Noc'tisoli

Description
The Noc'tisoli are a mammalian bipedal species who resemble Earth felines with tigers being the closest in terms of comparison. They have grey fur with black stripes, yellow eyes, hooded brow, and white, fanged teeth. The average height of a Noc'tisol is seven feet with the highest recorded height being 9' 7".

Pre-Voxog
Before the Voxog, before Za'ul, the vast valleys of the Noktisol continent of Roekhem were inhabited by a race of hunter-gatherers who were shifting into a life of agriculture. They had evolved from the tiger-like species they called the Makoxern who lived in the great basins before them. For a hundred thousand years these Noc'tisoli were undisturbed as the apex predators in the Roekhem ecosystem.

But 6,000 terran years ago, their way of life changed forever. From under the mountains of the west horizon the being awoke and walked among the emerging tribes. He taught them how to farm, sail and master the world around them. They would name him Za’ulgathox, the Keeper of the Sacred Call. Only a generation had past before Za'ul had gathered a group of faithful Noc'tisoli to take to Darr'kunolga, the forbidden caverns from which no one returned. In the deepest pits, Za'ul brought them to the Chamber of the Source where a strange substance pooled within. This was the Azoc, the unrefined Cure. Za'ul showed them how to refine it into the Panacea, the All-Cure, which destroyed all disease within the body and kept it alive for centuries. When this came to pass, Za'ul was more than a guide, he was now revered as a god.

The Thousand Year Silence
But as quickly as he had arrived, Za'ul left the tribes to fend for themselves. For a thousand years he slept once more under the mountains. In his absence, the Noc'tisoli reformed into a theocracy led by a guild of priest kings that preserved the secrets Za'ul gave to his followers. Noktisol technology and knowledge advanced as their culture became focused on worship and unity. But as tensions between the priest-kings grew higher, brother would turn against brother, tribe turned against tribe, all for the secrets of the Azoc which would be the key for everlasting control of the Noc'tisoli. Over these thousand years, the Noc'tisoli became more divided than they had ever been in their entire history. Some even began to migrate to the far corners of Roekhem to avoid the conflict, others even went east far over the ocean in search of a whispered continent, leaving behind their ancestral home.

In these days there were the Zo'kruem in the center lands who ruled as tyrant-priests, the Xern in the cold rocky north, the Gan'izu in the marshy east, the Serdu in the arid south, the Von in the wooded West, and the Khowa who wandered the land. Finally there was the the Azum who settled within the eastern archipelago they named the Azumite Islands and the Orem who went further and settled the continent they named Orekhem.

Treaty of Zo'koros
With the return of Za'ul the tyrant-priests of Zo'koros quickly yielded their power. The Eight Keeps were established to preserve the ways of the great tribes. The city of Zo'koros was renamed to Voxologos as it would belong to all Noc'tisol. In penance, the Zo'kruem tribe renamed themselves the Irunhemu. Though it is always acknowledged that it was the high-ranking priest and warrior casts who commited the many atrocities of the era.

Za'ul did not return to the Tomb, but rather he stayed and began to guide the Notisiloi into improving their civilization. He had a fortress built to protect Darr’Kuno and Voxologos, the new capital. Noktisol was renamed to Zothoria, or in the new language, Land of the Holy People. The Noc’tisoli were more unified than ever under Za’ul, and their society and technology progressed beyond what they believed to be possible.

Millennium of Acceleration
With Noc'tisoli civilization stabilized, advancements became grander and arrived faster than ever before. With the guidance of Za'ul, the Noc'tisol focused on advancing their architecture, medicine, agriculture, armaments, sanitation, civil rights, and technology. As nearly every possible facit of their society exponentially improved for a thousand years, the Noc'tisol prepared for their greatest trial yet, entering the vast void of space.

Foundation Era
In the 21st century of the Voxog, a spacefaring fleet was ordained by Za’ul to establish contact with other planets. Using his psionic senses, he was able to sense which world had sentient life and worlds that did not. The first fleet, named the Fleet of Holy Witness, found the planet of E’navanata, the home of the Morthox. The Notisoli apostles arrived to a world ruled by the many tribes of the ape-lion people. They were farmers, hunters, and fishers who mastered the land they settled. The Morthox loved the wide plains and valleys they dwelled in and hated mountains and grey skies, for it was the domain of their only predator, the massive aquilian beast they called Yajdok.

The Noc'tisoli envoys lived with the tribes, but the Morthox grew suspicious of them and feared them, believing that they would destroy their way of life. The most powerful of the Morthox formed a council to ensure their authority would not be questioned. Then, Za'ul himself came down from his personal vessel to meet the new leaders. He promised that all the blessings that the Noc'tisoli received would be granted to the Morthox if they followed the same path Za'ul had lead them. Za'ul promised that his way was meant for all, and it was meant to be walked side by side by all who followed it. He promised that he only wanted loyalty and did not desire to erase their culture. So ended his Third Revelation. Amassing followers across the stars, Za’ul’s power began to grow.

Age of Brotherhood
In the 2100s of the Voxog, the Age of Brotherhood began between the Noc'tisoli and the Morthox who left their homeworld of E'navanta for Zothoria. The Noc'tisol would teach the Morthox everything they had discovered in the centuries prior while the Morthox challenged their culture of ambition and edification. Much of this criticism emerged when Noc'tisol scholars and warriors began to view the Morthox as being indebted to them. As they saw it, they were elevating the Morthox to their level. This attitude created a deep conflict in Zothoria, regardless of species. There were multiple Noc'tisol groups and countless Noc'tisol individuals who despised this way of thinking, yet it still permeated their society. Culture clash, primarily, was the main source of this tension.

The countless arbidation, reconciliation, and reform movements had payed off. By the 2300s, half of the Morthox had joined the Voxog, and the Noc'tisoli saw little difference between them once they were under the same banner and followed the same laws. By the 2400s, the Morthox became fully sanctified. Together, the two species began inhabiting world after world and created wonder after wonder. With their unity, the Empire doubled in size seemingly overnight. By the 25th century, the Voxog held a hundred fully habitable planets within its borders. So vast was this groth that a new capital was made to govern it: Neo Noksitelo, the city-planet, was appointed by Za'ul to become the Capital of Secular Law. Thusly, as the year 2,500 dawned, the Sacred Creed of Voxog was finalized for the new planets the fleets of Zothoria had found. After the Creed came the Codes, which were written to expand and provide the backbone for a unified interstellar society.