Hekayti (Race)

Hekayti Information Scientific Name: Classification: Satyrnine humanoid Average Height 8' Average Weight 300 lbs Average Lifespan 120 years Native Language Hekayan Homeworld Hekayt Prime

Overview

On average, Hekayti stand from seven to nine-feet-tall. Their skin is mottled green, an evolutionary adaptation that they developed millennia ago to find camouflage from predators in the tropical jungles of their homeworld. They have bony growths, like ram horns, jutting from their skulls. They have hooved feet, and backwards-bending knees. Some Hekayti have hair, but it is a recessive trait. In males, hair is taken as an indication of weakness. In females, hair can be used to denote attractiveness.

Physical Data

Diet

Due to their size and muscular builds, the Hekayti diet is composed primarily of meat and protein-rich sources of food. A few key plants have been adapted into popular recipes in order to supplement with all of the necessary vitamins and minerals to keep their systems balanced.

Since their ancient days, Hekayti predecessors would often consume the marrow from the bones of the hunted animals. This practice is still incorporated into modern meals in a nearly ritualistic fashion. This serves two purposes: to commemorate the struggles of their ancestors as well as to provide an additional boost to their nutrition. Hek adolescents take priority when it comes to ‘cracking the bones’ at the table due to their growth spurts. They have thus earned the endearing nickname of “bone-gnawer” used primarily among family members.

Hekayti do not consume alcohol in large quantities. To be known as a heavy drinker is a black mark on a family; the honor of an entire family can be tarnished should an addiction be discovered. Such drinks as fermented milk from the pekbog are the most common alcoholic beverages; grape or fruit-based wines are rare, usually imported, and used only in religious ceremonies.

Anatomy

The average height of a Hekayti is 8’ (feet), although adults can reach up to 8’7” or remain as short as 7’2”. The average weight of an adult is around 300 pounds, but it varies widely depending on body type and physical fitness. Obesity is not a prominent issue within the Hekayti race, but it is not implausible to see a “fat” Hekayti; however, they place little emphasis on weight so the concept of “fat” or “obese” is a foreign one.

Because of their long lifespans (approx. 120 years), Hekayti are slow to reach full physical maturity. Their adolescent phase begins at around nineteen years of age and can last until around thirty years. Hekayti older than 30 are considered a full-fledged adult, and middle age falls around 70.

Horns

Various horn styles seen among the Hekayti.

Horn styles are determined mainly by genetics, although some styles are more recessive than others. The most commonly seen type of horn is the "ram-like" tidy curl, but through the many generations other growth patterns have grown in numbers.

Hekayti children are born without horns, but around their seventh year they begin to grow in stubs or "nubs". At this stage, they can often be referred to as a "nub-horn" in an endearing or affectionate manner; calling a grown Hekayti a nubhorn, however, is considered a terrible insult. On the other hand, complimenting a Hekayti's horns is a sign of respect and admiration.

Horns will grow throughout a Hekayti's entire life, and the oldest of the race of have been known to carry very grandiose and large ones. The size of one's horns often determines their seniority in a social setting due to the implication of age. A Hekayti is considered to have "fully grown" horns around the age of 28.

Horn adornment was once unheard of, but within the past two hundred years it has become a mark of pride to decorate one's horns. Some approaches include:

Capping in metal is one of the most common forms of decoration, and is very popular among the Ledelkrig. It has been considered in the past whether or not capping could be utilized in demonstrating rank, but the proposal was turned down due to the use of caps among civilians. Some caps can be sharpened on the end, allowing the Hekayti to use their horns as an alternative weapon in hand-to-hand encounters. Caps range from a simple solid metal to an elaborate multi-colored adornment with etched patterns and images.

Staining - etching elaborate drawings into the surface of the horn using sharpened instruments dipped in ink - is less common; however, the numbers of those with stained horns has begun to climb within the past decade. The Toveil are known to stain their horns with a specific but secretive ritual; the resulting patterns are considered among the most beautiful, but the symbolism is understood only by their clan. Stains are almost always done in one or two colors only.

Draping is done with panels of light fabric and usually reserved only for formal events. This is the oldest custom, and it has decreased greatly in popularity.

Adolescents are not allowed to decorate their horns with caps, stains, or drapes. Instead they resort to more temporary measures such as twining with ribbon or covering with painted designs and glitter.

Culture

Heritage and tradition are the keystones of the Hekayti culture, and a great majority of their customs has been passed down through the centuries. They are, however, a dynamic people, and they are willing to adapt to the changes in technology and fluctuating societal norms as the generations demand. Even still, their adaptations too are mired in tradition.

