This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
the_world_of_the_sesheyan [2013/08/29 01:00] storyteller [The Sesheyan Homeworld] |
the_world_of_the_sesheyan [2021/12/04 00:39] |
||
---|---|---|---|
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
- | ====== The World of the Sesheyan ====== | ||
- | |||
- | From the stone age to the space age, they | ||
- | are savage hunters from a night-bound world, enslaved by a powerful stellar nation and thrust into the | ||
- | light of the 26th century. Fighting to sustain an ancient culture amid the scientific wonders of galactic | ||
- | civilization, the sesheyans are held by many as an | ||
- | example of humans’ unfair treatment of alien species. | ||
- | Primitive aboriginals | ||
- | living on the largest moon of | ||
- | Gamma Leonis III, sesheyans | ||
- | were discovered by VoidCorp | ||
- | explorers. The corporation | ||
- | took advantage of the seshey- | ||
- | ans’ primitive nature and ar- | ||
- | ranged a contract placing | ||
- | them in service of VoidCorp in | ||
- | perpetuity. In effect, a stellar | ||
- | nation turned an entire alien | ||
- | race into its slaves. The | ||
- | sesheyans have learned a | ||
- | great deal about the galaxy | ||
- | since signing that fateful com- | ||
- | pact more than two hundred | ||
- | years ago, and many have be- | ||
- | gun to work in secret to free | ||
- | their people. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== Physiology ===== | ||
- | Sesheyans are perhaps the most “alien” | ||
- | species encountered thus far by humans. They aver- | ||
- | age 1.7 meters tall with sleek, whipcord muscles. | ||
- | The sesheyan skeleton is composed of light, strong | ||
- | cartilage, so sesheyans weight only an average of 40 | ||
- | kilograms and have extraordinarily flexible joints and | ||
- | posture, allowing them to crouch and bend for ex- | ||
- | tended periods of time without discomfort. | ||
- | Sesheyans are hexipedal, having six limbs. | ||
- | The upper arms end in four fingers (including an op- | ||
- | posable thumb), and the lower legs end in three | ||
- | splayed toes. Both of these sets of limbs have short | ||
- | claws, allowing sesheyans to climb trees and perch | ||
- | on branches in their native jungle. The two middle | ||
- | limbs are slim and end in six long slender “fingers” | ||
- | with flaps of leather skin stretched between them, | ||
- | forming a pair of wings with a span of six meters. | ||
- | The wings allow sesheyans to fly on their homeworld | ||
- | and other worlds with Earth-normal or lighter gravity | ||
- | and sufficient atmospheric pressure. | ||
- | The sesheyan head is wide and round, with | ||
- | four small eyes on each side and topped with a pair | ||
- | of elongated ears. Their eyes are highly sensitive to | ||
- | light, having adapted to the twilight environment of | ||
- | the jungles of Sheya. The blunt snout covers a wide | ||
- | mouth filled with sharp, bony | ||
- | ridges rather than teeth. | ||
- | Sesheyans have a voice box | ||
- | capable of producing a wide | ||
- | range of sounds, and they | ||
- | have no trouble learning and | ||
- | speaking human or other | ||
- | alien languages. | ||
- | Sesheyans have long, finned | ||
- | tails used for balance and | ||
- | flight control. The tail ends in | ||
- | a series of spines connected | ||
- | by leathery skin. The spines | ||
- | can flex to widen or narrow | ||
- | the “fan” at the end of the tail, | ||
- | providing steering while in | ||
- | flight. Sesheyans also open | ||
- | or close their tail fans to dis- | ||
- | play emotions: those in an | ||
- | excited mood open their tail | ||
- | fans, while those in a quiet, | ||
- | contemplative mood close their tail fans. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== From the Stone Age to the Gravity Age ===== | ||
- | According to sesheyan fable, their race origi- | ||
- | nated in what is known as enoshai, or the “Twilight | ||
- | Dream,” a timeless state of being connected with the | ||
- | vastness of space and the night sky. The first seshey- | ||
- | ans were created by Vec’t’lir, the Brood Mother, | ||
- | whom the sesheyans associate with the second- | ||
- | largest moon of Gamma Leonis III. Her twin sons are | ||
- | Tal, the Hunter, and Neshii’en, the Trickster, associ- | ||
- | ated with the gas giant’s two smaller moons, which | ||
- | chase each other endlessly across the sky. | ||
- | Sesheyans were created to be the greates15 | ||
- | 15 | ||
- | 15 | ||
- | 15 | ||
- | SESHEYANS | ||
- | hunters of Sheya, “the hunting land.” (The name | ||
