Ehlen

The Ehlen are a species of large mammalian warrior-philosophers that pride themselves in maintaining honor and their martial abilities. Through trickery and legal wrangling of their combat trials, they became unequal partners to the Interstellar Kingdom Of Kuvexia (Kuvexians) in BYE 1200 in an alliance after first contact. Their homeworld is Ehl, located within the Qiangyin system.

After the collapse of the Interstellar Kingdom Of Kuvexia, Ehlen (along with their holdings) has entered a period of recession.

Ehlen are tall and muscular humanoids that faintly resemble wolverines.

Ehlen arms end with hands that have 4 digits (3 fingers and a thumb), allowing them to easily make use of Kuvexian weaponry in addition to their own. Their feet have an equal amount of digits. Their hulking muscular frames are covered in fur. Black is the most common color of fur, but dark browns to grey also occur depending on the home environment of a clan. Half of their fur is made of a natural polymer that protects them from acidic water such as weak hydrochloric acid rain.

Their eyes are typically a very dark brown color, but shades of green and blue have been known to occur.

Females only have pronounced breasts when nursing their young. Afterward, they remain in a reduced state.

The gestation period for Ehlen is the same as for humans, roughly nine months. But a female Ehlen can have 2 to 4 children potentially from different fathers as the first fertilized egg is suspended and creates a 2-month window for additional eggs to be fertilized as they are released. This is rare as Ehlen mate in permanent pair-bonds.

The Ehlen are omnivores, requiring a mixed diet of animal and plant proteins. Compared to humans kilogram for kilogram, their diet requires a larger ratio of meat. Due to their unique environment, if Ehlen go a week without eating the polymer native to most Ehl wildlife, Ehlen begin to become fatigued.

This can be partially compensated by eating more carbohydrates, but an Ehlen will become sickened long term. Supplements were created to counter this when the species discovered alien life millennia ago.

The homeworld of the Ehlen is a chilly world with trace amounts of chlorine in the atmosphere and is largely covered in a temperate rainforest. Ehlen bodies can survive between the temps -30 to 25 °C (-22 to 70 °F), with the Ehlen being most comfortable in environments that have a mean annual temperature is between 4 and 12 °C (39 and 54 °F).

Ehlen architecture and way of living try to respect nature and its spirits as much as possible without getting in the way of progress and martial defensiveness. Ehlen dwellings and buildings always look like miniature naturalistic fortresses within the defensive walls of the greater community. Within the center of each level, a natural place can always be found. Within a dwelling, this could be a hydroponics garden or a stone garden, while within the largest cities it could be a nature preserve to serve as a hunting ground.

Their style is a cultural vestige from when tribes and clans waged war against each other for resources.

The average Ehlen can live up to the age of 70 years naturally. Though with modern medical technology, this can be extended up to 150 years. After an Ehlen reaches halfway in their life (35 or 75 years old), the fur on their heads and back begins to grey. Bone and muscular degeneration tend to happen around the last decade of life.

The average Ehlen has a wide range of emotions/personality quirks like humans. The most defining trait of Ehlen psychology is the strict adherence of a code of honor that binds their society together. Part of the code is to always be careful and prepared for all situations. So while they are naturally curious and imaginative, they take a long time to accept foreign individuals and ideas. Ehlen are usually known to be racially intolerant as long as a species appears capable and strong.

But of those (Ehlen or Xeno) that gain their trust, the average Ehlen is a joyful individual. Ehlen hate stagnation and usually want to be both physically and mentally engaged.

Ehlen are honor-bound warrior-philosophers at heart that value martial abilities and strategic thinking. They are also a spiritual people with a religion that is polytheistic with a few chief deities and multiple lesser deities representing different aspects of their society. The basic social unit within their culture is the pack, consisting of 5 to 7 pair-bonds (1 being the alpha pair) and their offspring. Typically pack members belong to the same clan, though mixed clan groups do occur when there is no intra-conflict between clans.

Ehlen are technically equal to each other, but their rank in society determines what perks they can claim from it. Ranking depends on their level of ability to contribute to society. This system has its roots from ancient traditions of one's hunting/fighting ability determining station in life within a pack/clan. Those that lacking in cunning or weak tend to be regulated to the role of laborers (menial wage slaves) as they can still contribute to society. The most intelligent/cunning Ehlnen can be found in leadership, engineering/scientific, or merchant/finance roles as they tend to contribute the most. The most aggressive and capable of learning the combat arts can be found as mercenaries for the Kuvexians.

The Ehlen do not judge males and females differently beyond the female importance in maintaining the population. Females are expected to be highly capable warriors (or some other useful function of society if not needed), but a tribe/clan that makes them expendable is one that will not survive for long.

The Ehlen enjoy competitive sports. Those of lower status prefer physical sports such as Ganlanqiu, while those of higher status prefer competitive games that engage strategy more than brute force. Other forms of entertainment range from writing poetry to singing opera. The most popular genres of music can be interpreted by Nepleslian ears as a mixture of Industrial Metal and Yamataian Kabuki. It is not uncommon for an Ehlen to sing (regardless of ability) when happy.

The Ehlen prefer dressing in clothing that blends with the environment, such as whites and grays in artic conditions and soil tan in sandy deserts. To the Ehlen, someone who dresses in gaudy colors is either extremely confident in their skills as a warrior or is a fool. As such, Ehlen that are artist than warrior will make the lining of their clothing elaborate, showing them off in private company. The Paragons allow this as it doesn't technically breach any social norms.

