Unathi

Overview
The Unathi are a race of tall humanoid reptiles standing from six to seven feet tall on average, with females slightly smaller in stature. They possess a mixture of snake-like and crocodile-like features, resulting in hard and plate-like scales, excluding the ones on the belly, armpits and groin. Unathi live in their home system of Uueoa-Esa. The planet's history can be summarized as being divided up between various hegemonies; names they give the most powerful Clans on Moghes throughout time. The Clan system is deeply entrenched in Unathi society, with everything else revolving around it. It forms a major part of their code of honour, which stresses the importance of martial abilities and loyalty to the Clan.

The Unathi code of honour also has them frown on ranged weapons, with many Unathi preferring melee combat.

After the Contact War, many Unathi which fled the planet through Nanotrasen-built shuttle ports slipped through the cracks and became slavers and raiders, gaining fearsome reputations.

Many Unathi in Nanotrasen find themselves working in security and engineering roles, but recently many have been proving themselves as competent surgeons and brilliant scientists, earning opportunities unheard of on Moghes.

Biology
Their average life expectancy is around seventy years, with those with access to more advanced medical care living for much longer. As a cold-blooded species, they suffer fatigue and even short comas when exposed to extremely low temperatures.

Since they are carnivorous species, their diet mostly consists of meat, though they do have a tolerance to plants and fruits. However, they do not get any nutrition from plants, so they are mostly used as garnish or decoration.

The reproductive system of a Unathi is very similar to that of Earth reptiles. Females lay eggs, with the average clutch being somewhere between one and three. They have a six month gestation period, after which they are laid in a humid, warm area. After two to three weeks, the fetus is fully developed and hatches from the egg.

Biologically the Unathi of Moghes and Ouere are identical.

Physical Appearance
The Unathi as a species are born into one of four major scale color categories Red, Black, Orange-brown ("sand colored") and Green.

The females differ from the males in that they generally have a shorter and more rounded snout. Both sexes stand on plantigrade legs, jointed backwards, and have clawed feet and hands. They also have very long tongues, which may stretch up to a foot and a half long, forked just like a serpent's. In much the same manner as snakes, the Unathi can sample the air around them using their tongue. This tongue is usually black or an extremely dark red, and usually a foot in length.

Moghean
Moghean Unathi are traditional Unathi, with the planet being their homewold. Historically culture varies across Clans which exist on the planet, but some customs and norms arch over nearly all Unathi universally.

It is a social faux-pas to use a Unathi's first name if not family or extremely close to the Unathi in question. Generally a Unathi will tell someone when they feel comfortable with the person using their first name. It is also distressing to Unathi to touch their tail, or to touch them at all before introductions are undertaken.



Social Mannerisms
When speaking to superiors, it is considered formal and respectful to refer to them by the extended name of their command. A clan leader would be referred to by the name of their clan, a squad leader by the name of their squad. Intimate gestures between Unathi include twining necks, twining tails, and touching foreheads/muzzles. Hugging is usually considered something done by children, avoided by adults.

Baring the throat is the single most meaningful expression of trust in a lover or superior, often used as shows of extreme trust, compassion or admittance of shame, and within honourable contexts, clawing or biting the exposed throat is perfectly allowed.

Relationships for Unathi are, suffice to say, not one of equality, but responsibility. Males who request and admit attraction to a female will go to the male who is responsible for their well-being and tell them this, usually boasting or offering tributes to the female's caretaker as well. Trying to ignore the ritual of arranged marriage is a great insult to the female's clan, and at worst could lead to a blood feud and war.

Emotional Displays
Unathi feel emotions just like humans feel, but with different cues. Irritation or heightened emotion is expressed by thumping the tail against the ground. Verbal exclamations are also common, as are short barks, rattling of the throat, or 'chuffing' (forceful exhalations of air from low in the throat). Anxious or worried Unathi might sway (similar to snakes), rattle the heavy scaling on their neck, hiss, or sample air more often than necessary. When cold, Unathi will usually bristle their scales in a manner analogous to human goosebumps. When overly warm, Unathi usually become sluggish and drowsy.