- | sesheyan means “hunters of the land.”) In the days | ||
- | of the Twilight Dream, great heroes like Tal and Ne- | ||
- | shii’en lived among the sesheyans, teaching them. | ||
- | Over time, they became a part of the history and cul- | ||
- | ture of the sesheyans, their names invoked by hunt- | ||
- | ers and shamans. | ||
- | For millennia, life on Sheya was largely the | ||
- | same. The tribes hunted (and warred occasionally), | ||
- | shamans kept the wisdom of the past, families mated | ||
- | and grew, and the cycle of life went on. The seshey- | ||
- | ans existed in the timeless realm of the Twilight | ||
- | Dream – until the arrival of VoidCorp. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== Aikeita: The Day of Ghosts ===== | ||
- | On July 13, 2274, a VoidCorp exploratory ves- | ||
- | sel landed on the largest moon of Gamma Leonis III. | ||
- | There, project leader JT795 42IWQ (Erim Ollander) | ||
- | made contact with the sesheyans. To the primitive | ||
- | sesheyans, the arrival of the explorer ship was noth- | ||
- | ing less than the appearance of ghosts from the | ||
- | night sky, as in their ancient fables. The visitors dis- | ||
- | played magical powers: Their weapons spat fire, | ||
- | blinding light spilled from their instruments, and their | ||
- | bodies were tall and strange. Sesheyan shamans | ||
- | called the arrival of these strangers aikeita, “the Day | ||
- | of Ghosts.” | ||
- | The VoidCorp crew had little difficulty mak- | ||
- | ing peaceful contact with the sesheyans, who consid- | ||
- | ered them visitors from the Twilight Realm. Under- | ||
- | standing the value of their discovery, JT795 42IWQ | ||
- | decided to remain on Sheya and conceal her discov- | ||
- | ery, even to the point of not sending transmissions to | ||
- | VoidCorp management, lest they be overheard by | ||
- | agents of another stellar nation. | ||
- | Immediately after translating their language | ||
- | enough to converse with the sesheyans, JT795 42IWQ | ||
- | negotiated the Sesheyan Compact with the leaders | ||
- | of the most powerful tribes. The Compact granted | ||
- | the sesheyans right of passage off their homeworld | ||
- | and access to advanced technology. In exchange, | ||
- | the sesheyans agreed to serve VoidCorp in perpetu- | ||
- | ity. In essence, every sesheyan became a VoidCorp | ||
- | employee, subject to VoidCorp rules and authority. VoidCorp now owned the sesheyan race. | ||
- | |||
- | At first, the sesheyans were delighted by the | ||
- | Compact, since it seemed to them a religious experi- | ||
- | ence of unprecedented proportions – a chance to | ||
- | share in the power and wisdom of the ghosts and to | ||
- | serve them faithfully. As time passed, the sesheyans | ||
- | began to discover that their visitors were not all they | ||
- | appeared to be. | ||
- | |||
- | When news of the Sesheyan Compact ar- | ||
- | rived, VoidCorp management was supremely | ||
- | pleased. They immediately ordered the exploitation | ||
- | of this valuable new resource. VoidCorp ships ar- | ||
- | rived on Sheya and established bases to handle ad- | ||
- | ministration of the population for the maximum utility | ||
- | of the company. Sesheyans were displaced from | ||
- | their long-held territories without consideration. | ||
- | They company assumed supreme authority on | ||
- | Sheya, and any disagreements on the part of the | ||
- | sesheyans were handled swiftly and forcefully. | ||
- | Thousands of stone-age sesheyans were thrust into training programs designed to test their | ||
- | capabilities and make them useful employees. Void- | ||
- | Corp discovered that the sesheyans were remarka- | ||
- | bly intelligent and adaptable. They were able, even | ||
- | eager, to learn new languages and technologies, | ||
- | which the sesheyans considered magical. VoidCorp | ||
- | decided that the sesheyans would serve the com- | ||
- | pany in several ways, especially in handling menial | ||
- | or difficult tasks. In a matter of years, sesheyans | ||
- | were being shipped off their homeworld by the thou- | ||
- | sands to serve their new employer. | ||
- | To those who remained on Sheya, the | ||
- | sesheyans taken by VoidCorp became aikaya, | ||
- | “Ghost Walkers.” From their point of view, Ghost | ||
- | Walkers had left the living world behind and entered | ||
- | the Twilight Realm. For all intents and purposes, | ||
- | they had died and moved on to a new life elsewhere. | ||
- | Sesheyans held funeral rites for family-members | ||
- | chosen to leave Sheya and travel with the ghosts; | ||
- | their lives as hunters of the land were over. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== The Twilight Realm ===== | ||
