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Seersa

2021-12-29T18:11:18Z

63.155.42.178: /* References */

[[File:Illo-Seersa.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Seersa]]
<div style='text-align: center;'>''The linguists of the Alliance.''</div>
A first generation [[Pelted]] race of the [[Alliance]].

==Vital Statistics (At a Glance)==
Pronounced 'SHEER-sah'.<ref name="etw-pg">"Pronunciation Guide," ''[[Even the Wingless (Fiction) |Even the Wingless]]'' backmatter</ref> Singular is Seersa(?). Possessive is Seersan. Plural is Seersa.
* '''Species Type:''' Pelted First Generation
* '''Origin:''' Engineered
* '''Frame Type:''' Bipedal
* '''Average Height:''' Between 4 and 5 feet
* '''Average Lifespan:'''
* '''Gravity Preference:''' Average
* '''Homeworld:''' [[Seersana]]
* '''Native Language:''' Seersan

==Appearance and Physiology==
===Appearance===
The Seersa are a small people, very foxlike in appearance with sturdy digitigrade legs. They shed fur and grow long coats with the seasons of their world, and have long, partially prehensile tails. They have only four fingers and four toes, but they do have retractable claws, both on hands and feet. They may be colored in any way a fox is...and in any way a cat is, with many, often exotic combinations of the two.

[[File:Race-seersa.jpg|300px|thumb|right|A coloring page featuring some basic information about the Seersa]]
===Physiology===
If I talk about these two races in the same breath, it’s because they’re fairly similar—can even interbreed, though couples who do end up together tend to genefix children into one race or the other to maintain the genelines. They share a great deal of their genetic template because of their relatively clean history leading back to the engineer who made the first “models” of the Pelted on Earth, and so have avoided most of the reproductive problems that plague other Pelted. They do have some “errors”, most notably a problem with their sweat and oil glands and body temperature control. Plus, they grow hair with seasonal changes and they shed (much to their irritation), though this has given rise to a healthy industry in fur- and hair-styling salons. Their uniformly digitigrade stance (standing bipedal on their “toes” rather than the entire foot) also gives them some joint issues in old age. But for the most part, they are handsome, healthy, well-adjusted people, who have what they consider to be a proud history, and a secure role in the Alliance.<ref name="GA" />

==History==
The Seersa and the Karaka’A are in some ways the “oldest” of the species of the Alliance, because they closely resemble the original creatures gengineered on Earth in the very beginning for Project Homefront. Those early Terran experiments were short, digitigrade, and had more animal-like faces, and that template carried on into the Pelted who segregated into the races of the Seersa (fox-like) and Karaka’A (catlike). Unlike their taller, more humanoid Pelted kin, these early individuals chose to embrace their original heritage, and some of them claim to trace their DNA back to Holly or Joy, the very first individuals ever made on Earth. <ref name="GA">''[[Pelted Guidebook|Guide to Alliance Species]]''</ref>

==Society==
The Seersa and the Karaka’A have many similarities in cultural personality, because the individuals who would become these races were responsible for the Exodus and the political and cultural decisions that resulted in the Alliance. Thanks to this early history, the Karaka’A and Seersa are the de facto leaders in galactic politics. They’re light-handed, but these two had the management of the early Alliance and they still think of themselves (and mostly remain) the stewards of the body politic. This was no doubt abetted by their being the first to settle new planets: they’ve had longer to turn their views outward. That the two planets they chose were in a rare double-world system only made their ability to work together that much easier. It’s a good thing that for the most part their biology promotes phlegmatic, agreeable, and hard-working personalities, because otherwise they’d probably be insufferable.

In terms of splitting the responsibilities of governance, the Karaka’A preferred to deal with the internal politics of the Alliance, with the Seersa being more active in foreign policy, language and diplomacy, and the military. You find a lot of the Karaka’A and Seersa in those fields still, hundreds of years after the Alliance’s founding: the Seersa produces almost all the premier linguists of the Alliance and have many individuals in the upper echelons of the military, and the Karaka’A field more career politicians that most of the other races—combined!<ref name="GA" />

===Stereotypes===
===Common Family Structures===
===Religions===
* Speaker-Singer
* Four Sisters

==Naming Conventions==
"The Seersa ... have what I think of as hobbit names with vaguely English surnames. ... Seersa names tend to be more convoluted or more likely to contain unusual linguistic features..."<ref>Naming Conventions article on Patreon</ref>

==Famous Figures==
* [[Joy]]

