Mirali

The Mirali (which roughly translates to "children of Mira") are a collective, spiritual, humanoid race that live in the south western quadrant of the Azuria galaxy.

Energy crystals

The home planets of the Mirali are covered in living crystals which act as a source a vast amount of elemental energy. The Mirali evolved alongside these crystals, and have a spiritual connection with them which can be considered a form of primitive telepathy. This telepathy is used by the Mirali to channel the energy of the crystals in a way which is functionally renewable, as well as to grow and spread the crystals further across their worlds. This gives the Mirali a unique advantage over the other main races, who lack any sort of telepathic powers and cannot make use of the crystals in the same way.

The Mirali use the crystals as a construction material to build both land-based structures and spacecraft.

Because of their close connection to the crystals and their reliance on them as a species, the Mirali like to stay close to home. While they have expanded outwards in a colonial manner, their colonization is far more steady and conservative than other races. This is because, when colonizing a new planet, they have to give time for the crystals to grow across the planet, essentially requiring the planet to be partially terraformed before the Mirali can establish a permanent presence.

Mira

The source of the energy within the crystals does not appear to be explainable with conventional science. The Mirali believe the crystals were imbued with their powers by an ancient goddess called Mira, who, according to legends, visited from another dimension many millennia ago.

Culture

Almost every aspect of the Mirali culture revolves around the use, protection, and appreciation of the empowered crystals, along with their connection to Mira. They thrive on being a peaceful, guided, safe culture, crediting Mira with bringing them this good fortune. They exhibit incredible fanaticism and faith, which drives their day-to-day behaviour. Out of all the races, the Mirali tend to be the most humble and submissive, only acting in aggression when their way of life or the natural order is threatened. Most see them as simply being a highly dedicated, religious race - sometimes even cultist.

The Mirali dislike outsiders, as well as those who would trespass on their territory; they prefer to be left alone. Since they prefer to be peaceful, they will normally show only mild loathing towards trespassers, shunning them and asking them to leave. However, despite being pacifistic in most situations, they will fiercely defend their home from a hostile aggressor.

Technology

The Mirali base most of their actual technology on the raw elemental power that the crystals provide. They use the crystals for protection, energy, obstruction, and even weaponry. Their spaceships are also made from the crystals, which are able to slowly regrow in order to repair and regenerate damaged sections of hull.

Aside from the crystals, it's actually quite unclear exactly where the Mirali stand with technology. They don't appear to use any sort of tangible computer or mechanical types of technology, or radio/telecommunications. It's assumed that almost every function that an elevated galactic civilization requires to exist is served simply by utilizing the power of the crystals. This also serves as the Mirali's main weakness, since the crystals can be destroyed and the Mirali struggle to survive without them.

Interstellar threats

The energy crystals used by the Mirali are extremely powerful, and are a valuable, highly sought-after commodity that can fetch a high price on the interstellar market. Since the other races lack the ability to channel the energy from the crystals, they are forced to use destructive methods to extract the power within; as a result, most races consider them to be a non-renewable energy source which must regularly be replenished.

Since the only source of the crystals appears to be on Mirali planets, this often leads to the other races trying to steal the crystals from the Mirali. Because of this, the Mirali often find themselves in small defensive conflicts where they are forced to defend their territory from pirates and thieves.

Background information ​

The Mirali's use of crystals as a power source was initially inspired by the Draenei from World of Warcraft, as well as Ancient technology from Stargate. The race can be seen as effectively mixing elements from both of these.