A race of bird-folk full of innovators and scientific leaders. Overall, they're a bit of a galactic powerhouse.
Being the first race the Valen introduced to galactic travel, the Ventara proved to be faithful allies of their teachers. Over time, however, this bond has faded. In the meantime, the Ventara have proven to be an expressive, fun, loud people with plenty to offer the universe in both entertainment, the arts, and advancements in science.
Their home planet is Kiota.
Evolved from a common avian ancestor, the Ventara are a feathery bunch of birds. They're most similar to falcons, hawks, and other birds of prey, albeit with sometimes far more brilliant feather patterns than their predecessors. They're on the smaller side for Magnus, ranging from 5'3 to 5'11.
Ventara are wingless, instead featuring somewhat scaly arms and legs. Their fingers and feet feature (rather blunt and short) dark talons, making them quite good climbers on their home planet. However, they lack much for grip on smooth surfaces. You'll often seeing Ventara wearing gloves and shoes of some kind to compensate for this.
Ventara can get quite strong. Their bodies are overall very light, largely attributable to some of their most avian characteristics drawn from their ancestors. While this makes them quite quick in some scenarios, they can prove fairly prone to injury in others. Best to be gentle.
The Collective is the modern government on Kiota. Following the introduction of the Valen on their planet, the theocratic governing bodies and society as a whole collapsed as the planet's core religious beliefs shattered. After even more direct Valen intervention and peace-keeping, The Collective was formed to keep things held together - mainly so the Valen could leave and continue their expedition across the galaxy. This effort proved far more effective than anticipated for the Ventara, the new societal structure rapidly bringing rise to a new era on the planet.
Those times of struggle are long in the past at this point. The Collective acts as a general governing body over the planet, overseeing development of all types on the planet and supporting terrestrial life on Kiota the best they can. They direct scientific expeditions throughout Magnus as well, having been long-time partners with Blackwood back in the early days. This partnership has faded into a more casual alliance in recent history, but things are still on good terms.
Terrestrial life is quite unrestricted by The Collective. Laws are very lax on anything without long-term consequences or any negative repercussions on another living being on the planet. It's overall quite the "casual" environment as far as life on a planet goes.
Since the formation of The Collective, society on Kiota has gone from a bleak, bland, and colorless experience to one of the most flowery and expressive in the galaxy. Inhibitions, modesty, and just about everything else under the sun was blown away by the loss of their religious structure, leaving behind a rather free-spirited, emotional people.
Recreational drug use, personal expression, and casual sexual expression are commonplace on the planet, making it a bit of an odd and embarrassing place to visit for many other races. The Ventara are well aware other races are far from as open as they are - their government has done their best to make everyone (including travelers) aware of that - so behavior that could be seen as harassing to travelers is quite frowned upon. However, if you "make like the locals do" and fit in, they'll definitely treat you like a local.
For those Ventara who venture into space, this free and open self-expression can often be more muted and subdued out of respect for others, especially by those working for The Collective. However, independent space-faring Ventara have been known to be far more similar to their terrestrial counterparts, especially when around friends.
The Ventara are quire spiritual yet, their religious roots not entirely gone from their society. However, many spiritual Ventara subscribe to beliefs more similar to the Koshyo than those of their ancestors.