Trecouri
Stats
HP Bonus: +20
Improved Strength: +5
Improved Dexterity: +6
Improved Stamina: +8
Trecouri Haste: +3, 1000 XP + 200 per level additional +1, +1 movement per success
Improved Vision: +6
Logic: +5
MR: 50% fixed
Use Magic Items: +1 HB special knack
Paths: 4 limited paths, choose from:
Mental Aspects; mental tower, presence, domination,
telekinesis, telepathy, dementia, quantum weaver, clairvoyance
Lore Aspects; book of life (healing and protection),
book of shadows, book of pestilence, book of spirits, book of the inferno, book of death,
book of (element). Use glyphs, runes and scrolls to make magic items, staffs, and create wards.
Spirit Fire: Trecouri special power.
Though some Trecouri Arcaan (a type of battlemage) can command this power through their bodies, if they specialize in it and weapons made from it, it is more commonly harnessed by Lore Masters in glyphs which are activated by some device such as a trigger, key, or switch.
Critical damage occurs if this fire makes contact unless it is dampened with a dampening setting.
Does aggravated critical damage and stuns with electrical shock.
The burning affects can also be dampened and allow this power to be set as stun only.
Stuns for -2 AR, -1 AR per ace.
This fire is drawn from the energy of living spirits which is trapped in the glyphs, a mages staff, or even into a Trecouri itself (a dangerous process called spirit quickening which creates a Trecouri Arcaan, or a Xevaadu, a type of battlewraith if they becomes possessed!). Normal fire resistance and MR does not apply to this blue energy. Special spirit resistance on the other hand does. Many prisoners and their elderly give their lives to create this energy.
Though a trade secret, a Trecouri mage can teach this power to a non-Trecouri through a special spirit joining. Trecouri Lore Mages, Arcaan and Xevaadu ALONE can teach this power as they know it to others and at risk of their lives if they teach it to a non-Trecouri.
Technological: genetics, technology, cybernetics, biotechnology,
biochemistry, biomutation, energetics (energy), weapons, transportation,
bioengineering, bioenergetics, biosynthetics, quantum mechanics, quantum physics,
quantum technology, quantum cybernetics, pathology, physiatrics, surgery and medical
procedures, etc.
Classes: Any, but Mages can only take limited paths as listed in Paths section and they cannot take magic skills), many are Lore Masters and Martial Warriors but they also have an elite group of warrior mages called Arcaan and Xevaadu which command the path of spirit fire.
Alignment: any but with strong tendencies towards chaotic or evil
Language and Origins: Trecouri speak a language called Trecouru which can be compared to Japenese with Greek undertones. This is the native language of the Trecouri and was adopted by the original Inisai of Ishi Taipang, thus is spoken by Inisai as their own adopted native language. Ishi Taipang is an island chain far west of Morendor. It was on the Ishi Taipang islands the Trecouri 'crash landed' in their airships hundreds of thousands of years ago. They were pulled to Morashtar after getting caught in an intergalactic rift which acted a gateway between the two worlds. Trecouri originated on a world called Ardennia.
Basic Information
Trecouri (treh-cuoh-ree) are slow aging (650 year lifespan) ultra-civilized humanoids that dwell in four great cities in southern An Morendor, and in isolated compounds on the Ishi Taipang island chain. In Morendor Each city falls beneath the reign of one of the four ruling houses of the Trecouri, while the most powerful house, the House of Melekar, rules over all others. Nobles houses are called state houses and all other houses are called civic houses. Trecouri are elf-like in appearance and as beautiful; they have pale-white skin, white or platinum blonde hair, and pointed ears. They are frequently mistaken for nether or maelvannor elves, but unlike these elven cavern dwellers; Trecouri have intense blue, red, or violet eyes of varying shades and hues; and they age, though slowly. Trecouri strive to advance themselves above all others in wealth, power, technology, intellect, and their idea of perfection. Trecouri have strict and unusual customs and rituals, which others believe mark them as an evil race, and though true of many, not all Trecouri are wicked. They are an incredibly intelligent people who pride themselves on controlling their emotions and acting on logic, though by most people's standards their logic is seriously warped. They do not welcome strangers to their cities or compounds and most outsiders who do get caught inside of a Trecouri city uninvited are enslaved or killed at the convenience of the house ruler. Trecouri also love all things beautiful and are repulsed by things that are unbecoming. As such they have evolved into a very attractive and biased race of people.
