Asari
The asari, native to the planet Thessia, are often considered one of the most influential and respected sentient species in the galaxy, and are known for their elegance, diplomacy, and biotic aptitude. This is partly due to the fact that the asari were among the earliest races to achieve interstellar flight after the Protheans, and the first to discover and settle the Citadel.
A mono-gender race, the asari are distinctly feminine in appearance and possess maternal instincts. Their unique physiology, expressed in a millennium-long lifespan and the ability to reproduce with a partner of any gender or species, gives them a conservative yet convivial attitude toward other races. Favoring compromise and cooperation over conflict, the asari were instrumental in proposing and founding the Citadel Council and have been at the heart of galactic society ever since.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Asari resemble humans in terms of basic skeletal structure with five digits on each hand and feet that are relatively straight (certainly in comparison to species like quarians and turians). This similarity allows asari to wear human armor. A typical asari has a blue to purple complexion, though a teal complexion is possible albeit seemingly rare. Some asari, such as Matriarch Lidanya, Matriarch Benezia, Liara T'Soni, and Tela Vasir have facial markings, which are unique colored patterns that vary for every asari. Some of these facial markings resemble the eyebrows that humans have, but the asari do not think of the markings as such themselves. In the place of head hair, asari possess semi-flexible, cartilage-based scalp-crests that grow into shape. These structures are rigid, and do not "flop around" as some believe. The purpose of the scalp is thermoregulation, employing direct radiation in concert with an unconsciously-generated weak pseudobiotic field. During infancy the scalp is still in the process of growing to its final form, with the inner layers initially exposed, and covered by a protective layer of skin which is later shed as the outer tendrils lengthen and thicken to cover the entire top and sides of the head; the shedding process is harmless (aside from rare complications), but uncomfortable. Some asari have textures, including ridges, and prominent scale patterns, on their scalp tendrils (sometimes augmented with cosmetics) while others have scalps appearing as smooth as the rest of the skin.
Asari have navels as well as breasts that continue to grow with age. Asari also have a robust cellular regenerative system; while they do not heal faster than other species, they are known to reach over 1000 years of age. This long lifespan is rivaled only by the krogan. Asari can see ultraviolet at the short-wavelength end of the spectrum. Asari blood is purple.
Biological Traits
All asari are biotic, the result of Thessia's pervasive element zero content; although some asari are biologically capable of exerting more biotic power than others, asari with no ability at all are extremely rare, and this is regarded as a medical abnormality rather than the natural low end of the scale of ability. Prior to the development of biotic technologies such as implants and amplifiers, asari biotic ability was limited by modern standards - 'strong' biotics undertook decades of training to hone their skills before being able to create effects of a magnitude regarded as common today, and pre-tech huntresses developed many forms of biotic-assisted martial arts, using their biotics to augment armed and unarmed combat techniques for maximum effect. While modern asari use similar amplifiers to other species, their implants are much more limited, functioning primarily as an interface between the asari and the amplifier - this does not denote a limiting of capability, since much of the complexity and pervasiveness of implants in other species is to artificially simulate the natural behaviour of an asari nervous system. Since asari implants are less far-reaching the procedure to install them is much less complex and taxing; asari typically receive implants (if they so choose; some elect not to) as part of the transition from childhood to the maiden stage (see below), and the procedure is considered safe and commonplace.
The asari lifespan, typically in the region of 1000 standard years, comes about primarily due to a robust cellular regenerative system; this regenerative ability does not confer any notable acceleration of regular healing. Although the treatment and correction of defects in this system has been greatly aided by modern medicine, its 'upper limit' has not been significantly increased since the early Council era, when sharing of medical technologies between asari and salarian researchers led to breakthroughs in treating formerly life-shortening conditions such as cell fatigue and oravik. While it is common enough for modern asari to reach 1000 years of age, it is rare for them to live more than one additional century beyond this. While visibly maturing during their lives, even millennia-old asari often do not display outward signs of 'old age' in the manner of comparable species such as human until the final few years of their lives, when the body's telomerase, the substance primarily responsible for slowing the physical ageing process, begins to break down.
