Raknin

Furtive, diminutive and cautious, the raknin are the custodians of the great forests and stretches of ancient tundra of southern Atrius. Attuned with insects and with each other through a unique neural network called the Worldweb, raknin have survived the Unmaking and the dangerous world which followed through their bond with the fallen archangel Weaver.

Raknin are small and slender in their build, with an average height of about three feet. They look somewhat similar to humans, and from a distance might be mistaken for a child. During the Unmaking, the humans would become the Raknin retreated to the remote forests of Atrius and formed a pact with the angel Weaver. This pact marked them in many way, most notably with their eyes; each raknin has eight eyes, each one entirely black and clustered in two groups of four where another humanoid’s eyes would be. As well as this, raknin can exude a strong, adhesive silk from their palms.

Most raknin are generally pale from living in cold and remote forested areas with little sunlight. Their hair is typically shaggy and the most common colours are black and brown. A number have spread out from their forested homes since the Unmaking and moved to warmer climes in the north, and these migratory raknin have much greater variance in skin tones, ranging from pale to dark.

Raknin are quiet and cautious, a result of their experiences during the Unmaking. As the gods and the Ironmind made war, rogue machines ran rampant and the world burned, the people who would become the raknin fled south, choosing to retreat instead of fight. There, in the deep forests of Atrius’ southern reaches they found the wounded archangel Weaver. Weaver was one of the Infusers, sent to sow Vitium throughout Atrius, but she had been wounded in an assault by the Ironmind. The raknin made a pact with Weaver; in exchange for protecting her, Weaver remade them into the raknin. While the most noticeable of Weaver’s alterations were physical, the most important was a mental one. As the raknin were Infused, they gained the ability to communicate with one another telepathically, forming the psychic network of the worldweb.

This telepathic web means that raknin communities are tightly knit and have a focus on strong bonds of kinship between members of their small clans and treetop townships. Many Raknin are wary of outsiders who are not of their kind, well aware that those larger and stronger than they have often pillaged and robbed Raknin communities before. They are slow to trust those not of their kind, but those who earn their friendship will find Raknin to be loyal and dependable companions.

Those Raknin who have left their ancestral home typically live a more nomadic existence in airship caravans. Using tamed spiders to maintain the silk envelopes of their homes, these Raknin will wander from place to place, trading as they go. They rarely feel comfortable living in the towns and cities of bigger folk, but the comfort and safety of their airborne homes is enough.