Post by Hez on Dec 8, 2014 14:20:02 GMT -5
Lesson 0102: The Chiss
[WARNING: this one is very long, but very important to any person RPing as an Ascendancy-born Chiss. ADHD version here]
This lesson will be largely recapped as the first of our established lore. The majority of this lesson stems from printed material, namely the Enter the Unknown expansion to Edge of the Empire, FFG's awesome tabletop Star Wars RPG. (For more on that awesome game, check it out here!) Some of it has been adopted and adjusted to reflect the timeline of the events of SWTOR and slight creative license was taken. This is the precedent for anything we'll consider canon lore; print > online, modified appropriately and approved by the guild leaders. Chiss lore online is insanely contradictory. It's mostly based around Thrawn, but what most people seem to forget is that Thrawn existed around 3600 years after the events of SWTOR.
TL;DR? Two takeways:
1) The Coruscant Translator (linked at the top of the page and if you can't find that, here) will be our main source for communicating in Cheunh. To save time, if the person you're talking to is RPing a character who understands Cheunh, do them a favor. Either whisper or invite them to a group and post the translation <in little backets like this> to cut down on dead air. We can't all have two monitors set up and alt-tabbing slows down the RP. If you're talking cross-faction, saying the translation aloud can't be avoided, so be careful using it in public places or risk godmodders pretending they suddenly somehow speak the language. Then again, there's always 'ignore'!
2) If you're RPing a Chiss toon born and raised in the Chiss Ascendancy, you need to develop a proper Chiss name. It will be posted as your Officer Note on the Guild screen. As for ruling houses, most of you will be a part of House Nuruodo, but we've got some creative wiggle room there. If this lesson didn't explain it well enough, talk to me.
[WARNING: this one is very long, but very important to any person RPing as an Ascendancy-born Chiss. ADHD version here]
Alright, class. Now a lesson on a subject on which I am most familiar: my native species, the Chiss. I’m hoping to clear up some of the many rampant mysteries surrounding my people…but not all of them. This will be a somewhat lengthy but organized lecture, so we will take a few breaks every now and then so you don’t fall asleep and inadvertently offend someone. Namely, me. In any case, the lesson will be broken down into five segments: Physiology, Society, Homeland, Language, and a summary. We’ll then open up for a question and answer session if there’s anything I haven’t yet covered for you.
Physiology:
The majority of the greater galaxy in typical fashion classifies us as ‘near-human’, a label that would be offensive if it weren’t so accurate. We do greatly resemble humans, though we tend to run a little on the tall and dare I say attractive side. Our hair is universally black, save for the silvering found in those of us fortunate enough to have reached advanced age, as you may notice by my temples. There does, however, appear to have been some success at limited cosmetic manipulation, which is why you might notice a few Chiss with blue hair on occasion.
Having thrived under the subterranean conditions of Csilla for over a millennium now, when compared to baseline humans, our people not only possess greater strength and endurance, but also reach maturity faster. We reach full physical maturity by our early teens and live about 80 standard years on average. A lesser-known fact about us is that we are able to see in both the infrared and normal visual spectra.
Society:
Now here’s the part where you begin to understand how terrible an example of my species I truly am. A typical Chiss is cautious, thoughtful, and highly cultured. We value art, culture, intellectual advancement, and discipline. Those—I heard that. Please, refrain from giggling like actual schoolchildren until after the lesson is complete…Now…as I was saying…those of us who were conscripted into military service had little choice, but normally if one of us ventures into the galaxy at large, it is for personal growth and pursuit of knowledge that would benefit our society. Our culture relies not on economic achievement but instead on personal betterment and contributions to our society as a whole. It is a system that has sustained us since before our most wizened scholars historians can remember.
Homeland:
I mentioned Csilla earlier, and it is likely the only planet you have heard of from within the Ascendancy. Our point of origin, the planet has been locked in an ice age for nearly one and a half millennium, according to our estimations. We were technologically advanced before the glaciers claimed the planet’s surface—it was only due to that ingenuity that we were not only able to survive, but to grow.