- | When the other Stellar Nations discovered | ||
- | the Sesheyan Compact, there was an outcry against | ||
- | VoidCorp. Many denounced VoidCorp’s exploitation | ||
- | of the species. For their part, VoidCorp officials | ||
- | pointed at the primitive conditions on Sheya and all | ||
- | the humanitarian aid, education, and technology that | ||
- | VoidCorp had devoted to assisting the sesheyans in | ||
- | becoming galactic citizens. They also pointed out | ||
- | that the sesheyans were considered full VoidCorp | ||
- | employees, with the same rights and responsibilities | ||
- | as employees of any species. VoidCorp defended | ||
- | their actions and ignored protests from other Stellar | ||
- | Nations who called for them to renegotiate or sus- | ||
- | pend the Compact. | ||
- | As the years passed, sesheyans in the em- | ||
- | ploy of VoidCorp learned to function in a technologi- | ||
- | cal society. Their children were born as employees | ||
- | of VoidCorp, often away from Sheya itself. Sesheyan | ||
- | breeding was originally limited by the delicate bal- | ||
- | ance of their ecosystem and the relatively harsh liv- | ||
- | ing conditions on Sheya. Now, the sesheyans were | ||
- | limited only by the requirements of VoidCorp corpo- | ||
- | rate breeding programs, which encouraged employ- | ||
- | ees to produce even more employees. The sesheyan | ||
- | population exploded across numerous VoidCorp | ||
- | worlds as the sesheyan lifespan was greatly ex- | ||
- | tended through modern medical technology. | ||
- | Billions of sesheyans have grown up never | ||
- | having touched the soil of their homeworld, hearing | ||
- | only legends of the hunting land where their people | ||
- | originated. Some of the new generations of seshey- | ||
- | ans threw themselves into the corporate culture, | ||
- | serving to the best of their ability and seeking ad- | ||
- | vancement where they could find it. Others, edu- | ||
- | cated and raised by VoidCorp, began to see flaws in | ||
- | the Sesheyan Compact. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== The Galactic Concord ===== | ||
- | |||
- | In the more than two hundred years | ||
- | since the signing of the Sesheyan Compact, some | ||
- | sesheyans have turned against VoidCorp. The | ||
- | chaos of the first and second Galactic Wars allowed | ||
- | a few million sesheyans to escape from VoidCorp | ||
- | space to other stellar nations or unknown frontiers | ||
- | like the Verge. VoidCorp maintains that all seshey- | ||
- | ans remain their employees, and it works to hunt | ||
- | down any “absentees” (as they are known). The dis- | ||
- | covery of the sesheyan colony on Grith in the Corri- | ||
- | vale system of the Verge has led VoidCorp to lay a | ||
- | claim on the colonists before the Galactic Concord. | ||
- | The Grith colonists maintain they have been on Grith | ||
- | since long before the Sesheyan Compact, trans- | ||
- | ported there by a precursor race that once inhabited | ||
- | the planet. Thus far, the Concord has upheld the | ||
- | sesheyan claim. | ||
- | There have been occasional upris- | ||
- | ings and rebellions of sesheyan employees on Void- | ||
- | Corp worlds. Rogue sesheyans who attempt to re- | ||
- | turn to their homeworld are detained by the Void- | ||
- | Corp authorities. Even if they manage to slip unno- | ||
- | ticed into the sesheyan population, their former | ||
- | friends and families consider them dead or – if born | ||
- | off-world – complete non-entities. The majority of na- | ||
- | tive sesheyans refuse to have any dealings with these | ||
- | Ghost Walkers and do not listen to what they have to | ||
- | say. Still, there is some discontent on Sheya about | ||
- | the Compact, and some native sesheyans have real- | ||
- | ized that VoidCorp does not have their best interests | ||
- | at heart. | ||
- | Perhaps the greatest opportunity for | ||
- | the sesheyans since the Day of Ghosts came when | ||
- | VoidCorp agreed to recruit half a billion sesheyan | ||
- | employees to join the Galactic Concord. Although | ||
- | they remain employees, these sesheyans have | ||
- | greater opportunities for interaction with people from | ||
- | other Stellar Nations and societies. Many sesheyans | ||
- | hope to plead their case to the Concord and gain as- | ||
- | sistance in overturning the Compact, but the Con- | ||
- | cord is far too new and still testing its authority in civi- | ||
- | lized space. It will be some time before the Concord | ||
- | can challenge VoidCorp’s claim. | ||
- | |||
- | |||
