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Drusha Children

(A Drusha child wearing the wood carved mask of a Stilted Fox, practicing jumping)

One of the many unique features of young Drusha is the fact that while not born blind, they are born with partially developed eyes, only maturing after their third year. This makes their eyes sensitive to ambient magic- for the first three years of their life, they are blindfolded or given eye coverings.

During this period, the children (who are born knowing how to walk), are bound to their mothers with a length of rope (enchanted with protection spells) tied around their mother's wrist and wrapped around their waist, allowing them to be guided without totally restricting their movement.

From the ages of 3-12 (15-60 in human years), they are allowed to wander freely, and become the responsibility of all adult Drusha. They are taught how to read, write, talk, hunt, and move, mostly through observing and mimicking.

They are also taught through play- games passed down from child to child that teaches hunting, talking, and moving specifically. While they are not required to work- Drusha children with a successful hunt are not obligated to share the portions with the rest of their family- they are encouraged to keep going if they do work.

Some games, like tag (or 'Chase and Follow', as it's known) encourage movement as it teaches Drusha children quadrobics, as well as teaching them how to use their more animalistic features- such as wings for flying. Others, like the hand clapping and rhythm game 'Crow's Beak' encourage a wider vocabulary and faster reflexes.

One of the guiding principles of all Drusha is the phrase "Children, our valuable lights". Drusha believe that all children are the light, the day, and therefore, the future. As a result, Drusha children are never physically punished, and almost never verbally reprimanded.

Drusha children wear simple clothing that encourages movement and freedom- a long shirt and pants made of flax, which are modified as necessary. Some may also wear animal masks carved of wood, and often make bracelets and necklaces of woven grass/sticks as accessories.

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The Goblins/Egroyksat

Although they were first native to the Crowned Mountains, the Egroyksat (Goblins) have spread to the Wild Thorn Peaks and Golden Valley, keeping close with their dwarven allies. They are well-known for their skills in metal and gem magic, and often augment their bodies and faces for protection and aesthetic reasons. This makes their name (Egroyksat) quite fitting- it quite literally means "Metal Face" in their native tongue.

The Egroyksat appear as short humanoids, 4-5 feet tall in adulthood. They are far relatives of the dwarves (much in the same way humans are distantly related to chimps, sharing a common ancestor), and both have some of the same physical features- large, bat-like pointed ears, enhanced night vision, and clawed hands (although for the Egroyksat, the claws are retractable, and are used for fighting. With dwarves, the claws are used for mining). Egroyksat also have blunter teeth, softer skin, and more flexible joints, and their eyes are much more rounder. They also maintain longer hair compared to dwarves.

The reason for these evolutionary differences is that while Egroyksat and dwarves both reside in pretty much the same territory- volcanoes- Egroyksat live higher then the dwarves do, with some of their territory being partially outside of the mountain (see picture above).

Dwarves and Egroyksat have an ancient, trade-based agreement due to this. Using magic takes up energy, and so instead of crafting items like swords and armour themselves, the Egroyksat manipulate the raw metal and gems to give to the dwarves to forge. In exchange, Egroyksat craft more delicate items with their magic. (Egroyksat also live closer to more of the metal deposits).

At the age of 10 (20 1/3 in human years), young Egroyksat must go through a series of ritualistic scarring around the ears, neck, forearm, and feet, to prove that they can handle the pain of being augmented.

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The Druids/Drusha

Native to the Forest of Aedin, the largest forest on the planet, the Drusha (druids) are a mostly peaceful species, keeping to the forest they call home. Known for their particular affinity in Protection and Plant-based magic, they are rumored to be the reincarnations of the plants and animals in their homes. Very little is known about them- they guard their secrets almost as well as they guard their home, and they guard their forest very well.

The Drusha appear as humanoids, around 6-7ft tall in adult hood, with green skin and black or brown hair of varying shades. As young children (roughly around 0-3 years of age, or 0-15 years old in human years), their eyes are covered as a protective measure. One they reach 8 years of age, their sight will have matured enough to withstand the amount of magic that permeates the Forest.

What defines the Drusha most, however, are the animalistic features each of them retain, which do not appear to be genetically passed down. How these features present themselves differ from Drusha to Drusha- some have been observed to only have horns, while others have been observed to have feathers intertwined with hair along with the wings on their backs. It is of note that each of the features can be linked back to the Forest- the wings of a Cawing raven, horns and fur of a Spotted deer, etc, and that Drusha have never been seen with features of animals that are not native to the Forest- like crabs, or some species of birds.

Drusha are often seen exhibiting animalistic behaviors as well, such as walking on all fours, which has only fed into the reincarnation rumor.

Because of this, the Drusha are usually only seen as the feral, wild protectors of the Forest of Aedin, despite having a fully functional society and language isolate.

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Draci: Where Eagles spread Wings

An experiment in making an alternate, medium-high fantasy Earth without humans.

Current timeline is roughly equivalent to early 1900's (there are some parallels in the major world wars), Earth is in one major continent with islands dotted around it.