Before Displacement — Who were the K’alani Vostra
Before the devastating civil war fractured the Ka'yar people, the K'alani Vostra inhabited a world — on what is now the border between the Ka'yar Colonial Governance and the Representative Democracy of Liberation — called Vos in a region that would later become the epicentre of conflict. Their culture, while part of the broader Ka'yar race, holds distinct characteristics that set them apart from the Ka’yar people found in both the Ka'yar Colonial Governance and the Representative Democracy of Liberation.
They pride themselves on their calm demeanour, neutrality, and diplomacy. Being much more level-headed and reserved than their typically more hot-headed siblings in the Ka’yar. Even before the war, the K'alani Vostra held a cultural inclination towards neutrality, diplomacy, and mediation. While the Ka’yar were more prone to open conflict to resolve disagreements.
Living on the border, before the civil war grew to open combat, they learned to navigate the complex relationships between the splintering Ka'yar factions, seeking balance and understanding rather than dominance. In the hopes that one day the two groups could at least co-exist, and tensions could cease.
Sadly, that wouldn’t be the case, and open conflict and violence would soon end these hopes.
The K'alani Vostra also place a strong emphasis on history, storytelling and the collective memory and preservation of their people and culture. Knowledge and traditions are important to them, and continue to be so, with various stories, and artifacts being passed down through generations of storytellers and archivists.
Sadly, these people would be forced from their homes after the Ka’yar Civil War bled into their system. Unfortunately for the K’alani Vostra, Vos represents a strategic position between the two warring groups. Vos exists near a Probability Suspension Drive, a space station-sized device that allows for the activation of long-distance jumps in space, as well as several Improbable Distances Relay and Communications Satellites, which are crucial for long-distance information transmissions. These assets were not to be lost to the other side, and endless fighting began in the region near and eventually at Vos.
The fighting became so intense that it bled on to Vos as well, with bombardments damaging and destroying cities and taking countless lives. All because both sides thought the other was hiding out on a planet, which they were not.
Eventually, the remaining K’alani Vostra were forced to flee as occupations from either side began, and domination over the planet itself continued to be fought over. Through various means, the K’alani Vostra fled their home, both covertly and expressly, they flew from their homes, scattering to the winds. Some fled the war zone completely, finding new homes in O.Sec F. and on the Variance space station. But others would stay and find a new purpose not far from their homeworld.
The planet Vos, of the K'alani Vostra, before it was war-torn
New purpose
While the Ka'yar Colonial Governance and the Representative Democracy of Liberation continue their battles over Vos and the surrounding areas — with the planet shifting ownership between the two sides countless times over the past several years — some K’alani Vostra have found a new purpose and have decided to stay in or near the occupied war zone.
These K'alani Vostra now operate quietly in the shadows of the war, carefully remaining unseen within and around the war-torn borderlands of their ancestral home. Their primary objective is to act as preservationists, locating and safeguarding culturally significant K'alani Vostra and broader Ka'yar artifacts, texts, and traditions from destruction by the ongoing conflict.
They maintain hidden caches and secret archival networks, symbolizing the resilience of culture against the ravages of war. These K’alani Vostra risk their lives to rescue remnants of their identity, ensuring that even if their physical homeland remains lost in combat, its spirit endures.
Leveraging their intimate knowledge of the contested territories, the K'alani Vostra have also established clandestine networks to help displaced K’alani Vostra, Ka'yar, and other civilians escape active conflict zones.
They function as underground servants of safety, guiding refugees through perilous routes to neutral territories or established safe havens. This often involves discreet coordination with external humanitarian organizations, such as the Interstellar Horizon Humanitarian Force, acting as an unaligned bridge to provide aid and safe passage.
Their actions symbolize a commitment to life and peace amidst the ongoing decades-long chaos, prioritizing the safety of individuals over political alignment. This dual role of preservation and rescue casts the K'alani Vostra as both keepers of memory and agents of hope, offering a neutral beacon in a deeply divided Ka'yar people.
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