- | ===== Culture & Society ===== | ||
- | |||
- | Before VoidCorp’s arrival, sesheyans main- | ||
- | tained a simple, tribal culture based around the ex- | ||
- | tended family unit. Even two hundred years after the | ||
- | Sesheyan Compact and their introduction into galac- | ||
- | tic civilization, some sesheyans maintain their old | ||
- | customs. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Families & Tribes ==== | ||
- | |||
- | Sesheyan families tend to be quite | ||
- | large, mainly due to the sesheyan definition of | ||
- | “family.” They do not limit family ties to biological | ||
- | connections; sesheyan families include extended | ||
- | clans with many relationships. Sesheyans do not | ||
- | mate for life but instead have many mates and many | ||
- | children over a lifetime. A group of sesheyans involved in mating – along with their children, close | ||
- | friends, and other relations – make up the whole of a | ||
- | family. The sesheyan language includes many terms | ||
- | for relations that do not translate into human lan- | ||
- | guages. | ||
- | A tribe is composed of a group of | ||
- | families. The structure of the sesheyan tribe is fluid, | ||
- | shifting according to the needs of its members. | ||
- | Tribes split when they’ve grown large enough, break- | ||
- | ing into two or more tribes that go their separate | ||
- | ways. Likewise, sesheyan tribes encountering each | ||
- | other might exchange families as a sign of friend- | ||
- | ship, strengthening the ties between them before | ||
- | moving on. In this way, stories and history are | ||
- | spread among widely dispersed tribes. This practice | ||
- | also serves to maintain a healthy gene pool. | ||
- | Tribal and family loyalties are sup- | ||
- | pressed by VoidCorp, which emphasizes loyalty to | ||
- | the company above all else. Some tribes on Sheya | ||
- | are allowed to maintain their traditional structure, but | ||
- | they can be broken up by VoidCorp officials at any | ||
- | time to serve the company’s needs. Ghost Walker | ||
- | sesheyans do not maintain tribal ties. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Aikei ==== | ||
- | |||
- | Sesheyans have as broad a range of | ||
- | emotions and expression as humans, if not more, but | ||
- | they do not change moods as quickly or as arbitrarily | ||
- | as humans do. | ||
- | To the sesheyans, every state of be- | ||
- | ing is embodied in a mythic archetype from their fa- | ||
- | bles, known as an | ||
- | aikai | ||
- | , meaning ghost or spirit. | ||
- | When a sesheyan needs or wants to experience a | ||
- | particular state of being, he or she calls up the ap- | ||
- | propriate aikai. A sesheyan on the hunt calls upon | ||
- | the ghost of the Hunter and, for him, nothing other | ||
- | than the pursuit and capture of the prey is important. | ||
- | On other occasions, a sesheyan might call upon the | ||
- | ghost of the Dreamer, the Dancer, the Traveler, or | ||
- | the Maker. Each basic archetype also has dozens, if | ||
- | not hundreds of variations associated with particular | ||
- | situations. So there is a Patient Hunter, a Feral | ||
- | Hunter, a Hunter Who Speak With Spirits, and so | ||
- | forth. | ||
- | Each of the hundreds of aikei is | ||
- | strongly rooted in sesheyan myth. Some are spirits | ||
- | or animal totems, while others are based on great | ||
- | heroes from legend. Instead of saying, “I am sad,” a | ||
- | sesheyan says, “the ghost of sadness is upon me” to | ||
- | express sorrow. The elaborate rituals and myths as- | ||
- | sociated with various aikei makes it seem – from the | ||
- | human point of view – as if a sesheyan has many dif- | ||
- | ferent personalities. A sesheyan embodying the | ||
- | Brood Mother can be tender and nurturing. The | ||
- | same sesheyan can call up the Feral Hunter and kill | ||
- | prey with savage abandon. | ||
- | VoidCorp officially bans the practice | ||
- | of aikei, but it is so strongly rooted in the sesheyan | ||
- | psyche that it is nearly impossible to eradicate. Mod- | ||
- | ern sesheyans continue to use aikei to express them- | ||
- | selves, but the mythic elements have faded almost | ||
- | completely. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Clothing and Decoration ==== | ||
- | |||
- | Sheya is a temperate world with little | ||
- | climatic variation. Sesheyans have little use for | ||
- | clothing, often wearing only simple loincloths. Belts | ||
- | and harnesses allow them to carry things. Even in | ||
- | galactic society, Sesheyans wear little, unless envi- | ||
- | ronmental conditions dictate otherwise. | ||
