The precursor species is as scattered as the stars in their skin; for a little under half of Ealdremen's space-faring history, they were presumed extinct, only for a restoration in 3303 CGC to reveal their survival past their distant ancient heights of power and subsequent fall. This population arose from a stasis where they had been kept in a slumber lasting millennia, and they awoke to a world alien to them even as their memories from before the stasis grew fainter. However, their already-diminished population was further annihilated when their reclaimed homeworld of Mioura was destroyed in 4100 CGC during the calamitous Watershed. Since then, they have struggled to maintain social power and political relevance in a solar system that sees them more and more as "bygone" with each passing generation, and it is unclear if even scientific interventions can successfully restore the species to a more sustainable population.
Overview
The precursors are a bipedal sentient species that has aesthetic similarities to several other species, such as poukumors and kronakkos and their related species. Precursors have five digits on their hands and feet, but they have flatter faces than the species they resemble; in particular, their noses are much less pronounced, with some individuals having near-entirely flat noses compared to a kronakko. Unique to the precursors among the species they resemble and near-unique throughout all sapient species in the Ealdremen system is the precursors' bioluminescence. It is thought that the precursors' various historical mythologies and and modern cultural connections to both solar and stellar bodies and light of all kinds derives from a perceived connection to their own glowing forms. Not only does the skin of a precursor glow, their eyes and blood do as well, the latter retaining its "aura" for up to a minute after leaving a precursor's body. Because precursors have strong glows in their eyes, it is common for those of other species to believe they do not have pupils; in certain lighting conditions, a precursor's pupils are visible and appear like a circle slightly darker colored than the rest of their eyes, as the pupils absorb light slightly more than the rest of the eyes.
In culture, precursors are a fragmented species reduced to a fraction of a fraction of the populations they once had prior to the destruction of their homeworld Mioura, let alone during the height of the species' power. Their population has declined with each passing generation, sustained only by concerted conservation efforts within and without the species. In particular, the Veriol Alliance is known for their recent success in creating viable precursors in experimental laboratory settings. Precursors born from unbroken lineages dating back to Mioura's height of power are often isolated, some of them carrying on traditional ways and beliefs to the modern-day in hopes of maintaining their dwindling legacy, while others do their utmost to assimilate into whatever dominant culture they are surrounded by. Because of their low population, there is an emphasis on ideas of heritage and descent, and it is socially required for precursors to "do their part" in sustaining the species, similar to the valtheri, which has faced a similar, albeit less extreme, decline since 4100 CGC. Parenthood is viewed as a lifelong commitment with even elderly precursors raising children born of surrogate pregnancies or forms of artificial and assisted reproduction.
Due to their low population, precursors are a rare sight throughout Ealdremen and often have no strong political power to speak of. Many individuals may not even recognize what a precursor is on first sight.
Etymology and other names
The name precursor is a translation of the Morish word used to describe the ancient cultures of Mioura when they were first discovered. These early space explorers believed the precursors were a truly bygone species and that they were distant ancestors of the poukumors, a species from Estvoled that seemed to resemble archaeological depictions of precursors on their surviving architecture and art. While they were not complete matches, it was the closest comparison they had, and it would not be for another several hundred years for genetic analysis of a surviving precursor to definitively prove that poukumors and precursors are not related. By that point, though, the name had stuck, and the idea of the precursors being forerunners would instead grow to the notion of them being the oldest example of civilization and thus being, in a sense, the predecessors of all modern cultures' ancestors.
In Shekzardic, the oldest surviving language native to Mioura and consequently the precursors as a whole, the species is known as dlenash. The word is thought to share etymological origins with the antiquated Shekzardic word for god, dlen, and the suffix -ash may indicate "before," as it appears in words such as arelash, meaning "yesterday" (literally "before-today"). Because of this, dlenash is thought to literally mean "before-god," perhaps indicating an ancient belief in the inherent divine potential of mankind and their capacity to become gods, or indicating a mythological belief that the mortal life is the one before an afterlife among gods. Dlenash and other precursor-native words are sometimes used for self-identification by precursors with strong ties to their dwindling legacy.
Other languages typically use their own translation for the Morish word "precursor" to denote the species, as the idea of the precursors was "known" when Estvoldian colonists brought the word to other languages during the early formations of a system-wide society just beginning space travel. Rarely, the precursors may also be known as "Miourans" after their planet of origin, though this term is typically reserved for actual citizens of the remnants of Mioura, whether precursor or not.