== Characters ==
<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="on">Seersa Characters</categorytree>

==References==

<references />

[[Category:Seersa]]
"Like most Seersa, she was 'Plushly furred'" ref Leadership Lessons

Seersa

2021-12-29T18:08:38Z

63.155.42.178: /* References */ And note

Laelkii Takara Lifeweave

2021-12-27T04:41:14Z

63.155.42.178: add 2 story appearences

[[File:Char-laelkii.jpeg|300px|thumb|right|Laelkii]]

An [[Asanii]] [[Medical Personnel|Healer]] aboard the [[UAV Stardancer]], and long-time friend of [[Alysha Forrest]]. Affectionately referred to as "Snowhide" by friends.<ref name="faith-01">''[[Faith in the Service (Fiction) |Faith in the Service]]'', Chapter 1</ref>

==Appearance and Personality==

An [[Asanii]] with dark brown eyes and "oodles" of long, straight hair, usually collected in a braid. Her coloring is "white on white, stars and snow and sugar," with fur rather than bare skin on her face and body. She has a "petite and matronly" figure and more wrinkles than usual for her age. When on duty her hair is habitually worn in a long braid.<ref name="coldandgentle">''[[Alysha's Fall (Fiction) |Alysha's Fall]]'', "A Cold and Gentle Dark"</ref><ref name="sota-01">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 1</ref> She is shorter than [[Taylitha Basil]] (and definitely shorter than [[Alysha Forrest]]).<ref name="sota-12">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 12</ref> Laelkii smells like mint.<ref name="dl" />

==History and Family==
Born on Selnor in the city of Terracentrus in 418 BA (guessing here; this would make her 16 years older than Alysha).

Widow of the [[Tam-illee|tam-illee]] Healer [[Nathan Lifeweave]], whose [[FoundName]] she took. She met Nathan in medical school, and took a break to settle down and have children, but never did. She sees something of a daughter, or the daughter she would have wanted to have, in Alysha.<ref name="coldandgentle" />

[[File:Illo-AF-atthehealershouse.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Laelkii with Alysha and Angel]]

Laelkii met Alysha Forrest while Alysha was at the [[Fleet Academe]] and working as a dancer and prostitute at [[Phantasies]]; their first encounter was when Alysha brought the Malarai [[Liset Line Insendere]] (then known as Angel) to have her broken arm and wing, and other injuries, healed. Laelkii and Nathan made it clear that Alysha was welcome whenever she needed to visit, and that they would simply keep a tab open (without any real expectation of being paid). She provided emotional support to Alysha while her husband provided both emotional and medical support to Alysha and some of her fellow abused dancers. It was at Laelkii's husband's clinic that Alysha acquired her breathnache claws.<ref name="coldandgentle" /> Laelkii also helped provide emotional shelter and a sense of normalcy to Angel, welcoming her and Alysha in for cookies and a girls' night.<ref name="inescapable" />

Nathan was suddenly and unexpectedly killed when returning from a medical conference. The shuttle carrying him from Selnor's orbital platform exploded in midair, resulting in the deaths of all aboard. In the immediate aftermath, while Laelkii was traumatized by grief, Alysha reversed their roles, providing her emotional support and helping her to see the possibility of a new life in the aftermath.<ref name="inescapable" />

==Service History==

===At Fleet Academe===

After her husband's death and her own reassessment of her life's purpose, Laelkii joined the Fleet Academe as a cadet, training in her own right.<ref name="inescapable">''[[Alysha's Fall (Fiction) |Alysha's Fall]]'', "Inescapable Dawn"</ref> She also became friends with [[Alastar Virgil]], who aided her in uncovering [[Harroway Sloan]]'s treachery and rescuing [[Alysha Forrest]] and [[Matthew Brighthaven]] from disgrace and death.<ref name="steel">[[Alysha's Fall (Fiction) |Alysha's Fall]],'' "Steel"</ref>

===Interstitial Assignments===

[[Alysha Forrest]] and Laelkii remained in contact during Alysha's ensign years.<ref>"[[Leadership Lessons (Fiction) |Leadership Lessons]]"</ref>

Laelkii served some of her first years after the Academe on a starbase, not a ship. <ref name="faith-01" />

===Stardancer Career (Chief Medical Officer)===

When [[Alysha Forrest]] took command of the UAV Stardancer, Laelkii joined as Chief of Medical; [[Alastar Virgil]] had already been there six months. In that role, as one of the older members of the crew (having joined the Fleet late in life), Laelkii serves as a listening ear, expert medical officer, and person who attempts to remind Alysha to eat.<ref name="sota-01" />

