Irvine Zalass
Character
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a species derived from Sephi that can lean more into the malice that can come from longevity and elegance.
- Image Credit: Xavier Baures
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: Ancestor Species; Sephi
GENERAL INFORMATION- Name: Skorn
- Designation: Sentient
- Origins: unknown regions
- Average Lifespan: 200 years average, 500 years max
- Estimated Population:Planetary (A Large Concentration on a single world or system, rarely found off-world)
- Description: The Skorn look physically similar to their ancestor species the Sephi, however there are some rather stark differences that are recognizable almost instantly, first and foremost is their pallid appearance. Their star is incredibly weak, only a red dwarf, and thus has resulted in a species with stunning pallor. In stark contrast to this their hair is almost always dark, anywhere from a deep brown to a pitch black. The most diversity of color is in their eyes, anywhere from magenta to amber, the ever common brown to a golden, fiery yellow. The dim light of their star has also resulted in their irises becoming reflective, sometimes giving the illusion of glowing eyes to those who see them under the right conditions. They are a tall, generally slender species, with the same height range as their ancestor species in the Sephi, generally ranging from five and a half feet to seven feet at the extremes, averaging around six foot two.
- PHYSICAL INFORMATION
- Breathes: Type I, Oxygen/Nitrogen
- Average Height of Adults: 2 meters (6.5 ft)
- Average Length of Adults: N/A
- Skin color: Pale/Pallid
- Hair color: Black, Brown, Brunette, Red, Occasionally White
- Distinctions: The Skorn tend to be on the taller end for most humanoid species. Other major distinguishing features are their pallid skin, and their sharply pointed ears that can, at times, reach as far as three to five inches in length depending on the individual and their age.
- Races: N/A
- Force Sensitivity:High
- Strengths:
- Strong Senses: On a planet where light is weak and nights are dark, reliance on sight results in better eyes, and it helps to sharpen other senses too. Skorn tend to have incredible hearing and low-light vision.
- Spry: Over millennia the Skorn have developed a natural reactivity and fast-twitch muscle strength that outshines most other sentients. Their reaction times, even without premonition or foresight, are incredible, and their accelerations are equally impressive.
- Weaknesses:
- Sensitive Senses: The drawbacks of having really good sensory organs, is that they're also a lot easier to overload. Loud noises and bright lights, especially when experienced suddenly, can cause significant discomfort or pain to the Skorn that experience it. In some cases it can even be permanently damaging if proper protections aren't put in place.
- Pallor: Their incredibly pale skin, naturally, is rather sensitive to intense radiation and heat. They overheat incredibly easily, burn just as easily, and can suffer from heat related injuries far more easily than most other species. Planets like Tattooine are simply out of the question for them without full environmental protection suits.
- CULTURE
- Diet: Omnivore
- Communication: Spoken language. Generally they speak their native tongue, Skorn, and Galactic Standard.
- Technology level: Galactic Standard with incredibly traditional tendencies. Blasters are generally not used, discarded in favor of more primitive crossbows and metal swords, inclined to enjoy the brutality of messier, more ancient weaponry. They possess hyperdrive capabilities, they are more inclined to remain in their home system, rarely venturing beyond the bounds of their own planets. With a mix of traditionalism and a species-wide sadism the Skorn have the capability to be a lesser power among the other worlds and systems in the galaxy, though prefer to remain isolated and maintain archaic ways of war and life both in deference to tradition, and in a desire to maintain control over their own people by denying them any possible advantages they might gain from foreign technologies, or capabiliof travel.
- Religion/Beliefs: The Skorn follow a Polytheistic belief system. Strength, Legacy, Stability, Fortitude and Dominion are their chief values, and each has a deity associated with it, along with some lesser deities for more specific portfolios, such as craftwork, sorcery and fertility. Temples and shrines to their worship can be found everywhere throughout their home system, and various orders of clerics can be found leading worship of certain cults throughout their towns and cities.
- Kaen is the Skorn god of Strength, Courage and War. He is a destructive and vengeful deity, frequently depicted as a nude or nearly-nude male marked by scars and carrying a sword. Sometimes depicted with wings. His priests are usually recognized by ritual scarification, proudly displayed for all to see, and they often train the warrior caste as they grow into their craft. A temple to Kaen can be found in nearly every major settlement belonging to the Skorn, and a few fortress-monasteries can also be found throughout their system.
- Semra is the Skorn Goddess of Legacy, History and Knowledge. Often depicted as a robed woman whose face is hidden under a deep hood, usually carrying a scroll or book, occasionally with a quill or pen, and sometimes with a serpent coiled around her arms, body or legs. The clergy of Semra is the second most established of the cults, simply because control of knowledge and history, is the easiest way to control a people, they are not commonly seen among the populace, and most often serve in archives, libraries or noble courts as scribes. They are also the arbiters of law, determining guilt or innocence in matters of crime or civil disputes.
- Rozh is the God of Stability, Tradition and Ritual. A god with little financial backing from legal institutions, the common folk are those who worship Rozh, with few clergymen to be found, more often more charismatic or motivated members of a locality will simply take up the job of leading festivals or prayers. To the common people Rozh is the god most often turned to to keep their lives as stable as possible. Common folk are married under Rozh’s watchful gaze, and it is to him they will owe penance if the bonds of marriage are broken. This makes him a technically lesser, but utterly indispensable deity for both the people and their overlords.
