Cendarii

The Cendarii are a race of bioroids (or perhaps homunculi) who are all produced using the same process, resulting in nearly-identical looking individuals. Successive generations are generally modified in some way in search of progress, but their general appearance apparently hasn't changed since their first creation. Every Cendarii belongs to The Cendarii Collective with no known exceptions.

## Biology

Cendarii are remarkably human in appearance, albeit much smaller. Civilian and support units stand on average about 136cm in height, and these make up the bulk of the Collective. Warrior units such as Paladins may stand as high as 165cm tall. Their hair and eyes are naturally colorless, but glow with the mana their bodies are rich with.

They are created rather than born, new "shells" (as they call them) grown in tanks and implanted with a "divine core." The shell grows much as a human infant would, and they remain in stasis in the tank for approximately four years, being drip-fed information and knowledge from the collective memory until then. They are then "born" and raised by a parental figure, usually a civilian unit, while they undergo any training required for their designated class.

They do not require food or water and can sustain themselves entirely on mana. Their bodies can hold much more mana than a human ever could, and their suit's capacitor holds additional reserves to lessen the likelihood of running out in case of venturing into territory with low mana concentration. The suit is, for all intents and purposes, considered a part of their body, as without it they would bleed mana and eventually "burn out."

There exists both male and female types, though there is little difference between them. Females are much more common, males being created in an approximate one-to-ten ratio, though there doesn't appear to be a hard-set rule for it. Male and female individuals stand just as tall as each other, and both are equally diminutive.

They do not age like humans do past adulthood, but their bodies do eventually lose function. While they do not appear older, their ability to retain mana gradually degrades after 100 years or so. Eventually, they lose all mana and 'burn out,' effectively dying of old age.

## Society

The Collective is exactly that: the Cendarii belong to a pseudo hive mind where their knowledge and memories become accessible to all others on the 'network.' Though they have individual personalities, wants, needs, and goals, they still belong to the Collective at large, governed by an entity known as the Master System, which they typically just call Master.

When a Cendarii is created, they are designated a class and role by the System. Each class has specific skills and tasks it excels at, and many have customized suits to help them complete those tasks. Many classes are set aside for the Collective's primary directive: finding worlds suitable for habitation. This includes expedition teams, engineers, pilots, researchers, and more.

As a whole, the Collective places great value on knowledge. Every bit of new information discovered by an individual is archived in both the collective memory and the Library. Cendarii are also naturally curious and when discovering an unknown will poke and prod to find out more (sometimes to their detriment.)

They are not all business, though. Many enjoy creating works of fiction, for instance. Though Cendarii do not need to eat, they often do as a hobby; some dedicate their free time to discovering new and interesting things to eat. Social gatherings are quite popular, as even though they can communicate through the network, they always feel more at ease with others of their own kind around. Music and dances are quite common at such events.