Lorath

## **The Lorath**

The Lorath are a winged humanoid race born on the world of Lor. Recently they have retaken the top world of their planet from the Helashio after a 10,000-year exile underground. Genetically manipulated and split into three houses that follow the fourth house, House Tur'Lista, they work to finish their reclamation of the surface before they turn skyward. They come in all shapes and sizes, each house different from the other save for their commonly shared history and basic features.

## History

### Pre-Exile

The Lorath started as a tribalistic race, different tribes interacting well enough with one another with small skirmishes over lands and resources. Slowly they began to advance and settle into distinct towns and cities that allowed them to settle down to advance not only the technology but agricultural means to support their people. This, in turn, led the Helashio, a race they shared the planet with, to force them underground in a bloody war that nearly drove the Lorath to extinction. The Helashio had blamed years of drought and terrible hunting on the Lorath, calling them demons and decrying their wealth of food and sustainability as dark magic. It was in this war that the Gods and Goddesses they worship rose to prominence, and in sacrificing themselves to ensure the survival of their race ascended to Godhood.

### Exile

The Lorath fled underground to save themselves and trapped themselves underground for 10,000 years to recover, grow and develop themselves till they could retake the surface. But as they recovered underground, the fight for resources drove them to multiple civil wars. For close to 5,000 years the Lorath fought amongst themselves in smaller, and larger conflicts until they realized they could not survive this way. The created the three houses to this effect, to give themselves true lasting stability. To help with this, the Lorath began to selectively breed and genetically manipulate to make sure each house could contribute in their own way. The Fyunnen protected and policed, the Occhestans developed and advanced, the Llamnel grew and guided in religious aspects. But even then the three houses fought amongst themselves constantly and realized even still the need for a singular house to lead.

They then made the Tur'Lista household, a house that retained the old bloodline of the Lorath. Not specialized in any one ability like the other three houses, they were deemed the leaders to give them Lorath a ruling household. From there they began to develop so they could retake the surface.

### War for the Surface

When they felt ready, the Lorath returned to the surface. They began thier violent war with the Helashio which would last for close to sixty years, which culminated in the Queen of the Lorath, Harr'Ikke, striking down the champion of the Helashio in bloody combat. The Helashio posed little to no concern for the Lorath who had surpassed the Helashio in all aspects from combat training to equipment. Since then there have been small skirmishes, but the aftermath of the war left the Helashio as slaves to the Lorath.

## Physical Characteristics

The Lorath share common features like long pointed ears, pure white hair, and small vestigial wings. Each house has different features that make it easier to distinguish them from others.

### Wings

The wings of the Lorath are small, typically between a span of three to five feet, dependent on the size of the individual. They are feathered, with black feathers. They can be larger in the Llamnel household if the Lorath is bonded to an avian creature. They are vestigial in all Lorath save for the Llamnel bonded to birds who can fly for short periods of time. Any not bonded can at best offer a few moments of gliding, typically enough to stop major damage from moderate heights. The wings can also give away emotional states as the Lorath use them to express themselves, from hiding behind them in embarrassment to twitching wings for anxiety or excitement, and a dozen other states. They are also fairly sensitive, and touching another Lorath's wings is akin to telling them you love them. Stroking them is akin to saying you want to sleep with them. To give someone a feather is a Lorath's way of telling that person they are incredibly important.

### Hair

The Lorath are born with completely white hair, with no exceptions. They lost the coloring during thier 10,000 years underground and as a result, the dye market is very popular. For men, there is little concern over length though longer hair is seen as an oddity and out of style currently. For a woman, the hair denotes their standing within the Lorath society. The longer the hair, the higher their station, and with the longer hair, they typically are able to create rather nice designs. The dye styles and colors depend on the person, but many typically stick with their house colors; red for Fyunnen, blue for Occhestan and green for Llamnel.

### Eyes

The Lorath typically have yellow eyes, though the eye color can be different depending on a number of factors from brown, blue, green and black.

### Skin

Many Lorath still have fair skin and can burn fairly easy, though some of the younger generations have begun to adapt and show changes to skin tone. They are able to tan after a lot of time outdoors, but they run a higher risk of sunburn than tanning.

### Fyunnen

The Fyunnen are typically larger than the other houses. The women typically larger, standing anywhere from about 6'6 at the shortest, to upwards of 9'6 at their tallest. Their ears only have a single tip, and the house tends to favor the color red. The men tend to be much smaller and weaker than the women and do the day to day duties, where the women are much larger and stronger.

### Occhestan

The Occhestans are typically much closer to a normal human in terms of height and strength. They tend to favor the color blue and have two tips to their ears. There is no real difference in sizes between men and women.

### Llamnel

The Llamnel vary and range in size and strength depending on their bonded partner. They favor the color green and have three tips to their ears. There is no real difference in sizes between men and women.

## Religious Beliefs

The Lorath religious beliefs center around a form of Apotheosis based on deeds done during the War of Exile for the Lorath. Five Lorath were believed to have ascended to Godhood during the War of Exile and to this day are revered. While every Lorath believes in and follows all the Gods and Goddesses as a whole, many choose to focus on one in particular that they tend to gravitate toward.

