Benedali Serrus
Duchess of Alderaan
Picture retrieved from http://www.zbrushcentral.com/showthread.php?187546-Another-Alien&p=1093930&infinite=1#post1093930
Name: Tsawa
Designation: Sentient
Homeworld: Touveluch
Language: Tsawani [use a Hausa translator], Galactic Basic
Average height of adults: 1.8m
Designation: Sentient
Homeworld: Touveluch
Language: Tsawani [use a Hausa translator], Galactic Basic
Average height of adults: 1.8m
Skin color: Anywhere from brownish red, orange, or green (usually dark green)
Hair color: none; their shugasiya (shortened from the full phrase "shugaban wutsiya", which literally means "head tail") are a speckled pattern of white and blue, white and grey, or (for the desert nomads) pale orange or pale yellow, and tan.
Breathes: Type I
Hair color: none; their shugasiya (shortened from the full phrase "shugaban wutsiya", which literally means "head tail") are a speckled pattern of white and blue, white and grey, or (for the desert nomads) pale orange or pale yellow, and tan.
Breathes: Type I
Strengths: [2 minimum]
Play Dead: One of the abilities which all Tsawa, no matter what their mastery of Motsakirin (explained below), have is the ability to play dead -- by lowering their pulse to almost nothing (also explained below). This allows them to avoid certain predators which rely on hearing more than anything else. Similarly, by lowering their heart rate they can also lower their body temperature, but this feature is more common in the Dutse and Hamada Tsawa than in the Daji Tsawa.
One With Nature: The ratio of Force Users to Non Force Users is relatively low in the Tsawa community, averaging about 1:900 in a good year. However, it is a proven fact that all Force Sensitive Tsawa excel in utilising and connecting with the Living Force, making their connection as such quite strong.
"See-Food" Diet: Thanks to their two stomachs, Tsawa are able to successfully digest any plant-based food. This is especially useful for the Hamada Tsawa, as the desert is not always plentiful with its bounties. In any case, their digestive abilities are such that the only way to poison them via plants is to make sure that plant is über-loaded with toxins.
Weaknesses:
Sweet Tooth: Barring fruits or nectar, Tsawa do not have any type of traditional dessert or sweets in their diet. Curiously enough, this means that those types of sugary sweets are a Tsawa's spice -- highly addictive and hard to get off of. Some will even go crazy if they are cut off.
Anti-Tech: Though Force Users may be close to nature, it is difficult for them to get a grasp on anything above baseline technology -- meaning lightsabers, space ships, and droids are near-unfathomable. Even the Non Force Users, while slightly more adept, still struggle to understand the concept behind things that are above communicators or holocoms.
No Meat: As the Tsawa diet consists entirely of plants, meat and meat by-products are murder on their digestive system. While nightshade may not kill them, one bite of meat is enough to send them to the hospital. It should be noted, though, that the effects of eating the meat off of a plant-based organism (sentient or otherwise) is largely unknown.
Low Birth Rate: It is not completely certain why the Tsawa have such a low birth rate, since their natural lifespan is very similar to humans (who breed like rabbits!). However, one theory speculated is that, since they are primarily herbivores, having too many of them would cause a dramatic imbalance between animal organisms and the plant life. Thus, with few Tsawa being born, the plants (particularly in the desert) have a greater chance at replenishing themselves. Another theory is that the Kufai Plague dramatically altered the genes of those who survived it, resulting in less reproductive capacity.
Distinctions:
Head Tails - Like a few of the species in the galaxy, such as Togrutas, Twi'leks, and Chagrians, the Tsawa display two large headtails which normally rest on their shoulders and stop developing around the mid-twenties. The headtails, called "shugasiya", are primarily used to scare off would-be predators, and are an indicator of a Tsawa's mood. When threatened, upset, or under stress, the headtails fill with air and begin to inflate, growing up to two times their original size. Both males and females exhibit these shugasiya, but only males have the little horns on their head.
Vocal Chords - In both males and females, the vocal chords are always relaxed, resulting in deep voices for both. The tones are soft and rumbling, and have been compared to that of distant rolling thunder more than once by outsiders. However, as this results in their words being less distinct, it can be difficult for non-Tsawa to understand what they're saying, much less be aware that they are speaking at all.