Ouerean
While the Unathi of Ouere follow most of the same social beliefs as their Moghean counterparts, they tend to be less volatile towards outsiders who are ignorant of their customs, especially since their world is ruled by the Skrell and Humanity. The culture of humanity and Skrells have managed to influence Ouerean Unathi, embedding different cultural norms. There is a focus on an Unathi’s ability to benefit the group, with most Unathi being given the same chance as anyone else. There is still a struggle with a highly stratified society, but things are much more liberal than on Moghes.

Religion
There are two major religions of the Unathi.

Th'akh
The most pervasive and common religion amongst Unathi. It dates back even before the First Hegemony, and as a byproduct of Unathi stubbornness has remained central to Unathi spiritualism. The basic concept of Th'akh is that all the spirits of past Unathi now reside in the spirit world that exists in tandem with the material world. These spirits exist in objects and nature - bringing either good luck, or sorrow. Particularly nasty natural disasters were often attributed to particularly strong groups of spiteful spirits influencing events in the material world. They tend to paint their bodies in paint blended of berries, some shamans even going so far as to mark themselves with the name of villagers who died in his village, making him or her a walking library to add onto the strong oral traditions of Tha'kh. This practice, for obvious reasons, tends to be more common in smaller villages.

Many tribes had their village shamans, who were elderly males - or rarely, women - seen as having a special connection to the spirit world. They consumed mind-altering herbs to enter and interact with the world of spirits, and to channel their energies into the spiritual world. Tribes would hold elaborate rituals where the village shaman would call upon the ancestors of the hunters or warriors to enter their weapons or fill the warriors with great courage and ability in battle. In modern times, this ritual is still practiced, but most unathi now call their ancestors to fill their weapon and grant it extraordinary abilities before they enter battle.

Shamans tended to live simple lives, and dedicate their efforts to improve the community. They were spiritual leaders, and it was very rare that any got involved in politics. This lead to them being exploited by the Izweski nation, who drafted many into the army to make them perform rituals for the soldiers, often under duress. After the war ended with the nuclear devastation, the shamans began to be discriminated against by the government, and many are leaving the Izweski nation as travelling shamans or even leaving Moghes entirely. Very rarely do shamans enter Guwandi, but it is not unheard of.

Sk'akh
The second most common religion, which is followed more by Unathi from the Izweski nation. It still follows the ancestor worship of Th'akh, but with a major notable difference. The spirits of all unathi who die become part of Sk'akh, the Great Spirit. Sk'akh is a gender neutral God, being called 'he' or 'she' interchangeably to represent that Ska'kh is a collection of all unathi. She is often called Three of One, because the spirits combine into three minor Gods that are all part of Ska'kh: the Warrior, the Healer, the Farmer. These three spirits are personifications of the most important aspects of Unathi society. It is said that all three are equally important, and that disasters are caused by an imbalance in the Great Three.

Sk'akh priests tend to try to embody one of the Great Three. They become warrior priests, doctors or surgeons, or farmers. Warrior Priests of Sk'akh are near universally highly respected, and form a small, elite fighting force that is on par with the War Riders. They go into battle with intricate runes drawn across their armoured plates, chanting to Sk'akh for her blessing in the battle. Regular worship is communal, with Unathi clans or villages coming together to give thanks to their ancestors and Sk'akh for good tidings, or to ask for favours or assistance in life, with a priest to guide the service or provide interpretation of Sk'akhs intentions or assistance in contacting ancestors.

Politics
Moghes is divided between the Izweski Nation, which exists in the Untouched Lands, and the hundreds of other Clans who claim their own land across the planet's surface. The only real difference in their political systems is the scale.

