Mass Effect The Citadel Races Explained
Mass Effect: The Citadel Races, Explained
Contents
Throughout Bioware’s Mass Effect trilogy, players will encounter a variety of alien races in Citadel space. Let’s take a look at who those races are.
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Throughout Bioware’s Mass Effect trilogy, Commander Shepard will encounter a wide variety of friends and foes, all hailing from a range of different planets and races. Many of those alien races maintain strong relationships with others and have embassies on the massive construct known as the Citadel.
Some of those races have been part of Council space for thousands of years, while others are newcomers, still vying for respect and influence among the other races. The Council races generally preside overall, but there are others that Spectre agents need to be familiar with. That’s especially true for the Reapers, when understanding and respecting certain cultures, certain dynamics and ways of life could be the difference between saving the galaxy and becoming its downfall. With another Mass Effect game on the way, it’s time to brush up on who those races are, where they come from and how they helped build and develop Citadel space.
ASARI
The Asari are one of the council races. This mono-gendered race is known for its exceptionally long lifespan. Most Asari live up to a thousand years and possess an aptitude for biotic abilities. The Asari homeworld of Thessia possesses huge deposits of element zero, which is essential to faster-than-light travel and the technology that sustains Council space. Because of it, Thessia has become an economic powerhouse with a small but powerful military, ensuring great cultural and political influence for the Asari. In fact, they were one of the first races to form the Council.
It is important for the Asari to form relationships with members of other species, in order to avoid harmful genetic conditions. This has led to openness in many aspects of Asari culture. All of this combined makes the eldest of the species — Asari matriarchs — almost revered across Council space for their vast wisdom and knowledge.
SALARIAN
The amphibious Salarians are known for their unmatched cognitive skills, as well as their seemingly natural talent for espionage. Unfortunately, Salarians possess an average lifespan of 40 years– one of the shortest among the Citadel races. They think fast and talk quickly, as many will come to see for themselves throughout the trilogy.
The Salarians hail from the planet Sur’Kesh with a history spanning 50,000 years, though they were not a space-faring species for much of that time. Among the Citadel races, they were still relatively early when it came to discovering the Mass Relays and Citadel, arriving only a few decades after the Asari. They began developing diplomatic relations with the Asari almost immediately and thus helped to form the Council.
TURIAN
Turians were the first aliens that humanity encountered and battled in the First Contact War. They are known throughout the galaxy for their sense of discipline and focus on military service and development. It’s no wonder that the Turian homeworld of Palaven has contributed so many C-sec officers, soldiers and starships to the Citadel fleet. These raptor-like beings live for around 200 years and likely evolved from a predatory species.
Because of their military history, Turians face animosity from more than just humans. It was the Turian military that played a crucial role in inflicting the genophage on the Krogans at the end of the Krogan rebellion. In gratitude, the Asari and Salarian welcomed the Turians as the third Council species. It is the Turians that predominately serve as a peace-keeping force.
VOLUS
Coming from the high-pressure planet of Irune, Volus are short creatures that require pressure suits and breathers when traveling beyond their world. While physically outmatched by other species in the galaxy, Volus excel at matters of trade and economy. It was the Volus that established the credit as the primary currency in interstellar trade.
Volus were actually the third race to encounter the Citadel and establish an embassy. However, they were never invited by the Asari and Salarians to join the Council. It’s worth noting that, despite the Volus reputation as a race of bankers, they are unable to contribute significantly to the economy to the Council, nor can they offer a strong military force.
HANAR
Some of the most humble aliens Shepard will encounter will likely be Hanar, the genderless, jellyfish-like species that populate Council space. Because their bodies have evolved for aquatic life, Hanar require contra-gravitic levitation packs in order to stand on other worlds. They are not totally incapable in battle. Their tentacles possess a powerful grip and their skin can secrete toxins.
Hanar communicate through bioluminescence and are extremely polite in their use of language. Hanar will only ever be informal in front of close family members or those they are intimate with. In fact, Hanar even possess two names– a soul name, which is reserved for those closest to them, and a face name for everyone else. The Hanar were crucial to the survival of the Drell and the two races have integrated on Kahje.
DRELL
The Drell homeworld of Rakhana was on the verge of collapse by the time the Hanar encountered it. In order to help the Drell, the Hanar transported hundreds of thousands of Drell to Kahje, where the Drell quickly integrated into Hanar society and were greatly influenced by Hanar gratitude and humility. Unfortunately, the billions of Drell that remained on Rakhana all perished.
The relationship between Drell and Hanar is one built on gratitude. Drell will often serve Hanar in tasks that the jellyfish-like creatures physically cannot accomplish. For the Drell, it is a great honor. Drell also possess unmatched memory, which can be so vivid that some Drell confuse it for reality. They are also a deeply spiritual race, believing that death is simply the separation of a soul from its body and that the two don’t necessarily act as one.
ELCOR
This massive species is characterized, not only by size but by its slow movements and speech. This culture developed as a result of the Elcor homeworld of Dekuuna’s high-gravity and the risks of falling that they faced on it. Communication with other species is difficult for Elcor, as Elcor themselves communicate through scent and muscle movements that are too subtle for other alien species to pick up. With other species, Elcor have to provide a brief description of the emotion and tone they want to convey.
This tribal species was just on the verge of exploring space when they were discovered by the Asari. They developed quickly from there, but have yet to establish an embassy of their own on the Citadel. Development in other areas of Elcor civilization is slow, as each Elcor tribe relies on the wisdom of its elders, who take years to research for any situation, going so far as to create entire libraries of recordings with instructions for theoretical crises.
KEEPERS
Not much can be said about the Keepers. They were found onboard the Citadel when the Asari arrived, but communication with these insectoid creatures is virtually impossible and they generally do not interact with others. Instead, Keepers maintain the Citadel and will self-destruct if in danger of being captured or even studied.
Another Keeper will come along to replace it, though no one has been able to determine their source. In any case, Citadel law dictates that no one is allowed to interfere with the Keepers in any way. Such crimes come with the penalty of imprisonment.
HUMANS
The newest species on the interstellar block are humans. Humans had already begun colonizing other worlds by the year 2148 when explorers discovered a Prothean data cache on Mars. Using that data, humans found a mass relay in the Solar System. From there, they followed it to Arcturus and encountered the Turians a few years later. It was not a peaceful meeting and resulted in the First Contact War in 2157.
The Council eventually intervened to end the war– which saw casualties totally 623 human lives and slightly more Turian lives. Recognizing the rapid growth and development of human civilization, the Council welcomed humanity’s embassy on the Citadel and recognize the authority of the Systems Alliance. There is still some amount of hostility between the Turians and humans, but the situation is getting better. A big step was taken in human-alien relations when the Council allowed Commander Shepard to become the first human Spectre.
Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/mass-effect-citadel-races-explained/
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