Manual Control over Heart - All Tsawa have the ability to manually slow their heart rate to almost nothing, enabling them to move slower and blend in better with their surroundings, as well as slow any poison that might be in their blood. This ability has resulted in the Art of Slow Movement, or Motsakirin, from the words "Mosta" and "Jinkirin", which literally mean "move slow". More on this art is explained below.
Two Stomachs - The Tsawa have two small stomachs, one for softening their food and the other for breaking it down completely. This is because the Tsawa's diet consists of a lot of high-fiber food, which is tough to break down. Thus, after the food is chewed up in the mouth, it goes to the first stomach, called the "rumenium", where the food is broken down further until it is turned into a liquid having warmed smoothie-like qualities (yum yum!). It is not uncommon for older Tsawa suffering from indigestion to swallow small stones and pebbles to aid in the process, as indigestion is usually caused by incomplete decomposition. After the food is mush, it then travels to the reticomas, which extracts energy and nutrients from the mush (called Chyim) and turns the leftover waste into a smelly liquid called "yurquin". The yurquin then travels through a small intestine that extracts any leftover water and nutrients before going to the bladder to await excretion.
Average Lifespan: When left to their own devices, the Tsawa can live to be almost 150 years old, though the oldest one lived to be almost 230 years (it is believed that this individual, long dead, was a strong Force User). However, brutal subjugation and merciless disregard for the welfare of the enslaved individuals means the lifespan is more often than not 85-90 years. If they're lucky.
Races:
Dutse Tsawa: These are the individuals who live in the canyons and deltas formed by the various rivers. Their skin is usually a reddish colour similar to the deposits from the ancient waterways. Depending on which area you are in, there will either be a lot of boat makers or "dutsehaui" (sing. "dutsehau"), rock climbers. Because of their great nautical expertise, the Dutse Tsawa are the ones most commonly enslaved by the Oorlog.
Hamada Tsawa: The Hamada Tsawa are the desert nomads, travelling constantly and never really settling anywhere. Their orange skin and their yellow/tan shugasiya allows them to blend in with the surrounding rock and sand, and of the three these individuals are the most adept at Motsakirin, as there is very little cover in the desert. Similarly, their nomadic way of life and their ability to survive in a harsh environment has made them the hardest for the Oorlog to find, much less capture. Thus, retrieving one as a slave entitles that Oorlog to special perks.
Daji Tsawa: The Daji Tsawa live in the rainforests and swamps of their planet, and of the three are the most plentiful. Unlike the other two, however, these guys are at a "happy" medium in terms of slavery. As the forests and swamps are plentiful with the food they need, the Daji are considered the most "prissy" by the other two Tsawa groups in that they don't have to exert much effort for their food; this is an opinion shared by the Oorlog, who use the Daji primarily for housekeeping or, in cases of extreme boredom, as prey for sport hunting.
Estimated Population: Approximately 93,000 left on Touveluch
Diet: Basically any type of greenery (i.e. leaves, flowers, fruit, vegetables, etc.) No meat, though.
Communication: Vocal; they have primitive holocommunicators, for talking among themselves and for talking between tribes.
Diet: Basically any type of greenery (i.e. leaves, flowers, fruit, vegetables, etc.) No meat, though.
Communication: Vocal; they have primitive holocommunicators, for talking among themselves and for talking between tribes.
Culture:
The Tsawa are a typically nomadic people, with even the delta Tsawa and the rainforest Tsawa moving in tandem with the seasons (during "Ambaliyar Ruwa", the flood season, the swamps and deltas are too wet and muddy to live in; thus, they move to drier grounds until the season is over. The desert Tsawa move no matter what, for reasons described before).
Having no permanent homes, and being a loosely-connected community, there are no "real" deities. Rather, the Tsawa have a "Duk Yanayi" religion -- essentially, they worship nature as a whole, understanding that their entire existence relies on the very planet they live on. This also extends to their beliefs on the Force, who merely see it as a way for certain Tsawa to have a heightened connection to nature.
