Athenians

An Eabonian man has a moment to himself after a long day of demanding physical work.

### Ethnic Groups

Darachian, Bambu, Beithen, Eabonian, Rosan, Gallnachian, Mahagainen

## Athenian Race

Athenians are a race which inhabits the Republic of Athenia. They are characterized by their tree-like features, including bark-like skin and foilage-like hair.

The Athenian race is made up of 7 different ethnic groups, which predominantly reside in & inhabit their respective administrative woodlands.

Athenians have an average lifespan of 35 years, as they decay over time with the changing seasons. The longest recorded life of an Athenian lasted 68 years.

## Biology

### External & Internal Biology

Athenians are made up of a hard layer of bark-like skin on the outside, and a set of soft internal organs on the inside. The internal composition of an Athenian's biology is similar but different to that of a human. For example, Athenians have a full respiratory & nervous system, made up of winding tubes of roots to form capillaries, veins & arteries, allowing the Athenians to breathe & feel. The main difference, however, is the lack of a circulatory system. With no need to pump blood around their bodies, the Athenians lack a heart.

Athenians are neurologically very similar to humans. Their brains are made up of plant matter and cells with nuclei. However, the main difference is that instead of sending electrical signals to the brain, the Athenian nervous system uses internal pulsating & pounding to send signals to the brain, which the Athenian then responds to at a much slower speed. This makes their movements and feelings slightly delayed, and their speech slow and sluggish. For example, when an Athenian is shot, they may only feel it 10 seconds later and collapse to the ground.

### Reproduction

Reproduction in Athenians works similarly to trees, however with differences due to evolving with similar adaptations to their human counterparts. Sexual reproduction in the Athenian race occurs normally between a man & a woman. The man has to fertilize the woman through the means of sexual reproduction in order for her to produce her seeds. Then, they are planted in marked "hospitals", which are essentially grounds of highly fertile soil for the children to grow.

### Adolescence

Athenians spend the first 1 - 2 years of their lives underground as they slowly develop. During this phase, they are kept warm and watered by nurses, as they cannot perform photosynthesis on their own at such a young age. Eventually, when a child is ready, they will naturally burrow out of the ground, and from that point on, they develop as any human child would.

This makes Athenian families really big, with a single Athenian having upwards of 15 siblings in their rather short lifespan.

Having a miscarriage in the Athenian race essentially happens when a woman's seeds are deformed or disease. In the event of this happening, a seed will die in the ground before even having the chance to grow, which can be very tragic for an Athenian family.

## Language & Culture

### Language

Athenians converse in the Athenian language. It is made up of several regional dialects, with the most common being Central Athenian, spoken by ~6,000,000 people

* Hello! - Dia dhuit!
* Goodbye - Slán
* Thank you! - Go raibh maith agat!

#### Northern Athenian

One of the hardest Athenian dialects to unders5and is Northern Athenian, which is spoken in Eabon and parts of Beithe. It has similar inflections with different pronounciations. Some consider it a seperate language entirely.

* Hello! - Halò!
* Goodbye - Mar sin leat
* Thank you - Tapadh leat!