Cicerone (sis-uh-roh-nee)

Nomads, these beings are wanderers that value constant movement and exploration.

They prize scientific learning and exploration, maintaining a tribal database that is presumed to be one of the greatest repositories of knowledge in the universe.

Extremely technologically advanced, they choose to live bounded only by the space that they love.

Worshiping the space between everything, the Cicerone welcome all that the universe brings into their sphere. They will attempt to learn the language of any space faring race they encounter, or will use translator technology. Their facilities contain spaces that can be adapted to meet the needs of many races, wanting their visitors to feel completely at home.

Within their own culture, however, they are very private and expect visitors not to ask prying questions.

Given that they live their entire lives close to the vacuum of space, the foundational garment for the Cicerone is a tight space suit that recycles all bodily waste while obscuring their features. Ornamentation on top of the suit is both practical and prone to dramatic colorization due to their fascination for light and color on all wavelengths. Brightly colored silk scarves, for example, may actually be filtration nets for trapping star dust or solar refractors used to charge their suits.

These suits are self contained with cylinders of compressed gasses that provide them direct access to breathable air. It is believed that their suits are capable of sustaining an adult for up to a month without refilling the canisters.

Their art frequently uses extended wavelengths of light, attempting to capture the beauty of the Space Between.

Architecturally, they build vast self-contained structures throughout the universe that serve as lighthouses and waypoints for travellers who make use of their advanced travel network.

Each Lighthouse facility maintains a Guide Station, a type of chapel, dedicated to both worship of the Space Between and to the sharing of scientific knowledge. These chapels are located on the outer rim of the Lighthouse and feature transparent walls to enhance the sense of being one with the Space Between.

Nothing is known about infant Cicerone.

A young Cicerone is given a ship and directed to explore in any direction they wish, with the goal being to see something that has never been seen and to report it to their tribal database.

Cicerone prefer to be cremated and to have their ashes join the cosmic dust in the Space Between.

While a Cicerone may visit a planet, it is forbidden for them to live on one.

Reproduction is a subject they will not discuss with outsiders.

The Ciceronean Guides are the most visible caste, both a religious and scientific organization given to evangelizing the beings of the universe to the wonders of the Space Between.