Doj'on

Bloodlit / GodFlora
Commonly referred to as 'the Bloodlit Of Beta Orionis' or 'the Bloodlit of the Astral City' by the people of the Tau Spring Galaxy. The Bloodlit are not a singular race, but actually 12 races from another 'Realm', a dimension far and away from that of Earth or the Tau Spring Galaxy. The Doj'on are one of the original 12 races. Those that do come 'down to our realm' are often mistaken for Gods by the largely unwashed & uneducated masses of most worlds. Those that know of their true origins still regard them in great esteem as their grasp of technology & learned things is so complete that to the 'Mortal Races' they perform magic. His peoples (and the Bloodlit as a whole) have often been described as unfathomable by younger races.

= Species Details = The Doj'on are a avian-descended humanoid race of extraterrestrial beings that hail from the planet Doj'on Prime, lying just within the Arc of Creation. They maintain beautiful androgynous (but mostly male-ish) features, though Earth's Doj'on Delegate - Nohrbor Nanuran Surryx seems to prefer decidedly male forms. On their homeworld they usually dress in simple robes but take on more space-faring styles off-world.

The Doj'on system is made of 5 planets circling a single star (Deius Major). Their homeworld is a near inhospitable mix of mountain and desert. The only reliably habitable zones lie near the poles. This was done by an ancient and evil enemy destroyed only by the combined efforts of all the Bloodlit races. This is when the Commonwealth was first convened. The first act of the Commonwealth would be would be the restoration of the Doj'on homeworld. This proved impossible even by the newly assembled Godflora, so a new capital city was built upon the North Pole, and its four moons were made habitable for the remaining Doj'on. Ever since then the symbol of the Doj'on collective has been 4 gems arranged like the gems in a crown with a star in the middle upon a black field.

The Doj'on are all psionic (though few are show as much promise as this generation's representative sent to the Guide Light Academy by the Doj'on Commonality). The race has a spiritual quality to their being and maintains a tangible connection to their spirits through the Commonality. Because of their natural telekinetic and telepathic talents the Do'jon are referred to by other Bloodlit, and even by some of the 'more enlightened' mortal races as 'the Delegation'- this is due to the Doj'on's natural inclination towards diplomatic relations & free trade. This naming convention actually started because of a misunderstanding when the first ambassadors from Beta Orionis referred to themselves as a delegation. Ever since- it is usually a Doj'on at the head of any First Contact situation as one Doj'on is capable of representing their whole race, and the other races of the Bloodlit implicitly trust them to represent the Godflora's interests.

In their earliest history, it was known that they made use of concepts such as wealth and during that time they established trade within their home galaxy with the other races of the Bloodlit. In time, they eventually evolved to the point that they abandoned the monetary aspect of their culture as they believed it to be abhorrent for an enlightened race. This stemmed from the fact that they believed that an advanced species should not place any value in such mundane as well as primitive concepts such as attaining power through wealth. More than any other race, the Doj'on search for spiritual perfection- so their society is a mix of Buddhist-like ideals and Marxist ideology sprinkled with the open-mindedness, drive for knowledge (and the sharing of that knowledge to those who prove themselves ready), and of course the unbridled love of trade known to the Islamic Golden Age. Their civilization reminds many of those of Ancient Mesopotamia at it height.

Doj'on make active use of meditation and typically did not wish to be disturbed unless the matter was urgent. They also possessed a meditative rite known as the Cor'Natroth which was a near-death state that the Doj'on were capable of inducing in themselves. The Delegate is not cognoscente whilst in this state and it was roughly compared to Human unconsciousness or sleep. Many Doj'on find self-examination a great vehicle to move them along the path of spiritual perfection.

Beyond their telepathy, they are also capable of ascertaining the truthfulness of another being by placing their palm on another being.They also have the ability to direct their psionic energy to a specific part of the body as part of an energy sharing ritual. Such gestures were only shared to specific individuals as everything that defined that individual Doj'on was felt during the ritual. This included their feelings and emotions which were directed through the hands with the palm facing the palm of another that was a deep personal experience between the two individuals. Humans when facing this experience had a near euphoric quality to the ritual.

