Asren-Asheir

Sapient Species

An Asren-Asheir

> *"An interesting people, the Asren-Asheir. You don't look at them or their lifestyles, and think that they're a particularly philosophical or deep species, and then you talk to them for a few hours, and you realize that they have an understanding of the universe that makes you think. I suppose it says something about their history, and how much it affects them to this day. "*
>
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The Asren-Asheir are an humanoid avian species that are from the tropical planet of Lazenteiyre, located in the Verpletter Dwarf Galaxy. They are members of the Commune Federation, and were one of the original founding members of the Faction.

While on the surface, many view the Asren-Asheir as a very laid back species, they have historically been an intensely confrontational and savage people, exceptionally concerned with petty issues such as the colour of ones feathers. This is a great point of shame for the species, and it is one that they have sought to learn from in as deep a manner as is possible. This has given them a very passive 'Live and let live' attitude towards general differences. They have been noted for their in depth considerations into philosophy, which they consider to be a cornerstone of their society, having developed a great deal of respect for the philosophical considerations of both their actions, their place in the universe, the Federation, and their own history.

As a founding member of the Commune Federation, the Asren-Asheir are well respected throughout the Federation. In spite of their laid-back culture on the home-world, they are still very capable of fighting for their Faction, seeking to defend the Federation from the acts of those who still maintain their barbarism that inhabited their society not long ago.

## **Appearance and Biology**

The Asren-Asheir are a Humanoid avian species. They have hard beaks, which they are able to use to break open trees - Which is left over from when they were an exclusively insectivorous species. They also possess long, barbed tongues.

In place of arms, they have wings, which allow them to fly if they so choose to use them. These arms are filled with a very hollow bone, which can easily break, but is what allows them to fly. They do not possess hands or fingers of any sort. Instead, for their handling of technology and other hand-based things in other species, they use their feet - Which have talons as opposed to toes. They seem to have perfect co-ordination with them however.

They have a wide range of colourful feathers. These feathers cover all over their bodies, and in the past, related primarily to a series of archipelagos - Asren-Asheir from different series of islands would have differently coloured feathers. These feathers can range all over the colour spectrum, even those outside the Human spectrum.

## **History**

Asren-Asheir history is often simplified into two sections by the Asren-Asheir - Their time before the Commune Federation, and their time after joining the Federation.

### **Before the Commune Federation**

Before the arrival of the Commune Federation, the Asren-Asheir were confined to the thousands of islands that make up their tropical world. They evolved to adapt to the various conditions of their various islands, including developing various colours of feathers. They would form various communities, which they would refer to as Tasasats - The closest translation being 'Flocks'.

The interactions between various islands, and the discovery of various Tasasats whom had different patterns of wings and feather colours led to many to see other Tasasats as some sort of alien creature, that needed to either be kept away from them, or destroyed to protect their own Tasasat. While there were many peaceful Tasasats, many of these were blown over by the more aggressive ones. Many hundreds were wiped out of existence.

This led to a period which the Asren-Asheir call the ***'Tasasat T'kanza***' - roughly translating to the ***'Segregation Conflicts'***. This was a period of hundreds of years, where it was incredibly normalized to strike out at other Tasasats, or any individual Asren-Asheir that did not have the same coloured feathers as was normal for that individual Tasasat. This led to many hate crimes in which members killed other members of their own Tasasat, because they did not have the same wing colour as was normalized.

Much of this period was defined by, in addition to its brutality, was characterized by an absolute stagnation int he development of technology. Much of the fighting was done using very basic tools, such as spears, sword, and hand-to-hand combat. Technology barely progressed during this period of time, and much of Lazenteiyre came to a technological standstill.

