the lunai

the lunai (singular: luna) are a group of space explorers who primarily live on their ships and in the floating city lunasis. this species had to leave their homeworld due to an apocalypse-like string of disasters. they fled on spaceships and eventually came to live amongst the many stars of the galaxy. they refer to themselves and their people using no capital letters, and their language does not contain that concept [to show respect, this humble scribe will honor this tradition in these writings.] typical lunai have metallic looking skin, in the colors black, gray, and white. a few might have brown skin, but this is usually a genetic defect. though some also have metal limbs or enhancements, including specialized horns and teeth, they appear humanoid.      rituals and traditions   a common way to say goodbye among the lunai is “may the stars light your path.” it’s a homage to their single deity, selle, the divine embodiment of the galaxy.   the luna death ritual involves placing the body within their coffin and lighting sacred candles. a saakar, an important religious figure, akin to a priest, in luna culture, will them utter a blessing over the corpse and send it to join the stars, with the possessions and food they’ll need to journey to the afterlife in selle’s heavenly court.   traditional luna partnership ceremonies commence with the feast, prepared by the partners-to-be, with traditional food such as small decorated oatcakes to signify happiness and long hard candy sticks to symbolize long life. after the feast, the saakar will bless the couple under an arch made of sunberries, to signify the pair’s togetherness. then, the guests will dance, with the newly wedded partners leading the circle. the final component is the tea ceremony, where they will each make a ceremonial cup of tea and present it to the other. this is similar to the giving of a ring.   the lunai are scholars, and are known across the galaxy for having universities and hallowed learning institutions the likes of which are rare across the larger inhabited universe.   lunai first names consist of two syllables connected by an apostrophe [‘]. they typically take one of their parents’ names as their own last name, to denote their lineage (e.g. San’na du’Farriel). the only time when lunai use what we call capital letters is in a name. they show this by putting a tiny plus mark atop the chosen letter.