====On Gledig====

Six months after Laelkii joined the ''Stardancer,'' the ship was sent to investigate possible civil war on [[Gledig]], as well as the disappearance of [[Svetlana Karishenikov]].<ref name="sota-01" /> Laelkii joined the advance party, along with [[Alysha Forrest]], [[Taylitha Basil]], and [[Alastar Virgil]] in investigating the planet.<ref name="sota-05">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 5</ref> She was subsequently present in the Gledig governor's mansion during the bombing by [[Gledig#Secessionists]] Secessionist terrorists.<ref name="sota-06">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 6</ref>

After the advance party was rescued by [[Svetlana Karishenikov]] in the wake of the bombing, Laelkii spent the night with her compatriots at Svetlana's family's home. She had a heart-to-heart with Svetlana, in particular telling her a little more about Alysha and what Alysha's interest in Svetlana meant.<ref name="sota-07">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 7</ref>

When Alysha and Alastar returned to the ''Stardancer'', Taylitha and Laelkii remained on-planet, where they were taken to speak with [[Maire]], the leader of the [[Gledig#Pro-Accourds |pro-Accords]], at [[Gledig#Pro-Accord Base |their base]]. Maire was unhappy with their presence, but allowed them to stay and help; Laelkii went to work in the clinic.<ref name="sota-08">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 8</ref> While there, she did help at the clinic, and was dismayed by the lack of medical personnel and technology she found there, as well as the staff's unwillingness to allow her to Pad some of the more seriously injured to the ''Stardancer'' for better care. Following instructions from Alastar, she found the base's local computers, which were cordoned off the world's network, and searched them for the raid statistics, which shocked her. Maire found her in the computer room, who confirmed that the colony ''had'' asked the Alliance for help, but received no response, and also that the pirates repeatedly hitting a poor colony made no sense. Laelkii attempted to comfort her and reassure her that they were on the same side.<ref name="sota-10">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 10</ref>

That night, the Secessionists attacked the Pro-Accord base. Taylitha insisted that Laelkii stay with her rather than going to help at the clinic, because she felt responsible for having split with Svetlana earlier, which resulted in her capture. When they reached the base's main cavern, Taylitha volunteered them to be the ones to scout the Secessionist encampments and activity outside the base.<ref name="sota-12" />

Laelkii and Taylitha discovered the Secessionists mining the tracks, and that he had a large number of people near the entrance. Svetlana got in touch with them and they arranged to regroup at the track close to Daleth. They also saw a ship--the pirate shuttle--heading toward Gledig. When they met up with Svetlana, they saw, from a distance, the base collapsing. Its munitions had been deliberately detonated by the pro-Accord faction to kill the Secessionists trapped inside and prevent them from claiming it. Svetlana led them to the warehouse where the pro-Accords who had fled before detonating the base were holed up. She defended Svetlana when [[Carey]], Svetlana's cousin, accused her of being a traitor.<ref name="sota-13">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 13</ref>

Laelkii was the one who arranged--via [[Felsha Rennagan]] and [[Darya Darteriov]]--for the duel between Alysha Forrest and Dylan Brushnie to be broadcast. She also put Alysha back together after the duel.<ref name="sota-17" />

====At Cat's Eye Station 40====

When the ''UAV Stardancer'' was on its resupply mission to [[Stations#Cat's Eye Station 40 |Cat's Eye Station 40]], Laelkii served as Taylitha's confidante regarding her conflicted feelings about [[Avram Hancock]]. Before Taylitha's dinner with Hancock, she listened to Taylitha's worries about her interest in Hancock. Laelkii was surprised that her issue was that Hancock was human, and by Taylitha's significant distress in being attracted to a human, but listened and advised her to rest and attempt to avoid spend the evening obsessing. When Taylitha returned distraught that she and Hancock had kissed, and that she had then rejected him for being human, Laelkii comforted her.<ref name="dl" />

==== On Amity ====

When Alastar was discovered mysteriously unconscious and incapable of being roused on the surface of [[Amity]], Laelkii took charge of her treatment. She was initially puzzled by Alastar's symptoms (no injury, but strange metabolic indicators), though she made a connection between it and the discovery of neurotransmitter-like substances in the ocean water.<ref name="esots-04" />

