Tahora Whai: Difference between revisions

Central in Tahora Whai society sits the neural link—known by the Whai as the '''Erinaa''' that is built into the [[Tahora Whai Equipment#Cybernetics|cybernetics]] of its people. The voice and song of the Erinaa is ever present in each person in the Tahora Whai and allows rapid communication of thoughts and ideas. Enabling this connection, AI systems onboard stations and ships as well as latent harmonies of near-by [[Teuthemi Leviathans|Tahora megafauna]]. The collective consciousness of the Erinaa is an emergent property of these interactions, and is not controlled by a single entity, but rather a reflection of the society's wants, thoughts and emotions.

 

 

The backbone of the Erinaa is the '''Vāk''', a technological marvel developed 347 Sector years before present during [[Timeline#Year_379_-_The_Great_Migration|The Great Migration]]. Creating a pseudo-telepathic connection, the Vāk imitates the poorly understood FTL signals of the Great Tahora. Personal Vāk interfaces with the network are usually incorporated into [[Tahora Whai Equipment#Cybernetics|cybernetic implants]] and [[Tahora Whai Equipment#Tattoos|functional tattoos]], but varies heavily from person to person depending on species, degree of integration, and personal preference.

 

===[[Vāk and Erinaa#The Gam|The Gam]]===

 

===[[Vāk and Erinaa#Relay Facilities|Relay Facilities]]===

 

Whai merchants who buy and sell wares with outside groups are the few who will accept foreign currencies. However, these traders prefer direct barter as a more reliable and concrete system. The few vendors in the [[Kikorangi o te Tahora Whai|Rangi]] who exchange currencies offer some of the least competitive rates in the sector, not to mention their exorbitant handling fees.

==[[Technologies of the Whai]]==

While classically scavengers and raiders, Whai are also have a knack for creating their own gadgets.Dynaean technologies (and thus many Whai technologies influenced by them) by-and-large are bespoke, custom made, artisan and heirloom products. Mass-production is rare unless there is ready access to automation and abundant materials. The bones and other body parts of Tahora are typically integrated into tools, armor, and vehicles for their unique properties or to evoke the power and spirit of the great beasts. Whale bone is commonly used in spacecraft as it requires less refining and is often superior to conventional metals for use in the void. Whai tech is, however, often not made from scratch. Instead equipment is often salvaged, reclaimed, raided, stolen, and sometimes traded. A jury-rigged and scavenged ethos derived from a time of necessity pervades almost all that is found among the Whai.

The nature of these cybernetics varies from species to species, and from user to user, but generally consists of some Tahora blood (or synthetic analog) and electrical components. Some alien species cybernetics are fully bio-mechanical while others are only wires and silicon. Before the Vāk, the planet Dynae was one of the sector’s preeminent cybernetics hubs. Military, industrial, and civilian cybernetic augmentations and enhancements designed for ranges of sentient bodies were widely produced on the planet. What knowledge and facilities that survived the ''Great Cataclysm'' have continued production and development with the Tahora Whai.

===[[Technologies of the Whai#Tattoos|Tattoos]]===

 

The physical representation of Whai tattoos are species dependent. While traditionally described with the language of ink-based skin art, the tattoos of the Tahora Whai may manifest as imbedded lights, pheromones, scars, and sonic signatures. These shapes, smells, and sounds are often copied onto one’s clothing or armor so that they can proudly project their identity and personal history.

==Professions==

While regarded as either fearsome raiders or prolific and protective whalers in much of Beacon Space, the Tahora Whai are more than a pair of professions. Even within the groups that tend to predominantly hunt whales or pirate space, few individuals are defined by any one field. Ships and their crews are usually equipped to engage in both industries with many modifications and tools serving dual purposes. Beyond these ships a diverse network of professions consisting of shipwrights, mechanics, salvagers, gunsmiths, armorers, butchers, merchants, traders, cybernetics manufacturers, tattooists, researchers, etc. support what is commonly seen as the ‘average’ Tahora Whai. The popular image of scruffy void-borne menaces of trade falls flat when observing Whai society as a whole, but this image is cultivated to maintain a fearsome reputation.

===[[Whaling in the Rangi|Whaling]]===

 

To the Whai, these megafauna are all noble creatures, and to waste them would be a travesty in their eyes. To kill them for sport or profit is anathema. A healthy population of voidborne megafauna is necessary for the survival and continuance of the Tahora Whai. Management of the Rangi involves the protection of breeding populations of megafauna in sanctuaries and reserves, keeping populations in check through harvesting, and the elimination of the threat posed by violent beasts to the people of the Rangi by either shepherding them to managed reserves or defeating them if necessary. The Whai serve as wardens and keepers of the space that the Whales inhabit.

 

==Oral Tradition==

* '''Akelarre''' - a group of Sorginak working in concert, often used to describe the creatures of Langgan's Ruin

 

 

The improbable events that occur around regular users of the emari may be seen as bad luck onboard other starships in the sector. But to the adventurous Whai, sorginak are seen to amplify the inherent mystery of space. Ever the storytellers, Whai crews encourage sorginak on their expeditions because they often make already treacherous missions more eventful and exciting. Although it might heighten the danger, the chance that million to one odds ship maneuvers can work seem to be much more plausible. Strange occurrences, unpredictable oddities, and impossible timings seem to follow these ships. Ballads about these journeys naturally take on an increased cinematic or theatrical flavor.

 

===[[Kikorangi o te Tahora Whai]]===

In many of the hexes Sector-West of Beacon Space’s Center system, travel for non-whai is severely interrupted by the presence of Dynaean ships. These systems are collectively known as Kikorangi o te Tahora Whai, or simply The Rangi.

 

===[[Brax]]===

A slender scaled species with vestigial wings. Brax populations on Dynae were decimated during the planet’s countless civil wars. The final death knell for the Brax almost came with the Great Calamity, but a meager population managed to settle in orbit just prior to the attack.

===Dynaean Survivors===

Although not a distinct species, the rugged survivors of Dynae’s great cataclysm are often regarded as a coherent entity. Amidst the wasted surface and badlands, several generations of people have eked out a living in the shifting sands and inhospitable atmosphere. Estimates of the population varies, but most scholars assume that only a fraction have adopted the link.

===Non-Dynaeans and New Whai===

Although suspicious of many outsiders as potentially surviving descendants of ''The Discordant'', the Whai welcome all who seek to broaden their understanding and deepen their empathy with the link. People of many different stripes from across Beacon Space may find home and community among the Whai.

Altered Humans of the planet [[Puluhan]] in the Nusantara System. They are distinct from other humans and are characterized by thick, callused skin, an absence of body hair, and nictitating membranes protecting their eyes. Many Puluhanni joined the Tahora Whai after Whai fleets rescued the planet from the menace of the Antaboga, a void-snake that disrupted space travel in Nusantara.

===Faction Characters===

* [[Ezekiel Blacktallow]]

* Melrakki Whēkau - eccentric shipwright

 

==''OOC Faction Truths''==