Itaeia

Physiology

• Itaeia are nomadic, and found in clans throughout Crecia, however there are two condensed groups of them in southern Dannen and southern Mirasia.
• They tend to live closer to coasts and rocky areas, often carving out habitats in mountainsides and caves.
• Historically they prefer colder areas, however this is unknown if it is due to preference or less competition for land with other species.
• Their large wings allow for flight, making them widely distributed across the known world.
• Itaeia have body and patterns, which help identify them individually and where they originate from. However their fur colors and appearance shift gradually depending on their environment, their patterns remain constant.
• Itaeia can speak conventional languages, however can also produce ultrasonic sounds which have two purposes, producing echoes to give the brain and audio nervous system detailed images of their surroundings, and communicate quickly with others.
• Itaeia are generally near sighted on land, with eyes adapted more for seeing underwater, where their echolocation is hampered. That being said, Itaeia ears are very sensitive to a wide range of frequencies underwater.
  • This has led to a popularity of glasses among Itaeia who trade freely with Escorrasi and Humans, many of whom find that glasses can help lessen their nearsightedness on land.
• Itaeia wings are filled with blood vessels, which they can grow more of or lose to adjust for the climate.
  • The wings act as a sort of climate control, losing body heat when extended, and able to be used as an insulator when resting by wrapping their wings around themselves.
• In addition to their wings, Itaeia have coats of fur, which thicken or dissipate gradually depending on the climate. Itaeian pups have thicker coats to keep them warm.
• Flying in rain is not unusual, but interferes with echolocation, forcing them to solely use their eyes and communication with others.
• In addition to flying, Itaeia also excel at swimming, able to transition seamlessly between flying, walking, and swimming, making them very mobile.
• They have great air control in their body, allowing lungs to empty and refill completely on demand, and using it economically, while closing nostrils and protecting the trachea.
• Itaeia have high amounts of hemoglobin and myoglobin in their blood and muscles, allowing them to stay submerged for extended periods of time. While diving they can also reduce their heart rate and maintain blood flow to essential organs.
• Itaeia can comfortably dive for around 15 minutes, to depths of around 1300 feet, but are able to dive for as long as 90 minutes to depths of over 2000 feet if prepared.
• Itaeia lifespans are typically around 30-45 years.
• Itaeia are polygynous, meaning that males typically have multiple female partners.
• Itaeia cave systems are covered in silk layers, primarily to mark territory, as protection and provide comfort. Itaeia are unaffected by the silk, but it can be made to trap other races and predators.
• Different types of silk can be created, as comfort in nests, to immobilize prey and act as traps for threats, acting as guidelines during exploration to retrace steps and create a path to follow for others, and to act as alarm lines for trespassers.

Culture

• Blend of Celtic/Pictish and Inca
• Nomads do not have many if any personal belongings, instead putting value in family and friends, and the clan, and leaving belongings behind when they move locations, sometimes leaving tribute behind for those who come after them.
• Itaeia have been known to join large pirate groups, or form their own, being especially prized in the piracy world due to their high mobility in water and air.
• There is only one permanent major Itaeia city, in southeastern Mirasia.
  • The kingdom trades with outside regions semi regularly, however does not have a strong internal market economy. Taxes are paid through labor, military obligations or bartering in return for security, food and rations, access to markets and feasts.
  • The leader of the kingdom was conceptualized as divine, part spirit, part mortal.

Religion

This section is slightly contradictory and confusing in places so you can say what elements you do like and not and what fits etc. Not quite sure on the stance of having both a pantheon and worshipping spirits/wisps. Things that are more concrete are blue.

• Itaeia worship wisps, believing them to be ancestral spirits who have not passed on into the next world
• Despite a widespread Itaeian presence across Crecia, their religious beliefs have not waivered and are rarely affected by external beliefs.
• Itaeia believe in reincarnation, death simply being a passage into the next life.
• It is important for Itaeia to not die as a result of burning, and that deceased bodies not be incinerated, as it would cause their spirit to disappear and be unable to pass into the afterworld.
• Itaeia deceased are tied with sacred rocks and laid in the sea so that their body would sink back into the cycle.
• Itaeian mythology seems to have possibly originated from other similar beliefs from Forenya.
• Itaeian pantheon:
  • Antler god of life and land, the hunt
  • God of storm and sky
  • Sea god
  • Solar deity
  • Mother goddess
  • Healing deity
• Itaeia believe that there are many spirits and divine beings who inhabit the world around them, and can be contacted. Every aspect of the material world was inspirited.
• The physical world is seen as an immortal cycle, to which the spirits are bound: rain falls onto the earth which flows into the water which becomes rain.
• The Hunt
  • The hunt is a ritual when the cycle is off balance. Spirits of the hunt have an ambivalent role as protectors of the hunters and the prey.
• Itaeia druids are required to be magic users, meaning that while they are powerful religious leaders, they are few and far between, often generations will pass without one in a clan.
• Itaeia henges can be seen constructed throughout the world, and are often a point of superstition among other races. The henges are often used to communicate with the deceased and other worlds.

History

• Itaea have no established writing system, only common symbols and images they carve which is mutually understood with different clans. As such, Itaean history is not well understood beyond them being a race of nomads.
• Itaeia are believed to have originated in Forenya millenia ago before expanding outward.
• Their city was very slowly established in southern Mirasia.
• It is known that they were heavily affected by Bjorsine occupation, but instead of being used as slaves, Bjorsine colonies were often established in Itaeian land, and Itaeia were taken and used as soldiers and scouts. It was also at this point that Itaeia silk was controlled and monopolized by the Bjorsine.
  • It is partly due to their involvement with the Bjorsine that the Itaeia have such a poor reputation around the world. Back during the days of the Empire, if you saw a lone Itaeia, chances were there was an army behind them ready to strike.
• During the revolution against the Bjorsine, many Itaeia colonies joined in the fight against their oppressors, often times still fighting against those still working for the Empire. It wasn’t until the final days of the wars that Itaeia revolted within the ranks, allowing many Bjorsine cities to be captured, also leading to an infamous slaughter/execution of Itaeia within the inner cities, fearing they too would revolt.
• Historical interaction with Bjorsine armies helped spread Itaen populations outward across Crecia.

Relations with other races

• Distrust Dza'teva
• "Complicated" relationship with Bjorsine
• Trade silk with Escorrasi
• Amicable with Caralai
• Cautious of Ch-Chari
• Neutral with Humans and Khalikar
• Deified by Aolctic