These people are also conquerors, not of cities, but of resources, lore power, and the people they claim as slaves. Trecouri slaves never see a Trecouri city unless they are themselves Trecouri, or if a slave attains a master's favor, which is rare. House slaves are treated well unless rebellion or treachery occurs. Slaves captured from raids are used as miners, spies, huntsmen, raiders of farms, as assassins, for hard labor, and any other duty the Trecouri would rather another did in their place. All of their slaves are dominated by whatever masters are in charge of them, be they a civilian, a noble, or a house ruler.
The Throwbacks
Perhaps the most striking fact about Trecouri is that one out of every thousand or so males born are functionally androgynous as a result of their monogenous ancestry, and every so often a male is born as a monogenous (asexual) Trecouri as well. They are occasionally effeminate in appearance (and sometimes in behavior) although they never have female upper bodies. Androgynous Trecouri and children born of monogenous Trecouri are considered most divine and are often chosen as mates by patrons and matrons, while other androgynous are paired together in the hopes of producing more androgynous and monogenous Trecouri. These
atypical predecessors of the Trecouri are chosen and held sacred to preserve the genetic code of their ancestors. On the world Trecouri were born to there are entire civilizations of these forerunners.
Trecouri Beliefs
Trecouri beliefs are based on a foundation of power and emotional and physical perfection, and they believe strongly that to betray certain emotions is a weakness, and so they strive to overcome and master their minds, bodies, and spirits to become divine. The emotions they forbid are the negative kind, such as sorrow, anger, pain, hatred, and resentment, while to express joy, love, pleasure, and contentment is perfectly acceptable as long as it is never excessive. This results in their people having a lot of negativity bottled up inside of them. The most sadistic Trecouri can appear to be the most pleasant, content, and charming person, all the while savoring the pain and suffering of another. To the sadists, to see a victim suffer is the most beautiful thing they can imagine. To show only proper emotion is to become divine, and the less negative one is the more divine they are. To show negative emotion among the Trecouri is to shame yourself and your family. Trecouri believe that gods are ascendants of lessor beings who attain
godhood through the attainment of power, mental perfection, and a sublime state of emotion. They worship gods that they believe ascended from their own ancestors, the first four; Memlekar (the father god), Ashoki (the mother god), Hahkura (the son god), and Anurai (the daughter god), the most powerful among them. They believe also that gods can die when they take mortal forms, and are replaced under the same name by a son or daughter, such as when a great ruler kills another great ruler or warrior that they believe is an incarnation of one of the higher order of gods, the ruler who kills that god replaces them when they die. Other legendary people become gods when they die, and all who become gods are buried with their favorite belongings, pets and slaves. Among Trecouri grave robbery is a serious crime.
Trecouri Lust for Power
The Trecouri are avid Lore Masters and they seek and collect the most powerful artifacts, warding and magic items available, and at times their patriarchs or matriarchs (called simply patrons or matrons) will stop at nothing to obtain an ultra-powerful arcane or elemental item. They have conquered civilizations and killed whoever they had to just to obtain a powerful magic item. The extraordinary abilities these people have is frightening to those who are aware of their talents and with good reason. Trecouri have impressive mental endowments (mental tower, presence, domination, telekinesis, telepathy, quantum weaver, machine aspects, and dementia), as well as their imposing strength, incredible agility, and remarkable speed.
Trecouri pride themselves on being warriors and leaders, and women are among the most dangerous in their societies. The most powerful ruling house is the house of Melekar, which has been ruled by matrons for ages, although when a male royal proves himself supreme that could change. It is the most decadent, corrupt, ruthless, sadistic, and dangerous house, and as such the other houses have secretly been trying to overthrow the Melekar for ages. Unwilling to unite as allies against the House of Melekar owed to distrust between the houses, each house plots in secret against the House of Melekar and its heirs. Likewise, they stand little or no chance of overthrowing House Melekar unless they unite. The four ruling houses in order of power are Melekar, Uraechis, Solutrio, and Agmenis.
Trecouri Renegades
Though rare, a Trecouri may at times resent their people's way of life and nepotistic socities, and attempt to desert their people, embracing their emotions as a wonderful and precious aspect of their nature they have no wish to crush, or because they disagree with Trecouri dictatorship and way of life in general. In most cases alienation of Trecouri society is punishable by death or slavery by Trecouri law. The rulers make exceptions for their own children, siblings, nephews, and nieces, however, which they value highly as royal heirs to a ruling house, and rather than execute a close family member that attempts to flee from their society, a leader will attempt to track a fugitive family member down and break the renegade with their mental powers to gain complete control of them. In severe cases, when a royal family member repeatedly attempts to desert, they are labeled apostates and enslaved to the ruling patron if they are recaptured.
