Echani

> *"tba"*
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> --- tba
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~wip~

## Warfare

### The Telc'ta

The **Telc'ta** which stood for **Warrior's Right** was a day long ceremony that took place on an Echani Child's 14thbirthday. The Ceremony was in itself broke down into 4 smaller ceremonies, the *Telc'ta Tea Ceremony*, *Meditation of Chal*, *Right of Ascension*, and the *Feast of the Warrior*.

#### Telc'ta Tea Ceremony

The morning of an Echani's 14th birthday, they are woken early, upon the dawn of the world they are on. They are then clothed in a long flowing robe that contains the seal of their clan upon their back. The young Echani is then lead into the common room of their family home where their family resides around a small table. Here, the Echani would begin to brew a pot of tea, normally Red Tea. As the tea brewed the Echani sat with their legs underneath them and their hands on their knees. An uncomfortable position that they had to hold till the tea was finished brewing.

Once the tea was finished brewing, the 14 year old stood, and took the hot pot of tea in their hands, not by the handle, but by the sides of the hot pot. This was to show their family their endurance, as they slowly filled each cup in a clockwise fashion. After serving the tea to the others they then served themselves two cups, a representation of more responsibility. After this they would place the pot back on the warming pad, sit, and with their family sip tea, while their family reminisced on their childhood.

#### Meditation of Chal

The Meditation of Chal took place after after the Tea Ceremony. The young Echani would meditate alone, in the family common room for 4 hours. The significance of this was for the child to reflect on their life before this day, and their destiny afterwards. Often it was during the Meditation of Chal that an Echani would weigh their options for a future. What they would be, soldier, scholar, priest, merchant. All these things and more would be focused upon.

#### Right of Ascension

The Right of Ascension was the most prepared for aspect of the Telc'ta. The Right of Ascension was a choreographed fight between the Echani and their Father. Should their father be unavailable, by death or other circumstances, then the child normally participated in the Right with their paternal or maternal uncle. The Right of Ascension normally lasted for several hours, anywhere from two to eight hours. The fight was merely for show, though it allowed the child to display their abilities as a warrior.

#### Feast of the Warrior

After the Right of Ascension, the final ceremony began, in the dining hall of the family or clan. A massive feast, in which the now Adult Echani's whole family participated. A table as long as the hall could handle would be covered in foods, both Echani and exotic in nature. Pots of teas, Echani Wine, and other beverages would be passed along the family as they celebrated the past and future of the now fully recognized Echani.

## Culture

The Echani take great pride in perfection, to them, everything is an art form where mastery should be sought; be it music or combat or even politics. In reflection of this, there are several "heads" in each form much like the political council responsible for governing Vorsisalo space.

### ***Cuisine***

Echani cuisine was a mix of very spicy foods with fresh and soothing snacks. Traditionally cooked slowly for hours with large variety of spices, fresh vegetables with plenty of meat, served in large pots in the center of the table with each eater taking their share into smaller bowls.
An Echani meal would normally be taken in 6 courses, with the main course (the third) being the only part to contain meat; and take around 3 hours to finish.

### ***Music***

Regarded to be the premier art form for Echani, and considered by many to be a pursuit solely for an elite breed; those who have perfected music to such a degree that, even by Echani standards - a people who are naturally musically gifted, their ability and talent are considered to be exceptional.

Because of this, there are twelve figure heads of music in Echani culture: six composers and six singers, all of which are elected as representatives of each planet within the Vorsisalo realm, with the representatives of Eshan, "the first", being considered the very best of them.

The prestige of these titles is such that each representative enjoys somewhat of a celebrity status, but is also expected to act as an ambassador for their people. They are subsequently to be found at the heart of political intrigue.

To ensure that they are worthy of their position, each representative must be assessed every year to ensure that their talents have not deteriorated and are judged against the many who try for the position.

The current representatives for Eshan are Donna Assol'eru Aela Dasvarat as the First lady of voice, and Donna Saraess'ero Jílan Yllorikui as the First Lord of music.

### ***Combat***

One of the most notable achievements for the Echani is their mastery of martial art, their races' heavy dependence on body language for communication gives them a profound ability to predict their opponent's moves.

Mastery of combat is just another example of the Echani pursuit of perfection, growing mainly from their vast history of political strife, the warring of the ancient royal houses and the 5000 year long unification war which lead to the formation of the Vorsisalo realm as it is known to date.

This connection to war and combat has lead to every Echani citizen undergoing training in melee combat as part of their upbringing and education. Giving the Echani people the well deserved reputation as a race of fierce warriors.

A somewhat misconception of Echani is that of their martial traditions. They are perceived a race of scantily clad warrior women who communicate through combat, but the reality is much further from the truth, and much richer.

Their armours are usually synthetic bodysuits with hardened bio-plastic plating that grants the wearer a surprising amount of protection while giving them almost completely unrestricted freedom of movement. These are often hand crafted and beautifully stylised, featuring vibrant colours and tall crest of coloured hair; a daring display of their pride in their martial abilities but also as an aide to field commanders as most battles with Echani are quickly forced into a melee.

## **Military**

Serving as both a military and as a police force, the Vorsisalo Confederate Defence Force is responsible for maintaining peace within Echani space. Although tiny in comparison to the likes of the Republic, gained reputation in nearby sectors as a force not to be trifled with. Not having the industry or production capability to sustain a force which relied ranged weaponry and heavy armour, it instead became an expert mechanised force of deception and defence, often leading it's enemies into deadly traps. It's doctrine was one of Speed, Surprise and violence of action.

