Aupae

The **Aupae** (sg. **Aupa**) are a Hominid race often called **dryads** or **clawfolk**. Dunarian tradition names them the **Race of Opatha**, one of the fourteen major sapient races.

* Aupae of Wood, or dryads
* Aupae of Sand, or yaras

## Characteristics

### Sexes

Dryads are notable for having five sexes unlike the typical binary found in other hominid races.

* Dendrids are biologically male.
* Dryads are biologically female.
* Trestines are biologically hermaphrodites, and can mate with all other sexes, including themselves.
* Dendrines are called lesser males, and can only mate with trestines.
* Dryadines are called lesser females, and can only mate with trestines.

## History

The dryads are believed to have originated in the region of Khanje, and their history is much more well-understood by scholars due to their independent invention of writing. Despite classically considered the third of the hominids, in all likeliness they were the first, showing no signs of having migrated from beyond the Realm. Early dryad cultures prospered in the tropics of South Dunarion. Unlike the other hominids, the first dryads were purely herbivorous, which initially restricted their migrations westward toward Nerelin and northward toward Dualin and Thern. These peoples were the first to develop agriculture, a fact acknowledged by many Dryads in their celebration of the legendary Firstseed held every spring. Dryads that ventured eastward were forced to adapt to a much drier climate and became omnivorous yaras, scavengers of the plains and deserts.

The largest Aupal populations today are those in the dryad heartlands of Central Gazenne and the jungles of Kapsush. These societies are historically pacifistic and exclusionary, and their sacred woods have gone thousands of years untouched. The yaras of the East, however, are more nomadic in nature, having gained an infamous reputation of being unable to assimilate well to society. Until its recent decline, the slave trade was comprised of a large dryad majority.

### Prehistory

The Aupae were likely the first of the hominids to inhabit the Realm. Aupal remains of slightly different morphologies were discovered, suggesting the coexistence of various non-modern Aupaloid races ("Aupaloid" denoting any pre-sapient Aupal species). The stories of the cherubim that can be dated to c. 30,000 STE denote the Aupaloids as non-sapient herbivorous gatherers, traveling in matriarchal bands foraging for food in wooded regions. They are described as a dominant animal species in Gazeneria.

The early migrations of the Men from the South around 25,000 STE brought competition to the Aupae of Gazeneria. Their omnivory proved to be an advantage for the Men, who quickly spread across the Realm and dominated the less wooded regions. The Aupaloids were virtually corralled to deeper woods; they could thrive on plant material the Men could not easily adapt to, like tree bark and leaves.

Sapience came to the Aupaloids in the form of the Great Fracture, c. 21,000 STE, which rent many lands and spread animic instability throughout the Realm. This triggered a quickening in mental development for Aupaloids in the deep woods, in which the anima resonated much more strongly due to the great density of life in the area.

## Aupae of Wood

The **Aupae of Wood**, commonly called **dryads** or **greenclaws**, are typically found in forests and woodlands.

## Aupae of Sand

The **Aupae of Sand**, commonly called **yaras**, **flutes**, or **sandmen**, are typically found in dry and warm regions like deserts and savannahs.