Arkian Species/Race Profile [Wolrdbuilding]

[Prydania]

Species Profile

Arkians

The Arkians are a race closely related to humans, known for living in tribal-like society.


Society and Government

The Arkians are, despite their similarities to humans, not nearly as civilized. Their clothing consists mostly of animal skins and basic threads, and their society is mostly organized on the tribal level. Tribes can be as large as two-hundred individuals, and as small as fifty. Though tribes do fight for territory and resources (or sometimes just to settle outstanding grudges) social movement between tribes is common and rarely frowned upon, unless personal animosity is a factor. Most Arkians will migrate to different tribes as a result of marriage.


The Arkians, like humans, display sexual dimorphism. Though unlike humans there seems to be far less emphasis placed on gender roles. While basic family structures do exist, both the mother and father will play equal roles in raising the young. Further, tribes will raise young communally. Most males are at least somewhat proficient in care-giving and most females are at least somewhat proficient in hunting and fighting.


Tribes tend to vary in their makeup. Some are meritocracies where the most capable leader will rise to the top until replaced by a more capable leader, while other tribes have hereditary leadership. What system of leadership different tribes contain seems to make no difference regarding various tribal alliances and rivalries.


Though the Arkians operate on the tribal level, they do have over-arching leadership. A "Warchief" of the Arkians exists, though it is not hereditary. Usually it is the most capable tribal chief, who maintains the position until they either die or another chief successfully supplants them. If a Warchief dies, then the chiefs of the tribes meet to determine a new Warchief.

Despite the primitive nature of succession involving power struggles, the Warchief of the Arkians is a remarkably stable positon. This is due to the Warchief having very little day to day power. The tribes exist in a confederation in the truest sense. The Warchief only exercises power over the other tribes in the event of a common threat or calamity. As a result there is little desire for even a power-hungry chief to try and supplant the Warchief, as their local tribal position would offer more practical power.


The present Warchief is Piobar, of the East.


Architecture

The Arkians are primitive by the standards of other races, but they do have architecture. It emphasizes function over form, and is dependent on the environment a tribe inhabits. Forest tribes often make homes out of branches and bark wedged between trees for support. Other forest tribes will build structures among trees. The grasslands tribes tend to make earthen homes and mounds. Tribes in the mountains will either make homes from stone, or settle for cave systems.


Theology

Arkian religious beliefs mix duotheism and ancestor worship. The two primary deities are co-equals. They are Grian, the Sun God, and Gealach, the Moon Goddess. While Grian represents the masculine and Gealach represents the feminine, both represent different aspects of good and evil, fertility, and fate.

Additionally great cultural heroes can rise to the status of lesser gods or goddesses after death, and most families revere at least one legendary founder of their lineage as a minor god or goddess.


Cultural Festivals

The Arkians lack any real agriculture and so their cultural celebrations tend to follow the movement of the sun and moon across the sky as they relate to seasons and hunting patterns. Massive festivals are held at Speur Valley at the height of summer and winter, where multiple tribes attend.


Temperament

Arkians are rugged people, and have a degree of harshness to them. Most revere bravery and skill in battle, and are easily drawn to conflict. This is a result of their lifestyle forcing a rugged perspective in order to survive.

Still, they are kind with their children and loved ones, and are fiercely loyal to family, friends, their tribe, and ultimately the Warchief. Outsiders involve themselves in tribal disputes at their own risk, as Arkian tribes- even ones with long-running rivalries- will quickly ally to push out outsiders.


Physiology

Arkians are about on par with humans when it comes to lifespan and average height and weight. Like humans Arkian skin colour comes in a variety of hues, from light to dark skin colour and everything in between. Though prejudices based on skin colour seem utterly absent from Arkian society.

Arkians differ from humans in a few areas. The first is the teeth, with Arkians having slightly more pronounced canines than humans. This is due to the fact that Arkians are mostly carnivorous, only eating fruits, vegetables, or other plant life if it's a matter of survival.

Secondly, Arkian eyes only tend to have two shades. Whereas human eyes will range from brown, to gold, to grey, to blue, to green Arkian eyes are either black or violet. Black eyes are by far the most common shade, though violet eyes are common enough in females. Violet-eyed males are very rare.

Thirdly, Arkian hair is very thick, wild, and black, dark brown, or dark ruddy in colour. Select few have stark white hair and this is seen as a sign of great potential as a healer.

Finally, the most notable difference between Arkians and humans is the fact that Arkians retain moneky-like tails, covered in brown fur. They are prehensile, able to grab onto objects and branches. This, along with their primitive culture, has led other races, particularly humans, to view them as less advanced and more animalistic.


Human/Arkian hybrids do exist, and the traits that tend to make Arkians stand out from humans seem to be recessive to one degree or another. Human/Arkian hybrids will often have human eye and hair colour, and most (though not all) completely lack tails.


Tools and Magic

Arkians engage in tools needed to survive. They've mastered making thread and binding agents from the world around them to aid in construction. They know of- and have mastered- fire. Nets are routinely deployed in hunting and fishing. Knives are used to carve their runes into stone and wood.