It became the reason for the peace and stability that is now found in the Nouane sector after a treaty was signed between the Nouanese and the Echani Confederacy; the Nouanese would supply the confederacy if they would use their military prowess to police the Nouanese empire and ensure the compliance of it's satrapies; which it quickly succeeded in doing. It's brutal and bloody assaults in key separatist strongholds broke the back of resistance fighters within a mere ten years of the treaty being signed. Although there are still some occasional small pockets of resistance that sprout in both the Nouanese and Echani territories, the entire sector lives in relative peace and unmolested from outsiders.

### ***Spiritseekers***

Fast and athletic, the Spiritseekers emphasise swiftness of foot and the importance of mobility in melee combat. Their armour is coloured deep blue, and bone white with a long red flowing crest.

Spiritseekers were generally armed with a disrupter pistol and vibrosword in combat or a form of glaive, combined with flashbang type explosives and a special amplifier in their helmet which the spiritseeker would unleash a haunting scream through as they charged their opponents, rending them with terror. These warriors were used as flankers and infiltrators, and when deployed against a distracted or unaware enemy, they would wreak havoc in enemy lines. It was said that hearing their battlecry would pull your spirit from your body so that the seekers could claim it.

### ***Watchers***

Well-trained survivalists and marksmen able to find the eye sockets and neck joints of even the most heavily armoured enemy troops. Watchers are both reconnaissance soldiers, and intelligence agents having developed skills in both espionage and survival, these elite agents are able to adapt to their surroundings easily. They spend their tours of duty serving as either a field agent, gathering intelligence on their neighbours and enemies, or as forward observers in a combat role; reporting troop movements to commanders and serving as snipers.

### ***Larinkáoi***

Every Echani male must serve in the Larinkáoi for a period of no less than 10 years after their 14th birthday.

Although this is a somewhat small period of time in comparison to the Echani life expectancy, many of the men decide to stay on longer as their achievement and rank within the Larinkáoi affects where is society they may go after their service is finished. The Larinkáoi soldier has been part of the Echani culture since it's creation and has become somewhat of a symbol of protection from evil. They are to be found in children's story battling evil spirits and creatures of the night. The embodiment of Kar, the goddess Nalimisari's mortal lover, who challenged all the gods of the timeless realm to win her pardon.

The Larinkáoi are the Echani's heavy infantry. Carrying large energy shields and plasma tipped spears. They often act as a deadly phalanx wall for their enemy to be pushed up against. Their unique spears a plasma blade one end and a cannon at the other, which they can use for peppering their opponents with blaster bolts until they can close to melee range. On occasion, they can be seen to field blasters by a select few within their ranks, but these tend to be roles kept for the Larinkáoi units that are stationed aboard naval vessels.

The warriors of this unit can be seen all over the confederacy guarding various buildings and memorials. They are the closest thing to police that can be seen in Echani territories and are trained to be absolute masters of shield and spear combat.

## Biology

Superficially, the Echani people appear very similar to Humans in their anatomy, although the comparison can only be made on a superficial basis, for in their minds and souls the Echani are very much alien. Their skin is pale and unblemished as polished marble, yet with a surprisingly supple strength hiding beneath it. Echani blood is a pale pink in colour, with de-oxygenated blood being almost white or even a pale blue. They had light skin, white hair and silver eyes. They exhibited among themselves a remarkable sameness in body type and facial traits. The most fundamental difference, however, can be seen when the Echani move, for they each radiate an inhuman elegance and poise. This is especially evident in the sinuous grace with which they fight and the dexterity with which they fight with which they field their weaponry. Every gesture is laden with subtle intent. On closer inspection, every aspect of the Echani physiology betrays their alien nature. Their hearts beat at twice the speed of a human's, and their lives are somewhat greater in span -- the Echani enjoy lives of around 200 human years that is normally unsullied by frailty. Echani medicine has eliminated nearly all naturally occurring diseases and genetic disorders within their homeworld, Eshan. Although their physiology is rather robust and competent at fighting off foreign disease, they are by no means immune; their isolating nature and rare exposure to other species can leave them susceptible to disease.

The Echani mind is far more inclined towards extremes than that of a human. To them, all of life's experiences on a tactile and emotional level are available on a far grander scale: the exhilaration of battle, the pleasure of sound, the feel of another's touch upon their skin.
Their capacity to experience emotion enables them to attain transcendent bliss or, in contrast, experience soul-wracking sorrow. This spiritual intensity felt throughout their culture, manifesting in sublime works of art and music. Isolated Echani can find themselves falling into deep pits of soul wracking depression if they remain cut off from their culture, so for most Echani, regular meditation, music, art and combat is vital to maintaining a healthy mind set.

The Echani equivalent to the human larynx, in actuality, has much more in common with the syrinx of birds, that give the Echani incredible vocal ranges, and allowing them to create more than one sound at a time. This is used prominently in Echani language, as language is relatively simple even in comparison to galactic basic; tone, pitch, frequency and body language are much more important in Echani conversation.

It is in the interest of good health that an Echani is able to properly use their overtone, failing to do so often results in depression, severe headaches, blurry vision, palpitations; in some extreme cases blood clots and brain hemorrhaging has been linked to misuse of their voice.