Bane'ile (bon-eh-eel-ay)

What was this world? Bane'ile was a place that was larger than life. The colors were bold and bright. The air smelled of infinite possibilities and there was a sense of adventure like something new and wonderful might be just around the corner waiting to be discovered. It was a place where it was always warm and the two suns shone more often than not. In that world Lu was someone special, a great pilot for The Singers of Songs. Yes, Salelu Butwale Ti Orenga (Shining Star Keeper of Singers), just on the brink of realizing her destiny, when it was all snatched away in that awful moment when eternity was torn asunder, exploding into a million pieces, fragments of memories flying everywhere, the past, present and future colliding, disintegrating. But I'm getting ahead of myself now. We're just describing how things were in that world back then. Where was I?.....oh yes.....It was warm and bright and colorful. There was music everywhere and dancing, oh the dancing. It was something to behold. I don't think there was a person in that entire world who couldn't dance and Lu was one of the best, graceful and strong. Back then Bane'ile was an active place, full of things to do and see and be. A world full of wonders and aspirations. Big dreams were encouraged, and very often realized, at least that was how it was for Lu before the Time Out of Time began.

History

The Bane'ile home world was in orbit around a binary star system. During their early history, the people lived in migratory bands moving as seasonal changes made parts of their world uninhabitable. This helped them to develop a preference for a minimalist lifestyle and for oral history rather than written. Then came the Age of Song when all manner of life flourished and the god-like beings known as The Singers of Songs walked among the Bane'ile, helping them to develop their civilization and technology. As they became more technologically advanced, they could have created ways to make their world more habitable, but instead, they chose to reach for the stars. You see, The Singers of Songs foretold of a time when their entire world would be destroyed in a cataclysmic collision of their two stars, so the Bane'ile always knew that their future lay out there somewhere. As they explored neighboring worlds, they "paid it forward," giving aid to the people they encountered along the way just as they were helped by The Singers of Songs.