- | Sesheyans like to decorate them- | ||
- | selves and often wear different kinds of jewelry. Na- | ||
- | tive sesheyans tend to wear jewelry made from natu- | ||
- | ral materials, particularly carved animal bones and | ||
- | teeth, as well as carved and stained wood. Since the | ||
- | arrival of VoidCorp, sesheyans also wear metallic | ||
- | jewelry, including rings in their ears and pierced | ||
- | through the skin of their wings or tails. | ||
- | Sesheyans also use paints to deco- | ||
- | rate their bodies. Particular patterns of decoration | ||
- | are often associated with particular aikei, so seshey- | ||
- | ans wanting to invoke the ghost of the Hunter paint | ||
- | their bodies accordingly. Sesheyans use tattooing to | ||
- | decorate themselves in a more permanent fashion, | ||
- | usually something related to a great accomplishment or a patron spirit. Sesheyan shamans are often tat- | ||
- | tooed in this manner. Patterns tattooed on the skin of | ||
- | their wings are the most common. | ||
- | Sesheyans living in galactic society | ||
- | tend to eschew many of the personal decorations | ||
- | worn on Sheya. This is mostly out of deference to | ||
- | VoidCorp policy, which prefers employees maintain | ||
- | an appropriately “businesslike” appearance. | ||
- | Sesheyans employed by VoidCorp as scouts and | ||
- | spies are given greater leeway and often wear more | ||
- | decorations. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Outside Influences ==== | ||
- | |||
- | Sesheyan culture has been irrevoca- | ||
- | bly changed by contact with galactic civilization. Al- | ||
- | though the old ways are still practiced by tribes on | ||
- | Sheya, sesheyans living away from their homeworld | ||
- | must adopt human mannerisms and abandon or | ||
- | hide their traditional customs and rituals to fit in. | ||
- | Many sesheyans fear that continual suppression of | ||
- | their culture by VoidCorp will cause them to lose their | ||
- | unique cultural identity entirely. | ||
- | Since the Compact, sesheyan soci- | ||
- | ety has split into three fairly distinct segments: the | ||
- | esosha | ||
- | (Free Hearts), the | ||
- | aikaya | ||
- | (Ghost Walkers), | ||
- | and the | ||
- | huraikai | ||
- | (Wind Spirits). Free Hearts are | ||
- | those sesheyans still living on Sheya. The Ghost | ||
- | Walkers are sesheyans in the employ of VoidCorp. | ||
- | Sesheyans who escape from VoidCorp become | ||
- | Wind Spirits. Wind Spirits are considered outlaws | ||
- | throughout the galactic arm, and even other stellar | ||
- | nations cannot always shelter a Wind Spirit from the | ||
- | vengeance of VoidCorp. | ||
- | The split between these three fac- | ||
- | tions of sesheyan culture is even deeper than most | ||
- | people realize. After two hundred years as galactic | ||
- | citizens, the sesheyans cannot return home. The dif- | ||
- | ferences between the Free Hearts and the other of | ||
- | their race are substantial. Free Hearts cling to the | ||
- | ancient culture and traditions of Sheya, permitted to | ||
- | do so by VoidCorp. They have little comprehension | ||
- | of the vastness of galactic space or the true nature of | ||
- | VoidCorp. Many Free Hearts remain as primitive as | ||
- | their pre-compact ancestors. To sesheyans born | ||
- | away from their home world, Free Heart life seems | ||
- | either idyllic or hopelessly primitive. Having learned | ||
- | so much, the galactic sesheyans cannot return to a | ||
- | blissful state of ignorance. | ||
- | Despite the claims of the Wind Spir- | ||
- | its, many Ghost Walkers are content with their lot as | ||
- | employees of VoidCorp. Raised since birth to honor | ||
- | and appreciate the company, these sesheyans are | ||
- | completely loyal to VoidCorp. They look with pity on | ||
- | the primitive Free Hearts, who are unaware of the | ||
- | wonders of life among the stars, and with disgust on | ||
- | the Wind Spirits, who betrayed their benefactors. A | ||
- | few Ghost Walkers harbor misgivings about Void- | ||
- | Corp and the Compact, but most are as loyal as | ||
- | VoidCorp’s human employees. | ||
- | The Wind Spirits have benefited from | ||
- | modern education and technology. They claim to | ||
- | understand the nature of interstellar politics in a way | ||
- | |||
- | their ancestors could not have imagined when they | ||
- | agreed to the Sesheyan Compact. Wind Spirits | ||
- | range from pirates and renegades to political activ- | ||
- | ists who claim VoidCorp illegally and immorally en- | ||
- | slaved their race. Either way, VoidCorp considers | ||