Each of the Gods and Goddesses has their own day of observance on which the Lorath usually partake in something that defined each one. These days include time off from all work and school, feasts, festivals, and visits to shrines dedicated to them.

Shrines to the Gods and Goddesses each showcase all five of the Gods but tend to have smaller versions of the others while the God or Goddess the shrine is dedicated to tends to be larger in prominence. Shrines typically consist of five statues, typically about six to eight foot tall carved from stone. The five are set in a semi-circle with the honored statue set in the center. The statues are set in a circle of white sand with offerings set at the feet of the statues.

### Voxphine

The Goddess Voxphine is the primary Goddess of the Lorath religion. She was sister to Ifmir and is seen as the highest Goddess for her sacrifice in allowing the Lorath to escape while she and her brother stayed behind to hold the tide of Helashio that chased them. She is primarily the Goddess of peace and wisdom, and her sign is the shield, as she was the shield for the Lorath. During the War of Exile, she was the primary face of peace as she pushed to set aside their issues and press the Helashio for peace rather than to continue the bloody war.

### Ifmir

The God Ifmir is seen as the primary God of the Lorath Religion. He was the brother to Voxphine and is seen as a companion to Voxphine and is revered in the same light as her. His sacrifice in stopping the tide of the Helashio forces in the escape underground by the Lorath brought him to ascension into Godhood beside his sister. He is primarily the God of Intelligence but is sometimes used as a warning to the younger generation and a reminder to the older Lorath to "Not let your intelligence cloud your wisdom." It's used to tell someone that while a certain thought process may make sense, it may not be the best way to move forward. During the war of Exile, it was Ifmir that pushed for war, knowing that the Lorath, while outnumbered, were much better equipped and trained than the Helashio. His symbol is the sword.

### Nyll

The Goddess Nyll is seen as a secondary Goddess of the Lorath Religion. She was a smith that developed many new techniques for weapon, armor, and tool craft that helped the Lorath constantly evolve and better themselves. She was killed in battle when a Helashio horde overran her settlement and she sacrificed herself to allow her apprentices and their families flee. She is seen as the primary Goddess of crafters and builders. Her symbol is the anvil.

### Vistea

The God Vistea is seen as a secondary God of the Lorath religion. He was a farmer who helped develop much of the agricultural technology and techniques that the Lorath used as they transitioned from hunter-gathers to a more traditional agricultural society, as well as pioneered livestock husbandry. Vistea was lost after one of the first Helashio attacks on the Lorath settlements when they came for him and his family. While his family was killed, he fought off and killed to a person the Helashio before he passed away from his injuries, only after traveling to the next settlement to warn them. His symbol is the sickle.

### Ecury

The Goddess Ecury is seen as a secondary Goddess of the Lorath Religion. She was a healer who developed many medicines and life-saving techniques that are still used to this day by the Lorath. She was famously remembered and lost when she stormed a Helashio encampment to rescue several of her fellow healers who had been taken in a raid and after freeing them, succumbed to her wounds and died on her return home. Her symbol is the staff.

## Social structure

### Gender Equality

While the majority are split into three houses, the Lorath have a few social cues and structures that they follow. Typically within society, women are given preference over men stemming back to the War of Exile and the men pushing for war, where the women pushed for peace. It's for this reason that women typically run the household, and usually run the race itself in the form of the Queen of the Lorath. That's not to say that men are second class citizens as many have contributed to the race in major ways, but opposing ideas usually yield to the women unless there is a proven track record with the male.

### Hair

While not as important or prevalent in males, among women the length of their hair denotes their social and economic ranking. A woman that is an employer will typically have longer hair than her employees, while a general or commander will have longer hair than their subordinates. Councilors and congresswomen will have longer hair than staffers, and heads of houses will have longer hair than anyone within their house. None may have hair longer than the Queen, and to do so is tantamount to saying they are better than she is.

## Taboo

Outside of the normal laws and rules that societies set down which are common among most, there is one law that the Lorath hold to the highest regard. Not even the Queen or the High Priest of the Lorath is exempt from this law, and that is the Law of Taboo. It states that no Lorath may love or lay with a Lorath of another house. A Llamnel is not permitted to lay with a Fyunnen or Occhestan, and the same goes for the other houses.

To break this law and be found out is automatically subject to arrest and trial. Should they be found guilty through absolute evidence, there are three outcomes given. They are either killed, mind wiped if their power and skill is strong enough, or exiled. The exile only comes about if they request a trial of combat after a guilty verdict is reached, and if the guilty party wins, they are exiled. In all cases, the Lorath is forgotten completely with all records and recordings of them destroyed and name stricken from any records and exiled from the race to wander alone. If they are found again, they are killed on site unless under the most extenuating of circumstances.

It should be noted also that it is a great insult to any Lorath if they are told: "You will be forgotten." To a Lorath, to be forgotten is basically being told that they are not worth anything. It is also insulting as the Helashio had forgotten about the Lorath during their exile, and in turn, it had doomed them to their current predicament.

## Statistic Bonuses

### Fyunnen

 +5 Combat and Armor Skills
 Vitality is multiplied by 10
 +3 Intimidation

### Occhestan

 +2 Intelligence
 +5 to all Tech or Magic

### Llamnel

 +5 Wisdom
 +3 Morale Boost