Taylitha later brought Laelkii the unconscious body of the [[Small One (Character) |Small One]] that had found her, and inadvertently revealed that Alysha was missing.<ref name="esots-08" /> While she was examining the alien, he awoke and leapt from the bed, prompting Laelkii to call security, which also summoned Tayltiha. Once the Small One had calmed down, Laelkii told Taylitha what she had discovered about [[Small Ones |the alien's species]], as well as his health. The Small One was subsequently removed to the gardens where he could be contained without restraint.<ref name="esots-09" />

==Trivia==

===Body Language===

Laelkii displays "...feistiness of spirit that lets her joust with people without meaning any harm by it."<ref name="sota-01" />

Her hands are "expressive" and if she is not expressing herself with them, it's a sign of something wrong.<ref name="esots-04">''[[Either Side of the Strand (Fiction) |Either Side of the Strand]]'', Chapter 4</ref> Her tail lashes when she's frustrated.<ref name="esots-09">''[[Either Side of the Strand (Fiction) |Either Side of the Strand]]'', Chapter 9</ref>

===Relationships===

Of the senior staff of the [[UAV Stardancer]], Laelkii has known [[Alysha Forrest]] the longest, as they met when Alysha was a cadet.<ref name="coldandgentle" /> She met [[Alastar Virgil]] not long thereafter when both were cadets.<ref name="steel" /> Laelkii joined the Stardancer alongside Alysha,<ref name="sota-01" /> and quickly came to gel with the fourth member of the senior staff, [[Taylitha Basil]].<ref name="esots-12">''[[Either Side of the Strand (Fiction) |Either Side of the Strand]]'', Chapter 12</ref> Her friends call her "Snowhide."<ref name="sota-01" />

Her relationship with Alysha is markedly maternal. She told [[Svetlana Karishenikov]] that her strongest goal for joining Fleet was to follow Alysha, as "She needs a mother."<ref name="sota-07" /> While Alysha uses the nickname Snowhide like her other friends, she also sometimes calls her by an old nickname: "Mom."<ref name="esots-04" /> She reminds Alysha "every week" that she needs to either eat more calories or exercise less,<ref name="sota-01" /> and her degree familiarity with the captain is shocking to junior Fleet members even by the comparatively lax standards of Fleet.<ref name="sota-17">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 17</ref>

===Other Trivia===

* Makes excellent chocolate chip cookies.<ref name="inescapable" />
* Swears, in the Asanii fashion, by "NiiAna," "sun and stars," the Balance,<ref name="sota-01" /> "stars and sunlight,"<ref name="sota-15">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 15</ref> "sun and starlight"<ref name="sota-08" />
* Has a sweet tooth and is forever adding more honey, syrup, etc., to her beverages.<ref name="sota-07" />
* Considers herself "no good with a weapon."<ref name="sota-11">''[[Sword of the Alliance (Fiction) |Sword of the Alliance]]'', chapter 11</ref>
* Does not generally work the night shift (though does on occasion).<ref name="esots-08">''[[Either Side of the Strand (Fiction) |Either Side of the Strand]]'', Chapter 8</ref>
* Like many medical professionals, Laelkii can be difficult to convince to rest when there is work to be done, even as she tries to convince others to take rest as needed.<ref name="esots-13">''[[Either Side of the Strand (Fiction) |Either Side of the Strand]]'', Chapter 13</ref>

==Quotes==

* "And I'll get to you in a minute after I finish cleaning up the hack job Dylan "He Had Memorable Eyes" Brushnie did on Nerves of Steel here."<ref name="sota-17" />

* "Ah-ah-ah. They made our ancestors centuries ago. Sun and stars, Taylitha, that was before space travel was even common! It's not like humans are gods. They were just tinkering, playing at it."<ref name="dl">''[[Dark Lighthouse (Fiction) |Dark Lighthouse]]''</ref>

===Quotes and Observations by Others===

* "The eldest, the one with the white braids, had a remark for everything, just flippant enough to amuse but with enough bite that only her obvious age excused her."
:::::--[[Dylan Brushnie]]

==Story Appearances==
<categorytree mode="pages" hideroot="off">Laelkii Takara Lifeweave Appearances</categorytree>

== References ==

<references />

[[Category:Stardancer Characters]] [[Category:UAV Stardancer Crew]] [[Category:Asanii Characters]] [[Category:Alysha's Fall Characters]]
[[Category:Fleet Characters]] [[Category:Sword of the Alliance Characters]]
[[Category:Dark Lighthouse Characters]]