#this isn't half of what ive been thinking so there'll be more

[ebitenpura]

Thyrsian Culture, Pt. 1:

While Eshan is well-known for its multiple territories and culture surrounding its frigid conditions, it is the smaller subsect of Thyrsus and its people that defies this norm-- and in turn, hosts an entirely different type of culture than the standard offworld view of Echani. Thyrsians themselves are a proud, yet happy people whose warmth and zeal for life comes from being semi-nomadic in an environment that is both hostile and caring, and it is this dichotomy that shapes them like fine metal into the complex part of their free-ranging society.

Thyrsus is home to far warmer climates than the rest of Eshan, hence why the Thyrsian people worship the sun god of which their territory is named after, whose mythological significance lies in his role as the first Echani male created by the gods to be the companion to Echan, the first Echani. As the first forger of blades, Thyrsus is home to their blacksmiths and precious metals, as well as a bulk of their farmland due to the richness of their volcanic soil, making it the crown jewel of the otherwise desolate and harsh ice planets of Eshan.

Thyrsian culture is far less rigid than that of other Echani, with a focus on mastery of the self through creation and cultivation rather than primarily through martial prowess. Thyrsians enjoy a deeper bond with the weapons they forge and sell and were the first to standardize techniques with weaponry rather than bare hands, and the metallurgy unique to them remains their pride and joy-- Thyrsian metal has a distinct bronze-golden sheen and patternin that makes it popular for cookware as well as lightweight armor. Its legendary durability was first made known to the wider galaxy when a Mandalorian invasion of Eshan was thwarted by Thyrsian warriors, whose armor put them on equal footing to their Beskar, if not greater footing, as Thyrsus' greater gravity slowed the Mandalorians down so immensely that they could not outpace the warriors. It is for this reason all Echani don the barest of armor and possess great strength, as the gravity of their planets is 2-4x that of the galactic average!

The increased gravity is greatest on Thyrsus with it decreasing the further one gets from the Thyrsian territory to the rest of the Seven Sisters (Echani mainlands) and a combination of increased sunlight and greener biome has resulted in Echani who are darker both in hair, skin, and eyes, but are also smaller in constitution, with a lack of build variety between both male and female, as the society is less matriarchal than their cousins in the Sisters. Pale Echani are much taller, with the females usually being larger than the males. However, their birth rate of 1 male to 7 females remains the same.

For that reason Thyrsus has always had strained relations with the rest of Eshan, as past wars saw the Echani seeking to fully assimilate Thyrsus into the rest of Eshan and gain permanent access to not only their bounty of resources, but their males as well; Thyrsus' remained independent for years and considered itself separate from Eshan as its own self-contained government, but centuries of fighting saw its autonomy be brought into question as it flip-flopped between subjugation and independence throughout Echani history. As of today, it remains on official record as part of Eshan. Thyrsians will vehemently deny its assimilation as an Eshan territory, and it is recommended to travelers not to bring it up lest they suffer a long and lengthy debate about its sovereignty.

It is also noted that Eshan allied with Republic to bolster their defenses, which in turn allowed them much of the manpower needed to conquer the inner territories; for this reason it is rumored that Thyrsus allies with the Empire, though they deny such accusations and especially those close associations of a mercenary group called the Sun Guard often seeking employment from the Sith.

Inner tensions aside, Thyrsians themselves experience rich daily lives with a focus on chosen families and a spirit for adventure, which they experience from childhood as part of Thyrsian education. When a litter is born, the extended family helps raise them communally, but Thyrsian "families" lack the tradition of the typical blood family, as they are primarily composed of the martial school or combined group of a particular art which a Thyrsian has chosen to study in. Thyrsians stay in their blood family until they are juvenile and have learned the the first tiers of Echani combat, and then undergo a special day (called the Scattering of Seeds in Echani) in which they embark on their first journey from home to live with their first teacher, who has scouted them previously to take them as a student. They then study and live with their teacher until they feel ready to move on, and will find another and another and another....until they are full-fledged adults who have gained worldly knowledge and discover their path in life as well as their own unique style of combat, a main pillar of Thyrsian development.

Very few return to their birth families as they discover those close bonds with those they choose to study with and under, but every so often these intrepid wanderers will visit their blood relatives to apprise them of their growth, as even their original families have now become comprised completely of children that are not related to them.

It is this "wandering" mindset that colors Thyrsians as an educated yet curious folk who may even end up traveling to the furthest parts of the galaxy. In a rather hilarious culture clash, it is noted that Echani Jedi will sometimes leave the order after they've learned their fill of saber forms from it, and when asked about their abandonment, will say something like "huh? I've learned everything I needed to know, so I'm moving on." to many a bewildered councilmember.