The Vahr

One of the Caeledonic races, the Vahr are a humanoid race similiar to the Ielf but with more dragonic or reptilian characteristics. When they came to be, or where they truly come from is still unknown , but the Vahr may be one of the more special races on Terra. Having different skin and scale colours depending on region they come from and known for being one of the strongest humanoid beings on the planet, maybe even fastest.

Even though some Vahr may not look like it, they are allot stronger than an Ielf and can run on a very high speed or perform other great deeds as their metabolism is different from the Ielf, or any other race. Though this also has its downsides as they need far more food and if overdoing themself can lead to self harm.

Though even if their strength is a big bonus to them. and allot of people rather have Vahr working for them then others, there are the ones who are not on good terms with the Vahr due to their appearance. Others dislike their culture and how they seem, or at least the actual Vahr settlements, to not care for other races or outsiders in general. The fact that they are associated with dragons does also not help them but this won't stop the Vahr. They have been part of society for a long time now and they will see that they will stay in it.

## Physical Appearance

While overall having a humanoid shape, and being similar with the Ielf and other Dwyoric races, the Vahr have many differences. Starting that their legs are digitigrade. which means they walk on their digits like dogs or birds, though not the "inverted" kind of digitgrade one may think of when hearing birds. furthermore, they legs are more like that of a reptilian or dragon with talons on their toes and scales over the legs. Though their legs, on which the scales only reach up to the thighs , are not the only parts of the Vahr that have scales. Their arms as well as some parts of their back, neck and face have scales too.Overall the skin of the Vahr has allot of scales though they vary from small ones that go over to normal skin and actual big scales on top of the smaller ones that provide protection. As already mentioned, the arms of the Vahr are scaled, and it is important to add that they posses dragon or reptilian like claws that if maintained well could inflict fatal wounds

But these are not the only things that differentiate the Vahr from other races. Their skin is set in two colours: The more normal soft scale skin, which will be refereed as soft skin, and the scale skin. The latter is mostly a darker colour then the soft skin but as for what colour this might be depends on where the Vahr comes from as depending on region and climate, the colours of the Vahr are different. On top of these two colours, the heavy scales too are different from the rest and may either be something more colourful or a different tone of the scale skin colour. The maybe most common colour scheme would be a khaki like brown for the skin, a pale dark red scale skin tone and red heavy scales with maybe some black ones. It is also not uncommon that a Vahr has a special pattern of colours in their face or on other parts of their body. No set of patterns is ever the same though related Vahr may have similarities in their patterns

As for Vahr hair and eye colour, unlike other races the Vahr are very limited in what colour they might have. The most common hair colour is a black one while blond might be the most unusual. Each kind of background of where they come from has a specific set of colours that never truly changes besides in how light or dark they may be and it is very rare to see a Vahr with a different colour then the rest of their kind, to a point where it is even looked down upon and the individual possible treated as an freak. As for eyecolours, the most common eye colour is a blue and brown eyes. Unlike other races, and unlike the hair colour, these never change and are set to the specific colour scheme they posses. Furthermore, the pupils of the Vahr are like that of dragons and reptilians: a vertical slit instead of a circle. Like those of cats, the pupils expand at night and makes it possible for the Vahr to see much clearer during the night then other races.

As for everything else, the Vahr have the same kind of ears like the Dwyori: long and pointed. And even if they show allot of reptilian traits, the Vahr do not lay eggs like some believe. They are mammals and besides the physical differences and some other aspects are the same as the Dwyoric races. Though you may want to make sure to not get bitten by a Vahr. They do posses sharper teeth then the Ielf do and are known to be the sharpest teeth among all races that are Ielf like.And you may think: they are like reptilians in many ways, do they have a reptilian tongue? Yes, but not like one of a snake where the tip is split. The tongue is just longer and has a more sharp end unlike the rounded ends of other races.

It should be noted that the Vahr cannot wear normal shoes and pants/trousers. This means that they need specialised shoes that fit their feet and shorter pants/trousers to not rip the fabric with their scales.

(list of where which colour comes from is coming soon)

## History

Dragons that took a similar form like that of the Dwyoric races to hide between them, to no longer be hunted down but be able manipulate the Dwyoric races from within. Or at least this is one story that is being told about the Vahr. A story that does not make much sense when one thinks about that the Vahr have been found in hidden settlements of their own kind and seemingly no one had ever encountered them before. So the story of the Vahr being dragons that took a humanoid form is simply not true, or at least not the way it is told. Though if the Vahr know their true origins, they do net tell us as their lore keepers are keeping their knowledge secret to outsiders.