- The god of Fortitude is called Thera. The counterpart to Kaen, and according to some cults and legends his wife, others say she’s his daughter, it depends on which tradition is followed or which cleric is asked. Patron of both defenders, widows and anyone else who is in troubles of any sort, people turn to her when they are mourning, suffering or struggling. Her clergy are often flagellants, healers or advisors, seeking to both endure and help others endure likewise.
- Baelfeghor is the chief deity of the Skorn. A sorcerer god of Domination, Control and Power. All nobility are baptized under Baelfeghor’s glare. He rewards the strong, the skilled and the cunning, but above all he rewards victory, and punishes failure and weakness without pity. It is the role of the Noble Houses of the Skorn to rule their people with an Iron Fist, to strangle all fantasies of freedom or peace. Baelfeghor names Dukes and Duchesses his priests and priestesses, no one lesser than they are worthy of his blessing, and they are expected to hold merciless dominion over all, no matter what they may be expected to do for it.
- General behavior: Skorn are incredibly hierarchal, with a strong feudal system in place. The families of the nobility holding generational power, and frequently feuding with their neighbors for more of it. Despite their tribalism and division, their society is actually incredibly well structured, with potential to rise or fall through the castes if specific conditions are met. A peasant farmer can always choose to serve as a soldier, and if they serve admirably or commit acts of incredible bravery or skill they could find themselves promoted to higher castes. Likewise, a noble who finds themselves bankrupt, disgraced or defeated may have themselves and their family put to work as slaves.
The Chief among their hierarchy are the Kings and Queens of the various kingdoms to be found across their three planets. Each planet may have as few as ten or as many as a thousand kingdoms at a time depending on the age, the ambitions of the noble families and the stability of the planet or regions thereon. These Kings and/or Queens will ordinarily have a few Dukes beneath them, and those Dukes will likewise have Barons, those Barons will have Earls, and the Earls will maintain a retinue of Knights to police their regions. Separate from these direct authority figures there are the peasants, merchants and craftsmen, where their authority and power are tied directly to their skill or wealth.
Unlike many species that lean more towards the dark, loyalty is an immensely important part of their culture, specifically loyalty to their Clan, House or Family. It is incredibly difficult to get a Skorn to betray their side, even under torture. To betray one's master is an unthinkable thing to most Skorn, and those that do betray are shunned, hated and destroyed for their treachery. This also translates into their family life, where most families are incredibly stern and harsh, but not dysfunctional or unloving. Family ties are the hardest to break, and those Skorn who betray family are the most loathed of their people.
The harshness and structure of their society translates directly into their art and expressive choices. Higher born individuals will tend to wear finer clothes that show off more of their body than a peasant would, and their skin is frequently tattooed. Clothing tends to either be loose but revealing, or tight and form-fitting, sometimes even both, though never to the point of impropriety. Their architecture is both smooth and angular, frequently resulting in sharp points protruding from elegant stonework. Likewise their weapons and armaments are both elegant and wicked, additional blades on the shoulders or arms, skull masks or bat-winged helmets are the norm. Their swords two frequently include serrations, hooks and curves. Paintings and Sculptures frequently depict scenes of military dominance over foes or historical events such as alliances, political arrangements or important figures. - HISTORICAL INFORMATION
In the years following the Great Hyperspace War, the scattered remnants of the Sith Empire scattered in search of a place to call home. Some raided planets as they went, and some Sith came to Thustra, and abducted a number of Sephi for use as slaves for their efforts to rebuild. They then took their captives into the unknown regions, and chose a planet far out of the way to settle. For the first several generations the Sephi toiled under their dark masters, slowly twisted by resentment and hatred until they rose in open rebellion against their oppressors. The war was long and harsh, and loyalties were tested, and proven strong as the Sephi's hatred for their captors outweighed any torments that could be inflicted on them. The war stretched on for nearly twenty years, and the outnumbered Sith were overwhelmed by their Sephi laborers.
However by then the damage was done, and the Sephi's scattered clans of rebels could scarcely agree on anything, their blood still boiling from their recent war, they continued their fighting. Several millennia of this twisted these Sephi into the Skorn, they retained their refinement and elegance, and adopted the dark nature of their former captors as they did so. Their planet now steeped in the dark side, they met their fate there. Forever twisted from what they once were, into what they are today. Beyond this revolt, there were no truly species-altering events of a truly galactic scale. Their history continued as one would expect it to, they warred, they expanded, empires rose and fell, and today the cycle continues.
- General behavior: Skorn are incredibly hierarchal, with a strong feudal system in place. The families of the nobility holding generational power, and frequently feuding with their neighbors for more of it. Despite their tribalism and division, their society is actually incredibly well structured, with potential to rise or fall through the castes if specific conditions are met. A peasant farmer can always choose to serve as a soldier, and if they serve admirably or commit acts of incredible bravery or skill they could find themselves promoted to higher castes. Likewise, a noble who finds themselves bankrupt, disgraced or defeated may have themselves and their family put to work as slaves.
Last edited:
