Wanderers

"Once in an [eon, era] the Eye opens, and the Wanderers journey through it to a new home. A hundred times, maybe a thousand, we have left one home and journeyed to another. Each new home the Eye brings us to is full of [devastation, destruction], and it takes many lifetimes to set things right. Then the Eye beckons again, and we move on. And each time we pass through the eye we become something new."
-Iktat Rek, Wanderers Conversation
The Wanderers are a race of bird-like aliens who follow the path of a Pug-controlled wormhole known as the Eye, restoring devastated planets as they go. In their most recent expedition, the Wanderers have been besieged by attacks from the Unfettered Hai. Wanderer technology is renowned for often performing two jobs at once; their reactors double as batteries, and their engines also work as cooling. Wanderer technology is also known for being extremely efficient, which is why they do not develop Wanderer Heat Sinks until they have begun building heavy warships. For example, a White Sun Reactor creates far less heat than an Armageddon Core while still generating more energy and taking up less outfit space, along with its large energy capacity.
== History ==
It is unknown where the Wanderers originate from, although they are clearly a relatively old race, as they have traveled many times through the Eye, which only opens every many thousand years. They have also reached Tier 2. The Wanderers state that, in the past, they have encountered peaceful species in their travels, but most species they have met have been warlike and have ultimately destroyed themselves. As Sayari translates, "they hate to make new friends only to lose them again."
At about 273,000 B.C.E. the Wanderers moved to the southern territories, now known as the Graveyard. They terraformed the area and prepared it for the arrival of the Builders. When they were finished, the area was opened to the Builders and the Wanderers left through the Eye. There is then an unexplained 80,000 year gap before they reached the northern territories. Presumably they went to some other part of the galaxy to work on a different area.
 
The Wanderers arrived in their new territory about 80,000 years ago. The space they came to used to be part of the Hai empire, but the Hai pulled back from that area at the end of their civil wars, about 90,000 years ago. The area was completely ruined, and the Wanderers worked to fix broken planets. Eventually the Unfettered Hai seek to take back what they feel is their rightful territory, and attack the Wanderers. During the war, the Pug step in and send two Arfectas to protect the Wanderers.
After the Eye opens, the Wanderers escape their Unfettered pursuers, ending up in Korath space. Unfortunately for them, the Korath automata are an even greater threat. Speaking with the Kor Efreti, the Wanderers learn of the Korath's war-torn history, and begin to help them rebuild Korath society. Eventually, the Wanderers manage to beat back the automata, in the process endowing the Kor Mereti with "life." To defeat the Kor Sestor, the Wanderers enlist the help of the Exiles, intending to return to them their "purpose in the galaxy." However, the Exiles betray them, stealing machinery from the Kor Sestor and Kor Mereti ship factories, eventually producing their own autonomous warships.
== Attributes ==
At first contact, the Wanderers are an avian species, with a body about the same size as a human, but with wings that tower far above human height. While their plumage varies in colors, the known shades include brown and white, like their ships. However, whenever the Eye opens, some number of Wanderers begin to undergo the Molt; this eventually changes their entire body, transforming them into the next step in Wanderer evolution.
To communicate with the Wanderers, the player obtains a translation device from a Hai technologist named Eruk, intended for use by Hai who do not know the human language. It is suitable for the [case, situation] of the Wanderers, who, through decades of [conflict, warfare] with the Unfettered, eventually learned the Hai language. However, the device is not perfect, and is not finely tuned for the nuances alien languages; occasionally, it supplies multiple translations for one word when the [meaning, intent] of the Wanderer word cannot be [precisely, completely] mapped into a single human word, and at times it fails entirely.
Wanderer ships typically use shades of green and white, somewhat similar to their own plumage. Their ship hulls are generally somewhat reminiscent of leaves, although since the Unfettered Hai's invasion, their warships have begun losing some of this elegant design in favor of practicality for warfare, including turret mounts in addition to gun ports.
