Tengu

Basic Information

Anatomy

Tengu take the form of avian humanoids, with heads and feathers resembling corvids, most often various crows, magpies, jackdaws, and jays, though some take the appearance of other corvids blue magpies, nutcrackers, and treepies. They have long dexterous beaks, bright and intelligent eyes, and thick coverings of expressive feathers. However, they have a much larger body and much more upright stance than the birds they resemble. In addition, while they have long avian legs, Tengu forelimbs are long clawed hands with opposable thumbs, resembling humanoid talons. Although they have tails, the tails are shorter proportionately than they would be on their corvid cousins, rarely reaching the ground.

Growth Rate & Stages

Tengu infants are born blind and almost completely incapable of movement, but they grow quite rapidly, becoming self sufficient after about a year and reaching full maturity by 8 or 9 years. However, as sapient species, Tengu are still immature when young, and therefore will act quite childish even if physically fully grown. Tengu usually reach 'middle age' around 25 or 30 years old and live for around 60 years on average.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Tengu are omnivorous in every sense of the word- able to eat vegetable matter that most humanoids can't, as well as being able to eat food that is stale or rotten. However, they have quite fast metabolisms, and get hungry easily and quickly.

Additional Information

Geographic Origin and Distribution

Tengu hail from the equatorial islands of Korthos and are quite prolific seafarers, found across the Armada Archipelago as well as on the Aerie and along the tropical coasts of all three of Korthos' major continents. Because of their seafaring skills and inquisitive habits, a seaside location is very rarely without a few Tengu.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Tengu have acute senses of vision and hearing, though their senses of taste and smell are quite limited. Some Tengu are able to harness latent magnetoreceptors and can sense true north as well as mentally map out directions with near perfect accuracy- these Tengu often become ship navigators. Due to the ease at which spiritual magic comes to them, Tengu spellcasters often harness this magic to observe their environments with the help of various channeled spirits and magical sensors.

Civilization and Culture

Naming Traditions

Tengu often name their children with names that are onomatopoeic or with descriptive names, as the Tengu language is just a pidgin amalgam. Last names are generally unimportant, with a Tengu instead claiming a surname of "child-of-x" with x being one of their parents.

Major Organizations

Tengu are a very inquisitive people by culture and often find themselves involved in various organizations that benefit that: inventors' guilds, mages' guilds, and thieves' guilds most of all. Although relatively nonviolent, their skill at learning languages and picking up magic often makes evil Tengu skilled assassins and infiltrators, and their naval tendencies will lead many evil Tengu to a life of piracy. Inversely, many good aligned Tengu find themselves fervently religious, writing long treatises on moral philosophy or involving themselves in nurturing a flock- worship of empyreal lords like Andoletta or Bandaraga is common, as well as worship of good aligned nature deities.

Gender Ideals

Tengu, like the corvids they resemble, very rarely exhibit any outward sexual dimorphism. In fact, as a culture, Tengu have a very limited conception of gender- it is a thing that the featherless humanoids have more often than not, surely, but not a Tengu tradition. For their part, most Tengu seem willing to cooperate with any gender presentation, and often follow a gender tradition of a land they inhabit simply for the ease of communication.

Relationship Ideals

Tengu are almost always exclusively monogamous. Courtship occurs infrequently, but rarely do they discriminate race in terms of courtship, either. Tengu culture often expects a suitor to present a potential partner with various gifts of differing value, and time spent with one another is the most important ideal for a typical Tengu relationship.

Major Language Groups and Dialects

Tengu have no real language of their own- the language known as "Tengu" is a pidgin language of Elven, Common, and Dwarven. However, Tengu have an innate skill at both impressions and language learning, easily picking up languages of various ports of call and speaking them with near-perfect accentuation. Outside of typical language, Tengu often will communicate with mimicked sounds to convey concepts; rather than explaining a particular seabird, for example, they may just mimic its call.

History

No one knows where the Tengu came from- not even the Tengu themselves. Old historical texts occasionally mention strange avians noted by boats passing islands like the Aerie or Bastion, but no interactions occurred between sailors and the avians until suddenly they just did. The Tengu appear in the historical record spontaneously- one period of time there are no Tengu and the next they're integrated into various ships' crews, found on many islands across Korthos, and interspersed into coastal trade. Whether or not the little corvid-like humanoids know the answer, they are silent on the matter, preferring instead to live life as full as they can and explore.

Interspecies Relations and Assumptions

Tengu are a quite amicable race. They blend into other cultural groups quite easily, learning languages and customs quite quickly and often integrating themselves into local guilds. However, they do often encounter difficulties with the more colonial of races. High elves often have rough relations with Tengu due to their history of colonizing Tengu-inhabited island chains, and Tengu often in turn have difficulty trading and interacting with the more xenophobic ethnicities of lizardfolk along much of Korthos' tropical belt.

A comparison of two different Tengu.

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Origin/Ancestry

Corvid (Usually Corvine or Cyanacoracine)

Lifespan

60 years

Average Height

Tengu generally reach heights between four feet and five-and-a-half feet at maturity.

Average Weight

Tengu are quite light, usually weighing no more than 70 pounds.

Body Tint, Colouring and Marking

Most Tengu have black feathers, with rarer patternings also having blues, greens, and greys mixed in. Although superficially similar to various corvids, Tengu often mark themselves with feather paints and jewelry of various styles, seeking individuality and expressing.