Aordés

Aordés were a type of magical creature which predominantly lived in the Western Desert in the city of Oreland. Because of legends of their cannibalism and association with the god of death, humans often referred to them as "devils." At their height, there were only about two thousand Aordés. The most famous Aordés was Essimore Darkenchyl.

### Biology

The Aordés were a sexually dimorphic people, with women who were typically shorter than an average human and men who were typically taller than humans. Most Aordés were athletic, fast-healing, and highly competent magic users. They were also able to retain complex information on first reading.

They were all born with horns that grew as they aged. These were somewhat like ibex horns in appearance, but usually purplish in color, and they had red pupils which glowed when they were angry. Each had a small magical bead in their heart which allowed them to perform magic at a much higher level than human, duende, or elf counterparts. When Aordés died, their relatives typically consumed the body, especially the heart. One member of the family would eat the heart bead of the deceased and receive a burst of power.

For an Aordés couple to successfully reproduce, at least one member of the couple needed to have consumed a heart bead.

### Culture

Proud guardians of the secrets of the god of death, the Aordés lived in a city carved in a spiral pattern into the Earth. At the center was a great library which held thousands of sacred and non-sacred books and records. Despite functioning in a sort of direct democracy, Aordés were highly stratified based on their access to information in the library. They inherited this access from their parents.

After the Agency-Oreland War ended in 20 AYO, the Aordés began a practice called "exile," in which a young person was stripped of his or her titles at age eighteen and required to spend four years traveling to learn about the world.

### History

The Æordes were created by Death some time around 5,000 BYO. They were created by smelting down the metal heart bead of the Smoking Star, a monster created by the Old God to kill Death. From their early days, Aordés performed supernatural feats, including subsisting off of the magic in rocks. About 1800 years BYO, an Aordés killed a lich and was involved in the founding of the city of Chalwu.

When the Blessed Agency of Shipping Coordinators formed, they were able to defeat almost every city they attacked, except for Oreland. After a 20-year war with Oreland, the Agency created a peace treaty in 20 AYO that required eighteen-year-old Aordés to spend four years living in Agency territory, though participating in Agency business was optional.

During the Tilthes War in 163 AYO, eight Aordés on exile stormed the castle of Sila II Tilthes and killed him after an entire Agency army failed to stop him,.

In 188 AYO, Dumin Lichslayer became chancellor of the Aordés, though she was removed after she was accused of stealing secrets and replaced by Irkay Soulgather.

In 196 AYO, Essimore Darkenchyl broke the "exile" tradition by leaving home at sixteen with no intention of returning, becoming the first Aordés to study at the Academy of the Blessed Agency.