== Technology ==
Although it is a generalization, Wanderer technology is the strongest currently purchasable tech in the game, with only a handful of exceptions such as some pieces of Remnant and Korath technology. Nonetheless, Wanderer technology is very effective. Their weapons are quite powerful, cooling is decent, energy generation is excellent, and their ramscoop technology leaves humanity's most advanced tech behind. Wanderer engines are, in some ways, an interesting exception to this. Wanderer engines are fuel efficient and compact, with built-in cooling as an added bonus, but they are not very powerful compared to other endgame engines. While they function well on Wanderer ships, they are not as useful for other ships due to the heavy hulls that the larger warships of other races usually possess.
There are several issues that the player will encounter when trying to get Wanderer technology. The first is that the player needs advanced technology, a Jump Drive, simply to reach the Wanderers. Furthermore, the Wanderers don't speak the same language as the player character, requiring Hai translation equipment. Once those barriers are overcome and the player earns the right to purchase Wanderer technology by completing missions, the player encounters the real issue with Wanderer technology: the expense. Wanderer outfits can run as expensive as smaller human and Hai ships. This can make a mixture of Remnant, Hai, Coalition, and captured Korath Exile technology preferable depending on the player's budget. Similarly, Wanderer capital ships come with a price tag equal to that of a small fleet of less advanced ships.
=== Ships ===
Space Liner
* Riptide
Light Freighter
* Earth Shaper
Heavy Freighter
* Deep River
Interceptor
* Cool Breeze (upcoming)
Light Warship
* Autumn Leaf
* Summer Leaf
* Winter Gale (upcoming)
Medium Warship
* Strong Wind
* Tempest
Heavy Warship
* Derecho
* Hurricane
Drone
* Flycatcher
=== Outfits ===
Weapons:
* Sunbeam, Turret, and Dual Turret
* Moonbeam, Turret
* Thunderhead Launcher, Missiles, Storage Array
* Wanderer Anti-Missile
Systems:
* Bright Cloud and Dark Storm Shielding
* Wanderer Heat Sink
* Wanderer Ramscoop
Power:
* Red, Yellow, White, and Blue Sun Reactors
* Small and Large Biochemical Cells
Engines:
* Types 1, 2, 3, and 4 Radiant Thrusters
* Types 1, 2, 3, and 4 Radiant Steering
Licenses
* Wanderer License
* Wanderer Outfits License
* Wanderer Military License
== Interspecies Relations ==
In general, the Wanderers seem to be friendly and welcoming towards other species. However, this outlook has been tainted recently by the Unfettered invasion.
* Humans: The only human the Wanderers have encountered so far is the player.
* Hai: The Wanderers view the Hai somewhat warily: despite your assurances that the Unfettered are not like the rest of their race, as well as Sayari's presence, their first impressions of the Hai are difficult to change.
* Unfettered Hai: The Wanderers heavily oppose the Unfettered because of their attacks. The Wanderers are willing to make peace, so long as it gives them enough time to develop a better plan, but the Unfettered eventually break the truce.
* Korath Exiles: The Wanderers initially treat the Exiles peacefully, as potential allies, but may now be very distrusting of them because of their betrayal.
* Kor Efreti: After the Eye opens, the Wanderers initiate diplomacy with the Kor Efreti, and together they attempt to rebuild Korath society. Their efforts seem to be working.
* Kor Mereti: In their attempts to stop the Kor Mereti, the Wanderers accidentally create a sentient species identifying as the "children" of the Wanderers.
* Kor Sestor: The Wanderers enlist the help of the Korath exiles in order to defeat the Kor Sestor; their efforts are a success.
* Quarg: The Wanderers claim to understand the Quarg's distrust of them when the player speaks with them.
* Pug: The Wanderers practically revere the Pug as gods due to their control of the Eye.
* Drak: The Wanderers have a single interaction with the Drak: when they first migrate to Korath space, an Archon appears, warning them of great retribution are they to harm the remnants of the Korath, and about the hostile automata.
== Trivia ==
* The Wanderers were the first race to be added to Endless Sky after the initial Steam release; their addition was followed by that of the Archons in 0.9.0.
Category:Species
Category:Wanderer