The end of the Segregation Conflicts came from the Yuutak'Xaneski archipelago, where various Tasasats had been fighting for control over the territory. At one point, however, the conflict stopped, and the various Tasasats stopped fighting for a few days to celebrate the Passing of the Comet - A comet which passes by Lazenteiyre every few decades, and is considered very important within Asren-Asheir culture. During this period of peace, the various Tasasats interacted with one another, in some cases even exchanging gifts. When they were schedules to fight again, many of the fighters simply refused, and turned against their commanding officers who ordered them to fight. Together, these Tasasats formed the 'Republic of the Tasasats', a nation where all Asren-Asheir from any Tasasat were welcome.

Though slow to join, it soon became a global power, and began to radically change the many outlooks that the Asren-Asheir had towards one another. The nation focused on politics, science, historical understanding, and philosophy among it's educational lines. This led to a great number of the Asren-Asheir seeing the Tasasats and their conflicts as increasingly pointless. Eventually, the prejudice based on the colour of feathers was more or less obliterated within the Asren-Asheir population. Various fields of study began, and technological progress also began to increase at rapid rates. Philosophical minds began to preach the concept of Xanan'Xaxan - A philosophy based around providing material good to as many living beings as possible. This would set the stage for the future of Asren-Asheir society.

Four hundred years after the founding of the Republic, Humans arrived at Lazenteiyre. Having eliminated all their social prejudices, the world was now a tropical paradise. The Asren-Asheir welcomed the Humans to their world, and became close trade partners with them. Many would travel to worlds such as Marx and Engels, and would see the society that Humans had built for themselves. They were also introduced to species like the Oswaihr, whom they also became close allies with, in spite of their many cultural differences.

They were one of the founding members of the Commune Federation, which many of their most esteemed philosophers were in favour of.

### **After the Commune Federation**

After forming and becoming a member of the Federation, the Asren-Asheir sought to expand their influence and reach throughout Verpletter and the galaxy, and began a series of colonization efforts. they would colonize their home solar system, as well as bring in at least a dozen more solar systems near them into the Federation by settling them too.

They became very involved however, in the internal structure of the Federation, which is where they excelled at. They became well respected philosophers and political theorists, using their wealth of knowledge and history that they brought from their home-world to contribute to the method of thought within the Commune Federation. Many took to spreading various philosophical texts throughout the Federation, and giving seminars about the various philosophical fields of thought. They became well known and well respected throughout the Federation for their contributions to the field of thought.

They would also contribute to the arts of the Federation, with a great many artistic exports coming from the world, such as books, plays, and other such media. Many murals came from the world, with a great number of people also opting to visit their home world to learn from their philosophical schools of thought, and artisan schools.

After the approval of the Casorians into the Federation, the Asren-Asheir became something of a rival towards the ocean-bound species, constantly seeking to contribute more and more work to the Federation. While this is not done in malice, many do think that were it not for them both being allies and members of the Federation, the two would actively despise one another.

## **Culture**

Asren-Asheir culture is, like many species, very diverse, and dependent on where they are located. There is no single unified culture of the species, even on their home-world of Lazenteiyre, with each island having it's own various customs and unique flavour. There are some general values and tendencies that the Asren-Asheir seem to hold however, which is present within nearly all of their settlements.

### **Relaxed Attitudes**

The Asren-Asheir are noted for being a particularly calm people, often giving the impression of being eternally laid back and relaxed, even in stressful situations. There have been many reports of life-or-death situations which would provoke panic in other species, but that the Asren-Asheir reach in incredibly relaxed manners.

This does not make them emotionless however - They are often found enjoying themselves in various ways, such as reading, or other such hobbies. While they embrace the pleasant side of life, in the face of the dark sides of it, they seem to be very calm.

### **Philosophy**

The Asren-Asheir are noteworthy for their incredible respect to the realm of philosophy - There have been thousands of great Asren-Asheir philosophers throughout their own history, and throughout their history as members of the Commune Federation. Many educational institutions teach Asren-Asheir philosophy within the Federation, seeing it as being an incredibly valuable school.

The primary philosophy of the Asren-Asheir is called Xanan'Xaxan - Which is a concept similar to that of the philosophy of Utilitarianism - They seek to create the maximum positive utility for as many sentient beings as possible. This seems to be a cornerstone of their society.