Genetics and Reproduction
However asari gender is defined, they are innately different from humans, for asari can mate and successfully reproduce with any other gender or species through a form of parthenogenesis. Although they have one gender, they are not asexual and do in fact require a partner to reproduce. However, asari reproduction is very different from other forms of sexual reproduction. An asari provides two copies of her own genes to her offspring, one of which is passed on unaltered. The second set of genes is altered in a unique process called melding, also known as the joining or the union. During melding, the eyes of the asari initiating the meld dilate as she consciously attunes her nervous system to her partner's, sending and receiving electrical impulses directly through the skin, however physical contact is not strictly necessary. A common phrase used before melding is "embrace eternity," presumably to help focus the partner's mind. Effectively, the asari and her partner briefly become one unified nervous system, sharing memories, thoughts, and feelings. The offspring is always an asari, regardless of the species or sex of the "father" and in the case that the offspring is of two asari, the father is the one who does not give birth.
The drawback to the asari means of reproduction are the Ardat-Yakshi. These individuals possess a rare genetic defect that causes an asari to overwhelm and destroy her partner’s nervous system when joining. The condition seems to appear only amongst pureblood asari, those whose parents are both asari.
It is also possible for an asari to meld with another for the sole purpose of transferring thoughts, without reproduction. The asari initiating the meld can both send and receive information. Liara melds with Commander Shepard several times for the purpose of viewing and helping understand the visions Shepard received from the Prothean beacon. Shiala later melds minds with Shepard for the purpose of “uploading” the Cipher into Shepard’s mind in order to help the Commander understand the visions. Liara also states that the melding of minds is a sign of a deep connection between two individuals, something often reserved for friends and family members; it is also a way to say “farewell.”
It is not clear whether ability to meld minds is present from birth or whether asari undergo some sort of puberty to gain it and, if so, when this occurs.
Growth Rate & Stages
Asari pass through three climacteric life stages, marked by biochemical and physiological changes:
The Maiden stage begins at puberty and is marked by the drive to explore and experience. Most young asari are curious and restless, and it is not uncommon for many to try their hand at dancing in bars or working as mercenaries during this time.
The Matron stage of life begins around the age of 350, though it can be triggered earlier if the individual melds frequently. This period is marked by a desire to settle in one area and raise children.
The Matriarch stage begins around 700 years of age, or earlier if the individual melds rarely. Matriarchs become active in their community as sages and councilors, dispensing wisdom from centuries of experience. Their knowledge and guidance may be one reason why Matriarchs are rarely seen outside asari space.
However, it should be noted that each stage can be started whenever an asari feels that she has reached the correct level of maturity. While each stage of life is marked by strong biological tendencies, individuals do make unexpected life choices. For example, there are Maidens who stay close to home rather than explore, Matrons who would rather work than build a family, and Matriarchs who have no interest in community affairs.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Virtually all flora and fauna on Thessia, and thus native food and drink products, contain the trace eezo ubiquitous to the planet. These traces do not confer any benefits or abilities to non-biotics, and visitors to the planet are advised to stick to zero-eezo fare, typically offered at hotels and tourist establishments. Asari living elsewhere do not suffer any ill effects for the lack of Thessian eezo traces in their diet, except during pregnancy, when supplements must be taken to ensure the proper proportion of eezo is passed on to the developing baby in utero.
The asari sense of taste is broadly similar (if varying in specifics) to that of most other levo species; alien dishes are often enjoyed by asari, in their natural form or incorporated into fusion cuisine. Similarly, asari cuisine is highly regarded among non-asari, at least within Federation space; many asari chefs consider it a mark of proficiency in their craft to tailor dishes to other species' palettes while retaining the essential experience of the original dish.
