Subspecies
Edionans currently have two major subspecies, the Ivenians who were a colony on Ediona's moon and adapted both physically and culturally to the cold climate, and the Meidans who are a much more recent subspecies that were created by a different, but related, Tree of Life. Both subspecies have access to the same powers as homeworld Edionans.
Traits & Culture
Ivenians
Ive holds one of the main noble houses that form the Matriarchy of the Edionan society, and have a close relationship with their mother planet. As a result, they have a broad range of technology and use similar architectural styles and methods.
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The people of Ive live in a thriving tundra with a vast selection of mammals and practice a hunter gatherer style of food collection as they do not have immediate access to the Tree of Life's energy supplements on the planet below. They hunt in packs for meat and gather berries for their main forms of sustenance. These Edionans have a more hearty diet, making them more physically healthy and sustainable.
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Bartering is the norm when it comes to the acquisition of goods, and due to the lack of a central government on Ive itself everything goes by on the word of the Head of Ive. The heir to the Noble throne is the senshi that protects Ive at the time, and is passed down by family heritage.
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In Ivenian tradition, women are seen as protectors due to senshi being female, though men are seen as the guardians of the female Ivenian. Every year, Ive hosts a hunting festival wherein families come together in thanks for what they have and bless the moon they reside in for keeping them safe. Men are traditionally hunters or sentinels, while women are gatherers or healers. Archery is a common sport among all Ivenians though.
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Ivenians do not physically differ too much from their homeworld Edionan brethren at a glance, but thanks to their meat eating they have stronger bodies, as well as night vision from their hunting. They also have paler skin, often with a tint of blue, downturned ears, and their hair can be much more wavy and thicker than the fluffy hair of homeworlders or the spikey hair of Meidans.
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Meidans
The colony on Meida is much more recent, somewhat the result of an accident. When Edionans of the past visited and tried to commune with the local Ranhana population they were chased out, a small seed from the Tree of Life that was part of the diplomatic gifts the envoy had brought slipped free in the commotion. The seed took root and after many years grew to the point where it was ready to make its own children, based on the template imprinted from the primary Tree of Life. The Meidan tree added its own touch to its children though and as a result they differ much more than the Ivenians do from homeworld Edionans.
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These physical differences include a darker green skin tone, in part due to the tropical climate of Meida, and ears that point upwards rather than outwards like other Edionans. Their hair meanwhile is spikey, and the highlights come out on the tips of the hair, though still located on the front most strands.
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Meidans also differ culturally, both due to their environment but also their isolation from the homeworld - Homeworld Edionans didn't know about the Meidan colonies existence for quite some time!
Meidan Edionans almost always have undercuts and usually keep their hair short, especially females, while males tend to tie their hair up. They are less likely to wear earrings and are commonly barefoot or in something approximating sandals. Their bodysuits are typically short sleeved or sleeveless, and the pants are usually three-quarters or less in length. For clothing outside of the normal bodysuit they take design inspiration from the flora around them. It is common for them to decorate themselves in henna-style tattoos and often change up the patterns they use each time they apply them.
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Generations
The Meidan colony is quite recent, and at the time of Cataclysm's final invasion, there were only five generations of Meidans.
Meidans are born in batches, the tree generating on average around five pods at a time (wiith one to three children per pod), and about three batches per generation. The newer generations tend to be larger though. Meidans born of the same batch consider each other siblings, and while they are genetically more similar to each other than ones outside of their batch, there is still quite some variation even before the ability to shapeshift kicks in.
Most Meidans cannot reproduce, only members of the Fourth Generation and onwards have that ability, though they don't know it yet as they are much too young. Some members of the Third Generation have discovered they can reproduce with homeworld Edionans, but not with other Meidans. This is very limited however as again the third generation ranges fairly young.
Below are rough equivalent ages for the the generations, batches can spand a few years though, especially in the early days as the Meidan Tree was still learning. Over time she was able to produce more Meidans, more quickly.
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The First Generation averages around the equivalent of 50 years old and are an odd bunch; they are currently off limits for character creation. The Second Generation average from thirty to forty years old and tend to do much of the work raising and teaching the younger generations. The third generation meanwhile average twenty to twenty-five Earth years, and are still figuring themselves out. The Fourth Generation has an average of twelve to fifteen Earth years and keep the Second Generation busy. The Fifth is akin to five years old and likely had more members on the way before the Tree was forced to abandon everything when Cataclysm attacked Meida.
Diet
Their population is small enough that all can live purely off the energy of the Tree, but some of the younger generations enjoy eating plant life for flavour.When they do eat, heir diet primary consists of native vegetation, and they are well adapted to eating most parts of a plant. While fruit is very much a seasonal treat, leaves and flowers are what they consume the most. They have a wide range of edible plant life to the point that many are able to pick and choose their favourites.
A more recent addition to their diet has been fish, introduced by their homeworld Edionan cousins. The younger generations were excited by the prospect and consider fish to be a fancy feast, though the older generations turn up their noses at it.
Society
They follow the Meidan Tree of Life for leadership, and respect their elders. They are not estranged from Ediona, but do not necessarily follow it all the time. The Meidan Edionans are akin to a small tribe (and the Ranhana view them as such), that live a relaxed lifestyle guarding their tree and practicing their botanokinesis. Elders are regarded with respect, and each generation guides the next.
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Similar to the Ranhana, they rely on their inborn abilities rather than technology. They do have some cutting and carving tools though, for dealing with dead plant matter, and some diffing tools used to extract the plant-based "gold" they use for their jewellery, and of course jewellers tools for shaping it.
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Botankinesis is an important part of their culture as they use it create their homes and defend themselves. It usually manifests between the ages of five and thirteen, and when a child starts showing signs of manifesting the power a special ceremony is held and their are presented with their first piece of gold jewellery.
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While their tattoos are often an exercise in creativity, there are certain patterns that everyone knows and that have special meanings, the older generations tend to stick to these more while the younger ones are more explorative.