Lumith

A firekeeper Lumith.

Lumith are a moth-esque humanoid race. They reside on the planet Illium.

## Anatomy & Physiology

Lumith skin colors range from shades of white, gray, brown, pink, red, orange, or yellow.

Lumith have between two to seven black pupils in each eye with sclera that are any chromatic color, and are most likely to have two to five pupils, with six pupils being less common and seven pupils being rare. Dead/Ghost Lumith have white pupils and god tier Lumith pupils are the same color as their aspect color.

All Lumith have wings (two forewings and two hindwings) with a wide variety of patterns, the only consistent feature of these patterns being at least one eye spot. Wings colors are colors that are similar to their skin and eye color. If Lumith aren’t careful, their wings can tear. Serious tears can hamper flying. Rarely some Lumith once reaching imago have translucent wings instead of the typical opaque wings, given the name "glass wings". Glass wing Lumith have to be careful as their wings are very fragile.

All Lumith have 2 pairs of arms and 1 pair of antenna. The antenna are the same color as their sclera. It is possible for antennae to be torn/ripped off and they do not heal on their own.

Lumith have very long tongues that they use to eat nectar and fruit juice. They have weak jaws and cannot chew very well.

Lumith's blood color is light green.

### Diet

Lumith are herbivorous, mainly subsisting on a diet of fruit and nectar. Tea is seen as a fancy drink due to the effort needed to make it.

### Life Cycle

Lumith hatch from eggs as caterpillars, with striped bodies that alternate between their skin color and eye color. Their heads are not striped and will stay as their skin color. Caterpillars do not have pupils, their eyes only having the sclera colored. Larval Lumith spend most of their time eating and sleeping. They stay in this stage for about four cycles, after which they will enter a chrysalis. This stage lasts about one cycle, after which the Lumith will reach subimago. In this stage they gain wings and appear more moth-like, however they are not sexually mature. Subimago Lumith are assigned church sanctioned jobs and train for these jobs in preparation for reaching Imago, or adulthood. After 2 cycles, subimago Lumith can choose to continue with their sanctioned job or become a parishioner/worker. After 10 cycles, subimago Lumith will molt into the Imago stage. They become slightly taller and their wings grow larger. Their pupil's color changes from black to a lighter version of their skin color and begin to glow.

Lumith eggs are taken care of by assign caretakers in rooms that are on the top level of each Parish. Larval Lumith are able to produce silk, of which excess is harvested and used for other purposes.

Pupil number is not determined by genetics, instead is based on chance. Colors are also based on chance, but wing and antenna shape are based on genetics.

## Society & Culture

Lumith are a religious race that worship light, seeing it as a guiding force that must be maintained and cherished.

### Religion

Lumith worship light, specifically light they believe comes from the god Thaten. Thaten's form was an orb of light with six arms. Lumith believe that Thaten created Illium and Lumith, and when Thaten's task was complete it separated itself into many orbs of many sizes, called Divine Light, to be able to provide light and guidance to Lumith all over Illium. The largest orb became the sun. The larger orbs, given the name Heliodisks came to rest in various places on the planet's surface, where parishes are built around them. The are much smaller instances of Divine Light that are found high in the planet's atmosphere, drifting back down when the suns set, providing extra light sources all over the planet. Lumith who pray for direction from Thaten may also be visited by these smaller orbs, given the nickname of Sparks.

### Jobs

Each Lumith has a job within the Parish depending on how many pupils they have.

* Nightwatcher(2): Patrol the Parish to keep it safe, also alert firekeepers to extinguished candles
* Firekeeper(3): Tend to the candles and other light sources within the Parish. They also handle cremations.
* Chronicler(4): Historian and record keeper for the Parish
* Official(5): Makes sure everything is running smoothly
* Priest(6): Lead the Parishes during service/ceremony
* Lightbringer(7): Leader of the priests, has the most holy of duties: tending to the Divine Light
* Workers(2-5): Lumith that have jobs that aren't tied to running the parish (ex. Farmer, Shop keeper)
* Parishioners(2-5): Unemployed

### Parish

Lumith do not have cities, but instead groups of them live in large buildings called a Parish. Each Parish has its own name, nine letters in length, ending with a th.

