Unreviewed Gorathi

[A Phoenix]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

• Intent: Create a new "hybrid" species as the descendants of a former colonization project in the Mokk system.
• Image Credit: All images included in this submission were generated using OpenAI image generation. Prompt and generation by me
• Canon: Gorathi are hybrids of Human and Devaronian
• Permissions: N/A
• Links: Mokk System

GENERAL INFORMATION

• Name: Gorathi
• Designation: Sentient
• Origins: Lost Colony from Mokk IX settled on moon of nearby gas giant Makk VIII
• Average Lifespan: 80–95 standard years
• Estimated Population: Scattered – 95+% of Gothari would be on their home moon or Mokk IX.
• Description: The Gorathi are a peaceful, low-technology agrarian people descended from a post Palpatine colony, whose population included Human settlers and Devaronian labor migrants. Centuries of isolation, interbreeding, and environmental adaptation produced a distinct hybrid species that values simplicity, tradition, and sustainable farming over technological progress.
  
  They are known among Mokkan traders as "Moonsteaders"—reliable producers of heirloom grains, fiber-plants, and hardy livestock.

PHYSICAL INFORMATION

• Breathes: Type 1
• Average Height of Adults: 1.7–1.9 meters
• Average Length of Adults: N/A
• Skin color: Warm earthen hues (tan, russet, copper, muted crimson)
• Hair color: Thick and coarse, typically dark brown, black, or auburn
• Eye color: Gold, amber, or deep brown; excellent low-light vision
• Distinctions: Small backward-curving horns on both sexes (unlike Devaronians). Slightly ridged brow and cheek structure. Enhanced stamina and heat tolerance. Dense musculature adapted for manual labor. Highly efficient metabolism suited to sparse or seasonal food supply.
• Races:
  • Plains Gorathi (Baseline)
    • Region: Central grain belts and river valleys
    • Nickname: Fieldborn
    • Traits:
      • Broad, muscular builds for heavy farm labor
      • Medium backward-curving horns
      • Amber or brown eyes
      • Warm tan to copper skin tones
    • Culture:
      • Largest population group
      • Traditional clan farming and seed stewardship
      • Most offworld trade representatives come from Plains clans
  • Highland Gorathi
    • Region: Wind-carved mesas and elevated plateaus
    • Nickname: Stonehorns
    • Traits:
      • Shorter but denser builds
      • Thicker, heavier horns angled forward slightly (used historically for defense against cliff predators)
      • Pale reddish or ash-toned skin
      • Expanded lung capacity for thin air
    • Culture:
      • Terrace farming and hardy root crops
      • Stone architecture and cliffside settlements
      • More insular and cautious of outsiders
  • Marsh Gorathi
    • Region: Southern wetlands and floodplains
    • Nickname: Reedwalkers
    • Traits:
      • Leaner frames for agility in waterlogged terrain
      • Slightly flattened, wider feet
      • Darker skin tones (deep umber to muted red-brown)
      • Shorter horns that curve outward to avoid snagging vegetation
    • Culture:
      • Aquatic farming (floating gardens, water-grains)
      • Expert animal handlers for marsh beasts
      • Skilled herbalists and natural medicine practitioners
  • Stormbelt Gorathi
    • Region: Equatorial electrical storm zones beneath the gas giant's magnetosphere
    • Nickname: Skyward
    • Traits:
      • Thick hair and body insulation
      • Ridged horn bases that help disperse static charge (natural resistance to electrical shocks)
      • Golden or bright amber eyes adapted to low visibility
      • Weathered, darker skin
    • Culture:
      • Mobile farm-clans that relocate seasonally
      • Advanced wind and lightning capture for limited power
      • Strong spiritual traditions tied to storms and celestial cycles
      • Many Fieldseers originate here
  All groups interbreed freely and consider themselves one people. Differences are seen as environmental traditions, not separate identities. Annual Gathering of Seasons includes delegations from every region to exchange seed stock, livestock lines, and weather knowledge.
• Force Sensitivity: Rare culturally respected.
  Force-sensitive Gorathi are called Fieldseers, believed to "hear the will of the land." Most never leave the moon unless recruited quietly by Jedi, mystics, or independent Force traditions.

Strengths:

• Empathic Sensitivity - Many Gorathi possess a low-level empathic awareness (with occasional true Force sensitivity). Even non-Force-sensitive individuals tend to be emotionally perceptive, making them: Skilled mediators, Difficult to deceive in person, and Socially cohesive within their communities. This trait strengthens diplomacy and reduces internal conflict.
• Ecological Mastery - Centuries of agrarian life on Gorath's Haven have made the Gorathi experts in: Sustainable agriculture, Soil regeneration and water management, and Climate-conscious settlement planning. They can make marginal land productive without industrial overreach.
• Cultural Stability - Gorathi society emphasizes patience, balance, and communal responsibility. As a result: Crime rates are extremely low, Political upheaval is rare, and Multi-generational continuity is strong. Their Root Circle structure provides psychological and economic resilience.