Governance
The Doj'on are ruled by the Commonality- a psycho-dimensional web of shared energy which binds the species (or at least those within the Doj'on Star System) together with each individual, but more mysteriously their connection, this Commonality is not reserved for the living. If connected to the Commonality at the time of their passing, their essence rejoins the collective. The Congress is led by a Council of 13. 12 Conduits & 1 Conductor. The Congress is 'driven' by the Grand Conductor, which is a title passed on from mentor to mentored in an unbroken cycle reaching back 600,000 years. The Conductor focuses the mental energies and will of his people (condensed into 12 'strands') into a conscious force that represents the combined sentience of the Doj'on people. The Grand Conductor is joined by 12 conduits, that help funnel the mass of psionic energy to one being who then focuses the will of the Doj'on Commonality. This will makes the ruling decisions of the Doj'on people. It is said by some of its members that leadership decisions that engulf the Doj'on race are not subject to the petty infighting that is typically seen in human politics. The Commonality is so powerful and so complete that no Doj'on even thinks of the murdering of their own kind. Crime within the Doj'on system is entirely non-existent. There are no classes or races, despite much variation between the bird-like beings of the Doj'on. There is also no separation of power along political or other lines- the Commonality fulfills the lofty shoes of both church and state.

If a leader of the Doj'on collective was found guilty of breaking their laws, then the Commonality is capable of convening a tribunal to determine whether the individual should be stripped of their position. This was done so through a Vote of No Confidence and helped enable the appointing of an acting leader in times of crisis. Though there are power struggles, a true coup de tat is unprecedented in Doj'on history.

Relations
Whilst members of the Delegation are said to be unable to kill one another, it is possible for them to rationalize their actions to allow such an event to occur. Though this is the case, direct violence is impossible for their kind but death by proxy is permitted. Even then- this is exceedingly rare, and generally only those who's connection to the Commonality is lost or severed for an extended period of time are subject to such baser thoughts. Historically, crimes against their own kind such as killing a fellow Doj'on or even other Bloodlit races was a crime punishable by Finality- though only in the rarest of circumstances. Generally this & other crimes are punished by exile or having their connection to the core Commonality severed permanently followed by exile. If permanently severed a Doj'on may 'de-evolve' into a more predatory creature blurring the lines between sentience and base instinct, though some Doj'on believe this to be a willful degradation based on psychosis or other psychological factors. Still none would risk it themselves. Speculation is one thing, but risking a part of the Commonality for simple curiosity's sake is not in their nature.

The unifying aspect of their telepathy meant that no Doj'on was ever truly alone. Separation from it was noted as being both a liberating and terrifying aspect as a Delegate would be alone with their thoughts. As such, it was often known that the Commonality was a great comfort to a Doj'on as they knew they were never alone. Whilst all Doj'ons are linked to one another (within a certain range), it was possible for individuals to cut themselves off from it whenever they chose though few of them ever did such an act. It was generally believed that the strength of the Doj'on lied in a common purpose which was the core of the Commonality. The primary imperative of the Delegation is the welfare of their collective sentience and not the survival of a single individual. It was this coherence that proved to be a great inspiration to the other races of Beta Orionis and helped the create the Commonwealth that is celebrated by not only denizens of Beta Orionis, but of the Tau Spring galaxy as well.

Despite a deeply seated belief that all life- no matter how small and insignificant is of value, certain Doj'ons are deeply loyal to their own kind first and feel any attack against one Delegate is an attack on the Commonality itself.

The Commonality is not without its draw backs though. It is known that once within the presence of the Commonality, Doj'ons typically do not act against the wishes of the majority even if they might know that the majority were wrong.

Doj'on emotions- though rare, are hidden deep under many layers of their being and the suppression is reinforced by their connection to the Commonality. In regards to grief, the Doj'ons have no fear in passing on to the next world. In fact, they do not fear death as Humans do as long as it served their people. If it did so, than a Doj'on would gladly embrace death and allow themselves to die. Whilst all Doj'on are taught this, many of the younger or less Glory-seeking among them still experience fear in the final moments before their life forces expire.

Language
The Doj'on speak their own language (called Doj'on as well) and the common tongue of Beta Orionis (which just so happens to be exactly like English) is taught to all. Modern Doj'on is incredibly difficult to learn to speak or even read by outsiders. This is because to read the language, a reader had to avoid the inclination to read the text in a left to right, right to left, up & down, or any recognizable linear fashion. There were no grammatical rules in reading Doj'on when compared to Earth languages; this was because the Doj'ons felt what they read. The feeling allowed them to see and understand the words. As such, the Doj'on language and ability to read it is more experiential rather than being visual; this meant readers had to feel the spirit of the text they were reading. This makes their language, Doj'on, a thing of incomprehensible nuance and secrets. It cannot be fully spoken or understood by other races. Furthermore, the simple presence of information spoken Doj'on may gradually become sanity-effecting to Mortal races due to its breadth & depth.