(0 unused cultural affinity points)
Warmongerers / Military Production: 8
Scientists / Research Income: 5
Theologians / Faith Income: 2
Race Name: Lorca
Name of Faction: A Lorca Ghaj (Eng: The Lorca Imperium)
Government Structure: The government structure favours achievement over anything else... And that achievement is either military or technological. Given their proud warrior culture it is perhaps inevitable that the military holds a considerable degree of power (indeed, all are trained from birth to fight so they can be called on if need be). At the top of the government is the high council, a body composed of three High Councillors. These councillors are elected by the council and then adopt a new ceremonial name.
Below them is the Council, composed of 200 councillors. These recieve a ceremonial suffix -Ax
Next come the lower councils and below them the Ministries. Both adopt the honourific suffix of -Oi
Race Biology: Lorca are muscular and tall, usually standing between 2.23 and 2.57 meters. Their jaws are quadruple-hinged, with an upper jaw and four lower mandibles arranged in two tiers. Mandible and upper jaw structure along with teeth shape and numbers result from different phenotypes, usually relative to ethnicity. They are still compatible with other members of the species, however. These mandibles have between eight and twelve teeth each and some Lorca, those whose descent is from the Lorca inhabitants of Sarudun, have an additional, larger fang on the tips of each mandible. Anywhere from eight to more than a dozen broader teeth may be mounted on the upper jaw structure. This structure will likely make it harder for them to speak alien languages, and vice versa, as some of the pronunciation is through mandible positioning which most other species lack, and as the Lorca have mandibles they have no lips to position to make certain sounds. They are omnivores however they are more inclined towards eating meat and their body is more adapted towards carnivorous. Lorca smell with the use of two nostrils, each slightly in front of and below the eye socket. Given their predatory nature, their sense of smell is very developed.
Their hands are tetradactyl, each having two fingers in the middle and an opposable thumb on either side. Their legs are digitigrade, with short upper and lower legs, using the two phalanges in their legs to support their weight when walking. This arrangement allows them to run very quickly and jump large distances. Their agility may also be attributed to their homeworld's high gravity (Which is 1.6G); the additional strength required to move normally in a higher-gravity environment would cause them to be more powerful in lower gravity situations. They also have a double set of pectoral muscles, which contributes to their notable strength. As an aside, their digitigrade stance makes it difficult for them to climb ladders
Lorca have a circulatory system in which two hearts pump indigo-colored blood, as their blood has a high level of hemoglobin. This higher level of hemoglobin and secondary heart is used to offset their larger size. Through a rare birth defect, they are sometimes born with only a single heart and while they will survive with only a single heart, they have much less stamina than their two hearted brethren. They breathe oxygen and their homeworld has a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere.
Lorca have gray scaley skin, though those descended from the inhabitants of the Arusa subcontinent are a gray-brown colour. They have forward-facing eyes with vertical slits and horizontal eyelids that are reptilian in nature, giving them high-resolution central vision and depth perception. Interestingly, they have 4 types of cone cells in the eyes, however in most only three of these function correctly, the nerve ending in the fourth cone does not transmit to the brain. However, those descended from the inhabitants of the Arusa sub-continent or the Tauri islands have a fully function fourth cone, allowing them to see ultra-violet light spectrums. The Lorca have approximately 130 million rod cells in their eyes. Their eyes are almost universally colored an yellow-orange.
Lorca exhibit minor sexual dimorphism, with the females being slightly smaller than the males and they are oviparous, laying eggs rather than giving live birth. The species is remarkably long-lived; Lorca over 70-80 years of age are usually fit for combat duty and their average life span is currently around 124 years. They also possess the ability to regrow lost limbs over a period of several months if properly fed
Cultural History: Although the Lorca had evolved to chase and hunt creatures comparable in size to dogs, their natural prey did not move in herds but were generally solitary. As such, while individuals could feed themselves, supporting tribes was near impossible. As such Lorca relied on pack tactics to bring down much larger prey in order to feed their tribes in the prehistoric era. This, coupled with the dangers that many of their new prey posed, led to them relying on each other heavily. Over time, these strong brotherhoods created codes of honour, which became high in value.
Over time they moved to a more technologically advanced society, but the ideals of honour were resistant to damage. For most Lorca, an existence without honour is worse than death.
