Unathi Honor

Overview

Traditional Unathi take honor extremely seriously, and following a strict code of honor is required by every individual as well as every clan and every nation. Most Unathi clans have different metrics for honor, but there are near-universal themes that have remained consistent throughout history.

Honor can also be considered to be a clan's face. To lose honor is to lose face, and it can lower a clan's standing with its peers. A Unathi behaving dishonorable can also lose face, lowering his status. This makes honor as much of a political asset and liability as a personal code of conduct.

Honor for the Common Unathi

Common, urban Unathi without feudal obligations aren't necessarily required to follow the warrior code, but are still expected to obey their elders, conform to their clan's wishes, and respect the ancestors.

Typically Unathi are expected to be honest with their business dealings, which makes Unathi Guilds struggle when competing with more pragmatic human corporations.

Honor For The Warrior

The romanticized Unathi warrior follows a strict Warrior's Code. This code has not been written down, but it is the formal code that Unathi are expected to follow. The tenants of the Warrior's Code were severely stressed during the Contact War due to the realities of modern war. There were many abuses and breaches of the code of honor by both sides. There is a slowly growing concern within the Hegemony that the warrior's code has become antiquated, but it still remains deeply important to Unathi that consider themselves warriors, or dream of becoming one.

The Warrior's Tenants

The first duty of a warrior is Loyalty to his Lord or superior. A warrior would gladly lay down their lives without hesitation in defense of their Lord or clan leader. They obey legitimate authority. However, a warrior isn't expected to blindly obey all orders given to them; if their Lord or comrades are behaving dishonorably or committing unspeakable acts, they are obligated to refuse to retain their own honor.

Warriors are Righteous. They are expected to be fair and honest at all times.

A warrior should show Courage at all moments in their life. They must face danger with zeal, courage, and intelligence, and commit their entire being to victory. That doesn't mean a Unathi blindly charges into a fight; winning with peace is just as honorable as winning with power, but a warrior should be constantly prepared to die a warrior's death. Courage is also speaking out for one's ideals even then they are a minority; it is true courage to speak for what is right even when no one else agrees with you.

A warrior shows Mercy for the weak, protecting them from danger. A proper warrior does not abuse prisoners or kill an unarmed foe. Surrendering to an honorable warrior means fair treatment.

When a warrior says something will be done, they get it done. They have Integrity and ensure they do not stop doing what must be done. They don't have to promise or give their word, they just do it.

If a warrior faces terrible failure, or finds their honor to be irrevocably tarnished, they must become Guwandi, committing ritualistic suicide through combat. A Guwandi's goal is to die, because death in battle wipes away all crimes and sins. But this is only true if the Guwandi goes into every fight committed to winning; intentionally losing forever taints a soul and they are forbidden from joining their ancestors.

Honor for a Woman

Traditionally, as women are never viewed as 'warriors', they have never been expected to follow the Warrior's Code. Instead, women have focused on creating their own type of tradition: The Women's Code. This code is almost exclusively known by women, and men do not believe women have formed their own code. Women use this to their advantage when working with other women, and feign ignorance about such subjects often, if only to avoid punishment of some sort. Some female authors have written books about this secrecy, and these authors are the leaders who facilitated this code. This code and some of the authors are believed to date back to a wife of one of the Izweski Hegemons, Queen Juztia Izweski, who formed Moghes's first worldwide spy network run completely by women, called the Guild of Shadows. Regular men would not know of her, however women are known to idolize her for her work in building the modern ideal for an 'elegant woman with goals'.

Men do not really care about this so called "women's code", and most doubt that it is anything more than just idle talk.

The Women's Code

A woman should be Loyal to their clan, Lord, and husband in that order.

Be Dutiful, keep the household, children, and servants in check.

Be Graceful, represent your household and your husband as they deserve. Elegance will show status, and even if you have no status, you can attempt to gain one.

Be Knowledgeable, there is wisdom in understanding the world as well as your place.

Be Tactful, secrecy and gossip can be advantageous. Men are stereotyped to have trouble lying, and some women are stereotyped to take advantage of that.

Dueling

Dueling is a time-honored tradition for Unathi, and Sinta from all walks of life have engaged in it. Typically, this matched combat is a way to settle disputes, and matters of honor, despite killing one's opponent and spilling their blood certainly being satisfying to the average Unathi.

