Iortari (Tribe)

The **Iortari** *(Yortaree - soft r)* were an ancient tribal species and mother tribe to the **Itari**. They remain the most respected and most advanced tribe in all history of Almaria. Although they would reach adulthood in the same pace as human beings, they lived up to 500 years. Their species faced extinction at the hands of Rosario's aether weapon, on a greed driven order of the Capital, to raid their lands for raw material.

## Biology

Iortari were a humanoid bird folk who walked upright on either paw like feet or talons. Unlike the itari, who grow feathers only on selective parts, iortari all shared the same placements of feathers on their bodies, occurring on ears, lower body, elbows, replacing hair and all grew a tail. Females would sometimes grow feathers on their upper body, while males could grow them over their shoulders and both had a possibility to have a feathered neck and legs. Iortari would not grow any body hair like other species do. The species' plumes were vibrant and colorful due to the aether flooding through them, their glow reinforced each time they would use their magic. When plucking feathers, during molting or sickness, their plumes would slowly fade until reaching a dull, mud-like color. This progress could take up to five days, which allowed them to use discarded feathers for target practice.

## History

The Iortari were once a proud folk occupying aether rich lands inside Rosarian grounds. As their rapidly blooming tribe society strove for educational flexibility between nations, and practices to train precise marksmen, they were perceived as a successfully budding community, allied and well received with tribes of far and wide. Unfortunate for them, mankind was plagued by greed, and little did they know, they were sitting on a goldmine: Rare but essential metal in high demand inside Almaria’s Capital.

In the year 287 AD (sixteen years to present), the Iortari were struck by tragedy, as demand for rare resources inside the capital peaked and military missions led to their sacred lands. Refusing to hand over the materials, as it would harm their environment to mine the metals, fight ensued in bloodshed when Rosario released the Selene, an aether weapon which would lock onto targets on sight and lacked the concept of mercy. Although the tribe fought back bravely, weapons and fires raged inside their home, turning everything to ashes. Only two iortari survived, leaving eventually only one alive to the current day, marking them extinct.

Their feathers were plucked and sold at the black market, which enraged the Itari, causing them to flee to Losandthel, where they would honor their mother species.

## Culture

**Naming**

Iortari do not know the general concept of a given and surname, but instead received two names in their native tongue, which also served as titles, which would usually describe something worth being proud of. Either name could be used to address them.

**Piuma**

The iortari were capable of enhancing their plumes through magic and alter their physical appearance through glamour. Carriers of this magic were called Piuma, though only masters of these abilities earned the respected tribe title. Their training included developing sharp precision, educating their marksmen to launch their feathers, which enchanted by magic became razor blades, with pin point accuracy. They were usually exposed to practice that required agility and skilled use of hearing. Their glamour would allow them to retract feathers.

**Arima Lota**

A practice Lakota described as the phenomenon of "two souls connecting", which bound the aether of two together. Details are still unclear.

**Dance and Song**

They sure loved to party.

**Mating**

Iortari were eligible to mate once reaching the age of twenty, in which they would officially be considered adults. While allowed to mate without engaging in a bond, iortari almost strictly mated for a lifetime with the specimen they deemed most fit to provide happiness and comfort, and who would complement their existence without being dependent on their partner. If interested, either gender was allowed to 'mark' the other person, which was achieved through magic that would partly dye the other's feathers in the color of their admirer. If rejected, they could simply pluck the feathers and their decision would be respected. If accepted, the two lovers would engage in a ritual in which they shared a month alone in solitude, exposed to harsh conditions, in which they could decide whether they were truly two sides of a coin or would grow tired of each other. Throughout a lifetime, most would produce a number of offspring exclusively with their partner. Iortari gave life birth rather than laying eggs, however, they were capable of reproducing with other species, in the case of itari sometimes resulting in an egg, if the itari is female. Most preferred to exclusively mate with other iortari however, as the genders physically benefited each other and many preferred a life of tradition and culture.

## Language

The iortari communicated to express a wide range of emotions rather than narrowing an expression down to a single one, which may be perceived as complicating things by outsiders, yet was a cherished practice that allows their members to feel freely without having to worry they may get the wrong emotion across. Their language features a series of very sharp S and soft, rolled R sounds. Historians describe it as rather difficult to pronounce correctly, as it even alters from itarian accent.

The sentence structure of their language are still mainly unknown. By thumb rule, names and titles go at the end of a sentence, i.e. "Hsiri aerri Atlah" (which would roughly translate to "they are called Atlah").