Biology
Precursors naturally have an upright body posture and gait and anatomical bilateral symmetry. It is relatively common for the markings of their bodies, which usually take the form of large spots or stripes, to not be perfectly symmetrical, though some precursors do have symmetrical markings. Their anatomical features such as eyes, limbs, ears, and other major physiological features remain symmetrical outside of birth defects or injuries during life.
As a whole, precursors have five digits on their hands, including opposable thumbs on both hands, and feet. It was previously believed that some precursors may have naturally had fewer fingers on their hands, supposedly as a subspecies native to their homeworld that has since gone extinct, but modern historians believe this to be a misinterpretation of historical artifacts from Mioura's antiquity that depicted figures with four or three fingers on either hand. When a precursor runs, their toes and generally flat feet help them maintain balance and stability on the ground.
Despite their anatomical similarity to bipedal species known for their relatively high endurance and stamina, precursors are not as naturally resilient as these other species. It is thought that in contrast to these species, which likely developed usage of Chrono to augment their burgeoning societies, precursors may have relied on magic well before developing any true civilizations. This idea fits their natural biology well, where they often display a knack for magic but struggle with activities similar to ancient endurance-based hunting that other species with similar anatomy excel at.
Because of their natural luminescence, precursors tend to see reasonably well in dim light, though studies where this glow is subdued or compensated for have shown their eyes struggle to discern details without this additional assistance. Even still, their sense of sight is, on average, how most precursors discern their position in the world, along with their sense of hearing, and the absence of either sense correlates to their brains "repurposing" portions of the brain associated with the sense to one that the individual can make better use of. Most curiously, precursors born without sight or those who lose their sight after birth have neural activity reacting to the presence or absence of light even when the subject is not consciously aware of it, suggesting that precursors' bodies themselves are somehow receptive to light in a way other species are not.
While some may presume that precursors would have superior senses of hearing to other bipedal species with shorter ears, such as medrin, kronakkos, sigkronakkos, and poukumors, no significant advantage in hearing has been found in centuries of scientific study. It is thought that precursors' long ears may instead have originally served some other function, a popular theory being that prehistoric precursors may have developed long ears as a means of regulating their body temperatures. While hearing does assist in a precursor's sense of ambient awareness, they tend to experience the world through touch instead; their hands are sensitive and have enormous portions of the brain thought to be dedicated solely to processing touch. Precursors have flatter and less pronounced noses than many other species, which diminishes their sense of smell.
As with most land-based species, precursors take in air through their mouths or noses, which then goes to their lungs. However, unusually for such a species, they are capable of surviving in "null-atmosphere" environments for approximately up to fifteen minutes; there have been examples of temporary leaks aboard spacecraft where precursors survived while other species of comparable lung capacity and oxygen needs did not. This phenomenon has never been reproduced in underwater environments, and it is unclear if a precursor could display similar success in an environment with an outright hostile atmosphere to organic life. A common theory is that a precursor's innate Chrono enables them to survive in these scenarios, perhaps in response to something in space environments not present in others, but the inherent ethical concerns of studying this ability render future studies difficult, if not impossible, to follow what is already known.
Precursors' dental structures display typical omnivorous variation; they are heterodonts with frontal teeth that are more pointed and thinner than their thicker back molars, which are more suited for grinding plant matter. Precursors are generally considered to have weak bites compared to other species throughout Ealdremen, and they are generally only used as a means of self-defense or offense in extremely unusual circumstances. Typically, precursors receive nutrients by taking in food through their mouth, and in medical contexts, they are able to receive nutrients intravenously, though there have been unsubstantiated claims that some precursors have developed an ability to take in nutrients through more unusual methods such as pure ambient Chrono or through sunlight.
Precursors do not display any significant height or weight differences between those exposed to primarily androgens or estrogens during growth and puberty. Because of their similarity to species that do, such as kronakkos, precursors are often perceived to have more sexual or hormonal dimorphism than they truly have. Studies have shown that modern precursors tend to be shorter on average than their more distant counterparts from Mioura's antiquity, with modern precursors generally ranging from 1.45 meters to 1.60 meters in height and averaging around 45kg in weight. In contrast, skeletal remains and archaeological artifacts give precursors from thousands of years ago an assumed height range of 1.65 meters to 1.80 meters, though some anthropologists have contested that some nationalities may have had heights more comparable to modern precursors, as the preserved remains of ancient precursors disproportionately represent countries thought to have highly valued physical strength and size.