But what is it, that is known? It is known that the Vahr have been encountered the first time in Europe during the early antiquity and have been seen as barbaric and hostile people by those that found them. It would take a long time until hostilities stopped as neither side was able to understand each other as the Vahr have their own language and the tribes or other civilisations that encountered them did not understand them. A common thing during these times that also happened between the Ielf themself as they developed their own languages. So after many years of hostilities someone , through unknown means, must have gained the trust of the Vahr and was able to learn their language. From this moment on, the knowledge spread through Europe and realising why the Vahr were hostile towards the various settlements and early nations negotiations started. It was obvious that the Vahr had allot of potential as they were far stronger then an Ielf, so over time there were attempts to gain enough trust to the various Vahr tribes to integrate them into Ielf cultures and use the Vahr for their own means. This turned out harder then it was imagined as the general populace of bigger nations, like Roma, were not pleased with such a barbaric race earning a place in their cities and even the Vahr were not to much interested in the Ielf nations as their prefered their own ways, something that still happens today that Vahr settlements outside of Ielf cities prefer to be isolated. Though while it was hard for big civilisations , for smaller ones it seemed far easier to find a compromise and so the first true integration of the Vahr into Ielf culture was done by other barbarians who even took on some of the Vahr traditions. Though this would not last for long as Roma grew ever larger and their culture was dominant over everything else.

The Vahr would never be truly integrated into Ielf society, though some did join theirs and try to life by their rules. It is through these that more Vahr had been found all over the world though it was even to their surprise that some had other colours and other customs then they knew from the Vahr of their homeland. Centuries passed and the Vahr were becoming a bigger part of everyday life though would something never change: people. Not everyone was liking that the Vahr are found in all of the big cities, that they take jobs other then hard labour where their strengths are more suited or simply that they do not look like normal "people". Yet the Vahr came this far so they would not give up now even if people still thought this way. In the end, thoughts like these exited about every race and every race had their own thoughts and prejudices about everyone else.

Even today one can find old settlements, where the Vahr life more like they did in old times. Or can find settlements that take on more of their old culture and try to preserve it while benefiting from modern technology. These settlements, event hough the latter is more open, usually do not allow outsiders into their villages. Exceptions are often made for traders and some have deals to be allowed into their settlements for exactly that, to supply them, but one should not think that anyone will be allowed to stay for longer amounts of time, especially in the traditional villages and cities.

## Special Characteristics

As already mentioned in the physical appearance, the Vahr have allot of special things about them. From sharp teeth to deadly talons and claws to being far stronger then they look like and being able to run quite fast and having scales to protect them.

To start with, we take the teeth. Nothing much special could really be said about the Vahrs teeth besides that they are rather sharp and you better not get bitten by one using full force. These teeth can leave quite painful wounds or even kill if you are unlucky.

The talons and claws of the Vahr. probably the main weapons of defence and hunting before inventing handmade weapons. These natural weapons can kill you with ease, especially the talons. With the force a Vahr can put into their kicks it is something you do not want to be the target of, never mind getting thrown on the ground. It is there were a Vahr could easily end your life or hold you there with no problem while fighting off another foe.

The scales. As is natural with scales, they are much thicker then normal skin, and Vahr have allot of scales. Their normal skin is made of soft scaly skin, a scale skin and the heavy scales on certain areas of their body. These scales overall give the Vahr a natural armour that protects them from harm. Though even their scales cannot save them from gunfire, but small calibres have a possibility to deflect or the scales absorbing most of the force of the bullet so the damage won't be as bad.

One of the biggest advantages of the Vahr is their strength. Due to a different metabolism and different density of muscles, the Vahr are very strong. Even if not looking like it you might get surprised by what a Vahr is capable of, though this also has its price. As already mentioned they do have a different metabolism and to sustain the strain they put on their own body and to maintain their muscles they need to eat far more then others do. This does not mean that the Vahr have to eat all the time, just that they do need far more to stay healthy. Due to this a Vahr won't get a feeling of being full that fast as they do need more to eat after all. But it doesn't mean they can stay without food as long as other races. If they do not eat for a longer period of time they will feel the consequence much faster and harder then others, driving them to find more food much harder.

And as a last point: their legs. Due to having digitgrade legs and in combination with their strength and constitution the Vahr can run very fast for a long time. Though more importantly they can sprint even fast. Just like a leopard they can go to a high speed spring in a short amount of time, but just like them they cannot maintain this for a long time. During this spring they need to concentrate on what is happening around them and where they are stepping on. So with this heighten stance of alertness and the fact that they put allot of energy into this sprint they wear themself down quite fast and running like this for to long can make them unable to do anything after this as they need to recover. It had been documented that Vahr who put to much effort into these feats often just collapse after running out of energy while those that know their limits are still able to do things after this, but need quite some time to compose themself again.