Asari are as vulnerable to the effects of dextro contamination as most levo species, but with many quarians (mainly prior to the exodus from Rannoch) and turians having been included in asari families, asari food culture is among the best at minimising the chances of cross-contamination. Dextro foods are commonly prepared and served at major restaurants and tourists spots in asari territories, and many companies and guilds supply products and tuition for asari cooking for dextro family members, and vice versa.
Native asari food and drink includes:
Kaffe: a non-alcoholic beverage analogous to coffee.
Ke'ah: a style of dough with several varieties, similar to pasta.
Uloth: the asari equivalent of cheese
Yefal leaves
Additional Information
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Asari eyesight is fairly typical, though biased towards the cool end of the color spectrum; asari easily perceive fine differentiations between shades of blue, less so reds and oranges. Amber is often used in computer displays and the like, as it produces virtually no eye strain even over prolonged periods of reading etc.; similarly amber is widely used for 'ready/normal/positive' signals.
Although asari have no ears, the tympanic membranes occupying the same area, visible as a series of fine ridges extending from beneath the sides of the scalp, serve the same function. These are often referred to and translated as 'ears' in common speech for simplicity's sake, although some asari prefer the term 'aurals'. The ear ridges/aurals, and the soft ridges covering the back of the head beneath the scalp and merging with the back of the neck, are highly sensitive areas; they are also known in some asari to display more vivid coloration than the surrounding skin.
Civilization and Culture
Major Organizations
The asari governmental structure, known as the Asari Republics, is relatively broad; the asari came late to the notion of world government. For centuries, their homeworld of Thessia was dotted with loose confederacies of great republican cities. The closest Earth equivalent would be the ancient Mediterranean city-states. Since the asari culture values consensus and accommodation, there was little impetus to form larger principalities. Rather than hoard resources, the asari bartered freely. Rather than attack one another over differing philosophies, they sought to understand one another. Only in the information age did the city-states grow close; communication over the internet evolved into an "electronic democracy".
Aside from their Federal Assembly representative, the asari have no politicians or elections, but a free-wheeling, all-inclusive legislature that citizens can participate in at will. Policy debates take place at all hours of the day, in official chat rooms and forums moderated by specially-programmed virtual intelligences. All aspects of policy are open to plebiscite at any time. In any given debate, the asari tend to lend the most credence to the opinions of any Matriarchs present, nearly always deferring to the experience of these millennia-old "wise women".
In modern times, the asari normally act as the diplomatic arm of the United Federation of Nations, and asari exploration efforts have discovered many races over the years. In approximately 200 BGS, the asari made first contact with the elcor and played a key role in helping them establish a regular trade route to the Citadel. In 2384 GS, the asari cruiser Azedes encountered the pre-spaceflight raloi, who were officially welcomed into the galactic community a year later.
Beauty Ideals
Uniquely, the asari are known to be perceived as attractive to many other species. This may be because of shared physical characteristics (e.g., body shape for humans, skin color for salarians, head fringe for turians). Mordin Solus postulates that the mechanism behind the asari's cross-species attraction may be neurochemical in nature. The offspring resulting from such interspecies pairings are always asari as no DNA is taken from the partner. Instead, the asari uses the meld to explore her partner's genetic heritage and pass desirable traits on to any offspring and as a "map" to randomize the genes of the offspring.
Gender Ideals
There is some conflicting information regarding the gender of the asari. Asari are a mono-gendered species with no concept of gender differences. According to Liara, "male and female have no real meaning for us," and, if asked, says that she is "not precisely a woman." At the same time, asari are often viewed as an all-female race, including by the Codex and by the Galactic Codex: Essentials Edition 2383. To humans at least, asari appear female with feminine physical characteristics and voices. Even among the asari, many individual asari are referred to as “she” and “her“ but some asari prefer male pronouns, while others gravitate toward gender-neutral where language allows. Asari also bear feminine titles like “huntress” and “matriarch” and asari offspring are referred to as “daughters“, however the asari may have chosen feminine pronouns to simplify language translations.
