Codex Entry: The Heart of the Republic
There's no race more vital to the Galactic Republic's formation than the grovinians. If they hadn't met the Predecessors, anthrum and klex, the Republic wouldn't exist. Not only that, but the grovinians' mission of achieving galaxy-wide peace serves as the backbone for what's now become a seven-species alliance. With all that in mind, let's take a closer look at the grovinians.
Although they're known as the pacifists of the Republic, it wasn't always this way for the grovinians. Early on in their space age, war was commonplace. Nations against nations, planets against planets, and star systems against star systems. Peace was a distant memory in these times. It wasn't until Heisum Lorrin, a poet-turned-politician, came onto the political scene that a tentative truce was created. Lorrin spent her lifetime turning that truce into a species-wide alliance. Her passing marked the beginning of the Age of Wonders.
After the grovinians formed the Galactic Republic of Spacefaring Races with the Predecessors, more species followed. First the anthrum with their military prowess, then the klex, who brought with them their intellectual might. It wasn't uncommon for egos to flare not just between these two new races, but between those that followed them as well. Throughout it all, the grovinians typically acted as mediators, making sure relations never soured to the point of no return.
Grovinians can live up to 600 years, if they're in the right environment. For this peaceful races, stress and anxiety can actually shorten their life span by about 100 years. While the grovinians aren't very open about the personal politics of their homeworld Gevera III and her colonies, it's been reported by GRSR scientists that the common grovinian only lives up to 300 years now, indicating some serious stress and issues within their people.
One of the biggest mistakes the grovinians made was their decision to force the zauhlons into joining the Republic. Although they were beasts, the grovinian politicians felt great pity for them, and thought that if they had good influences and proper education, the zauhlons could change their ways. After the anthrum informed the Senate of humanity's fight for survival against the Zauhlon Legion, however, they knew action had to be taken.
With the zauhlons' banishment from the Republic as a result of the First Contact War, the Senate agreed to extend an invitation to mankind. Although the grovinians aren't too keen on how humans are seemingly drawn to conflict like moths to a flame, they're quick learners, and if there's one thing the peace-loving race loves to do, it's to teach.
The grovinians, while seen as incompetent on the battlefield, their infantry, the safeguardsmen, are held in high regard among Republic politicians. Corruption is a rarity within their ranks, and they're the most commonly used servicemen for parades on Milara.
Though deemed as a lofty idea by some races, including a few within the Republic, the grovinians' ultimate goal is to create everlasting peace throughout the Milky Way. By accepting more spacefaring species into the GRSR, they hope to demonstrate that such a future is indeed possible. They're the first to admit that there's still a long way to go, but it hasn't deterred them. Quite the opposite, in fact. Whenever news of conflicts arise within the Badlands, Orion's Dove or Trident's Verge, it only strengthens their resolve to build the galaxy Heisum Lorrin envisioned.