Trecouri Rulers
Much as rulers value family members, they also pit them against other Trecouri of their age when the time comes to choose a successor. By Trecouri law a patron or matron must choose a brother, sister, son, daughter, niece or nephew as their successor when they come of age on their sixteenth birthday. The chosen heir must prove him or herself capable as a leader by trial of combat against at least six young Trecouri swordsmen and women of the same age in their city, family members and unrelated Trecouri alike. The ruler chooses the best and most divine combatants. This deadly ceremony of combat is called shirratu. Shirratu takes place in a house coliseum (which each city or air ship has) on the chosen heir's birthday and is centered around the house ring (always a tremendously powerful ring) that is placed on a pedestal atop a slender pyramid of steps at the center of the house coliseum. The heir that takes the ring is given the title of Successor. As this is the only opportunity to lawfully weaken the hierarchy of a house by killing potential heirs, young people train hard in the hopes of killing a successor, for if ever a last heir is slain the one who takes the ring, whether of royal blood or not, becomes successor. When the leader reaches the age of 300 they must step down and crown their successor as matron or patron while they still have their youth in both appearance and mind. If they have no heir by this time then all house subjects of age, who wish to make a bid for the house crown, fight for the house ring, this combat ceremony called Shirratu Onu. Shirratu in the Trecouri tongue means Crowned by Death, and Shirratu Onu means Royal Blood Crowned by Death.
Trecouri patrons or matrons have absolute power and can assign any duty they see fit to any subject in their city, can command how many children a family has, or demand anything else they please of their subjects. The penalties for disobeying them is also for the house ruler to decide. It happens occasionally that people facing a ruler's wrath may seek the protection of another house by changing loyalties. Trecouri, House Melekar in particular, are proof that absolute power corrupts absolutely. While a few Trecouri secretly despise the corruption that runs rampant in their society, it is simply a customary way of life for most Trecouri that they accept, learn to manipulate, and even embrace. The attainment of a leader's trust and a well substantiated oath of unconditional loyalty is the path to power and nobility in Trecouri society, and rulers never extend their trust to those who do not aspire to be divine. All Trecouri houses obey Trecouri customs and laws without opposing them for one reason; Trecouri once had ten houses on Morashtar, and those houses that opposed these ancient customs and laws were destroyed.
Trecouri Elderly
Perhaps the most corrupt aspect of Trecouri life involves their elderly. When the lines of age fall hard on Trecouri, they are given three end of days choices which they must choose from and abide by. They can either: offer themselves as slaves to the house of a patron or matron's choosing, in which case they must obey their master always and never show their face unless summoned by their master; or they can choose exile and leave Trecouri society after a ceremony which wipes their memories clean of all but the most basic knowledge of survival, otherwise, start their lives over on a clean slate as aging people; and lastly they can choose to offer themselves as an honored sacrifice to their house ruler to aid in their divine ascension and provide them with essential spirit energy to power glyphs and mages with spirit fire which aids a house ruler in maintaining power. Surprising few Trecouri choose exile.
Respected Elders, those who are truly divine by Trecouri standards, have the option of becoming priests. To be titled as respected they must have a superior intellect, be divine of emotion, and be invaluable masters of their mental, lore, or machine aspect abilities. Prior House Rulers often become priests, but even ex-rulers are not treated any differently once their place as an elderly Trecouri is established. Trecouri priests never leave the shrine they are assigned to beyond the beautiful walled in gardens surrounding a shrine. Those who seek their power or wisdom go to them. Only a house ruler may call a priest to them. If a priest is caught outside of their shrine without summons from their house ruler the punishment is most often death. Priests wear hooded robes of white satin embroidered in silver and gold over deep blue habits. Their faces are covered with white masks with elaborate scroll work which fit the contours of their facial features, their eyes are shadowed in black or indigo, and they are required to wear their deep hoods at all times when approached or seen. To be seen is to be less divine as a priest.
Trecouri are considered elderly once they bridge their 350th birthday. Corrupt as their laws concerning elders are it is a fact of life Trecouri have lived with since their history was remembered or recorded. Like all the rest of their customs it is what they are accustomed to and few protest. Those who do are ignored. Trecouri choose their end of days path long before their 350th birthday thus most of them know what to expect.