Weaknesses:

• Low Technological Drive - The Gorathi are cautious adopters of advanced technology. This leads to: Military vulnerability, Dependence on offworld trade for high-tech needs, and Slower adaptation to rapidly changing galactic politics. They often fall behind more aggressive civilizations.
• Emotional Overload - Their empathic tendencies can become a liability: Overstimulation in dense urban or high-conflict environments, Difficulty functioning in chaotic war zones, and Susceptibility to manipulation through emotional feints. Highly aggressive species can overwhelm them socially.
• Conflict Aversion - Gorathi philosophy prioritizes harmony over dominance. While admirable, this can result in: Delayed defensive responses, Reluctance to escalate when escalation is necessary, and Internal hesitation during crises. They prefer negotiation long after other species have drawn weapons.

CULTURE

• Diet: Omnivore - primarily plant-based, supplemented by dairy and wool-producing herd animals. Hunting is rare and only practiced ceremonially or when ecological balance requires population control.
• Communication: Spoken Language - Gorathi Common
  • Derived from Basic with Devaronian tonal elements
  • Rich agricultural vocabulary
  • Many idioms related to weather, soil, and growth
• Technology level: Below Galactic Standard
• Religion/Beliefs: The Way of the Living Ground, (often shortened to The Grounding). It teaches that all life is part of a single living cycle connecting soil, sky, time, and spirit. While not Force-based, many outsiders recognize its teachings as a naturalistic interpretation of the Living Force. The Way is practical, quiet, and integrated into daily life rather than centered on temples or clergy.
• General behavior: The Gorathi are peaceful agriculturalists, slow to change but deeply resilient. Their strength lies not in technological advancement or expansion, but in social cohesion, ecological mastery, and a quiet ability to endure across generations.
  
  Gorathi society is agrarian, community-centered, and guided by tradition, patience, and a deep spiritual relationship with the land. Their daily life reflects their core belief that all living things exist within a shared cycle known as the Great Weave.
  
  Family & Community Life:
  Gorathi live in extended family units called Root Circles, typically composed of several generations sharing land, labor, and responsibility. Child-rearing is communal; while parents are primary caregivers, elders and other relatives actively participate in teaching practical skills, cultural stories, and spiritual values. Respect for elders is strong, as they are seen as living memory and stewards of wisdom. Several regional Root Circles for a Clanstead Circle for representation on the Council
  
  Raising the Young:
  Children are introduced early to farming, animal care, and ecological stewardship. Formal schooling is minimal; education is experiential and seasonal. Young Gorathi participate in planting cycles, harvest festivals, and quiet observation practices meant to strengthen their natural empathic sensitivity. At adolescence, individuals undergo a Listening Rite, spending several days alone in nature to discover their personal role within the community.
  
  Courtship & Mating:
  Gorathi courtship is slow and deliberate. Potential partners typically meet through shared labor, seasonal gatherings, or spiritual observances. Pair-bonding is based on compatibility of temperament and life purpose rather than status or appearance. Once bonded, mates usually remain together for life, though separation is accepted if harmony is lost. Families are generally small, with great emphasis placed on stability and emotional development.
  
  Daily Activity Cycle:
  Gorathi are diurnal, rising with the system's primary star and resting shortly after sunset. Their schedule follows agricultural rhythms rather than mechanical timekeeping.
  
  Occupations & Skills:
  • Primarily farmers, orchard tenders, and herdkeepers
  • Skilled in soil management, seed preservation, and low-impact irrigation
  • Known for crafting durable textiles, claywork, and simple organic tools
  • Limited use of advanced technology; when necessary, they rely on off-world trade rather than local industrial development
  They are builders, but their structures are modest and grown or shaped to blend with the environment rather than dominate it.
  
  Exploration & Innovation:
  The Gorathi are not explorers by nature. They value stability and continuity over expansion. Innovation occurs slowly and only when it supports ecological balance or community well-being. Rapid technological change is viewed with caution.
  
  Interaction with Other Species:
  Gorathi are polite, patient, and quietly observant when encountering outsiders. Their natural emotional sensitivity allows them to read intentions, making them difficult to deceive but also easily overwhelmed by aggressive or chaotic personalities. They prefer trade relationships based on fairness and long-term trust.
  