The Ehlen are fond of wearing poncho-like external clothing, with semi-loose pants and shirts underneath them. Headwear is either omitted or angled-like hat with a chin strap is worn. Glasses or cybernetics that correct their vision are usually designed to blend with their clothing as well with those styled like pince-nez being the most common.

Ehlen have a love for meat, preferring to roast or fry their food. In their distant past, Ehlen were known to eat the flesh of their opponents but only the most bloodthirsty of clans do not suppress this component of their nature. The average meal of an Ehlen consists of 60% protein, 20% plant matter, and 20% carbs. Ehlen love making a noodle-like food for carbs and have come up with a multitude of dishes using it. The best thing that goes with it, in their opinion, is roasted cloned Elefirn meat. But the meat is highly illegal.

Standard Ehlen language (known locally as Yue) is a tonal language with 5 baseline tones and 5 vowels. It uses two sets of iconographic characters with an emerging third set from Kuvexian influence, which covers 48 syllables. To humans of a rare ethnic group, it sounds closest to Terran Chinese. Numerous dialects and languages also exist, including one that is not tonal and could be slightly understood by Yamataians on occasion.

One set of characters is used for the core meaning of words within the language. The second set is used to modify the meaning of the word to give the ultimate meaning, while the third is used for Kuvexians words that get adopted by the language. All but the third one can be used as particles within the language. All of them consist of three components representing the initial sound, the tone, and the final sound of the syllable.

For example, one syllable is ma1. M is the initial, 1 represents the tone of the syllable, and a is the vowel sound. Final consonant blends are also within the language.

Ehlen names consist of their given name, the name of their mother, clan name, and the region from which they hail. For example: Ursla Yon Brutana Ghrali Ehval. In formal situations, the mother's name is omitted. In informal situations, a nickname is used within the family and social units. As such a particularly popular Ehlen might have numerous nicknames only used within certain situations. It is an insult, however, for someone to use such a nickname when they are not a member of the group.

A partner species of the Kuvexians, the Ehlen politics external of their world and colonies largely default to the Kuvexians as terms of their alliance dictate. Internally, the Ehlen system of governance looks nothing like the Interstellar Kingdom Of Kuvexia.

The Ehlen operate a fairly multicultural society (if you can adopt their warrior ways and fight) where citizens are ranked by social ranks based on their merits. It is not at all uncommon for someone to be promoted and demoted back down a few short years. Though it is limited for the people behind the promotion are similarly punished for advancing someone not ready for the responsibilities.

All those born or naturalized into the Union start of at rank 1. National service (military, industrial, or scientific in nature) is needed to advance to rank 2 and above. At each sub-tier of ranks, the highest (and those of greater responsibility) are the Elders. Elders form councils with other units at their tier of society (families, community, city, clan, etc.).

The highest among the citizens are the paragons that form the supreme council. Each within the supreme council is the leader of the strongest clans of the Ehlen. In the past, decisions required a majority to agree for it to past. But roughly 500 years ago, a Grand Paragon is needed to keep them in line and keep things from stalling after the events of the Morning War.

Every 4 years, Elders and Paragons undergo a period of time where they must accept challenges to their leadership from those worthy to be promoted. They always involve combat, but the incumbent is allowed to decide on what form and type of combat it will take. The most preferred format are tournaments where the strongest contenders have a chance to be weeded out by chance. Deaths have been known to occur, which often result in rivalries and grudges forming among the clans.

The Ehlen legal system is a complex system relying on mediation at the lowest problems to solve issues. Typically contract lawyers and wisest intellectuals facilitate these. Issues that are cannot be solved are usually resolved through trials of combat or the offender outright executed.

While a force similar to police exists within cities, the main force for maintaining peace is an order of Warrior Monks calling themselves “The Guiding Hand”. They are tasked with enforcing the laws and dealing with violations as it is deemed necessary according to a code updated over the centuries via consensus. The closest analogy in the Kikyo Sector is the Ketsurui Samurai's Fukei.

Courts similar to those found in the Kikyo Sector largely deal with contracts instead of criminal law.

As an unequal partner with the Kuvexians, the Ehlen economy is dominated by the Kuvexians. As such, the Ehlen heavily rely on the Kuvexians for food (Kuvexians run their farms), resources, etc. Though elements of their old honor-based culture make Ehlen excellent arbiters of complicated Kuvexian contractual disputes, which allows them some influence.

The Ehlen, despite their stark differences in cultures, have the utmost respect for the Kuvexians. This is due to the Ehlen strong adherence of honor, propaganda from Kuvexians and their Ehlen collaborators, manipulation, and centuries of the status quo. Regarding the Elefirn, Ehlen look down on them as a weak species that has to work hard to not be viewed a prey and worthy of respect. The Ehlen have the worst relationship with the Rixxikor, viewing them as nothing but target practice to the average Ehlen.

Surprisingly, the Ehlen choose to ignore the Graxlat as long as they keep to the trash the Ehlen create.

Even before their contact and eventual alliance with the Kuvexians, the Ehlen was a space-faring species. Ehlen scientists have a specialty in metallurgy, plastics, energy manipulation, and a decent understanding of cybernetics. These specialties help them contribute to the development of power armor, power systems, and weapons.

Kuvexian Military Equipment

Demibear created this article on 2020/08/21 20:15.

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