Creature:Modian

The Modians are the most populus and powerful of the Farengeto founder species. They were the first of the Farengeto to develop interstellar travel, and later sold this technology to the rest of the Farengeto species. Unlike the other Farengeto species the Modians were never truly united under a single entity prior to the formation of the Farengeto Republic, with most having belonged to the nation-states of the Modian Confederation or having seceded to join the Modian Empire. As a result the Modians maintain a diverse culture even into the 29th Century.

History Modian civilization originates from the moon of Modia, orbiting the gas giant Arebel.

Like most civilizations they suffered from the effects of climate change during their industrial age, but on the colder surface of Modia their failed efforts to limit the damage would prove catastrophic. Huge portions of the planet's vast ice caps would melt, exposing new land but sinking many of Modia's great cities under rising ocean levels. From this era the Modian Confederation was born, an international commitment dedicated to fighting the changing climate, and to mitigate the crisis for those already affected.

The invention of the Warp Drive in the early 2600s provided a radical new option for the tens of millions affected by the growing floods. In the coming decades entire nations would take to the stars to settle new worlds in the great "Modian Exodus". The Modian Confederation's role transformed, acting to regulate colonization amidst national tensions -new and old - and in time to act a sole authority representing Modians in interspecies contact.

While some turned to the stars, others turned to the growing oceans for the future. Vast complexes would be constructed on the new ocean floor, building an undersea civilization. In time these aquatic colonies would give rise to a new species of Modian, genetically engineered for underwater survival.

Modian states and corporations rushed into the opportunities of alien contacts. Though some of these efforts were seen as benevolent, many others became seen as opportunistic and imperialistic. Amidst incidents ranging from the Modian-escalated wars between the Garenti, to Modian interests attempting to exploit the Lagahti as slaves, a deep rift began to form among the members of the Modian Confederation. The Confederation became factionalized and fractured as many grew dissatisfied with its ability to address the tensions; seeing the Confederation as ineffectual and corrupt.

Tensions finally reached a breaking point in 2658 when Schiah and several nearby colonies declared independence from the Confederation and the parent states, forming an independent imperial state.The Modian Civil War began three months later, when the Confederation forces sent to retake the colonies were dealt a decisive defeat by the Schi in the First Battle of Schiah. News of the secessionist and their victory would only lead to further factions rebelling against the Confederation, and soon almost the whole of Modin space was at war as entire nations, planets, and corporations took up arms in the conflict. Absorbed in the conflict the Modian hegemony over the other races collapsed, as their influence declined or was outright expelled. The war would last for 21 years and leave millions dead before an armistice would be reached. A Second Modian Confederation would be born, stronger and more centralized while curbing the free reign of member nations and corporations that had sparked the war. Modians would not be fully reunited, as the Imperial Schi retained their independence and were ceded additional worlds. Tensions would remain high between the growing power of the Schi and the still fractured Confederation.

The following decades brought peace and prosperity to the Modians, but against the backdrop of this success was periods of cold war as tensioned flared and waned between the two Modian states. It was in this era of peace that the border world of Farengeto first came into prominence. Neutral in and relatively unscathed by the Civil War, it would grow into a major hub of commerce and diplomacy.

The peace was finally shattered in 2747 with the start of the Great Farengeto War. Having made a secret alliance in the years prior, the Garenti and Lagahti launched a joint invasion of Imperial Schi space. The Schi were overrun by the surprise attack from two fronts, and within months were on the brink of total collapse. Unwilling to let Modian worlds fall under alien control, and fearing themselves to be the next target, the Confederation and its Unatri allies joined forces with their Schi brethren to repel the invasion. Fought mostly in Schi space, the Great Farengeto War was devastating to their empire and it never truly recovered to its pre-war state.

The post-war economic boom brought much growth to the recovering states, and to the Modians especially so. The war would reconcile the two Modian states, bringing an end to their Cold War.

As technology advanced the opportunity presented itself to undo the damage to Modia's climate, but the plan was not welcomed by all. The Aquatic Modians, now numbering in the billions, had adapted themselves and their lifestyle to the new climate of their homeworld, while many of their cities sat in the now flooded lands. The debate over Modia's climate has dragged out into a decades long dispute, at times threatening to escalate into armed conflict between the two Modian species.

Biology Avian in biology, Modians are capable of flight. However this capability is heavily limited by the gravity and atmosphere of their environment, and even on Modia their ability is typically limited to little more than gliding. They are adapted for life on planets with a lower gravity and denser atmosphere than the Earth "standard". Despite their ancestral adaptations to flight some Modians display signs of altitude sickness even among the "standard" pressures of some species.

Measured from beak to tail the average adult Modian has a height of around [m], with a wingspan of [m]. Their body is lightweight to improve its flight capabilities, with the average Modian weighing around [kg].

Aquatic subspecies With much of Modia's landmass lost to rising sea levels the construction of large-scale underwater habitation began across the planet. Seeking to better adapt themselves to their environment a new genetically engineered subspecies of Modian emerged among these settlements. They now number in the billions and can be found on a number of Modian worlds.

These Modians traded their avian characteristics for more amphibious ones, and are capable of suriving in both land and aquatic environments. They are unable to breathe underwater, and are comparable to some aquatic Earth mammals. Most are able to withstand the water pressure in the depths of the shallower ocean floors on which many Modian undersea habitats are found.