Average Technological Level
Asari technology is known for long life and upgrade capability - in contrast to salarians, who typically produce new designs to take advantage of cutting-edge technological development, asari focus on optimizing potential for new developments to be integrated into existing hardware, and employing long-lasting (or renewable) materials. Although this imposes additional demands on designers and manufacturers, it permits end users to retain a high level of working experience with hardware, rather than starting fresh each time a new innovation is produced. To asari, accustomed to patience (and reluctant to discard technology as 'obsolete' frequently over the course of their long lives), this is regarded as an acceptable trade-off.
Asari-made consumer goods have a high-end reputation - with prices to match, although they are generally considered reliable and long-lasting enough to be fair value. Asari industries often incorporate a strong vein of traditional craft and artisanry; a degree of personal attention from artisans is not uncommon even in consumer goods, and automated production is generally accepted as a replacement for hand-made goods only when standards are quite high. Asari biotic technologies, especially non-military applications, are regarded as the best in the galaxy. In all areas of technology, customization potential to suit the specific needs of the end user is considered a vital feature.
In many Republics, the line between public and private industry is blurred. Much of what would be considered 'public service' business is operated essentially on a private basis with little additional formal regulation, but with the guidance of community matriarchs so readily accepted, reliable service to the needs of the community is maintained. Where no social pressure to public service is present, however, asari are as capable of pursuing profit as anyone else.
Culture and Cultural Heritage
Because of their long lifespan, asari tend to have a "long view" not common in other races. When they encounter a new species or situation, the asari are more comfortable with an extended period of passive observation and study than immediate action. They are unfazed that some of their investments or decisions may not pay off for decades or centuries. Matriarchs can seem to make incomprehensible decisions, but their insight is evident when their carefully-laid plans come to fruition. In interstellar relations, this long view manifests in the unspoken policy of centrism. The asari instinctively seek to maintain stable balances of economic, political, and military power.
Traditionally, asari spread their influence through cultural domination and intellectual superiority. They invite new species of advanced development to join the galactic community, knowing that their ideals and beliefs will inevitably influence the existing culture. The asari tend toward communal, consensus attitudes among themselves too: for example, they prefer to live in shared spaces aboard starships even if there are alternatives available.
Asari believe that their offspring acquire the best qualities of the "father" from the melded genes, but evidence is anecdotal. They frown upon intraspecies conception, since genetic traits and cultural insight is gained from mating outside their species, so it's considered wasteful for asari to reproduce together. The results of such unions are occasionally referred to as "purebloods", a great insult among contemporary asari. A rare genetic defect known as Ardat-Yakshi, which makes asari destroy the partner's mind during melding, occurs much more frequently among the daughters of purebloods.
Asari are well aware they tend to be attractive, and are comfortable expressing their sexuality, and can be witnessed as exotic dancers in places like Chora's Den or Afterlife. Young males of other races tend to have a fascination with asari. Kaidan Alenko mentions that the sight of Matriarch Benezia in a pin-striped suit sounds like something from an extranet fetish site. David Anderson admits that, when dealing with the asari, their feminine appearance makes it difficult for him to accept them as one of the most powerful races in the galaxy despite their political and military prowess, but he feels that this isn't his fault due to thousands of years of human cultural bias.
Despite appearances to the contrary, asari dancing is more than just a way to fleece money from interspecies admirers. It is actually a form of martial art, akin to tai chi or capoeira, capable of being practiced by sufficiently biotic humans as well. Alec Ryder thinks it is a means by which asari-managed clubs hire dancers who can pull double duty as their own bouncers.
Because of their natural sensuality and ability to mate with any species, asari are sometimes rumored to be promiscuous. These rumors are mostly a result of misinformation (or wishful thinking). In fact, asari have to accept that if they mate outside their own species, they will almost inevitably outlive their partner (with the notable exception of species who have a similarly immense longevity). Therefore, they have had to apply their philosophical "long view" to relationships as well, savoring the time they spend with their partners rather than focusing on their inevitable loss. As a result of the aging difference, many asari raise their daughters alone, especially if the "father" species is short-lived. Despite their partner's death, a part of them will live within their other.
