the original intro for Avians in beta starbound, before the lore was gutted. these were books in you inventory upon starting the game.
[Avian Introduction] For centuries, the Avians soared through the skies, borne on wings of feather and flesh. They were a proud, peaceful species, respectful of their traditions and gods. So respectful, in fact, that when their gods - the Sunborn - spoke to them, they listened. They listened and obeyed as one god, Kluex, the last of the Sunborn, commanded their elders to clip the wings of the lower-caste Avians.
They obeyed even as the Flightless became ostracised, oppressed, living only to serve Kluex. They obeyed as their elders erected tall towers, from which the Ascendants - the chosen Flightless - were to leap. They obeyed as one by one, the Ascendants hit the ground, never to fly again. Kluex, they were told, was pleased.
[Avian Journey Begins] You have narrowly escaped the wrath of the Stargazers. Your ship has run out of fuel in orbit of an unknown planet. You long to find other Grounded, to join with likeminded people. If only you weren't stuck, floating in space. You can't help but notice the irony of being a Grounded stuck in the sky.
Vaguely, at the back of your mind, you wonder if being in space will make it easier for Kluex to find you. Then you remember you're an atheist. Feeling reassured, you begin your quest.
[The Truth about Kluex] While it is the case that I may have escaped for my own self-preservation, it is important I do not forget my larger mission also. Kluex is not real. I will prove it. If I can do this, I can free my people. I have heard of other species whose gods are celestial. Kluex, however, is flesh and blood. And yet, he has not been seen for many, many years. I will discover why. I will uncover the secret behind the Kluex deception. But also flee for my life.
in the release version of the game, there is absolutely nothing species-specific in the intro. it may have been just a few paragraphs, but clearly there was a lot of thought put into the beta lore (there were other ones, this is just one). it's sad that none of this exists in the release version.
I am bored and playing starbound so time to write some novakid lore! Lore dump under the read more!
- Novakids do actually have faces, it us just under their brands.
- Their brands act as a sort of temperature stabilizer, as novakids are a species made of hard light and energy, they can get HOT! Think of getting angry but the angrier you get the more of the floor you are standing on melts.
- Novakids can actually age out of needing a brand, as once they are past the teenager stage they normally have a better control of their emotions. A lot of Novakids still wear them because they look neat, cultural significance, makes them identifiable, and the majority of novakids who interact with other races wear them as a precaution. Don't want to get into a tussle and suddenly you are setting a floran ablaze.
- Novakid faces are normally rather human in look, but depending on the species they are raised around, it can take on similar features. Some novakids raised around hylotls will in incredibly rare cases be seen with a third eye or false gills. Some novakid even have stubble or "hot spots" that look like human facial hair.
- Novakids forms are also a bit loose and gender doesn't necessarily mean anything to them. They can technically change their gender at will, but most of the time no one really cares as it is a process that requires a lot of focus. Novakids take a person's identity seriously though
- Procreation in Novakids is actually very similar to any mammalian species. One side impregnated the other with the only difference being the fact that either side can technically do either job. Novakid pregnancies also last a year or a full star cycle and a stabilizer cannot be worn at this time. It is why Novakids are very protective of parents and kids as they are very vulnerable at this time.
- Novakids are made of solid energy and are kind of similar to a lava lamp. Having a touchable layer. Think of the glass frogs. Novakids while being able to get wet since it won't actually put them out, just don't like to because as a glowing thing in water, they attract predators.
- Novakids, being made of pure energy, will sometimes sacrifice a limb in dire situations to release a mass output of energy. Whether it be to supercharge a ship or as a last ditch effort to kill an enemy. Like lizards who amputate their tails. Some novakids will fully blow themselves up to take down entire ships. Though, the older they are the less the energy and natural novakid death is them fading into lights like brightly colored fireflies.
- They scar white and blue, and their blood is naturally a bright blue. Think of the blue flame of torches, it is can actually be hot as well but not burning. It has a similar taste to cinnamon whiskey and floran use it to get drunk. Some novakids will purposely carry a vial of their blood for this purpose. SHOTS
- Florans and Novakids are actually rather close species, as Novakids will allow florans to photosynthesise with their light. Novakids like florans because they don't beat around the bush, no pun intended.
-Despite popular belief, Novakids do have a rich history, it is just entirely oratory. Novakids never had a writing system but had a vast music system. If you meet a Novakid that can't sing or play an instrument, then you met an imposter. (Also, a lot of Novakids just can't read.)
-Hylotl scholars have been working with novakids to write down all of their stories and songs. Very mutually beneficial because Novakids like performing and the Hylotl like the arts.
- Novakids can get along with most other races but are not particularly fond of the Apex. They are too rigid and militaristic for their liking.
- Novakids have no real origin story though, they are dated to have appeared around the time the cultivator and the ruin fought but nothing other than that. Novakids have no origin story as they just all say they kind of appeared. Pisses historians OFF
- Novakid society is very justice orientated, with their biggest job export other than bard being bounty hunters. If you harm a child or kill someone in cold blood, then you might just have a novakid on your tail. Not uncommon for some novakids to take up revenge jobs for free if the persons cause was meaningful enough.
- Novakids are incredibly protective of children as well. Children are incredibly unstable, and before the use of brands, they had high mortality rates, so harming a child can be worse than killing a man in their society. A lot of mixed planets tell their children to find a Novakid if they are ever lost or in danger. (They also make incredible babysitters. Not the safest babysitter but definitely fun ones. The kid is gonna learn how to use a gun)
- Novakids have a deadly fear or a general unnerving feeling around any form of tentacles. Weird evolutionary thing that no one can really place.
- Despite not having a written language Novakids can read writing in ANCIENT temples dating to the cultivator Era. Why a lot of Hylotl hire them to explore dungeons.
- Last but not least: Novakids sound southern because the translator is based on human approximation, and Novakids leaned into it for aesthetic purposes.
I’ve been digging into starbound lore to build a more cohesive extended universe story for Skybound and Kaiya, that universe’s last member of the Protectorate. (I classify it as a separate universe because I think starbound takes place over several different universes where a different protectorate candidate was late to the meeting, and it makes my story canon to something outside of the base gameplay other people experience)
I've discovered a lot of things such as, The original big ape, greenfinger, and thornwing. I've also discovered the truth behind the Agaran race from the beta. So many wonderful ideas I want to throw into the story but I have classified 4 seperate story arcs, possibly a 5th but damn I am so invested in this.
Let me know if y’all are interested in hearing the ideas I have come up with, I’d be willing to share the first story arc involving the Apex and Big Apes return lol
what is this VEP I keep seeing around on a few blogs?
The full name is, if I remember correctly, the Vestigi-Evo Process and it's the reason apex are, well, apes. It was originally claimed as a cure to the Ape Flu that was supposedly ravaging apex society at the time (you can still see posters for that in-game). What it did was massively enhance the apex intelligence, alter their physical forms to a previous state in their evolution, and firmly cement the Miniknog as the powers that be for their role in "saving" their species. Some apex dialogue hints at suspicion that Ape Flu was actually a Miniknog experiment: no one in power was reported as falling ill.
Apparently apex were entirely hairless prior to VEP. Quite peculiar.
The wiki has some solid information from codices found in game if you want to peruse it further (I summarized it best I could here but source material might answer even better):
