Mistral

There are many potential external threats to the Azura people, from the Sun Soldiers of the Traazorite Empire in their ever-widening expansionism to the people of Izchak. A fair few Mershael and Symidian merchants have sailed into their waters as well. Though uncommon, there have been contacts with peoples to their south and east as well.   The borders of the Fractured Isles are long, isolated, and rugged. Keeping a constant watch on them takes many Azura to accomplish. Though this task is undertaken by many, it is the Mistrals that shoulder most of the lonely vigil.
Though many Azura will follow the Desee into which they are born, some yearn for something more. Mistrals are almost all recruited from within the Loowa Raha, especially from smaller more remote villages.
The Mistrals are named for the fabled heroes of early Azura history that cleared the wilds of its most dangerous predators. Early Azuran culture was threatened by the dangerous zarn that roamed the Fractured Isles.
The Mistrals were a band of early Kybela Izabichil that took it upon themselves to rid the islands of these beasts, a task that took many years and cost countless lives.
Modern Mistrals, mostly farmers and herders, are already used to the outdoors and its dangers. They are actively recruited by the Kybela Izabichil who train them and turn them loose on the borders of the Fractured Isles to keep vigil.
After training, a Mistral is assigned to a Chana Yaya - Coastal Aerie. These fortress aeries situated on the rocky coastlines provide a base of operations for the Azura of the Kybela Izabichil to patrol and strike from when the need arises.
The day to day work of a Mistral can be tedious. Traipsing through the jungles and mountainous terrain along the coasts would where on even the hardiest souls. Still, there is freedom and adventure in that lonely terrain, more so than would have been experienced farming in one of the isolated villages of the Azura. Most of the Mistral are happy to be on the move and doing something that contributes to the safety of their people.
In reality, there are very few incursions that require an Akeen to be formed; two or three a year at the most before the one that brought the Azura’s idyllic world to an end. The real action is in patrol from one Chana Yaya to the next, and that is where the Mistral excel.
Mistrals that show incredible resilience in the wilds are recruited to train with the Skyriders to travel to faraway lands as part of an Akeen - a Hunting Pack. These hand-picked group of Azura are the tip of the spear to help protect a land that is no longer hidden from the world, no longer safe in their isolationism.