There are, however, a few "no-nos" in their relatively lackadaisical society. War, for instance.
With low birthrates and, in the case of the desert nomads, a limited supply of food, the Tsawa will do anything to avoid using up their resources or severely depleting their population -- both which, they believe, will be brought on significantly by war. Their reluctance to stand up to the Oorlog stems from this, thus giving a reason as to why they have not visibly done anything to combat the enslaved state of their people.
Another thing is murder -- their definition for murder is killing a living organism for nothing more than sport. Though the Tsawa abhor war and only eat plants, they understand that conflict is inevitable. Just look at nature, where the big creatures tend to eat the little creatures. The Tsawa understand the need for this, in order to create balance, which is why they are tolerant of hunting and even uprooting plants: because the plants and the creatures hunted will be used either for food or for some other use. Even if a Tsawa and some predator begin to tangle, and the Tsawa ends up killing it, he or she may feel a twinge of sadness but will not be crushed by guilt.
Sport hunting, however, is something which the Tsawa oppose greatly, and is why they do not get along with the Oorlog (who host great events solely for the activity). They see sport hunting on the same level as murder, and if any of their kind are caught hunting for mere sport, that individual will surely be expelled from the tribe.
That's another thing, too -- punishment. Typically the Tsawa don't give more than a slap on the wrist for certain things, but for murder (or, in recent years, betraying their tribe(s) to the Oorlog) the consequences are dire. Now, obviously, the Tsawa technically don't have a death penalty, but they do have a few ways to remedy this. For the desert tribes, the solution is simple: strip the Zargi (term for "Disgraced") of everything except clothes, and then leave them in the middle of the desert, far away from any oasis. Nature will take care of the rest. The swamp/rainforest tribes do the same thing, but tie the Zargi to a tree and leave him or her for the predators. Dutse Tsawa will either tie up the Zargi and leave them, or float them out to sea in a fragile boat (while still tied).
So don't mess with the Tsawa.
Anyway...One thing that features heavily in all of the Tsawa races is Motsakirin, also known as their Art of Small Movement. While each individual has the ability to slow their heart, it takes years of practice and training to master it enough to foil sensors and predators. Thus, within each clan one can find a small group, no more than three or four, of Motsakiru -- Masters of the Motsakirin. These are the Tsawa who are so adept with the practice that they are able to blend in almost seamlessly with their surrounding environment, no matter where they are.
Because these Motsakiru have attained what the Tsawa consider the highest form of inner tranquillity, they are more often than not the leaders of their respective tribes, working as a council and making decisions for the good of their people. As these are traditionally positions held for life (unless the Tsawa committed an act that required them to be banished), if a Motsakiru dies or decides to step down, a vote is immediately held to decide who is the next person to take his or her place. In all of their history, there has only been three or four accounts of a Tsawa joining the council who was otherwise unqualified for the rank of a Motsakiru -- and all were during the struggles between the Tsawa and the Oorlog.
Technology level: On a scale of 1-5, they're probably at a 2 or 3. Speeders and holocoms are not uncommon, and they do have a couple of weapons that are equal in sophistication to the gaderffii of the Sand People.
General behavior: The Tsawa are a peaceful people, typically showing little curiosity in things which do not concern them, and holding a severe distaste of unnecessary violence. Similarly, they would only raise a fist to block a blow, not initiate one. Because of their history of being used by other species, Tsawa are initially suspicious of outsiders, giving the impression that they're off-Standish and distant, but once they're positive that you aren't there to enslave or slaughter them, they're much more welcoming and friendly.
History: For a long, long time, the Tsawa lived peacefully on their lands, their main goal being to survive and live day-to-day, enjoying life while it was around. Because of their distaste for war, there was very little excitement outside of the day-to-day activities of each clan.
Then everything changed, when the Oorlog nation attacked.
Things started out normally at first; the Oorlog, who'd finally discovered their ability to walk on land, had begun to make contact with the Tsawa, primarily the delta Dutse Tsawa. The two parties were more curious than anything else about each other, with the Oorlog still figuring out how to walk.
