Selassians

Selassians
Leader	Selassian Matriarch
System
Homeworld	Corryb III
Capital	Unknown
Allies	Loroi
Enemies	Unknown

Morphology and Physiology

The Selassians are a serpentine race with the upper body of a humanoid and the lower body of a snake. The males are typically smaller than the females and tend to be subservient to them. The female lay eggs and breast feed the young for about a year after hatching. The females also mature more quickly, about 12 years compared to 20 years for males.

History

A defining conflict of the Selassian race, approximately 11,000 years ago, one Selassian faction released a virus that caused infected females to lay eggs with shells far weaker than is typical. This resulted in most of the eggs collapsing under the weight of their own shells. With 90% of Selassian younglings perishing before making it out of the egg, the other factions realized they had to come together and, after they destroyed the leaders of the rogue group that had released the virus in what became known as the War of Eggs, they formed the Selassian Dynasty.

Approximately 9,000 years ago, the Selassians conquered and enslaved the Loroi which they commonly employ as shock troops.

Culture

The Selassians are matriarchal, with the stronger females asserting dominance over the males. Following the War of Eggs, the Selassian Dynasty was formed, a hereditary monarchy with ruling rights passing from mother to daughter. In terms of shere space, the Selassian Dynasty possess the most territory of any power within the Starmourn Sector, although it is not the most populous.

The aristocratic among the females decorate their faces with distinct black and white makeup and favor elaborate headdresses. Male Selassians are smaller and weaker than females and while there are exceptions, they tend to exist to serve the needs of the females.

Government

The Selassian Dynasty is a hereditary form of government, based on their racial home planet of Corryb III. Rulership of the dynasty is inherited enatically, from mother to daughter, and was established about 11,000 years ago in the wake of the War of Eggs.

The Dynasty is, in terms of the pure area of space controlled, the largest sovereign state in the core of Starmourn Sector, though the Serene Empire of the Ait Benir contains considerably more populated worlds, as it is in an area of the Starmourn sector with substantially higher system density. Also, both the Sa'hak-ren Empire and the Ibyssian Brotherhood, which each extend past the fringes of Starmourn sector, appear to be quite a bit larger.

Adjacent to the Selassian's territory are the Fatar - a loathed changeling race - coreward from the Dynasty, the Zinari Imperium to the spinward, and roughly to the lagward they abut the forbidding borders of the Y'saari Covenant - the Elder Race whose currency, the Covenant Mark, is the main currency of Starmourn.

Aside from the Selassian people themselves, the Dynasty is also composed of the fierce Loroi, whom the Selassians conquered about 9,000 years ago, relatively soon after the Loroi began to reach out to neighboring stars. The Loroi are frequently used as shock troops by the Selassians, and are highly valued as such for their courage and willingness to die in battle rather than retreat. There are, however, bands of Loroi living outside of the Dynasty, typically making their living as mercenaries.