Travelers

A race of hairy bipedal humanoids found across the realms of Caenar and even Earth where they are collectively known as the cryptid Sasquatch, the Travelers are an enigmatic people that few outsiders have any knowledge of.

DESCRIPTION

The most common Traveler will be a hairy humanoid roughly five to eight feet tall, heavily muscled with long arms, no neck and broad shoulders. The hair that covers much of their bodies varies from red, blonde, white, black and brown. Older specimens tend, like humans, to have grey hair. Like humans the difference between male and females tends to be quite apparent and juvenile Travelers are like human children, with larger heads compared to the adults.

On Earth, where Travelers are dismissed as being misidentified animals or outright fantasy by established academia, some cryptozoologists have begun to classify Sasquatch's into several distinct breeds or categories such as the Gugwe and the Genoskwa. These represent sub-species of the Traveler who share a common ancestry with one another.

Physically, a Traveler is incredible strong and resilient. An adult Traveler can easily tear a human being in half whilst the larger varities can challenge the most formidable Dragon breeds. They are remarkably agile and fast and can move on all fours if needed. Whilst some vartities are more dangerous than others, even the common Traveler is a force to be reckoned with if roused to anger. Fortunately, it takes much to incur the wrath of most Travelers and they are more likely to simply retreat into the Great Forest and avoid confrontation.

SOCIETY

Most Travelers reside in forest regions far from civilisation. This is true for those who reside on Caenar and those who call Earth home. They are nomadic people, rarely staying in one place for long. Their ability to seemingly appear from where nowhere and disappear just as easily is due to their connection to the Great Forest; a pocket dimension that exists outside regular reality yet is connected to forests across the realms of Caenar and Earth. Few outsiders have ever set foot in the Great Forest and for the uninvited, it is a hostile place; a primeval forest replete with innumerable dangers, the greatest of which being the more feral and savage kinds of Traveler.

Nothing is known of their societal structure save that like the primates of Earth a dominant male tends to be, superficially at least, in charge of the group. if they have a form of large culture it has been observed. It is likely that within the Great Forest they could be some large settlement of Travelers. They seem content to move from forest to forest, traversing the realms and keeping to themselves. They are omnivorous and can hunt live prey with remarkable skill. For the most part though, they eat root vegetables, nuts and fruits where possible.

They tend to form small groups or tribes, rarely more than a dozen individuals consisting of males and females and juveniles. Each group will be led by either a dominant male or female. There is seemingly no reason for this patriachial or matriarchal structure other than experience yet invariably, the oldest and wisest will always the one leading the group.

BEHAVIOUR

A mostly peaceful people, the Travelers encountered on Earth tend to avoid human contact. Accounts of them being aggressive and outright hostile are rare but suggest perhaps an individual or group of Travelers acting out of the normal, potentially being outcasts from their general society.

The more violent strains, known on Earth as Gugwe (who tend to have Baboon-like heads and faces as well as enlarged claws) are believed to be a sub-group that are more carnivorous than their kin. This breed is larger and more savage than their kin. The same can be said of the largest variety, the so called Genoskwa or Stone Giants. Rarely seen on Earth these giants, who can reach fifteen feet or more in height, are apex predators less commonly found on Earth. Across the realms of Caenar they are more common, often controlling large swathes of territory in regions far from civilisation. They frequently clash with other large predators such as Dragons.

Whilst the various breeds of Traveler can be dismissed as being primitive savages or mindless animals nothing could be further from the truth. Even the savage Gugwe and Genoskwa varieties are highly intelligent, equivalent to that of humans. They can utilise tools and those found on Caenar, especially the rare few who choose to live in urban areas, are adept at adapting to their environments. The ability to evade detection when they do desire speaks to this intelligence.

They are a deeply spiritual people in tune with the natural world yet do not worship a World Spirit of deity. To them, the world around them is sacred and to rip the land asunder and pillage its resources a great crime. Most of them prefer the quiet and pristine deep forests far from the noise of civilisation. Of course, a rare few choose to live in cities and whilst such individuals may be mistaken for outcasts amongst their kind, they are free to return to their people whenever they so desire.

THE GREAT FOREST

The mysterious realm the Travelers claim home and their means of travel, the Great Forest is a vast primeval forest filled with trees of every description and wildlife of incredible bio-diversity. It has a day and night cycle and has countless groves and glades, as well as valleys and mountainous regions. There are areas where the canopy is so dense that it exists in perpetual twilight.

Whilst the Travelers call the Great Forest home, they are not so complacent as to call themselves its master. In the deep places of the forest where the Travelers fear to tread there are creatures of incredible power and wrath, ancient and terrible beings the fortunate never see nor hear. Some Travelers pay homage to these creatures. Most avoid them entirely.

Outsiders who find themselves in the Great Forest, by design or accident, will quickly fall afoul of its many dangers. The Travelers learn to avoid or live with these dangers from an early age. Those that do not, tend not to survive into adolescence. Only outsiders given blessing or accompanied by a Traveler can hope to pass through it unscathed. Certain tribes of Travelers believe it sacrilege for an outsider to set foot upon the soil of the Great Forest and are quick to hunt down any transgressor.

INTERACTIONS WITH OUTSIDERS

Whilst a reclusive people its not unheard of, on Caenar and Earth, for a Traveler to offer aid to those in need of it. On Earth they will sometimes come to the aid of the lost in forest regions, especially children. They will protect the child from the elements and will, if possible, take the child to safety and reunite it with its family. This benevolence extends to adults on occasion and a lost hiker, bereft of gear and exposed to the elements, may pass out only to reawaken safe and warm with no memory of how they got there.

The aggressive strains like Gugwe and Genoskwa are much more dangerous, seeing humans and other races as either prey or rivals.

On occasion the Travelers will appear to certain individuals and offer to share with them their great knowledge. Whilst the reasons for this are unknown, such individuals are changed by the experience and gain great insights into the world, and worlds, around them.

For the most part, Travelers will keep themselves to themselves and avoid contact with outsiders. They remain aloof from the struggles beyond their forest habitats, siding with no one in wars and conflicts. This is a good thing for where the entirety of their people be roused to anger, it is doubtful any force could withstand such primal wrath.