Fennecs

Part of the Uen Imperial Protectorate

A foxlike desert species artifically adapted from baseline humanity. The main race of the Uen Imperial Protectorate

Basic Information

Anatomy

An engineered posthuman species. Typically bronze skin, similar to terran arabic or persian ethnicities. Generally slim and spare frame, boyish, hairless on the limbs in the case of both genders. Large, sail-like ears similar to a desert fox's. Legs are plantigrade but with an extra (reversed) knee for additional range of motion. A large raptor-like claw on the big toe aids in traction on loose sand; the toes are also webbed to aid in controlling ground pressure. A flexible brush-like tail of the same colour as the hair.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Rupeean names follow the order [name] Val [family prefix] [clan name]
Family prefixes are used as surnames within a clan, and most often differentiate family units. They have their origins in older languages and tend to refer to professions.
Descendants of immigrants are usually given the family prefix Seel (an old word meaning 'an ambassador from'). The prefix is very common among non-Fennec Rupeean citizens, but it can be borne by Rupeeans and indicates a historical link with other cultures. For example, Fenia Val Seel McCallan (a VDF Ranger loaned to expeditionary services and serving on the exploration ship Labyrinth) is descended from a Fennec adopted by Scottish humans in the past.
Clan names indicate the historic feudal province the individual is descended form, and owes loyalty to the current incarnation of. Use of the clan name in place of a conventional surname is controlled by customs not easily explained to foreigners.
Official documentation often refers to both surnames together - for example, the imperial dynasty is known as House 'Sel Uen', not merely 'Uen'.
Void Walkers are a special case, as they technically have no clan to originate form and are classified both as people and serving starships. The loose naming convention that developed follows the sequence [name] [ship's name] Val Sara [originating star system]. Sara is derived from an old Arctic Polar word meaning 'an artifical construct', which gives some background to those not familiar with the Project.

Major Organizations

Core worlds are built into the Uen Imperial Protectorate, a newly minted military dictatorship interested in gaining the prestige and high standing the homeworld's old League of Nations never truly achieved.
One of the two major races within the Vulpes Defence Forces, an international, interspecies paramilitary organisation whose main function is to act as wildlife control and ocasionally monster-hunters on behalf of civilians. A founding member of the Void Walkers Project.
A founding member of the Void Walkers Project.

Common Myths and Legends

Local faiths worship the Oregano, the colony ship that brought their ancestors to Rupee Quay, as a forgetful mother who nevertheless prepared them to fly the nest one way or another. The worship is casual and often slightly ironic in tone, as much admonishing Oregano for her numerous errors as asking for her protection, especially in Duner sects and ceremonies.

Imported from the ice world of Sestin shortly after relations were established, the worship of their own colony ship Invictus has taken hold especially among landship guilds and spacecraft crews. While she has her own organised religion, to Rupeeans Invictus represents the concept of a home from home, an island of safety and comfort in the middle of a fundamentally inhospitable environment. Though considered an unorthodox and certainly unauthorised branch of the main cult on Sestin, Rupeeans are oddly protective of shrines to 'Our Invi', and maintain her worship as (in)sincerely as they do to their own celestial mother.
Intriguingly, a steady trickle of budding polytheists have claimed Invictus to be Oregano's long-lost sister. Further details regarding their relationship have yet to surface...

Principal race of the Uen Imperial Protectorate

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Humans

Origin/Ancestry

A Human Colonial Variant species

Geographic Distribution

• Rasaan Bandir
• Rupee Quay Bandir
• Tarii Bandir

Related Materials

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