Imiko

The Imiko are a nomadic trading people whose mobile caravan of thousands of individuals travel across every corner of the continent. Imiko are known for their odd physical biology, which has fur, feathers, scales and bone on different specific patches of their bodies. With skinny equine legs bearing four-toed hooves, these nimble legs give the Imiko the fastest running speed of any sapient species on Latani, easily reaching speeds of over 50km an hour. Imiko have long, slightly curved horns like that of an Ibex, and have slightly hunched backs with dark glossy feathers running down their backs, shoulders and upper arms. The function of these feathers is not known, though according to Imiko folklore, they used to have wings that allowed them to fly, but the Quintalasist goddess Sheeran punished them for their greed and hubris long ago by fusing the wings to their backs. The faces of the Imiko are bony and scaled, with horizontal slitted pupils inside of colorful eyes. The rest of their five foot tall bodies is covered with brown fur. This mismatched form is embraced by the Imiko for making them unique among the other species, though the term "stich" or "stitched" have been used by some to degrade them. The famous Imiko caravan is depended upon by almost every singe town, settlement and city with its variety of goods, services, valuables and produce. It is a grand event for every town when the traveling caravan visits and makes trade, there have even been occasions when the Imiko caravan have saved settlements from financial collapse by trading money, saved from starvation by trading food, and even saved from destructive war by trading weapons. This massive caravan has been constantly moving across the entire continent for hundreds of years only stopping at night to sleep or to take a couple days break before moving on. Imiko are more than welcome to leave the caravan at any time to live on their own or join other communities, but some choose to stay with the caravan their entire lives for the sense of unity and the opportunity to explore all Latani has to offer. The Imiko have never had any city of their own, though most Imiko consider the caravan a city in itself. The Imiko are also well known for being resourceful survivalists and as great inventors when they put their collective minds together. The crossbow, windmill, ballista, sewage system, fireworks and many different kinds of plant based drugs and spices have all been invented by the Imiko. By far their most sought after creation is that of their incense sticks, which are burned for their pleasant scents, to calm the mind, and for other small health benefits, Imiko almost always have a burning incense stick wrapped to one or both of their horns. The scent of their caravan is said to be near indescribable and can be smelled sooner than be seen, with a cloud of smoke drifting from the mile-long line of traveling traders.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

The Imiko are a very unified people, to the point where never once in history have they had a collapse, civil war or falling out with their society. Each Imiko sees each other as a equal no matter the circumstance and they usually work together on big projects and decisions to benefit their people as a whole, making them more advanced than other races in many ways both culturally and technically.

Common Customs, traditions and rituals

One tradition that is common among the Imiko is the creation of "Memory Charms", which are necklaces or bracelets that hold small objects of sentimental or historic value to that individual. Imiko will make these charms throughout their lives for the purpose of remembering important or special events, people, places or feelings. The items on the memory charms could be quite possibly anything relevant to the Imiko, from jewelry, painted beads, shells, stones, cloth, feathers and so on. The Imiko who make these charms wear them wherever they go and pass them to their families as an important memento and representation of their life when they die. If you were to ask an Imiko about what the items on their memory charm represented, they will most likely have an hour long story for each and every one.

"The prominent futurists of Latani, though ironically their culture has been the same for centuries. It is difficult to form a single solitary opinion of them, considering their ideals and individualities are so varied."
F.L.

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