Physiology
The cultural impacts of the precursors' naturally glowing skin are well-documented, with many of their societies past and present placing an emphasis on light, the sun, and the stars, but the origin of the luminosity and the evolutionary adaptation it may have served is still called into question. It is possible that precursors had no true need for camouflage, or their luminescence served a function so important that it outweighed the need for concealment in the natural world.
Some biologists suggest that the glow of the precursors' bodies indicated good health to prospective reproductive partners, as precursors' bodies naturally glow less when severely ill or near death and cease to glow entirely once the precursor has passed. Others point to similar phenomena where animal species will display traits that are disadvantageous for survival, but are considered appealing to mates because they demonstrate an ability to thrive in spite of the "disadvantage"; precursors are often vibrantly colored in addition to their glowing skin, and such vibrancy tends to be seen as desirable. Nonetheless, concerns about this theory have been raised focusing on the lack of hormonal polymorphism between precursors, which is typical among species with sexual selective traits.
A third and more fringe theory, but popular among biologists that are precursors themselves, is that the precursors' glow is tied to communication rather than sexual selection. The idea goes that when developing language, precursors used the glows of their bodies to facilitate communication; more intense glows are associated with heightened emotion while subdued ones are correlated to calmer emotional states. Under this theory, the precursors' glow is a more recent evolutionary development in comparison to sexual selection theories.
Unfortunately, the incomplete nature of the precursor fossil record makes it difficult to identify when the species' distinctive luminescence may have developed. As such, it is impossible to conclusively verify the most likely "reason" for why this unusual trait became dominant throughout the species, and biologists continue to comb through the ruins of the planet Mioura in search of any possible clues for the precursors most ancient ancestors.
In modern times, the precursors' glow serves as a replacement for lighting in some circumstances, which can allow them to conserve energy either in spells or lights fueled by power sources such as electricity. The glow can also serve as emotional cues (similar to the theory of luminescence as a communication tool for ancient precursors), and studies have demonstrated that precursors find it difficult to read emotional cues even in species aesthetically similar to their own but that do not glow, or that they struggle with reading such cues in circumstances when a precursor's glow is subdued with a camera filter but other cues (such as tone of voice, body language, and facial expression) are present.
Locomotion
Precursors have an upright bipedal, land-based locomotion on two plantigrade feet with a symmetrical gait. On average, a typical precursor is capable of running at a sustained speed of eight to ten kilometers per hour, and a healthy and fit precursor could maintain this speed for about thirty minutes before needing rest.
Precursors are not native swimmers or climbers, though their anatomy enables them to make limited use of such movement methods. Their long and flexible fingers are strong enough to grasp things in climbing, and precursors can generally learn how to swim rather quickly, generally after fewer than thirty-six hours of dedicated learning.
Precursors are incapable of air-based travel without technological or magical assistance.
Hormonal polymorphism
Precursors have more mild hormonal polymorphism than other species they have anatomical similarities to, but, as mammals, have more polymorphism associated with hormones than non-mammalian species. Regardless of hormones present during growth, precursors tend to have small and often narrow frames naturally with no clear correlation between a presence of androgens or estrogens and the type of body they eventually have in musculature. Precursors of varying hormonal balances and combinations tend to only develop muscled frames through concerted effort and work.
Estrogens develop breasts in precursors, which are their most noticeable secondary hormonal characteristic. When in the womb, hormonal balance causes different genitalia and other anatomy for sexual reproduction to develop, though hormonal exposure after birth can produce relatively mild changes after the fact similar to changes that occur in kronakkos. It is not common, but it is possible, for a precursor individual to be intersex and have mixed-feature genitals or reproductive systems associated with different hormones.
Reproduction
As with the species they closely resemble anatomically, precursors most commonly reproduce through sexual intercourse. Two individuals with compatible chromosomes fuse a sperm and an egg within the womb of the precursor providing the egg. An infant precursor is typically born between 250 to 270 days after conception, and precursors normally only have one birth at a time per pregnancy. It is extremely rare for precursors to have multiple births to a single pregnancy with around .01% of the entire precursor population estimated to being born at the same time as a sibling.
Precursors cannot reproduce asexually without external aid such as through medicine. The most common example of such asexual reproduction is the Veriol Alliance creating precursors through cloning, then subsequently editing the fetus' genes during early stages of development to ensure genetic variety through the different "lineages" of clones. The fetuses are then carried to term in an artificial womb maintained in a sterile lab environment.