Naturally, the way to gain honour in earl society was through combat, and lacking an understanding if the world religions began to form around what has since been named in the most common tongue of the Lorca as "A Kha o a Lor", or "The Path of the Warrior". It was believed that only those with honour would be admitted into paradise upon death, and that the honour of a family was also taken into account during the day of judgement. Naturally, the link was in time made between Family Honour and blood and as such honour became associated with blood. Since honour was carried in the blood, when one bleeds they are losing some of their honour. The spike of adrenaline during battle was said to be the feeling of honour rushing into the blood.
Even though they now know the biology behind it and that blood carries no DNA, the traditions behind it still remain and some even contend that having an operation in shameful as it makes you "bleed without honour"
When the eggs are layed, most are turned over and the raised by the "Shapers" of the area. The young may have little communication with their parents or even none at all. These "Warrior Crèches'" are divided into Lances, which are the equivalent of squads in the Ghaj. Upon reaching the coming of age, the Lances are transferred to the fields it is believed would suit them best. These Lances are kept together where possible, and usually regard each other as brothers. Youths who are part of a Warrior Crèche have the suffix of -oo. The shapers have suffixes relative to their field, there is no shaper suffix.
Members of the military have the suffix -oa. "Swordsmen" have the suffix -ei, which denotes nobility; All swordsmen are automatically made part of the nobility, however the title is not hereditary. Swordsmen are allowed to wield the Plasma Sword, a weapon that is valued highly. It is considered an honourable weapon for a Lorca to use as it requires them to get close to their opponent, and to meet your fate on the tip of a Plasma Sword is considered one of the "least dishonourable" ways to be killed in battle, as it cauterises the wound and as such prevents blood loss, thus minimising the loss of honour. The plasma sword works by containing super heated plasma within a magnetic field to form a "blade". It is devastating in combat, though it requires the user to be close to their target.
With the advent of technology and enlightenment, technological prowess has become a new avenue for gaining honour. It is considered that a scientist will share in any honour his ideas and technologies lead to the creation of.
Social Structure: As has been mentioned above, the government is made up of the High Council, the Council. The Lower Councils and the ministries. After them comes the rest of society. It is hard to tell where the military begins and ends, as every member of society is trained to be a warrior. All members of society also hold a military rank as such. The higher members of society hold higher ranks.
Marriage exists, but is discouraged until the two partners are older. Known as "Binding", the two agree to whatever vows they decide, however one is universal: To protect each others honour and body.
There are rites and rituals that individuals perform that constitute legal agreements. These are often legally binding (which automatically constitutes honour binding) though some are not legally enforced. These may change social placement depending on the agreement.
The nobility is a distinct class, made of the dominions rulers and Swordsmen. Nobility is not hereditary, however having a noble parent may increase ones chances of becoming a noble. Nobles are granted certain rights others are not, but more responsibilities are placed on them and failure can have disastrous consequence's for the offending noble
Reaction to Aliens: Generally, they will attempt to make contact with aliens. However, they will keep their weaponry ready... and will almost certainly challenge a representative to a fight at the slightest insult to their honour
Having never seen a starry sky, write a first hand account of your race's explorer's reaction to seeing the densely packed vastness near the galactic core upon passing through the gate:
“Get the group ready to move through the Eye” The fleet Master barked, as the ships moved slowly forwards towards the gate. It activated in a blast of light, but the fleet master kept his eyes on it through the view screens. “We ascend from darkness.”
The ships glided forwards towards the event horizon of the portal, passing through it in formation and being teleported across space to the nexus station some million light years away.
The specs of light that stuck to the black void were reminiscent of jewels strewn over black velvet, glitter taunting them with its beauty.
"By the blood of my father..." he whispered. A gate, the object was a portal. That confirmed the suspicions
And now here he was. Like the captains of old who had established great Empires, the Fleet Master stood staring at his new find assessing it.
The reports returned and these glistening lights turned out to be balls of fire, similar to the ball of fire in their own homes… And presumably with rocks orbiting them like the rocks at home as well…
Like the captains of old, he stood in awe of his own find and the riches it would bring. But someone must have built this, there must be aliens of some sort across these stars. So were those to be the Lorca’s colonial competition? So be it…
Robotics - 5
Cold Fusion -5
Quantum Computing -5
Particle Manipulation -5
Ballistics -5
Industrial robotics -10
AI -10
Impulse drive -10
Particle fields -10
Particle Beams -15
Magnetic Shielding -15
Left over points 5
