Egalrin
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Long ago, when the world was new, as stories have it, Egalrin were birthed from the first clash of Caracoroth and Eluna. The first War it is said, brought about a great thunderclap, and it is from lightning that the egalrin were born. Fast, full of rage, and born to the sky, the egalrin were natural raiders. They swiftly took to Caracoroth's savage nature, and became the scourge of lands, raiding and taking what they wanted.
They became Caracoroth favored, who was known to the egalrin as Kakkai'on. For centuries, the Egalrin were infamous as raiders who it said, struck with the swiftness and savagry of the lightning. Not prone to great armies, they favored isolated settlements, and challenging smaller communities to stronger fortresses. They possessed few crafts of their own and lived largely on spoils, raiders and mountain-swept nomads. They were a young and angry race, and their blades were painted red.
So it would have continued, had not the shamans of three clans made common cause. Between them they sought the wisdom of the skies. It came to them that the egalrin should be led by a Speaker, who they would know by her wisdom. Wisdom, the Sky said, would bring balance to the lightning in their blood. The Sky told them that until now, the egalrin had been the Young Children, but the world was aging and they must not be so young anymore. And so, as the legends tell it, the priests left on a journey. In a far clan in the furthest mountains, they found the first Speaker.
The first Speaker and the league of priests would spend many years bringing the words of the Sky to the egalrin. The words of the Sky over time, would reveal themselves to be the words of Dana and Gilead, who they would name Cernan and Ceiwen. Gradually the wisdom of the Sky and the first Speaker would spread, and the egalrin would slowly begin to transform themselves. They began to walk the path of wisdom, to balance the lightning in their blood.
Today, the egalrin stand a new people, born from Tears of the Moon and the Rage of Kakkai'on. Many, though not all, Egalrin alive today proudly serve Gilead and Dana, though this is not exclusive. The egalrin work to legitimize their mountain homes, to transform from their lives as raiders to lives as either nomads or settled clans. They work to forge their shamanistic-monastic society and reclaim the Sky, not as harriers but as Guardians.
However, while their rituals staunchly guard against a return to the old ways, pockets of Egalrin marauders remain in the darkest reaches of the furthest mountains. These groups plot to return their people to Kakkai'on's service. And, despite the efforts of their elders, the egalrin are often seen as dual-natured: from their original birth from Caracoroth's rage and Eluna's kind tears, to the lightening of the sky and the Speaker's call for wisdom. It could be said the egalrin are quite varied.
Physical Description
Egalrin are tall and sturdy with broad wings. While many are famed for possessing a raptor's looks (such as that of an eagle), in truth they are more varied, as their race it is said, embraces the Sky and the thunder-birds which rove its surface. Thus, egalrin bear the marks of eagles and hawks, and most any predatory bird, though this is not exclusive; a few other branches are not unknown, particularly if they are blessed by the faint, remaining traces of the Elunan bloodlines.
Their bones, though hollow, are far sturdier then one might guess. As a race, Egalrin live among the mountain ranges. Young ones learn to climb the cliffs and glide, as it takes time for their wings to reach full growth, given their size.
As a race, their most defining features are their wings, which can span 10 to 12 feet in width. Their heads and bodies have the bearing of humanoid eagles from piercing eyes down to taloned feet. They do not have facial hair of course (on account of the beaks) but the plumage on their heads grows thick and wild in many Egalrin, and, along with the styling of feathers and differences in coloration, enable one to tell the differences between male and females. Males possess a brighter, more colorful coloration, with the females duller by comparison, though not overly so. Egalrin do not possess breasts, being avians.
Egalrin favor light but colorful clothing that does not impede their movement, and disdain items on their wings--though they may use dyes to style them in the case of competitions or important visitations. To some degree, they also favor colorful tassels or light baubles.
Society and Lands
Egalrin possess a mixture of social structures, with some preferring a more settled aerie life, and others a more nomadic one. The egalrin however, possess enough in common that it ties them together, though in a patchwork sort of way.
The common community structure of the egalrin is the aerie. These vary in size from large to small, and some are more settled than others, though the majority favor the mountains. This is due to their natures, as well as the ability of every egalrin to glide: in order to glide, they must have surfaces to glide from and climb, and the mountain drafts and cliffs give them an advantage.
The largest aeries are within the Sky Curtain Mountains and in the Roof of the World.
Most of their aeries reflect their raider past. The typical aerie is founded from once-stolen foundations, most frequently of khazadi make. However, the egalrin have since made these structures their own, enough so that while an aerie's roots are recognizable, it has been thoroughly transformed into something that can only be recognized as "egalrin."
The typical aerie may look from the outside as composed of ancient stonework. The interiors however, are quite colorful. While the egalrin possess no innate talent for stonework, they have shown innovation in textiles and weaving and compose inner walls and structures out of bright and elaborate colors and cloth. This means that while the exterior of their homes may appear drab and uninteresting, the insides are often bright and colorful, warm and inviting. Walls may be altered freely, to serve the needs of inhabitants.
These structures are often filled with signs of their previous inhabitants. It can give the homes a sort of mish-mash appearance, though this is more due to the history of the home, itself. The living egalrin tends to favor a more spartan lifestyle when traveling--with emphasis on freedom of wing, and freedom against the dark spirits of Kakkai'on, whose greed knew no bounds.
The governance of the egalrin Aeries is unique among the civilized races. Each Aerie is composed of a council of elders that see to its day to day governance. A Speaker resides over each council. The Speaker is a unique position, and one held from Discovery until quite often, Death. Upon the death of a current Speaker, the council sends members to travel the Aerie and surrounding ranges, to see if another Speaker has been hatched. This journey may take weeks to a year, and the belief is that Cernan and Ceiwen will reveal such a being. When found, the Speaker is brought among the elders for training and rearing, until they are ready to lead the Aerie.
Egalrin society is vaguely matrilineal; Egalrin names are passed on from the mother's side of the family down to the children. This tradition developed in large part because of their raiding history. As the egalrin had few permanent Aeries and the rage of Kakkai'on burned so brightly, one of the few things an ancient egalrin truly owned was his or her lineage, and this was only reliably traced through the female. Thus, though egalrin pride themselves on living sparsely, they also possess some pride in their bloodline. This is especially true if an egalrin has a Speaker in their history (even though Speakers officially renounce all ties as part of their initiation).
While the egalrin historically possessed few crafters of their own (they were more often thieves and marauders), they enjoy an almost innate talent for weaving and textiles and are becoming known in these markets. Today, egalrin trade these textiles with the khazad for repairs to stonework, and the two races have begun in areas, a tentative friendship where once there was only adversity. However, tensions still exist in more secluded places, where khazad clans claim rights to generations-old structures.
The egalrin's tend to follow a more personal approach to justice. Where other cultures have developed courts or impersonal arbitration, the egalrin rely on things like public shaming or ridicule, and punishments are often modified to fit the crime in an effort to balance the scales between one individual and the next. They see this as more personal, and reflective of their often magpie, yet close-knit communities.