Because of the expenses involved, it is rare for the average individual precursor to be able to access fertility treatment, though some governments may subsidize it for precursors and other low-population species. Some precursor-run programs also enable sperm or egg donations from individuals that do not wish to raise children but can "match" with someone who does but cannot conceive a child otherwise.
Related species
Precursors are similar in appearance to kronakkos and known related species such as sigkronakkos and medrin in spite of their known origins on the planet Mioura as opposed to Raljikka, the known birthplace of the kronakko species. While there is limited access to a variety of precursor genetic data due to their low population, there is presently little genetic material shared between precursors and kronakkos (or any of their related species). The general consensus is that precursors are largely an example of convergent evolution where similar prehistoric circumstances must have given rise to similar species across different planets, but it is possible that they may have once shared an ancient ancestor with the species they closely resemble in appearance.
When precursor civilizations were first discovered by Estvoldian explorers familiar with the poukumor species, it was assumed they were related to the poukumors. Genetic sequencing has demonstrated that the two species have no genetic overlap indicating a common ancestor.
Subspecies
Archaeological records suggest that ancient precursors utilized color-based means of differentiating individuals of varying ethnicities and national origin. Lacking access to genetic material of such individuals, however, means that biologists can only speculate that the genetic differences between such people were probably rather slim and that antiquated records claiming much more substantial differences between ethnicities — such as dramatically different sizes, numbers of fingers or toes, and natural posture — were exaggerated or fabricated entirely.
Modern-day precursors have two distinct genetic strains — precursors who arose naturally through lineages that survived to the present and precursors created artificially in Veriol Alliance laboratories meant expressly for restoring the species and studying them. The latter tend to have similar genetic sequences, though they are not perfect clones of one another. They also have a particular genetic marker known as aniklýken in them which indicate their status as artificially created precursors, ostensibly to ensure that future generations of such precursors can have their lineage accurately traced.
Sociology
Due to their ever-dwindling population, precursors are often considered understudied in sociological fields; when studies of precursors occur, more emphasis is given to understanding their biology, typically in the name of advancing medical care for them. As a result of this, precursor sociology is regularly criticized for falling into speculation or overemphasizing what is known about antiquated nations. Counterarguments, however, point out that establishing the sociology of any species often involves study of ancient cultures in order to find sociological trends across time and that "truly" knowing the origin of any psychological or social phenomenon is impossible, and so consequently most social sciences could be disparaged as "speculative" rather than only those pertaining to precursors.
In ages when precursors had high populations, they were known to have formed large nations comprising sometimes as much as thousands of kilometers of territory. Archaeological evidence suggests that some of these cultures had dense metropolitan areas analogous to civilizations elsewhere in Ealdremen of similar technological and magical development, which in turn implies that, in periods where their populations are not so limited, they are capable of creating and maintaining large communities just as well as modern precursors are drawn to small communities. These same large nations, however, are also used to suggest that precursors have a natural tendency towards xenophobia and exclusionary behavior, rallying behind perceived differences and similarities despite being the same species; compared to the rest of Ealdremen, precursors represent a unique representation of a species that was the sole "owner" of their planet while other species in Ealdremen were made to cohabitate with, at times, extremely different species of similar advancement and intelligence. As such, precursor "in-group" and "out-group" mentalities are suggested to be especially strong compared to those of other species and are sometimes used as an explanation for why precursors struggled to assimilate into greater Ealdremen after their "re-discovery" during the Millennial Calm. Critics of this theory are quick to point out that any culture that lacked contact with others for all of their development would be naturally fearful of strangers and that this is likely not species-dependent, while counterarguments soon muddle the waters of how much of precursor sociology is biologically-driven and the result of instinct or evolutionary adaptation across generations versus entirely learned and reproducible in other species.
In the modern-day, precursor socialization is usually described as limited in scope; precursors are known to trend towards very small groups and communities, often aligning themselves with other local precursors in politics and worldviews. Generally, most sociologists agree that this is a consequence of their extremely small population and feel that most species would behave similarly were their numbers reduced like precursors' have been, though some take this precursor behavior as support for the theory of precursors being naturally more inclined to xenophobia than other species. In the absence of a greater nation or cause to rally behind, these theories go, precursors become more "defensive" and try to find an "in-group" to belong to that is as close as possible to themselves. Proponents of such theories often point to the valtheri, another species with an annihilated population relative to numbers they once enjoyed, and their "method" of integrating with Ealdremen as a contrast to precursor tendencies towards isolationism, particularly those that have tried to resettle the remains of Mioura.