Since achieving space travel our species has explored and expanded to planets in the surrounding systems, the most important of which lie on the hyperspace route known as the Path of the Houses. This route connects the 12 planets upon which the Ruling Families reside. We won’t go over all of them today, but I’ll speak briefly about House Nuruodo, the kin-group to which I and one of the cadets in attendance today belong. Each of the Ruling Families is responsible for a different duty among our government. House Nuruodo, based on my homeworld, Naporar, bears the responsibility of military affairs. As such, the headquarters of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force (CEDF) is located on Naporar. I could go on about this, and how it relates to my personal background, but our time is limited.
Language:
Though all Chiss you’ll encounter will know basic, he or she will likely also be fluent in a language only members of our species can speak properly—Cheunh. Biologically, we possess certain variances in our vocal apparatus that permits sounds and vocal textures to our speech that make up a language often described as ‘strangely beautiful’ to other species. Some of us have also mastered a few trade languages, such as Sy Bisti and Minnisiat. For the rest of you, while I can’t fix your vocal cords for you, I can provide you with these devices, which will at least enable you to translate the language when you hear it. Everyone take one and pass the box around.
I’ll now attempt to demonstrate Chiss naming conventions using my name as an example. My birth name is Hezch’orba'nuruodo. In order to make that a bit more understandable for you, I’ll transmit the spelling to your datapads without the apostrophes. Take a look now—Hezchorbanuruodo. Now if you’ve been paying close attention to me, this academy, and this lecture, you can break this name down into three distinct parts: Hez, Chorba, and Nuruodo. As I mentioned earlier, I belong to House Nuruodo, which explains the last part of my name. Take away that and you have Hez Chorba. Now, you might be surprised to hear this, but Hez is actually my blood family’s surname, whereas Chorba is my given name. In other words, if, say, I had been born as Alderaanian royalty, my full name would be Chorba Hez of House Nuruodo. Confused? Don’t worry about it. Just call me Hez.
Summary:
I thank you for your patience, class. I know this has been a particularly long lecture, but it’s one I find very important, for obvious reasons. We talked about Chiss physiology, our society, our mysterious homeland, and our language. We’re a near-human species that is often capable of bridging the gap between humans and non-humans, even when dealing with Imperials. We discussed our love of art and creative achievements. We touched on the motherland, including a bit about House Nuruodo, and how we excel at problem-solving and strategic thinking. Finally, I tried, hopefully not in vain, to help you understand a bit about my native tongue. If anyone has any questions on this topic, my door is always open. And now, the words you’ve all been waiting for…class dismissed.
Physiology:
The majority of the greater galaxy in typical fashion classifies us as ‘near-human’, a label that would be offensive if it weren’t so accurate. We do greatly resemble humans, though we tend to run a little on the tall and dare I say attractive side. Our hair is universally black, save for the silvering found in those of us fortunate enough to have reached advanced age, as you may notice by my temples. There does, however, appear to have been some success at limited cosmetic manipulation, which is why you might notice a few Chiss with blue hair on occasion.
Having thrived under the subterranean conditions of Csilla for over a millennium now, when compared to baseline humans, our people not only possess greater strength and endurance, but also reach maturity faster. We reach full physical maturity by our early teens and live about 80 standard years on average. A lesser-known fact about us is that we are able to see in both the infrared and normal visual spectra.
Society:
Now here’s the part where you begin to understand how terrible an example of my species I truly am. A typical Chiss is cautious, thoughtful, and highly cultured. We value art, culture, intellectual advancement, and discipline. Those—I heard that. Please, refrain from giggling like actual schoolchildren until after the lesson is complete…Now…as I was saying…those of us who were conscripted into military service had little choice, but normally if one of us ventures into the galaxy at large, it is for personal growth and pursuit of knowledge that would benefit our society. Our culture relies not on economic achievement but instead on personal betterment and contributions to our society as a whole. It is a system that has sustained us since before our most wizened scholars historians can remember.
Homeland:
I mentioned Csilla earlier, and it is likely the only planet you have heard of from within the Ascendancy. Our point of origin, the planet has been locked in an ice age for nearly one and a half millennium, according to our estimations. We were technologically advanced before the glaciers claimed the planet’s surface—it was only due to that ingenuity that we were not only able to survive, but to grow.
