Ghoran

Ghorans are ancient beings which are slowly dying off as a species, they evolved a long time ago within the first age as a species which could hibernate for thousands of years till it's seed met the natural requirements to rebloom back into the being it once was, this process however is not perfect and is met with hefty memory loss leaving only core memories if that.

Some Ghoran during this age remember living on Ysracao'sirabel vaguely and consider the problems that the world faces today as connected leading most people to believe the answer to be found on the forbidden continent. The Ghoran however cannot give any real information on their feeling as it's stuck on the tip of their tongue.

## You Might...

* Offhandedly mention events from thousands of years ago.
* Find “animal” behaviors strange.
* Constantly make small changes to your body.

## Others Probably...

* Have a hard time recognizing you after not seeing you for a while.
* Are either intimidated or fascinated by how long you've lived and how much you know.
* Have heard you're delicious.

## Physical Description

Roughly humanoid in size and shape, a ghoran's body is mostly made up of a fibrous plant material resembling a woody vine, with a face like an enormous, colorful flower. Ghorans have a great deal of control over the shape and structure of their bodies: with a few hours of effort, a ghoran might make themselves taller or shorter, long-limbed or barrel-chested. They have a reputation for tasting deliciously sweet and herbaceous. Most people merely find this quality a curiosity and don't attempt to take a bite, but animals in the wild will sometimes seek them out and attack them. Though they can learn to smile or laugh to fit in with other ancestries, they tend to use a different set of emotional signifiers, fluttering their face-petals to show happiness and making a rustling sound when agitated or upset.

Every ghoran has a large cavity within their torso that contains a large seed. When a ghoran's body becomes too decrepit to function, they impart their memories into the seed and plant it into the ground. After a long period of time, a new ghoran body finishes growing from the seed, and the original ghoran collapses into a pile of inert organic matter. This curious method of propagation leaves a ghoran vulnerable, and many ghorans are defensive about the process among non-ghoran peoples.

Being plants, ghorans have no innate understanding of gender in the human sense. Ghorans who find themselves in the company of other ancestries sometimes adopt a more masculine or feminine form, though just as many don't bother.

## Society

While they don't possess the magical ability to enter an extradimensional home within a tree like dryads, ghorans live among the trees, typically making their homes within big parks of a city. They are extremely skilled at building their abodes so that they don't disrupt the lives of the local flora. Visitors to a ghoran enclave might not realize initially that they've entered a home, assuming instead that they're in a recreational public space. Ghorans don't typically mind the unexpected company so long as the visitors are respectful of the park, of their homes, and of any ghorans they meet. The ghorans who live in major cities are relatively social and accepting of other ancestries, and they tend to be eager to interact, learn about others, and engage in trade.

Outside of these cities, ghorans inhabit small, remote communities in the foothills of the Shattered Range and dwell in secluded forests, and they tend to be much more isolationist. Often, ghorans hold bits—or even troves—of ancient lore lost to the outside world for many years, so their journeys can sometimes lead to important new discoveries for others.

Among themselves, ghorans cooperate easily and instinctively, with no need for a formal government. Work is apportioned by a silent consensus derived from thousands of years of experience, as everyone does what they're best at to cover necessary tasks. This silent consensus is already practiced at determining how to adjust and adapt when one ghoran falls ill or changes in a new incarnation. The addition of new ghorans traveling from afar or of members of other ancestries can sometimes throw off this natural rhythm. The new addition is an unknown quantity, so the entire community keeps tabs on the newcomers, to a potentially unsettling extent, for a short period of analysis. This practice isn't out of any distrust or desire for harm, but rather out of curiosity and a need to understand what the newcomers do well and where they need assistance. Once the ghoran community has drawn a conclusion, they adjust their actions accordingly—everyone simply begins to perform tasks differently to allow newcomers to fit in and contribute, with no official meeting or declaration. In most cases, one of the members of the community realizes they should tell non-ghoran newcomers what the community expects of them, but sometimes no one realizes there's a need to communicate. When this happens, it can leave the ghoran community and the newcomers perplexed at the others' actions and choices, as the community expects the newcomers to simply pitch in and fill the need while the newcomers wait to be told what the community expects of them.

Ghoran communities, operating on this ancient consensus, generally don't have anything resembling leaders. Nonetheless, a community will sometimes appoint a single ghoran as an envoy to outsiders and even give them a title to make the “animals” more comfortable when receiving a message from the whole community.

## Alignment and Religion

Ghorans typically lack driving forces toward good or evil, though their plant-derived values can sometimes make them come across as amoral to people who are not likewise plant based. They have a slight tendency toward law, especially in their own communities.

Ghorans have an interesting relationship with the deities, many enjoy at least celebrating exarchs as they once walked Cyril with them before they had become deities and memories get brought back to them when they find out about this deities. However, it is not common for a Ghoran find the knowledge of such deities existing due to their isolation of other societies and most find a form of druidism well suited to their wishes or Nininnamara.

## Adventurers

Born of magic and hailing from a magical land, acolytes and fortune-tellers are both common backgrounds for adventuring ghorans. Rural- or forest-dwelling ghorans might be farmhands, herbalists, or hermits, while those who reside in great cities might be artisans, artists, or scholars.

While many ghorans learn a bit of magic, some become wizards or druids. Others are sorcerers with an elemental bloodline dating back to the moment of creation or an imperial bloodline recalling a particularly masterful past life. More martial ghorans become fighters or rangers, and some careful and methodical living plants make excellent alchemists and investigators.

## Names

Most ghorans pick a new name with each incarnation, usually selecting a name or concept that they found pleasing in a past life. Occasionally, a ghoran might reuse a name for several incarnations in a row, especially if remaining in a community of other peoples, though each incarnation is still a distinct person.

### Sample Names

Amsalu, Ash, Emnet, Sieri, Ooniel, Arshmarish, Velt, Delphinium, Hach, Emerald, Sable

## Other Information

### Ghoran Guilt

Within the Ghoran is this insidious feeling of guilt and regret when it comes to the natural world which gives them their inclination towards it, wanting to heal not harm and be one with, they view it as a partner they have once wronged but they do not know why. Ghoran who get close to Ysracao'sirabel particularly feel this feeling so much so that it is uncomfortable to be in causing many to stay away despite their curiosity of their memories but some despite the butterflies in their stomach are determined to find out why they have a connection to this place.