One thing that sociologists broadly agree upon is that precursors are a naturally social species; precursors that lack a community to call their own tend to have much worse health outcomes than ones that do, unlike species that are generally regarded as less social or otherwise more adapted to solitary life, such as the tiaquín of Estvoled. Modern precursors overall have a higher rate of spirituality than many other species; unlike their religious counterparts in other species, though, worship of verge gods is essentially nonexistent among precursors, and the few studies that exist of precursors and their views on verge gods compared to other species suggest that precursors have higher rates of believing that verge gods are not deities at all but are instead some other kind of creature. It is possible this is an outgrowth of antiquated precursor beliefs that the precursors themselves were a form of "proto-god" on the path to godhood; because of this, a verge god would fall outside the precursor concept of deities. This idea is considered speculative at best, however, and has not been studied in any great detail due to its relatively fringe subject matter.
Notable cultures
Miouran diaspora
Following the shattering of Mioura, rare precursor survivors of the destruction — or those who lived on Mioura but were not on the planet's surface at the time it was destroyed — by and large abandoned the planet's remains. Though they have settled in a variety of places in the hundreds of years since, their numbers dwindle with each passing generation, and they do not remain in one place for long, usually either due to external pressure from or conflicts with existing cultures in the area, or due to a lack of government assistance for the new settlers that had little to their names.
New Arien
Although not a solely precursor society, the neighborhood of New Arien located in the Gerualdian city of Fol Adessi is often thought of as a remnant of Mioura nonetheless. While it does have a greater precursor presence than most comparable cities throughout Ealdremen, it was originally home not to precursors, but members of the Gerualdi Union or their relatives that were also displaced from the destruction of the planet. As the years went on, precursor citizens became more common in New Arien, though never numerous enough to represent any real source of political or social power. Some precursors find New Arien's "connections" to their lost nation comforting and believe that the non-precursors that comprised the original Arien were as much part of it as the precursors, but other precursors hold contempt for the perceived disproportionate amount of Miouran artifacts that this "non-Miouran" region holds.
09-MRA al-Ariazd
Descendants of Mioura's diaspora are often found aboard the vastership known as 09-MRA al-Ariazd, which is piloted by such individuals and only docks at stations to resupply and refuel. This small culture is estimated to have fewer than 50 to 75 individuals aboard, which nonetheless represents an enormous percentage of the overall precursor population throughout Ealdremen. They are generally regarded as insular and prone to rejecting the outside world, ostensibly for fear of losing what little uniquely-Miouran culture still remains, and they do not answer to any established political power or government beyond what is necessary to use stations they own.
Miouran holdouts
After Mioura was destroyed, some survivors remained behind on the broken pieces, or individuals whose families had not lived on the precursor homeworld for generations "returned" to habitable pieces of Mioura. They are accustomed to getting by with little and tend to not trust major political powers throughout Ealdremen, believing them to have ulterior motives when the matter comes to "helping" Mioura and its few remaining inhabitants. These individuals do not have any major government of their own, instead having their smaller settlements led by typically elected leaders which do not have any power over any other group throughout Mioura. However, since the Chrono Stars War began in 4340 CGC, sentiments have turned to the idea of forming a sort of overarching government to try and establish a cohesive core "precursor-maintained" political power. Some settlements have formed under a single government as a result, often mimicking established governments of major political factions in their structure, but there are more that remain independent and maintain their existing way of life.
Biosociology
The link between a precursor's natural glow and their health is well-documented; a precursor with waning illumination is virtually always an unhealthy individual, and the first sign of a precursor's death is their body ceasing to glow; even bodily organs such as the brain continue to send neural signals for scant moments after the individual's glow has disappeared. This is thought to be the source of ancient precursor societies' emphasis on sources of light or other things that appeared to have a glow like themselves, especially celestial bodies such as the stars, moon, and sun. As recently as the Millennial Calm precursors would name major nations and cities after their words relating to the heavens, such as Arien, though more distantly, the old country of Ores of Mioura was named for its people's word for the sun. However, it has also been suggested that the natural luminescence of magic also gave precursors a natural affinity for it, as even weak spells will display temporary sources of light unless modified to have more subtle effects. Some bio-anthropologists consequently believe that the precursors' historical tendency towards magic was originally sociological rather than biological, but that over time, the exposure to Chrono warped the species to have, on average, higher affinities for manipulating and casting spells.