- | them criminals to be hunted down. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Government ==== | ||
- | |||
- | Before the arrival of VoidCorp, sesheyan | ||
- | tribes were governed by a council of the eldest mem- | ||
- | bers, usually including their greatest hunters and the | ||
- | tribe’s shaman. Matters were decided by simple | ||
- | vote, usually involving various rituals to call upon | ||
- | helpful ghosts and a divination by the shaman to | ||
- | read any omens. | ||
- | The Sesheyan Compact officially dissolved | ||
- | all political and social organizations on Sheya and | ||
- | replaced them with VoidCorp institutions. Teaching | ||
- | and practicing sesheyan traditions is banned by | ||
- | VoidCorp, except in certain areas of Sheya where | ||
- | company scientists study the sesheyans’ native cul- | ||
- | ture. | ||
- | Since the Compact, all sesheyans are con- | ||
- | sidered citizens (employees) of VoidCorp from the | ||
- | moment of birth, just like all other sentients in Void- | ||
- | Corp space. The sesheyans are governed by the | ||
- | same set of rules and regulations as any other Void- | ||
- | Corp employee. They are assigned Employee Identi- | ||
- | fication Numbers at birth and may apply for positions | ||
- | with VoidCorp. VoidCorp holds the dozen or so | ||
- | sesheyan Vice Presidents in the company as exam- | ||
- | ples of what the sesheyans can achieve, as well as | ||
- | showing their equal treatment. | ||
- | In practice, it is often difficult for sesheyans | ||
- | to advance within VoidCorp. Some sesheyans man- | ||
- | age to overcome the limitations of their culture and | ||
- | background to rise in the ranks, but they do so at the | ||
- | cost of their cultural heritage and traditions. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Religion ==== | ||
- | |||
- | Religion and ritual have been central to | ||
- | sesheyan life throughout their history, but they are | ||
- | vanishing due to the influence of VoidCorp. The | ||
- | tribes on Sheya still follow the old ways and keep | ||
- | their traditions alive, mostly as a “living laboratory” | ||
- | for VoidCorp scientists to study. Elsewhere in Void- | ||
- | Corp space, however, the practice of any religion is | ||
- | banned. Possession of religious icons or artifacts is | ||
- | subject to heavy fines and other penalties. Still, the | ||
- | practice of sesheyan religion continues in secret | ||
- | among some, particularly the Wind Spirits. | ||
- | Sesheyan religion is based around stories | ||
- | told by their shamans. The fables revolve around im- | ||
- | portant figures from myth and history, and they pro- | ||
- | vide the framework for the many different ghosts the | ||
- | sesheyans believe in. The practice of fable animism | ||
- | involves telling the various stories at the correct | ||
- | times, often in conjunction with certain rituals to | ||
- | honor the ghosts of the tale, particularly reenact- | ||
- | ments of legendary events and rituals intended to | ||
- | maintain things like the movement of the celestial | ||
- | bodies and the continued prosperity of the hunt. | ||
- | “And so Neshii’en found himself trapped in | ||
- | the heart of the Ska Mother’s lair when she returned. | ||
- | Thinking quickly, Neshii’en covered himself with the | ||
- | scent of the cubs, knowing the Ska Mother’s sight | ||
- | was weak. He rolled on the ground and imitated the | ||
- | mewling noises of the other cubs as the great Ska | ||
- | Mother came closer. She nuzzled the cubs with her | ||
- | head, and Neshii’en lay still, calling on the ghost of | ||
- | the Great Ska to be with him, making him like a ska | ||
- | cub. The Ska Mother did not notice him among her | ||
- | children and so dropped the prey she captured for | ||
- | them and lay down to sleep. While the Ska Mother | ||
- | slept, Neshii’en spirited away one of the cubs to be- | ||
- | come his friend and companion. He named the cub | ||
- | Nura the Brave, and she became Neshii’en’s good | ||
- | friend.” | ||
- | |||
- | – from “The Tale of Neshii’en the Trickster | ||
- | |||
- | and the Great Ska Mother,” a traditional sesheyan fable | ||
- | |||
- | “Neshii’en found himself in great trouble | ||
- | when the Manager returned to her office unexpect- | ||
- | edly. Thinking quickly, Neshii’en wrapped a cord | ||
- | from his pouch around his neck, folded his wings, | ||
- | and bowed his head, his eyes cast down as the Man- | ||
- | ager entered. Neshii’en called for the ghost of the | ||
- | Humble Servant to be upon him as the Manager | ||
- | asked him what he was doing in her office. | ||
