Orieiifio

The Aalis created the Orei’fi clan, as they created all clans. This, the Orei’fi do not dispute.
However, it was clear upon the first days, that the Orei’fi would not readily hold favor with their creators. The Orei’fi asked many questions, of which the Aalis would not answer or misdirected and told them to seek elsewhere. They began to show more favor to those of the ground and those of the still minds, drifting away from the Orei’fi and their questions.
But the Orei’fi were not deterred by this. They began to drift away from the clans, and sought out answers in the mountains, climbing and searching across the icy seas. Eventually they reached the mountaintops and ventured beyond the Aalis cold influence, finding the very top of the mountains to be warm and bare. The salt of the ice melted here into harder substances, the breath of the earth funneled through the mountains into the tops, where they exploded with heat and clouds and motion.
The Orei’fi were so enamored with this feature they began to dig, to study, to research. They had fast minds and faster hands, tunneling down and creating a network within the mountain.
But the Aalis did not like this. They warned the Orei’fi that tunneling too far into the mountain was dangerous, that it was not to be done and they should come down. They should live among the others and be content with what was given.
They said no.
It was then that the Aalis withdrew from them completely, shunned by those who made them. The Aalis refused to strike them, but they lifted up the territories of the Orei’fi, and built natural barriers around their borders so that no other clans could partake of their curiosity.
The Orei’fi did not care. They retreated back into the mountain, climbed to the surface and returned to their investigations. Thier research led to incredible losses, Orei’fi falling to their deaths or getting steam-sick from coming too close to the breath of the earth. Strange diseases began to fall upon them, yet they refused to cry for help.
It is said then, when their numbers had dwindled so rapidly there were only ten left, that The Char came to them. Cleared away the smoke from the mountain and heated the tops enough to ward off the cold-sick from the remaining few. The Char brought with them knowledge and fire, gifting these two elements to the Orei’fi and teaching them better ways to learn. They learned of Shadows, how to manipulate and travel among the dark(1). They learned of light and energy, things that bind life together(2). They learned the ways of Silent Walking, of trickery and glee(3). The Char brought them knowledge of Salvaging, of working with what you had to create new(4), and of Observation, how to manipulate what you had in order to discover how it worked(5).
In pairs of two, the last ten spread out and took root, bringing knowledge to the mountain and using their trickery to find ways past the barriers, returning to the world of the Others.
The Ten created five separate clans, teaching each new generation their skills and encouraging greater use, creating tests and battles to hone and create new applications. Eventually the Orei’fi clan was rebuilt, but because of The Ten’s separation, many of the clan did not know each other, and eventually clashed.
They began to use their trickery and talents on each other, stealing methods and practice and even other Orei’fi. A war broke out among them, and many fell. The Orei’fi clan was nearly destroyed a second time.
Until one stepped up, one of the descendants from the original Ten. It is said that he went far, far further up the mountain than any had since the days of The Ten, climbing to the tip of the tallest mountain. It is said that he called out for The Char. He waited many sky-changes, staying on the mountain’s edge, calling for The Char every time the Sky changed.
It is said he waited there a full Cycle, surviving on nothing but mist and shadows. On the first day of the new Cycle, a single Char descended from the mist. It asked what he wanted, and he asked for a way to keep the Orei’fi from killing themselves. Some way to keep order without division. A way for there to be rules with no ruler. He asked The Char for help, to help him save his clan.
It is said he did not return to the clan for another Two Cycles.
When he returned, he did exactly as he learned from The Char; he took his immediate family and fought his way to the height of the mountain, kicking out but not killing the clan that resided there. He fought off all invaders, and began to fight all the other clans to a stand-still, forcing a halt to the fighting. He enforced his rules of stillness for three Cycles, and once those were completed he left the mountain.
It is said that not even his family was aware of where The One went, only that at the start of the Fourth Cycle he was nowhere to be found. His immediate mate was left with instructions on what to do, and together, the family left the mountain and took to one of the smaller mountains. The rest of the clan, unsure of what to do, followed the family and learned what they knew.
They realized that The One had brought peace to them, and had halted the surging extermination looming over them yet again. They looked back at their history and swore together that it would not happen again. They agreed upon the way to honor The One while acting upon that oath. And since then, there had been no singular ruler over the Orei’fi.
The mountain where this happened was named “The One”, while the whole of Orei’fi territory was named Alio, their word for “Elsewhere”.

Languages spoken

• Fialio - Language of the Orei'fi/Orieiifio