Linguistics
Precursors' vocal cords and lips are flexible, enabling them to make a wide variety of vocalizations that contribute to not only great historical linguistic variety, but known ability to achieve fluency and sometimes even near-native pronunciation in languages originally spoken by species from other planets with dramatically different anatomy. In Miouran antiquity, precursors had a variety of languages, many of which remain linguistically untranslated for their lack of contemporary lingual decryptors or modern language descendants, and translatable documents point to these languages not being mutually intelligible without use of spells to translate. Because of the prominence of magic among these precursor societies, some cultures placed great emphasis on achieving true fluency without the use of spells and perceived diplomats or ambassadors speaking a language without magical aid as a sign of respect.
Shekzardic is the most widely spoken Miouran language among precursors, descended from an ancient form of a language spoken in its namesake nation of Shekzard. The language has been found throughout Miouran ruins, suggesting that the language's survival into the modern day is, at least, likely a result of its widespread nature. It is characterized with "spoken punctuation" that often takes the place of intonation or subtext and often even is the source of speakers' understanding of phenomena such as irony or humor. Such spoken punctuation will declare, in effect, the intended meaning of the preceding words, such as riss for emphasizing a factual statement. These words are not used elsewhere in Shekzardic, though they do have seeming linguistic relatives such as the word drothris, related to riss and meaning, essentially, the quality of a riss statement, usable in contexts such as describing a person's confident demeanor or the immutable nature of something.
All known precursor languages seem to use base-5 and base-10 counting systems, congruent with their normal number of fingers (five on each hand and ten overall). It is not known if other Miouran dead languages utilized different methods of counting.
Social status
As of 4364 CGC, precursors are considered Unkinned, a status formalized in 4117 CGC following the seeming certainty of their extinction in 4100 CGC with the destruction of Mioura. It is thought that officials from the Gerualdi Union initiated this process due to diminished resources and to avoid the possibility of sigkronakkos, zmravohs, or users of transmutive magic claiming to be a member of the near-extinct species and deriving benefits from it; this is in contrast to their historical claims that they were basing Unkinned designations on established procedures and definitions, which the precursor species now met the prerequisites for. Surviving precursors and sympathetic activists contend that a species which is "extinct" from certain biological or zoological perspectives should not be denied status as Kin, especially when resources throughout Ealdremen are more stable than they were several hundred years ago. The lack of political pressure to restore precursors' status as Kin has left the issue as a weak talking point in major legislature branches throughout multiple governments, if it is brought up at all. Smaller local governments that are pressured accordingly or staffed with individuals that make a point of caring for precursors may have local laws maintaining their legal rights to make precursors comparable to other Kin in protection, but such laws hold no greater weight outside of these rare jurisdictions, let alone on an interstellar scale.
Gerualdi Union
During the Millennial Calm, the Gerualdi Union was generally seen as a "champion" of the precursor people compared to other political powers. Even if the Union's primary motive was exploration and profit of the untapped potential of the planet Mioura, their aid nonetheless came at a crucial moment in the precursors' integration with then-modern Ealdremen, and it was widely accepted that achievements such as reclaiming portions of Mioura and building new nations and cities would not have been possible without Union backing. However, in the centuries since, precursors have developed an overwhelmingly bitter and often antagonistic relationship to the Gerualdi Union, as it was the Union's actions that led to the precursors' current designation as Unkinned, and the Union has not helped the precursor species or their interests in any meaningful way since the Watershed destroyed Mioura.
Veriol Alliance
The Veriol Alliance, under the guidance of its Zenith Minister of War, Zervat Aniklý, has made concerted efforts to prevent the extinction of the precursor species. Their works have yielded new precursor individuals created throughout various Allied laboratories mostly based in the Estvoldian city of Dai Lhan. Some precursors view these works as beneficial and positive to the species as a whole, ensuring that there will always be enough genetic variation among living precursors to keep the species from going truly extinct, and there has been a noticeable increase in precursors (relative to their small population) working in Veriol Alliance government positions, including in its standing military.