- | “’A thousand pardons, SZ472 556XX,’ he said, | ||
- | ‘I come on an errand for Vice-President KG228 | ||
- | 712ZA. He requests an immediate update on the | ||
- | status of...your project.’ The Manager regarded Ne- | ||
- | shii’en for a long moment, but she saw nothing but | ||
- | the Humble Servant, eager to do his employer’s bid- | ||
- | ding. She told Neshii’en to return to Vice-President | ||
- | KG228 712ZA and tell him an update would be im- | ||
- | mediately forthcoming. Dipping his head in obedi- | ||
- | ence, Neshii’en backed out of the room, his folded | ||
- | wings concealing the information chips taken from | ||
- | the Manager’s safe. The manager’s anger was great | ||
- | when she discovered what Neshii’en had done, but | ||
- | the Trickster had already vanished like a shadow | ||
- | among the trees.” | ||
- | |||
- | – from “The Tale of Neshii’en and the Foolish | ||
- | Manager,” a modern sesheyan fable | ||
- | Shamanism | ||
- | The central figure in sesheyan religion is the | ||
- | shaman, known as the | ||
- | losaika | ||
- | , or “keeper of ghosts.” | ||
- | VoidCorp xenologists have noted remarkable simi- | ||
- | larities between sesheyan shamanism and that prac- | ||
- | ticed by primitive human cultures. In essence, a sha- | ||
- | man is “called” to the profession by a sign from the | ||
- | spirits, often an omen or an illness in which the sha- | ||
- | man has visions. Many neophyte shamans spend | ||
- | lengthy periods alone in the jungle seeking such vi- | ||
- | sions. | ||
- | The student is apprenticed to an experi- | ||
- | enced shaman, who teaches the various stories, leg- | ||
- | ends, and rituals the new shaman needs to know. | ||
- | The process takes several standard years, at which | ||
- | time the new shaman is presented to the tribe in a | ||
- | special ritual. | ||
- | Sesheyan shamans have considerable au- | ||
- | thority in their tribes, since they are believed to be in | ||
- | closest contact with the ghosts and their wisdom. | ||
- | Scientists have discovered that some sesheyan sha- | ||
- | mans possess psionic abilities, which they often use | ||
- | to aid their rituals and perform their duties. They | ||
- | speculate that the emergence of psionic abilities, es- | ||
- | pecially telepathy and clairsentience, may induce the | ||
- | “visions” required to become a shaman. These abili- | ||
- | ties most likely account for sesheyan tales of the fan- | ||
- | tastic powers of their shamans. Psionically-gifted | ||
- | sesheyans are high on VoidCorp’s recruitment list. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Weapons & Technology ==== | ||
- | |||
- | Before the arrival of VoidCorp, sesheyan | ||
- | technology was limited to bone knives and simple | ||
- | snares woven from jungle vines. The sesheyans had | ||
- | not even discovered the use of fire, due to damp con- | ||
- | ditions in the jungles and their efficient night-vision | ||
- | which precluded the need for artificial lighting. All | ||
- | advanced technology on Sheya is imported by Void- | ||
- | Corp to supply their own operations and is kept | ||
- | strictly under control, out of the hands of any possible | ||
- | sesheyan rebels. Sesheyan employees of VoidCorp | ||
- | have access to all of the company’s advanced tech- | ||
- | nology, the same as any other employee. | ||
- | The pre-existing sesheyan technology is still | ||
- | effective. Many people who have scoffed at the im- | ||
- | age of sesheyans wielding bone knives and simple | ||
- | spears have discovered just how effective, to their | ||
- | own regret. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== Weapons ==== | ||
- | |||
- | The standard sesheyan tool and weapon is | ||
- | the | ||
- | jaeja | ||
- | (dagger). Sesheyan daggers are typically | ||
- | carved out of bone and curved, with a point and a | ||
- | single cutting edge, about 20-30 cm in length. Some | ||
- | sesheyans also make use of straight, double-edged | ||
- | daggers chipped out of stone. Since the arrival of | ||
- | VoidCorp, nearly every sesheyan hunter carries a | ||
- | metal dagger on a leather belt around the waist. | ||
- | The short spear is another common | ||
- | sesheyan weapon. Originally tipped with bone or | ||
- | stone, modern spearheads are made of metal. | ||
- | Sesheyan hunters can hurl spears with deadly accu- | ||
- | racy from the air, and spears are a preferred | ||
- | weapon for occasions when tribes go to war with | ||
- | each other. While hunting, sesheyans also use vari- | ||
- | ous types of darts, made of wood or bone. Small | ||
- | darts are fired from a blowgun made of hollowed out | ||
