Tengu

In the mist, I could see the bobbing of a lantern. Being cold and hungry I rushed towards it. As I drew near I saw that the light bearer was far from human, it was a short black thing with the head of a raven. I was grasped by an iron claw of fear, I ran and ran until I could run on more.
-Suberian Elder

Tengu are wingless bird folk that live in The Void. These strange people are shrouded in mystery, humans have developed varying superstitions about their origin and abilities. For the most part, tengu avoid contact with humans, they live their lives on small private islands in a peaceful fashion. Only the rare tengu necromancer will seek out humans as test subjects and sacrifices.

Tengu Subraces

Each tengu subrace has features related to a certain bird. Like birds in the wild tengu feed off of other tengu lower in the food chain. This practice might be called "cannibalism" but tengu just call it eating.

Sparrow Folk

The most common tengu subrace. Sparrow folk are the most likely to contact humans on benevolent terms. Often happy in nature and are known to be loyal friends. In the Hetyemily it says:

Always trust the sparrow man, for their blessing brings good fortune and their friendship is true.

Sparrow folk tend to avoid other tengu subraces because most see them as easy prey.

Ravenlings

Ravenlings are most commonly (and not quite wrongly) associated with evil magic. In Suberia people say that they have the soul of a Kiv within them. Ravenlings aren't innately evil though, it is only because people expect them to be a man-eating monster that they are forced down dark paths. Ravenlings are however more acclimated to Necromancy, they find it easier to use and more effective.

Eagle Folk

Eagle Folk are the highest and most noble of tengu. They have large feet and claws and are the only tengu that can possess wings. Such a gift is rare, but not unheard of. When an eagle folk is born with wings it is said to be a blessing from the eagle god Temrene. On the remote world of Temreon, the eagle folk have built an empire, in recent years these bird people have attempted to expand their lands into human worlds causing much chaos.

Ibisions

The Ibisions are tall slender tengu that possess the head of an ibis. Unlike their other kin, ibisions have the body of a human. This has led scientists to believe that they aren't tengu at all. In common belief still prevails, so until greater evidence is shown ibisions are still tengu. In Ularr the bird people are said to be celestials, and that might be true. Ibisions are rarely seen together, and moreover rarely seen at all. The few that have laid eyes on these creatures say that they disappeared in a flash of light of shapes changed into a small creature the minute they realize that they were being watched.

And Many More

Many more tengu subraces exists in the void. From the turkey men of Suberia to the Guruna Folk of Quantan. The tengu have spread far and wide, keep an eye on this article if you what to see my subraces.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Tengu look like a short human with the feathers and head of the bird they reflect. Their hands and feet are the talons.

Growth Rate & Stages

Like birds, tengu hatch from eggs. A tengu egg is about 2 feet tall and weighs about 20 pounds. Tengu hatch as ugly featherless things. They grow very fast between the age of 0-5, bu=y the time they reach age 10 they are considered audults.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Tengu aren't as good with logic and computation than most humans but tend to be much wiser. Their memories are also superior to humans' even if a tengu can't make sense of something they will often remember it until the day that they understand it.

Dreams from the Realm of Yore

Around a tengu's fifth year they begin to experience strange hyper-realistic dreams. These dreams are ancestral memories past down from generation to generation. These dreams stop happening around the age of 12 but some continue to experience them throughout their life. These special people called soothsayers can re-experience things that happened to their ancestors before they were born. When fully mastered these profits can live out alternate realities of these memories.

Soothsaying Tengu Mind
Scientists have been confounded by this ability. Despite years of research, this mythical power is still magic. In a study done in 1592 neurologists got images of a soothsaying tengu mind (above). These images showed that the tengu mind was over 300% more active than normal when soothsaying. Such amounts of brain activity can be dangerous to othe humanoids, but tengu have little problem with it.

Scientific Name

Turdidae Sapiens

Origin/Ancestry

Primordial

Lifespan

70 years (ibision can live us to 700 years)

Average Height

5' 5"

Average Weight

100 lb.

Geographic Distribution

• The Void