Unathi Culture

Unathi are a species deeply rooted in family and tradition. Settlements are made up of many clans with an average being somewhere around five and seven at a time to thriving capitols that protect (for a tribute) the other settlements around it. They are part of a large trade network and even have space ports for foreign ships to dock at and unload their goods.

History

Moghes used to be very marshy, green, almost jungle-like. The Unathi precursors were for all intents and purposes, also Unathi, but were not as aggressive as their current counterparts due to being far more technologically advanced. This society had functioning road systems, personal transport, advanced computer systems, currency, fashion, arts, culture, and nuclear weapons. The level of technology was around early 2000's human technology.

Larger city states were still fractured as in modern Unathi society, but they lived in relative peace. Due to unknown causes, nuclear warheads were launched, causing a mass use of nuclear weapons.

Bunkers, mostly near the equator, shielded some of the Unathi, preventing them from dying out as a species. However, this crippled their technology and left then with a harsh environment with little population, radiation, and lack of clean water and food. This paved the way for the current Unathi lifestyle.

The fact that the precursors were just Unathi is not well known, even among the Unathi. Common knowledge is that they were bipedal, and six to seven feet tall. Some scholars have theories as to what came before, but most of the history has been lost to history due to the changing priorities of survival.

Way of Life

Their homes are constructed out of sturdy sandstone and most, if not all, have special chambers that are called 'Sun Gardens'. They act much like living rooms do for humans; they are the face of the home. Guests will most often visit this room first, and if it is poorly kept or decorated, it reflets badly on the clan. Common decorations include wall trophies, carvings in the wall consisting of symbols or hieroglyphs detailing the clan's history (which may instead be supplemented by a mural), colorful rocks, and exotic or good-looking common plants. Wealthier homes will also have humid baths to enjoy, although most settlements have public, communal baths for all to enjoy.

Unathi of the heartland live by a simple mindset; If it isn't broke, don't try and fix it. Things are separated by need and want, with the former taking priority. In higher castes or wealthier clans, the gap is, of course, less intense. Women are treated as they are for the exact same reasons. They are property, but valuable property. They're the means to advance a clan's bloodline and also to mind every day necessities and needs when the expendable males are too busy. Females are often assigned to a male that is responsible for them (such as their father, or husband, or brother in the even both of the previous men are dead or away). Their caretaker will also be expected to bear the shame and punishment for the female if they error. Touching another male's female, even if it's consensual is bad without permission or transferred ownership. Not only with the female's caretaker call for a bane (a disagreement fight) as soon as possible, but the others in their clan and settlement will look very poorly on them.

Unathi society in the heartland is determined by a rigid caste system, which determines their social standing. Those who serve in the military are generally considered to be above the simple, working class - or peons, as they're called. Council members, like elders and village leaders, have authority over both previous castes, with warlords (the leader of a large settlement) above them and overlords (the leader of a capital) at the very top.

Water is one of the most favored currencies in Unathi society, as they lack any kind of real paper money or treasury system. Their major way of buying and selling involves bartering, though forms of currency differ regionally.

The matriarchs of each clan take up the weaving of history skeins or history webs in their lodgings. Patterns of knots spun from grasses and flax grown in the area owned by the clan, detailing the events of the year. Destroying or otherwise damaging the skein of a clan's matriarch is analogous to attempting genocide of that clan, as it is the only recorded history they have.

Pets are not entirely unheard of in Unathi society, but they are based upon their worth as an assistant to their owner rather than a simple companion. Threshbeasts are common and easily tamed if the owner is responsible and smart. Putting down pets is much easier to Unathi simply because they are not fuzzy, adorable friends, but rather work beasts that would have their lives cut short the moment they bite someone they weren't ordered to.

Relationships for Unathi are, suffice to say, not one of equality, but responsiblity. Males who request and admit attraction to a female will go to the male who is responsible for their well-being (Father, brother, or the head of their clan) and tell them this. Boasting or offering tributes to the female's caretaker may make this process go more smoothly. To ignore this ritual and directly try to claim said female would greatly upset her caretaker, and not only will their clan look poorly on them for attempting so, but they will likely be challenged to a bane.

Because the Unathi are a species with such a focus on clan, same-sex relationships are frowned upon. Two males or females who wish to be wed will usually find themselves scorned. That being said, homosexual experimenting or casual relationships are an entirely different story. Members of the political caste may offer certain types of favors during under-the-table deals (or wife/daughter borrowing depending on their decision), and soldiers in the military caste often do it to unwind, celebrate, or bond together as comrades.

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 name of 'Guwani' (which is translated to Gladiator/Galdium). They will sell all of their possessions to travel and survive in the harsh Moghes deserts. 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.