However, contact with the Oorlog caused a virus known as the Kufai Plague to run rampant among the Tsawa, decimating their numbers and leaving them wide open for the Oorlog to invade them...which was exactly what they did.
For many, many years, the two aliens were locked in combat, with the Tsawa struggling to maintain their way of life while at the same time staying out of the clutches of their enemies. Eventually, the only people who were safe were those who survived in the desert and some of the canyons, as it was difficult for the aquatic Oorlog to traverse the dusty canyons, and downright impossible for them to last in the arid deserts.
Thus, the two species remained, forever engaged in a species-game of cat-and-mouse. Splinter groups of Tsawa formed, parting with their traditionally pacifistic beliefs to try and vanquish the Oorlog from their realm, but never succeeding (primarily due to their lack of fighting knowledge).
About three or four years after the conclusion of the galaxy-wide Yuuzhan Vong War -- which had completely glossed over the planet -- three large seedships carrying humans and Near-Humans arrived. The war between the two species halted temporarily, as both sides became more focused on watching and waiting to see what these strange creatures did. As it was, the first couple of years after the Old World Colonies (as they called themselves) landed, little to no fighting occurred whatsoever.
Funny enough, as the Tsawa came to the conclusion that the colonists would make excellent allies, the Oorlog came to the conclusion that all colonists must be purged. Once again, the planet-wide war recommenced, but this time the Oorlog were severely outmatched against the highly-advanced colonists. In a total of five years, the Oorlogs had all but been forced to surrender to the humans.
And yet, to the complete surprise of the natives, the humans didn't force the Oorlog to adhere to a code of conduct which forbade combat, nor did they completely wipe out the warmongers (as they would have done). Instead, the colonists struck a pact with the Oorlog: don't attack the colonists, and don't attack any Tsawa within colony territories, and the colonists would leave the Oorlog alone.
Well, as one could see, that worked out for everyone except the Tsawa. The only protection that the Tsawa received was oftentimes far away from their ancestral homelands, and the tech that the humans had given them was not nearly advanced enough to allow for the Tsawa to fend off the Oorlog by themselves. Thus, a schism formed between the older generations and the new: the older individuals adhered to their beliefs of peace, saying that the colonists had no choice but to make that pact. The younger ones, however, believed that the humans could have done more, and held a rather aloof opinion of themselves in regards to the colonists.
Gulag Plague: Many, many years after the humans came and ended the major fighting between the Tsawa and the Oorlog, the planet of Touveluch was experiencing a prosperous, if rather isolationistic, age. There was very little contact between the Touveluchians and the rest of the galaxy, not only because of the planet's rather remote location but also because the colonists wished to be left alone.
But despite their efforts, a devastating pandemic known as the Gulag Plague still found a way onto the surface. By this time, the Tsawa had hardly any contact with humans except through the Oorlog, and the Oorlog only interacted with the humans when necessary (they were still sore over the humans' triumphs). As such, the only groups truly devastated by the Gulag Plague were the colonists, though records show a couple of settlements here and there that were affected.
Netherworld: The Netherworld, on the other hand, was a particular event which brought grief to all species and very nearly caused a global war. Each species had their own reasons for it, but all had a common theme: it was someone else's fault. The Tsawa in particular viewed the disappearances of the people as the Duk Yanayi trying to reassert balance and harmony. The councils in particular believed that the splinter groups (who were still around), the humans, and the Oorlog were the main cause. Thus, all of the free Tsawa banded together in a boycott of the colonists and their influences, while efforts were renewed to not only free their brethren from the Oorlog but also enact justice on the deviated Tsawa. At the same time, the Oorlog were going to war with both the Tsawa (who they believed to have been made to be their slaves) and the colonists (as the leaders blamed them in order to rile up their people).
This, coupled with the chaos within the colonists and the Oorlog, caused mass panic and near-destruction of society as a whole. Eventually, though, all three groups came to their senses and started to focus their energies and resources on rebuilding their infrastructures, which continue on to this day. Nonetheless, race relations may never be the same.
Notable Player-Characters: [List player-characters]Intent: To add a species to Touveluch (which will be submitted...eventually)