Since achieving space travel our species has explored and expanded to planets in the surrounding systems, the most important of which lie on the hyperspace route known as the Path of the Houses. This route connects the 12 planets upon which the Ruling Families reside. We won’t go over all of them today, but I’ll speak briefly about House Nuruodo, the kin-group to which I and one of the cadets in attendance today belong. Each of the Ruling Families is responsible for a different duty among our government. House Nuruodo, based on my homeworld, Naporar, bears the responsibility of military affairs. As such, the headquarters of the Chiss Expansionary Defense Force (CEDF) is located on Naporar. I could go on about this, and how it relates to my personal background, but our time is limited.
Language:
Though all Chiss you’ll encounter will know basic, he or she will likely also be fluent in a language only members of our species can speak properly—Cheunh. Biologically, we possess certain variances in our vocal apparatus that permits sounds and vocal textures to our speech that make up a language often described as ‘strangely beautiful’ to other species. Some of us have also mastered a few trade languages, such as Sy Bisti and Minnisiat. For the rest of you, while I can’t fix your vocal cords for you, I can provide you with these devices, which will at least enable you to translate the language when you hear it. Everyone take one and pass the box around.
I’ll now attempt to demonstrate Chiss naming conventions using my name as an example. My birth name is Hezch’orba'nuruodo. In order to make that a bit more understandable for you, I’ll transmit the spelling to your datapads without the apostrophes. Take a look now—Hezchorbanuruodo. Now if you’ve been paying close attention to me, this academy, and this lecture, you can break this name down into three distinct parts: Hez, Chorba, and Nuruodo. As I mentioned earlier, I belong to House Nuruodo, which explains the last part of my name. Take away that and you have Hez Chorba. Now, you might be surprised to hear this, but Hez is actually my blood family’s surname, whereas Chorba is my given name. In other words, if, say, I had been born as Alderaanian royalty, my full name would be Chorba Hez of House Nuruodo. Confused? Don’t worry about it. Just call me Hez.
Summary:
I thank you for your patience, class. I know this has been a particularly long lecture, but it’s one I find very important, for obvious reasons. We talked about Chiss physiology, our society, our mysterious homeland, and our language. We’re a near-human species that is often capable of bridging the gap between humans and non-humans, even when dealing with Imperials. We discussed our love of art and creative achievements. We touched on the motherland, including a bit about House Nuruodo, and how we excel at problem-solving and strategic thinking. Finally, I tried, hopefully not in vain, to help you understand a bit about my native tongue. If anyone has any questions on this topic, my door is always open. And now, the words you’ve all been waiting for…class dismissed.
This lesson will be largely recapped as the first of our established lore. The majority of this lesson stems from printed material, namely the Enter the Unknown expansion to Edge of the Empire, FFG's awesome tabletop Star Wars RPG. (For more on that awesome game, check it out here!) Some of it has been adopted and adjusted to reflect the timeline of the events of SWTOR and slight creative license was taken. This is the precedent for anything we'll consider canon lore; print > online, modified appropriately and approved by the guild leaders. Chiss lore online is insanely contradictory. It's mostly based around Thrawn, but what most people seem to forget is that Thrawn existed around 3600 years after the events of SWTOR.
TL;DR? Two takeways:
1) The Coruscant Translator (linked at the top of the page and if you can't find that, here) will be our main source for communicating in Cheunh. To save time, if the person you're talking to is RPing a character who understands Cheunh, do them a favor. Either whisper or invite them to a group and post the translation <in little backets like this> to cut down on dead air. We can't all have two monitors set up and alt-tabbing slows down the RP. If you're talking cross-faction, saying the translation aloud can't be avoided, so be careful using it in public places or risk godmodders pretending they suddenly somehow speak the language. Then again, there's always 'ignore'!
2) If you're RPing a Chiss toon born and raised in the Chiss Ascendancy, you need to develop a proper Chiss name. It will be posted as your Officer Note on the Guild screen. As for ruling houses, most of you will be a part of House Nuruodo, but we've got some creative wiggle room there. If this lesson didn't explain it well enough, talk to me.