Tevarin

The Tevarin (/TEV-are-inn/) are an extraterrestrial species. After two wars with the United Planets of Earth and their entire defeat in 2610, they lost their sovereignty and were absorbed into the UPE. The Tevarin homeworld was terraformed and annexed by the UPE.



History
The UPE first established contact with the space-faring civilization in 2541. While not as technologically advanced as humanity, the Tevarin were beginning to strike out into the universe. A proud, martial society, the Tevarin wanted humanity's resources and launched an offensive against them. While the battlegrounds never threatened Earth or Terra, what the Tevarin lacked technologically they more than made up for in strategic brilliance and endurance, causing the war to last over four years. The turning point was the famous Battle of Idris IV, which introduced a young officer, Ivar Messer, to the populace of the UPE.

After the Tevarin defeat, the UPE terraformed the Tevarin systems for Human colonization. The remaining Tevarin were either absorbed into the UPE or fled to Banu or Xi'an space.

In 2603, a new Tevarin Warlord, Corath'Thal, emerged from the corners of the cosmos with a rebuilt Tevarin battle-fleet and launched his first attack against the UPE systems. Their sole mission was to reclaim Elysium IV, their former homeworld. While it was a sympathetic cause that some Humans could support, the UPE wasn't about to give up territory. This war lasted seven years and touched almost every corner of the UPE.

On June 24, 2610 SET, Corath'Thal suffered a catastrophic defeat at the hands of Squadron 42 at the Battle of Centauri. With his fleet swiftly unraveling to either destruction or surrender, Corath'Thal mustered his remaining loyal pilots to make a last desperate charge for Elysium IV. Though his force suffered over 70% casualties, his fleet finally reached the atmosphere of their old homeworld. Corath'Thal and his pilots intentionally lowered their thermal shields and dove for the planet in an act of self-immolation.

With this second defeat, the spirit of the Tevarin race was irrevocably broken. Imperator Messer II used the victory to cement his place as ruler of the newly christened United Empire of Earth.

Currently, a large tevarin diaspora has settled in the unclaimed Branaugh system on Branaugh II.

Homeworld
Formerly known as Kaleeth, it has since been terraformed, colonized by Humans, and renamed to Elysium IV. In 2946, Suj Kossi, a UEE veteran, was the planet's first senator to come from the Tevarin population.

Political system (former)
The Tevarin were somewhere between a feudalistic society and an oligarchy, with a military government holding absolute authority. Typically only those who distinguished themselves in combat were able to advance in Tevarin society, however, those not in the military also had opportunities. Non-combatants were viewed as a valuable cog in the Tevarin collective society, and those who contributed to the system through agriculture or industry were also granted benefits.

The highest Tevarin position was Warlord, and despite the connotation of the title, it was as much of a political office as it was a military one. The Tevarin were undoubtedly a proud and aggressive warrior culture that venerated conflict as a noble pursuit. However, it should be noted that their approach to warfare was much more measured in comparison to the Vanduul.

Diplomatic status
There is no official Tevarin government, as the race was destroyed to near extinction in its war with humanity and the survivors assimilated into the UEE. However, a few Tevarin have been given Citizenship to display the UEE's tolerance for xenos, but the total number of Tevarin Citizens might be measured in triple or even double digits. Most other Tevarin lack any political affiliation to a party, generally ignoring the human-centric politics of the UEE with a sort of bland apathy.

Present day repression
Regardless of having been assimilated into the UEE for more than 300 years, some human groups still hold grudges against the Tevarin. A particularly xenophobic hate-group known as Nemesis has been known to commit voter suppression against Tevarin. In one case, during the secondary votes of the 2950 UEE imperatorial Election, it was revealed that Nemesis would strategically deploy themselves near polling stations where high populations of Tevarin were known to live, intimidating them and denying them access.

An example of a group that currently fights against this repression is the Tevarin advocacy group Stronger Together, founded in 2941. They routinely provide free legal representation for Tevarin who can't afford it and guide others through the complicated Citizenship application process. They monitor activity of anti-Tevarin hate groups and collate data of xenophobic crimes from all UEE systems.

Military
Even though the Second Tevarin War ended in 2610, many Tevarin still resent the UEE military, and this is a sentiment that is often reciprocated. Consequently, there are very few Tevarin volunteers in the military. The majority of Tevarin in the military are instead found in UEE Penal Units. Eligible Tevarin criminals are offered a choice: serve time on QuarterDeck or do a mandated number of tours on the front line. These squads are typically patched together from Tevarin and human convicts, where they are used as cannon fodder for high casualty operations.

While rare, it is possible for Tevarin to elevate in rank from these squads into the more legitimate branches of the UEE military.

Criminal
One of the known criminal groups comprised of Tevarin are the Ashen Haunt, a pirate group that exists to provide safe passage for Tevarin refugees out of UEE space and to Branaugh II.

Religion
Originally the Tevarin followed Rijora (/REE-jorr-ah/), a warrior-code similar to Bushidō on ancient Earth. The Tevarin believed in honor, fealty, and duty above all else. Breaking this strict code meant excommunication, or even execution in extreme cases.

After their defeat in the first war and the loss of their homeworld, the code began to decline in popularity. As a response to this, the Second Tevarin War was launched in an attempt to reclaim the Tevarin race's previous glory. However, this second war failed miserably. Consequently, when the last diehard believers of Rijora flung themselves toward Kaleeth, burning up in the atmosphere and crashing into the planet, the last chance for the Tevarin to reclaim their place in the galaxy had been lost. Following this final defeat the vast majority of surviving Tevarin abandoned their religion in a climatic period known as The Purge. Tragically, almost all Tevarin destroyed their Codices, which are the holy writs of Rijora.

Personality traits
In the present day there is an anger and deep sadness to be found in most Tevarin. Their people are diminished and scattered, and the loss of their religion, their culture, and their homeworld has had a profound psychological effect on their race. Truly, theirs is the melancholy of a broken, declining people.

After the second war, many Tevarin channeled their aggressive natures into addictions and violence. Indeed, Tevarin mercenaries are noted for their ruthlessness and utter lack of fear. However, the average Tevarin finds little joy in life. Most humans find Tevarin to be terse and cynical.

Diet
Tevarin enjoy fibrous vegetables and lack the capacity to taste spicy and bitter food. Because of this, it is common in the Tevarin settlement on Branaugh II to see food vendors selling bags of raw, frozen bitter melon and Xi'an demon peppers for snacking on-the-go.