Trecouri Homeworld
Trecouri were named after the continent of Trecouria on their home world of Ardennia. Ardennia is a world of mortals creatures and people, Trecouri the only long lived race among them. The Trecouri came to Morashtar via a great palacial air ship which got caught in a planar rift that delivered their ship hence to Morashtar during the ninth age. Their ship crashed into the ocean not far from Ishi Taipang's largest island, Maileng which they made their way to. The four-thousand, sixty-three who survived the sinking ship and the planet's diseases, established the Trecouri population on Morashtar. Unlike their own world where the only magic was encapsulated in born with abilities, minerals or in science, Morashtar was inhabited by magical and immortal creatures of all kinds which the Trecouri found more difficult to compete with and conquer, and as a people who had been unlike any other on their own world, they established a very secretive and elusive existance on Morashtar, whereon Ardennia they had been great conquerors who had ruled over most of their world. Trecouri of Morashtar who do manage to flee their cities and compounds pass themselves off as the nether and maelvnanor elves they resemble, an advantage they never had on Ardennia as the only elven looking race, and the only people with white skin and hair alike.
Locations -- Ishi Taipang
House: Each house is a keep or manor within a compound that is named after a powerful family residing in that house. The ruling house precides over all houses, a compound and island and is named after the leader of a ruling family. There is one compound on each island and these strongholds are always in an isolated region of the island. Trecouri jaijeng (commoners) reside in colonies made up of a complex of sprawling single level homes within the center area of each compound with the keeps of the Houses surrounding them. Hundreds or thousands of Trecouri may live within each compound and Trecouri houses rule over the Inisai Namas of the island who pay monthly tributes in resources to them. If no tribute is payed then the Trecouri take as many as three slaves of choice from the Inisai people in exchange, often willing to trade them back for a doubled tribute later. This pact between the Taipang Trecouri and Inisai is an ancient one. The Inisai receive the protection and domestic technology (agriculture, water and energy, refuse and sewage, architecture) of the far more advanced Trecouri in return. If foreigners come to Taipang they are treated with hospitality but also great suspicion and seldom ever allowed to enter a Trecouri compound. Trecouri compounds have high tech security which is effective at keeping mages and infiltrators out.
Locations -- Morendor
1st House of Melekar: Sekura Plane in Melekar City, the plane named after Matron Sekura who was the first matron of Morashtar and the Trecouri who used her quantum powers to create the Sekura Plane. Melekar City is a magnificent walled in city constructed of white marble and quartz, the palace made of ivory. The city too was constructed by quantum weavers. Sekura Plane is a temperate continent surrounded by a sea walled in by a permiter of towering cliffs. A single gateway leads into the plane from the ocean through a cave within South Haven Cliff's precipitous wall. This cliff is found on the southwestern shore of An Morendor 400 miles west of Demon Tongue River's inlet. The cavernous gateway passes through South Haven Cliff into the Sea Wall Cliffs of Sekura Plane.
Trecouri Houses
2nd House of Uraechis: Uraechis Island, Demon Horn Lake, central. A large island that is approximately fifty miles across from east to west and sixty miles long. Uraechis Citadel and palace is at the center of the island.
3rd House of Solutrio: Solutrio Citadel on Uraechis Island, southwest.
4th House of Agmenis: Sekura Plane. As allies of Melekar Agmenis City is built in Sekura Plane.
Common Trecouri Customs
Etiqette: Trecouri take pride in conducting themselves with excellent manners, even towards enemies.
Bowing: performed by males and females alike as a gesture of greeting and respect to superiors. The greater one's superior, the lower the bow. Superiors never bow to subordinates.
Debt of Life: if someone saves a Trecouri's life, they pledge their life to that person until the debt has been paid by saving the life of the other.
Debt in Favor: if someone does a Trecouri a favor, they pledge their amnesty or friendship to the other until that debt is paid with a favor of equal importance.
House Loyalty: all Trecouri (barring rebells) at least pretend to be loyal to the house they were born under, until a time they reject a house publicly, and offer their loyalty to another house and are accepted by that house.
Public Enemy Number One: all Trecouri are sworn to report the existence of, the location of, and any information discovered about insurgents and rebels.
Warlords: must be shown proper respect by all subordinates, or warlords (warrior aristocrats) have every right to punish offenders as they see fit. It is their gods-given right as protectors of the realm to be respected.
Religion: Trecouri as polytheistic people believe in the existence of many Gods. That believe that the most divine and great of Trecouri men and women become Gods and servants of those Gods. As such, they worship various historical figures as Gods and Demons. They have their own underworld called Shinsoru, where all Trecouri spirits go when they die to walk as they once did in life in the Golden and Silver Halls of the Dead. Only the most divine become Gods and their servants (demons). Demons as Trecouri know them are very wise and represent every cast of emotion, all important life aspects, (leadership, war, unity, fertility, wisdom, etc.) and the elements.
Grave Robbery: This is a serious crime to the Trecouri who will imprison or execute anyone caught or suspected of commiting this most taboo crime.
Other Trecouri Customs
As written by members: - Pending
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