Vol Ignii
The Vol Ignii are the inhabitants of Vol Igniria, located in the Phylov system.
Appearance and Biology
The Vol Ignii are a race of crystalline beings who have a Zirconium Triselenide crystalline core and a Zircon based exterior. The crystal core, called the "iok" is the centre of Vol Ignii's bodily functions. It is located in the centre of the body, with the Zircon exterior, called the "rok" growing around it. Vol Ignii have no body systems, with the exception of the iok, which acts as the brain, using electrical signals that are sent through the rok. To obtain the necessary minerals needed to live, the Vol Ignii have developed absorption systems and are able to take in chemicals and minerals from the air through breathing, as well as being able to take them orally.
Vol Ignii are asexual, and reproduction takes place by the iok sending a signal to the reproductive centre (located under the jaw and chin), to create a new crystal iok. This process takes months, and it can cause considerable pain to the Vol Ignii. When the new iok has reached full growth, it drops off, whereby the Vol Ignii leave it to grow an exterior itself. This process takes roughly three years, and the new Vol Ignii goes through various stages of development as it grows.
The rok is very tough and durable, and it grows as the iok reacts with minerals to let the Vol Ignii live; thus the exterior is the "dead" shell of the iok. As they carry the electrical charge from the iok, when the Vol Ignii developed electric designs, clothing was also developed to prevent the electric charge from the Vol Ignii passing to electronics.
The Unonian mutation is a mutation that causes the iok to grow itself, meaning that the rok is thinner and has little time to form. As the iok grows, it the rok that has formed heats up rapidly, causing the rok to splinter and crack, which can cause the iok itself to crack and break. This often happens during the formative years of the Vol Ignii, causing them much pain. A Vol Ignii born with this mutation is often euthanised to prevent the Vol Ignii dying a painful death. There is no cure for this mutation, as it is highly volatile and can mutate from any part of the iok.
Spoiler: Vol IgniiShow
History
The Vol Ignii lived as warring tribal states for the early part of their history. This began to change as a population decrease called for tribes to unify and create city states and empires. As empires competed to rule over the rest of the world, technological advancements led to the creation of energy based weapons to circumvent the natural armour the Vol Ignii had. This lead to a jump-starting of the energy age and what followed was an explosion of technological development that led the Vol Ignii into space. After forcibly making First Contact with the Federation on Stardate 36522 (10 July 2359), the Vol Ignii spent six years exploring space before the advent of the First Contact Civil War. This war lasted ten years from 6 FCC (First Contact Calendar) to 10 FCC, whereby the Vol Ignii, reeling from the war, united to end the fighting, forming the Ignirium, the Vol Ignii government, akin to the United Nations. This was short lived and the Second First Contact Civil War started in FCC 20. After the end of the war four years later, the Ignirium was dominated by Xenophobic countries and they operated a closed-door policy on all alien contact. In FCC 30, the planet was struck by the Unonian Plague which crippled the planet and sent the planet into two years of warfare called the Unonian Wars, from FCC 31-33. The two years following the war was one of rebuilding before the formation of the Phygri, the new government which united all of the people of Vol Igniria in one superpower. This new nation immediately sought cooperation from the Federation, opening a non-agression pact in FCC 36 and a trade agreement in FCC 37. From FCC 40 to 48, the planet applied for Federation membership, eventually gaining Federation status in FCC 49, Stardate 85843(4 November 2408).
Despite continued resistance from some members of the Phygri, the Vol Ignii seek closer relations with the Federation. Despite this, the number of Vol Ignii in the Federation are low, and even lower in Starfleet. Those that are, do not rise far due to their rather rash and aggressive views.
Society
Vol Ignii culture is based on strength in all things. Honour is not considered as an inherently strong trait, and Vol Ignii would rather be dishonourable and appear strong, than be honourable and perceived weak. Because of this, their society is based on strength alone, and to climb the social hierarchy meant showing impressive feats of strength. Many philosophers have debated the concept of strength in Vol Ignii society, and it continues to be a fascinating concept of study for Federation anthropologists to this day.
Whilst society was originally ruled by a king or emperor, the acceptance of democracy was pretty widespread after the First Contact Civil War, due to the perception of strength within the system; for a Vol Ignii to convince other Vol Ignii to vote for them was a feat that showed the strength of the candidate. For this reason, the Vol Ignii are staunch supporters of democracy. Election to become the President is done through the Vol Ignii who has the highest votes, as there is no parliamentary system, and the 1,001 seats of the Phygri are chosen by the 1,001 people with the highest amount of votes. In the event of a tie between members where there are more candidates who tie then there are seats remaining, the candidates have two weeks to gain more votes to break the tie, or those seats are left vacant.
The capital city is Dos Kerberal.
Religion
Though there are various cultic beliefs, there is no religion that the Vol Ignii follow.
The Vol Ignii believe that each of their ioks are individual gods - this is a metaphor for their bodies being a temple, and that they should treat each other with love and respect, as you would a god. This stems from the mythology that in the before times, there were fully formed Ioks who ruled Vol Igniria; benevolent crystalline Gods who treated the subjects, proto Vol Ignii, with respect and reverence.