Izweski Nation
Izweski is lead by Clan Leader S’kresti Izweski, a 56 year old Unathi who ruled the country since he was 38. He lives in the Izweski Castle in Skalamar, and under him are the Lords who rule their own subjugated clans. They live in a feudal system, with the Lords usually being clan leaders or important clan members themselves who pledge themselves to Izweski in exchange for land and protection. Under the Lords are Alpha males, who watch over specific members of a clan's family, and then broodmothers, elderly female Unathi who look after the young and other females of the family

There are two different kind of major lifestyles In Izweski. There is the city, which is ran by a Lord and a small council of lesser clans. City life is less harsh than life in the country, especially with Nanotrasen offices in them leading to career opportunities.

Life in the country is harsher, with cities being rare and life mostly determined by the size of a Clan's village and how well they can hunt, and raid their neighbors. It's the traditional Unathi life, made harsher by the growing Wasteland encroaching on once fertile lands.

Ouerean
The Ouerean Government is made up of a Colonial Government with a human Governor and Skrellian advisors and mayors.

The Ouerean law system is a hybrid of the Ancient Honor Code and the traditional legal system found throughout the civilized galaxy.

Pre-Hegemony
While most records were tragically lost in the later years of the Contact War, Unathi and human scholars theorize that Unathi lifestyles were predominantly nomadic in their early history. Up until 100 CE Unathi clans consisted of small villages usually numbering no more than 500 following the large herd of Threshbeasts across the savannahs that dominated the planet’s surface. Clans at the time weren’t accostomed to using weapons, as their natural talons served well enough to kill enemies in battle, leaving most early unathi warfare being brutal hand-to-hand affairs.

Around 300 CE, many clans had settled down after discovering the benefits of agriculture. The population swelled, and the first true cities had established themselves.

The planet was still divided amongst several hundred different clans, all of which were nearly unanimously hostile towards one another. Trade between clans was limited, leaving the balance of wealth and technological advancement severely stratified.

The First Hegemony
What few surviving records remain show that by 1000 CE, most of the planet’s surface was dominated between a dozen clans, each holding vast swaths of land. The Kres'ha'nor Clan is shown to have been the most powerful, controlling a population base of twelve million and a professional army, including the first recorded use of War Riders. They ruled over numerous Lords, all of whom lived in a system of feudalism, owing the Kres’ha’nor clan their loyalty and armies in exchange for protection and land.

The Kres’ha’nor Hegemony lasted from roughly 920 CE - 1500 CE, benefiting from the brutal War Rider shock troops wielding steel glaives and heavy maces. It was the unquestioned power of the world, owning land and wealth which allowed it the industries necessary to forge steel, levy taxes, and even build walls around their cities to protect from raiders. This lasted until Clan Leader Kresshi Kres’ha’nor had died, his many sons fighting over who would rule the Clan in his place. The Hegemony fractured and collapsed into a dozen smaller, feuding clans with the Kres’ha’nor dynasty itself disappearing completely after the war ended.

The Kres’ha’nor Hegemony had subjugated its neighbors for many years, and with it collapse the rest of Moghes began to gravitate away from one another and back to their isolated way of living.

The Second Hegemony
In 1823 CE, records show the first use of a steam engine by the Ras’iks Clan in S’th. The technological breakthrough sparked industrialization amongst the urbanized clans, but the developments weren’t felt beyond the new industrialized nations. It was even rejected with outright hostility in many areas outside the city, with many unathi resenting the upsets to traditional ways of life. Surviving records have numerous accounts of uprisings and attempts revolutions in industrialized nations, while the more primitive neighbors continued to aggressively raid their more advanced, and thus wealthy neighbors. It’s unclear if these events were random violence, or the first global war amongst the Unathi clans.

It’s estimated from limited records that by 1922, the Sarakus Clan rose to power following a war amongst the industrialized nations and created a Hegemony. They ruled most of the land around the Moghresian Sea and southwestern Moghes. Their clan ruled harshly, and forced technological advances into the cities and towns in order to increase the wealth of their clan and loyal Lords. The rest of Moghes was divided as it always had been, between more primitive unathi tribes. Technology slowly trickled into their Clans, but life existed much as it had for a thousand years. Most Clans still fought with steel weapons and armour, while the lower classes acted as manual labour in fields or mines.

