▶ CULTURE: The inhabitants of Sanctuary would, by most standards, be xenophiles. They are naturally inclined towards trusting other races and see the best in almost everyone. Most members of the species draw no distinction between friendship and romantic love (see log #2 for reasons why). Children are raised by the entire community rather than just their leftparent. Where members of the species have settled on Earth, some consider the "rightparent" to be the leftparent's romantic partner, however, this situation is uncommon and even then the term is infrequently used. Children choose a gender once they reach adulthood, and can change it again as many times as they want throughout their lives. They have no social hierarchy and consider everyone an equal. Simple things such as food, dancing and frienship are enough to sustain them. They do not believe in eating with family, mostly becuase the entire community is family. Instead, most of their food can be eaten while walking. ▶ HISTORY: As Sanctuary is contained within a Psionic Rift, the people who live there were psionically hyper-attuned (this has been partially lost through hybridisation with humans). During this time, the people could open portals at will (although the location was somewhat unpredictable). Many portals opened to various locations on Earth, such as Scandanavia (mostly during the time of the Vikings). The inhabitants of Sanctuary were, at this point, completely mute. They would take dying fighters from the battlefield back to Sanctuary in an attempt to save them. This usually worked, and the planet was mistaken for an afterlife. This gave rise to the star system's name. The silent guardians who would carry mortally wounded warriors out of combat became known to the humans as Valkyries. ▶ FESTIVALS: The only festival native to Sanctuary is Glow, which occurs during an eclipse. During Glow season, all nonessential work stops. People take shifts to ensure everyone can enjoy the season. Dances are often held in a clear space in the Deep Market, and many members of the community choose to use glowing body paint. The pattern and colour do not hold a lot of significance.
