The Occhestian Caste is one of the four castes of the Lorath traditionally filling the role of scholars, teachers, technicians, theologians, and innovators for the Lorath Matriarchy.
Current affiliations and involvements blah blah
A summary of observations and statements, do's and do not's.
One of the three primary castes which comprise Lorath society, Occhestians are Lorath which have been bred for the purpose of honing abilities of the mind. House Occhestia, or the Occhestian caste, has been developed for the purpose of providing a population of individuals to Lorath society which are gifted with genetic structures that favor advanced development of the mind, in both physical and psychological meanings. Due to the Occhestian caste having a strong focus upon matters of thought, they have been deemed as the core group behind scientific development, medicine, pursuits of logical thought, and Occhestians are sometimes viewed as excellent tacticians. Due to Lorath religious dogma, Occhestian culture has developed to favor a patriarchal system of family and social structure, a distinctive departure from the majority of Lorath culture which has been developed as a Matriarchy.
Unlike the Lorath Lmanel Caste and Lorath Fyunnen Caste, the Occhestian population has developed to have relatively weaker bodies, while not frail, there is little chance that an Occhestian could out-perform either of the other two castes in a physical challenge focused upon feats of raw strength. While weaker in lifting capacity and other displays of exertion, Occhestian individuals display a notable resilience in regard to stamina and endurance due to an inherent capacity to focus their minds beyond pain or fatigue. Along with their smaller build, Occhestian genes have resulted in an ear shape which joins the ear-lobe to the jaw, resulting in a somewhat different ear shape than what would be seen as a 'normal' ear which could belong to a human or other humanoid. Occhestian eyes usually favor the various shades of yellow, gold, and amber which are common to Lorath individuals. Occhestian hair while naturally white is often dyed blue.
Through careful genetic engineering programs and augmentation, the neurological physiology of the Occhestian caste has been given an expanded range of function which includes tactile telepathy1), remote empathy2), and other feats of mental focus3). However, Lorath psionic capabilities are unable to accomplish feats such as telekinesis or levitation.
Focused upon pursuits of the mind, Occhestian culture has been driven to focus upon personal academic accomplishments in regard to social recognition and personal success as well as the success of family units. Due to the importance of such success, Occhestian families have been encouraged to enroll their young in education facilities where offspring are kept in a dedicated educational environment, education of young Occhestians continues from their early development4), to their early adulthood, often the age of 35 Yamataian years. Upon reaching adulthood, Occhestian individuals can either be assigned by their family or clan to a given vocation, or can choose to pursue their own personal interests with a distinctive expectation of success from their peers, due to this mindset, Occhestian individuals are often quite driven to success, even to extremes which result in questionable behavior. In the home, Occhestian family units focus upon the patriarch, with fathers, brothers, and sons being the prominent members of households. However, despite a majority of Occhestian families favoring the patriarchs of the family, in the event of a female conveying a distinctive superiority in academics as well as mental discipline, a family can be driven to recognize the benefits of matriarchal behavior and recognition.
While driven to tasks of study and research, Occhestians also have developed an appreciation for arts which are capable of conveying notions of refined thought processes, such as music, sculpture, literature, and sketches. Often, Occhestian art strays away from abstract art, and favors conveying precise ideas and imagery.
Following with traditional Lorath religion, the Occhestian caste has been incorporated into religious society as followers of the god aspect of Lorath mythology. According to traditional Lorath religious dogma, the male god aspect of the twin-deity system has been assigned to represent matters of academics, ruthlessness, and death through absence of compassion, with the intent of portraying a deity which functions through the execution of actions with pure intelligence without the temperance of wisdom. This god image is revered by the Occhestians, and plays a key part in the patriarchal nature of Occhestian society, as well as a key figure in the Occhestian psyche in regard to pursuits of academics and accomplishments. However, due to this dogma, a distinctive theological rift has formed between the most zealous of the Occhestian caste, and the rest of Lorath society.
traditional family units tend to socialize, but they do not tend to snoop about in other families affairs, they tend to keep to their own business, but do function together well when it comes to community activities and civic involvement. Institutional family units however are… different. Uninvolved, procedural, driven by protocol.
The Occhestia House is unique for having two distinct family unit makeups the first is a traditional family arrangement involving a mated pair who care for and raise their children. This family style tends to focus more on more social academics lending toward careers as scribes, scholars, theologians, and other academic careers.
The second is an institutionalized variety in which following a strict and regulated breeding process the children are given over to state monitored rearing, and boarding schools four years after hatching. These offspring are often groomed for their future careers in science, technical, engineering, and mathematics fields as well as special assignments involving the innate psionic talent of the Occhestian Caste.