The Third Hegemony
We do know without a doubt that in 1994, the Sarakus Clan ceased to exist after a sudden coup by a group known as the Traitor Lords. They stormed the Sarakus castle in Ma’ha’rem and slew the entire family and contingent of Clan Guard, establishing Lord Neeziah Izweski as the new ruling Clan Leader. The sudden, brutal coup sent shock-waves through the nation. It was almost unthinkable that Lords would turn on their Clan Leader in such a way.

Immediately most Lords rebelled, forming the Honored Alliance. The civil war lasted for decades, spreading to include most of the planet and Clans. It was a new type of war, with ballistic weapons first used by Izweski infantry. The bullets are most similar to 21st century Earth anti-tank rifles, but due to Unathi armored plates became a standard infantry weapon. Heavy, unwieldy, and expensive to make with the limited industry, no more than a few thousand were ever fielded. But when they were used, it’s recorded that they were devastating. Wielding melee weapons and charging into battle as they always had, War Riders and infantry would be whittled down from unheard of distances.

The war lasted until 2079 CE, when the Honored Alliance signed a cease-fire with the Izweski Nation. The war had seen many cities razed and looted, and deaths in the millions. The entire planet of Moghes was wounded, and would not recover for decades. Until First Contact, the surviving Clans and Izweski Nation rebuilt and consolidated their power.

First Contact
In 2433, a human exploration team discovered Moghes. Shortly after, first contact was made. Humanity established contact with Clan Izweski, which proved to be controversial amongst the Sol Alliance. Many people questioned the morals of interacting with a pre-warp race that had only reached the technological level of Earth in the 1970’s. But unheeding the warnings, Sol Alliance merchants and scholars flocked to Moghes, living under very careful observation and guard in Izweski cities. Skalamar, the second largest city in Izweski, became the first Unathi city to have a shuttleport constructed. Owned by Nanotrasen, it served to transport people to and from the planet’s surface.

The Contact War
In 2437, the Izweski Nation had established the Izweski Space Program, and with bootlegged Sol Alliance technology constructed a rocket intended to carry 300 unathi colonists to their system’s second habitable planet, Ouerea. The launch was a disaster, with a yet-unidentified failure causing the rocket to explode after reaching 2,000 feet and the death of all hands. The failure sends shockwaves through all of Moghes, with the Izweski Nation suddenly besieged by scattered, angry neighboring Clans outraged by the unnatural use of technology leading to the loss of so many lives.

The Sol Alliance partnered with the Skrellian Confederation to help Izweski construct a second rocket, with Nanotrasen engineers and scientists helping construct it. Its launch was successful, and Ouerea was colonized by 350 Unathi under the guidance of the Sol and Skrellian Alliances on 2438.

The other Clans of Moghes were horrified on this turn of events, seeing the entire Unathi way of life being turned upside down so quickly. They blamed the Izweski Nation of coddling “alien invaders”, and formed the Traditionalist Coalition, which invaded the Izweski Nation. Izweski itself began to see civil unrest from angry commoners and Lords.

It sparked a war which is now known as the Contact War.



Humans and Skrell evacuated the planet as the fighting got underway. The Coalition fought as its clans always had, with steel weapons and hand-to-hand combat. The biggest concession was the use of ballistic weapons, and propeller aircraft which they used to bomb Izweski targets.

The Izweski used Skrellian and Human energy weapons like energy glaives, swords, and laser carbines, as well as fielding several hundred Mk I “Breacher Suits”, which the Izweski nation invented and utilized to frightening efficiency. They proved effective, but with the lack of Izweski air power both sides could do little more than gain temporary victories.

The Skrellian Confederation found itself shocked by the violence unfolding on Moghes. They dispatched a cruiser to orbit over the planet, and transported down a peace delegation to the Coalition capital city. The shuttle was shot down by Coalition anti-air weapons, killing everyone on board. Offended, the Skrellian Alliance moved its cruiser in orbit around the Ouerean planet, pledging to never again provide assistance to Moghes, while Nanotrasen continued to do just that.

