Omnians

(Stats for Omnians in Elyrion can be found here for SF1e and here for SWN)

Omnians are a species of arthropodal tetrapods who originally evolved on the planet Khir'Sai. They were uplifted to sentience by the Navigator, who created for them a single soul which linked the bodies of every individual of the species. The resulting hive being grew, forming the Pre-Silence Omnimie civilization. When the Silence fell, the destabilizing of the Veil and vast Aetherial starstorms resulted in the Omnian oversoul being torn from its bodies. Lost in the Aether, the soul reshaped itself over the course of the Silence, eventually becoming the god now known as the Life Giver. The beings left behind, however, found themselves adrift with only scattered memories of their collective past. Over the centuries since, the Omnians have managed to remake their self-image and culture, and thrive on worlds across colonized space.

Biology and Appearance

Morphology

Omnians are bipedal tetrapods with arthropodal features and morphology, sporting rigid exoskeletons that support their otherwise limp and fibrous internal tissues. Though a distinct brain-like nervous structure is present in their upper torsos, many neurological processes are surprisingly decentralized. Each of an Omnian’s limbs supports four opposable digits; while those on the feet are functional, they are far less dexterous than the hands.

Omnimans do not use their mouthparts to speak or breath. Their respiration is largely decentralized, with small airways drawing from a number of orifices across their body and allowing the oxygen to diffuse relatively directly into their cells. Having spent their entire sentient existence up to the Silence connected by the oversoul, they have no natural capacity for language, and depend on BioWare surgeries and cybernetics to communicate without telepathy.

Life Cycle

Omnian reproduction is completely unisex. To reproduce, they simply excrete a viscous gel of reproductive cells and nutrients. If multiple individuals contribute matter to a single clutch, genetic information is shared amongst the cells in that clutch. After a few weeks, embryos begin to form, which mature over the course of several months, emerging as small but fully developed Omnian young. Both the reproductive clutch and newborns are cared for by the individuals who contributed to the clutch.

These large family units can contain between one and several dozen parents and might produce hundreds or thousands of offspring. However, of these offspring only a fraction develop souls; most simply remain catatonic and eventually decompose. Though the subject of vigorous research by biologists and soul experts, this quirk of Omnian reproduction is poorly understood, and few Omnians have any desire to rectify it, both for spiritual reasons and more pragmatic concerns of population control.

Aetheractive Capabilities

Almost all Omnians are capable of some basic aetheraction in the form of short-range telepathy, a relic of the species' hive-mind days. However, it is seen as an invasion of the self to use such capabilities without invitation, and most prefer spoken communication outside of intimate or sensitive interactions. Natural arcane connections and strong aetheractive capability are more common among Omnians than most other species, but not by a significant margin.

Culture and Language

Omnians as a people are torn between their history of absolute unity and their present as individuals. Through freedom of choice and individual expression, what Omnians call the unfettering of the soul, are seen as key to a healthy existance, Omnians expect their compatriots to respect and serve the community before the self when such interests diverge. Many hive instincts persist even in modern Omnians, and these both shape the way Omnians view and interact with the world and give rise to many quirks of Omnian social custom and interaction.