Actias

[Collection of Summary-esque Facts]

Introduction
Elegant insectoids, the actias boast one of the oldest civilizations on the bubble -- and one of the most successful.

History
The Queen

The Actian Age

The Great Fall of the Hivemind

The Rise of Seekers

The Triumvirate 

Culture
The Greater Good

Though the mindset has evolved somewhat since the fall of the Queen and with the influence of other races, the actias, for the most part, maintain a fierce sense of the hive before the individual.

Society
"The social structure of the actias could seem a cruel one, to an outsider. Though always striving to do and to be better, no actias could - or would - entertain the idea of stepping outside the realm of their given caste. They are, quite literally, nurtured into their roles. Strict though it may seem, the memories of a consciousness shared keeps a sense of equality within the hive. No actias is deemed smarter or of a better status, they are simply - physically, mentally, - specialized to preform their respective roles. The parts of the whole may differ, but they all serve the same greater good."

The Castes
With the fall of the Queen and the Hivemind came the need for leaders, for a few to make choices in a society so used to exist as one. Though it opened up a sense of flexibility within the roles of castes - particularly that of the Hands - it was, in the end, a matter of necessity, a new piece to function with the whole. As such, leaders within the actias nation as known by civilizations of today hold an air about them that has less to do with power, and more to do with humble servitude.

Of course, civilizations of today also know better than to treat them as such. Offending a Voice of the hive is, after all, to offend the hive in its entirety.

 The Triumvirate 

The Three sit at the very top of the nation's relatively fresh hierarchy.

 The Voices of Hives 

The Voices serve as the leaders of their respective cities.

 The Wings of the Queen 

As rare as it is new, in the timeline of actias society, the Wings of the Queen came to exist after her fall. In a nation scattered by distance and sudden silence, these were the first to establish communication between the hives and became Seekers. Today, they serve as nomadic individuals, moving between hives in a never-ending effort of unification. Though any actias could by virtue of devotion or intellect choose to pursue this role, it usually falls to the Arms by sheer necessity of endurance on long flights.

Warrior Poets

Managing the closest tangible representation of the lost Hivemind, the Seekers are known to pursue experiences as fervently as they gather and distribute news. A priority that may seem a foolish waste, though to a nation robbed of its shared consciousness it's a comfort, and a strength. As such, actias news are highly poetic, excessively detailed -- and impossible to translate.

 Arms of the Queen 

Nymphs nurtured for strength. They are larger - and louder - than their fellow actias.  Hands of the Queen 
 * Warriors, workers.
 * Excelling warriors with enough dedication may make it to become Seekers.

Nurtured for finesse, this caste sets the actias standard known to other races. With the growth of civilizations so did the roles that fell within this caste, and of all actias these enjoy the greatest opportunities for individual evolution -- even if few go as far as switching their given role.  Legs of the Queen 
 * Artisans, merchants, scholars, doctors.

These actias rarely see much of the larger world. Theirs are servant roles, nurturing nymphs or tending to fellow actias. Their entire focus is turned inwards, and among them are the actias tasked to remember the core of their species, where the eagerness to improve and evolve may come with risks and loss of selves, in a world without the Queen.
 * Servants, light labor.
 * Soothsayers

Religion
Soothsayers

Food
"Some largely disputed rumors have it the actias were, at the very dawn of their civilization, cannibals. As is often the case within the circles of petty gossip, no consensus can be made whether their meals came from a designated food-breeding caste, or a breed of insectoids now entirely extinct."

The actias are notorious for having a particularly sweet tooth, and for every exotic dish introduced to their society, a sweeter version soon establishes itself as an immediate favorite.

Appearance
Chitinous forms slender and sleek and glittering in metallic tones, wings that unfold into beautiful gossamer displays or hang free like drapes of coloured glass. The actias are, quite unanimously, considered to be a race of beauty. Though insectoid in ancestry, time - and a spectacular control of their own evolution - has made of them a race engineered to impose a sense of civilized manners and impeccable elegance. While their appearances might vary greatly from one continent to another, the key features, insect and humanoid, remain the same.

The average actias stands roughly a third (and some) of a gnome taller than the average human, and that without taking into account their antennae, which may add as much as another eight of a gnome to their height. They cut a fairly humanoid silhouette, bar the extra two sets of arms, each one ending in three naturally armored talons wielded with awe-inspiring precision.

Though lacking the elasticity of normal hide, the actias have evolved a highly complex exoskeleton, consisting of hundreds of segments - most impressive of which are the parts making up their facial features. The actias are said to have over sixty separate segments on their faces alone, seamlessly fit together to allow a variety of expressions and shaping of sounds.

Curved and sometimes adorned mandibles frame mouths shaped not to merely imitate that of their mammalian neighbours, but rather also to improve on their design.

The eyes of the actias remain all at once one of their more beautiful features, and the more alien. Evolved like the rest of their features to benefit interactions with other humanoid races, they remain all the same lidless. Large and bright, facets cut so small they blur into a rippling, watery effect over gem-coloured orbs. "The pupils of an actias' eyes are not strictly speaking such, but rather a manner of social camouflage. In truth they are little more than clusters of darker facets different only in pigmentation, and serve no conceivable function beyond that of social interactions. These false pupils do not move, the pigmentation simply travels from one group of facets to another in streaks of black to provide the illusion of looking."

It is nigh-impossible to determine an actias' gender by the shape of their frame. Such trivial details are rather made apparent by their choice of clothing and accessories, and even then the local fashion of neighbouring or relevant races should be taken into account. "For the dedicated, one might note a minute difference in voices, mandibles or wing-pattern -- but even these are not without exceptions, and one is advised not to make assumptions."

'''Sub-race differences. '''