The different region of Moghes are split between the temperate and tropical poles, which are divded horizontally by the equator. All of them have their own unique dialect and accent to the Unathi tongue, but branch off of the same base language. Cultures also tend to vary much between the regions. Precursor ruins located at the poles consist of military bases and mass-driver faclities for unaided surface to air space take-off. Unathis that have settled there are either one of those who follows the Hand of the Vine, or the Fruitful Lights. The latter is made up of clans that have taken engineering as a family trade. Some follow the faith of the Precusors in secret, or some clans openly do. These Unathi may compete with their brethren in battles using battle rigs or jury-rigged exosuits to decide who gets to study the technology left behind and run the mass-drivers. While the other regions judge the Poles with suspicion or oddness, they have learned to coexist with them simply because they hold a monopoly on interplanetary trading.

Unathi who follow the Hand of the Vine in the polar region tolerate the engineering clans tending to and studying the fauna, in hopes of learning ways to bring it to the rest of Moghes. Combat for them is often rare and short, usually taking place on patches of unfertile land so that the blessed soil is not tainted by the blood of their enemies. If a feud must end in bloodshed, these Unathi will generally avoid trying to make lethal blows, preferring to instead disable their opponents and leave them alive. These fights are usually sparked by inter-clan disagreements.

Those who settle near the Equator are a very strict brand of Unathi. Orginally settled by exiles who moved south to carve their own way of life, the equator is highly irradiated in some parts due to the nuclear infighting that destroyed Precursor culture. Funnily enough, the ruins there consist of underground shelters to protect from bombardment. Clans and settlements will make homes of these shelters, digging for underground springs and using water purifiers. However, life in the region is not so easy for all. The majority of Unathi have a hard time. Most clans are large to the point of being their own tribe, very devoted to their worship of the ancestors as well as the Grand Strategem. They are also very territorial. Shelter and land rights are decided by vicious combat in designated grounds that are dangeruosly irraidated for the express purpose of testing the combatant's skills, experince and endurance. While those of the equator do trade with any caravan brave enough to stand the heat, sandstorms and radiation, it is often viewed as more trouble than it's worth. Most caravans do not even brave the journey to the south, what with the local legends floating about. Stories of Unathi who had been warped by the radiation into hulking, cannbialistic boogeymen. Monsters who were fond of dragging travelers and children who stay out and alone too late into the darkness so that they may gorge them on the scraps of their kills until they're one of them.

Clothing, Armour, and Weapons

Unathi clothing is mostly loose-fitting garments, much like a Greek peplos. Footwear is usually uncommon, but many individuals choose to wear sandals when possible. Clothing is woven out of though fiber-bearing 'Velo' and other small, scrubby plants. Dyes are made of crushed minerals, clay, plant matter, or bone. Darker hues are less common, as they absorb light, and as such lighter and cooler colors are preferred, such as white. Work clothing usually lacks a top, and instead is a simple, tough skirt designed for mobility. Higher caste's clothing have strung beads of a gorgeous, showy color, and add more variety to the Velo-cloth's color, as well as provocative or sharp gaps in their skirts or tops.

Armor is is generally more bulky than what humans currently have, but is not fully covering. It's a mix of cloth and heavy plates covering vital areas, offering sturdy protection from at least one or two hits with some of the strongest light-based weapons available to Unathi. These sets of armor may also be decorated to reflect one's caste and clan. Symbols, family colors, kill markers, or small trophies are common.

Unathi melee weapons may seem very simple compared to human technology, but rest assured, they are very, very deadly, especially in the hands of a skilled swordsman. Some examples include vibroswords, which are blades that, when struck, vibrate extremely fast. This movement is subtle enough so that it's not noticable to the naked eye, but it can cleave straight through limbs, easily capable of severing a head or another appendage with one or two well-placed strikes. Infantry may also be equipped with energy axes. The blade is made of a very easy-to-heat metal with a high melting point, as well as a battery at the base of the staff that powers it. The head of the weapon is weighted and it is also intended to cleave off limbs, or at the very least inflict severe burns. Wounds from this type of weapon do not bleed, however, as the extreme heat cauterizes the wound before any such trauma can occur. This type of energy technology is also available in sword and halberd varieties.

Another unique weapon design Unathi possess are pneumatic weapons, like hammers and maces. These weapons have a compressed air system, and both sides of the hammer's head are movable, which means when one side strikes, the other slams down with a brutal amount of compressed force onto the other to give the blow more power. This simple yet lethal system has earned them the name 'power hammers/maces'. Normal rules of mace swinging still apply, but the momentum and weight don't do all the work any longer.