  Diplomatically, they present as humble but perceptive negotiators. They avoid conflict whenever possible and favor mediation, resource-sharing agreements, and non-binding cooperative arrangements.
  
  Social Values:
  • Balance over growth
  • Community over individual ambition
  • Patience over speed
  • Stewardship over ownership
  • Harmony over conquest

HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Gorathi trace their origins to a breakaway agrarian movement on Mokk IX, where rapid industrial expansion and urban consolidation reshaped society within a few generations. As cities climbed skyward and agricultural production became increasingly automated, a minority of Human and Devaronian laborers began to feel displaced—not economically, but philosophically. They believed life had accelerated beyond what was spiritually sustainable.

The Departure
A coalition of agricultural cooperatives pooled their savings and secured a decommissioned long-haul colony vessel. It was stocked with heirloom seed vaults, embryonic livestock and draft animals, soil cultures and microbial banks, basic atmospheric processors and minimal industrial machinery. Approximately 2,000 settlers departed—estimated at 60–70% Human and 30–40% Devaronian—intending to establish a quiet agri-colony beyond the accelerating sphere of Mokkan development. Most were farmers, irrigation technicians, soil engineers, and laborers. Notably absent were experienced deep-space navigators; the voyage was planned as a carefully calculated one-way settlement jump.

The Miscalculation
Shortly after departure from the Mokk system’s inner lanes, an exit vector error occurred. The navigational crew—competent but inexperienced—misjudged gravitational drift and solar pull. Before the ship could safely realign for hyperspace, it was forced toward the dense asteroid boundary near the system’s primary star.

The vessel sustained catastrophic structural damage during emergency evasive maneuvers. With primary engines compromised and hull integrity failing, the crew initiated a blind descent toward the nearest stable gravity well: the habitable-zone moon orbiting Mokk VIII. The crash landing was survivable—but devastating.

The Shipbound Generations
The moon that would become Gorath’s Haven possessed a Type II atmosphere—thin, chemically imbalanced, and incapable of sustaining Human or Devaronian respiration without filtration. The colonists sealed the fractured colony ship and converted it into a permanent habitat.

For nearly three generations, the survivors lived inside the vessel’s skeletal remains.

Agricultural decks were restructured into hydroponic bays. Atmospheric processors were repurposed to slowly vent stabilizing gases into the surrounding environment. Water reclamation became sacred work. Livestock populations were tightly controlled to prevent ecosystem collapse.

During this era—known in Gorathi oral tradition as The Long Shelter—cultural blending accelerated. Human and Devaronian distinctions softened out of necessity. Intermarriage was practical and common. Survival overrode former planetary identity.

The Atmospheric Turning
Over decades, the settlers employed gradual environmental influence:

• Controlled release of nitrogen and trace gases
• Microbial seeding to encourage oxygen production
• Ice capture from local asteroid fragments
• Bioculture adaptation for surface mosses and hardy grasses

Whether through deliberate terraforming, fortunate planetary conditions, or a combination of both, the moon’s atmosphere thickened incrementally. It did not become lush—but it became survivable.

The first unfiltered breath taken outside the ship is marked in Gorathi calendars as The First Wind.

Emergence and Divergence
When the population finally expanded beyond the ship’s hull, settlement patterns followed practical lines:

• Small agricultural enclaves
• Shared irrigation valleys
• Terraced slopes and grazing flats

The original colony ship became a historical relic and spiritual center. Over time, the Gorathi—no longer fully Human nor Devaronian in identity—recognized themselves as something distinct.

Physiological blending, environmental adaptation, and several centuries of genetic isolation solidified their divergence into a new hybrid species: the Gorathi.

Their horns, lung capacity, and neurological sensitivities became stabilized traits within a few centuries.

The Great Grounding
Approximately two centuries after the crash, the remaining orbital atmospheric systems were intentionally decommissioned. By then, the moon’s biosphere had reached a self-sustaining equilibrium.

This event, known as The Great Grounding, symbolized their final severance from dependence on the old world.

The Gorathi no longer considered themselves colonists. They were native.

Rediscovery and Limited Reconnection
For over three centuries, Gorath’s Haven remained effectively isolated. The Mokk system’s expansion prioritized profitable ventures; a failed agrarian colony on a peripheral moon attracted little interest.

Only within the last century did representatives from Mokk IX reestablish formal contact, seeking stable agricultural imports to offset their own hyper-urban consumption.

The Gorathi response was cautious but not hostile.

To manage external relations, they established the Harvest Spire, a modest but symbolically significant structure that now serves as:[/LIST]
[*]Seat of the Agrarian Council
[*]Diplomatic reception center
[*]Trade coordination hub[/LIST]
Despite renewed contact, most Gorathi life remains unchanged.