The Ashavan

The Ashavan, native to nearly all parts of both Minnaar and Verloren, are bird-like humanoids known for their talons, plumage, and eccentric nature. The Ashavan vary per bloodline, some being similar in appearance to Tropical Birds, some Corvids, and others even Owl-like. These subspecies have no impact on their physical ability, although it does tend to dictate parts of their personality.

The sub-species of the Ashavan consist of the Corvi, Strigi, and Arini. The Corvi tend to take after more corvid-esque birds, the Strigi after birds of prey such as owls and hawks, and the Arini can take after any birds of paradise. These Ashavan live all across Omnia, but the settlement of Valoo in Northern Minnaar has an Ashavan majority.

## Physical Attributes

All Ashavan are covered in feathers, have talons for feet, and have a beak for a mouth. They do not have wings upon their back, but instead are typically light enough and have enough feathers to glide through the air and catch updrafts.

### Ashavan Subraces

**Ashavan Corvi**

The Ashavan Corvi tend to lurk in covered forests, preferring to travel in groups known as a Merle, and typically they reside in the swampy marshes of the land, or in even larger amounts within the Dark Forests. These Ashavan are proud, loud, and value family deeply. They are known to be easily swayed by items that shine, and usually have a problem with hoarding. Being the shortest of all Ashavan, standing on average below 5'8", the Corvi are all bark and no bite, using their numbers to do the most damage on their enemies. Corvi male and females are quite similar in appearance, however the female Corvi are on average taller than the males, reaching the height of 5'8" more often than not. The females also tend to wear more jewelry than the males as a sign of eligibility.

**Ashavan Arini**

Ashavan Arini, known for their bright plumage and boisterous personalities, most closely resemble birds of paradise, parrots, and cockatoos. The Tropic Ashavan are quite solitary, preferring to either roam alone or in small groups, nothing close to the size of a Corvi Merle. These Ashavan are lovers of the arts, travel, and adventure, wanting nothing more than to discover and create. These Ashavan are also the most diverse when it comes to gender. The Females tend to have less saturated colors and smaller plumage on the crowns of their heads, they also lack the sharpened back talon that the males do. Male Tropics, however, tend to have large crown-like plumage at the tops of their heads that are used most often in asserting dominance over other males due to feather size. Tropical Ashavan are most common around the docks of larger settlements, trying their best to worm their way onto ships and caravans aiming to traverse the continents Ashavan-Tropics are also known to be the middle ground of height of all the Ashavan. They stand at about 6' on average, though they can grow a few inches shorter or taller than that. The Males of the Tropics tend to stand at at least six-foot or taller.

**Ashavan Strigi**

Ashavan Strigi, the most reserved and quiet of the Ashavan, are only found alone. Never traveling in groups, the Ashavan raptors tend to abandon their young as soon as they are able to survive on their own, preferring a life of solitude and study. They crave to indulge themselves in knowledge, that being their own hubris. These Ashavan are extremely overconfident in their own intellectual ability, and will usually never admit that they are wrong. They resemble birds of prey, such as eagles or owls, and are the tallest of the Ashavan standing at about 6'7" on average. These Ashavan are the most androgynous, the males and females looking almost identical except for the fact that the male Strigi tend to have more coloring compared to the female, though the difference is slight to the untrained eye.

## History

Perhaps even more mysterious than the Morians themselves, the origins of the Ashavan remain almost a complete enigma. There are many tales that claim to explain how the Featheredfolk came to be, but almost none seem to be based in reality. Many human groups claim the Ashavan flew across the great ocean, carrying their homes and items upon their backs. Stranger still, the Ashavan claim to be descended directly from Naviik, a literal god who makes its home upon a floating island of clouds.

Regardless of the true answer, the archeological record shows absolutely no evidence that the Ashavan existed in Omnia for longer than 800 years. This would exclude them from taking part in the bloody empire building that existed before Shesha’s emergence, and many Ashavan herald that fact as a source of national pride. To this day, the Ashavan remain one of the most peaceful groups in the islands, refraining from conflict whenever possible. It’s often thought that the Ashavan’s nomadic lifestyle was influential enough to drive the split in early human culture, a split that resulted in the birth of the Nomani culture. This theory is further supported by the fact that both ethnicities maintain very close relations to this very day.