Ranged weaponry is generally not Unathi specific. It is not used in honorable combat and is usually seen in the hands of those who are desperate or disgruntled, or even with the Unathi who live in the North. These types of weapons are imported from cities with space ports where people can buy and trade firearms. Laser weaponry is generally preferred, as the harsh sands of Moghes tend to wear down and break the moving parts of ballistic weapons. Crossbows and longbows made from sinew or dried entrails are tools used in hunting, and rarely you may find some scavenged from Precursor ruins that utilize radiation bolts. However, these types of ancient weapons are hard to procure, and are usually seen in the hands of those in higher castes. Should these rare bows be found in the hands of a outcast, someone will certainly be asking uncomfortable questions as to how they got their hands on such a thing.

Cuisine

Unathi dishes are mostly, or all made up of meat, eggs, and fish, as they are a carnivorous species. Vegetables in meals are often just for decoration or flavor, but by no means ever make up the majority of the dish. 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, or even daggers that some often carry around.

Meals are, as expected, prepared by females, or by the hunting party that had killed and gathered the meaty animal. They'll often prefer to drag it in the front gate as a show of pride for their kill, and if they have time, cook it themselves. Otherwise, the duty falls to the women to handle cooking.

The fruits and vegetables used are either farmed where there's ample land to do so (which is usually outside of the settlement walls, or not far from it, where it may be quickly defended in the event of a raid or thief) or gathered by hunters from where it naturally grows in the desert. Fruits harvested from Oases are usually tangy and favored by higher castes as garnish or as a condiment, since they are quite rarely found.

Meat may be cooked, or left raw and bleeding, as it depends on an individual's taste and not worry of bacteria or infection. Eggs are most often left as they are, though they may also be hard boiled or poached as fancy sunny-side up and scrambled recipes are simply too messy to eat. Fish is more often than not prepared the same way as meat.

Technology

Though they are not as advanced as the other known races, the technology they do have is by no means sub-par. Unathi technicians know how to work with wiring, basic keypad coding, weapon development and maintenance, as well as armor repair, the production of water wells and purifiers, mining equipment and transport. However, artificial intelligence, advanced computers, synthesizers and other very advanced technology is beyond them, since it is entirely unneeded. Most, if not all of their technology comes from things carefully studied and reverse engineered from the many Precursors ruins their dot their homeworld. Disagreements may crop up between high caste leaders who live in the ruins as a privilege, and thus they get to decide who studies it and how they go about it, and the religious sects that worship the Precursors, who care for and cherish the technology.

Unathi space travel is still primitive compared to the other spacegoing species. They lack safe means of having their ships take off, and usually fire them out of extremely large, modified mass drivers to launch them into the atmosphere where their engines kick on and take them into space proper. Landing itself is even more dangerous, as Unathi have not developed a guaranteed way of returning home safely. Most of their space travel is spent drifting, with the precious engine fuel used to steady their course. Upon returning home, their objective is simply to try and land without managing to wreck their ship.

Moghes has almost no universal defense fleet; each capital has their own small force consisting of carrier ships to deal with pirates raiding their supply lines. Due to their concept of honor, ranged space combat is all but impossible for them. Instead, the carrier ships have a specialized bay that carries up to four smaller breacher ships that have the appearance of an oversized torpedo with a sharp, jagged head. These are fired from the bay a safe distance from the aggressor, and are designed to impact the hull and then disperse boarding parties into the enemy ship, taking it from within.

Many Unathi clans take engineering as a family craft, especially those near the poles of the planet, where fleets are launched from. Prior to the standardization of specially-tailored hardsuits, each of these families had their own designs which required Precursor technology. As a result, these suits were very rare. Through either bartering or espionage, NanoTrasen came into possession of several of these unique schematics and joined them together to create a higher-quality suit. Now, they sell them not only to the capitals for their breacher crews, but to exiles and pirates alike.

Military

Battles for Unathi vary greatly depending on who is fighting who. The armed forces of most settlements stick to the honor codes regarding melee combat. When in an engagement with other armies, the formation will consist of battle lines. Shieldmen will be in front, and breakers behind and in between to try and overpower the defense of their enemy. Should these lines fall, the ones behind them will attempt to fill in the gaps. Located near the rear of the lines are officers and commanders, as well as the drummers who will convey and scream orders.

Combat also varies depending on the region of the settlements at war. Soldiers who hail from the equator will often break their lines to seek a single kill, whereas those who live in the temperate north will, if at all possible, try to make non-lethal blows or try and make their lethal blows quick and painless. Those nearer to the poles do not adhere so much to the melee code many Unathi follow, and have no qualms in using ranged or laser weapons in battles.

Fights with, or between outcasts or refugee groups are fought with a value on survival over killing their enemies. Rather than taking part in lines and formations, these groups fight their battles in a hit and run style, favoring terrain advantages and guerrilla warfare against both other outcasts or refugees, as well as the disciplined settlement militaries.

Unarmed combat styles for Unathi vary by clan and settlement, but most focus on the usage of claws as well as grappling to disable an enemy, headbutting, and an overall goal to expose the neck for biting.