Around the time of puberty, Hekayti are divided into one of three castes via a test called the Worthing. The Worthing is tailored to the caste and profession she wishes to enter, and is administered by a Toveil. The choosable castes for a Worthing are Ledelkrig (warriors/artists/explorers), Toveil (spiritualists/councellors/scientists/engineers), and Konterbeid (bureaucrats/logisticians/recordkeepers). Individuals who fail the Worthing process or who are exiled from their caste for malfeasance or criminal activities become society's unwanted castoffs, and thus enter the Verdikke (unworthy) caste, doomed to serve as farmers and heavy labor. Those who pass the Worthing are trained for a few years in their chosen profession.

Ledelkrig Ranks

• Allimne (General - manages multiple Hav forces)
• Oyeinkap (High Captain - Hav force marshall, usually)
• Einkap (Captain - Town force marshall, reports to the Hav's Oyeinkap)
• Oynant (First Lieutenant - Neighborhood force marshall, reports to the Einkap)
• Nant (Second Lieutenant - Street force marshall, reports to the Oynant)
• Sterkord (Staff Sergeant - helps the Nant manage the street force, reports to the Nant)
• Litenkamp (Standard rank-and-file infantryman, reports to the Sterkord)
• Skjulkamp (Commando warrior, operates at a higher level than neighborhood force infantry, reports to the Oyeinkap)
  • Ledelkrig Sword Carrier - Soldiers in long, dark blue coats and rune-engraved ceremonial swords with leather-wrapped bronze hilts, serving as elite assassins for the Ledelkrig.
• Hestkamp (Cavalry, operates at a higher level than street force infantry, reports to the Einkap)

Ledelkrig Customs

• Dead warriors are loaded aboard interstellar probes and launched into space to act as advance scouts, seeking new worlds for the Hekayti to inhabit.

Konterbeid Titles

• Fjernsikt (Chief executive officer, multiple Havs)
• Oysikt (Chief executive officer, Hav-level, reports to the Fjernsikt)
• Sikt (Town-level manager, reports to the Oysikt)
• Narsikt (Office-level manager, reports to the Sikt)
• Grinold (Information keeper, reports to the Narsikt)

Konterbeid Customs

• The most revered bureaucrats have their memories and likenesses stored as holographic AI to provide advice to the younger generations.

Toveil Assignments

• Storfisk (High priest, leader of multiple Havs)
• Fisk (High priest, Hav-level, reports to the Storfisk)
• Storsjo (High priest, town-level, reports to the Fisk)
• Sjo (Senior priest, facility-level, reports to the Storsjo)
  • Warship Technopriest - A position that includes starship engineering, personnel management, and sorting out personnel interrelations in confined environments over long term voyages.
• Odellig (Junior priest, facility-level, reports to the Sjo)
  • Datamonk - A priest with the vows of chastity, poverty, and anti-politics, committing themselves to the acquisition of knowledge. After six ruminations, if found worthy, the datamonk can be promoted to an apprentice of a technopriest aboard a warship.

Toveil Customs

• The Toveil are seen as the glue that binds the castes of Hekayt together. A priest of the Toveil administers the Worthing test to adolescents to help determine which caste they are most appropriate for.
• Priests of the Toveil caste are interred in mausoleums. The most revered take their place in the pantheon of Andellig, as the Hekayti equivalent of saints and demigods.
• All Toveil initiates must create their own seneschal AI before they can qualify to gain their first full rank in the caste.

Verdikke (Unworthy)

Individuals who fail the Worthing process, are a third or after child per family, or who are exiled from their caste for malfeasance or criminal activities become society's unwanted castoffs in this caste.

Medlidikke (Unmerciful)

A rogue clan of outcast Ledelkrig warriors and descendants of those who were disgraced in the past. They are vicious, cruel, bloodthirsty spacefaring savages who demonstrate their superiority by ambushing and killing those they deem to be inferior. The Medlidikke take no hostages and no prisoners. Usually, they don't even bother to pillage starships they strike. They're only in it for the kill. They call no world home and no world would want them.

Community

Hekayti are a very social species with somewhat close-knit communities that are location- and caste-based. Image is of utmost importance, and respect tends to be garnered more through action than through birth. However, children of famous or important figures tend to bear the onus of carrying on a family legacy. Gender bias and gender roles are nearly unheard of: childbearing aside, female Hekayti are expected to perform the same duties as males.

Firm divisions of labor exist within Hekayti communities, and every citizen is duly 'assigned' their role; no actual written list of assignments exists, but the role is decided through birth and then later through the Worthing. Every citizen is expected to contribute to the community in order to keep it operating smoothly, and the Hekayti can be seen as a helpful "love thy neighbor" race due to their tendency to care for their own.

Tradition, as well as a firm community presence, breeds strong ties of loyalty for Hekayti. It is extremely rare for major intra-community conflict to arise without ample cause.

