Halfen
The Halfen, often called elves by humans due to their similarity in appearance to the mythological beings, are one of the major races in the Celestial Lance Universe. They are the source of much of the mythology in various culture about elves and similar beings. They have semi-intelligent symbiotic creatures, the Quima, that help them assess truth and read emotions. The Halfen are also sometimes called Ginan, after their original homeworld in the Ginan system. Their current home system is the Syeen Ginan system, a G4IV sub-giant star about 450 light years from Earth. The political entity is known as the Halfen Kongsveld (Realm of Halfen).
Description
Halfen are an ancient and complex space-faring society. The planet on which they evolved became uninhabitable a couple of millenia ago. That system's star had been dying for several millenia before that, though, so they had plenty of time to prepare and get out. The Halfen have colonies and outposts on numerous planets (including Earth). Halfen are slow to attack and equally slow to extend aid. They're simply there, wherever they are, and (thinking quite highly of themselves) it's difficult for them to understand why anyone wouldn't want them there.
Physically, Halfen tend to be tall and slim, with large eyes, sharp faces, pointed ears (of course), and a haunting beauty. Hair color, eye color, and skin color run an even wider gamut than humans. Natural variations were augmented with genetic manipulation (with which elves are completely okay) for vanity and to help with different environments that the Halfen made home. Their original home planet was slightly larger and denser than Earth, and the slight difference in normal gravity (plus two small spatial-orientation-related organs near the base of their skull that are normally covered by hair) give the Halfen a lighter-than-air grace in places with standard Earth gravity.
History
The written history of the Halfen begins about 30,000 years prior to first official contact with humans in 2116. However, records prior to their alliance with the Starkind are sparse and inconsistent due to civil wars and other conflicts with the Renn. The conflicts with the Renn abruptly ended about 23,000 years prior to first official contact with humans, and the alliance with the Starkind was formed around that time. The Renn are only briefly mentioned in the records that survived, and then only with great fear and distrust.
Around the year 110 AD in human history, the Halfen discovered the Kantisheraih system, full of starship debris and abandoned colonies. Everything was destroyed, including the computer systems, though they were able to run power through a few of them for several minutes before they overloaded and exploded. Very little information was obtained from the debris and ruins outside of a number of writing samples from wall signs and hull markings.
Names
Names are given in "surname given names" order. Halfen usually have many names, with 3-4 given names at birth and more added for very important achievements. The final given birth name indicates which number child they are (the place in the birth order).
Government and society
Most Halfen star systems are governed by the Halfen Kongsveld, a hereditary monarchy. The Kongsveld is a founding member of the Ohlakhira Shufteim, a galactic-level governmental system, and the Interstellar Cataloguing and Exploration Service. There are several independent systems as well as a few other alliances and cooperative governments outside of the Kongsveld.
The Quima, which every Halfen receives on their 8th birthday, allow the Halfen to detect deception, so they have a very honest society in general.
Military
The Halfen military is divided into a naval component (for operating various sphereships), a ground troop component (for any dirtside deployments, including spaceport security), and a special forces component.
Officers
- Level 1 - Calni (Macedonian “načalniče”)
- Level 2 - Pad Cohten
- Level 3 - Cohten (Romanian “locotenent”)
- Level 4 - Pad Sheran (Czech/Hebrew)
- Level 5 - Sheran (source for Hebrew word)
- Level 6 - Sehf Sheran (Czech/Hebrew)
- Level 7 - Hosuw (Mongolian “hošuuč”)
- Level 8 - Sehf Hosuw (Czech/Mongolian)
- Level 9 - Verste (Swedish “överste”)
- Level 10 - Stretagosi (Greek “stratēgós”)
- Level 11 - Sehf Stretagosi (Czech/Greek)
Enlisted
- Level 1 - Choraz (Polish “chorąży”)
- Level 2 - Decur (Latin “decuriō”)
- Level 3 - Pad Cetarh (Czech “četař”)
- Level 4 - Cetarh
- Level 5 - Sehf Cetarh
- Level 6 - Pan Cetarh (Czech “pán”)
- Level 7 - Sehf Pan Cetarh
- Level 8 - Cetarhren
- Level 9 - Sehf Cetarhren
- Level 10 - Sehf Pan Cetarhren
Security (Asaysi)
(Sorani “asayş”)
- Level 1 - Pad Cohten
- Level 2 - Cohten
- Level 3 - Pad Sheran
- Level 4 - Sheran
- Level 5 - Hosuw
- Level 6 - Sehf Hosuw
- Level 7 - Verste
- Level 8 - Stretagosi
- Level 9 - Sehf Stretagosi
Ground Troop ()
Officers
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Enlisted
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Security
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Special Forces ()
Special forces take care of royal security and special missions from the Crown. They are considered elite forces, and are staffed by selection from those that apply from the two regular military branches. Only the best are accepted. Royal Security handle everything to do with protecting members of the royal family. They also handle special investigations. They can gain access to pretty much everywhere and everything. Officers act as national police forces, similar to the FBI crossed with the highway patrol. They handle law enforcement at ports, distress calls, and so on.
Royal Security
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Officers
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