History
Very little information about the history of the Cho is known to scholars or to the Cho themselves. The difficulty of chronicling the history of the Cho is compounded by two factors: the Cho are not a singular people with a shared identity, and they are different from most other races on a fundamental level due to their strange biological characteristics. Rather than propagating by sexual or asexual reproduction as most other races do (or even through magical or constructive means), the Cho increase their numbers through infection with the Cho virus. Based on current scientific understanding, the Cho virus is found in all bodily fluids of a Cho individual, it is present at extremely high concentrations, and it is extremely contagious. Exposure to even the slightest amount of fluid, such as the moisture from a slight cough, poses an extremely high infection risk. Due to this hazard, the Cho have spent most of their known history either actively fleeing from, hiding from, or being exterminated by other races.
On Winterwheat Isle, Havenic archaeologists have discovered the earliest known records of the Cho, with stone carvings illustrating a monstrous, butterfly-like being terrorizing human figures. Though this is not known to the scholars, these carvings depict the entity known as Cho Prime, the progenitor of all Cho and the reason for the original Winterwheat Islanders' fleeing from Inismona.
Aside from these artifacts, it has also been reported that some groups of explorers, such as The Guild and the Iron Helix Syndicate, made contact with a population of Cho around the year 41 HE upon the accidental discovery of an island named Shiroishima. Upon recognizing the biological threat posed by the Cho these explorers fled the island, hoping to avoid being turned into Cho themselves. They marked the location of Shiroishima on their maps and shared this data with Haven officials, but vessels attempting to return to the island could not locate it; researchers have concluded that, somehow, Shiroishima is a mobile island and capable of changing locations. They have concluded that this is likely a deliberate action taken by the Cho, as they are aware that they must hide from other races to survive.
At some point in the aftermath of the Shiroishima discovery, Cho appeared in Haven, although it is not known how this occurred. They were quickly detected as a threat, and all Cho and those they had recently infected were rounded up and exterminated by the Haven Guard (In modern times, this information is mostly forgotten in the shadow of the Leviathan Impact, but the information is also actively suppressed so that it is not uncovered as a civilian genocide). The Cho that survived fled into the labyrinthine tunnels of Haven's sewers, retreating to the deepest and darkest reaches alongside monsters and demons. Unfortunately for these survivors, the Haven Guard initiated a purge of the sewers in 43 HE, enlisting the help of several dozen adventurers' guilds and mercenary teams. The Iron Helix Syndicate, following a massacre of many hundreds of individuals hiding in the sewers, eventually discovered the Cho and their hiding place.
Fortunately for the Cho, before their hideout was discovered, they were able to earn the trust of one of Haven's draconic residents, a kind and protective gold dragon by the name of Shangxin. Shangxin felt sorrow for the plight of the Cho, who had been hunted on the basis of their very existence. Shangxin's clan had also been mercilessly hunted in the past, and he felt a sort of kinship with the Cho, and took to being their guardian in their sewer refuge, keeping them safe from the abhorrent creatures on the lowest levels. When the Iron Helix arrived to eliminate the Cho, they encountered Shangxin, their protector who negotiated on their behalf. In a rare show of diplomacy, the Iron Helix Syndicate agreed to terms with Shangxin: he and the Cho would flee Haven and Haven's lands forever and would be required to serve the Iron Helix if called upon, but they were allowed to live and the Haven Guard would be falsely informed of their extermination. Accepting these terms, Shangxin used a large portion of his magical power to teleport the surviving Haven Cho toan extremely remote island, far off contemporary Haven maps. The Cho named this new land Choshima, and set about the business of building a new way of life for themselves.
Today, at least a few individual Cho are known to have been spotted in Haven again as it continues to expand and rebuild in the wake of the Leviathan Impact. However, unlike their forebears, they are extremely cautious about hiding their identities and preventing infection from their virus. It is as of yet unclear why these individuals would take the risk of migrating to a city where they are actively hunted.
Personality
All Cho possess a generally calm and positive demeanor. They are very psionically powerful, and have latent psionic link with all other Cho, and so exist in harmony with one another. With members of other races, the Cho are so accustomed to violence and persecution that they will usually meet any other interaction with intense but polite excitement. It has been observed, however, that Cho personalities do begin to destabilize in isolation from other Cho; distance from their psionic network seems to have a very slow but noticeable effect on Cho mental health, and the few Cho who travel away from Choshima must be careful to take care of their mental and emotional wellbeing.
Physical Description
As the Cho are ultimately the product of a virus that can infect most humanoid races, their basic physical appearance depends largely on an infected individual's appearance. However, all Cho do share elements of a common phenotype after their infection and transformation process is completed: pale complexion, arthropod-like elements on their limbs, butterfly-like wings and antennae, and other features. Not all Cho possess all of these features, but all possess at least some of them.
Relations
Because the Cho are seen as an extreme threat by all who are aware of them, they have no relations with any entities outside of their own people, with the single exception of the ancient gold dragon Shangxin.
Alignment
The Cho are a people that seek peace and harmony. They tend towards a True Neutral alignment, though Neutral Good, Lawful Good, and Lawful Neutral are also commonly seen. No Cho who dwell on Choshima are Chaotic or Evil, although some Cho may drift towards these alignments the longer they are separated from other Cho.
Lands
The current population center of the Cho is the extremely remote island of Choshima, though this fact is only known to an extreme few individuals, and the island's location is essentially only known to the Cho themselves. It is a small, idyllic island located off the edges of all current maps available in Haven.
Shiroishima, the "homeland" of the Cho, is commonly known to exist, but because this island is capable of changing location, none can say for sure where the island is located. Reports from the few explorers that have been there describe it as a mesmerizing place covered in snow white and ash gray flora, with its rivers and ponds possessing a shimmering, rainbow-like quality. The Cho villages there comprise of simple wooden pagoda-style buildings spread relatively far from one another throughout the landscape. It is said that this land is ruled over by a group of four powerful beings known as the Kisetsuhime, but nothing is known about these individuals.
Religion
The Cho are not known to follow any organized religion or worship any deities. No Cho have ever been observed to manifest divine powers. Oddly (and terrifyingly to some) it has been observed that among the few Havenic clerics and paladins who had been infected by the Cho virus during an outbreak around 41 HE, they lost their ability to cast divine spells or even to commune with their deity. It is not clear how this is possible, but the Cho virus seems to have consequences beyond the biological.
Adventurers
Cho adventurers are nearly nonexistent, but among the tiny few spotted outside of Choshima, it has been reported that all have been psions.
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