The procedure for duels on Moghes has historically been simple. An Unathi who would seek to challenge another to combat typically goes by the following procedure. First, the challenger points directly at the would-be duelist, staring into their eyes and lashing their tail against the ground; an inescapably offensive gesture. This is to signal demand for a duel. The one who first made the challenge must speak aloud in a traditional, formal, and public manner the following. Their name and Clan, the reason for the duel, where it will be done, and the weapon they will use. Ranged weapons can only be brought if it is a duel exclusively using ranged weapons, and energy weapons can only be brought if both are using energy weapons. The challenged will respond with their name and Clan, and their weapon of choice. It is possible to apologize in a satisfying manner and a duel would not be required, but often these manners of honor can only be satisfied with blood. Denying a duel must be done carefully; it can often result in serious accusations of cowardice, or being perceived as a further insult to the challenger. Participation can be honorably refused on account of major difference in age, severe social inferiority, or the challenger being inherently honorless. Duels may also be honorably declined if they are random, or if one has nothing to prove. Women are forbidden from dueling men, and men are forbidden from challenging them. It is also poor form for women to duel in public, but arenas are a legitimate place for this.

At the choice of the challenger, the duel can be brought to a number of conclusions; to the first drop of blood spilt, until one of them is too injured to continue, until surrender, or to the death. Requirements are typically requiring a witness and doctor per combatant. However, duels to the death require the knowledge and consent of each Unathi’s Clan Lord, or a judge. Typically, the setting for a duel is either outside of a city or town, or in a designated dueling area. All cities are typically equipped with dueling arenas in the Duelists Guild’s Arena Hall; where witnesses, doctors, and refreshments can be found in good supply. After both combatants have discussed everything, and have both agreed to the duel, both must wait up to a week in order to train and steel themselves for the battle to come. If one party fails to appear, they are considered to be a coward and the party that appealed would win by default. The resulting reputation for their cowardice can easily affect the individual’s standing in society, perhaps even affecting their Clan.

While most duels are done between the lower classes, and Warriors, it is not unheard of for nobles to engage in a duel. While those of lower birth may enjoy the freedom to use their preferred weapon while dueling each other, and even battles between nobles have the same choice; if a noble chooses to agree to a duel challenge to one of a lower rank, it is the noble’s choice what weapon both combatants will use. This discourages many from even trying, as most of the nobility have been practicing with expensive equipment and expensive training for numerous years. Typically it is an extremely poor move to challenge the nobility without a serious grievance. Nobles also have the choice of sending a chosen Warrior as a champion, a tactic employed by very high Clans, such as the Izweski. While the chances to beat a noble with their chosen weapon are incredibly slim, history shows that the nobility is not unbeatable.

The Star Code

Despite taking up a life of piracy, a large portion of Unathi pirates are dispossessed Traditionalists from Moghes following the horrors of the Contact War that swept across Moghes. Thanks to Unathi stubbornness with their deeply ingrained beliefs about honor, certain ways of behaving stuck around and metastasized into a shared cultural code of honor frequently called the Star Code. It provides rules for discipline, distribution of seized goods, and compensation for injured pirates. While most Unathi pirates follow it only more or less, the Grim Compact is its most adherent propagators and adherents.

The Code

A pirate must be loyal to his Captain. To flee in battle or show cowardice through desertion is punishable by exile or death, at the Captain’s choice.

A pirate must show integrity when on the ship. Duty and discipline must be maintained until any quarrels can be settled when docked with a duel or brawl.

A pirate must show mercy to women and the infirm. To steal from such weak and pathetic targets is not worth the scorn of the dishonor.

A pirate should spare any who raise their hand against them once, but if they raise their hand a a second time, then it must be cut off.

A ship should only be captured if it is a vessel of war. Unarmed ships should only have a third of its cargo seized, or as much as will keep the freighter's trip profitable, and then be allowed to continue on its way. This way it remains a renewable source of income with repeated seizures.

Hostages should not be mistreated, but those that attempt to escape should have a single leg dislocated. Broken goods sell for less.

It is fair and reasonable that any captive be asked to perform housekeeping or other duties to pay back their hosts for their stay, seperate from their ransom.

Any person that shows valiance and bravery by defeating at least three members of the crew in personal combat, chosen by the Captain, must be allowed the option to join the crew as a full member.