Where Arkian tech is lacking involves "offensive" technology. Axes, swords, spears, maces, bows and arrows, are lacking. It's not that Arkians are incapable of using or developing these things. More so Arkians are capable of learning something called "Physical Magic."

Arkian magic tends to draw on the user's physical strength. A strong male warrior, for example, is able to conjure magical energy capable of breaking wood, stone, and knocking enemies back. Even killing them. Females who might not be as physically strong, are able to move very quickly with magical assistance. This ability to channel physical strength into manipulable energy means Arkians have no use for weaponry.


That does not mean that they are invincible. Far from it. Arkians are ultimately flesh and blood. They can be made to bleed, have their bones broken, etc...While a group of Arkian warriors might be intimidating, any well-trained opposing force should be able to leverage their superior organization, tactical skills, and weapon mastery to hold their own or overcome them.

 

[Prydania]

Arkian History
My name is Seilg, mate of Chief Unean of the Westlands, mother of Cail and Arbia, and sister to Spogan, Chief of the Burnt Spirits.

I was born two years after my brother, so he became the one destined to rule our clan, but I was born a whitemane. Our people have black, dark brown, or dark ruddy hair naturally, but very few of us are born with white hair from birth.
What this means is up to who you ask, but be it the will of the ancestors or just fate's peculiarities, most of us end up as healers.

As was the case for me. My brother entered the warriors' trials and passed them but I had no desire to follow that path. Instead I learnt how to wield fire, water, air, and even lightning to heal rather than fight. I was taught by the elder healers among us, and they proved to be good teachers, having patience with me as I initially struggled with the concentration necessary to properly harness nature magic for healing.

That differentiates us from warriors. Once merely needs to summon a fireball to use it in battle but to use it to heal requires focus.
As an aside, both of my children- twins- are warriors, but Arbia, my daughter, seems to have inherited my natural aptitude for deep focus I had to work to unlock. If she can master it like I can she'll be able to pair a healer's focus with a warrior's spirit and I chuckle to think at what THAT will lead to.

But I digress. Before Cail and Arbia were born I first had to meet their father. Unean was son to the Chief of the Westlands, the clan that is tasked with ensuring the humans to our north don't encroach further to our lands.

He was, like my brother, a warrior and he and my brother would eagerly challenge each other to fights or who could level the most trees with a single magical strike.
I admit I fell for him! He and my brother seemed like good natured brothers themselves and we have a saying that good friends can make good family.

I was arranged to become Unean's mate to help strengthen our clans' ties but I never felt put upon. I liked him, and he liked me. Indeed he felt honoured that he could be mine. My white hair made me the object of much male affection growing up, not all of it wanted.

And so we were wed before our ancestors and I travelled with him to the Westlands. He wasn't Chief yet though, but his father welcomed me into their home and I quickly began to know my fellow healers in my new clan.
That was a learning experience too, as the Westlands, to my clan's north, has different herbs and roots, which required me to learn so much all over again!
But it was interesting. I never shied away from learning new things. They intrigued me.

Shortly after Cail and Arbia were conceived though, I discovered more new things. Things that to this day I don't know how I could explain to my own mate or brother or children, let alone my people as a whole.

Salroth is ever-present. The humans think we worship him but we don't. We worship our ancestors, and ignore our gods for they're uncaring and weak.
Salroth thought, he came to us. Protected us, and gave us a spot at his side when the humans were going to enslave us. We fought for him against the Empire of Man and against the Snow Elves of the west. And in return he lets us live as we want, free.

So I thought.

Our own history is very simple. As it is, it always was. We're people of nature. We live close to it because we're one with it. This is what I was was told.
But then I discovered the truth.

Thousands of years ago my people built cities. Temples. Monuments to gods. Cultivated fields and mined the metals from the ground itself. The very things we sneer at humans for doing now, we did. And we thrived.

But Salroth's hand strangled us. So subtly we didn't realize it. Our aqueducts and roads fell of disrepair, fields became overgrown... armies collapsed and cities turned to anarchy... how or why I don't know. Only that it was Salroth. Salroth manipulated our civilization until it destroyed itself, leaving us reduced to clans eeking out survival in the forests.

It's so strange. I never thought how my people lived was bad or wrong. We live content lives. Everyone finds a place, to serve their clan. Some might call us barbarians but we're happy.

But to consider that... we had been more... it twists my stomach. To see that we're now little more than fierce pets reduced to serving the being who took everything from us.

Yet when this knowledge came to me I knew I could never spread it. At least not as I'd prefer. Salroth has spies in the trees themselves. And to many Arkians he's our ultimate lord and saviour. My word, even if I could speak it without the Dark Lord knowing of it, would fall on deaf ears.
My mate certainly wouldn't hear of it, and he is an otherwise reasonable leader and mate. I've tried to pass such knowledge down as much as I can. I believe my children may one day understand what I've tried to teach them.

Still I have hope. The same one that passed this knowledge to me taught me how to counteract the magics of Salroth's demons. And to know that we have been much more before, and that our history goes back further than anyone of us know, tells me that should we prove worthy of surviving whatever Salroth's machinations are we will endure.

Now my mate, my son, and my brother march off to war for the Dark Lord and my daughter travels into the realms of man to do his bidding. I've done what I can, for both of them. I can just hope that they see the light in time.