The Ethen Guard (ETH)
Region: 93 (Mekhala)
The Collective of Seven
D:3 M:3 E:5 F:2 I:3
Geography
The asteroid(s) home to the Ethen Guard are almost entirely rock. The landscape is craggy, mountainous, and for most lacking in appeal. For the Ethen Guard however it contains something crucial, Ethenite, a crystal from which they are sustained. These lands are sparse, the only visible change is the craters and mountains of the land and the density of Ethenite in the various areas. The Ethen Guard has made little change to the landscape aside from exposing more Ethenite. The land has been lightly modified due to the Ethen Guard’s travel and several invasive species have joined the landscape, the main being a natively white, but here purple lichen which caused absorption issues in the Ethenite and required the addition of animal species which enjoy consuming the lichen. It appears as flakey patches on the land and if left alone spreads in blankets on the ground. Present day the land does contain more vegetation as the animal waste created a more nutrient dense environment creating sparse but very present plantlife, a small variety of insects, and about 4 species of animals.
The animal waste is collected so that the vegetation is limited to pastures in very few areas in an attempt to make moving the herds easier but also to decrease the impact on the terrain.
The asteroid is very dry, cool in temperature, and consistent in its annual weather change which is none. There are several clusters of hilly mountainous regions where the Ethen Guard will retreat to study and meditate as they are without vegetation and animals due to the thinner atmosphere at greater altitudes. There are several gravel pits caused by the fly larvae that are much avoided by the Ethen Guard as the unstable land is much harder to traverse for their less dexterous bodies.
People
The Ethen Guard are a sort of elemental or golem, made of stone and fueled by the Ethenite Crystals of their land which absorb the ether of the atmosphere surrounding them. Without the Ethenite they do not exist and while they don't naturally die, the separation can cause immense issues and "death". They don't really decay either, they stone they are made up of can crumble and break apart, but they also can replace it as they are made from the land. They don’t create the ether, instead it is native to the asteroids they call home. Prior to discovering the crystals here and dividing their people their population boomed to excess in their previous home which had a similar type of crystal. They are as a people not born but rather created through intentional ritual as a community using the Ethenite. The first of the Ethan Guard were not the Guard at all, but creations by other people long since lost due to the degradation of the land and the crumbling of the initial planet. The Ethen people did not suffer the changes of the planet and stood even after the people fell. The Ethen workers had been valued for their size and ability to haul and manipulate the land as well as their storytelling and long memory. Their own personhood was not contested and early on they became a people of themselves.
They historically spent their time as researchers and admirers of the Ether, space, and the atmosphere when the people no longer needed them to shape the land. Presently the bulk of their time is rather unfortunately spent in animal husbandry which was not so much an intentional addition to their culture as it was an accident. The Guard are very curious and when invited to travel leapt at the chance. Upon their return several of the Guard incidentally brought back a type of lichen that happened to thrive upon the land. The lichen was not easily removed by bulky Guard fingers but was very adeptly removed by the Sneep (Snail sheep) that had existed on the same planet as the lichen. As first time observers of an invasive species the Guard did not anticipate the chain reaction that would occur adding in the Sneep. The Sneeps’ waste and fur created an ample environment for flies. The flies larvae much larger than anticipated caused foundational issues in the rock if left for too long and so Mogs (Mole hogs) were brought in to control the fly population. The Mogs had eaten seeds on the previous planet and so a variety of vegetation was introduced to the land that thrived in the waste from the animals. Baffled but not yet through with their tampering both Gows (giraffe cows) and Chats (Rat chickens) were brought in to maintain the new vegetation and bugs respectively. It was then that they declared enough was enough and are currently in the thick of combining animal husbandry and their previous sciences trying to find balance once more. It is going less than superbly however at least the animals are cute.
The space between the planet the Ethen started on and the asteroids the Ethen Guard now live on is significant enough that the two groups do not currently communicate. Keeping up was just a painful reminder of a people they could not see again.
With a value for histories, knowledge, and oral storytelling those with the most power are those with the longest memory and greatest storytelling skills. They have little need for a more structured government and make decisions as a collective with those elders or most “Known” holding more weight and the younger newer of the Guard holding less sway. The most Known currently of The Ethen Guard is the “Collective of Seven” (literally Seven elders) who remember the ways of the people on-planet hundreds of years ago.
Resource
The Ethen Guard have found themselves rich in well fed animals and have quickly accrued more than they care to maintain (Meat and Animal Products). They are also rich in knowledge of astronomy, the ether, atmosphere, and Ethenite. They use rather outdated means of recording and studying but they are accurate and their findings relevant. They don’t lack time with such long lived peoples, but they move at the pace of a mountain. The addition of the animals has really rapidly changed the way life occurs and they are very adept animal trainers at this point.
Desired Import
While not necessary for The Guard, the animals do require water of which there is none on the asteroid(s) naturally. Most tools are also imported as The Guard are not a dexterous people.
Faith
The Ethen Guard are not a people of faith but of history, science, and tradition.
Starting Tech
The Ethenite and the Ethen Guard together can create new Guard, visually storytell, and create visual maps/figures. This has helped greatly reduce their need for physical record keeping.
Vacuum Adaptation