Most Parishes have a similar layout:

* Temple: Where services are held.
* Inner Courtyard: Where the Heliodisk resides, located along the back of the temple. No one is allowed to enter the Inner Courtyard except for lightbringers, but the walls are made of glass so all can see the Heliodisk.
* Outer Courtyard: The land around the Parish itself, this area has parks, gardens, and farms.
* Residence: The part of the Parish dedicated to housing. This may take up multiple floors depending on the size of the Parish.
* Offices: Where the Officials work.
* Nursery: Located on the top floor of the Parish, this is where Lumith are raised by caretakers.
* Kitchen: Where food is prepared
* Market Square: Where craftsmen and merchant can peddle wares.

### Leadership

There is no central government. Each Parish is lead by its Lightbringer. Every few cycles the Lightbringers of each Parish meet up to discuss their sermons and teachings. Rules are mostly enforced by the Nightwatchers and Officials.

### Alphabet

The Lumith alphabet is nearly identical to the Latin alphabet, but also includes the letter thorn (Þ, þ).

### Calendar

Timekeeping revolves around when the suns are in the sky and the Lumith's lifespan.

Days and Nights are counted separately.

Aside from days and nights Lumith use Cycles, which are similar to months and based on the time a Lumith is in a certain stage of development.

### Family

Lumith do not have traditional family groups, considering the entire Parish as their family. Lumith are raised by caretakers in the Parish's nursery and rarely meet their parents. Lumith parents choosing to raise their child themselves is rare, but not frowned upon.

### Gender

Lumith have four genders:

* Rusin (She/Shem/Sher)
* Mydia (Se/Sem/Ser)
* Seþen (He/Hem/Her)
* Stras (E/Em/Er)

Antenna style is tied into gender, with rusin Lumith's antenna styled with half fluffy, half not; mydia Lumith's antenna styled with full fluff; seþen Lumith's antenna have no fluff; and stras Lumith's antenna have a puff of fluff at the ends. Trans Lumiths simply need to restyle their antenna (usually by visiting a hair stylist) as well as register their gender change with the Parish's officials.

Rusin is similar to bigender, mydia is similar to female, seþen is similar to male, and stras is similar to non binary/agender.

### Judiciary

Lumith found to have gone against the rules of the Parish are brought before a court room run by the Officials with a Priest as witness to the trial. Punishments range from room arrest (the Lumith is not allowed to leave their room in the Parish except for worship and must be escorted by a Nightwatcher) to excommunication. Community service is the most issued punishment.

Excommunication is rarely issued, only given when the individual's actions are deemed heretical or especially heinous. Excommunicated Lumith do not have symbols and lose their full names. While some Parishes are willing to let excommunicated Lumith come into their fold, allowing them to regain symbols and full names, most bar them from entering their Parishes, leaving these individuals to fend for themselves in the wilds.

### Death

Dead Lumith are cremated as it is believed that burning the body converts it into light that then returns to Þaten. Firekeepers are in charge of handling the actual cremations. A Priest is also present during these cremations to act as witness and to offer prayers. Ashes are then scattered outside the walls of the Parish.

### Clothing

Lumith textiles are made from either plant fiber, silk produced by Lumith larvae, or a mixture of the two materials. Most Lumith wear colorful, bright outfits and avoid dark/drab colors. Lumith dress in a wide variety of styles, generally wearing white tops with their symbol prominently displayed, however when working Officials wear "professional" clothing such as suits. Priests and Lightbringers wear robes.

Some Lumith wear glasses, however any sort of eye wear or clothing that covers both eyes is strictly prohibited. Hair styles that cover the eyes is acceptable. The exception to this rule being eye patches or blindfolds if said Lumith has lost their eyes.

## History

### Cryptids

* Miþma: One Parish has had a steady report of sightings of a large, black creature with glowing red eyes, red antennae, and black feathered wings lurking near the premises. While it has not caused direct harm to the Parish, many of the inhabitants link sighting the cryptid to accidents.

## Naming Conventions

Lumith names consist of a first name that is five letters long. Formal names follow the pattern of "[Job] [Name] of [Name of Parish] Parish" (ex. Firekeeper Karra of Leilolanþ Parish, Parishioner Aaron of Faiþwealþ Parish).

## Etymology & Inspiration

The name "Lumith" Is an amalgamation of the words "Luminescence" and "Moth".

The name of the Lumith god, as well as part of their religion, is based off of Atenism.

## Gallery

A seþen nightwatcher Lumith named Grent.A mydia firekeeper Lumith named Karra.A seþen chronicler Lumith named Esþer.A stras parishioner Lumith named AaronA rusin worker Lumith named Ronda.A seþen official Lumith named Neþan.A rusin official Lumith named Arkri.A rusin priest Lumith named Vicki.A seþen lightbringer Lumith named Þadus.