of person they were in their past life.

However, since they're made up of phosphorus or the soul fragments of deceased Hellecians, Ionites possess extra sensory abilities through the Cosmic Aurora that allows them to navigate through deep space better than any navigational algorithm from the Collective.

Ionites are also excellent emotional barometers as their skin glows in response to the type of life they've lived (White/softer colors=holy -- Red/darker colors=sinful).

In the presence of Cosmic Aurora of varying densities and Ichor concentration, Ionites tend to exhibit ESP best suited for work in deep space while also laying bare the content of one's soul by the color the phosphorus gas in their translucent bodies glow.

Before/After Karoj-Menos:

Before the rebellion against the gods, Iodium was the twin brother of Archaenus whose parents were Zeus and Hera. While Archaenus was Zeus' favorite, Iodium was Hera's favorite with his thoughtful and reflective demeanor that didn't require the constant approval of others.

It wasn't until his jealous brother challenged him to a chariot race and lost that Iodium's troubles began. After being hit in the head with a rock, and nearly dying from his injuries, Iodium and his brother would serve their debts to the gods by becoming their errand boys.

Iodium was made in-charge of driving the chariot (a right reserved for the oldest) while Archaenus would protected him.

Even though Iodium was in-charge, Archaenus' brash nature truly drove the chariot as Iodium would cave under his brother's demands to stop and study the creatures to understand his mortality and how to beat it.

After several years of pulling the chariot, Iodium and Archaenus were released from their debt. After seeing the beauty of creation and the role the gods played in this administration, Iodium decided to become a servant of the gods.

Shocked by this request, Hera gave him a choice who he'd like to serve. Due to his indecisive nature, Iodium wanted to try all the roles that were available to him.

So he started by serving Hestia by tending the hearth, followed by helping Demeter with the harvest, helping Hermes guide souls to the underworld, helping Dionysus organize his festivals, etc. Over his tenure serving the gods, he soon found Archaenus' children flocking in to give the gods tribute.

One day, several unusual variants ran to Iodium claiming him to be their father. Seeing as how he never had sex, he brought this issue to his twin brother. He found that Iodium were these kids father. Even though Archaenus spread the genetic material, their twin DNA must've diverged between Archaenus and Iodium.

Regardless of how, these children of Iodium (now the first Ionites) came to their father. Not knowing what to do with them, he taught them reverence and respect for the gods of the Pantheon. And when they reached the proper age, he committed all his children to the gods; sending some to Hestia, others to Demeter & Persephone, followed by Hermes & Apollo. Even sending some of his daughters to serve his mother Hera.

One day, a woman named Hellestine arrived at the temple of Apollo where Iodium and his children were working. She told him she was sent to collect levies from the gods in preparation for the construction of Karoj-Menos. While giving the proportion, she told him her name was Hellestine and she was her real mother.

Iodium consulted Hera who dismissed it as an impossibility. It was only when Archaenus revealed the same revelation and after meeting her in private while confirming several details that he began to believe it as the truth.

Revealing her plan to trick the gods into weakening their golden cybernetic bodies so they (along with Dodros & Aeonia ) could slay them.

After much debate and with Hera becoming suspicious of his fidgety nature, Iodium gave in and revealed everything to his adopted mother.

Iodium watched from the safety of his own room as his real mother and his three siblings were hauled off to the dungeon. In the following days, Iodium witnessed first hand how the levies were driving entire worlds to starvation while their dissent was met with cruelty.

Resolute and calculating, Iodium and his children freed his real family and gave them ships to escape while he stalled for them. Iodium was the only one not to have been injured or found out in the ensuing escape.

As a precursor to the invasion, Iodium and his children sent messages to the Patrokonoi about the progress of Karoj-Menos and valuable intel that was used during the invasion.

While the three patrokonoi stormed the gates, Iodium and his children worked as spies while sabotaging critical systems, and using their docking privileges to sneak their brothers and sisters past the gates.