On 2439, the Traditionalist Coalition suddenly dropped an atomic bomb on the Izweski city of Da’ha’den. It’s unknown how they gained access to atomic weapons, but the consequences were catastrophic: both sides began a continued exchange of atomic weapons. Hundreds were detonated across Moghes, with orbiting, observing Alliance stations and vessels having their shutters lowered to prevent eye damage to people observing during the time of the exchange.

Unathi Today
By 2457, most of the interior of Moghes is uninhabitable. While the yields were lower than thermonuclear weapons, the fallout is still posing massive problems for Moghes. Most of the planet is now engulfed by a single desert, which is aptly named “The Wasteland”. The sole remaining cities still functioning exist in the Untouched Lands; shielded by the massive mountain ranges from the fallout and encroaching desert sands.

The Izweski Nation exists as a shell of its former self. Its influence extends around Skalamar and Ma’ha’rem in the Untouched Lands, with Clan Leader S’kresti ruling it unquestioned, but the rest of the planet has devolved into the feudal system of Clanship, with ideologies, technology, and economies varying wildly. Moghean Unathi find themselves faced with the choice of continuing to do little more than etch out an existence on the home planet, or take lucrative offers from Nanotrasen and other megacorp to join their workforces.

The Ouerean Unathi are faring far better; while numbered only in the high thousands, the planet is administered jointly by the Skrellian and Sol Alliance, and enjoys moderate growth.

‘Guwandi’
In the event that a Unathi becomes mortally ill, or finds themselves lacking the pride or honor to continue to live, or simply become tired of their existence undergo a ritualistic suicide and take the title of 'Guwandi' (which is translated to Gladiator/Galdium). They will give up their possessions to their alpha and make their journey into the Moghes desert. The only things they keep are their weapons which they use to fight animals or other Unathi so that they may die in honorable combat. In the event that two of these Guwandi meet, they will first draw their weapons and adopt a passive stance, which is followed by them telling each other their stories in turn, as well as the reasons behind their choice of adopting the mantle of 'Guwandi' and how they wish their remains to be dealt with. When both sides understand the other, combat will begin with a mutual wish of luck that the more worthy of death lose with pride. The winner of the battle is responsible for taking care of the corpse in the way they were instructed to. Renouncing the deathseeking life of Guwandi isn't easy. Some may wish to return after having been granted a second outlook, or hope, after they had spent time wandering and risking their life. Their clan may see their decision as cowardly and refuse to accept them, or be overjoyed they had learned a lesson in their time.

Military and Battle Honour
Most battles are fought by simple infantry, as mounted units are something uncommon in modern times. When mounted units, called War Riders, do show up, they are usually feared by their enemies. They function like typical human cavalry, using their mount to run into the enemy formation and swipe at heads or necks. They fight with war glaives, riding their massive, armoured Warmount beasts. Threshbeasts are smaller, 'salamander' like creatures also ridden into battle, which are lighter and thinner but are much faster than the cumbersome Warmounts.

While modern ranged weapons has been becoming more standard in the Izweski Nation, the vast majority of Unathi shun them and consider them dishonourable. Melee weapons and claws are the most important tools of battle to the vast majority of Unathi. They take extreme pride in their weapons, and there is honour of killing someone in hand to hand combat that many Unathi consider completely absent in human warfare. As a result they tend to shun human ranged weapons.

Diet and Cuisine
Unathi dishes are mostly, or all made up of meat, eggs, and fish, as they are a carnivorous species. It may be cooked, or even still raw and bleeding. Vegetables in meals are often just for decoration or flavor, but by no means ever make up the majority of the dish. Unathi do not take any nutritional value from plant matter, only from meat. Desert flowers may also be placed on the plate to make it seem well presented, and are also edible. The tools Unathi use to eat are very unorthodox to humans.

Important meals like dinner and breakfast are meant to be consumed while surrounded by family, and as such there are no designated utensils. Food will be cut and picked up in strips or portions with their claws. Females are expected to do the cooking.