The asari celebrate the springtime fertility ritual Janiris, named for the goddess Athame's guide Janiri, which marks the start of the new year. During this time, they create wreathes of flowers and distribute them among their friends and loved ones. As is the case with the holidays of some other Federation species, the celebration of Janiris has been adopted by other species that operate in Federation space.
A few asari abandon all but a few personal possessions to become justicars, members of an ancient order of asari adhering to a strict code. Justicars operate inside of asari space correcting injustices, often through harsh means, including death. It is rare for a justicar to leave asari space as it could cause a diplomatic incident with other species.
Though all asari are natural biotics, there are some who choose not to develop their biotic power. Doing so precludes an asari from military service, although there is no social stigma attached to the decision. Their version of politeness means that a group of them would be more dispersed owing to a slightly wider zone of personal space, just beyond easy melding distance from each other.
Compared to humans, asari normally take meals only twice a day.
Asari sports are well-known in the galaxy at large, due to the reach of asari media. For those acquainted with the asari only by their reputation for diplomacy and harmonious coexistence, the fervor some asari display for their home teams - and heated rivalries between them - can be surprising, although for the most part any hostility towards opponents is confined to the sporting field only, and regarded as a (generally) harmless expression of competitive spirit. Given the asari predilection for mixing and mating with aliens, most of their competitions accept non-asari participants, although in many cases biotic ability is a prerequisite; various systems of handicaps allow for fair competition between species. The cultural (and lingering biological) affinity for water among asari has produced a heavy bias towards aquatic sports, although it is far from exclusive.
The Biotic Games are a major event featuring a number of biotic sports and disciplines. The Games are traditionally held once per Thessian century; although open to non-asari biotics, this timetable means athletes from most other species will only ever be able to compete in a single Biotic Games. Organizers have acknowledged the disparity, but maintain that the traditions of the Games should not be altered.
Pildavi is a widely-enjoyed sport, with a long history in asari cultures. The game is played between two teams using biotics to control the ball - in human terms, roughly a kind of biotic hockey. In Republican space the Asari Pildavi Union is the premier championship, supported by various planetary and regional leagues. Asari settlement in the Terminus Systems brought the game there, resulting in the creation of the Independent Pildavi Championship, known for a higher percentage of non-asari biotic players, and (in the eyes of APU followers) a reputation for promoting spectacle over substance.
Skyball is regarded as one of the quintessential asari sports, and is also notable for being almost entirely amateur, with its leagues and championships being predominantly social affairs with few professional players or teams.
Springball is a popular school and college/university sport, but one that has never caught on as a professional competition, or enjoyed a substantial following beyond asari themselves.
The Tour Epira is a long-distance single-crew catamaran race, one of the most hotly-contested sailing races in the Republics. Entrants of any species are permitted, as are various boat designs (providing they comply with standards laid down by the organizing Harbor Song Yacht Club), but asari entrants routinely dominate.
Waveball is a popular water sport, traditionally played on beaches, although sealed pools with artificial wave generators are also used in non-coastal areas. The sport has something of a chequered reputation - in many asari cultures swimming nude is not frowned upon, and waveball traditionally follows suit; while most asari do not consider this noteworthy, waveball matches are often rebroadcast by non-asari networks with an emphasis on titillation and voyeurism, impairing efforts by its asari followers to have it seen as a reputable sporting contest.
Zeroball is a sport notable for its two major competitions which employ wildly different rule sets. The asari native Republican League is a non-contact form of the game, emphasizing grace, timing, and precision; the Tuchanka Zeroball Challenge off-shoot, by contrast, prioritizes physical contact as much as possible.
Asari athletes are also known for participating in non-asari sports (given their lifespan, it is far from uncommon for asari athletes to train to top proficiency in a number of different sports during their lives) and various offworld sports and games frequently gain a following among asari. In 2486 GS Amara Rusto became the first asari tennis player to win a Grand Slam tournament, at that year's UNAS Open.
Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals
Asari commonly place a high value on artistic expression in all forms, and there is rarely a strict division in evidence between populist entertainment and 'art'; media forms such as mass-market film, pop music, and light entertainment holovision are generally seen as equally valid and deserving of expression, in their own ways, as 'refined' artforms such as painting, sculpture, and classical music. In addition to drawing on their own cultural background, asari are quick to adopt artforms and storytelling traditions from aliens, producing both asari-style adaptations and faithful recreations of the original styles. Given the long history of contact and mingling between asari and many other species, it is not uncommon for asari-made media in non-asari markets to not be regarded as particularly 'foreign' by locals.
These trends give the collective media enterprises of the Asari Republics an incredibly broad reach into virtually all non-hostile cultures, both exporting asari-made entertainment to foreign domestic markets, and asari participating in local non-asari media production. Although there are occasional accusations of asari, as individuals, using their positions to urge a more asari-like centrist position on galactic media in general, this pervasive influence is generally not regarded as detrimental or intentionally manipulative. Given the lure of the Republics' economic prosperity, and the general willingness of asari to show respect for non-asari expression, or take non-asari artistic collaborators on as equal partners in their endeavors, the benefits of cooperation with the Republics' media juggernauts often outweigh any perceived sacrifice of independence.
Asari news services are well-regarded in general, although the wide range of editorial styles on offer produces varying results - Illium's journalistic enterprises in particular are notorious for pandering to sensationalism, but the major channels from the Republics themselves are seen as balanced and reliable, and most pan-species services include a strong asari contingent both in their journalistic staff and in management. An oft-repeated joke in the news industry (not without some small basis in fact) is that asari are drawn to journalism because it indulges their favorite pastime of talking about things rather than taking action.
History
By comparison with other land-dwelling species, asari emerged late from the oceans in their evolutionary development, and even while air-breathing and possessing virtually all of their current adaptations to life on land, proto-asari continued a semi-aquatic existence, with coastal and island settlements based around hunting and farming of sea flora and fauna. The modern asari is still biologically optimised for an aquatic environment in many ways, including a natural affinity for three-dimensional positioning and movement (a trait shared by the aquatic hanar), and sweat that serves as a lubricant to reduce resistance when swimming.
Common Myths and Legends
The pantheistic mainstream asari religion is siari, which translates roughly as "All is one". The faithful agree on certain core truths: the universe is a consciousness, every life within it is an aspect of the greater whole, and death is a merging of one's spiritual energy back into greater universal consciousness. Siarists don't specifically believe in reincarnation; they believe in spiritual energy returning to the universal consciousness upon death will eventually be used to fill new mortal vessels.
Siari became popular after the asari left their homeworld and discovered their ability to "meld" with nearly any form of life. This ability is seen as proof that all life is fundamentally similar. Siari priestesses see their role as promoting unity between disparate shards of the universe's awareness.
Before the rise of siari pantheism, asari religions were as diverse as their political opinion, though a common theme was the belief that the gods were separate from the world, looking down on the people from above. The strongest survivor of those days is the monotheistic religion worshipping the goddess Athame. Like the asari, the goddess cycles through the triple aspects of maiden, matron, and matriarch. Asari often swear "by the goddess", though this may be a cultural legacy rather than reflecting an individual's belief.
Mythological Figures
Alune - Revered asari physician said to have been taught medicine by Athame herself. The Rings of Alune are considered holy relics and still held in enough regard to inspire modern asari to acts of compassion and healing. Athame - Goddess of prophecy and fate. Janiri - Goddess of seasons, storms and agriculture. Kralla - Demon of misfortune. Kurinth - Goddess of war and hunting. Lucen - Servant of Athame who taught the asari several basics of civilization. Piares - Goddess of death; guide to spirits on their final journey. Teukria - Legendary asari archer, dating back to Thessia's Iron Age. Tevura - Goddess of love, sex, travel, and law.
Lifespan
1,000 years
Average Height
1.4-1.8 meters
Average Weight
59- 82 kg
Related Organizations
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