- | wood, while heavier darts are thrown. | ||
- | A native sesheyan weapon is the | ||
- | hureja | ||
- | , or | ||
- | wind claw, a melee/throwing weapon that consists of | ||
- | a short wooden shaft ending in two blades of bone | ||
- | (metal for modern versions) that curve in opposite | ||
- | directions. The wind claw is grasped and wielded | ||
- | from the middle of the shaft. It can be thrown a con-siderable distance by a skilled hunter. | ||
- | Sesheyan hunters also use a weapon similar | ||
- | to an Earth bola: three or four round stones tied to- | ||
- | gether by tough cords. The bola can be thrown a | ||
- | considerable distance by a capable hunter and can | ||
- | entangle the limbs or wings of small prey animals. | ||
- | In addition to their various native weapons, | ||
- | sesheyans have proven adept with modern 26 | ||
- | th | ||
- | - | ||
- | century weapons. Their sharp eyesight makes them | ||
- | capable marksmen, once they become accustomed | ||
- | to the feel of a modern gun. An airborne sesheyan | ||
- | with a laser pistol is a formidable opponent. | ||
- | Sesheyans normally wear little or no armor, | ||
- | since it tends to interfere with their wings and weighs | ||
- | them down. They can wear light, modern body ar- | ||
- | mor specially tailored to accommodate their body | ||
- | structure and wings, however. This armor is gener- | ||
- | ally limited to softsuits and similar light, flexible mate- | ||
- | rials. Cerametal armor and bodytanks modified to fit | ||
- | sesheyans are extremely rare, and sesheyans don’t | ||
- | generally like wearing them. A deflection harness is | ||
- | perhaps the ultimate armor for a sesheyan: light, un- | ||
- | encumbering, and capable of being built into a pair | ||
- | of bracelets, a belt, or an amulet. | ||
- | |||
- | ==== The Sesheyan Homeworld ==== | ||
- | Sheya is the fourth and largest moon of the | ||
- | gas giant Gamma Leonis III. Although it orbits more | ||
- | than ten times the distance from its star than Earth | ||
- | orbits its sun, GLIII puts out considerable heat, | ||
- | warming the surface of Sheya and making it quite | ||
- | habitable. | ||
- | The moon is cut with a network of deep val- | ||
- | leys. While the higher altitudes are cold and arid, the | ||
- | valleys are warm and lush. Native plant-life grows | ||
- | riotously throughout the lowlands, forming a heavy | ||
- | jungle canopy that soaks up the heat and limited | ||
- | light that falls on the surface of Sheya, cloaking the | ||
- | ground below in perpetual twilight. Sheya’s ecosys- | ||
- | tem is filled with various lifeforms, of which the | ||
- | sesheyans are the top of the food chain. Sesheyan | ||
- | hunters stalk wild game in the jungles, from snake- | ||
- | like reptiles to large, sleek jungle predators and | ||
- | game animals. | ||
- | |||
- | Sheya | ||
- | Primary Gamma Leonis III | ||
- | Planetary Class Class 1 | ||
- | Gravity G1 (0.84g) | ||
- | Radiation R1 (9 rem/yr) | ||
- | Atmosphere A2 (N, O, CO2) | ||
- | Pressure P3 (1.12) | ||
- | Heat H2 (22° C) | ||
- | Orbital Distance 10.2 AU | ||
- | Diameter 5,840 km | ||
- | Year (Earth days) 6,716 days | ||
- | Day (standard hours) 22.4 hours | ||
- | Axial Tilt 8° | ||
- | Density 1.07 | ||
- | # Satellites: None | ||
- | |||
- | |||
- | ==== Sesheyan Weapons ==== | ||
- | |||
- | |||
- | |||
- | Weapon | ||
- | Skill | ||
- | Acc | ||
- | Md | ||
- | Range | ||
- | Type | ||
- | Damage (O/G/A) | ||
- | Actions | ||
- | Hide | ||
- | Cost | ||
- | Bone Dagger Melee- | ||
- | blade | ||
- | 0 - Personal LI/O d4s/d4w/d4+1w 4 +3 10 | ||
- | Metal Dagger Melee- | ||
- | blade | ||
- | 0 - Personal LI/O d4w/d4+1w/d4+2w 4 +3 20 | ||
- | Spear Melee- | ||
- | blade | ||
- | 0 - Personal LI/O d4w/d4+2w/d4m 3 - 15 | ||
- | Blowgun Ranged- | ||
- | blowgun | ||
- | 0 F per STR | ||
- | LI/O 1s/d4s/d4w, plus poison 1 +1 10 | ||
- | Dart Athletics- | ||
- | throw | ||
- | 0 F per STR | ||
- | LI/O d4s/d4w/d4+1w, plus poison 2 +4 5 | ||
- | Wind Claw Athletics- | ||
- | throw | ||
- | 0 F per STR | ||
- | LI/O d4w/d4+2w/d4m 4 +2 15 | ||
- | Bola Athletics- | ||
- | throw | ||
- | 0 F per STR | ||
- | LI/O 1s/d4s/d4+1s, plus entangle* 1 +3 20 | ||
- | Special Effect – Entangle: The weapon entraps the target, restricting movement. Each level of success applies a +1 | ||
- | modifier to the target’s actions, so an Amazing success imposes a +3 penalty. Bolas affect only actions involving | ||
- | use of the entangled limb(s). Getting out of the entanglement requires a Strength or Dexterity feat (including the en- | ||
- | tanglement penalty). |