However, the praise the Veriol Alliance has received for its efforts has been met with an equal amount of skepticism and criticism. The most commonly cited source of skepticism from precursors (and other critics of the Veriol Alliance) is the project originating from the Veriol Alliance's war departments as opposed to one of its other branches, such as science. Based on this, criticism has been leveled at the potential motives behind repopulating the precursor species. Furthermore, there is additional criticism for their specific interest in the precursors as opposed to other species facing similar threats of extinction, such as the valtheri, which have not received any Allied aid in repopulation.
History
Miouran antiquity
The precursor species has the most ancient civilizations in their distant past known throughout Ealdremen; carbon dating has provided evidence that there are many Miouran civilizations that existed as distantly as over twenty thousand years ago, which eventually gave rise to better-known civilizations that hold a place in modern perceptions of Mioura's history, such as Shekzard, Ores, Gralshad, and Mathrazd. This latter group of civilizations achieved advancements such as practiced magic, iron tools, and advanced stone and wood architecture during a period where cultured species on other planets were typically using stone or wooden tools. However, these cultures appeared to be stubbornly isolationist and xenophobic of one another with rare exceptions, and it is thought that this refusal to exchange ideas or culture except through wartime captures and conquering led to a stagnant period of technological advancement throughout ancient Mioura. Arguments against this idea of "cultural stagnation" point to the properties of iron found throughout Mioura; while Miouran iron is pliable enough to be worked into tools, the planet has a significantly lower rate of natural iron deposits than other planets, and Miouran iron does not smelt easily into materials such as steel even with modern methods. Because of this, it is possible that Miouran societies stagnated due to a lack of resources to develop new tools or iterate on existing ones.
Anthropologists believe that this "lack" of quality iron led to Miouran cultures focusing on magic over other forms of technology in contrast to other planets' cultures, where more abundant material resources led to magic developing side-by-side with technology or sometimes even falling by the wayside in favor of more "reliable" methods. Whatever the case, most Miouran cultures held a strong focus on magic in some capacity, and those capable of using more powerful forms of magic often occupied positions of high esteem in their societies. Ancient nations such as Ores appeared to have even strove to study the source of magic and develop complicated mathematical origins and formulae for spells as long ago as around -6500 CGC. To this day, precursors are known for their seemingly "innate" connection to Chrono, and sociologists and biologists debate endlessly if this is an ancient cultural inclination or if it is a natural element of precursor biology to be drawn to magic.
Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd
- Main article: Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd
Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd is the surviving ancient Shekzardic term given to a mass extinction event thought to have occurred between -6400 CGC and -6000 CGC. The term's literal translation has been taken to mean "the era where your gods were killed," but it has also been euphemistically called Garl, a word with no clear linguistic origin that somehow appears throughout numerous Miouran records dating to this era. Even cultures that did not speak ancient forms of Shekzardic utilize this odd euphemism. Garl, when translated by way of magic, simply evokes an empty sense in the reader without imparting a specific word regardless of the reader's native language, and it has been simply translated as "void" or "hollow" because of this.
What exactly transpired during Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd is unclear save that it was anticipated in some way, leading to the creation of animate statues hewn from stone and magic. These "colossi" were used to war against some sort of force, with even millennia-old hatreds and divisions between countries being set aside and uniting Mioura's disparate cultures for seemingly both the first and final time. However, it is not known what they fought against; it has been theorized that Garl is a euphemism for the enemy they fought rather than the event itself, or that the extinction event and the enemy they contended against are one and the same. Nonetheless, records of all Miouran cultures end following Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd, and it is consequently regarded as the definitive end of Miouran antiquity.
Following the seeming demise of the precursors' civilizations, the colossi they used to fight were left masterless and took to roaming the planet; their tireless ferocity and lust for destruction appeared to have ensured that even though some precursors endured, no civilization would take root on Mioura for thousands of years.
Al-Kerl
Al-Kerl is the name for the magical suspension and hibernation of surviving precursors following Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd. It is thought that this mass-suspension was a means to preserve the species when they seemingly failed to prevent Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd. Deep underground within tunnels said to be "so deep that they would burrow to the heavens themselves on the other side," a scant few surviving precursors slumbered endlessly in a "grand dream". They were presumed to have remained dormant here from the time of Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd until their awakening in 3303 CGC during the Millennial Calm — some nine thousand years after the event — and were tended to by esteemed guardians boasting of unbroken lineages dating back to before Felthren-dro-Dlenruksurd. Prior to this awakening, it had been broadly believed by the rest of Ealdremen that reports of figures resembling precursors were hoaxes, and the threat of interplanetary wars continually drew attention away from the believed-to-be-deserted planet of Mioura and hindered further investigation.
