Tesugan Daun

Avg. Height: 5'10"

Avg. Weight: 180 lb

Avg. Lifespan: 100

Physical Characteristics:

Eyes:Dark, slanting upward at the outer corners.
Hair:Straight glossy black, ranging from coarse to silken.
Skin:Pale, slightly yellow or golden-tinted.
Body Type:Smallest of the daun, agile.
Clothing:

Region: Vash

Languages: Common, Vashan

Stat Adjustments:

Strength:2
Reflexes:6
Endurance:0
Dexterity:6
Reasoning:4
Wisdom:4
Will:4
Intelligence:6

The Tesugans are native to the island of Vash, whose mountainous peaks rises from the junction of the Taelean and Tempean oceans. Once slaves of the Tetsu-ko il'lthye, the tesugan people expanded outwards to occupy the islands to the east, becoming the predominant populations of Nagosan, Dhansang and parts of the Kamalo Islands. They are the ruling race in Nagosan, the center of the mighty and far-reaching Vashan Empire that controls the eastern world.

Most Tesugans have pale, slightly yellow or golden-tinted skin and straight glossy black hair that ranges from coarse to silken. Their gently sloping dark eyes are unique among dauns, slanting upward at the outer corners and having a delicate fold of skin at that inner corner that partially covers the lacrimal. The smallest genetically of all the daun cultures, their quickness and agility, as well as a fierce intellect, characterizes the group as a whole.

Tesugans tend to be extremely traditional and rigid. Foreigners from the west, who are regarded as unwelcome barbarians, find that avoiding offending a Tesugan is almost impossible, as they have customs for just about everything and discarding even the simplest ritual is considered to be the worst possible offence. Observance of social status, the particulars of religious worship, and accepted business practices are rigorously enforced and minor infractions can be dealt with by severe punishment or even death.

Confined by tradition within the walls of the Imperial Palace in the capitol city of Taekota in Nagosan, the divine Emperor Tenma Genki rules the entire Vashan Empire. However, the powerful and dreaded Shogun Yutaka Kizashi, to whom all families of the warrior nobility must swear allegiance, is the military ruler of all the Empire in the Emperor's name.

Cities throughout the Tesugan's domains are characterized by tall multitiered buildings of red and black-stained woods with sloping tiled roofs, upturned at the eaves. Unique to tesugan architecture are their pavilion-like houses with a large single room being subdivided by sliding doors and walls made of paper. They claim to mirror nature in their art and lives, but it is a peculiar nature ordered, arranged, pruned, and cultivated to appeal to the tesugan eye.

Armor and sword making have reached a state of high art among the Tesugans with especially skilled craftsmen held almost hostage by their feudal lords in order to maintain all of their production among the local samurai warrior nobility. Only persons of the samurai class may own a fully mounted katana, tanto, tachi, or wakizashi blade, and only samurai may use those weapons in their full splendor. All men and women samurai are expected to be versed in the arts of watercolor, calligraphy, poetry, and train rigorously in the arts of war.

Early migrations of the Tesugan race from the southern tip of Vash to the Kamalo islands have produced a sub-group of the race known as the Otaki. These Tesugans are known for their ferocity in battle and their almost preternatural lack of fear. Many regularly have a painful "moko" tattooed upon their face at a very early age. These fearsome fighters are also fond of tribal tattoos, piercings, and many forms of ritual body mutilation. They are skilled with a variety of weapons including wicked clubs, spears and ceremonial swords as well as daggers. Most other people, including their daun, gnomish, and gharkin neighbors avoid the otaki as they tend to be chaotic as well as highly entrenched in traditions only they seem to understand.