Most battles are fought by simple infantry, as mounted units are something uncommon. When they do show up, they are usually feared by their enemies, unless they have a lot of polearms in their possession. They function like typical human cavalry, using their mount to run into the enemy formation and swipe at heads or necks. They may also come equipped with lances instead, which are used to power through enemy defenses. Animals used as mounts are typically threshbeasts or specifically bred scale-cattle meant to be fast on their legs. However, raising and training these animals takes patience and a few years, which is why the sight of mounted infantry so rare.

Religion

The religions of Moghes are as equally diverse as it's natives. Much like perceptions of honor, the following of each faith is entirely regional, and none hold many more followers than the other.

Some Unathi, mostly those who live in the north, follow a faith dubbed the Hand of the Vine. They are semi-nomadic groups who believe that the event which caused the desertification of Moghes was not a tragedy, but an opportunity to shape the world in their image. They are dedicated to the spreading and breeding of all plant life, be it crops, brush, or flowers. Acolytes carry small bags with thousands of seeds, with the most common being a tough vine called 'Velo' that is well-suited to turning sand to soil. Followers like to refer to themselves as 'her hands', due to the belief nature is passive and feminine. As a result, females are treated with more respect, though are still expected to stay back and tend to existing gardens while men search for new horizons. Upon death, they are cremated and spread amongst plants, fertilizing them with their remains.

Another commonly practiced faith is centralized around the worship of the Precursors and their technology. They feel that these beings are of a higher intelligence, and respect them for all that they have done. It is not a religion in the true sense, as they do not feel the Precursors are gods, but rather they simply wish to preserve all that they have done and make sure that their technology, architecture, and scriptures are not lost to history. They revere the ruins and artifacts left behind by the Precursors, and arguments amongst the members of the faith who are higher caste are not uncommon when discussing how to go about researching or handling ancient artifacts.

Yet a third faith, one practiced mostly by Unathi who live near the equator, is the Grand Strategem. In a region where survival and honor is held in high regard, the Strategem teaches that war shouldn't simply be a tool of destruction, but rather a tutor with many lessons to teach the soldiers that survive. The Grand Strategem speaks through victory and defeat, through tactics both solid and flawed. It is a manifestation of war itself, and its followers believe that every conflict has a lesson to be learned.

The last faith practiced on Moghes is called the Fruitful Lights, and focuses more on the creation of products and goods. They believe that the Precursors created them so that they may create more. Most of the followers of this faith are farmers, craftsmen, engineers and the like. There are no temples, only workshops, and the faith of an individual is judged by the product that he creates. A fisherman who hauls in a greater catch would be considered closer to the Precursors. They share a competition with the Hands of the Vine in the farming industry, and it has gotten to a pont where even espionage has been reported between the two. 'Religious' leaders are those who have mastered a craft, and their acolytes are the ones they are teaching it to. Men generally perform the more labor-based works, with females performing the arts and less physical tasks.

Disease

"Black egg" Syndrom is a genetic defect found in some females in semi-rare cases, and even rarer in males (Though it manifests in it's own form of extreme impotency.). It is a case where laid eggs are both always coming in singles, and the egg itself has a black shell, is 3 times as thick as normal egg shells, and has a tarpy texture instead of a brittle one, in some cultures this may get the female branded and exiled as unfit for breeding, or declared unfit for breeding or other female duties and treated/casted like a male and trusted with their responsibilities, while the eggs are left to die. In others that do understand this condition, it is treatable by two methods, to either pry open the egg shell with sharp implements and effort. (Call Unathi Kreiger and give him a saw and crowbar) or genetic therapy, though the exact line of code that causes this hasn't been found.

Date and Time

Unathi in general tend not to record global history like humans or Skrell have done. Rather, they focus on clan or territorial history, though most keep a basic calendar system to track days and years. Their seasons are Moto and Jua, which are the equivalent of Terran summer and winter respectively. Temperature changes are mostly felt nearer to the poles, but even in the desert the length of days will still be affected, becoming shorter or longer depending on the season. Each of the two seasons last roughly two hundred days, so when the two hundredth day of Jua passes, it would be considered a new year.

For example, to predict or recall a certain date, an Unathi would phrase it in a way such as "The twelfth day of Jua, five years ago." or something similar.

Unsurprisingly, the Unathi keep time tracked loosely by sundials. These primitive yet effective clocks are split up into four quarters. Rather than use numeral digits like humans, they instead pay attention to the slant of the shadow. When it is facing zero degrees, then it is considered dawn, a new day, even if it is before sunrise. At ninety, breakfast should be over with and Unathi should be starting to prepare for their work day. One hundred and eighty degrees is midday, most commonly seen as a trading rush-hour or a time for large, friendly lunches. And when the slant is at two hundred and seven degrees, the work day begins to wind down and the Unathi return home to their clans for their evening meals.

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