User:Andrew196/Tafarein

Basic Details
The Tafarein are a sentient bipedal reptilian soecies with some bird like features (i.e. body feathers, talons) originating from the forerunner relic-rich planet of Tafaria, way distanced from human space. The species has an infrastructure based on tribal monarchies. There are seven main tribal groups, each with a King, who rises the power through inheritance, and each with a population of a few million.

Tribal Groups
The seven tribal groups are:

Jekotip
The Jekotip tribe reside in the open deserts of Tafaria and are the second most populous tribe of all, with 34 million and growing in 2552 and are recognisable by the black feathers that sprout from their heads. They are ran by the Jeko dynasty and have been locked in a constant war with the Ropotip tribe.

Ropotip
Ropotip, like the Jekotip, live in Tafaria's vast deserts. Their Royal dynasty, the Ropo, are in fact distantly related to the Jeko, which is why they share the black feathers from the head. They have been warring the Jekotip over the wreckage of a Forerunner ship for over one hundred years. Their population is only 12 million

Heffp
The Heffp populate the snowy mountains in the far north of the planet, and are recognised by their white feathers which also cover their heads, wheras the other tribes have scaled heads. They are the most remote tribe on Tafaria, but have a population of over 20 million.

Tholotip
Tholotip use complicated treehouse canopy networks to travel around Tafaria's grand rainforest. The population is a mere 6 million, and the Tholo dynasty died out in 2521, leaving the Tholotip Tafarein ruled by High Priest Opo 'Nar Thol Opo. They are recogniseable by their long, scaly tails and shorter feathers compared to other tribes.

Bita-Tarip
The Bita-Tarip have  the largest population of the tribes:  107 million. They are made up of 200 travelling groups who move around the Savannah, desert and forest regions of Tafaria and are contolled by the joint dynasties of Bita and Tarip. They are the oldest of all tribes, and the tribe from which all others came.

Leffp
Leffp are in fact a schism of the Heffp, made up of the descendants of Heffp criminals exiled to the coniferous forests below the mountains. They are ran by whichever member of the tribes three main families has killed the last ruler.

Matrata
The Matrata are the only indusrialised tribe on the planet, powering their supercity by the engines of an ancient Forerunner Battleship and arming themselves with rifles adapted from Forerunner designs. They are also the only tribe to use full clothing. The monarchy is that of the Matra dynasty, who split from the Jekotip tribe in what was 1996 on Earth (0 in the Matratan calendar). Their population is approximately 19 million.

Contact with the Covenant
A Covenant fleet arrived at Tafaria in 2521, with the aim of collecting Forerunner relics. The Covenant noticed the division and rivalry between the major tribes, and after just weeks of warfare tried to incorporate one into the Covenant to help crush the others. A treaty with the Jekotip was attempted, but instead the tribes united and hit back using the hidden powers of their Forerunner relics, destroying the Supercarrier leading the fleet, and many of the cruisers. A commander and/or a select few other survivors of each Covenant species involved were captured: Jiralhanae, Sangheili, Kig-Yar, Yanme, Unggoy and Mgalekgolo were captured were given to seperate tribes- only the Tholotip were not given any- to keep as slaves.