A sapient race aligned with the Citadel, native to Dekuuna. Conservative and slow to act, elcor are generally viewed as benevolent and trustworthy.
The elcor were making their first forays into space travel when the asari made contact. With asari help, the elcor discovered the closest mass relay and within a single lifetime had established a regular trade route to the Citadel. The elcor quickly became one of the more prominent species in Citadel space, though they still have to share an embassy with the volus.
Physiology
Elcor are large and robust, with massive guts and an equally massive body to accomodate such. Their mouths are concealed behind bony sheaths that shred large quantities of plant material with great efficiency. Food is further processsed by large, flat teeth at the back of the throat. Elcor skin is leathery and thick, and the body features many scent glands that form a part of natural communication. They also possess well developed vocal chords, which allow them to make sounds at both an audible and infrasound range.
Elcor evolved on a high-gravity world, making them slow but incredibly strong. Their large, heavy bodies are ponderous (though many note that they can move faster than you'd expect), but they possess an imposing stature and immense physical power. They move using all four limbs to support and balance their massive bodies.
Psychology
Elcor move slowly, an evolved response to an environment where a fall can be lethal. This has coloured their psychology, making them deliberate and conservative.
See: Ka-Cor.
Elcor are traditionally migratory in nature. This is reflected in the choice of twin capitals on their homeworld, one for the wet season and one for the dry season. Modern technology has rendered the tradition obsolete, though elcor still observe it.
Elcor usually prefer to stay on their colonies rather than travel in space. Because of their size and evolution on the open plains, the elcor find the necessary confines of space travel uncomfortable.
Communication
Elcor communication is complex, involving scent cues, highly subtle body language and spoken words, augmented with low rumbles. This complexity allows for a means of determining intent and status, so heading off conflict before it leads to physical confrontation - which in Dekuunan gravity could be fatal. Elcor are not very aggressive among themselves.
Elcor can communicate verbally by using their facial sheathes as makeshift lips. Elcor speech is heard by most species as a flat, ponderous monotone. Since their subtlety can lead to misunderstandings with other species, the elcor prefix all their dialog with non-elcor with an emotive statement to clarify their tone.
According to Abad Sam-mel, elcor thought processes tend to be so clear and careful that, contrary to expectation, their military treatises can be quite enlightening, particularly Harta's "Make Haste Slowly". Abad opined that more than a few commanders could learn something about the correct balance of speed and caution in a given encounter by reading it.
Government
Their culture is built on small, tight-knit groups, and their conservative nature means that the elcor government is extremely stable.
The elcor follow the recommendations of the Elders, who spend years poring over ancient records of jurisprudence, to determine the precedent that should be followed in a given situation. The Elders record closely argued and minutely detailed instructions on what course to follow in any theoretical crisis. These are filed away in huge libraries, to be consulted when needed. This makes elcor policies very predictable - provided one has done a great deal of research. The upheavel of the Reapers and the post-Reaper rebuilding has, unfortunately, revealed the potential weakness in this means of governance.
Elcor elders are granted the respectable title of "Venerable One".
Prehistoric elcor traveled across Dekuuna in large tribal groups. These groups were likely led by the oldest and most experienced elcor, which later developed into the culture of Elders, whose wisdom could keep the tribe safe provided they followed the correct guidance. The Last of All Mergings, a semi-mythical event that saw the many tribes united in a global government, is viewed as the foundational occurrence (or series of same) for the modern Courts of Dekuuna.
Culture
Elcor artists like Forta are reputed to have created works of incredible subtlety, that can make viewers go mad if stared at for too long. Other members of the race have made forays into acting. Several have even been cast in an all-elcor rendition of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, where their particular species traits were used in conveying the nuances of the play.
The Elcor romance genre features lengthy films and novels. A stable mated relationship takes time to gestate; many nuances are explored, and family history is every bit as important as personal compatibility. The exploration of family history is a means of familiarising both the characters and the audience with the background of each participant, and the history that has led them to their present circumstance. Actual elcor mating involves something similar, though usually less dramatic.
Elcor romance is intended to delight an audience with a competent display of character and history, integrating two or more personal and family chronologies through interesting dialogue and attractive scenery. Romance films also make use of water imagery. Elcor tend to mate in water; it isn't mandatory, but it tends to be the way things are done. Their visual media has a rich tradition of water imagery used to convey various sexual moods, from innocent childhood attraction to full-on seductive erotica. This can cause problems when viewing other races' vids; asari and salarians, in particular, have strong connections to water and use such imagery very frequently. There is a popular elcor joke that the salarian Our Benselino Night is a masterful homoerotic drama masquerading as a family comedy.
Elcor courtship also involves mating totems.
Elcor sports include Trapball.
Religions include Ghorsuulan.
One religious myth is that of the Dorgalanoss. Essentially - and this is more of a religiously-approved rumour than a true belief, an exercise in speculative thought and not without self-deprecating humour – the Dorgalanoss is the trickster sprite that governs the elcor urge to migration. Not the need or practical cause of migration, but the psychological urge. It plays with the elcor mind, coaxing it back and forth as part of its child-like sense of good entertainment. Elcor don’t like feeling anything less than completely stable and grounded, so they speculate as to whether their instincts for twice-annual movement are some form of cosmic prank, played by a sprite which lacks the wisdom to stay where it is or honour its roots. The true joke is on the Dorgalanoss, though, because the migration urge served the practical requirements of the elcor people, and thus it played its role in helping the customs of the elcor become safely established. Or is the joke on the elcor after all, as they still observe the annual migration even now that technology has triumphed over the climate? Some say that the legend is subversive and challenging simply for the sake of being so, others that it aids the elcor in avoiding excess pride by reminding them that they’re subject to chaotic or uncontrolled forces.
Military
Because of their slow, conservative psyches, elcor are not suitable for making the spur-of-the-moment decisions necessary in combat situations. Instead, they rely on sophisticated VI combat systems. These war machines can choose between thousands of gambits developed and polished over centuries by elcor strategists.
The slow speed and immense size of the elcor makes them easy targets. Fortunately, their durable hide allows them to shrug off most incoming fire. Elcor warriors don't carry small arms; their broad shoulders serve as a stable platform for the same size of weapons typically mounted on Alliance fighting vehicles. According to an elcor diplomat on the Citadel, elcor soldiers are called "living tanks" by their enemies, among other less flattering names.
The elcor don't maintain a large fleet of military starships. This is due to a combination of their conservative nature preventing hasty rushes to war, and their relatively-isolated and self-sufficient economy that would never encounter a trade dispute serious enough to threaten war over. They do have several cruisers and carriers at their disposal, though their real value is in troop transport.
Ships
Fleet Orison Class: A cooperatrive project between elcor and asari.
See Also
Threads and Posts
PSA to All Elcor: Pariah finds something new to moan about.
Why Are There So Many Elcor In My Bar?: Silel demands answers.
Elcor Ships To The Citadel?: It looks like the elcor might be taking a more active role in Citadel affairs.
New Apartment: A famed elcor actress courts controversy by living a scandalously non-elcor lifestyle.