Iconian Refuge

The Iconian Refuge is a major race in Galactic Civilizations III.

Description
Servants of the Precursors and one of the first races to reach the stars, the Iconians are now locked in a bitter struggle with their own creations; the Yor.

The Iconians are the oldest of the young races, once servants to the Precursors. Creators of the Yor, they were almost wiped out when their creations were given sentience by the Dread Lords. Only a few Iconians survived, hiding in a distant colony. Exceedingly cautious, and not without cause, Iconians have a strong sense of fatalism. That said, they have never given up reclaiming their ancestral home, though their cautious nature has prevented them from ever pursuing this dream. Until perhaps now.

Traits
Iconians are overcautious and even paranoid as a result of living in hiding for generations. That said, living with limited resources has made them excellent farmers and repairers, and surprisingly accurate shots, their entire culture built around minimizing waste. And the harsh population controls they live under have only enhanced their understanding of fertility.

Backstory
The Iconians were the first naturally evolved species to gain sentience. It is believed that the Precursors elevated the Iconians to sentience and may have modified their biology to do so. For thousands of years, the Iconians aided the Precursors in their efforts across the galaxy.

The Iconians began to develop machines to aid them in their own endeavors as their technology grew, which resulted in the creation of the Yor. When the Precursor civil war began, the Iconians sided with the Arnor. Their enemies – branded by the Iconians as “Dread Lords,” a moniker that has stuck ever since – enhanced the Yor into full sentience as retaliation, and encouraged the synthetic beings an uprising against the Iconians. The Yor took advantage of their newfound power to begin a war to exterminate all Iconians.

The genocide of the Iconians on their home world meant that only those housed on Precursor outposts survived. They eventually founded a new home world on which to live a quiet, peaceful existence.

In the early 23rd century, a Terran exploration ship from the Odyssey Task Force made contact with the Iconians. Upon learning that their old enemy, the Yor, now possessed the capability of reaching them with the proliferation of hyperdrive propulsion, the Iconians gratefully accepted the knowledge of hyperdrive technology and began to re-arm.

The Iconians, more so than any other race, have a fascination with technology. Some speculate that the only reason they are not the leading race in the galaxy is that their adopted home world is so poor in resources. Equipped with hyperdrive and with the ability to inhabit many different types of planets, the Iconians have rapidly expanded into the sectors near their second home.

Current Status
The Iconians were an associate member of the Coalition during the Dread Lord wars. They were still relatively weak at the outbreak of the conflict and have successfully kept the location of their home world a secret from all except the Terran Alliance.