Left: An adult male Numen in basic public attire. Right: Bust of the same Numen in profile.
Numen (n̪oo-men̪) are not strictly a race. Rather they are a collection of various races who have banded together under a single name due to their common belief in the old religion of the long extinct Mitgart.
A culture of doctors and inventors, the Numen are widely-spread across all of the Future Universe, with many inhabiting hospitals, schools and places of refuge. However many remain where things are familiar, on the station Kursfael orbiting Juisok - the home planet of the Mitgart and the place of their religion's rediscovery.
Article is a work in progress
Language[]
The language of the Numen - Kathon Chi - is taken from what remnants could be found in Iat Feskos Ibisa-se Chi (The Valley of Our Fallen Mothers), the hypothesised central hub of the old Mitgartian civilization. Initially discovered along with the Kathona Gothika (Bonds of Prophets) in colloquial 1933, it took an extra twenty years to recover the language in its entirity.
Top: Kathon Chi written in Traditional Kathon Chi. Bottom: The same, written in Modern Kathon Chi.
Since its discovery in col.1933 and the beginning of its use in col.1955 Kathon Chi has evolved at a fairly fast rate. Initially there was only one written form in Traditional Kathon Chi (Ancient Mitgartian), but due to the vast selection of circular shapes it proved difficult to write casually, causing an unofficial development of the language written horizontally as opposed to an orbit. This became known as Modern Kathon Chi and was acknowledged and formally accepted by Numen linguists in 2003.
Due to the fact that Numen are the product of co-operation between many members of many races, most tend to be bilingual at the very least. Kathon Chi is a mandatory lesson for all Numen to learn despite it being dead in most corners of space outside of Numen territory, simply as a show of respect for the Mitgartians and the Three Prophets. However, the increasingly reclusive nature of Numen culture has caused many children born in Numen colonies to be proficient in Kathon Chi alone.
In contrast to Par-San of the Id-Thum, spoken Kathon Chi is fairly vague. Many prepositions such as 'of' have no spoken counterpart and exist only within a written format. This may be because of the language being initially broken upon its rediscovery, meaning many elements of the language may still lie unknown on the surface of Juisok.
Culture[]
The majority of Numen come from civilizations outside of Numen Space. Missionaries are deployed to many parts of the Future Universe, teaching, assisting and ultimately converting members of other races to Numen belief. Before an initiate can become a fully fledged Numen civ they must undergo various tests, first and foremost being to learn both Modern and Traditional Kathon Chi, second being to complete so many years doing voluntary work in hospitals or places of poverty. Other trials may be assigned, but typically the initiate is given their mask and rights as a Numen civ after completing the first two alone.
Numen society functions through mutual belief in the teachings of Kathona Gothika, though there may be minor discrepancies between individuals (and in some cases, not so minor), which promotes the idea of universal singularity. To the Numen, the universe itself is a call for worship and all that exists within is an extension of it, quite similar to a limb, hence the Numen term 'O fa' (lit. All one) which is used to illustrate the idea that hurting another is to hurt oneself. Of course, this is not to say Numen society is without politics.
There are many Numen politicians, though all specialise in another subject, be it medicine, physics, business or art. They are in ceaseless debate over countless issues regarding the Numen culture, with many public polls being taken and many politicians being under constant watch of the public, with the perpetual threat of replacement and or spontaneous elections. The most iconic member of Numen politics is Fa Ferbas (The Orator) and, ironically, the least powerful.
Fa Ferbas is, in many respects, the unofficial Numen leader. Fa Ferbasa go through rigorous spiritual testing, political examinations and public elections to obtain the position. Though Fa Ferbas holds no official power, as a spiritual icon and ambassador of the people, Fa Ferbas maintain a ridiculous amount of internal influence. The respect demanded by an Orator can essentially give the the ability to pull enough strings to essentially control all of Numen society and by extension influence all political matters the Numen are involved in.