Artilites

The Artilites are a race of Abexilites who were discovered by Valreans escaping Iristor's Comet. They inhabit many places, but are mainly situated in the cold mountainous areas of the Asper-Island region.
__TOC__
=== Brief History of the Artilite People ===
The first Artilite was born from the Red Rock Volcano (Krikargh'Parh). It is said that created by the world itself, the artilite crawled out of the volcano at its peak, and descended down into the forests below. Not much else is known, other than more and more Artilites began to settle in the island. It eventually became known as Artilla, due to the Artilites who inhabited the island. However, there is no known origin of why the Artilites are named this way. Some scholars suggest they weren't called this until much later, and had been dubbed Artilites by the "Precursors". 
These precursors came in the form of an Empire of which very little is known. Oral tradition has kept alive some tales, but very little physical evidence remains of who they were. What can be confirmed is that they were a vast Empire with strong technology, and incredible military organisation. The Artilites, who remained tribal and unorganised put up very little resistance. This allowed them to retain a strong amount of autonomy against those in the wider Empire. 
Around 1000 years before the arrival of the Valreans with the destruction of Eldham, the precursors collapsed, leaving a vacuum of power in the Artilite lands. This led to a Dark Age as Artilon descended into great strife, as the administration of their lands suddenly collapsed. It is here where scholars suspect most of evidence of the precursors was destroyed in the many wars which followed. 
Artilites next came into contact with a major outside force when the Valreans arrived from Abexilas. They had little cultural influence on the Artilites but did help teach them how to build and support larger structures out of tougher materials, as well as introducing the concept of feudalism. 
=== Artilite - Physiology ===
Artilites, due to their volcanic origin, have darker skin tones reflecting an ash colour. Their skin is rough and hot to the touch. Also clearly visible are Artilite veins, which glow slightly especially in colder areas due to their heat. Artilite blood is incredibly hot, beyond boiling, some say as hot as the lava from the Red Rock Volcano. The result of this is that Artilites are very hot to the touch, and can survive in extremely cold climates. The toughness of their skin, and their general physiology maintains their temperature very well, meaning they also can survive in very hot climates as well, although they will admit to being less comfortable. 
The most unique trait an Artilite has is their geo-thermokensis, also known as "lava-bending". Albeit a very basic version of lava bending, Artilites throughout their entire history have been able to heat their bodies, mainly hands, to extreme temperatures. This allows them to mould molten metal, or even stone. Furthermore, they can utilise lava to create ornate patterns and sometimes rudimentary structures. This is apparent in their obelisk designs. Artilite eyes are also different from standard human eyes. They vary between red, orange, yellow and on rare occasions white or purple. The differences are merely cosmetic, an Artilite can see like any other human, although it is noted that some Artilites have slight colour blindness depending on the intensity of their glow in their eyes. Others note that some Artilites, mainly Artilites with red eyes, can see or sense temperature however there have been no studies into this. Artilite hair is normally reflective of their skin tones, often darker or sometimes grey and ash like. It's noticeable difference is the thickness of it, and it's fire resistance, which comes alongside any part of an Artilite. 
When an Artilite dies their blood goes incredibly cold and solidifies. This had an impact on the language, with death literally translating to cold blood. The concept of "riga mortis" whereby the muscles stiffen in a corpse happens much faster as the blood cools. The skin lacking fresh hot blood also hardens to the point of petrification. A few hours after death, the Artilite body is essentially stone and any chance of post-mortem examination is gone. Artilite eyes also stop glowing when they die, and this is often the first indication of the severity of an injury or illness when an Artilite's eyes begin to dim. This is not a guarantee of death, but a major warning that an Artilite is in great peril. Once they do die, the eyes stop glowing entirely, and it is said that the fire inside a person has gone out, their soul in this world extinguished. 
However, some legends from Artilite history state that applying enough heat to a petrified corpse would reanimate it, if performed with the correct magic. Many villains in Artilite folklore find themselves defeated, only to be placed in lava by a loyal servant and magic spells cast to rejuvenate them. Bursting from the lava reborn they are changed by their experience turning insane. Again, these are stories, but given the Artilite origin and very obvious connection to heat and magic, it wouldn't be the most outlandish claim to make. 
 
=== Artilite - Cultural Practices ===
==== New Life and Birthdays ====
When an Artilite is born, a parent or familial patriarch will take a stone and using their abilities carve into the stone the name of the new child. This trinket is then given to the child, who eventually will trigger their abilities sometime before their second birthday. Once this is done, and the child has made their mark on the stone, it is taken from them and kept by the one who originally signed it. If this person is no longer able to take it, it goes to someone of similar closeness or the family patriarch. 
An Artilite is only deemed an adult when they win back their stone in some form of trial, which is the choice of the one holding onto the stone. Most often than not, a traditional Artilite dual is held however no specific contest is disbarred from this tradition. This trial is always held on their birthday. If the Artilite seeking to claim adulthood loses, they must wait again till their next birthday; there is no limit to how many times they can fail. It is considered an act of great dishonour to choose a trial in which the one seeking adulthood has very little to no chance of success. A challenge is important but an unfair fight is considered highly dishonourable, and can sometimes result in duals by others in favour of the one seeking adulthood. Without adulthood, an Artilite is not permitted to marry, not permitted to be knighted (A Valrean addition), not permitted to own land, not permitted to lead a tribe or act as the patriarch of a family and is not permitted to challenge for the Crown. 
On birthdays which do not involve seeking adulthood, common practices are meals with the whole clan, and re-enactments of memories through small performances and games. 
==== Marriage ====
As with most cultures, Artilites have a unique marriage celebration. Once the formal agreements are made, there is the betrothal ceremony, which is the swearing of betrothal vows before a Velist Priest. This is private and personal to each couple, and they do not make a spectacle of it. Once this has been performed, then the festivities can begin. The "wedding" takes place over three days. The first two are preparation to the final day of the actual ceremony. The first day is when all guests are meant to arrive, and the Velist priest opens the ceremonies with the confirmation of the betrothal vows before the guests. Here, the bride and groom separate, and do not see each other until the next night. When the next night arrives the tradition of "Search for the Bride" is played. This tradition stems out of Artilite legend, where the hero Lance'laat sought to marry the Lady Alenna, who was the only daughter of a rival tribal chief. The marriage would set aside the rivalry and unite the two tribes into a powerful force. However, seeing this potential unification as an existential threat, another rival tribe sought to prevent it from happening. A band of brigands kidnapped the bride the day before her wedding, forcing Lance'laat and the other guests to search for her. Unbeknownst to Lance'laat, the Lady Alenna had broken free of her captors and killed them all. As Lance'laat approached their place of refuge, having tracked the villains' movements from the kidnapping, he stumbled into the cave where they had been hiding only to be attacked by none other than the Lady Alenna! She had mistaken Lance'laat for more villains and reacted quickly, luckily no harm was done. They returned home and the next day were married. This famous Artilite love story led to the game of "Search for the Bride" where on the night before her wedding, the bride sneaks away and hides. The groom and his groomsmen must search for her. Once she is about to be found, the bride, per tradition, is meant to leap out and terrify her groom, as Alenna did to Lance'laat. Then, he is to carry her back to the wedding venue where on the next day they are married. 
On that final day, the day of the ceremony, fine wine is served early in the morning and drank heavily until the early afternoon where all drinking ceases during the ceremony. It is not known where the origin of this tradition comes from, however what is said is that it "helps the nerves" of all parties involved.
Category:Races