Mystic (Classic Journeys Era)

Mystics are on average seven feet tall, with the race ranging from the very short at six feet to the very tall at eight. They not heavy for their height, more bony than slim, and it's a rare Mystic that conforms to the human concept of overweight. They are humanoid, that is to say they are generally built like a human, with two arms, two legs, and a head all in the right places. They have the same gender differentiation as humans. Their skin is best described as mildly dark, similar to those humans of Mediterranean descent on Earth though the occasional one is a trace closer to actual 'green' than a human has ever been; the skin tone is often called 'olive' in shorthand. Their skin always looks more brown than green, however. Their eyes and hair are usually silver, with eyes occasionally demonstrating browns or light purples.

Clothing
Mystics wear simple clothing as a rule, robes or simple pants and a tunic. On Quaquan they tend to more colourful clothing, pastels or occasionally patterned textiles; on Val Shohob long robes are nearly always used against the desert sun, and are usually in earth tones, whites, or greys. Sandals are the stereotypical racial footwear. Mystic women usually wear their hair long, either braided or in a bun or simply flowing. Mystic males also have a tendancy towards long hair, though they tend towards shoulder length as opposed to the females' waist-length locks. Again, ponytails or braids are often employed. Mystics have magenta blood, and their internal organs are different enough from humans' that they would rather confuse any human doctor. They also have nictating membranes in their nose against blown sand, a feature of the race which is little known and more used now that they have returned to Val Shohob's deserts.

History
Another race hunted to near extinction by the Kretonians, these few visionary humanoids are split between Val Shohob and Quaquan. Once gifted with the means to commune with "the Voice" of the universe, Mystics are well-known for their prophetic foretellings and answers in the form of puzzling commentary. Their society was greatly changed by revelations that the "Voice" was actually caused by an alien race which was recently destroyed, ending that source of prophecy. Related to the Timonae, with whom they sundered relations some millennia ago. Lost their homeworld, Val Shohob, in 2651 to a mishap with the Vanguard scout vessel Gettysburg's OtherSpace Drive. They lived for a while aboard the sentient starship Galactix before the Kretonians decimated that great vessel. Many escaped with Sanctuary (Concordance). Those that remained behind were hunted for years by the Kretonians, and survived only by stealth and the generosity of the Qua. Fairly recently the Homeworld, Val Shohob, was been returned and the lie behind the "Voice" revealed, which left the race somewhat scattered both physically and in spiritual direction until the majority left to the Multiverse Nexus on a quest for purpose.

Society
Mystic society is traditionally extremely close-knit. Whether the individual be residing peacefully on Quaquan with those others who fled the Kretonians, rebuilding a new less introverted society on Val Shohob, or stationed out of Val Shohob on a prophetic Call the race is united by a common knowledge, a common purpose, and a common way of seeing the world. Though historically Mystics have always gathered in a single community composed entirely of members of their own race (specifically on Val Shohob and, when that planet was destroyed, Quaquan) they have begun of late to filter into the rest of the known universe. Beginning with the persecution by the Kretonians before Sanctuary (Concordance) left home space and continuing through the reinstatement of Val Shohob and the return of Sanctuary (Concordance), the very foundations of the troubled race's way of life has been overturned. The society is unused to its newly fractured nature. Before, for the most part, the entire race lived together, shared the same experiences, and agreed on the Prophecy and what should be done about it. Now with the revelation that the Voice is in fact not the Universe but only the Kamir, and then the destruction of the Kamir in March 3002 there is a sudden wide difference in individuals' beliefs. Some believed that the Voice was still the Universe simply acting through the Kamir, while others did not believe that the voice was the Kamir at all: it is these that were hardest hit when the Voice went silent, and many of them left when the Mystic Emissaries' Guild disappeared on some internal quest. Those that remained behind are generally without purpose where they were strongly driven before.

On Quaquan there is a great deal of confusion, but hints of a naturalistic religion can be overheard from time to time; the tendancy is towards an altruistic worldview but with more religious overtones and emphasis on intuition, and less on and the logical unravelling of prophecy. The Quaquan enclave remains more reclusive, and with Val Shohob nearly abandoned by the followers of the MEG this race is largely gone from the known universe.

Snapshot
Quaquan Mystics were born on Quaquan, after Sanctuary left. They were born either just before or anytime after the Kretonians were defeated in the 2800s (only the oldest Mystics would remember the Kretonians at all from their childhood). The Kretonians hunted the Mystics mercilessly, bent on genocide, until the Qua agreed to allow the Mystics to build their enclave on Quaquan. Few to no Mystics left the Quaquan enclave after its establishment and before the reinstatement of Val Shohob. Sanctuary (Concordance) Mystics were born in the pre-Kretonian era, and journeyed on that ship into hiverspace, and incidentally forward into the year 3000. They lived on pacifist Val Shohob until it was blown up by a ship's malfunction a few months before Sanctuary left, and are still strongly pacifist. When the ship returned to normalspace, they either joined the enclave at Quaquan or went to live in the newly-returned Val Shohob for the most part. After a few years, most Val Shohobian and some Quaquan Mystics left, seeking a higher purpose. Mystics achieve physical maturity around 30 Terran years of age, and live to be about 225 years. Their lifespans are not directly scaleable to humans: the 'prime' of their life lasts from approximately forty to one hundred and fifty years, after which they begin to feel their age as a human of fifty five might. Most Mystics have a general 'apprenticeship' type education in their chosen trade, plus a formal classroom education taught by the race's scholars and Seers. Mystics do not generally switch careers often through their lifetime, preferring to hone their skills into excellence on one field.