This is a page for extra details about the world of the comic. Nothing here is outright required for understanding the comic, I intend to bring up anything relevant in the text itself. But seeing as I really enjoy reading people's lore and the extra pages in people's comics, I figured I might as well share some notes of my own. Please keep in mind that this information is shared rather informally, being only slightly edited notes I made for myself.
If you notice a contradiction between what is stated on this page and what's in the comic itself, chances are the comic is more up-to-date. That, or a character might be misinformed or lying. So who knows what's real?
Throughout the galaxy, there are collections of space dust commonly referred to as Highways. Within these Highways, time flows differently, allowing for travel between planets. While the Highways create their own atmosphere and a strange sense of gravity that allows for almost any ship to sail through space, prolonged exposure to the dust that provides can cause damage to one's health.
The Highways are generally believed to be born from the corpse of a powerful serpent that existed before most planets were born, known as the Wyrm. The flesh of this creature is long gone, but the bones remain, often visited by dragons and zmei pilgrims.
Elae, Saorae and Arai (Elves)
Minotaur
Kalfalter
Zmei
Mi-Go
A group of closely related species that hail from Eobayn. As a collective, they're often called elves due to linguistic shenanigans. Across the universe this is often considered an inoffensive word, but on Eobayn the term is effectively a slur. It's an umbrella term, and the people of Eobayn would rather not be grouped together despite being closely related and technically sharing an empire.
Outside of Eobayn itself, most people are only familiar with the elae. With blue-toned skin and ridiculously-long ears, they control a large portion of the universe through military might. Elae strongly prioritise combat prowess, magical talent and one's own beauty and elegance, and tend to expect that other societies act in the same way. Failure to do so is their own failing.
It could be easy to assume that saorae are a more peaceful species, and perhaps that was once the case. Around 1000 years ago, they were victims of genocide at the hands of armies led by an elae warlord. A saorae warrior made a bargain with their pantheon's rarely-worshipped god of misfortune, killed the warlord, and terraformed Eobayn's moon for saorae habitation. Since then, the surviving saorae society have adopted a far less peaceful way of life, enough that their skills are now highly regarded by their former enemy.
The golden-skinned arai rarely associate with outsiders, especially those from other planets. They specialise in magic that warps flesh and bone; a technique considered to be too disgusting for any self-respecting elae to bother learning. Not that an arai would ever teach them.
The four-legged cowfolk hailing from Tarou. Minotaurs are one of the few species that achieved space travel without the use of the Highways. They were also the creators of what is now considered the written language shared by much of the known universe. This was created for economic reasons. It's much easier to trade with people you can understand, after all.
Long ago, the minotaurs decimated their planet due to their own pollution and greed. The planet was saved thanks to the intervention of the mi-go, who had an interest in seeing whether their terraforming techniques would work. It did, and while the minotaurs have continued their capitalist pursuits, they now do so while considering ecological impact for their planet and the others that they have colonised.
The term "taur" originally refers to sentient creatures on a whole, also being used by the extinct centaurs that were in conflict with the minotaurs, but the term itself has fallen in disuse, alongside the original minotaur language.
Kalfalter are ocean-dwelling amphibians with traits similar to seahorses. Their body shape varies widely depending on racial background. For example, the Stonefolk resemble coral, and the Foresters sport a an appearance similar to seaweed. Alongside this wide variation between the same species, Kalfalter also vary greatly between sexes, though they also sport the ability to shift their sex perfectly.
Despite their small size, they're known for their significant strength and are often hired as mercenaries.
The zmei are humanoids covered with scales and adorned with feathered ears and tails. Most zmei worship the Wyrm or one of the many dragons that wander the void, but in the past ancestor worship was more common. Today, most zmei honour their ancestors by creating rituals in their name without truly worshipping them.
Despite their strength and intellect, zmei don't have an interest in creating vast planet-spanning empires. They're more interested in affairs in their own planet or in exploration. As such, they are widely known as explorers and pirates, with some of the most religious taking pilgrimage to the site of the Wyrm's corpse.
A collective of various different species, all led by barely-seen fungal overlords. The most commonly seen agents of the mi-go are large wasps with strangely humanoid mouths, who are used to communicate with other species, the silent, four-armed insectoids that serve as soldiers, and the many giant creatures that are hollowed out for usage as their spacecrafts. But the mi-go will adopt any useful creature into their hive, whether they consent to it or not.
While the mi-go believe themselves to be far above the other lesser creatures, they will readily conduct diplomacy or even aid other species when it suits them. They are also happy to destroy whatever stands in the way of their pursuit of knowledge.
One of their most well known experiments was taking the body of a dragon and using it for travel within the void itself. This feat has only been achieved once.