Clans

• Nevetung: Prominent clan in the Ledelkrig.
• Fjernkanon: Prominent clan in the Ledelkrig.
• Angbarsk: Prominent clan in the Ledelkrig.
• Hjernly: Prominent clan in the Toveil.
• Tenkgyld: Prominent clan in the Toveil.
• Urtigor: Prominent clan in the Toveil.
• Bokren: Prominent clan in the Konterbeid.
• Revidu: Prominent clan in the Konterbeid.
• Histikk: Prominent clan in the Konterbeid.

Family Structure

Hekayti place great emphasis on clans. While they pay homage to a nuclear family unit, consisting generally of two parents and two children, once a Hekayti child reaches the Worthing and is sorted into their profession, they will adopt their new “family” while maintaining connections to their old. Immediate families are limited to two children per couple, a decision based entirely on the principle that parents could only truly devote enough time to raising two young. Third children, while uncommon, are either adopted by Hekayti unable to procreate or are raised within the family until they reach the age for a Worthing; at that point they are sent to the Verdikke.

Theoretically, both parents carry equal weight in the relationship and in regard to raising their young. Great emphasis is placed on maintaining the "honor" of a family. This can be done primarily through contributions to the community, through achieving good status in their careers, and generating offspring.

Childbearing is reserved only for bound couples; children born to unbound parents are automatically considered Verdikke.

Having children outside of binding, succumbing to a substance addiction, criminal activity, deliberately bringing harm onto fellow Hekayti, treason and espionage can all bring dishonor onto a family.

Education and Careers

Young Hekayti are educated in community groups called schools. They can be taught at home instead, but this option is usually reserved for the ailing. Parents are very involved in the education of their young, and they are cycled on a bimonthly basis into the classrooms where their children reside in order to co-teach. Children are exposed to all academic fields in order to prepare them for their Worthing. Those who show evidence of special talents are nurtured through individualized instruction.

Once they have passed their Worthing, Hekayti are further trained "on the job" for a minimum of one year. Specialization within their careers can add to this time.

Some occupations that are available to Hekayti post-Worthing:

• Warrior
• Counselor
• Manager
• Teacher
• Technician
• Doctor
• Bodyguard
• Mercenary
• Merchant
• Pilot

Sports and Games

They have a popular game, called Roq, which involves hoverdevices and torcs.

Language, Phrases, and Naming Conventions

The main language of the Hekayti is called Hekayan. Various castes and clans also have their own languages, listed here.

Hekayan names follow simple and loose conventions. Most names tend to be one or two syllables, with male names tending toward more gutteral sounds and an "-or" or "an/en/ein/in" ending. Female names are softer and end with sibilant sounds like "-s" or "-ts" or soft vowel sounds like "-a(h)", "-ey", "ar".

Common Male Names

• Aldur
• Ander
• Arn
• Artor
• Arvot
• Cawl
• Dell
• Drik
• Einor
• Enning
• Enrik
• Fridrik
• Gurd
• Haanik
• Jak
• Jamin
• Jorg
• Jorn
• Kris
• Lan
• Lud
• Magn
• Mikk
• Naby
• Olf
• Rian
• Urnab
• Vard
• Ven
• Xander

Common Female Names

• Agn
• Aldis
• Aren
• Astr
• Bergit
• Catrin
• Dag
• Doria
• Drea
• Fina
• Frey
• Ghild
• Gitta
• Grete
• Hilde
• Jinsi
• Kai
• Kami
• Kirsta
• Lise
• Mari
• Nika
• Rolina

Until a child is shepherded through their Worthing and into adulthood, their first name includes a suffix that designates them as son (Nesk) or daughter (Kvin).

Surname Mechanics

Clan+Hav+Caste (If applicable)

Example: Child: Hildekvin Urtigorglasne Post-Worthing Adult: Hilde Urtigorglasnetoveil

Religion and Ceremonies

See The Worthing.

Roleplaying Hooks

• Driven by the desire to be remembered well and honorably by their descendants.
• Sensitive about the troublemakers in the Verdikke.
• Distrustful of the Thul.
• Reliable allies of the B'hiri.

Races Navigation
Hiverspace Races:	Aukami, B'hiri, Drrhaan, Falari, Gankri, Hekayti, Llivori, Lotorian, Lyiri, Muscipulan, Nemoni, Opodian, Pyracani, Riftwalker, Thul, Tupai, Yoridini
Normalspace Races:	Almedae, Calzonite, Castori, Centauran, Demarian, G'ahnli, Grimladhi, Kretonian, Mekke, Mystic, Nall, Odarite, Phyrrian, Theorian, Timonae, Vollistan, Ydahri, Yoescu, Zangali
Other Races:	Kamir, Il'Ri'Kamm, Positronic