Heskra

The **Heskra** are a near-extinct race of humanoid warriors, sorcerers, and slavers centered in the Reach, particularly the Faskari Cluster. Once a mighty empire ruled by a single Witch-King and a governing council of sorcerer-lords and ladies, the Heskra were defeated in the Great War that they had initiated. Weakened and divided, they were further undone in a later war with the Krand clans, who bombed the Heskra with an experimental nerve agent that rendered the survivors of the attacks unable to perform Magick.

Passion runs deeply in the Heskra, and is the one uniting characteristic of their diverse beliefs and cultures throughout the different covens making up Heskra society. Uniquely powerful in Magick, all Heskra are born with the Gift, and have a long history of dark arts practices dating back thousands of years.

## Appearance

With skin colors ranging from charcoal black to a cloudy gray, Heskra have small, pointed ears, sharp canines, slitted eyes that range in color from deep blue, amber, green, and red. Their hair colors range from white, to dark gray, black, and varying shades of red. Some are born with varying sizes of spiky bone protrusions on their shoulders, foreheads, or brows. Lastly, as a rite of passage, Heskra of the Bloodsown, Parshas, Grainne, and Syr covens earn markings that are burned into their bodies after passing through the "Excurdian" - an agonizing process that kills some Heskra that fail to endure the chamber's torturous mechanisms. These markings are thin, dark, and are carried on throughout the Heskra's life, which typically ranges from 500-1,000 years.

## Society

The Heskra were separated into castes and ruled by what were known as "Hexlords", powerful Sorcerers that warred often and specialized in dark, oppressive forms of Magick. Overthrowing ones' masters and overlords was an ambition held by almost every Heskra. The more powerful the Sorcerer, the better chances they had of usurping the one above them.

Treachery, deceit, and power became the objectives for all Heskra, and for those in power, keeping the ones' beneath them was as much a priority as attaining greater status and power. Every so often, a single Heskra would dominate and unite the rest under a single banner. This Heskra would often be known as the "Witch-King/Queen" and would rule through fear and coercion, using their power to keep the rest of the Hexlords in line.

Each Hexlord commanded a large host of enslaved soldiers and a handful of disciples and students that were Heskra themselves. Each Hexlord's group was known as a "Coven", with any Heskra within outranking the other species. Covens ranged widely in beliefs, cultures, organizations, and traditions. Some enslaved other aliens with Magickal gifts to fuel their power. Others were tight-knit family units that never intermingled outside of their bloodline, thinking it was the source of their power.

After the bombings of their worlds by the Krand, Heskra society fragmented into warring Covens, with many Heskrans leaving their homeworlds to try and find a cure for their impotency or indulge in greater-scale power struggles before death. The remaining Gifted Heskra formed powerful covens of their own and absorbed lesser ones, becoming warlords and wealthy slavers.

## Culture

The different covens that make up organized Heskran society each are varied in their diverse cultures, with a propensity for Black Magick, enslavement, and the worship of Daemonas being prominent between them.

### Language

The Heskra speak varying dialects of Hesghra'ul, with the covens of Faska generally speaking Darsin while the Sokotha Heskra speaking the more localized Hurkrat. The small coven on Wrogur speak a strange variant of Hesgra'ul they call Imparun. All Hesgra'ul literature and utterance has been outlawed on Psio due to the Psions fear and hatred of the Heskra, whom they call "Du'soros".

## Military

Heskra armies were largely made up of enslaved races forced to fight, mercenaries, and Autons. As such, the Heskra had no original designs of ships for their own, and either purchased, stole, or repurposed vessels for their own use. The Krow Fleet that largely guarded the Heskran Empire's territory for much of their history was made up of many different vessels, ranging from sleek Tyranian war galleons to bastardized models barely recognizable from their original forms.

During the Great War, the Dark Star Empire jointly designed and purchased the access to Xhorm Cartel ships such as the Rend-class fighter, the Ruin-class bomber, the Widow-class Destroyer, and more.

Similarly, due to their reliance on others' technology, the Heskra lacked a unified model or uniform for their armies. Slave soldiers and mercenaries wore what they had or were provided with, or what they could loot off their enemies' bodies. However, during the reign of Witch-King Felreave, Shadow Dragoons and Básar were formed as formal, elite shock troops that employed a mix between conventional weaponry and Dark Arts to bring victory to the battlefield.

Shadow Dragoons sported sleek, black Flexite and wore intimidating helms that displayed a pair of fiendish horns to appear as demons on the battlefield. The Básar wore thin, grey Chainweave beneath a light, black leather padding. This was due to their near-immunity to conventional damage, allowing them to wear lighter armor so as to be more agile yet imposing to the enemy.

The Hexlords themselves were a sight to behold on the battlefield - said to wear dark, spiked armors and wield cursed weaponry that made those few who would survive their attacks scarred forever after. Commanding dark mastery of black Magicks and wielding fearsome weapons, Hexlords were either avoided or targeted quickly by those who knew them for the terror they could impose. Each Hexlord wore a unique mask made of different materials, ranging from black Arcium to Dessite and represented aspects important to the wearer, such as the Krow worn by Moira Umbris or the screaming face of the Ungod, Filioth, worn by Drogun Parshas.

## Notable Heskra

* Hexa Jurusa
* Harkan Felreave (Deceased)
* Moira Umbris
* Lumina Sentara
* Drogun Parshas (Deceased)