Aquilla

Various depictions of aquilla

The aquilla are a magical race of bird-folk from the continent of Erovast. Deeply connected with the skies and magic, these mystical creatures excel in aerial combat, and their home, the Floating Cities of Zephris, is a wonder of magical and mechanical construction.

## Description

#### Appearance

Aquilla are a graceful race of bird-folk, made apparent by their large beaks, avian eyes, talons on their hands and feet, and (most notably) their beautiful wings located around their shoulder blades. Their wings reach an average span of 8 to 9 feet long, but they are kept tucked away when not in use, which is not often. Aquilla are typically never seen simply standing on the ground, taking any chance they can to fly, even if this means hovering a few inches often the floor of whatever room they're in.

Aquilla's height typically averages between 5 and 6 feet tall, and they're usually light when compared to humans of the same height, ranging from 70 to 110 pounds.

The plumage of a particular aquilla is dictated by their region of origin. The stormwing aquilla of the Thunderisle have feathers of deep blues and dark grays depicting their stormy heritage. Moonwing aquilla, who live in the Lunar Enclaves, have glowing white and shiny gray feathers, which align with their lunar magic and related culture. The residents of the Dawnspire, the sunfeathers, have plumage of gold, yellow, and tan, which details their solar lineage.

#### Personality

Most aquilla hold themselves with a certain level of dignity and haughtiness; however, they still carry with them a sense of wonderment and curiosity about the world, especially in regards to magic. Aquilla are naturally free spirits, which is reflected in their society and culture.

## History

Aquilla began in the Elemental Plane of Air, a realm made of pure wind, storms, and celestial bodies. The first aquilla began as a kin of air elementals known as the *Thul Aenil*, or Wind Angels, and were forced into the material plane due to the collapse of their corner of the elemental plane from the creation of the celestial thrones at the start of the Divine Calamity, the war that established the elven empire. The force created a massive hole from the material plane to the plane of air, which the first aquilla used as a power source to sustain a series of floating islands, which would eventually become the Floating Cities of Zephris.

## Traits and Abilities

Aquilla gain their magical abilities from their elemental heritage and deep connection to the skies. As an aquilla, you gain the following benefits:

#### Ability Score Increase

Your Wisdom score increases by 2, and your Dexterity score increases by 1.

#### Size

Aquilla are medium sized creatures, standing around 5 to 6 feet tall on average. They have slender frames and a graceful posture.

#### Speed

Your base walking speed is 30 feet and a flying speed of 40 feet when not in heavy armor.

#### Magic Aptitude

Aquilla are inherently magical beings, and they have a natural talent for magic. They gain proficiency in the Arcana skills and have advantage on saving throws against spells and magical effects.

#### Languages

Aquilla can speak, read, and write Common and Auran, the language of air elementals. They also have their own unique language, Aquillan, which is a melodic language that incorporates bird-like vocalizations.

## Subraces

Aquilla are divided into different subraces, stemming from the three tribes of wind angels that originally came from the plane of air. Each subrace has their own unique abilities and characteristics.

#### Sunfeather

These aquilla are attuned to the sun and solar magic. They gain resistance to fire damage and can cast the *Produce Flame* cantrip as a racial ability, using Wisdom as their spellcasting ability modifier.

#### Stormwing

Stormwing aquilla have a keen affinity for the elements of air and lightning. They gain resistance to lightning damage and can cast the *Gust* cantrip as a racial ability, using Wisdom as their spellcasting ability modifier.

#### Moonwing

Moonwing aquill are connected to the moon and possess lunar magic. They gain darkvision up to 60 feet and can cast the *Light* cantrip as a racial ability, using Wisdom as their spellcasting ability modifier.