It was Iodium and his followers who then stabbed their gods in the back (after mistakenly hearing the order to kill all the gods from Aeonia). Even after hearing about the miscommunication on killing the gods, Iodium and his people felt vindicated from the gods they served and enjoyed the Ichor they extracted from their former masters.

They continued to purge gods from the sector, even finding Hestia, Persephone & Demeter drifting in space. Iodium offered his former masters sanctuary, only to slit their throats over the immortal hearth he stole from Karoj-Menos.

However, it was their betrayal of Hera that seeded doubts into Iodium's mind. However, his reluctance to kill his adopted mother was too little too late. On behalf of her sisters, Hera laid the following curse on her favorite son:

"Because of your broken vows, I curse you and your offspring. For my sister Hestia, you shall always warm yourself at another's hearth. For my sister Demeter, you shall reap another's harvest. For her Persephone, your shall be spirited away after the harvest to wander the stars for a home you'll never find. And for my broken heart, I seal this curse in their stolen Ichor until the day the labors are..."

It's speculated the curse was embodied in the phosphorus gas. It was only when Hera was vaporized on Aeonia's golden throne that her phosphorus souls entered the Ichor of the Ionites that the curse took hold and gave them their famed extra sensory perception in space.

The Labors of The Middle Child:

After the sacking of Karoj-Menos, the Ionites made every attempt to colonize a new world as failure met them on every new planet. Eventually, welding their ships together to create the flotilla with "The Reliquary" as its flagship.

Iodium appealed to the other patrokonoi for aid, invoking his status as the older brother of the family. Instead of being received with respect, each planet turned the flotilla away as they called them "Kalokiripsos" or "fair weather family."

With no help in sight, many abandoned the flotilla to find work along the DST Accelerator Lanes such as mechanics, long-distance freighters, asteroid miners, deep space navigators & explorers.

The ones who stayed created the Universal Historical Parish : a monastic institution meant to training Ionite rectors (historian/priest/doctor) to uncover the meaning of the labors by communing with the Cosmic Aurora to lift their curse.

Several decades later, one of the Ionite cult members of the surviving CHONPS Mysteries divulged Hera's curse bearer and the list of labors needed to break their curse (while also breaking their vow of secrecy in the cult).

As of season 1, only 4 out of the 10 labors have been completed by Ionite champions (now 12 after some of the champions cheated to complete two of the tasks).

From this the rectors began combing the universe for champions to complete these labors (one of the reasons UHP Rector Dysomus re-formed the Psygonauts).

While the rectors toiled to lift their curse, the Ionites were given protections . Many laws, such as the Psygonaut Mandate in the Delots' DTOS , would aid the Ionites as a way to colonize Delot planets and re-discover lost DST Accelerator Lanes.

Regardless, many see the "Curse of Iodium" as a permanent stain on his people. One that will never be removed and keep them as slaves of the Delothian Collective for all eternity.

Relationship w/ siblings:

While most would trust an Ionite pilgrim enough to offer them shelter. However, the persisting stigma regarded Ionites as unwashed beggars and fortune tellers who ruined everything they touched. While inviting one on your ship is like gaining a son-in-law with no money and manners.

This image wouldn't improve when the Collective offered the flotilla a deal they couldn't refuse. They would provide homes to live in, planets to cultivate (even representation in the Delot assembly) in exchange for signing exclusive contracts as Delothian colonists, navigators, mechanics, doctors, deep space miners, freighters & excavators on Delothian-controlled planets.

Many Ionites jumped on this opportunity. However, a large contingent chose to stay on their macabre flotilla while others remained independent contractors. Spending most of their time collecting holy relics from scavengers, studying the mysteries of the universe in search of a home not affected by their curse, and performing penance for the sins of their ancestors.

Home Cluster: Flotilla Flagship - The Reliquary

Progenitor: Iodium

Member Patrokonoi: Ionite Flotilla of Space-Faring Colonists

Greek Comparison: Ionians

Injection Date: 1 AFH (After Final Hegemony)

Primary CHONPS Spectral Element: Hydrogen/Phosphorus

Side Effects of Ichor: Extra Sensory Perception within Deep Space/glowing skin (colors vary)