The "dreamers" who awoke from their slumber remembered little of their lives before their suspension began, and they primarily reported remembering falling asleep to a gentle song and being bathed in warm sunlight before "awakening" in the next moment thousands of years later. Their guardians held fragmentary histories passed down through the generations, but even they seemed to have incomplete or contradictory notions about why and when al-Kerl began. With this seeming restoration and rebirth of the precursor species, however, came renewed interest in them from the rest of Ealdremen, and they were quickly given Kin status as a result of their perceived legacy and ties to other extant Kin.
Arien City
- Main article: Arien City
Following the precursors' "revival," immediate concerns arose for how an estimated nine thousand or so individuals would be integrated into the rest of Ealdremen. The woken precursors and their guardians were initially given rudimentary medical care and supplies from aid groups throughout Ealdremen within the subterranean chambers in which they were first found. A combination of inability and resistance to take in such a large population among Ealdremen's largest political powers led to discussions about the costs of retaking Mioura from the rampant colossi that had menaced the planet for thousands of years. The potential resources to be found in a relatively unexplored planet led to the Gerualdi Union backing the creation of a precursor-governed state to be founded on Mioura. Though the Union initially mustered for battle, the colossi, when encountered by once-dormant precursors, bowed to them, and they fell inactive when simply touched by one such individual. In this manner, swaths of the continent Rueffiora were "reclaimed" by the recolonization force, though some instead felt the land was given rather than taken.
Around the historical lands of ancient Ores, the precursors and the Union constructed a city that would come to be known as Arien, meaning "land of sunlight" in the dominant strain of Shekzardic spoken among the surviving precursors. As this city grew into a self-sufficient nation, the original city was named Arien City and was declared its capital, and, allied with the Gerualdi Union, Arien City prospered throughout the Millennial Calm. Although some precursors would leave the planet in search of greater discoveries and fortunes throughout Ealdremen, the majority remained in Arien City and its surrounding areas while the rest was settled by Union workers benefiting from their "investment" in the precursors' future or anthropologists hoping to gain new insight into the precursors of old and their bygone civilizations.
The Watershed and the near-extinction of the precursors
In 4100 CGC, the end of the Millennial Calm came with the calamitous Watershed that destroyed Mioura. The planet was broken into pieces, and most of the population perished as a result. With it, the entire precursor species was very nearly wiped out along with much of their ancient and recent history. Seemingly because the precursors were considered functionally extinct, they were deemed Unkinned about seventeen years after the Watershed in 4117 CGC. Most surviving precursors were not on Mioura's surface or in its vicinity at the time of the Watershed, though there are some contested records that suggest some individuals somehow managed to survive and remain on the broken planet's surface until they were rescued by nearby ships surveying the damage.
Following this event, the precursors struggled to establish a meaningful population elsewhere in Ealdremen due to their low numbers and how scattered they were. Precursor-only vasterships such as the 09-MRA al-Ariazd became popular during later years of reconstruction, perceived as a way of "preserving" what little remained of the species and their culture. Even hundreds of years later, the precursors represent a sparse population with little to their names but a bygone legacy.
Distribution
As a functionally extinct species, precursors are rare throughout Ealdremen. During the Millennial Calm and earlier, they were most common throughout the planet Mioura, as precursors spread throughout disparate planets would commonly congregate to their ancestral homeworld and where they had the best odds of achieving social acceptance. Because of this, the already-thin population of precursors was more than decimated when the planet was destroyed. It is estimated that there are fewer than 1,000 precursors throughout all of Ealdremen that were not created through the Veriol Alliance's works to restore the species. Based on this, there are concerns about if the precursor species has a truly viable population to avoid true extinction, as there is not much information on the genetic closeness of these individuals.
The exact number of artificially created precursors is not public knowledge, but leaked documents indicate that as of the year 4304 CGC, the Veriol Alliance had successfully seen around twenty-nine precursors survive to adulthood and be subsequently marked as "verifiably genetically stable". From this information, the speculated total population of artificially created precursors ranges from about one to three hundred individuals depending on the figures used. However, these figures assume that the Veriol Alliance was able to continue creating such precursors at the same rate or an accelerated rate and that relatively few, if any, precursors have died since the successful first generation and that some have gone on to have children of their own — all assumptions that the Veriol Alliance will not speak on. Most Veriol Alliance-created precursors can be found in or around the Estvoldian nation of Dai Lhan where the laboratories are based.