Araun

The araun are a species of huldre within Thaelis-Y'Aada.
The araun are known for their long beards and hair. This is because when the ancient peoples of their race ascended to the surface world in ages past, they vowed to grow their hair long so that it might symbolise their ties to their traditions, which were established in the halls of stone. Those araun who do not grow out their beards are seen by their kin as unsavoury as such poor conduct is associated with criminality and disorderly behaviour. If one will not even pay the most elementary respects to one's creator, what does this say about one's attitude towards creation itself? Poor beard maintenance ranks among the lowest character traits in araunic cultures the world over.
When they emerged onto the surface of the land which were later to become known as Sandoria, the araun constructed (through feats of architecture impossible to younger races) enormous bridges of stone so they could traverse its numerous very wide rivers, being completely averse to boating or constructing ships. These great structures still stand today.
Araun cannot swim and drown with distressing ease in even shallow water due to their short limbs and heavy mass.
Araun were created by Niitoh, the Primordial of death, iron and stone. They are the forefathers of civilisation within the western world, having constructed cities as large as the ones now constructed by humans thousands upon thousands of years before them.
=== Araun Subraces ===
* Ferrum - The "iron-bloods" are the most numerous subrace of araun, and can be found widely throughout most lands. This subrace is credited with the creation of death's blood iron, the bane of the fey races. This fact speaks to their notably xenophobic nature - they are the most conservative of all araun subraces. Ferrum typically have grey skin which can vary in shade from dark to light and ruddy, rust-coloured hair. Their eyes are usually either grey or dark brown.
* Argeni - The "silver-bloods" are the second most numerous subrace of araun, and can be found mainly within the underworld and in service to numerous deities of the afterlife. Less cantankerous and antagonistic than their ferrum cousins, they are much more friendly towards other species. Argenti typically have lighter skin than their ferrum brothers, and their hair is grey, sometimes even white from a young age. Their eyes are silver or, sometimes, black in colour.
* Aeris - The "copper-bloods" are araun which felt a strangely strong connection to Oroboros, and thus to the surface world. The most gregarious and outgoing of the araun subraces, they are happy in the company of other races and thus earn the chagrin of the ferrum in many situations. Aeris have ruddy skin and hair the colour of copper itself, and their eyes are light shades of brown.
* Aurum - The "golden-bloods" are the araun subrace who are the fewest and farthest between in these modern times. The reaosn for this is that in the past their peoples waged war on other races (and araun subraces) in order to pillage their gold, for which they held a strange attraction. They have a similar skin tone to their copper-blood cousins but their hair is usually a dark, rich brown or even black. Their most startling feature is their eyes, which are always golden in colour, though tarnished with traces of black and green. Aurum are typically not welcome amongst their people to this day, owing to the ferrum peoples' long-enduring grudges and unforgiving nature.
=== Araun Oddities ===
* Occasionally an araun is born with eyes of a strange colour, sparkling with the gleam of gemstones. There are five varieties reliably documented of this phenomenon: Viridi (emerald eyes), Sanguis (ruby eyes), caerul (sapphire eyes), pura (amethyst eyes) and electri (topaz eyes).
=== Araun Slavery by the Helios ===
When helios came to the lands of the old araun peoples, they set out to conquer this people and take their lands as their own in the name of their god. The araun were defeated due to the adaptability of their adversaries, and their cities were depopulated as their people were taken as slaves to aid in the construction of human cities. Sandoria is littered with the remnants of araun cities, both upon the surface and within the upper underworld. The araun bear enmity for humans in general, but especially distrust the helios to this day, despite the fact that their people were freed thousands of years ago.